#like i said i think she comes out on top for any fictional (mad?) scientist in any media tbh. she's so sillay ♡ | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mostlycompetentwriter · 4 years

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“Chronosaurus” One-Shot

F/M Pairing: Y/N x Han Jisung (SKZ)

Genre: Science-Fiction, Back to the Future AU

Warnings: Lots of angst, fluff, and many life lessons

Word Count: 9K

Summary: Despite what everyone believes, Y/N enjoys spending time with Dr. Park, the town’s self-proclaimed mad scientist. She’s especially interested in his idea for building a time machine, an experiment Dr. Park has been researching for many years! One night, he attempts to test the machine, but is disappointed when nothing happens. Y/N tries to investigate for herself, but inadvertently succeeds in starting the machine, finding herself in the year 2035! She decides to take advantage of the rare opportunity, but is disappointed to discover that her future self is nothing more than a front desk receptionist at a hair salon. To make matters worse, she’s married to Han Jisung, the nerdy guy everyone always picked on in high school!

Thankfully, Y/N has a reliable time machine to help her rectify those terrible mistakes...

In a rare moment of unpredictability, I had decided to visit Dr. Park before enduring another day of mind-numbing lectures and the endless political debate between our Student Council representatives. You see, once upon a time, I tried to run for school President, but I lost to Bang Chan because everyone thought he had really cool hair (Jesus, he was unbelievably hot) and I was just Y/N, the girl who thought visiting the future was possible and spent way too much of her time around the town’s self-proclaimed mad scientist. Ultimately, I had decided that the outcome was rather favorable for my situation because I could spend less time trying to negotiate with our principal for new gym equipment and more time analyzing Quantum Mechanics.

Dr. Park lived on the opposite end of town, which meant that I was constantly gambling with the possibility of another late slip when I finally found my way to school. However, Dr. Park was on the verge of an imminent breakthrough and I didn’t want to miss a single moment of his genius at work. Thus, I found myself retrieving the spare key from under the mat before walking inside the messy living room, greeting his dog in the kitchen. Dr. Park spent most of his time in the basement since he claimed it was nice to have some kind of separation between his work and private life. Subsequently, I was also well-acquainted with the musty basement smell and the impressive equipment with names that I couldn’t remember.

“Dr. Park,” I said, finding the man in question hunched over his desk. “I’m here.”

“Y/N,” Dr. Park grinned. “Perfect timing!”

I paused next to an odd display of bullfrogs. “What’s going on?”

“I think I’ve figured it out!” Dr. Park exclaimed. “I need you to make sure that you can be here tonight because the invention of time travel is ours for the taking!”

“Tonight? What happens tonight?”

“We unveil my newest invention!” Dr. Park said, knocking aside a few boxes to properly introduce a rather large object obscured by a white bed sheet. “The culmination of my research!”

“That’s great, Dr. Park,” I said while checking my watch absentmindedly, but my eyes widened in horror when I realized the time. “I’m late for school!”

I was instantly sprinting up the stairs, stumbling against the door-frame, and Dr. Park was yelling at my retreating figure. “Did you hear me say midnight, Y/N? And remember to bring a hat!”

The industrial disaster known as my high school was nestled on the opposite end of town in the furniture district aptly named after our town’s founders who made their fortunes selling rocking chairs. It was perfect considering the interesting band of characters who came in after the founders, forming the upper-class suburbs for the eclectic combination of inventors who were once the envy of the scientific world. These days, all we had left of that great renaissance was Dr. Park and their great-great grandchildren, AKA, my darling classmates who proved to be more inept with each passing day.

Thankfully, for the most part, I could use that to my advantage when alluding the students who were supposed to hand out late tickets to the kids like me who waltzed in after the first bell. However, on this morning in particular, I had the misfortune of accidentally running into one the school’s hall monitor. Of course, upon second glance, I realized that it was just Han Jisung which meant that I could probably convince him to let me off the hook. “Hi, Y/N,” he said, shoving his ridiculous glasses further up his nose as he looked directly at the ground. “I like your shoes.”

I rolled my eyes. “Look, Jisung, just pretend you didn’t see me, okay?”

Jisung managed to make eye contact for a split second before he was nodding his head. “I know you were probably just with Dr. Park.”

I paused, studying him for a moment. “You won’t tell anyone?”

“I don’t want you to get into trouble,” Jisung said and that was all the confirmation I needed before I was sprinting down the hallway.

Subsequently, classes passed by like one of those lazy summer afternoons when my mind was occupied by my daydreams, thinking about my impending meeting with Dr. Park. You see, he had dedicated most of his life to the research known as time travel and he was determined to reign supreme over the explorations of the past, present, and future. Most of the town thought that he was crazy for believing such an idea, especially when most of his early inventions ended quite prematurely, resulting in property damage that once nearly gave our mayor a heart attack when he saw the total cost of repair.

Regardless, Dr. Park was still adamant about the possibility of time travel, forgetting about those early inventions and focusing all of his time on his crowning achievement. I was grateful to come along for the ride, even if most of my classmates often mocked me for my efforts. However, I really didn’t care about their opinions, with the exception of one student who had always held my attention...

When the afternoon bell rang, I trudged to my locker while ignoring the congregation of girls surrounding Lee Minho. I sighed, choosing to watch Minho from the safety of my locker. He was, without a single doubt, one of the most attractive men I had ever seen in my entire life. I often sang his praises to my friends, even if Changbin and Felix would roll their eyes at my behavior.

One of those aforementioned best friends stopped next to me at my locker, following my gaze with a tired sigh. “You’re drooling,” Felix scoffed, handing me a tissue which I gratefully accepted.

“Why is he so beautiful?”

“Lee Minho? Are you still crushing on him?”

“It’s more than a crush, Felix,” I sighed impatiently. “I think we have a real connection.”

“Yeah, it looks like it,” Felix grumbled.

“I’m asking him to the dance this Friday!”

Felix rolled his eyes. “You and the rest of the student population.”

I frowned. “Why shouldn’t I be any more likely than the rest of those girls! At least I don’t swarm him for an autograph!”

“That’s true,” Felix mused thoughtfully. “I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.”

Despite his cryptic words, I still held my high head in determination.

It was bitterly cold that evening, and I tried not to think too much about the ice forming on the sidewalks as I hurried to make my appointment with Dr. Park on time. He was quite meticulous about maintaining a tight schedule, and I knew he would be less likely to tolerate my tardiness as opposed to someone like Han Jisung, our school’s residential nerd. The same kid who I once saw attempting to save a slug trying to cross the street.

I snorted at the memory, finding Dr. Park’s spare key under his mat before letting myself in the front door. The heat inside was welcomed, and I followed the sound of a power drill into his basement. “Dr. Park!” I gasped, squinting my eyes against the unexpected light show emanating from what looked like a phone booth straight out of Dr. Who, but with far less CGI effects.

“Y/N!” Dr. Park exclaimed in return, beckoning me forward with his usual over-zealousness. “Isn’t it beautiful?

“It?” I repeated.

“My time machine!” he proclaimed, eyes wild and exhilarated. “You’re here to help me test it out.”

“Really?” I grinned, rushing down the remainder of the stairs to get a better view of the machine. “You figured it out!”

“Of course, I did!” Dr. Parked chirped, pulling back the blanket on his work station to reveal a pile of what looked like pure gold. “I found the fuel fairly easily.”

“Fuel? Dr. Park, is that real gold?”

“Of course,” he huffed. “Do you think it would run on fake party supplies?”

“The time machine runs on gold!”

“That’s what I said!” Dr. Park groaned while running his hands across the pristine glass of the machine. “It requires a substance of immense value.”

“But, Dr. Park, it’s actually real gold?!”

“Oh, come now, Y/N, since when does something as superficial as profound wealth bother you?”

“I guess you made your point,” I remarked, watching as he continued to tighten the bolts running along the top of the machine.

“Alright,” Dr. Park laughed, tossing the wrench onto the table before opening the door. “Go ahead!”

I carefully followed his direction, forcing myself into the unexpectedly small interior of the bright red phone booth. “It’s small.”

“The measurements are meant for one person,” Dr. Park explained. “Did you remember to bring a hat?”

“Sure,” I managed, pressing myself against the glass when Dr. Park joined me inside, turning around to make further adjustments. “Why do we need a hat?” I asked, trying to ignore my uncomfortable position.

“Well, we may encounter our future selves!” Dr. Park explained. “It’s best to try and disguise our faces before anyone can notice.”

“Right,” I said, nodding my head as he started typing something on the small computer screen drilled into the glass next to the door. “Let’s try...2035? I heard theories that flying cars will be widespread by then!”

“That’s what they keep saying,” I remarked, whining in pain when he accidentally stepped on my foot.

“Okay!” he said, clapping his hands together. “Hold on tight!”

I shivered in anticipation, closing my eyes because I was hoping to open them again and discover the city of the future. However, as more and more seconds continued to pass by with only the distinct sound of the machine’s buttons providing background noise, I began to wonder what was happening. “Dr. Park,” I whispered. “Is this supposed to take this long?”

“I’m not sure,” he said, typing something furiously. “After I press this button...” he trailed off and I held my breath, fully expecting for the machine to start moving, but I opened my eyes again to the same grim basement.

“Did it work?” I asked, realizing the question was really stupid only a moment later when Dr. Park turned around to glare at me.

“No, Y/N, it failed.”

“Well, maybe we can re-check the wires?”

“No, that’s not the problem,” Dr. Park sighed. “I’m a complete disgrace to the name of science.”

“I’m sure that’s not true, sir!” I said, cautiously squirming around the glorified phone booth. “Maybe you just miscalculated something?”

“I never miscalculate,” Dr. Park scoffed. “It’s more than that.”

His downcast features made me wonder if Dr. Park was actually considering the idea of giving up on his dream. “Sir, this is everything you’ve been working on for years!”

Dr. Park shook his head, opening the door and pushing us both out at the same time. “It’s just a piece of junk,” he glowered, already trudging for the steps. “Feel free to stay the night, Y/N,” he said. “I need to sleep.”

“Sir?” I tried again, pouting when he made no move to return.

However, despite Dr. Park’s suggestion, I decided to take matters into my own hands, comparing his meticulous hand-written notes lying on the work station to the machine itself as I slowly surveyed the outside. “It looks right,” I said, opening the door to step back inside. The diagrams were quite complicated, and they probably wouldn’t make much sense to the common eye, but I had been studying under Dr. Park for years and he demanded perfection. “Ah! The turbo muffler isn’t plugged in,” I noted, reaching down to rectify the problem.

I glanced at the computer screen, watching the loading screen analyze the solution before taking a spare tissue from my pocket to scrub away at the fingerprints alongside the glass. It was easy to lose myself in a rhythm, until I suddenly became aware of a strange vibration from underneath my feet. I froze in place, looking down and realizing that the intricate panel of lights were blinking rapidly, and a strange noise was emanating from every corner that faintly reminded me of an over-sized fan. The whirring sound grew louder and I realized that the edges of my vision were growing darker, watching the room spin around faster and faster before I completely lost consciousness.

2035

An unexpected bright light infiltrated my line of vision when I slowly opened my eyes. Everything was hurting, and I realized that it was because I was still cramped inside the time machine, legs curled uncomfortably beneath me. “Why would I do this to myself?” I groaned, gingerly rising to my feet before pushing open the door to allow myself to stumble into the basement.

I felt unusually dizzy, watching the ceiling rotate before settling back into place. I groaned at the feeling. “I guess I just overworked myself or something and passed out.”

There was a newspaper on the table that I hadn’t noticed from earlier and I reached for it without really thinking. The headline was blurry, but the topic of a general store theft wasn’t what caught my attention. I re-checked the newspaper over a dozen times before I was shaking from head to toe. “2035?!”

I quickly dropped the newspaper, reaching for my phone in my back pocket only to nearly lose my grip on the slim case when I realized what was displayed across the screen. “Impossible.”

However, like a sudden dam had been released, I remembered last night’s events, including starting the time machine without meaning to activate the switch. I quickly ran to the window, lifting the blinds only to gasp when something impossibly fast sped by the window. “Flying cars!”

It was like a dramatic transformation had taken place overnight and everything was suddenly monochromatic, bright and pristine as people walked along the sidewalks in strange clothes and talked to holograms projecting from their phone screens. “Dr. Park did it!” I squealed. “I’m in the future!”

For the first time since I discovered the concept, I was convinced that the future was actually going to be extraordinary. “Look at all this cool shit!” I exclaimed, skipping along the sidewalks with my hat tucked low over my face.

I paused at the corner of the street, admiring the traffic of the flying cars, before noticing someone on the opposing sidewalk. “She looks like me,” I noted before I felt my eyes fly open. “That is me!” I gasped, looking both ways before crossing the road, and I continued to follow Y/N, watching as she greeted several people along the sidewalk. “It’s good that we grew out of our social anxiety,” I nodded.

Eventually, Y/N halted outside of a salon, studying something on the phone screen in front of her. I waited cautiously, startling only when I realized that a familiar face was walking in our direction. “Is that Han Jisung?” I groaned, rolling my eyes because, of course, he would still be involved somehow with my future.

Of course, the even bigger surprise came only moments later when Jisung leaned in to press his lips against my unsuspecting person. “What is he doing?” I seethed, only to realize that Y/N was reciprocating his affection. “Why the fuck am I kissing Han Jisung?” I gasped, sprinting around the corner so that I could have my mental breakdown in privacy. “What the hell is going on?”

I took a few deep breaths because I’m sure that the incident was just some kind of futuristic greeting. Everyone must enjoy kissing other people in the future, and it was certainly a better alternative to the idea that older Y/N wanted to actually kiss Han Jisung. “It’s fine,” I reassured myself, bowing politely to a couple who passed by with suspicious frowns. When I looked around the building again, I watched as Y/N waved in Jisung’s direction before entering the salon. “Oh, is this something I do in my free time?” I questioned because I certainly hated going to the salon despite my mother’s best efforts.

I carefully made my way to the large glass panel at the front of the salon, peeking in through the clear display to find my older self standing behind the counter. “What are we doing?” I asked, especially when Y/N answered the phone, speaking into the other end with a bright smile that made me grimace at the exact moment of understanding. “I’m a receptionist?” I groaned, wondering if the universe had allowed me to visit the future only so that it could laugh at my disdain.

“It can’t get any worse!”

However, contrary to my expectations, when the salon finally closed, I decided to follow Y/N home to make sure that I wasn’t living somewhere ridiculous considering the measly salary I probably made at a hair salon. I huffed in irritation because my older self insisted on walking fast down the street as if she was eager for something that I didn’t understand. “Slow down,” I wheezed, seconds away from collapsing when I finally noticed us standing on the front porch of a fairly modest house.

I waited until Y/N was inside before rushing to the door quietly. It was locked, but I quickly found the spare key under the mat which made me roll my eyes considering that I had copied Dr. Park’s tendency to hide his house key in the same location. Regardless, once I was inside, I heard voices coming from the kitchen, so I decided to walk upstairs to avoid the possibility of someone finding me.

The hallway was cramped, and I checked several rooms before finding a larger offering at the end of the house with pictures of myself displayed across the dresser. “No way,” I said, snatching one of the photographs when I noticed Han Jisung standing next to me. “Ugh,” I groaned, returning the picture before looking around the room.

It was becoming clear to me that I had a more complicated relationship with Jisung that went beyond casual strangers meeting in the street outside the salon where I conveniently worked. Eventually, my answer came in the form of an incriminating wedding photo stationed directly next to the queen-sized bed on the nightstand. Jisung and I stood side-by-side in the picture, and I was holding out my hand where a bright silver wedding ring proclaimed my commitment to the entire world. “What the hell, Y/N?” I sighed. “We married Han Jisung?”

Of all the possible scenarios I had once envisioned for the future, Han Jisung was never involved with any of them. He was the class nerd who all the older boys picked on while the girls decisively ignored him. There was simply no explanation for why I was so heavily involved with him in the future!

I snatched the wedding picture from the nightstand, searching for the date in the lower corner. “November 5th, 2030.”

The date was from five years earlier, and a small light bulb suddenly went off in my head. “I know when I married him,” I grinned, taking a step back. “I can stop it from happening!”

I studied the picture one more time, gasping when I realized where we were both standing. “We got married at my parent’s house!”

I slammed the photograph down onto the nightstand because this was my chance to secure my future. Subsequently, I managed to leave my future home without disrupting Y/N who was busy in the kitchen, even though I couldn’t cook to save my life. I shook my head at the strange situation, finding myself back on the streets before retracing my steps to relocate Dr. Park’s house where it still remained after all these years.

The time machine was still waiting inside Dr. Park’s basement, and I only briefly wondered where the man in question was in this bizarre future before I was checking the necessary equipment. There was still some gold left in the fuel gauge, and I typed in the corresponding wedding date and watched as the computer started to process my request.

“I can fix this!” I said, wrenching aside the door of the phone booth. “I’ll just go back a little further in time and stop myself from marrying Jisung!”

I crowded myself into the corner when the machine started to vibrate and groan as the gears rotated in response to the ignition running. It all sounded good, and I stumbled backwards against the glass in anticipation. Suddenly, I was spinning rapidly through the air, unable to focus as I fell to the ground and closed my eyes to forget the unpleasant sensation.

2030

I gained consciousness once again in Dr. Park’s basement, checking the time on my phone. “We should be close,” I said because the picture had taken place during the early evening based on the setting sun in the background. “I need to hurry.”

Thankfully, I had grown up near Dr. Park’s house during my childhood and nothing much had changed regarding our living situations. Likewise, I found myself standing outside of my childhood home, frowning at the sight of guests gathered outside along neat and well-organized benches. I even saw Han Jisung himself standing at the altar while talking to the future versions of Changbin and Felix who certainly defied aging expectations. “Why couldn’t I marry one of them?” I whined because fantasies about my ridiculously attractive friends had been commonplace back when we first started high school.

Still, I was on a mission, and it seemed fate was on my side because the side door was unlocked and I rushed upstairs, determined to find Y/N before the wedding could officially begin. I checked several bedrooms, sighing irritably when each one was left empty. Finally, I paused at the entrance to the attic, wondering if it was possible that I decided to get ready in the same space that I once feared when I was a kid because my father jokingly told me that aliens lived in the rafters.

I shook my head at the memory, carefully opening the door to be greeted with the sight of an older Y/N studying her reflection in the vanity mirror. We wore a beautiful white gown, straight out of my imagination, and it was obvious that great effort had been put into our appearance despite the fact that I usually didn’t care for that sort of thing.

I cleared my throat, attracting Y/N’s attention who turned around only to gasp and drop the make-up brush she had been holding. “What the hell?”

“Hi,” I said, startling when Y/N jumped back from the mirror, eyes wide as she looked at me.

“What’s going on? Am I going crazy?” her shoulders dropped up and down with several deep breaths. “This can’t be happening!”

“Look, can you stop freaking out for one second? I came here to warn you! I’ve seen what our life is like in the future, and it’s nothing like what we dreamed!”

“W-What do you mean?” she stuttered. “How can this be possible?”

“Don’t think too hard,” I grumbled. “Look, I came here from the past. I used a time travel machine that Dr. Park invented.”

“How? The time machine never worked?”

“Sure it did,” I grinned. “I fixed it! Aren’t you proud of us?”

Y/N slowly sat back down in front of the mirror. “Okay, let’s say that I’m not going crazy for a moment.”

“What a good idea,” I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? You aren’t dreaming, so can we just admit that I came here from another time and move on?”

Y/N eventually nodded her head, regarding me warily despite the evidence of time travel success standing right in front of her. “Okay, like I said, I’m here to warn you. I’ve seen our future and it’s horrible, Y/N, and I think it’s because of this moment! You’re making a huge mistake by marrying Han Jisung!”

Y/N gasped, eyes widening as she quickly shot over to the window, looking down at the reception where a sweaty Han Jisung stood at the altar nervously, wringing his hands together while he waited for his future bride. “How is that possible? Jisung is so sweet to me!”

“Are you really not going to believe me?” I asked, taking a step back. “It’s me, er, I’m you! Shit, if you can’t believe yourself, then I must be more stubborn than I thought.”

Y/N frowned. “Why are you telling me this?”

“To stop you from making a mistake! You need to leave him!” I insisted. “Find Changbin or Felix and get the hell out of this shithole town!”

Y/N looked at me with eyes that were suddenly a lot less bright in comparison to when I first entered the room. “I just- I can’t believe that we don’t work out in the future.”

“Trust me,” I said again. “This is our last chance to make things right.”

“B-but what if you’re wrong? What if there’s something else I can do-”

“I’ve been there,” I interrupted her. “Ask me anything about the past. I can tell you things about us and that should prove that I’m you.”

Y/N was hesitant. “The name of our imaginary friend?”

“Cleopatra,” I said. “He looked like a dog, but he could also fly.”

Y/N covered her mouth as the truth finally processed. “Fine, if you are from the past, then I guess you wouldn’t lie to me.”

“Why would I sabotage my own future?” I asked, reaching out to take her hands. “I know it might be hard to believe, but I’ve seen everything with my own eyes. This is the moment that changes everything.”

“What happens?” she asked with sad eyes. “Why is it this moment?”

“It’s...complicated,” I managed. “We’re very unhappy, though. I mean, you remember the things we once imagined, right? What if they never came true?”

“And it’s because of Jisung?”

“Obviously,” I snorted. “Why else would I be here?”

“It’s just hard to accept,” she admitted. “We’ve been together for years.”

I wrinkled my nose at the unpleasant thought. “What? Did we get a concussion somewhere along the way?”

Y/N frowned. “You came from a time before Jisung.”

“It still doesn’t negate the fact that I’ve seen the future!” I said. “I was so happy when I saw it for the first time, there were flying cars and holograms and the streets were painted with silver! But, when I found our future self, I couldn’t reconcile that wonderful vision of the future with the life we were living.”

Y/N wiped away a single tear that had fallen during my explanation. “Okay,” she said, suddenly appearing a lot more confident than before. “I’ll leave through the garden.”

“Yes!” I nearly exclaimed, reaching back for the door to the attic. “You have to go now while everyone is still waiting!”

Y/N obeyed instantly, hurrying down the stairs while I followed from behind. I watched her from the living room, waiting until her white dress disappeared into a field of green before returning to the reception outside. I found a good hiding spot in the bushes, kneeling down while I waited for the inevitable discovery that future Y/N had somehow disappeared from the attic.

It didn’t take long as an older woman ran outside with a bouquet of flowers. “Y/N is gone!” she eventually announced to the gathered crowd of family and friends.

“Gone?” Jisung repeated, eyes widening as he froze in place next to the altar.

I watched from the bushes, smiling when everyone started to stand at once, murmuring among themselves and wondering where the bride-to-be had gone. Thankfully, she had taken my advice before it was too late and I resisted the urge to pat myself on the back for a job well-done.

2035

I waited until I was certain that everyone had abandoned their search for Y/N before returning to Dr. Park’s basement. The time machine was still waiting for me, and I shuffled inside for my return to the future with a satisfied smile. “Now, I can return to the future in peace,” I declared, tuning on the ignition before closing my eyes and dropping to the floor. “Maybe this will help,” I whispered, holding my breath until the sounds of the engine finally subsided.

It only felt like seconds later when I stepped out of the time machine and froze, realizing that an older Dr. Park was actually standing in the middle of the room wearing a similar expression of disbelief. “Impossible!” Dr. Park exclaimed. “You look like you did when you were still in high school!”

I rolled my eyes at his observation. “I’m from the past.”

“Well, that’s also impossible!” Dr. Park shouted. “I destroyed this thing years ago!”

“Yeah, but I came from a time when you had just invented the machine,” I reminded him. “Actually, why the hell would you destroy it?”

Dr. Park shook his head. “It ruined so many futures.”

“Really?

Dr. Park nodded sadly. “I learned my lesson about time travel, Y/N. It never amounts to anything good.”

“Oh,” I said, shifting nervously while he continued to look at me as if he were seeing a ghost. “I guess that makes sense.”

“What a minute!” he finally said. “That means you came from the past to interfere with the future.”

“Not necessarily,” I grumbled, but he could clearly see through my lies.

“What the hell did you do?”

“I just changed one little thing,” I assured him. “I was supposed to get married to this guy, but I made sure that it wouldn’t happen.”

“You did what!” he gasped. “Y/N, you shouldn’t mess with a timeline like that! You have no idea what effect you could have on the future!”

“Fine, but can you blame me? My future was terrible!”

“But it still doesn’t give you the right to interfere.”

“I couldn’t let it happen,” I insisted. “It wasn’t what I wanted, especially considering the fact that I was a stupid receptionist! Can you imagine? I’m meant to study Quantum Mechanics not shampoo bottles!”

“It doesn’t matter!” he sighed. “The future isn’t something that you can just mold and shape to whatever you want! Changing one thing will set off a chain reaction that might impact other people and their futures!”

“I didn’t know, okay?” I cried, suddenly anxious with the way he was talking to me.

He ran his hands through his untameable hair. “Well, I guess it’s done now. There’s nothing more to be said.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, suddenly feeling very small standing in the middle of the room.

“It’s only natural,” he sighed. “But let's see what you’ve done.”

Dr. Park held tight to my wrist as we navigated the busy streets. Thus far, I didn’t see any changes around me, but that didn’t necessarily mean that something wasn’t amiss. “I kept up with you through the years,” he explained. “I remember the wedding you visited, and I always wondered why you changed your mind.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I might’ve convinced myself.”

“Nevertheless,” Dr. Park said. “You live in an apartment now in the city.”

“Really?” I asked, feeling a faint glimmer of hope that Dr. Park had overreacted and everything was fine with my future.

“We can take my car,” he said, fetching the keys before pausing next to a sleek, silver sports machine.

“Wow!” I gasped, admiring the delicate paint job before joining Dr. Park inside. I immediately startled when the car suddenly left the ground, hovering above the street before joining the traffic. “When did flying cars get invented?”

“Oh, not too long after the time you just came back from,” Dr. Park said. “I invented them, you know.”

“You did?”

“What else was I supposed to do when I gave up on time travel?” he shrugged. “Besides, it runs mostly on solar power which is a big plus for the environment.”

I nodded my agreement. “What else has happened?”

Dr. Park smiled, glancing at me with a knowing look. “Oh, Y/N, the future is something to behold.”

Subsequently, for the remainder of our trip, I listened to Dr. Park talks about the inventions that defined the future, everything from flying cars to holograms and the small gadgets in between. My personal favorite was the automatic sock warmers that dispelled water and kept your toes safe during the winter months. However, above everything else, I was glad to hear that society was advancing with new technology and medical practices. It was nothing short of exciting, and it only made me want to return to my own time so that I could experience it happen as I started to explore the world around me.

“Here we are,” Dr. Park eventually said, dropping his car onto the street next to a fairly modest building. “These types are the current rage. Most complexes come equipped with doors that open after scanning your fingerprint.”

“Really?” I wondered, following him outside onto the sidewalk.

He opened the door to the lobby, allowing me inside first before he nodded towards the elevators. “10th floor.”

The building wasn’t very busy, and most of the residents ignored us while we stopped outside of the door to my future apartment. “Y/N,” Dr. Park said, rapping lightly against the frame. “It’s me.”

The door opened slowly and I found myself looking into a familiar pair of eyes that widened when they recognized me. “It’s you from the wedding.”

“Well,” I said hesitantly. “I am you.”

Y/N frowned, but opened the door wider to allow me and Dr. Park inside the small apartment. I took one glance around before feeling my stomach fall as I recognized the sad condition of the property. “What happened?”

Y/N sniffled, looking at me with sad eyes. “Our future is nothing.”

“Well, where is everyone else? What about Changbin or Felix?”

“They left years ago,” Y/N said. “Everyone left me after I ran away from the wedding.”

“What?” I gasped, falling back onto the ground. “Why would they do that?”

“Because I broke his heart,” Y/N groaned. “I’m so stupid!”

“Stupid?” I repeated, glancing at Dr. Park anxiously who could only shrug in response. “Tell me everything that happened after the wedding.”

“My mom found me,” Y/N explained. “She told me that Jisung was moving someplace in the city with Changbin and Felix. He told her that none of them wanted anything else to do with me after what happened at the wedding. I was so sad, and I decided to move back home, but I lost the passion to want to do anything. Jisung had always been my muse, and without him I stopped feeling inspired.”

“When did we move here?”

“A year ago,” Y/N said. “I have an office job in the city, but it gets really lonely out here with nobody around.”

“Oh,” I said, aware of Dr. Park’s stern gaze burning into the back of my head. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Actually, it was you who told me to leave because our future was so bad,” Y/N reminded me. “What happened? Did Jisung do something?”

“Well, not exactly...”

“It had to be something! You said the future was horrible, but I can’t imagine anything worse than this!”

“Okay, look,” I finally relented. “When I went to the future, I saw us with Han Jisung and I thought that it was unfair that we ended up with him. I decided to try and change that, but I didn’t understand what I was doing until it was too late.”

“You had no idea,” Y/N said with a frown. “I guess you came from a time in the past before we knew who he really was.”

“Well,” I sighed. “I mean, who is he?”

“Han Jisung is one of the best people in the world,” Y/N said with tears falling freely. “He was the best thing that ever happened to us.”

By the time we returned to the basement, I was traumatized from my meeting with Y/N, falling against the couch unceremoniously while Dr. Park examined the time machine with obvious scrutiny. “What have I done!” I groaned against the pillows.

“Well, you destroyed your future,” he replied, ignoring the glare I aimed in his direction.

“Dr. Park, I have to go back in time again! I need to undo the stupid shit I’ve done.”

“Is that so?” Dr. Park chuckled, wiping his hands clean as he stood next to me. “You think it’s that easy?”

“Why not?” I frowned. “I know the time and date when I got married.”

“That won’t matter anymore because you altered the timeline!” Dr. Park exclaimed. “At that precise moment in time, you created an alternate reality! It’s impossible to go back now and change everything.”

“Why? Can’t I just go back and stop myself from interfering with the wedding?”

“No! That’s not how time works!”

“Well! What the fuck? I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do! I can’t just stand aside and do nothing!

“Y/N, the delicate aspects of time are extremely convoluted! You should’ve never messed with the timeline in the first place.”

“Don’t you think I realize that now!” I cried. “I know that I ruined my future because I didn’t think it was important enough to understand everything that had happened before 2035. I just...I was surprised because it wasn’t like anything I had ever dreamed about. I mean, Dr. Park, I wanted to be a physicist, not a stupid receptionist! I thought I would marry Lee Minho and we would, like, completely takeover the world together or something.”

Dr. Park was silent for a moment, watching me as I completely broke down in front of him full of regrets for everything I had done. “Y/N,” he finally said. “Can I offer you some advice?”

“I guess,” I grumbled, ignoring the way his gaze grew sympathetic.

“The future is whatever you want to make of it,” he said. “If you want to make it a future that involves Jisung, then you need to make sure that he stays in your life.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know the original story,” Dr. Park continued. “But if you create a new narrative where you met Jisung even earlier and started dating him before that predetermined time...”

“Then I can fix it!” I gasped. “I can change the timeline!”

Dr. Park smiled. “Good girl! It’s all up to you now because you're responsible for the future you decide to make.”

His words were incredibly wise, and I could only hope to follow his advice and reclaim the future that I had so painstakingly changed without fully understanding the consequences.

2020

Hopefully, for the final time, I stepped outside the time machine after returning to the past where I belonged. However, this time I was determined not to interfere anymore, deciding that Dr. Park was right when he explained the fine semantics. After all, the future was whatever I wanted it to be, and I already knew that I was more determined than ever to succeed.

“I’m back!” I exclaimed, looking around the mostly vacant basement. I checked my phone with a gasp because school started in less than an hour. I would need to find Jisung as soon as possible because I had an idea of how I could fix everything that I had broken.

I quickly dialed a familiar number, holding it up to my ear as a tired voice answered from the other end. “Hello, Uber?”

Ten minutes later, I saw a car pull up to the sidewalk next to Dr. Park’s house. “Y/N?” the driver asked, looking at my from behind a dark pair of sunglasses.

“Park View High School,” I said, joining him in the backseat before the driver took off while I searched my pockets for any spare change.

I managed to make it to school on time, just five minutes before the first bell. Still, I knew the chances of finding Jisung before class were slim, so I needed to be patient. “Here,” I said, shoving the cash at the disgruntled Uber driver.

“Gee, thanks,” he grumbled because he was probably dissatisfied with the fact that I didn’t tip properly.

In any case, my perfect opportunity finally arose during lunch when I found Jisung lingering in the hallways as he exchanged textbooks. I took a deep breath to steel my nerves as I hesitantly walked in his direction. “Jisung,” I said, cautiously approaching him at his locker. “Can I ask you something?”

He wore his signature jeans with a loose t-shirt that was way too big for his narrow form. I frowned because my taste in men had apparently evolved at some point in the future. Of course, as I considered him more closely, I realized that there was also a charming aspect to his boyish features.

In the meantime, Jisung had froze in place, eyes wide as he turned around to face me. “Y-Y/N?”

I offered him a smile. “There’s a dance on Friday,” I started, searching his gaze imploringly. “Would you like to go with me?”

His eyes widened, breath hitching as he looked at me. “You want to go with me?”

I nodded. “I think it might be nice to go together. You can even come over this afternoon and we can make our plans!”

“Really?” he asked, appearing doubtful despite the way I had suddenly leaned in closer.

“Please?”

He finally nodded his head and I released a sigh of relief because my plan was starting to formulate right before my very eyes.

Later that afternoon, I opened the front door to my house to find Jisung ten minutes early wearing a much nicer pair of clothes. “Hi,” he said, nervously shuffling in place.

“You made it,” I grinned, reaching out for his hand to pull him inside. “We can go to my room.”

Jisung nodded. “Is this still okay?”

“Of course,” I said, grabbing onto his jacket sleeve to guide him up the staircase. “What do you want to do?”

Jisung didn’t respond, gazing around my room with a look of astonishment written across his expression. “Huh?”

“We can watch a movie,” I said, patting the space on my bed while turning on my laptop.

“Okay,” Jisung agreed, settling down next to me while finding it very difficult to tear his gaze away from me while I pulled up my Netflix account.

“Did you need something?” I teased, enjoying the way he blushed as a result.

“Sorry,” he grumbled, scrunching his nose when he noticed what movie I had picked. “Romance?”

“My favorite genre,” I said, leaning back to tilt the screen in our direction. “I think it’s good.”

Jisung still seemed reluctant, and I found it amusing that he was so willing to accept this unfortunate decision. Nevertheless, I relaxed next to him on the bed, watching the characters on-screen with far less attentiveness than I usually allowed for movie viewings. Because my eyes kept wandering over to Jisung, watching as his expression transformed from disgruntled acceptance to active fascination as he started reacting to the action on-screen.

Still, it only made it that more interesting to watch him blush during the more scandalous scenes, shifting uncomfortably from next to me. “What’s wrong?” I asked, enjoying the way he jumped in reaction.

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head aggressively in response.

“Are you sure?” I asked before turning around to properly face him.

Jisung paused and I decided to make the first move, leaning in closer to where I could smell his cologne on the collar of his jacket. “Y/N?” he questioned, but I pressed my lips to his before he could protest any further. And it didn’t take long for him to reciprocate the kiss with a feverish desire that made me realize that I had been overlooking Han Jisung for far too long.

It was almost midnight when I let myself into Dr. Park’s house. Despite the consequences of time travel, there was something inside of me that wouldn’t quite settle unless I determined whether or not I fixed my future relationship with Jisung. I knew the risks, but I needed reassurance that everything would happen the way it was supposed to before I had mistakenly intervened.

I jerked off the sheet hanging over the machine, wiping my hands on my jeans when the sudden flickering of the light overhead forced me to spin around. “I see that you fixed the machine,” Dr. Park said, watching me carefully from over his coffee cup.

“Oh, right,” I started awkwardly. “I guess I did.”

“Well,” he sighed. “Were there any visits involved with your tinkering?”

I knew that I couldn’t lie to Dr. Park, so I explained everything to him, including the advice from his future self and the revelation of the destruction of the time machine. “That’s really all that happened,” I assured him at the end.

“Then why are you going back?”

“Ah,” I pursed my lips. “I think it might be necessary to ensure that everything works out...”

“So you learned nothing from your mistakes?” Dr. Park said. “If you did, then you’ll help me destroy this thing instead of using it again.”

“But...Dr. Park!”

“We should believe me!” he protested. “I’m the smartest person that I know!”

“You don’t even know your future self, yet!”

“Yes, but you’ve met him and he sounds perfectly reasonable.”

“I need to make sure!” I insisted. “I promise, Dr. Park, this will really be the last time.”

He looked perfectly ready to protest, but he continued to study me with that close scrutiny that I had started to associate with him when he was discovering something particularly interesting. “I guess this means a lot to you,” he eventually conceded. “Despite all logic, I suppose that one more time wouldn’t hurt.”

“Really?” I grinned, glancing at the time machine from the corner of my eye. “Do you mean that?”

“But no more interference after this,” he grumbled. “You’ll get your answers and we’re leaving as soon as possible.”

“I agree with you,” I said. “100 %.”

“Well, I suppose it’s also a good time to try out my newest invention,” he said, holding up something that resembled a walkie-talkie. “It’s a tracking device. All it needs is a sample of DNA and it can help you locate your future self.”

“That’s awesome,” I gasped, clutching tightly to the device while Dr. Park started to prepare the machine.

“Are you ready?”

I nodded enthusiastically, waiting next to the machine while he loaded another gold bar inside the fuel tank. “Let’s do this right,” he said. “The way I intended: observation and nothing more.”

“Okay,” I agreed, closing my eyes when the door was firmly shut and the machine started to rotate rapidly as the very space-time continuum was warped to accommodate our travels to the future.

2035

“This is very dangerous,” Dr. Park remarked when the machine was silent once more and a very different version of his basement greeted our arrival. “Hopefully, we won’t run into my future self.”

“Maybe you could stay behind with the machine?” I suggested. “I’ll find myself and make sure everything is back to normal.”

“Fine, but please hurry,” he said, desperately looking around the silent basement like he expected an explosion at any moment. “I might also gamble a chance to look outside, but it’s only for scientific purposes!”

I rolled my eyes at his comment while I lowered the brim of my hat and left the house through the side door leading into the backyard. It was incredibly sunny outside, and I watched several flying cars soar past overhead before I was running along the hedges supporting the fence marking Dr. Park’s property. I pulled the tracking device from my back pocket, watching the screen load before rushing off in the direction of the bustling city scape.

It didn’t take long for the tracking device to lead me into a mostly-deserted park. There weren’t many people around, and I took a deep breath, following the increasing sounds of the beeping before pausing at the edge of a pond. Because sitting on one of the benches next to the water was a very familiar face.

“Y/N,” I said, but she didn’t look surprised to see me.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Y/N said, smiling brightly while she patted the bench next to her.

You have?” I immediately questioned.

“Of course,” she said. “I’ve been expecting this moment.”

I tentatively sat down next to Y/N, shaking my head to try and clear the confusion. “But? How is that possible?”

“I’m you after the new timeline we created,” she explained. “I know everything that happened.”

“Ah,” I nodded. “Well, then I guess you know what I did.”

“I do,” she confirmed. “I can also tell you that our curiosity only gets worse instead of better.”

“Isn’t that what got us into trouble in the first place?”

“Yes, but we learn to make the best of it,” she replied. “Now, I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

“I don’t think we have enough time to answer them all,” I joked. “Of course, there’s only one thing I’m really concerned about.”

“Our marriage to Jisung?”

I swallowed hard. “Well?”

“I won’t keep you in suspense,” she said. “We married him, and we’re very happy together.”

I sighed in relief. “I thought I ruined everything.”

“We came close,” Y/N admitted. “But I think that some things are destined to happen.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“Why wouldn’t I? After all, you should already know this, but isn’t Jisung great?” Y/N grinned. “Where did you come from in the past? I’m assuming that we’ve already met him for you to be at this point?”

“He’s still the hall monitor,” I said, wincing when Y/N squealed like it was the greatest thing she had ever heard.

“Wasn’t he so handsome?” Y/N asked.

“The best,” I offered, watching Y/N swoon like she had married a celebrity or something. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” Y/N smiled.

“Why did we marry Han Jisung? No offense, but he wasn’t exactly...normal?”

“Yeah? But what qualifies as normal?” Y/N asked. “I think a young girl who spends way too much time with Dr. Park trying to invent a time machine isn’t exactly normal either.”

“That’s...surprisingly a good point,” I conceded.

“Actually, I think I should tell you about him,” Y/N continued. “Han Jisung is the type of person who looks after other people before himself. He’s the thoughtful kind of person who once spent an entire paycheck just to buy me a new jacket after I accidentally left mine behind at the theater.”

“All of that happened?”

“He cares a lot about us,” Y/N said. “Jisung had a crush on us for a long time.”

“On us?” I repeated, eyes widening in disbelif.

"You might naive now, but I think you’ll find out for yourself just how wonderful he really is.”

“But...that still doesn’t explain why we never amounted to anything? I mean, a receptionist wasn’t high on my list of accomplishments.”

“That list was superficial. Our life with Jisung is anything but ordinary. I think you’ll come to realize that sometimes we never understand what we truly want until it actually happens.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I shrugged.

“By the way, the receptionist gig is only temporary,” Y/N smiled. “We’re waiting for a grant to start our research into Quantum Mechanics at the University.”

“No way!” I gasped. “If I had known-”

“Exactly,” Y/N interrupted. “We aren’t supposed to know because it takes the excitement out of life. Isn't it more interesting to think that the future is a blank canvas?”

“Okay, I get it,” I said. “But the temptation was hard to resist.”

“I understand,” Y/N nodded. “However, I’ll also be the first to tell you that even now your future could change. Because nothing is ever set in stone.”

“That’s something like what Dr. Park said,” I remarked, sharing an easy smile with the older and wiser version of myself.

“In any case, being a wife and a mother is my greatest adventure. Trust me, Y/N, our future is nothing short of extraordinary.”

I knew she was right, and I took her hand with a firm squeeze. “I’ll always remember that.”

“Good,” she smiled. “Because I don’t want you to mess this up, okay?”

I laughed. “I think I can manage to create a good future for us.”

“But you might want to hurry up before Dr. Park decides to leave you here.”

I took one more look around the park, admiring the gentle elegance of the calming water. For the first time ever, I was nothing short of ecstatic when I thought about living every second to its fullest. Because life was far too short to worry about what could’ve been when I had the rare opportunity to understand what my life will become.

2020

Upon my return to the present, Dr. Park decided to dismantle the time machine. “It seems necessary to avoid any further mistakes,” he nodded.

“But...what will you do now, sir?”

“Anything’s possible, Y/N,” he said. “We’ll just have to make the best of it.”

“Maybe you should think about cars,” I suggested, offering him a sly smile to which he rolled his eyes.

“What did you see?”

“My lips are sealed,” I chirped, ignoring the way he continued to call my name while I ran upstairs in a rush to finally arrive at school on time without the assistance of an Uber. Graciously, traffic wasn’t as chaotic, so I was able to waltz through most of the crosswalks with little difficulty, waving at the cars passing alongside the road. My adrenaline was pumping, and I had never been so enthused to see the familiar outline of my school building in the distance.

Fittingly, I was actually unable to report to my class on time, but I couldn’t be more satisfied to meet a familiar hall monitor stationed near my classroom. “Y/N!” Jisung exclaimed, eyes widening as he checked behind him. “You can go inside before Miss Adams arrives.”

“Thanks,” I said, but I still paused in front of him. “I want to talk to you about the dance.”

“You don’t want to go with me anymore,” Jisung frowned and I quickly shook my head.

“Why would you say that? I can’t wait for the dance.”

“Really?”

I smiled at Jisung who was blushing furiously. “I’m looking forward to our date,” I said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “Thank you, Jisung.”

“Y-Y/N,” Jisung stuttered. “What are you doing?”

“I just want you to know that I think you’re pretty great,” I said, enjoying the flabbergasted expression on his face as I walked inside my first-period classroom, satisfied that my future was truly secured.

#stray kids fanfic #stray kids #skz fanfic #stray kids fluff #stray kids angst #skz imagines #skz scenarios #stray kids oneshot #han jisung #stray kids han #han jisung fanfic #han jisung fluff #han jisung oneshot #time travel au

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gabriel-gabdiel · 3 years

Text

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

Likka Ikumi and Natsuki Shinkai deal with the Karasu and Kuronue tandem. The Oniwabanshu with Kuwabara deal with Gein and the Omyouji.

Hiei and Kurama deal with Usui as well.

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

First | Previous | Next

At the Okushiri Airport...

Natsuki Shinkai freed herself from Kuronue's tight chains, increasing their velocity even while at rest by focusing and infusing her unique reiki unto them.

Kuronue barely dodged the bullet-fast broken chain shrapnel along with the follow-through Kousa Dageki (Cross Strike) strike and thrust combo that nearly crushed his skull and/or put a hole in his trachea.

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he got hit after all. And killed.

However, the next thing Natsuki knew, he was about 6 feet or 2 meters away from her, none the worse for wear. As though she had hit and killed a mirage.

Damn. That was close.

They were currently inside the flaming remnants of a 747 cargo plane that Karasu had earlier blown up along with the rest of the airport.

Yes, Natsuki Shinkai could be as softhearted as Kurama in that she wouldn't indiscriminately kill her enemies. However, when she was pushed far enough, she could be every bit as cruel as the Youko.

Especially if she thought you deserved it. Like her father, Feng Xinhai, attempting to kill Daiji Matsudaira with a half-formed supercell of a tornado.

Apparently, a simple humiliating parry of her best friend's flying kick was enough to send her to the edge.

Figuring out what Kuronue meant by Natsuki's limits, Kuronue started blasting the remaining buildings and planes of the decimated Okushiri Airport.

Even though she could redirect the explosions or even rubble away from herself, the mindful Natsuki kept her barrier down against the high-speed shards of earth and glass for fear of accidentally deflecting it against nearby civilians or her friend, Likka Ikumi.

"Dammit," she cursed as she concentrated hard to deflect the individual rubble and debris at only Karasu and Kuronue in order to protect Ikumi.

"I think I understand her weakness now," said Karasu, who sneered and produced Clamshell Shrapnel Bombs for good measure. "She's only as powerful as the attacks directed at her! She also needs to concentrate hard to manipulate the direction and trajectory of a multitude of objects coming at her simultaneously or else there'll be collateral damage!"

"That's right. She can't deflect multiple things at the same time!" said Kuronue, who easily maneuvered through the raining debris, metal shrapnel, glass, and rubble in order to attack Natsuki with them, knowing that she could only dodge and couldn't return fire with any effective offense of her own.

The demons attacked simultaneously at two fronts, which kept Shinkai from focusing her psionic redirection powers properly.

Natsuki held on remarkably well though, redirecting the flying rock shards at both demons while using Hawatari (Sword Halt) and Hadome (Sword Crossing) at the supersonic Kuronue's attempts at stabbing her and making her mess up her concentration.

"Ahhh!" Likka cried out in pain as several bits of shrapnel hit her on the thigh and abdomen.

There were too many bullet-fast objects chaotically shooting at every direction and at different speeds for Shinkai to properly take account of and deflect.

"Likka-tan! I'm sorry!" shouted a tearful Natsuki, only for Kuronue to aim for her neck with his scythe. She then faced her attacker and said, "Fine. You want me to kill you? Then I will!"

She proceeded to do what Kuronue claimed she couldn't do, which was to reverse the flow of his blood in one direction, leading his head swell and burst like a balloon.

A second Kuronue appeared right behind the deceased one, his blade at the ready. "Whoa. Those are some frightening powers, child."

'What the hell was going on anymore?' thought Natsuki as the tip of the sickle cut through her stomach.

Karasu then threw a new grenade at Natsuki, who attempted to deflect it only for it to explode in her face.

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original Concept by Chad Yang

The Misao reincarnation known as Likka Ikumi gets to activate her special powers at last.

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

***

At Nabetsuru Rock...

The Nabetsuru (Pot Handle) Rock was a tourist destination off of the coast of Okushiri Island. It was a rock formation visible across the shores of Okushiri with the appearance of a pot handle.

Speaking of pots, the water surrounding the rock soon boiled, steamed, and bubbled like water inside a pot being heated by a stove. Something was afoot.

The half-healed zombie corpse body of Usui Uonuma was still licking his wounds from his defeat against Hajime Saito when one of the ferry-girls located him off of Nabetsuru Rock and informed the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors) of the fact.

Shikigami from Houji had gathered around him to present him with enough spiritual power to restore his body to seeming health.

It was weird how jaki (negative energy) of all things could heal him, but he knew his body was really more of a corpse and he was more of a vengeful ghost than a reincarnated spirit.

He knew and he didn't care. He'd cling to existence by any means necessary after it was nearly snuffed out by Makoto Shishio and "permanently" ended by Hajime Saito.

Usui had by then reconnected his body's top half with his bottom half, but his fatal wounds were still tender and his broken spine was still in bad shape.

The Spirit World Warriors were really hammering their forces down, weren't they?

A few minutes later and there he was: Jaganshi (Evil Eye User) Hiei.

Probably the second or third most powerful member of the Reikai Senshi, behind Kenshin Himura (with his inimitable Demon Sword) and Yusuke Urameshi (the direct descendant of one of the Three Kings of Makai, Raizen).

Usui smirked, opened his mouth, and licked his lips.

This was now a battle between the Shingan (True Eyes) and the Jagan (Evil Eyes).

The blind swordsman turned spearman zombie wondered about something. If he had Jine Udo's Jagan on one eye socket and Hiei's Jagan on his other eye socket, would he finally gain the power he needed to usurp the likes of Tenro? Or the Chojin?

Or Shishio?

'Same difference.'

He remembered how his supernatural Tinbe shield grew thick enough to stop even the ultimate attacks of both a super-powered Kenshin and Saito, which in turn allowed his Rochin to penetrate anything weaker and less dense than his Tinbe.

If he had the power of one Jagan to hypnotize people and another Jagan to gain control of huge amounts of demonic energy, he'd be unstoppable: The most powerful Shin Ju who possessed both superhuman senses and supernatural powers.

'But first thing's first,' Uonuma thought, noticing the fewer number of shinigami (death gods) assisting his healing as Hiei approached his perch on the unusual rock at dangerous speeds.

The sea seemingly parted in twain from the jaganshi's flashing steps as though he were a mix of a miniature speedboat and Moses himself parting the Red Sea like theater curtains.

***

There were too many of them. There was a suffocating amount if multiplying Iwanbos there as well as shikigamis who fed them jaki.

The combination of Houji "Onmyouji (Occult Priest)" Sadojima and Edward "The Puppet Master" Gein (also known as Dr. Shoji Sugino from Unit 731) were too much for this batch of Reikai Senshi to handle.

That was the simple conclusion that the Spirit World Warriors and the Oniwabanshu (Garden Keepers) had when fighting against the armies of undead Iwanbo and shikigami spirits from both of the Chojin's top generals/captains.

Like the Roku Youkai (Six Demons) on Mt. McKinley versus The Nameless Yatsume, the Reikai Tantei and the Oniwabanshu were flooded with Iwanbo versions 1, 2, and 3 and the shikigami they fed on for jaki and power ups, like this was an ecosystem teeming with predators and the Reikai Senshi were their prey.

Kuwabara had been chopping out reanimated puppets and familiars left and right with his twin Jigen Tou (Dimensional Sword) for almost an hour, only to end up sapped of energy.

He ended up with only one flickering Dimension Sword left as more and more of the puppet monsters appeared, multiplying by mitosis or something.

At the same time, he had to contend against Houji turning everything nearest him into fast-healing creatures like Toguro Ani, with their wounds or even pureed bodies healing instantly. Like nothing they did to them could faze them.

Gein, in turn, used his own unique jaki to supply the Chojin's necromancer with fresh corpses to bring to life.

The reincarnated Okashira (Boss) of the Oniwabanshu—Daiji Matsudaira (formerly Aoshi Shinomori) —fluidly maneuvered against the razors-sharp web of trip-wires that the World War II veteran mad scientist ninja known as Gein weaved with diamond-covered threads, only to be bull-rushed by the one Iwanbo Version 3 with the four arms: The Iwanbo Version 3.2.

The Iwanbo 3.2 had thus far trampled on all of the efforts of the Tokyo Oniwabanshu to take it down, whether it was through poison, fire, sword slashes, brute strength, or martial arts.

Like Shikijo, it got cross-slash scars from every part of its body, but it still kept moving, shrugging off the rain of kodachi Daiji produced as well as the pistol shots to the head (the police officer could conjure guns as well).

Kuwabara did notice how the monstrous puppet recovered as quickly as Toguro Ani while sporting the same ridiculous musculature of Toguro Ototo. 'Hiei and Kurama's investigations were true! That old ninja guy really was responsible for demonizing the Toguro Brothers!'

Meanwhile, Kuwabara desperately held on to his knife-sized Jigen Tou, willing it to existence even as he had to contend against an undead army of shikigami and Iwanbos.

He could summon a Rei-Ken (Spirit Sword) instead, but even a dimensional knife had more utility to it.

He sliced apart portals, warp gates, dimensions, space, and even the sky itself with the way his cuts remained in the air like cracks on glass, cutting through the guts of the zombie puppets down below and the ghoulish ghosts from up above.

Houji and Gein pushed him to the brink of using up all his spirit energy, which may then force him to use his own life force to keep on fighting (like what Yusuke did to take down Suzaku the first time they fought).

The Onmyouji sloppily sliced his scythe at Kuwabara, who then blocked the blade but his knees ultimately buckled against the weight of the Chojin's negative energy instead of the strength of the strike.

'Dammit, we're going to lose!'

The bowl-cut necromancer cackled and ranted, "This is the power of the Chojin! This is the power of the gods! You were no match from the start!"

As for the Aoshi Shinomori of the modern era, he threw every last kodachi he could muster at the charging Iwanbo 3.2, whose tackles were so impactful he turned even fellow Iwanbo and stray shikigami inside-out into road kill, ground beef, or ectoplasm.

Even after being turned into a knife holder sculpture or Julius Caesar after his assassination, the four-armed Iwanbo would not stop charging.

The tired Okashira ended up taking a knee. He willed himself to move away with his Water Flow Movement, but Dr. Sugino caught him off-guard from behind with razor-sharp thread that wrapped around and bit into his neck.

"Checkmate, Okashira. You killed me before, right? Well, let me return the favor."

Daiji struggled against the old man, surprised at how strong he was for his age, the piano wire digging deeper into his throat. They'd be both turned into mush by the rampaging Iwanbo 3.2, but only one of them would end up getting resurrected by the Onmyouji when all was said and done.

The air around them then changed as the ghosts of the Oniwabanshu rose again. However, something inside them changed. They exuded menace that wasn't there before.

Hannya, Shikijo, Hyottoko, and Beshimi rose up like zombies hungry for flesh.

"Don't you dare touch the Okaaashiiiraaa...!"

***

As Likka Ikumi—Misao Makimachi's Heisei reincarnation—went unconscious due to blood loss, she dreamed of what had happened earlier, when she was deemed a C-Level martial artist ninja girl while the rest of the people she knew from past and present ranked B-Level and higher instead.

"This isn't fair!" Likka complained to Yahiko Myojin. "You'd be B-Level too if you didn't have special powers yourself, you little brat!"

"Yeah, funny how that works. Even Cat Eyes got better superpowers than you and your quick costume changes! OW!" teased Yahiko before he got hit upside the head with Misao's patented flying kick.

"KECHO GIRI!" Ikumi screamed. "Grrr! I want superpowers too! I don't want to end up in the battlefield being some sort of liability to Uncle Jiji (Daiji) or Tsuki-chan (Natsuki)!

Yahiko then relented, "Jeez, Weasel-chan! Don't be upset about me being stronger than you. You only 'woke up' recently! But you're still the reincarnation of Makimachi Misao and yes, you're better at hand-to-hand combat than I am."

Likka paused then pouted. "Really, Yahiko-chan?"

Kenshin himself then said, "Misao-dono, I know that Shinomori Aoshi's talent might have blinded you of this fact, but shinobi (spies) are not known for their swordsmanship or strength. They're instead known for their cunning."

Natsuki herself interjected, "You are not a swordsman but a spy, Likka-tan. A ninja. A shadow warrior. You can take down a samurai many times more powerful than you by ambush and stealth. Use that."

Likka then woke up back at the Okushiri Airport, in time to see the miko (priestess) ferry-girl tending to her shrapnel wounds, removing the foreign objects and healing her body the best she could.

"Please, wake up! Please, hang on!" pleaded the shinigami known as Hinageshi.

***

Back at the Kyujimayama Observatory...

The combination of Houji the Onmyouji and Gein the Puppet Master was truly too much for Kazuma Kuwabara and the Oniwabanshu to handle.

Daiji Matsudaira then did the Jissen Kenbu (combining the Water Flow Movement with his one-handed kodachi strikes) to escape Dr. Sugino's wire-based grasp. The doctor was not as adept at pure ninjutsu as his Meiji Era counterpart.

However, Shoji's supernatural powers and modern scientific knowledge more than made up for his lack of physical prowess and skills.

However, just behind them, the transformed Oniwabanshu tore apart the four-armed Iwanbo 3.2 like a pack of wolves.

"Saaaave the Okashiraaa! At aaaall cooosts!"

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

Again, their supposed Okashira had failed them and soiled their memories. Or this watered-down copper version of their Okashira living in the present Heisei Era did so.

These ghosts that served as Daiji's guardian angels from the death of his wife at the hands of Feng Xinhai to the present, when he discovered his dark destiny as being the reincarnation of the Last Oniwabanshu Okashira, were now forced to demonize themselves.

They abandoned their humanity and turned themselves into monsters in order to save Matsudaira.

Shikijo's muscles bulged and popped as his complexion turned grey or even metallic, with him grabbing one set of the Iwanbo's arms in order to stop him in his tracks.

Beshimi bit the Iwanbo with snake-like fangs and threw toxic spines growing from all over his body at him for good measure, the corrosive toxins directly seeping into the undead veins of the puppet monster.

Hyottoko turned into a full-on kappa youkai who breathed fire, toasting the creature from behind.

And finally, the tri-clawed Hannya mauled the Iwanbo repeatedly by slicing apart the veins of his other arms and ravaging him like a rabid wolverine.

The more they ripped apart the puppet, the more mindless they became. Like wild animals.

Houji chuckled at the display, letting his shikigami deal with the weakening Kuwabara for a change. "How would it feel if I brought your ghost friends back to life, Okashira? Alas, they'd end up as the Chojin's minions, but at least they'd be alive."

Meanwhile, Gein retreated and used his own knowledge of the dark arts in order to form a fresh new Iwanbo 3.2 puppet out of the spare parts of the discarded Iwanbo corpses.

No. Enough was enough.

The deceased Oniwabanshu had been haunting Aoshi's soul all this time, even a hundred years later in another body, because they felt like they had failed in protecting him when the opposite was instead true.

Time and time again, they'd saved him.

His blue eyes shining bright like twin stars on a clear night, Daiji's aura of reiki (spirit energy) flared to life and reacted to the youki (demonic energy) emanating from his former Oniwabanshu comrades.

He then started to absorb their dark energy unto himself, shouldering all their anger and feelings of failure unto his own body.

It was his failure and lack of strength that kept them anchored to him for so long, keeping them from passing on.

It was his turn to save them.

As Matsudaira absorbed more of their dark energy, the Oniwabanshu ghouls started to go back to normal. They were neither demons nor monsters any longer.

"Uh, what happened?" asked Shikijo.

"Beats me. I don't remember much," said Beshiimi.

"I feel hungry," said Hyottoko.

"You can't be hungry! You're a ghost!" admonished Hannya, who then turned towards Daiji's shadowy form. "It's the Okashira. He has saved us again, as usual!"

Daiji then went face-to-face against the Iwanbo 3.2, who had again started to cannibalize the corpses or even the "living" bodies of his undead puppet brethren as well as the nearby shikigami unto him.

To build his strength by feeding upon the weak just like Matsudaira did to his Oniwabanshu underlings' youki.

The Iwanbo Version 3.2 then charged at Matsudaira, with the pair of Houji and Gein close behind him.

"Kill the Okashira! Do so and we'll have this battle in the bag!" said Gein to his puppet.

"We might even be able to revive his soul and turn him into one of the Juppon Gatana," suggested Sadojima.

They were in for the shock of their lives.

***

Back at Nabetsuru Rock...

Jaganshi Hiei ran on water like Jesus Christ in a hurry then blasted the rock where the half-healed (or still-healing) Usui Uonuma lay with a Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha (Dragon of Darkness Flame).

The fire demon didn't want to take any chances. However, as expected, Uonuma's Tinbe still remembered the sheer power of the most powerful strikes given to it by the Battousai and the Miburo.

Thusly, the dense adaptable shield survived even the atomic heat of the Makai flames from Hiei's deadliest attack, neutralizing it completely.

"Hn."

Usui answered that indignant harrumph with a chuckle. "And just like that, my Tinbe is now fireproofed as well as shock-absorbent. Is that your best shot, Jaganshi Hiei?"

Hiei then visually disappeared from Uonuma's midst, but the blind man couldn't even see him regardless, so he wasn't too worried.

Usui heard Hiei all the while though.

The blind spearman could only smile as he caught each and every slash or stab Hiei attempted to hit him with, deflecting them away like rain with his Tinbe umbrella.

Earlier, he was made aware that the Shin Ju had lost contact with Houji and Gein, which meant that there wasn't enough shikigami and jaki left to heal him fully.

However, he was an S-Level entity himself.

This meant that even though Uonuma didn't have the Onmyouji's assistance to restore his damaged body to health, he could damn well heal himself on his own. Not at the cancerous rate that the regenerative Toguro Ani could, but fast enough to count when the chips were down.

'I just need to buy myself a little bit more time,' Usui thought, blocking all of Hiei's sword strikes and countering them with his Rochin spear that was as irresistible as his Tinbe was impenetrable.

'Battousai's reports are accurate,' thought Hiei. 'This man is hard to kill, even without the powers of the Onmyouji aiding him and keeping him alive. Or at least undead.'

The two combatants jumped from the rock to the shore, their feet both using the waves and the surface tension of the saltwater to travel from that long distance.

Not once was Hiei able to scratch the injured man. Not with the Kokuryuha. Not with his blade.

However, the blind Shin Ju in turn wasn't fast enough to counter with his Rochin. He kept missing his kaeshi (ripostes) even though he parried or blocked all of the fire demon's physical attacks.

Getting behind Usui to stab him and avoid the shield didn't work because the spearman sensed the fire demon's presence every time and blocked accordingly.

However, thanks to Hiei's Jagan and his inborn twitch reflexes, the Rochin could not touch him in turn, no matter how badly he missed or got parried by the former bakufu swordsman turned Juppon Gatana member.

Perhaps it was because Usui was too injured. Or perhaps it was because he was too slow from the get go.

They seemed to be at an impasse.

***

"Ahhh!" Natsuki shrieked, her impenetrable deflection powers working against her, drawing the implosion towards her instead of away from her due to the nature of her reversal powers.

The crow demon smirked.

His experimental Pillbug Implosion Bomb was a success.

Shinkai predictably attempted to deflect it like Karasu's other bombs, but she did so by reversing its momentum. This made the bomb explode instead of implode unto itself.

The way Natsuki affected her environment was to use the inertia of the objects going towards her and reverse their momentum so that she didn't have to expend her spirit energy moving them away.

To reverse the momentum of an implosion bomb was to turn it into an explosive.

"Now, Kuronue! While you have the chance!"

Kuronue and his afterimage clones attacked Natsuki. Then, after several more Kuronues died out, one of them decapitated Natsuki with his scythe.

Game. Set. Match.

However, that Natsuki turned out to be a standee advertisement of a stewardess instead. Taken straight from the rubble.

"!?" intoned Kuronue, only to realize it was the Misao reincarnation who duped him into decapitating the decoy.

It was a classic ninjutsu trick. Substituting one object for another.

Karasu attempted to get rid of the troublesome onmitsu (ninja girl) with his variety of bombs, only to be greeted with a rain of kunai (ninja daggers) moving at every which way and direction, defying the laws of physics, gravity, and momentum.

He yelped as a dagger ended up in his eye, which would normally be weak enough for him to swat away. 'Where is that damned ninja...?!'

As for Kuronue and Natsuki, they were locked in a battle of wills and wits. Or perhaps a war of attrition.

For different reasons, both Shinkai and the bat demon ended up cleaving or crushing through dozens upon dozens of their respective "clones".

With Natsuki, they were illusions made by Likka. With Kuronue, it was still a mystery where his doppelgangers came from.

For every Kuronue clone that got beat up, head-crushed, stabbed, blinded, or disabled in some way, so too did every Natsuki clone suffer getting their limbs chopped off, their heads decapitated, and their bodies bisected horizontally or vertically.

The fading corpses of Shinkai and Kuronue that littered the landscape disappeared as soon as they fell.

"I don't care anymore!" the one-eyed Karasu threw implosion bombs at the pair's direction. "I'm sure you'll somehow survive this, Kuronue, but she won't!"

That was Likka's cue to detonate the bombs with her flung kunai, one of which ended up stuck unto Karasu's hand.

"...Fool! You fell into my trap!" said Karasu even as one of the implosions set him ablaze. He then took his mask off with his other hand in order to activate his Full-Body Implosion rather than Explosion. "Now to kill you to get rid of all these illusions!"

Likka then smirked before she shifted forms and turned into Natsuki.

"...What?!"

A flabbergasted Kuronue then spared a glance at the Natsuki he was fighting all that time. The bat demon chopped her up, only for her to turn into a stop sign.

"Since when were you under the impression that you were fighting Tsuki-chan?"

"Natsuki" then appeared behind him and turned him into a kunai holder. Sure enough, this "Natsuki" ended up being Likka in disguise instead, mimicking her friend all the while.

"I will not be a burden to Tsuki-chan any longer! I can help her out with my own special power! We can win against you two!" said Ikumi.

Thus was the power of the "C-Level" Likka Ikumi: Optical Illusion. Perfect Deception. Absolute Fantasy.

In other words, Genjutsu (Illusionary Techniques).

Her skills allowed her reiki to create mirages or hallucinations from her own imagination that, when used properly, could make even gods kneel and devils cry.

A special power that could beat even S-Levels to submission.

A power similar to that of the Kanji Killer and his hypnotic Jagan, but it involved projecting her imagination unto reality like realistic mirages instead of invading her opponent's psyche for them to see what she wanted them to see, thus she used up less reiki to do it.

"You've underestimated the both of us," said Shinkai, whose only injuries were from that one implosion bomb from Karasu that slipped through. "Now pay for your arrogance!"

Just as Karasu was about to explode and take both the girls with him to kingdom come, Yutaro Tsukayama's female reincarnation reflected and focused all that potential energy towards Kuronue, blasting him with her own version of Suzaku's Railgun.

She turned the crow demon into fuel and matter for her own energy gun, the same way Suzaku could turn any piece of steel into a blast of pure energy.

The golden beam of light seemed to kill multiple clones of Kuronue at the same time, his body stubbornly refusing to disintegrate, with him reviving over and over, only for him to die again, until there was nothing left of both Karasu and Kuronue in that seeming infinite loop of life and death.

***

Hiei harrumphed.

His speed did not phase his opponent one bit. Nor did his S-Level youki and Dragon of Darkness Flame.

However, he still had to kill Usui then and there.

The blind swordsman with his adaptable Tinbe was too dangerous to be left alive. He'd just disrupt their plan to take out Houji Sadojima permanently and drive the Shin Ju back without hope of resurrection.

Was it shameful to strike down an injured man? In war, there was no such thing as honor or fairness. Just survival of the fittest.

Uonuma cackled. "The speed by which you attack and how hard it is to catch you off-guard is impressive. You remind me of someone."

Hiei didn't answer back.

"Ah yes. Sou-kun," said Usui with a hint of wistfulness in his voice even though his comrade Soujiro Seta was still with him, just in a different unit of the Chojin's Army (the Dai Shin Kan).

The two used to spar from time to time, with both being amazed at the other's prowess.

Seta was surprised by the fact that no matter how fast he went, the Tinbe would block his strike despite his lack of presence or sakki (bloodlust). Uonuma was shocked at how, at times, the boy would reach supersonic speeds that even his Rochin couldn't hope to counter.

Instead of turtling up in defense, Usui attacked for a change, the sands of the beach underfoot blasting behind him like a sandstorm. His Shingan senses and Hiei's Jagan third eye kept the both of them from making fatal contact with each other. The most they could muster were flesh wounds.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

"Sou-kun's Shukuchi made him blindingly fast and his lack of bloodlust made him nearly undetectable. Your speed and constant bloodlust reminds me of him. You're always brooding while he's always happy. Like twin sides of the same coin."

"Sou-kun", huh? Soujiro Seta was a thorn in Hiei's side all throughout his mission and investigation on human experimentation at Alaska's Mount McKinley (also known as Denali).

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

It wasn't because Uonuma was as fast as him. Rather, Shishio's oldest rival was used to fighting people as fast as Hiei was, such as Soujiro.

This allowed Usui to use prediction and skill to match Hiei's superior reflexes.

The jaganshi harrumphed again, growing impatient. Someone who was this injured should not be this hard to kill.

Regardless, the youkai still had an ace up his sleeve that the nimble "Ten Ken (Heaven Sword)" lacked.

Summoning the Sword of Darkness Flame felt like a waste of time, but he did it anyway. If speed didn't work then raw power might tip the scales of their deadlock.

This only made the wistful, deranged, and sightless man happier for some reason.

A wave of nostalgia filled Usui. He couldn't see the fire of Hiei's flaming sword with his own actual eyes, his stolen Jagan from Jine sealed away with his blindfold, but he felt the heat from blade, giving him goose bumps and raising the hairs behind his neck.

Usui was for all intents and purposes a living corpse with an unbeating heart, but his mind made him feel as though his heart raced and his blood flowed like hot fire through his veins. His aortas. His artificial circulatory system.

To Hiei's surprise, the zombie discarded his impenetrable Tinbe and charged with only his Rochin. Shouting one name all the while like a lunatic.

"DIE, SHISHIO!"

Compared to Soujiro and even Hiei, Usui knew more nuanced sword/spear forms and cutting/stabbing techniques than a simple upward, side, or angled slashes. Fire sword or no fire sword.

Like a drunk brawler picking a fight against a championship boxer. Quickness could be countered by experience against predictability.

The jaganshi attempted his usual modus operandi of making his opponent miss and slash at his afterimage, only for him to appear from behind and slash his opponent to bits instead.

However, it was Hiei who ended up slashing at air and an afterimage that wasn't there.

Did Uonuma heal his wounds already? Was he hiding his true speed all this time...?!

Hiei's Jagan tried to sense and locate where Uonuma was, like always. His sight beyond sight served as his means to activate his tripwire reflexes.

Wait a minute. He couldn't see or sense him. Even Usui's jaki was gone. Hiei's vision had become clouded. 'Dammit...!'

The Rochin from out of nowhere stabbed him in the back and shot him right into the sign saying they were in Kitaoimisaki Park, his youkai blood spewing forth his mouth, nostrils, and even his three eyes.

The illusion faded away like a pile of cherry blossom petals blown away by a strong breeze, and soon reality set in.

As soon as the flames from Hiei's Jaou-En-Satsu Ken (Sword of Darkness Flame) enticed Usui's senses, he lifted his blindfold and unsealed the power of Jine's version of the Jagan.

Apparently, even Hiei's artificial Jagan that Shigure transplanted unto him was susceptible to hypnosis. Along with the eyes he was born with.

The Forbidden Child of the Koorime fell into a boneless heap before his blood pooled from underneath him.

He was too careless.

He believed he was there to take care of injured game, forgetting that an animal's flight or fight instincts made them many times more dangerous than usual.

"That was refreshing," said Usui. "I have to thank you, Jaganshi Hiei. Your flaming sword reminded me what I'm truly fighting for, even after a century."

The maneuver Uonuma did on Hiei was something he wished to do on Shishio himself. Trick him with the Jagan then stab him in the back. S-Level or not, such a sneak attack would kill him.

Uonuma then frowned. Inwardly, he thought, 'I haven't mastered Jine's Jagan yet. I can only use it once a day. Maybe more with the help of the Onmyouji's jaki power up, but he's sealed off from the rest of us Shin Ju right now.'

After a minute of pondering, the taller, bearded man grabbed hold of the diminutive demon by the hair and lifted him up high over his shoulders, his bloodstained Jagan in full view.

"No matter," Usui decided. "I have a new Jagan to play with now. As soon as Gein returns, I'll have him surgically implant your Jagan into the empty socket of my other eye. Then I'll have the power of both the Shingan and twin Jagan at my hands."

Uonuma trembled with barely contained excitement, which woke Hiei up after blacking out from the pain of being stabbed so hard.

"Not even Battousai nor Saito Hajime nor Shishio Makoto nor Tenro nor the Chojin will stand a chance against me once I have both those Jagan in my possession along with my Tinbe and Rochin!"

Just as Uonuma was about to melon-ball Hiei's Evil Eye from its artificial socket, Kurama then arrived, parrying the Rochin away with the Grass Blade.

"...Ah. You must be the Legendary Youko Kurama," said Usui with a sneer. "Udo Jine has told us a lot about you."

***

Kyujimayama Observatory suddenly had an entire building sprout from its lookout. Like a gigantic tree of steel and concrete. An ominous castle made of black spires and iron ore.

A structure with no discernible entrance, doors, or windows.

Earlier, just as another Iwanbo 3.2 was on the verge of turning Daiji Matsudaira into a messy pile of shattered bones, giblets, and mince meat, something changed inside the policeman's soul.

He absorbed the guilt and unfulfilled desires of the Oniwabanshu that left them as earthbound spirits, this energy mixing with the reiki of Daiji's soul and the kenki (swordsman spiritual energy) of Aoshi's warrior spirit.

Pushed into a corner and forced to feed into the negative energy of his comrades, his reiki and kenki started to mix with their youki and jaki.

It produced a whole new kind of energy: A swordsman's energy mixed with a human soul's spirit energy and the bloodlust of a demon.

Reiatsu (Spirit Pressure).

Like Shinobu Sensui's Sei Kou Ki (Holy Light Energy), Daiji produced a different sort of spiritual power worthy of one the gods or shinigami themselves or their version of the police, the Reikai Tokubetsu Boueitai (Spirit World Special Defense Squad).

It was through this volatile cocktail of different energies that Matsudaira was able to produce the spire-filled castle by which he trapped Houji Sadojima, Gein, and their undead army in one huge, tangible prison with his Quest-Class powers to create matter out of spirit energy but without sacrificing his life energy to do so.

And, like the One-Eight-Ten Killer before him, he himself was on the verge of breaking through from A-Level to S-Level by suddenly learning this spirit energy blending technique that took Sensui years to perfect.

Afterwards, a flabbergasted Kuwabara created a portal out of the constricting spire and exited with Officer Matsudaira in tow. He then sealed the portal shut before the Onmyouji, Gein, or their creatures could come out.

They'd finally stopped and sealed Houji from reviving the Shin Ju every time they were beaten. For now.

"You're really something else, Officer Matsudaira. You know that?" said Kazuma.

Catching up with his own shallow breaths, Daiji turned behind him and stared back at his ghostly Oniwabanshu comrades. "I can't let them down. Not again."

Kuwabara himself turned towards where the copper was staring at, in time to see the will o' wisp or blue fireball souls of the dearly departed Oni Gang.

The fireballs then formed back into the transparent human bodies of the four deceased shadow warriors. Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

With a smile hidden behind his mask but could still be heard from his ghostly voice, Hannya said, "As expected of our Okashira."

From there, Uchiko Shikoku (Sayuri), the ferry-girl of the Northeast Quadrant, arrived and started replenishing their spirit energy, although she pouted as she told Daiji, "I was almost sure you'd die, Ikemen (Pretty Boy). Oh well. Maybe next time?"

To Kazuma, the blonde shinigami instead said, "You, I couldn't care less if you died or not."

"Nobody asked you!" shouted back Kuwabara.

***

Back at the Okushiri Airport...

Sayaka finished up her report to the other Reikai Senshi and then said to them. "So far so good. Kurama-san's plans are coming along smoothly. I've also heard reports from Sayuri-san that Sadojima Houji and Gein had been sealed inside a castle-like structure by Matsudaira Daiji-san."

"As expected of the Okashira!" said Likka, mirroring Hannya's sentiments. "We have this mission in the bag!"

Natsuki then told the young Spirit World Inspector, "Tell Shuichi-sempai, I mean, Minamino-sempai to watch out for that Kuronue person. He may still be out there."

Sayaka tilted her head to the side in askance. "Tell Kurama about Kuronue? Why? Isn't he dead? Didn't you just kill him? Killed two birds with one stone by making Karasu into an energy blast?"

"That's the thing. I'm not sure he's dead." Shinkai shook her head. "Killing him is actually easy. Keeping him dead is hard. It must have something to do with his current powers. He might still be out there, hunting Kurama at this very moment."

The Heisei Era Misao piped up, "Yeah, it was weird. Every time it seemed like you've killed him, another him kept popping up in his place."

The youngest ferry-girl considered their words. "Do you think he's like Toguro Ani? An S-Level, Regent-Class regenerator?"

Natsuki shrugged. "The best way I could describe it is that he's like Schrödinger's Cat. Like he's alive and dead at the same time."

"Maybe even Schrödinger's Bat!" Likka quipped to mostly silence.

***

Kitaoimisaki Park was located in the westernmost corner of Okushiri Island.

The Sea of Japan served as its backdrop. It was designed as an open-air museum of sorts filled with sculptures made by Masayuki Nagare, a modernist Japanese sculptor.

Sculptures that soon turned to dust from the battle that ensued.

"RENGOKU SHOU! (PURGATORY WOUND!)" shouted Hiei as he pummeled the wide-open, distracted Usui with his fists of flame, but the flurry of blows were also countered and neutralized by the damnable Tinbe shield.

It did allow him to get away from his captor, though.

Meanwhile, Kurama had arrived there just in time with the assistance of Sayuri's intel and Kuwabara's Jigen Tou.

Kurama asked for their help after they were done sealing away the Onmyouji with Daiji Matsudaira's evolving powers.

"Let's not risk having Usui use Jine's Jagan again," Kurama told Kuwabara. "Leave and don't look anywhere near his face or eyes, Kuwabara-kun."

"You got it, Kurama," said Kuwabara before making a portal out of there. "Hiei, you fucked up! Now Kurama has to bail you out!" Kazuma jumped right into the portal he made before Hiei could follow him and beat him up for his remark.

Kurama then told Hiei, "Kuwabara-kun's right, you know," which made Hiei seethe even more. "I know how you feel, but sit this battle out for now. Let me handle this while Sayuri-san heals you for now."

As for the scythe-bearing Uchiko "Sayuri" Shikoku, she balefully used her shinigami powers to heal the damage done on Hiei, although the pint-sized youkai didn't look too pleased about it.

"Look, we're both not happy about this, so could you stop glaring at me?" said Uchiko, who actually wanted to see what was next for the death-defying "hunk" known as Daiji Matsudaira instead.

Actually, Kitaoimisaki Park was supposed to be under Botan's jurisdiction (she was assigned the northwest quadrant), but she was too busy guiding Yahiko safely towards the Onmyouji to finish him off, so Sayuri had to do for now.

Usui chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Toguro Ani warned me about you," he said. "You're quite the trickster, I hear. So are you going to fight me now?"

"Yes," Kurama said, picking a rose seed inside his hair and turning it into a rose bloom then finally into the Rose Whip. However, this time around, it was a Rose Whip tied around the handle of the Grass Blade, thus turning it into a Rose Kusarigama (Chain Sickle).

"I hate tricksters like you," confessed Usui. "You remind me of a Saizuchi (his fellow Juppon Gatana member) that could somehow fight. The best way to take care of people like you is to kill you before you can come up with a convoluted scheme to take me down."

"Saizuchi?" repeated Kurama as he attempted to scan through Kenshin's memories given to him through his contact with the Demon Sword. "I don't know who that is." Himura must've never met that particular Ten Sword member.

They then proceeded to fight. Kurama was decently fast but not blindingly fast so like Kenshin Himura, Soujiro Seta, Yusuke Urameshi, or Jaganshi Hiei.

However, like with how Usui countered Hiei's speed with technique, Kurama knew how to methodically place his whip strikes and whiplash to minimize movement and maximize his range.

Also, thanks to his new weighted weapon, he could actually maneuver his whip to bounce off the Tinbe then hook-stab Uonuma from the back, as though he were fishing in the ocean.

What a frighteningly clever demon.

It took full focus and concentration from Usui's Shingan to predict the trajectory of every whip strike and whiplash from all sorts of awkward angles.

Kurama even made sure to attack only from a distance. He patiently waited when he'd commit to his strikes to keep himself from giving away any openings. A true chess master that outwitted even the likes of Feng Xinhai.

Truly irritating. Usui had no time for such protracted nonsense.

Usui let the Rose Chain-Sickle wrap around his Tinbe, which allowed him to pull Kurama towards him and stab him with the Rochin at last. The fox spirit turned human was able to twist his body in time to prevent a full-on stab like with Hiei, as though he was used to these situations.

Kurama grunted and tumbled backwards before ending up kneeling and gasping for breath.

Uonuma spared a sightless glance at Hiei and Sayuri, sneering at the youkai in particular. This was more for Hiei's sake (and mockery) than a need for him to sense the demon by turning his head, since he had heightened senses.

"I've defeated both Kurama and Hiei! The right-hand men of Yomi and Mukuro! Even the best demon warriors that Makai (Demon World) could offer are no match against me!"

However, before Usui knew it, he felt his Tinbe start to crumble, with cracks forming all around it like the time Kenshin hit it with the follow-up strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash).

"W-What? But how...!?"

His fingers then noticed the growth of moss on the shield, which had taken root throughout the battle. "Moss...?"

Kurama said as he stood up, "A rolling stone gathers no moss. But a turtle shield might. Your Tinbe is amazingly sturdy, with it getting stronger the more you break it apart like organic bone. But since I added Makai Moss to it, the tiny cracks and marks it was supposed to heal couldn't heal because the moss roots had filled up their space."

Like moss on an old building, the moss on Usui's Tinbe compromised the strength of the magic item, keeping it from reconstituting itself properly. Making it crumble as the cracks and gaps where bone or shell was supposed to be was instead replaced with insidious moss.

Also, the Rochin strike to Kurama's side was shallower than before, the spear becoming more and more brittle in cadence with the weakening of the Tinbe.

A cold sweat dripped down Usui's beard. Even after he was warned by Toguro Ani to watch out for Kurama's trickery, he still ended up tricked in the end!

"I take it back," said Uonuma, gasping for air even though he didn't really need to breathe. "You don't remind me of Saizuchi after all, Kurama. You're more like Shishio Makoto himself. You're as shrewd as a fox yet you fight like a demon."

He glanced again at Hiei, this time not to mock him but instead because his Shingan sensed the sudden spike in heat from the fire demon, which in turn knocked Sayuri back.

"Eeek!"

"Jaou-En-Satsu...!"

"NOOOO...!"

"KOKURYUHA!"

Multiple Dragons of Darkness Flame engulfed and blasted open the compromised Tinbe like a roasting chestnut, the Demon World Moss burning away along with the rest of the turtle shield as the second-in-command of the Juppon Gatana and Shin Ju practically got nuked in place.

***

Meanwhile, in the sky overlooking the northwest part of Okushiri Island...

Botan flew top-speed towards the Kyujimayama Observatory, exchanging places with Sayuri since that was under the northeast quadrant's jurisdiction.

Right behind her, riding shotgun, was a tired Yahiko Myojin, who was conserving his strength for the battle ahead against the Chojin's so-called conduit of power.

As soon as they got confirmation of where Houji the Onmyouji hid, they flew up in the sky under Kurama's orders while Natsuki herself met up with Likka in order to run interference against the incoming Karasu and Kuronue (a replacement Shin Ju along with Toguro Ani).

Even better, they stopped bothering to hide in the clouds for fear of aerial strikes after both Natsuki and Daiji neutralized their targets.

The Yutaro reincarnation blasted away Karasu (who could make flying Trace Eye bombs) and the Aoshi reincarnation trapped both Gein (Kaoru didn't remember who that was) and Houji (Kaoru heard of him through Sanosuke) inside a sealed, castle-like structure.

Now was the perfect opportunity for them to strike Houji down before finishing off the rest of the Shin Juppon Gatana and rescuing Okushiri from being under siege by the Chojin.

However, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Instead of them going straight to the sealed Houji, the Chojin's top minion apparently decided to go after them instead.

"What the hell is that, Tanuki-chan!?"

The top portion of the castle of spires proceeded to float towards Botan and Yahiko like some sort of alien ship or U.F.O.

The monument to their success had now become the flying tombstone of their imminent doom.

Jaki laser beams then blasted through the windowless structure, creating windows and doors.

"AHHH! Retreat!" screamed Botan while the Kaoru inside her head wondered how ordinary humans from the Meiji Era could take on something as ridiculous as a floating sky fortress.

***

Before the Kokuryuha could completely sublimate or at least carbonize Usui to the point of Gein needing to create a new body for him, Kuronue blinked into existence and pushed him aside in order to take the full brunt of the Demon World equivalent of a nuclear warhead.

"...Kuronue!" Kurama shouted out at the bat demon, concerned with the wellbeing of his former partner-in-crime despite their circumstances.

Then a curious thing happened.

Kuronue turned into a shadow in the street. Only for another him to (re)appear, who also turned into ash. Another him then replaced him, dying from the flames of the black dragon conflagration. Then another. Then another.

The bat demon died probably a dozen more times before Hiei thought it prudent to return the flames into his arm as tattoos, sealing them. Not willing to let Kurama's partner from millennia ago waste more of his demon energy.

After the present Kuronue gasped his dying breath, a new him took his place, completely healthy and unharmed.

What the hell was going on?

Even Kurama was shaken by the proceedings. He had heard Natsuki's explanation about Kuronue's new powers relayed to him by Sayaka's communicator, but even then he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it in action.

Was it instantaneous resurrection powers like with Toguro Ani? Clones, like with Suzaku? Or even hypnotic illusions, like with Likka Ikumi and Jine Udo?

The Kuronue whom Kurama knew that died because of a bamboo trap never had such powers. Granted, he was a much weaker demon around that time. But still.

"Uh... Usui, was it?" said Kuronue to Usui. "You should be more careful when fighting Kurama. He's a sneaky one, you see. Don't let him figure you out or else he'll get you killed. It's rare for him to get overwhelmed, like in the case of that one S-Level Reikai Tantei or the Reikai Boueitai."

Uonuma harrumphed. "Ah, so it's you, newbie. Don't get full of yourself. You were only revived by the Chojin because you're the only guy we know who could deal with Youko Kurama's cunning. Udo Jine was supposed to fill the role of Achilles' heel to Kurama, but he ultimately failed and got killed by him."

The bat demon could only laugh. "Haaai (Yeees). Read you loud and clear, sempai (upperclassman)."

Hiei then told the blonde shinigami, ""You better leave now if you don't want to get hurt."

Uchiko said, "But you're not yet finished healing...! Ah. You know what? Fine. Whatever." She then made her exit using her floating scythe as her means of transportation instead of a long boat paddle.

Kurama and Hiei backed away unto each other's sides while both Uonuma and Kuronue loomed towards them, their weapons at the ready.

The Tinbe had already started to reconstruct itself. The gambit Kurama used to weaken it couldn't be used twice now that Usui was aware of how his trick worked.

"Is that really Kuronue or just another imposter?" Hiei asked Kurama, remembering the Meikai (Nether World) god who impersonated the bat demon to mess with the youko's head.

"I'm afraid that's him," Kurama said, his smile looking more like a wincing grimace. "And yes, he does know me like the back of his hand."

"Hn," said Hiei. "Then the same could be said with you to him, right?"

Minamino turned towards his fire demon companion and smiled. "Yes, of course."

Multiple Kuronue "clones" served as Usui's meat shield as his actual shield continued reconstituting its cracked surface, with it now strong enough to resist the Kokuryuha and perhaps even Demon World Moss.

"What's going on? Is Usui using Jine's Jagan again?" asked Hiei.

"No, I don't think so," said Kurama. "From what I remember, Jine's hypnosis affected one person at a time. I'm not sure if Usui evolved the Jagan enough to affect multiple people or create mirages like with Ikumi Likka's powers."

Hiei grunted. Before them was a scene reminiscent of one of the Dai Shin Kan (Great Priests), whose name escaped him at the moment, multiplying endlessly. 'It was Something-Yatsume who did it,' he thought.

Was multiple cloning the M.O. of the Overfiend?

Was it his way of showing his undead army of Dai Kaijin (Great Monsters) were as unlimited as a pestilence of voracious pests? Like a swarm of locusts or a mischief of rats? Unkillable like an intrusion of roaches?

He even heard from his communicator that the same thing happened with Gein and his Iwanbo meat puppets with the assistance of the Onmyouji, which forced Detective Matsudaira to seal them off inside a windowless, spire-filled prison.

Did they intend to infest the world like a plague, from Kuronue to Suzaku or even the Iwanbos of Gein and the Shikigami of the Onmyouji?

Hiei was sick of this clone nonsense but knew that using up his Kokuryuha wasn't in his best interests.

Kurama murdered several shadow clones of his partner, only to succumb to cuts and slices to his neck, abdomen, and thigh. This reminded him of his fight with the Fake Kuronue. That Meikai God did a convincing impression of his old friend.

But this time he was fighting the real deal, and none of his tricks were working against him.

"Rejoice, Youko!" said one of the Kuronues. "When the Chojin snatched me up from the depths of Hell, he told me he did so because he saw you as a threat. You were the only one who wielded the Demon Sword and used it to boost your powers to X-Level."

Kurama frowned, decapitating that one Kuronue and countless others with his Rose Kusarigama. "Who cares about being X-Level?"

Usui shook his head. "Fool! I'd jump at the chance to be as powerful as the Chojin himself! The only X-Level in existence at present! More powerful than the most powerful of the Demon World! You could've single-handedly killed the Shin Ju if you had that kind of power! Save everyone on the Human World you so love! Why do you deny greatness?"

The Youko inside Kurama chuckled, and for a split second his true form emerged. "What's the fun in that? Something given is taken for granted. Something earned is treasured."

The horde of Kuronues laughed upon hearing this and chorused, "Ah, now that's the Youko I know and love."

Hiei also chopped and burned the Kuronues before him with his Jaou-En-Satsu Ken. The sword had flames that, unbeknownst to him, were reminiscent of Shishio's Homura Dama.

The jaganshi did know enough about the Shin Ju to realize that doing the Sword of Darkness Flame would only entice Usui to fight even with his unfinished Tinbe.

The risk of fighting someone with the power of hypnosis was high, but as long as the brilliant and prepared Kurama had his back, Hiei had no fear against such hallucinations.

Whether they were from Kuronue or Usui.

Kuronue continued, "As one of the Chojin's Dai Kaijin, I then developed newfound abilities to help me take you out in the best way possible, Youko. Knowing you, the only way anyone can defeat you is if they're given unlimited retries to do so. You're a cunning fox. Most people would die a thousand deaths first before they can find an opening to take you down. So I chose to develop that kind of power."

Hiei had to admit that that sounded about right. You did not want the Youko as your enemy.

Using the brief rise of energy elicited by Kuronue's tempting words about gaining X-Level through the Youtou Shinnoken, Kurama turned a single stalk of bamboo into the Hydra Bamboo once more.

This weaponized plant of Kurama's was bamboo on "steroids" that multiplied twice for every stalk you cut down. Just like the legendary Hydra of yore. The only ways to kill it involved overcrowding it with other plants or by burning it to the point of carbonization.

The forest of bamboo pierced through the hearts, lungs, stomachs, muscles, intestines, livers, kidneys, and brains of the nearest gathered Kuronues while the rest scattered away like disturbed flies on shit. Or bats, since he was a bat demon.

"Hiei, NOW! While we still have the chance! Kill Uonuma Usui! I'll figure out a way to deal with Kuronue later."

The jagan user charged with his flame sword, able to keep the Hydra Bamboo at bay with his burning slices and cuts so that he wouldn't get overwhelmed himself by the deadly malignant forest.

He wasn't able to kill the half-healed Uonuma earlier but now he should be able to fare better against the blind man's half-formed turtle shield. His airtight defense earlier was now broken in half.

Usui's supernatural hearing and enhanced reflexes allowed him to block Hiei's 17 fire sword strikes in one second.

However, that one second of blocking was the opening the fire demon needed in order to blast a Dragon of Darkness Flame straight into the night sky before it came crashing from behind Uonuma while he busily defended against the Sword of Darkness Flame.

One of the Kuronues ended up protecting Usui from the rear, his chain scythe weapon turning into an iron mine's worth of steel that melted from the heat of the Black Dragon Spirit Wave Technique, which in turn flooded the bamboo forest with fiery molten metal.

Also, the Tinbe had by now reformed two-thirds of itself instead of only half, with it having a pie-sized opening left on an otherwise complete turtle shell shield.

They were running out of time.

The Spirit World Warriors would be back to square one or worse if the Onmyouji managed to escape Daiji's seal before Yahiko could get to him and neutralize his connection with the Almighty Chojin.

Again, Kurama used the Invasive Kudzu Grass to smother and eat the fire away, making it grow with the same uncontrollable rate as the Hydra Bamboo had over being sliced or physically torn apart.

Kuronue said, "I've seen that technique of yours before as well!"

From there, one set of Kuronues served as gardeners who chopped and diced up the Invasive Kudzu before it could absorb enough energy to become a problem, with them even sacrificing several of their own in the process.

Another set of Kuronues kept the blaze of the growing forest fire alive, filling the air with smoke and flames that burned up the mutated bamboo before it could grow enough to become unstoppable.

Unlike the mindless puppets of Gein and the Nameless Yatsume, Kuronue's phantoms had a frightening hivemind that learned from every mistake they made and adjusted thusly with every new generation of himself.

One Kuronue branched out into multiple versions of himself, thusly exploring infinite possibilities.

The Quantum Kuronue.

Maybe Kurama should've gotten hold of the Demon Sword and finished all the Shin Ju off with one or ten slashes. A potential eleventh slash for the Onmyouji.

But that was the boring way of doing things. And Kurama loved a challenge. How should he solve this puzzle that Kuronue suddenly became?

Besides which, Kurama noticed that Hiei had been hiding one more ace up his sleeve all this time. An ace that the Shin Ju were probably also aware of, but had yet to experience firsthand.

Hiei backed off from Usui's Rochin stab, sheathing his sword and adopting the same battoujutsu or iaido (sword-drawing) stance that Himura Battousai was known for.

The whole park had become a mess. One part of it was composed of burning bamboo and molten metal that had started to harden.

The other part was filled with bits and pieces of kudzu grass reaped by scythes, with several of them allowed by the Kuronues to eat the remaining red and black flames, thus controlling the blaze.

That was one helluva landscaping job Kuronue did.

The army of Kuronues then remerged into one body, awaiting the next attack from Kurama to occur that they'd then dissect and deconstruct.

Once Uonuma's Tinbe was completed, nothing in their arsenal would be able to take down his defensive turtle shield.

The shell had already tasted every last technique they could throw at it, from Demon World Moss to Makai Flames. Everything but the kitchen sink.

Regardless Hiei flickered into action and Kuronue multiplied once more.

Usui lay in wait, his Shingan soaking in all the different noises surrounding him yet his supernatural senses able to distinguish which ones were the Kuronues and which ones were Hiei.

He also screamed, "Hey, Newbie! When you decapitate the fire demon, make sure to keep his Jagan intact! I need that!"

Kurama walked calmly towards the chaos of burning bamboo, chopped kudzu grass, a self-contained forest fire, and what seemed like an army of Kuronue converging into what appeared to the naked eye as empty space but instead was actually a supersonic Hiei.

He then snatched the jewel necklace hanging from the neck of (one of the many clones of) Kuronue.

The youko figured out the new powers that the Chojin bestowed upon Kuronue. All of his clones were the real him.

On a quantum level, Kuronue managed to exist in multiple planes of existence and manifest himself in one reality, allowing some of his selves to die and his other selves to live at the same time in an infinite loop.

It enabled him to interact in one dimension in a multi-dimensional manner, so that he could do one, two, three, or more things at the same time until he succeeded in a given instance, his realities branching forth endlessly as he explored every possibility.

For a schemer like Kurama who tended to finish off opponents with cunning and wit, this new version of Kuronue was an absolute nightmare to handle. He was like Yusuke. Creative. Unpredictable. Chaotic.

An honest demon who'd never attack you from behind but knew every trick in the book because he was an expert in unraveling mysteries, traps, techniques, and lies. He loved figuring out the truth behind everything.

The same bat demon who ended up dying, ensnared by the simplest and most primitive of bamboo traps due to his immense sense of sentiment, which was ironic and truly unbecoming of someone as clever as him.

Kuronue should've known better.

Kurama figured out that the Meikai God who impersonated the Fake Kuronue was a fake with the way he discarded the jewel around his neck.

In the same vein, he knew this Kuronue was the real deal when he... all of him... scrambled for the jewel with a high amount of sentimental value to him.

The seeming dozens—perhaps even hundreds or more—of Kuronues all jumped at grabbing hold of the jewel Kurama threw away in the same manner that the Meikai God Kaiki did.

This was the opportunity Hiei was waiting for.

"Jaou-En-Satsu KOKURYUHA!"

***

Thousands of years ago...

A bloodied young Kuronue cackled with gnashed teeth and a raspy throat at Youko Kurama and his bloodstained claws.

Maimed but not broken. His body scourged with lacerations. His limbs flopping uselessly on the floor.

His clenched teeth gripping the string of a necklace.

The leader of the demon bandits looked at the bat demon with disdain and confusion. The kid managed to steal a necklace from their haul.

"Why are you so happy? That's just a trinket compared to the countless treasures we've gathered," Youko Kurama said with a toss of his silken hair.

On shaky legs, Kuronue rose up, his bloody back on the craggy wall. "If it was so insignificant, you wouldn't have almost killed me to get it back."

Kurama raised his clawed hand, the constant lightning from Makai's dark clouds illuminating his silhouette. "Would you die for that necklace?"

Again, through clenched teeth, Kuronue spoke. "What an honor it would be to do so. Let me die a martyr. Let me be known as the one demon who outwitted the Legendary Youko Kurama."

Kurama changed his mind then and there. He put down his raised arm, turned, and walked away.

"HEY! Are you just going to let me go, you coward?" Kuronue spat, which led to him accidentally dropping the necklace. He then went on a mad scramble for it, willing his trembling arms to catch the jewelry.

"Rest up. Heal your wounds. You're now part of my bandits. Bring my jewel along with you," commanded the youko. "We hunt in the next earth day."

After finally grabbing hold of the jewel, Kuronue demanded, "And if I refuse?"

While still facing away from him, Kurama turned his head and gave the bat demon a sidelong glance. "I don't think you will."

From that point forth, the youko ended up with an ally more valuable than the trinket he stole from him.

***

The Dragons of Darkness Flames killed every last one of the Kuronue doppelgangers with its youki-infused flames from the Demon World burning them to sublimation at an atomic level.

Kurama went down on his knees, exhausted. He'd lost a lot of blood from his war with what seemed like a thousand Kuronues converging at him at once.

However, in the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw at least one Kuronue move out of the Kokuryuha's line of sight.

If a Kuronue had survived, then there was at least a one in a hundred/thousand possibility that if Kurama had thrown away that necklace, he wouldn't have gone after it.

Kuronue was learning. Changing. Evolving.

Kurama smiled. At least something good came out of the Chojin's plans to revive their dead enemies/comrades to use against them.

***

To Be Continued...

I based Kuronue's new powers on the version of Kuronue featured in my first-ever fan fiction, "Shonen". Something about the (watered-down for fiction version of the) Many-World Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics with a dash of Schrödinger's Cat thrown into the mix.

The boss battle is fast approaching, but those mini-bosses can be quite the handful!

Ciao, Abdiel

#king #king of fighters #hiei #kurama #yuyu hakusho #幽☆遊☆白書 #rurouni kenshin #るろうに剣心 #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #妖刀真の剣

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atrixfromice · 4 years

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So I ruined my life...and now what?

I always knew my greatest passion and dream was making comics and animated cartoons, since I can remember. I knew I was born to tell histories with endearing characters, hearwarming and useful great life lessons.

And I had all planned up. I had all planned all of it since I was seven. my career, my future...where I was going to be in 30 years from there. And as I saw it, I had two pretty cool options. Follow the path of science or the path of art.

I though I could go to elementary school, then the equivalent of highschool for mexicans. And studying english in the meantime and work middle time, so when I could finish all the basic school levels at 18 years old. I'll then take my suitcase and the money I saved and travel to study art at Oxford and ten trying to apply to some of the biggest animation studios as visual artist.

Or in the case I couldn't travel to USA, to study visual arts at the UNAM (one of best universities on Mexico) and then try to apply to a job on some of the small mexican studios and climp from there. And in the mean time doing my personal comic projects, and maybe write a graphic novel.

The other option was to be a scientist which had more or less the same path. Basic studies, marine biology studies, studies to become a teuthologist. Working on fisheries related stuff a bit if it's all what it's avaliable, and then go to US after gaining some experience to some of the stuff I dreamed ; apply in a nice public aquarium to take care of the animals and to try teach an enteroctopus dofleini in aquarium to comunicate with us, throught a language I had created over the years, adapted to them. Oh of course! I also wanted to take marine photography and observe the enteroctopus dofleini's behavior in the wild!

But things aren't as easy as you think when you’re a kid...

In my journey for these paths I found a lot of obstacles, not only economic problems, but a lot of people who told me I wasn't good enough. And also my own lack of self-confidence ony myself and my skills.

When I was 13 one of my teachers made every student an "apptitude test" and told me, that even if I loved science I wasn't going to be good for it not because I wasn't intelligent, but because "science it's, organized, methodic, and you are not." I remember that made me enraged and sad and tried to be more organized since then.

At that time I thought science was better, because my dad said that an art field career would never get me a job, and will make me starving.

But with time I realized I loved more to make cartoons in general, so I decided an art related career and something on art field as a job could be a better path for me than a science career. So I tried to follow it.

I studied basic school. And in the meantime I studied English, and I took a part time job after school to save for my college as I was planned.

But lack of sleep because all the tasks I had to do were affecting my notes. My parents saw that and said it was ok if I only concentrated on my studies, that they could save to give me a college career at least in a Mexican university.

I stopped worrying and spent the money I had earned on stuff like videogames, movies, art supplies, and on intiving my family to dinner Pizza or some other fast food from time to time.

I think that was one my biggest mistakes on my life.

If someone had told me that when I had finished my basic school I wouldn't have enough for my college...I would have saved my money.

I think the other biggest mistake I made, was to be a coward...

When I finished my basic studies and was supposed to make my trip to Mexico City, my parents said they couldn't go with me because their work was there. And my brothers and sister were too small to go with me.

I was scared to live alone and work alone on a city where I didn't know anybody. Specially after my dad commented I watch out cos I could be robbed and rapped, and be kidnapped so my organs could be stolen and be sold to rich people.

This is why I made them chose my career for me the first time. My dad suggested it was better idea to move to a more closer city, 3 hours from where I lived, and study accounting, and that then after that I could work as an accountain and study what I really wanted on the side. So I thought it was maybe an smartest idea than mine, and I tried it.

But accounting never filled my spirit.

When I was trying to figure out the business taxes my teacher had given us to work with, my mind was not there...

...it was day dreaming, thinking about what the next scene in my comic was going to or what traits of personality my next character should have. Immersed in fictional characters' character development and wonderful fantastic universes.

I last there a couple of years, mostly because my dad was helping me to pay the school and he seemed to be convinced it was the best path for me.

But One day at late night, I looked at my taxes work. And I noticed I had my accounting notebooks and books full of little doodles, sketches of comics and drawings of characters in heroic poses. And that the same thing happened to my elementary school, junior high and my highschool notebooks. And I had an epiphany. I was right when I said as a little kiddo I was born to make cartoons.

So I told my dad "Please don't keep helping me with money for this career, I'll leave it! I will never finish it, it doesn't fill my spirit"

My dad was mad and told me he was dissapointed when he heard that, of course. But in retrospective, I think he said that because he thought his help and advice had been in vain, and he was actually sad. And also because he felt money have been wasted.

Then I decided to be brave for the first time and stop letting people to decide for me. I looked up for some art related career, and luckily I found a college that wasn't as long as the UNAM.

Then I and I studied graphic desing there instead of visual arts, cos at that time visual arts on the university that had it has already started, and time was running and I was getting old. I worked there as well at the same time.

Studying graphic design instead of graphic arts was not the best decision of my life, now I realize it. But at that point in my life it was no longer time to study and let my parents pay for my college, but to work to earn a life of my own.

I studied in a modality where were classes were more difficult and rush up, but time to finish the carrer was a bit less and you could work on the side. Plus I wanted to make my best effort with this one because I felt so ashamed of leaving accounting.

I finished my graphic design career with 9.3 final note (it's the equivalent of having an A+) and at the fabulous age of 27 years old. (usually people finish college at 23-24, to give you a prespective )

And the rest is shorter, hehe.

My fabulous career and high notes weren't very useful in work field. I graduated and I tried to apply for a graphic designer job, but everbody wanted both experience in enterprise and a career, and I haven't worked at any enterprise at that moment. Finally, I worked on graphic desing industry on enterprise once. But I left it, because I was being exploited with insane schedules and on top on that, bad payed.

Luckily I found out that selling artcrafts and gourmet food from my hometown was a lot less exhausting and an agreable way to earn a life. It was cool actually, because I could practice my english and french with the tourists that could come, and meeting new people every day and heard their stories of their trips to exotic places.

And on the side I offered my services as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. And while I'm not a super popular artist, I've got some money from there, and I'm making way to the artist field little by little. :)

So it was all good...until my workplace closed because of the coronavirus quarantine. So now I depend enterely of my artwork to survive and it's scary..

And is in these moments I wonder... ...Have I ruined my life?

What would have happened if I had saved money from part time jobs and if I haven't been so chickery to travel to hollywood or to study in Mexico but far away from home?

Or I was dommed to fail since I choosed the art field as a career? As my dad and many other people told me.Should I have chosen the path of science and leave art as a hobby or a side work?

And if I had, could I have been able to make my tests to confirm t my theory that enteroctopus dofleini are intelligent enough to learn complex language to comunicate with us?

The answers of these questions, specially the last one....I will never know them...

And it breaks my heart! But at the same time it's something I need to face and accept it, to cope with it.

I think the important question isn't if I ruined my life or not, because that’s history.

But the important question is: what can I do to make my life better in this moment? And I think there's still a hope for me!

I'm not sure if I should talk about this..because then people might try to scam me into telling them my ideas without being a scientist, or without the intention to devote their life to make them a reality.

But it's been a good time I've been looking up for a scientist who already have studied marine biology or something related, and who would love cephalopods and would loved to put away their social life to dedicate their life to discover more about the enteroctopus dofleini. To inherit my work and that he or she puts in practic my experiments and tries to teach the octopus the language I invented.

I know by doing this I'll never receive any credit, neither fame nor recognizion, neither money or anything related. It will be the scientist that work with my heritage who will do it. And he or she will. I'm darn sure the enteroctopus dofleini can comunicate with this!

of course, I feel sad with this, I would have been glad to dedicate the rest of my life to do it myself, and see with my own eyes how people arround the world are amazed when the enteroctopus dofleini could tell us not just what he wants to eat, but complex emotions like rage, the amazement, hapiness, sadness, dissapointment...

But look at me! look at who I am!

I'm no artist, I can't earn a life as an artist.

I'm not a scientist...

And it’s too late for me to have the opportunity to study a science career now.

I'm a nobody, and that’s the truth.

So I'm aware this is the best decision. I worked a lot on this projetc, almost a life time. I prefer someone else do it, than all my work to be lost forever when I die.

And I did all that work, not because of money nor fame, or people's love. Not because I wanted people validate me as an intelligent person who achieved something extraordinary.

It was for one reason, and only one reason:

Because deep in my heart I wanted people stopped seeing the enteroctopus dofleini only as food and the lowest of minds.

People shouldn't eat the enteroctopus dofleni!! It's already discovered they're more intelligent than dolphins, birds, and even apes! Then why people keep eating it raw and cutting it in tiny pieces while being alive like they do very often in japan? Causing them unnecesary pain and suffering.

And we human race are supposed to be the most intelligent beings.

People shouldn't eat them, they should take care of them and protect them. They shoulf preserve their natural habitat and studying them in the wild so discover more and know more about them! They can be the key of our own survivence in the future years to come.

If I give my work to a dedicated scientist and he or she conclusively prove that the enteroctopus dofleini is intelligent enough to do what I say, then my theories will have official validation! And hopefully this will bring conscience to people about them and they will stop treating them like shit! And they will start treating them more ethically and humanly as possible.

Before I die I would like to see that! Even if I don’t get the credit for my scientific work.

As for my artistic career goes, well..I arrived here, no?

I think I'll have to just keep going, and trying my best to gain a place on the artistic field. And keep moving forward...

I think I might not be successful in animation...but for the comics and graphic art part I think I can still do a great job!

Sorry I talked a lot, I have the impression I shouldn't have, hehe But see it this way, I think it's been a while I needed to write this to organize my ideas and know what I can do in this moment to make my better, and moving forward. And hopefully it will work and you will never see me writing this much about my personal life again hehe.

I have an advice for all you folks. If you dream of something, go for it! No matter how difficult or scary it is, don't be a coward like I was for a while, and pursuit your dreams since the beginning. Don’t let anybody make choices for you.

Believe me, it’s less harder than it sounds. And in my experience, at the end of the day, you will only regret of what you didn’t do when you had the chance.

#late night ramblings #the musings of a lonely artist #atrixfromice #reflection of the night #reflections

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pixelgrotto · 5 years

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The horrific Resident Evil playthrough, interlude three

I just finished watching all of the Resident Evil movies I could get my hands on. When I told people I was doing this as the last part of my great year-long playthrough, they all let out groans and said something along the lines of, “Ugh, don’t you wanna end on a good note?” Undaunted by these words and fueled by my ability to tolerate crappy cinema, I moved forward, courageously making it through nine of these suckers...which, to be fair, ranged from surprisingly enjoyable to just as terrible as everyone warned me about.

Before I begin, it’s important to note that we’re dealing with two separate film series here. There’s director Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil Hollywood films, which are the ones that most people know about. Then there are three Japanese-made CG movies that are canon and co-exist alongside the stories of the games. The Anderson movies are...mostly ass. The Japanese ones are okay.

Let us start with the ass first.

Resident Evil - The first RE film came out in 2002, which means that what little CG it has is laughably dated and it’s refreshingly small-scale when compared to its sequels. The movie’s a fan fiction remix of some themes from Resident Evil 1, except with none of the characters from the games present. Instead, we have Paul W.S. Anderson’s wife Milla Jovovich taking center stage as Alice, the former head of Umbrella security in a secret base called the Hive that goes to hell when some dude tries to steal viruses. The entirety of the action takes place in the Hive, and we get a surprisingly tiny number of monsters, with just your garden variety zombies, a few Cerberus and a single Licker showing up. Even though she does run up a wall and kick a Cerberus in the face, Alice is at her most realistic here (she turns into a dual wielding mutant with the ability to make the camera go into slow-motion whenever she wants in all the other films), there’s a nifty laser grid scene that all the sequels keep referencing when they want you to feel nostalgic, and the Hive’s sentient AI, the Red Queen, is compelling enough that Capcom eventually stuck her in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Aside from this movie being full of British actors who do REALLY awful American accents, sounding like they all have mouths full of sausages, Paul W.S. Anderson’s first take on Resident Evil is probably the most watchable one he made.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse - Okay, this one is watchable too, but in more of a popcorn-munching “lol, this shit is dumb” way. It steals the general plot of Resident Evils 2 and 3, with Raccoon City getting infected, but ups the cheese by a hundred. Alice is now a thirteen-year-old boy’s version of a BADAZZ woman, with lots of guns and a bare midriff, and she teams up with Jill Valentine, who resembles her game self in looks but not exactly in personality. Together, they’ve gotta escape Raccoon City along with Carlos Oliveira, who is possibly the only character from the games who is done a great service in these Anderson movies, which make him much more likable even if they couldn’t find an actual Hispanic actor to portray him and had to settle for an Israeli instead. Oh, and Nemesis shows up, because one of the dudes from the first movie who accompanied Alice into the Hive gets experimented on and turned into what honestly looks like someone’s Halloween costume. The writers commit a cardinal sin at the end of the flick by humanizing him, having him suddenly remember his TRUE SELF and help the good guys, but aside from that screw-up I admit that I had a goofy grin on my face throughout several parts of this movie. After Nemesis blows up the Raccoon City station and murmurs his one line of dialogue- “STARRRRRSSSS” - I even kinda felt like clapping. So yeah, Apocalpyse is idiotic fun.

Resident Evil: Extinction - Here’s where the movies stop being mildly entertaining and become varying degrees of either “meh” or just plain bad. Extinction’s biggest problem is that it makes the weird decision of having the entire PLANET be wiped nearly completely clean by Umbrella’s virus, giving the franchise the most generic setting imaginable for a zombie flick - a post-apocalyptic world. And even though this film features Claire Redfield and actually has Alice fight a Tyrant that looks the part, I feel that by turning the environment into Mad Max the filmmakers missed the entire point of the franchise. Resident Evil isn’t really about a “what if” scenario with mankind dying and zombies taking over the world. Instead, it’s about how humanity manages to cope in a time where zombies are used by corporations for terrorism purposes - hence the franchise’s “bio-organic weapon” catch-phrase for its creatures. It’s about how brave people live on in an era that just happens to feature biopunk monsters as a deadly fact of life. It’s about the evil that resides within a world that is pretty shitty, but hasn’t completely gone to shit. By turning the whole planet into the same ol’ zombie playground that we see in most popular fiction starring these workman-like horror tropes, Extinction - which probably thought it was upping the stakes - instead just feels sorta dull, and anyone who views the film today is probably going to see it as a weaker version of The Walking Dead. Oh, and it ends with Alice discovering clones of herself, which will only serve to screw with the loose continuity of these movies as they go on.

Resident Evil: Afterlife - This one starts with Alice’s clones raiding the Umbrella facility in Tokyo, and the whole sequence - which feels like it should be the finale - is reduced to a few minutes of special effects in the beginning. (This is foreshadowing for the next two films, which both end with hints of giant, climatic battles that mostly happen off-screen, if at all.) The first thing that I noticed when watching this was how slow-mo kicked in every five minutes and how the camera seemed to linger on bullets, and I eventually remembered that this film was released during Hollywood’s obsession with 3D during the early 2010s. This explains Afterlife’s IN-YOUR-FACE-IN-THREE-DIMENSIONS action scenes, which are initially pretty in a music video sort of way but become overdone and tiresome as the movie goes on, kinda like a Zack Snyder film. (I place Paul W.S. Anderson in the same “style over substance” category of director as both Zack Snyder and Michael Bay, by the way.) Anyway, Afterlife deals with Alice teaming up with more survivors to try to find a secret ship haven free of zombies. Along the way she runs into Chris Redfield, who looks more like a janitor than the jacked BSAA agent that he is in the games, and Chris and Claire Redfield have a quick sibling reunion and fight Wesker in a scene with choreography shamelessly stolen from Resident Evil 5. It’s pandering fan service and sort of diverting, but ultimately none of it matters. Chris disappears after this movie and is never seen again, and Afterlife is more interesting as a specimen of 2010 3D excess than it is as an actual narrative.

Resident Evil: Retribution - Retribution amps the pandering fan service that Afterlife dabbled in to new levels. Ada Wong is here, played by Li Bingbing but dubbed by her original voice actress, Sally Cahill, probably because Li’s English isn’t that great. Leon Kennedy and Barry frickin’ Burton show up, both looking pretty much like their in-game counterparts. Even Michelle Rodriguez and a few other faces from Paul W.S. Anderson’s first Resident Evil flick make an appearance, thanks to the fact that this movie has clones up the wazoo and uses them to handwave away any series inconsistencies you could think of. So you’re got fan service for the people who like the games and fan service for the folks who liked the first movie, and on top of it all the film has the extreme 3D that its predecessor possessed and a buttload of battles because it all takes place in a giant Umbrella simulation facility full of stuff that can easily be wrecked. By now the plot to these things has gotten more scrambled than my eggs in the morning, but I will say that thanks to its inclusion of classic characters, Retribution is more or less tolerable. There’s even a bit of characterization this time around, thanks to a little hearing-impaired clone girl who Alice takes under her wing and begins to care for, and the movie ends on an okay cliffhanger in a Washington DC under siege, promising epic things to come in the next movie. Unfortunately... Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - I really did not enjoy The Final Chapter for a myriad of reasons. First of all, the Washington battle promised at the end of Retribution never happens. Instead, we fast forward to several months later, when Alice is (big surprise) the only survivor, and EVERYONE she was with in the last flick - Ada, Leon, the little deaf girl - is gone and never mentioned ever again. Wesker, who Alice was working with in Retribution, is back to being a bad guy for poorly explained reasons. Another bad scientist dude that Alice killed in Extinction also returns for even worse reasons, because supposedly Alice only offed his clone three movies ago. But wait, this “real” bad scientist dude is also revealed to be a clone as the TRUE bad scientist dude shows up in the movie’s last act! AND THE ULTIMATE TWIST (look away now if you actually care about spoilers) is that Alice is HERSELF a clone of the original daughter of the Umbrella corporation’s founder who died of a degenerative disease and served as the basis for the Red Queen AI. The idiotic thing is that this daughter was said to be the progeny of Dr. Charles Ashford in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, but this movie retcons her to be the spawn of Dr. James Marcus. The Final Chapter, in fact, screws with continuity to a degree I have rarely seen before in a long-running film franchise. Yeah, the framework tying this series together got weird as soon as clones were introduced, but previously it seemed that Paul W.S. Anderson at least cared about his own messy fan fiction. Here? It’s like he forgot what he’d spent the last 15 years building up to and ended on one sloppy fart. If this weren’t bad enough, The Final Chapter is edited in that god awful “shaky cam, lots of fast cuts” way that I hate. In fact, I counted something like twenty cuts in a scene of a few seconds when Alice is attacked by a creature, which means that this film won’t just baffle you with its disregard for continuity - it’ll give you a headache too.

Resident Evil: Degeneration - After watching an array of live-action flicks that took random Resident Evil threads and mashed them together with the elegance of a splattered turd, it did feel good to switch things up and move to the CG movies that were actually put out by Capcom. This 2008 offering takes place in between Resident Evils 4 and 5, stars Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy, and deals with a virus breakout in an airport and some of the pharmaceutical company backstabbing that occurred in the aftermath of Umbrella’s destruction. It’s all stuff that feels like it could have come from a lesser gaiden game - perhaps in the same vein as the first Revelations title - and it kinda gives off that “so-so anime movie” vibe, especially because the dubbing always sounds a tad off. Nevertheless, Degeneration’s still a breath of fresh air compared to the Anderson series, and there’s a nice gag where Claire’s searching for a weapon in the airport, someone hands her a physical umbrella, and she looks at it and is like, “Hm, didn’t see this coming.” (Lollerskates.) The main issue I have with Degeneration is how “plasticky” everyone looks - it’s hard to realize how far computer animation has advanced in the last decade until you look at Degeneration’s stiff visuals and compare them to the other CG films. Also, Leon’s characterization is terrible. He’s meant to be a super serious badass, I guess, but he mostly just looks like someone rammed a Samurai Edge up his sphincter. I prefer my Leon Kennedy to be the “Don’t worry Ashley, I’m comin’ for ya!” version from Resident Evil 4, or at least a dude with a little sass to him. The guy in Degeneration is about as interesting as a board. Resident Evil: Damnation - Damnation is a noticeable step above Degeneration, both in computer animation, which really got better from 2008 to 2012, and in all-around presentation. The dubbing’s still somewhat wonky with that same anime movie vibe, but the characterization is on point, and Leon, who’s taking center stage once more, is just like his RE6 self. Speaking of RE6, this movie channels that game’s themes of international terrorism with a plot that involves rebels in a made-up Eastern European country using Lickers and Las Plagas in an effort to fight for their freedom, only to learn that lo and behold, the nefarious female president who’s seized control of their nation has her own B.O.W.s - in the form of Tyrants - at her disposal. Leon’s caught in the middle of this mess and ends up befriending some of the rebels, and Ada Wong’s also infiltrated the country to manipulate the president. Ada and Leon’s interactions are as insubstantial as they’ve been in pretty much every game that isn’t the recent RE2make, but we do get a cool fight between Ada and the president, who for some reason knows substantial knife fu. There’s an even better battle between Tyrants and Lickers in a city hall square, and Leon gets throw against pillars, regularly takes hits that would kill a normal person and pilots a tank alongside one of the rebels who looks a lot like Chris Redfield but isn’t Chris Redfield. This dude serves as the film’s sympathetic character - a guy torn from his peaceful existence thanks to political wrangling and is tricked into using B.O.W.s to try to achieve a brighter future. It ends with the fella severely injured but learning how to live and move forward in a world infected with nefarious bioweapons, which is the very theme that the Anderson flicks ditched around movie number three. So good work for side-stepping previous failures and recognizing what Resident Evil is all about, Damnation.

Resident Evil: Vendetta - If Degeneration’s a so-so anime movie, and Damnation a good anime movie, then Vendetta is just a good movie in general, with no “anime” distinction needed. The dubbing’s finally pretty decent, for one, and the story takes place in between RE6 and RE7, teaming Leon and Chris Redfield up with - HOLY CRAP - Rebecca Chambers, who’s been AWOL since Resident Evil Zero. They’ve gotta stop an arms dealer from bio-nuking New York and doing nasty things to Rebecca, who resembles his dead wife, and along the way Leon pilots a motorcycle on the freeway with his feet while shooting at Cerebrus with his hands. Nearly all of the movie’s considerable action segments are punctuated with rapid fire John Wick-style gunplay, and it works. It’s like the folks who made this film realized that the coolest part of Resident Evil 6 was the point where Leon and Chris point their guns at each other for a few seconds before deciding that they need to put their differences aside and cooperate, and even though you could conceivably fault Vendetta for leaning heavily towards the “action” side of Resident Evil rather than the “horror” side, it’s a well-paced film that finally gives us a substantial interaction between two series mainstays beyond the one minute they shared with each other in RE6. Also, people are still posting GIFs from Vendetta’s action sequences all across Tumblr and forums whenever arguments break out over whether Chris or Leon is TEH COoLER Resident Evil protagonist, so Capcom obviously did something right. If we get another computer animated film, I imagine it’ll lean more heavily towards horror since that’s where the series has gone recently...but hopefully the path of improvement that we’ve seen from Degeneration to Damnation to Vendetta won’t be broken.

And with that, whew, I’m done with RE movies, at least until the rumored Hollywood reboot that’s supposedly drawing inspiration from Resident Evil 7 comes out. (It can’t be worse than The Final Chapter, I suppose.) I can’t say that my friends were wrong when they warned me that half of these would be shite, but I also can’t say that I ended on a bad note, because Vendetta was pretty good.

After all this, my grand playthrough and consumption of all Resident Evil media is about to finish Next post I make will be a last look at the franchise as a whole...and what a year’s worth of zombie headshots taught me. All screencaps taken by me.

#pixel grotto #video games #now playing #resident evil #biohazard

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madscientistjournal · 5 years

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Product Review: Chronochill

As provided by Joachim Heijndermans Art by Dawn Vogel

Product Name: Chronochill Max Duozone® – Black Version Price: $389,95 & free shipping Customer Rating: *** with 85 customer reviews In Stock.

Product Description: Item Weight: 39lbs/ 17kg. Shipping Weight: 49lbs/ 22kg. Manufacturer: Chronochill LTD. ASIN: B008HFSSB2. Item Model Nr: 866339266CC.

Product Information: Temporal Shift Refrigerator. For those wizards in the kitchen who just can’t stand it when the food in their fridge goes bad, even after storing it just two days ago. The Duozone® from Chronochill prevents food from spoiling, melting, and being affected by frostbite or any other side effect that comes with the common fridge. Most refrigerators use cold air to keep food fresh, but moisture buildup eventually takes its toll on fruit, meat, and vegetables. By freezing your food within a single moment in time and storing it in a temporal shift zone, the Duozone® preserves anything you place inside it in its original status. You too will love having your meals preserved the ultimate way, locked within less than a second and still as fresh as the moment you stored it.

By freezing your food within a single moment in time and storing it in a temporal shift zone, the Duozone® preserves anything you place inside it in its original status.

Customer Reviews

DaisyDeez75: I bought mine last year, and I absolutely love it. Love, love, love it. My strawberries and blueberries always seemed to get moldy in my old fridge. Now I can actually store my meals for months. I had fresh summer fruit for x-mas. How wild is that? Love it. Recommend it to everyone. Five stars.

HarryFires02: It’s not really a fridge, is it? I put a beer in mine that I’d left out on my patio, and a few weeks later it was still lukewarm. Major design flaw. Getting a real fridge next time. No stars.

KaKay-zen: @HarryFires02 You know you can install a new temperature once you put your beer inside, right?

HarryFires02: @KaKay-zen Found it. Thanks. Works like a dream. Five stars.

KaKay-zen: @HarryFires02 No problem.

ROYDEEp: I like how much I can store inside. I’ve been able to cook entire courses weeks in advance, and then serve them still piping hot. Good deal. Four stars.

HarryFires02: Okay, so I managed to get the temp right, but now my six-pack of beer I put in there is gone. Like, vanished gone. No-one took it out, so I have no idea what happened to it. What is up with this piece of junk? Zero stars.

84FreeZone: Does anyone else have problems with the noise it makes? It’s not a constant thing, but in the middle of the night, it keeps going off. It’s annoying. Do love the rest of it. I just finished the tempura I got at the hibachi place near me a month ago, and it’s still crunchy and warm. Three stars.

KathyGibbs: @HarryFires02 Is your name Harold Fines? Because if so, I think I have your beer. I found it this morning in my fridge with a receipt on it. I have no idea how it got there.

BenSuller: I hate this thing. Hate it! Tried it. Returned it immediately. Stupid Japanese crap. Zero Stars.

HiJiNx453: @BenSuller Chronochill is a Finnish/Danish company. Dumbass.

BenSuller: [Comments removed by moderator]

HiJiNx453: @BenSuller you kiss your wife with that mouth?

BenSuller: [Comments removed by moderator]

HarryFires02: @KathyGibbs It is. How did my beer end up in your fridge? What is up with this thing?

Lolzcaty$$: @HarryFires02 You’re not the only one. I made a casserole, put it in right out of the oven, and the next day it was gone.

HohoHi: @HarryFires02 @Lolzcaty$$ Same here. My pizza vanished. But there was a casserole in its place. Is that yours?

HiJiNx453: Ok, this is weird. Why does the food keep jumping around? Someone should call Chronochill and complain.

ScarfaceSHTMLF: Mine works like a dream. No issues and great food. Five stars.

KathyGibbs: Throwing it out there, but is anyone missing some vintage bottles of Bordeaux? I think I have them. I feel really bad, and I want to return them to their rightful owner. Also, getting rid of my Duozone.

HohoHi: Woke up today and checked my fridge. Why is there a snow globe in it? WTF Chronochill?

Blerra2002: @KathyGibbs Those would be mine, I think. I’ll post pics of them before I lost them. Also, I have Larry Thilbert’s heart medication. Tried to find you, but there’s seven Larry Thilberts in my state alone. Please contact me.

HohoHi: I’m getting rid of my Duozone. This last week, I kept finding something new every morning. It was funny until today, when I found “samples” that someone stored in there. I pray to God they were either from a lab or for medical testing, because if not, shame on you sir.

Genndy Wazlow: No idea what the fuss is about. Love my Duozone. Don’t like the color though, but whatever. Four stars.

KaKay-zen: @Genndy Wazlow You know it comes in different colors, right?

HarryFires02: I hope they’re gonna do a recall. Mine got taken in for evidence. Not getting a new one, even if they do fix the glitch. Zero stars.

84FreeZone: @HarryFires02 What happened? Did the cops take it? If so, why?

HarryFires02: @84FreeZone I put lettuce in it. Got a different kind of head in it the next day. Some psycho put it in his Duozone. Nearly had a heart attack. I’m just hoping the cops believe me, even with the statement by Chronochill. Like I said: zero stars.

Click here to read 57 further comments.

Customers who have viewed this item have also viewed:

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Chronochill LTD, founded in 2093, has been the top brand in temporal food storage. After the success of their first Chrono-depot and the acquisition of their first chained-restaurant contract (the event that led to the end of the McWars, and the final nail in the coffin for Burger Queen/Gwendy’s Jr.), Chronochill has recently expanded with home-based temporal refrigeration units. Despite the controversy regarding this move, Chronochill LTD has sold over 60,000 units last march.

Joachim Heijndermans writes, draws, and paints nearly every waking hour. Originally from the Netherlands, he’s been all over the world, boring people by spouting random trivia. His work has been featured in a number of publications, such as Every Day Fiction, Asymmetry Fiction, Gathering Storm Magazine, Hinnom Magazine, and The Gallery of Curiosities, and he’s currently in the midst of completing his first children’s book. You can check out his other work at www.joachimheijndermans.com, or follow him on Twitter: @jheijndermans.

Dawn Vogel writes and edits both fiction and non-fiction. Her academic background is in history, so it’s not surprising that much of her fiction is set in earlier times. By day, she edits reports for historians and archaeologists. In her alleged spare time, she runs a craft business, co-edits Mad Scientist Journal, and tries to find time for writing. She is a member of Broad Universe, SFWA, and Codex Writers. Her steampunk series, Brass and Glass, is being published by Razorgirl Press. She lives in Seattle with her awesome husband (and fellow author), Jeremy Zimmerman, and their herd of cats. Visit her at historythatneverwas.com.

Product Review: Chronochill was originally published on Mad Scientist Journal

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transformers-art-showcase · 6 years

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P.A.T.C.H. #7: "Starscream: The Movie"

Most often in comics, continuity is a problem for newbies. If you don’t know what the characters are talking about and what in-jokes they make, is there really a point in recommending the book? Yes, I hear you; this here feature is supposed to help with sorting those messes out, after all. But what if something has such a killer concept you can’t help but blabber on about it? Even to people not into the comic series?

Case in point: a Cybertronian tries to make a movie about Starscream for humans. My mom was sold. Be as cool as my mom!

“Thundercracker in: Starscream: The Movie”

“Optimus Prime” Annual (2018)/“Transformers: Optimus Prime” Volume 5 (upcoming as of this writing) Written by John Barber, pencils by Priscilla Tramontano and Andrew Griffith, colors by John-Paul Bove and Josh Burcham, letters by Shawn Lee

SO WHAT’S IT ABOUT? Starscream, Lord of Cybertron, fed up with his notoriety amongst his subjects, decides on a solution: good old-fashioned propaganda! Having learned of his old wing-mate’s passion for writing, he tasks ex-Seeker Thundercracker with scripting, casting and directing a movie about his life. Who cares if said ex-comrade has only written human soap opera fan fiction and unpublished screenplays so stilted, they would make “Birdemic” green with envy? He’s really into it! Surely, nothing can go wrong!

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW? Given that this issue came out in the last year of the IDW Generation One continuity, there are various bits and pieces to consider before diving in, but probably the most important has to do with the evolution of Thundercracker, from Seeker repaint to real boy fleshed-out character. While his goofy and hopelessly optimistic personality is well-established in the series and this here issue completes his origin story, it can’t harm to go over it and pick some highlights.

The fate of Thundercracker –or TC to his friends- has long been intertwined with that of two more famous Decepticon fliers: OG bad boy Starscream and official stair-pusher Skywarp. The first years’ worth of stories weren’t different: the three met Megatron together for the first time in the mini-series “Megatron: Origins”, written by Eric Holmes, penciled by Alex Milne and colored by Josh Perez. His most interesting beat in that story was expressing doubt over burning the city of Kaon, only to be pacified by Skywarp –“Don’t think. Just do it.”, he said. After that, and for the longest time, from the “Autocracy Trilogy” to the “–ations”, the blue jet remained a constant if discreet presence in the Decepticon forces. He was always there, often under Starscream, never in a major role, sometimes uncomfortable with his place.

Still, there were a couple exceptions to this. In “Spotlight: Orion Pax”, written by James Roberts, he was a reluctant underling to mad scientist Bludgeon. He crossed paths with the creepy samurai again much later, in “Spotlight: Thundercracker”, written by John Barber with art by Chee Yang Ong, this time while searching for the original Titans. In that story, he had a change of heart when he found Metroplex, and lied so the ancient Transformer wouldn’t fall into Decepticon hands. In both cases, the further away he stayed from bad influences, the more functional his moral compass became.

The great break from all the above –ironically, inspired by his original toy bio– came with his rejection of the Decepticon cause. In “All Hail Megatron” (written by Shane McCarthy and with art by Guido Guidi), after witnessing the brutalities and monstrosities his side was capable of –namely, razing human cities and creating the Insecticons-, he prevented the detonation of a nuclear bomb and briefly worked with the Autobots. (His reward? Getting shot in the face by Skywarp. Some comradery.) In the next ongoing (look for the stand-alone issue #4, written by Mike Costa, penciled by Don Figueroa, with colors by James Brown and letters by Robbie Robbins), it was revealed that thankfully, he survived, kept barely online on Earth and scavenging for fuel. He also picked up a new best friend: human television! Laugh all you want, but it gave him a new appreciation for humans and their adaptability –couldn’t his own species be like this? While he turned into a reluctant ally to the Autobots, he stayed out of intense battles...

... until he got to work with his new best friends in Season 2 of “Robots in Disguise”: Earth people! Between the regeneration of the planet and Starscream’s rise to power, TC stayed back on the blue marble and got in touch with human anti-Transformer forces, who provided him with fuel and a home. (A gift puppy named Buster sealed the deal and immediately became fealty.) In return, they wanted his services against Autobot invaders, but his love of Earth got in the way of that. What also got in the way was his new calling: writing! Inspired by the years he spent watching TV, he then went on to create totally original and very high quality screenplays, hoping they would lead to a career in film. (They haven’t so far. There’s a reason the Wiki has quotes from “The Room” in his personal page.) Still, eventually things turned out well enough: he helped untangle the mess of allegiances between the Earth Defense Command and Cybertronians and formed an enduring friendship with female Earth human Marissa Faireborn. Not bad for someone whose biggest claim to fame was being the answer to a trivia question –“Who was the first Decepticon shown in active combat in IDW continuity?”

Finally, some minor bits of backstory to make a few character beats land easier. An institute protecting Transformers with “abnormal” powers was first introduced in “More Than Meets the Eye” #11, by James Roberts and Alex Milne. The re-discovery of the Cybertronian Colonies started with the people of Caminus –Windblade, Chromia and Nautica- in “Dark Cybertron”, and they were all immediately integrated into the books –we’ve talked about the first “Windblade” mini here. The dead colony of Prion, shown in “The Transformers” #57 (by Barber and Livio Ramondelli) wasn’t nearly so lucky. The creation of the Council of Worlds for the governance of the surviving ones was detailed in the “Windblade: Distant Stars” mini-series, written by Maighread Scott, with art by Corin Howell and colors by Thomas Deer. After that, colonists such as Aileron (“The Transformers” #44, by Barber, Griffith, Perez on colors and Tom B. Long on letters) joined the action on Cybertron, though not without problems. Oh, and that huge dinosaur was brought online in the “Salvation” one-shot and has been used as an embassy since “Optimus Prime” #13-14 (by Barber, Ramondelli and Long). As it happens.

WHERE DO I GO FROM THERE? Why’d you think I listed all those previous stories above? So that you can go and get ‘em!

Okay, to be less abrasive and more specific, there isn’t that much to get into after this story, but there’s plenty to jump back to. Almost all these minor characters have had memorable stories told about them, so I’m only going to single out some personal favorites and let you decide what you might be into. Fat Fast Tankor’s most memorable outings have been at the hands of Maighread Scott, and it was in the first “Windblade” mini that he and his bestie, Tall Tankor, started getting some attention. For another visit to Alpha Trion, Adorable Old Man (And More), see “Optimus Prime” #10, by Barber, Zama and Burcham. For the amazing life of Richard Ruby, film producer and ex-superhero (no, really), check out “Revolutionaries” #3 by Barber, pencils by Ron Joseph, Sebastian Cheng on colors and Long lettering. Finally, for a story that demonstrates Marissa’s own issues (and just how much of a sweetspark TC is), “New Cybertron” (“Optimus Prime” #1-6) by Barber, Zama, Milne and Burcham has you covered.

But clearly this isn’t why you’re here. You want more of The Artist’s work. For that, head over to the “Transformers Holiday Special” (which we’ve visited before here), for the ten-page story by Barber, Burcham and Long. It is a Christmas story that is children’s storybook by way of Frank Miller, and it might be the best thing in the whole line. In the same trade you’ll find the “Revolution” tie-in issue for the “Robots in Disguise” series, written by Barber, with pencils by Griffith and colors by Thomas Deer. While it’s connected to a much larger event, it’s valuable for seeing how TC evaluates his own work and how he works with Marissa. It is a Hollywood action movie pastiche with a failed screenplay layered on top, and it’s a sweet little tribute to the character. Both of these stories work with similar themes to this one, but expand them in different directions.

IS IT ANY GOOD? It was the culmination of a few years’ worth of stories with an endearing secondary character taking center stage. It offered a sideways look into a fascinating time in “Transformers” comics, through its less important players. It was a funny and poignant look into what can go wrong with any piece of art we create, consume, curate and love (or, more importantly, ignore). It had some exceptional so-bad-it’s-good writing and art. It had a cute puppy in it.

PUPPY! WHO’S A GOOD PUPPY, WHO’S THE BEST PUPPY?! BUSTER IS! YES, SHE IS! Stop baby-talking one of the main characters and concentrate! Here, this should keep you busy!

LIKE A MOVIE STAR WITHOUT MOVIES | THEME AND CHARACTER Strip away all the superficialities, and what is this story about? An artist attempts to create a work of art, and Poe’s Law comes into full effect. His source material is controversial –few people have kind things to say about Starscream. His sources lack credibility –the subject of the movie himself is a liar with a ton of guilt on his shoulders. His production value is low -seriously, I’m having “Pop Quiz Hotshot” flashbacks here. He himself lacks training and discipline, and he and his crew aren’t on the same page –oh, and one of them isn’t paid. He gets preoccupied with details -Megatron had a different frame in “Robots in Disguise”! There goes the suspension of disbelief! He has so little faith in himself that he blindly follows whatever advice he’s offered –is it a commercial or personal work, then? And in the end, no matter his passion and drive for the project, he fails for reasons beyond his control, not even his own mistakes. This kind of story can work only if we’re invested in the mad ambition of its main creator, and TC’s unlucky, stubborn and likeable enough to pull it off. The annual, then, becomes a love letter to art creation in general: a whole lot of people with conflicting ideas try to create something meaningful against all odds. Even if the end product isn’t great, you have to feel for all the effort, the time and energy spent (or wasted) on it, right?

There’s also an extra layer to all this, and it’s specifically about Cracker’s relation to his work. At this point in the series, TC has officially renounced the Decepticons and wants to leave a peaceful life on Earth. This project about one of his former associates makes him ask all sorts of questions: what drove Starscream to do the things he did? How does he handle the unstable political climate after the Autobot victory? Did the War ever mean anything to anyone? And what is there to do after the War? These aren’t easy questions, and the ex-Seeker’s own stance on these issues is complicated by his personal feelings and involvement. This might be a movie about Starscream, but deep down, this is a story about Thundercracker. (This becomes even more apparent when one remembers the two share the same mold.) While the theme of failed or doubtful artists is universal, the specificity of this million-year-long War informs it with extra nuances that enrich an already interesting character portrait.

“Oh man, I just can't figure Starscream out. Sometimes he’s just too smart. Sometimes he’s just flat-out stupid. Other times he’s just evil.”

ENHANCED BY BRAND NEW SPECIAL EFFECTS| ART This whole examination could have ended up dry and boring, but in the hands of penciler Priscilla Tramontano, it gets a life and energy it would otherwise lack. Her greatest strength is the expressiveness she lends to the characters, and so she’s the perfect fit for a story with lots of quick, fully dialogue. Little casual touches and details, like reading glasses or cups of coffee, make the world of alien robots a little more approachable and help ease us into its confused protagonist’s mind. John-Paul Bove’s colors are bright and poppy, but moody in the more serious parts (like TC’s meeting with Dirge and relaxing at the beach near the end). Andrew Griffith and Josh Burcham contribute pencils and colors respectively in two key scenes, one flashback to just before the War and the trailer for a rival production. Their more detailed, somber yet action-oriented style helps draw attention to them, but the overall tone doesn’t shift from the fast-paced comedy and introspection of the whole issue. In any case, the story never loses its sense of wonder: this is a charming, strange little world, and in the increasingly serious main title, this can sometimes fall through the cracks.

However, this is the rare case of a comic whose artistic failings are also interesting in their own way. The scenes shown from “Starscream: The Movie” itself are bad on purpose, and so multiple movie mistakes are recreated in comics form. The lighting is almost always off in most scenes, and in some cases, it’s easy to make a green highlight around the actors –the result of cheap color correction. In another scene, the focus is all wrong, and so “Megatron” and “Starscream” are blurry or stick like sore thumbs from the background. When Thundercracker cannot stage the Decepticon uprising from the first storyline of “Robots in Disguise”, he ends up using archival footage for it –and so the same panels that Andrew Griffith drew for issue #13 are re-used wholesale! While it can be distracting at first, these mistakes become doubly fun when spotted and only add to the joke. (They can also make all amateur filmmakers out there check their equipment twice before starting filming. Never go with auto-focus, people!)

“Hey, everybody! I have an announcement to make!”

AN AWKWARD PAUSE, THEN “WHAT'S MY LINE?”| PLOT AND DIALOGUE But forget pretty much everything I’ve written so far, because the number one reason to read this story is how damn funny it is. And that’s not just for the guilty pleasure of mocking Thundercracker’s work. Sure, the tone-deaf, repetitive dialogue, the hammy acting and the flubs of the final film (poor Waspinator, always a victim) are extremely enjoyable, but that ignores the real back-and-forth of the characters. Even better is how the movie scenes are staged alongside the rest of TC’s discussions and efforts. The issue is expertly paced, each page functioning as a scene into its own, with set-ups and payoffs. When read all together, it’s like a very well-edited movie: it remains fast and doesn’t sag, and the connections between the disparate scenes become apparent on a second read-through. The cyclical flow of the story –it begins and ends with a very similar scene- can be seen as bittersweet and uplifting at the same time, and it made this here reader want to re-read the issue the moment it was over.

One of Barber’s greatest gifts as a writer –owing to his experience as an editor- is his mastery of continuity, but here he also demonstrates a firm understanding of Transformers and pop culture. His cheeky world-building –giant robots make movies, too!- combines satire and Trans-fan practices -repaints are totally a thing!- into one whole. Humans get a lot to do in this world, too, being both friends and potential business partners, in a co-existence that might even bring to mind the days of the original cartoon. My favorite example might be TC’s interactions with a former superhero, prospective film producer and distributor. The practicality of creating and curating a movie clashes wonderfully with the insanity of a sci-fi world and some obscure pop and high culture references. It’s this level of detail and care for all those losers that gives the story a beating heart that is often forgotten when talking about this specific writer’s work.

“You know what they say, ‘Love is blind’!”

THE CREDITS ROLL, THE CAMERA PANS | FINAL THOUGHTS Going over all the things I’ve written so far about this annual, I see that I could still go on. This here read focused on the story from a newbie perspective, because with continuity in mind, there’s a whole other essay’s worth of stuff to unpack! (One could re-interpret it as a Starscream and not a Thundercracker story, in fact!) But even with all that aside, this is a really fun, sweet diversion from the political drama of “Optimus Prime”, a great tribute to the bit players of the franchise and a love letter to the creative process as a whole. Oh, and there’s new jokes to find in, like, every new read! I literally just today remembered Fake!Ironhide’s Southern accent! That stuff’s amazing!

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davidmann95 · 6 years

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I read your post about why Batman is great and I love how thoughtful that is. Can you do one for Superman? Thanks ^_^

Unsurprisingly, I’ve touched on a lot of the basic aspects of it before, so for a couple parts of this I’ll keep it restrained (speaking entirely relatively), but given I think about Superman more than most people think about their best friends, I feel qualified to state that yes: Superman is great. As I said with Batman, the reasons why on a mass cultural basis are much broader than ‘he’s a really well-written character’ - hell, too often that isn’t even the case, even if plenty *have* stepped up over the years - so I’ll start with the lizard hindbrain stuff and work my way down to the finer details.

Superman has iconic power by default

What it really comes down to, at least in terms of keeping him afloat in the public eye when actual public opinion on him has been shot completely to hell over the last couple decades, is that Superman is a Big Deal. He’s the founder of his own genre: literally every surface-level aspect of his mythology is shorthand for the concept he created as well as for plenty beyond superheroes, from the suit (trunks included) to Lois Lane to Lex Luthor to Clark Kent to flying to Kryptonite to Bizarro and Brainiac to super-pets and x-ray vision. A red cape fluttering in the breeze is itself an evocative image entirely sans context, because people know that means him, by which it really means all superheroes. That means he takes the hits of getting all the complaints other characters duck even as others write thinkpieces on his place in culture and how he represents everything from America to Jesus to conservative values to the immigrant experience, all from people who may well have never picked up a comic or watched a cartoon of his in their lives. Even when most people don’t know much about him as a character, he as a symbolic figure is too massive to not grapple with one way or another, even via shorthand such as ‘he’s dumb’ or ‘he stands for us at our best’; while many of his recent woes can be traced back to people telling stories solely about or defined by that iconography, it still has power. Kids on the other side of the world from wherever you’re sitting right now know he can leap a tall building in a single bound. There’s maybe two or three other fictional characters in the world with that level of exposure and impact, and the unconscious emotional connection that comes baked right into it.

Superman is a protector

When kids talk about loving him because he can do anything, and adults talk about how he brings back those memories of joy and comfort, I think this is what it really comes down to a lot of the time. Superman’s the one who looks out for us, the guy who cares about you. Yeah, there’s gotta be the odd story about how NOT EVEN SUPERMAN CAN SAVE EVERYONE! to keep him honest, but by and large, yes he can. He wears a fun flashy uniform and he can wrap you up in his cape and fly you away from whatever bad’s happening, and even if something can catch up, no bullet or bomb in the world is going to get through him to you, or even hurt him enough to at least be scary. Nothing’s so hard or so big or so scary he can’t help, not really; he naps on clouds and swims in the sun. He’s polite, and never aggressive towards the innocent (not even that often towards the guilty), and he doesn’t talk down to people even though he’s stronger and knows better. He’s as confident as a cool big brother, as supportive and sturdy as a good dad, as vaguely ethereal and perfectly impossible as Santa Claus. It’s not an act, it’s not impersonal - he wants you to be okay, he cares about you and he’ll do whatever he can to make sure you’ll be alright. When that’s done just right? That kind of unreserved, unconditional, powerful demonstration of kindness making a difference, even from a cartoon alien, can knock a lot of typically steely emotional walls down like balsa wood, especially when that can save the day just as much as quick wits or a fist, the way anyone here could too in the right circumstances when they try their best.

Superman is a romantic figure

Something overlooked or deliberately sidelined by many is that a huge, huge part of Superman’s appeal in lots of circles is that he can be a romantic ideal rather than (or as well as) a protective one. He’s a sweet, funny, confident, smart guy who’s built like Adonis and doesn’t think he’s better than everybody else even though he’s literally the best. He holds down a socially valuable job he’s successful and happy at, he’s gentle and considerate, and he’s entirely comfortable being second in his household to a commanding career woman who he’s instinctively protective of, but also willing to back off of when she feels smothered because he acknowledges her independence. He can fly her to the moon, he never lets her forget how happy he is that when he was left lost and alone on the other side of the universe he fell to the one place he could find her, and he wears tights. The comics may forget that, but Lois & Clark knew it. Smallville sure as hell knew it. So have the last couple movies, and Supergirl. Even Christopher Reeve, America’s Dad, got it on with Margot Kidder in that weird shiny Fortress hammock. You wanna talk about the aspects of Superman that go for…ahem…primal instincts, that he’s the member of the Justice League historically most likely to go shirtless* is worth bringing up.

* Aside from maybe Batman, who’s usually beat to hell and too miserable to leverage any of that playboy charm, and Aquaman, who’s Aquaman.

Superman is an easy power fantasy

Obviously, superheroes are often power fantasies in general; they do stuff we can’t do but wish we could. And Superman’s near the top of that list not just because he’s iconic, and not even because of the scope of his power - Green Lantern and Thor are comparable in terms of raw ability, GL even has an honest-to-goodness wishing ring, but they don’t measure up in that regard. What is is, I think, is that Superman’s powers are rooted in physicality, and therefore easy to imagine yourself doing. Everything most people can do, he does best, from lifting to running to looking to hearing to punching. Even his non-physical powers have a connection to actual physical acts: to see through objects he focuses as if peering through a fog, he doesn’t shoot power blasts from his fists to light things on fire but instead burns them with a furious glare, he doesn’t dispassionately levitate through the air as a standard but takes off and holds his arms forward as if in a mighty never-ending leap. Batman may be ‘real’, but if you imagined suddenly being him, you wouldn’t be Batman, you’d be a rich dude with a weaponized theme park in his basement, because you have no training and no tangible point of reference for thinking of how anything works beyond “punch and throw things”. But it’s easy to imagine being Superman in a visceral, physical sense - just imagine everything you did worked optimally, even the way it only could in a dream.

Superman is fun

All of the above makes him grand and likable, but that’s not the same as being able to support decades of monthly adventure stories. The basis of that is that he lives in a universe-sized, Earth-shaped toybox. He doesn’t just have superpowers and a nifty suit, he’s got a cave at the North Pole right near Santa with a time machine, statues of all his friends, a space zoo, a gun that turns people into ghosts, and a bottle city full of real people, plus robots to keep it all tidy, and only he can get in because the key was forged in the heart of a star. His cousin, kid, dog, and a few of his best friends wear capes too, and his ‘brother’ with reverse-superpowers lives on a cube planet where it’s perpetually opposite day. His friends and wife often go on their own adventures and get temporary superpowers just by being in his vicinity, he dated a mermaid in college, his after-school club was in the future and he commutes to the moon for work, and his deadliest enemies include a crazed mad scientist, an evil robot with a death-heart, a mischievous imp in a derby hat, and brilliant alien computer literally named Brainiac. Superman lives in a sci-fi fantasy dreamland of childish archetypes that can exist on any scale from the microscopic to the galactic to the other-dimensional, and as a result of that he can go on any adventure imaginable, to any time and place, and as a super-man who doesn’t often have to worry for his own safety, he can survive and appreciate and care for it all.

Superman mythologizes the mundane

And it’s where the fun and the big, mythic aura Superman carries meet that the magic happens that makes him as versatile and effective a character as there is in fiction: everything he does is rooted in something incredibly normal and human. His wild super-suit of circus royalty is made to reconnect with his heritage the only way he has, and to try and make himself colorful and unthreatening to a world he needs to accept him. When he travels through time, it’s never just to save reality, it’s to go see family and friends. He walks his dog around the rings of Saturn, he looks at his city in a bottle and wonders if he’ll ever be able to get around to taking care of that, he walks on the bottom of the ocean to think things through privately, and spends an entire day saving the world to get away from a conversation he doesn’t want to have. Every mad, cosmic aspect of his world is something totally normal blown up to be as big as it feels, and even when he does interact with the truly ‘mundane’, his presence alone elevates it to myth in a way no other superhero can. That’s the true source of his ability to adapt, rarely tapped but always potent: he can do anything, because he’s us.

Superman’s an actual good, interesting character

I place this at the bottom because it’s the aspect that’s most rarely captured, especially in the public eye (though the handful of times it has been are why he’s my favorite). But when he’s handled properly, then even divorced from everything else, Superman is fascinating as a *person*. Raised knowing there’s something different about him even as his weird alienness lets him understand people and the world around them in ways no others can, he learned one day he was born of the most mind-shattering act of cosmic horror imaginable, with a place greater than Earth in every way destroyed by coincidence, a signpost by any measure that the universe is a chaotic, meaningless, cruel place that destroys the innocent with indifference…and he became a good man who treasures life over anything. He has power that lets him do literally anything he pleases, and he spends half his life among us at a desk job because he thinks we’re just swell and he wants to keep being part of it all. Even though he can never entirely, not really, divvying his life up into discrete, manageable chunks that let him interact with the world on his own terms and try to see through what he sees as his responsibility, until a woman sees through the deception and self-deception and gets the real him to tentatively come out.

He has fun little hobbies, and unusual friendships, and a complex rivalry with the one man in the world who could’ve been his equal. He’s seen the best and worst of the world, and he accepts it all, but he still radiates a decency and innocence that can be mistaken for naivete by those who don’t know him. He’s clever but easy to catch off-guard in the right circumstances, always struggling to be the god people expect him to be rather than the inadequate fake his humility can make him look at himself as, he likes football and pretzels and pulp novels and Metallica, he gets a kick out of writing because it’s one of the few things he can do on an even playing field, he’s not sure how best to raise his kid, he worries that that one alien dictator is going to pop by again soon and he might not be ready to deal with it, he has to coordinate dates with his wife precisely because they both have such busy schedules, he counts dust particles in the air when he gets bored, and he believes in everybody. There’s so much going on with this guy, this identity-case, this brute, this pacifist, this establishment-man, this rebel and idealist and weirdo and a dozen other conflicting things. He’s been and done just about everything with charm and style over the decades, and it works, because it all adds up into one nice guy’s unusual, well-rounded life. And because it’s always anchored by an understanding: for all that he’s a unique freak of creation, he knows that in all the madness and uncertainty and horror, the one thing we have to rely on is each other. So he’ll put on his suit and throw himself out there against the only things in the universe that could kill him when he could be doing anything else, because he’s found a home with us little people when he lost his, and he knows we’re worth the fight; everyone is, aliens just like him in their own ways, waiting to be saved the way they saved him when he landed in a field. That’s why Superman’s great.

#Superman #Analysis #Opinion

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ninjakitty15 · 3 years

Text

Chapter 13: Monster Madness (Loki x OFC Pairing)

"How the mighty have fallen," a voice woke me up some time later.

I opened my eyes to see another familiar face and grinned wickedly. "Finally, a reason to rip you apart after all this time."

The woman on the other side of the glass smirked at me and crossed her hands over her chest in defiance. "I'd like to see you try."

"Then I'll save the plucking of your eyes for last just so you can," I sneered.

She looked me once over and shook her head. "You still don't look a day over expired last month. I don't know what the man behind me sees in you."

"That's the best you got? What are you? Fifteen? You think I care about how I look at this stage in my life? I can understand why you do though, you still age, how's that going for you? The crow's feet, the weak bones, the sagging boobs, sometimes it's good to be dead than to be you."

The dark haired, skinny bitch of a woman in front of me glared furiously at my deflection of her insults. "They should've put the muzzle back on you instead of him."

I glanced past her at Loki who still had the muzzle and cuffs on but looked slightly better than before, the lights weren't as bright as when I last saw him and I inwardly relaxed, as long as he was still kicking so would I. "Tough titties, toots. How else will your new friends get answers out of me? Or did you forget to use your head on this like you always do? That's why you can't raise an army, zombies only want someone with brains."

She made a move to lunge at the cell but was stopped by Feist clearing his throat from the deck above the cells. "No attacking the guest of honor, Alicia."

"Especially when she can snap you in half like the twig you are," I added. "Of the two of us, which do you think they'll show mercy to in the end? The one that follows or the one that betrays?"

She scoffed at my warning. "They won't do a damned thing, they don't trouble themselves in our affairs."

"Of course not, but tell me something, how do you think I got where I am and none of y'all can ever top me? How do you think I got my immortality exactly?" I stood up and walked toward her slowly with whitened eyes and pressed myself against the glass. Power surged through me, causing any machinery near me to go berserk, sparking and malfunctioning as alarms went off and my arm shot through the glass holding me in and reached for her soul and a bloodcurdling scream ripped from her throat simply by me holding onto it while her body went rigid from the pain. "Look at me now and tell me I'm on the short end of the stick here." I let go of her however when I could hear a thump from behind her despite her loud and earpiercing screams and saw Loki on his knees in his cell, hands pressed against the glass in an effort to stay up. I took one step back despite the fact the glass cell I was in was pretty much useless now, Alicia dropping to the floor hard but unfortunately still alive. As soon as she could grasp her surroundings however, she no longer held any confidence or smugness, only fear when she looked at me.

"What are you?" she gasped.

"I'm the boogeyman of monsters and the nightmare of gods and you'll just be another soul to eat when this is over. You want to send in another lackey for me to play with, that's on you for thinking she'd ever play nice, you didn't do your research on that one," I stated the last bit to the leader of the base that was still watching. "Or maybe you are and just wanted to see what I can do when provoked but don't want me thinking I can get away with it even when it's what you want. That's it, isn't it? You think you're so clever hiding us away and making someone that matters to me suffer but you mad scientists are all the same, you're just another scared little mortal in a labcoat." I stepped over the broken glass and out of my cell. I looked down at the broken woman that still couldn't stand on her feet after I reached into her. "Walk it off, sweetheart, you ain't special here."

"She is still needed for her abilities as are you, Noelle. I would suggest you stay where you are or your beloved Frost Giant will have a meltdown," the lab rat threatened.

I raised my hands in mock surrender before dropping one hand on wiring to his cell, death magic following it to the lights that exploded in a shower of golden sparks but ultimately no longer emitting heat that was slowly killing Loki. "I warned your top ranking soldier this would happen if you endanger him like this, this is still on you for not listening." I looked back at Loki who was starting to get to his feet, already looking better with the lights off. "Go ahead, make my millennium."

"She was one of the few here that didn't fear you till now, what did you do that broke her or scared the others?"

"Come closer and I'll show you," I hissed. "Or better yet, send another traitorous necromancer in for me to play with. Two bodies with one stone."

"You're in no position to be making demands here."

I cackled. "The commander said something similar to that, see you're all alike, when you have something original come find me."

"We have you, don't we?"

"I'm here because I let you take me here, don't think for one second this was entirely by your hand, I pretty much just proved you can't contain me, not this time."

At that point, the commander and his team invaded the room Loki and I were held in, all holding rods that could electrocute on contact. They wanted me alive after all, even though guns didn't do shit, they used them to kill with and didn't want me dead.

"I'm not really a fan of shock therapy."

"The others told me you're just as dead as your army and electricity does marvelous things to the dead, some would say it can wake them with the right voltage," Feist was saying.

"Did you get that from Mary Shelley? Because you totally missed the whole point of the story then, it's not the giant corpse that's the monster but the graverobbing mad scientist that wanted to play God. You're all the same whether its fiction or fact, you all want more than you can possibly hold onto and aren't meant to obtain and in doing so you destroy everything you touch, all in the name of science." I lunged for the commander as he was closest, dodging the lightning rod and snatching a small remote control hanging from his ammo belt and crushing it in one hand. Loki's electro disc thing on his neck fell off as well as his muzzle then while I grabbed another guy's rod from him and gave em a taste of their own medicine, zapping a few before wrapping an arm around one dude's neck and holding him in front of me like a shield.

"You got nowhere to go from here, Noelle. You're completely surrounded, the majority of the people in this building are either HYDRA or your people on our side, you don't even know where we took you, where you are right now. Just give up now and save us all the trouble," Feist called down to me.

"Is that right? You really think that, do you?" I asked incredulously. Death magic gathering in my limbs for my next move. "There's so many things wrong with what you just said, I'm going to start saying Hydra whenever something else is wrong with someone's statement." Machinery all around started glitching as I pushed my power into the electrical lines of the building, my magic couldn't outright kill people but it did kill inanimate things not made of blood and flesh like machinery and things run by electricity. Natural magic as death magic was clashed with manmade things like that.

"Then enlighten me, tell me what's wrong with what I said."

"I'm not trapped in here with y'all...you're all trapped in here with me." A surge of power went through me into the building, causing the lights to either explode like it did in Loki's container or just shut off, computer systems malfunctioned, including the one linked to Loki's cell, sparks flying everywhere, alarms going off. I threw the guy I was using for a shield into the other team members of the commander as a distraction and darted away into the darkness.

"Spread out, she can't have gone far!" the commander shouted above the chaos. "She wouldn't leave Loki behind like that."

He was right, I wasn't leaving without Loki , especially since he had the whole teleportation thing going and I wanted out asap. I waited in the darkness for an agent to get close enough before grabbing him from behind and tearing him apart, his screams and gun going off as he tried to defend himself before going out in a spray of blood. Of course two more team members went to where his body was left but I had moved on to another loan team member. One by one, they went down with blood and bullets everywhere until it was just the commander left.

"Come out and face me, you coward," growled the commander, gun in one hand, hunting knife in the other.

"I'm the coward? Who here needed a team of 6 to try and take down one dead girl? Only cowards use quantity over quality."

He shot where he thought I was according to where he heard my voice but lucky for me, metal and glass make echoes. He kept shooting at where he thought I was till he was right where I wanted him to be.

"Guess again," I hissed in his ear from behind him. He spun around with his knife this time but I had dropped to my knees so his knife went above my head completely and with a knife I snatched from another agent, slashed him deep in the stomach several times, going right through his bulletproof vest and into flesh and guts. He dropped his knife to try and hold in his innards before dropping to his knees and falling to his side right after. I stepped over him to Loki's cage and easily pulled the malfunctioning sliding door open for him, grabbing hold of his cuffs as he stepped toward me that released him instantly from my touch.

"You're covered in blood," he noted once he got a good look at me in the darkness.

"You're welcome," I replied dryly. "Can you get us out of here before the backup generators kick in?"

"Where do you have in mind?"

"Hawthorne Hotel, might be a bit obvious for the Avengers but it's all I can think of."

"Done." He took my hand in his and right as more agents and the first necromancer I saw coming in here came running in to surround us, green magic swirled around Loki and me and we were suddenly where I belonged.

#loki fanfiction #loki fanfic #loki romance #necromancy #necromancer #avengers #loki x oc #loki x original female character #loki x nell #nell the necromancer

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 7 years

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What are other books/series that you'd recommend that are in the same vein as Animorphs?

Honestly, your ask inspired me to get off my butt and finally compile a list of the books that I reference with my character names in Eleutherophobia, because in a lot of ways that’s my list of recommendations right there: I deliberately chose children’s and/or sci-fi stories that deal really well with death, war, dark humor, class divides, and/or social trauma for most of my character names. I also tend to use allusions that either comment on Animorphs or on the source work in the way that the names come up.

That said, here are The Ten Greatest Animorphs-Adjacent Works of Literature According to Sol’s Totally Arbitrary Standards:

1. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L’Engle

This is a really good teen story that, in painfully accurate detail, captures exactly what it’s like to be too young to really understand death while forced to confront it anyway. I read it at about the same age as the protagonist, not that long after having suffered the first major loss in my own life (a friend, also 14, killed by cancer). It accomplished exactly what a really good novel should by putting words to the experiences that I couldn’t describe properly either then or now. This isn’t a light read—its main plot is about terminal illness, and the story is bookended by two different unexpected deaths—but it is a powerful one.

2. The One and Only Ivan, K.A. Applegate

This prose novel (think an epic poem, sort of like The Iliad, only better) obviously has everything in it that makes K.A. Applegate one of the greatest children’s authors alive: heartbreaking tragedy, disturbing commentary on the human condition, unforgettably individuated narration, pop culture references, and poop jokes. Although I’m mostly joking when I refer to Marco in my tags as “the one and only” (since this book is narrated by a gorilla), Ivan does remind me of Marco with his sometimes-toxic determination to see the best of every possible situation when grief and anger allow him no other outlet for his feelings and the terrifying lengths to which he will go in order to protect his found family.

3. My Teacher Flunked the Planet, Bruce Coville

Although the entire My Teacher is an Alien series is really well-written and powerful, this book is definitely my favorite because in many ways it’s sort of an anti-Animorphs. Whereas Animorphs (at least in my opinion) is a story about the battle for personal freedom and privacy, with huge emphasis on one’s inner identity remaining the same even as one’s physical shape changes, My Teacher Flunked the Planet is about how maybe the answer to all our problems doesn’t come from violent struggle for personal freedoms, but from peaceful acceptance of common ground among all humans. There’s a lot of intuitive appeal in reading about the protagonists of a war epic all shouting “Free or dead!” before going off to battle (#13) but this series actually deconstructs that message as blind and excessive, especially when options like “all you need is love” or “no man is an island” are still on the table.

4. Moon Called, Patricia Briggs

I think this book is the only piece of adult fiction on this whole list, and that’s no accident: the Mercy Thompson series is all about the process of adulthood and how that happens to interact with the presence of the supernatural in one’s life. The last time I tried to make a list of my favorite fictional characters of all time, it ended up being about 75% Mercy Thompson series, 24% Animorphs, and the other 1% was Eugenides Attolis (who I’ll get back to in my rec for The Theif). These books are about a VW mechanic, her security-administrator next door neighbor, her surgeon roommate, her retail-working best friend and his defense-lawyer boyfriend, and their cybersecurity frenemy. The fact that half those characters are supernatural creatures only serves to inconvenience Mercy as she contemplates how she’s going to pay next month’s rent when a demon destroyed her trailer, whether to get married for the first time at age 38 when doing so would make her co-alpha of a werewolf pack, what to do about the vampires that keep asking for her mechanic services without paying, and how to be a good neighbor to the area ghosts that only she can see.

5. The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner

This book (and its sequel A Conspiracy of Kings) are the ones that I return to every time I struggle with first-person writing and no Animorphs are at hand. Turner does maybe the best of any author I’ve seen of having character-driven plots and plot-driven characters. This book is the story of five individuals (with five slightly different agendas) traveling through an alternate version of ancient Greece and Turkey with a deceptively simple goal: they all want to work together to steal a magical stone from the gods. However, the narrator especially is more complicated than he seems, which everyone else fails to realize at their own detriment.

6. Homecoming, Cynthia Voight

Critics have compared this book to a modern, realistic reimagining of The Boxcar Children, which always made a lot of sense to me. It’s the story of four children who must find their own way from relative to relative in an effort to find a permanent home, struggling every single day with the question of what they will eat and how they will find a safe place to sleep that night. The main character herself is one of those unforgettable heroines that is easy to love even as she makes mistake after mistake as a 13-year-old who is forced to navigate the world of adult decisions, shouldering the burden of finding a home for her family because even though she doesn’t know what she’s doing, it’s not like she can ask an adult for help. Too bad the Animorphs didn’t have Dicey Tillerman on the team, because this girl shepherds her family through an Odysseus-worthy journey on stubbornness alone.

7. High Wizardry, Diane Duane

The Young Wizards series has a lot of good books in it, but this one will forever be my favorite because it shows that weird, awkward, science- and sci-fi-loving girls can save the world just by being themselves. Dairine Callahan was the first geek girl who ever taught me it’s not only okay to be a geek girl, but that there’s power in empiricism when properly applied. In contrast to a lot of scientifically “smart” characters from sci-fi (who often use long words or good grades as a shorthand for conveying their expertise), Dairine applies the scientific method, programming theory, and a love of Star Wars to her problem-solving skills in a way that easily conveys that she—and Diane Duane, for that matter—love science for what it is: an adventurous way of taking apart the universe to find out how it works. This is sci-fi at its best.

8. Dr. Franklin’s Island, Gwyneth Jones

If you love Animorphs’ body horror, personal tragedy, and portrayal of teens struggling to cope with unimaginable circumstances, then this the book for you! I’m only being about 80% facetious, because this story has all that and a huge dose of teen angst besides. It’s a loose retelling of H.G. Wells’s classic The Island of Doctor Moreau, but really goes beyond that story by showing how the identity struggles of adolescence interact with the identity struggles of being kidnapped by a mad scientist and forcibly transformed into a different animal. It’s a survival story with a huge dose of nightmare fuel (seriously: this book is not for the faint of heart, the weak of stomach, or anyone who skips the descriptions of skin melting and bones realigning in Animorphs) but it’s also one about how three kids with a ton of personal differences and no particular reason to like each other become fast friends over the process of surviving hell by relying on each other.

9. Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar

Louis Sachar is the only author I’ve ever seen who can match K.A. Applegate for nihilistic humor and absurdist horror layered on top of an awesome story that’s actually fun for kids to read. Where he beats K.A. Applegate out is in terms of his ability to generate dream-like surrealism in these short stories, each one of which starts out hilariously bizarre and gradually devolves into becoming nightmare-inducingly bizarre. Generally, each one ends with an unsettling abruptness that never quite relieves the tension evoked by the horror of the previous pages, leaving the reader wondering what the hell just happened, and whether one just wet one’s pants from laughing too hard or from sheer existential terror. The fact that so much of this effect is achieved through meta-humor and wordplay is, in my opinion, just a testament to Sachar’s huge skill as a writer.

10. Magyk, Angie Sage

As I mentioned, the Septimus Heap series is probably the second most powerful portrayal of the effect of war on children that I’ve ever encountered; the fact that the books are so funny on top of their subtle horror is a huge bonus as well. There are a lot of excellent moments throughout the series where the one protagonist’s history as a child soldier (throughout this novel he’s simply known as “Boy 412″) will interact with his stepsister’s (and co-protagonist’s) comparatively privileged upbringing. Probably my favorite is the moment when the two main characters end up working together to kill a man in self-defense, and the girl raised as a princess makes the horrified comment that she never thought she’d actually have to kill someone, to which her stepbrother calmly responds that that’s a privilege he never had; the ensuing conversation strongly implies that his psyche has been permanently damaged by the fact that he was raised to kill pretty much from infancy, but all in a way that is both child-friendly and respectful of real trauma.

#ya sf #book recs #sci fi #children's literature #animorphs #a ring of endless light #the one and only ivan #my teacher flunked the planet #moon called #the theif #homecoming #high wizardry #dr. franklin's island #sideways stories from wayside school #magyk

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theradioghost · 7 years

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Audio Drama Podcast Recs

EDIT: well jesus this thing is getting old! If you’re looking for podcast recommendations I would recommend checking some of the newer posts I’ve made. I’ve expanded my subscription list from about 30 to over 150 in the years since I posted this, & at at this point it’s a pretty inadequate rec list.

Because I’ve gotten a few questions over time about podcast recs, both from people who are curious about audio drama, and fellow denizens of Podcast Hell™ who need something new, I wanted to put together this list so I could go a bit more into detail about why I love and recommend each of these amazing audio dramas.

Rather than trying to rank them, I tried to organize this list roughly based on popularity, at least based on my dash! More well-known shows are listed first, and then my faves that I don’t see getting nearly the love that they deserve. Especially with the volume of new innovative audio drama being created, there’s some really good stuff out there not getting nearly enough attention. Which is not to say that, if you’re a new podcast fan, you have to start with the most popular – but those shows are more likely to have an active fandom. (Of course, there are a ton of great podcasts out there, and plenty (both popular and obscure) that I don’t listen to yet.)

I also have a podcast rec tag and a very long list of audio dramas, if you want to go hunting for something beyond these recommendations here. Additionally, if you want more details or content warnings about any of these shows, feel free to message me on or off anon and I’ll do my best to answer! This post really focuses on the positives of each show and who I think might enjoy them.

WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE – Community radio from a friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, the dog park is forbidden, the mayoral candidates aren’t human, the weather is a mystery, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep.

If you know anything about audio drama podcasts, there’s like a 99.99% chance you know about Night Vale already. If not, just go listen. It’s weird and amazing and beautiful and helped to make a lot of this possible. Or if 100+ episodes plus live shows is overwhelming, don’t (but come back to it someday. It is magical).

For people who like: surrealism, humor, ‘radio show’ format, somewhat less emphasis on plot, diversity, indie music, experimental storytelling, a large back catalog of episodes, a fandom considered large by regular standards and not just podcast standards.

ALICE ISN’T DEAD – As she travels across America, a trucker tells the story of her search for the missing wife she had presumed dead, of the mysterious danger stalking her down freeways and backroads, and of the much bigger – and more terrifying – mystery she is uncovering.

The first and most popular of Night Vale Presents’ other podcasts. Gothic Americana soft horror lesbians! The writing, atmosphere, and orchestration are all superb, as is Jasika Nicole’s monologue performance. I personally recommend car/transit listening. (Also, you can get the whole soundtrack for free, and you should definitely do that.)

For people who like: surrealism, horror, Americana, female leads, lesbians, atmosphere, introspection, mystery, great music, something to drive to.

WOLF 359 – Doug Eiffel doesn’t want to do his job, Hera is a friendly but faulty AI, Dr. Hilbert is probably a mad scientist, Commander Minkowski wishes she wasn’t in charge of these idiots, and together, the four of them make up the entire crew of the USS Hephaestus space station. It’s not a picnic at the best of times: they’re isolated in a constantly malfunctioning tin can, orbiting a red dwarf star eight light years from Earth, and working for a shady corporation with coworkers they can’t stand. Then Eiffel starts to receive inexplicable transmissions from deep space – and everything gets so, so much worse.

It’s a hilarious office sitcom! It’s a character-driven deep-space sci-fi thriller! It’s a tragic, thematically powerful story about personhood, communication, and isolation! It’s all of those things, often within three lines of one another and frequently all at once! Wolf 359 is probably a masterpiece and now, heading into its fourth and final season, it continues to surprise and impress me every single time. Alan Rodi’s music is evocative and superb and the cast and writing are top-notch. One of the best. Listen to it.

For people who like: excellent character-driven writing, great music, well-written women, a gender-balanced ensemble cast, intimate sci-fi, hilarious and often referential humor, scary corporate overlords, cerebus syndrome.

THE PENUMBRA PODCAST – In Hyperion City, metropolis of a far-future Mars, a private eye named Juno Steel is pulled into life-threatening criminal conspiracies, and tangles with an even more dangerous, nameless thief – who could be his worst enemy or the love of his life. Within the Second Citadel, human civilization is protected by knights who venture out into the jungles to fight the monsters that threaten them – but some knights are discovering monsters who seem just a bit different. On the Painted Plains, a train-robbing bandit steals away a schoolteacher – and her heart. All of these and more are stories waiting to be heard behind the doors of the Penumbra, the grandest hotel this side of Nowhere. And absolutely none of them are straight.

Fabulously written genre-bending “queer AF” anthology show. The best is the Juno Steel series, about a bisexual, nonbinary sci-fi PI, which remains eminently and hilariously quotable even as it wrenches your heart out with genre-deconstructive depictions of mental illness and one of the most believable and emotional romances I’ve seen in ages . The Second Citadel fantasy series is also starting to come into its own in the second season and the standalone stories from the first season are a pretty damn good listen (LISTEN TO THE GAY WESTERN. DO IT.) I love this show, I love everyone from this show, I love everyone associated with this show, and I love Mick Mercury.

For people who like: playing with genre tropes, OTR, noir fiction, diversity, romantic chemistry, a variety of stories, suspense, heartache.

THE BRIGHT SESSIONS – Dr. Joan Bright isn’t an ordinary therapist, but her patients aren’t ordinary patients. Sam’s panic attacks bring on bouts of involuntary time travel; Caleb has it hard enough negotiating teenage emotions without also experiencing the feelings of everyone around him; Chloe can’t escape hearing other people’s thoughts; and the less said about Damien, the better. But Dr. Bright, too, is more than she first appears.

It’s a hard-hitting and poignant show about mental illness and people recovering from deep traumas, and also it is about superpowers. As the concept implies, the show is highly character-driven, and it develops an ensemble cast incredibly well. These guys are friends with the Wolf 359 crew and apparently have taken lessons from one another in how to ramp up a plot from “fun” to “oh god why,” but let’s be honest: that’s what we’re here for. Also, unjustifiably sweet gay teen romance, really cute friendships between ladies, at least one cat.

For people who like: highly character-focused narrative, superpowers, moral questions, ensemble casts, cool female leads, shady government activities, great acting.

ARS PARADOXICA – One minute, Dr. Sally Grissom is conducting cutting-edge physics research in her lab in early-21st-century Texas. A single mistake later, she’s on the deck of the U.S.S. Eldridge, in Philadelphia, 1943, smack dab in the middle of a classified WWII weapons experiment. She’s accidentally put time travel into the hands of the US government just as the nuclear era kicks off. And she can’t ever go back.

I assume everyone has heard of ars P because I assume that everyone knows Mischa Stanton. (They work on what must be like 50% of all podcasts that exist at this point, including The Bright Sessions.) Everything they do is pretty much a must-listen, but especially ars p, the “sad time show” to Wolf 359’s “sad space show.” The writing sticks out to me for its sense of consequence; it’s a major theme of the show that everything that happens will have serious and cumulative effects. Deservedly award-winning sound design. As a bonus, it crossed over with The Bright Sessions; if you like one, you might like the other.

For people who like: sci-fi, period settings, cold war thrillers, cool female leads, time travel with rules, complex and grey moralities, science lesbians, diverse ensemble casts.

EOS 10 – Dr. Ryan Dalias has enough to deal with just as the new head surgeon on a massive space station (alien aphrodisiacs, space anti-vaxxers, mind-controlling plants…) But as if that weren’t enough, his boss is an alcoholic misanthrope who has received an unwelcome ultimatum about his drinking; the nurse may or may not be inclined to bite people; there’s a deposed alien prince in the examination room who won’t put his pants back on; and an intergalactic terrorist who wants his name cleared is hiding in the cargo bay. And those are the people on his side.

I have my issues with EOS 10, not least of which is that it is still mired in a two-year hiatus (though Season Three is finally going into production soon? FINGERS CROSSED). I usually forget those issues when I listen because it’s still a frankly hilarious space comedy and the entire main plot is kicked off because of a potentially deadly boner. Think of it as the strange offspring of DS9 and Scrubs. Come for wild space shenanigans, stay for surprisingly heartfelt storylines about addiction (and even wilder space shenanigans). If W359 sounds cool but maybe a little heavy for you (or if the first season was your favorite), EOS 10 might be more up your alley.

For people who like: Star Trek, comedy, space scifi adventures, alien characters, gay space pirate cowboys, waiting.

THE THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR – “America’s favorite new time podcast in the style of old time radio.”

An anthology show like The Penumbra which takes a comedic approach to its old time radio inspiration instead (and it is very OTR inspired – not just playing with the same genres). Has a lot of segments, not all of which are created equal; two are standouts. Sparks Nevada: Marshall on Mars (which has a continuous plot) follows a deadpan robot-fighting lawman, the Martian tracker who provides him with somewhat vitriolic companionship, and their various allies across the sci-fi-comedy-western landscape of Space Future Mars. Beyond Belief (which is episodic) stars alcoholic socialites Frank and Sadie Doyle, who may be world-renowned paranormal experts, but who mostly just combat supernatural evils so they can get back to their two greatest loves: booze and one another. It was recorded live, often featuring celebrity guest stars (most notably and frequently Nathan Fillion), and recently ended its many-year run.

For people who like: OTR, forties/fifties culture, really REALLY cute couple chemistry (Beyond Belief), humor, much more lighthearted content, a large back catalog, great music, corpsing.

GREATER BOSTON – Leon Stamatis’s perfectly organized life abruptly ends one day at the top of the first hill of a roller coaster – and that’s where the real story begins. His death will start a domino effect of change rippling through a Boston where activists agitate for subway lines to form their own city, shadowy executives watch over offices where magazine editors predict the future, and Google Calendars are updated from beyond the grave.

Guys, I am never gonna shut up about this show. At this point it’s probably my favorite podcast. Experimental fiction, a sort of regional-gothic-slice-of-life, with a plot that builds into the story of an interconnecting community of people, all of them growing and learning and changing and interacting, even the dead ones. And it plays more brilliantly and hilariously and beautifully and poignantly with format and writing and character than you’d think possible. I sometimes see it compared to WTNV (the “weird town” angle), but I think it’s likely to appeal to fans of The Bright Sessions: its characters may be dealing with incredibly strange situations, but the focus (and the appeal) is the development of those characters and their relationships with one another. Alternately, just literally everyone should listen. It’s that good.

For people who like: ensemble casts, experimental fiction, awesome women, strong character development, lesbians, playing with format, characters named Extinction Event, political intrigue, great music, Boston.

WOODEN OVERCOATS – Siblings Rudyard and Antigone Funn, along with their assistant Georgie, run a funeral home on the tiny Channel island of Piffling. It’s the only one, which is how they remain in business even though Rudyard is a punctuality-obsessed misanthrope and Antigone hasn’t left the morgue in daylight for 17 years. Then the world’s most perfect man, Eric Chapman, opens another funeral parlor directly across the street.

A British sitcom about rival funeral directors in a small town, with all of the dry, witty black humor that implies. "British” does always feel like the best adjective to convey the distinct sense of humor here. Also, it has amazingly high production values. Like, it just sounds really, really good. Also, it’s narrated by a talking mouse. The third season was just announced, so now is a really great time to catch up.

For people who like: black comedy, British comedies, rivalries of both business and sibling kinds, mysterious backstories, just a whole lot of dead people jokes, a more episodic structure.

THE BRIDGE – Once, you could drive all the way across the Atlantic in luxury and style, using the Transcontinental Bridge. Now, the Bridge is virtually abandoned. The employees of its Watchtowers are the only people left to tell its stories: stories about ghosts, about curses and illusions, about vanished and abandoned people and places, about the monsters whose places these were before the Bridge, and the strange and dangerous people who came there to find them.

IMHO, possibly the highlight of the writng for The Bridge is that they can create atmosphere like nobody’s business, and the show has a gorgeous soundtrack to boot. The characters are charming, the plot is intriguing, and the world they are building is like absolutely nothing else. Like Archive 81 below, it might appeal to those who’d enjoy Lovecraft if he didn’t suck so much in every possible way, although it’s much softer on the scary factor.

For people who like: atmosphere, storytelling, great character dynamics, sea monsters, spookiness, really fun ladies, ghost stories, mysteries, the bottomless depths and siren’s call of the ocean.

THE STRANGE CASE OF STARSHIP IRIS and UNDER PRESSURE – Starship Iris is the story of Violet Liu, a biologist forced by circumstance to join up with a ragtag crew of spacefarers to determine whether the explosion which killed every other person onboard her spaceship was really an accident. Under Pressure presents the notes of Jamie McMillan-Barrie, a researcher whose literary background did not prepare her to negotiate the kind of office drama that takes place on a research station at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Both of these are part of Procyon Podcasting Network, which also has more upcoming shows which I am beyond thrilled about; both are also incredibly diverse, both in-universe and behind the scenes. Both are charming and very, very gay as well as racially diverse; I’m particularly fond of Starship Iris, but everything that comes out of Procyon is more than worth a listen. They’ve started pretty recently and have only a few episodes each.

For people who like: space scifi, found family tropes, workplace drama, human/genderless alien romance, space lesbians, diversity, cool female leads.

THE ORBITING HUMAN CIRCUS (OF THE AIR) – The dreamy, accident-prone janitor of the Eiffel Tower does his best to get himself a place in the fantastical, impossible radio variety show being broadcast from the tower every night. Will he ever be successful? Will the show survive his attempts? And just where do the mysterious and magical acts come from?

Considering it’s a Night Vale Presents podcast and stars an A-list of my favorite underappreciated creatives I was kind of shocked at how little discussion I see. OHC is so charming and dreamlike and heartwarming; it’s like recapturing the feeling of a particularly magical bedtime story. It features Mandy Patinkin singing Cheap Trick and you need that in your life. Also, it has a platypus in it.

For people who like: OTR, John Cameron Mitchell/The Music Tapes/Neutral Milk Hotel, a gentler weirdness than other NVP podcasts, Paris, charm, experimental storytelling.

WITHIN THE WIRES – You are a patient at the Institute. You have been instructed to listen to this series of relaxation tapes to aid in your treatment. You must trust my voice. You must trust only my voice.

NVP’s other highly underappreciated show. WTW manages to tell a narrative in a format (self-help relaxation tapes) I would have never thought possible, and though it’s difficult to say much about what makes it so good without spoiling the effect of that excellence, it’s a great choice if you’re weird-fiction-inclined. Like Alice Isn’t Dead, it also features lesbians. (It may not be good for anyone who has trouble with unreality, disturbing second-person commands, or depictions of institutionalization.)

For people who like: experimental storytelling, WLW love stories, surrealism, dystopic fiction, suspense.

INKWYRM – Mella Sonder was hired to work with a recalcitrant AI, not to be personal assistant to Annie Inkwyrm, head of outer space’s premiere fashion magazine – and the two of them will probably be fighting about that, along with all of the other disasters they get tangled up in, until the star they’re orbiting explodes. Or until they fall in love.

My money’s on the latter (fingers crossed please make it happen), but this show just finished a really fun first season and I absolutely cannot wait for more of it. I’m a sucker for dysfunctional coworker comedy, and an even bigger sucker for girls falling in love; this offers both and is excellent, and is just incredibly done for an amateur podcast. The peeps making it are inspiring and badass and really, really talented.

For people who like: The Devil Wears Prada, scifi, diversity, vitriolic romantic tension, cool female leads, alien characters, wlw romance, incompetently homicidal AIs.

THE BEEF AND DAIRY NETWORK – The number one podcast for those involved – or just interested! – in the production of beef animals and dairy herds.

Honestly almost impossible to describe. What really gets me is the hilarity of how it somehow perfectly imitates the public radio/industry podcast style, delivering you important updates from the world of cattle products, except not from a world anything like ours. Endless beefy fun times with the occasional sharp right turn into body horror and potent unreality played for comedy. This and Alice Isn’t Dead are my dad’s favorite podcasts, which probably says something about him.

For people who like: Wooden Overcoats (it’s by the same folks!), weirdness, humor, much less of a focus on narrative, ‘radio show’ format, satire, rich beef sausages.

ARCHIVE 81 – Dan Powell is missing. He was hired, so he thought, for a simple job cataloguing an archive of tapes for the New York state government: a series of interviews that a woman named Melody Pendras conducted with the tenants of an odd apartment building. Then the story on the tapes becomes impossibly strange and terrifying, and so does Dan’s life.

Another one where I’m not sure whether everyone knows about it and just isn’t talking, but they should be. It’s probably a sign of how fantastic A81 is that it’s one of my favorites even though I ordinarily can’t stand horror. This post really extolls its virtues in a better way than I can. This show has some of the most incredible sound design I’ve heard yet, so if visceral body horror conveyed solely through the audio medium isn’t for you, then neither is Archive 81. On the other hand, if you like extradimensional lesbian apotheosis and the nickname “Boombox Fuckboy,” listen to this. On top of that, the acting is superb. (The creators, Dead Signals, also did an apocalyptic scifi survival-horror miniseries thing called The Deep Vault, which is similarly beyond well-made.)

For people who like: horror, weirdness, found footage format, great music, absolutely stellar atmospheric and action sound design, excellent and realistic acting, The King in Yellow, a ‘Lovecraftian’ feel not based on hatred of anyone who isn’t straight/white.

JIM ROBBIE AND THE WANDERERS – Three trouble-seeking wandering musicians (one brash and upbeat, one an argumentative engineer, and one a grumpy robot brought to life from a radio and assorted cutlery) wander a post-apocalyptic America populated by strange towns and fantasy beings, some friendly, others dangerous.

This is another show that really charmed me right out of the box. Not to mention that it’s a take on “post-apocalyptic” that I’d never seen before – why have grim ruins or cannibalistic societies when you can have giant friendly genderless bees, an NYC inhabited by partying undead, towns full of squid-people, and desert-dwelling leprechauns? It’s much more of a fantasy take on the genre and the characters are incredibly sweet. I was also really impressed by the quality bump it’s undergone over its run so far.

For people who like: fantasy, more lighthearted narratives, fun and creative concepts, a villain called “The Fig-Wasp King,” great music, friendship, cool female leads, diversity.

THE HIDDEN ALMANAC – A thrice-weekly, four-minute show hosted by the plague doctor Reverend Mord, offering historical anecdotes from another world, the feast days of unlikely saints, and useful gardening advice.

Tired of that one analogy from every news article of the 2013 Night Vale boom (“like Stephen King/H.P. Lovecraft wrote A Prairie Home Companion”), writer/artist Ursula Vernon decided to take a crack at recreating Garrison Keillor’s other show, The Writer’s Almanac, in a similar fashion. Compared to WTNV, it comes off as less ‘weird’ and more fantastical, and is on the light side continuity-wise, though both the historical events and the frame show have arcs. In the past couple of years there have been a lot more story arcs, many lasting months, and a lot more appearances from guest character Pastor Drom and other characters. I find it incredibly charming and relaxing.

For people who like: fantasy weirdness, the actual Writer’s Almanac, WTNV, gardening, vitriolic friendships, worldbuilding, short runtimes, less of a focus on plot, large back catalogs, worldbuilding, crows.

#my posts #podcast recs #podcast recommendations #hey! here's that thing ive been doing #also before u ask about taz: im only to pttm and will probably add it once ive caught up #bobbie recommends things

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galimatios · 4 years

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sci fi ya au musings from twitter thread mostly nts

maybe i do want to write YA science fiction ya with gay and all my favorite self indulgent tropes and also plugsuits

I HATE MYSELF I IMMEDIATELY HAVE SCENES IN MY HEAD . ITS BEEN TWO GODDAMN SECONDS. I DONT EVEN KNOW WHO THESE CHARACTERS ARE YET tjinking about those rooms in that one ep of black mirror where youcan program jt tk show whatever you want on the walls. maybe projection of virtual reality vs reality as a major motif. simulations and distance... long distance relationships during a war in space action too... have to think about an enemy but maybe we rag on capitalism a littlle maybe some conglomerate is fighting a proxy war using aliens vs the govt the protags are in the military for theme.. war sucks bye but also theres dynamics i want

UM I CAN PUT BIG MECHA INNNNNNNN YEAHHHH anyway i want 2 loyal dog dynamics to juxtapose w eachother + platonic soulmate type protag duo, best friends , one girl one boy, theyre both equally important, some SHIT happens and theyre forced on different sides at some point one loyal dog is treated well, like an equal, will follow x to the end of the world the other is Not treated well. i want to explicitly make that relationship abusive so i can point at it in the text itself and have other loyal dog be like , that's not love. abandoned loyal dog gets adopted by main duo, ends up in a relationship w one of them (whichever one makes it gay), im ship girl with side character who inspires tf out of her, sort of like. theyre competitive and the side character is light years more skilled but girl wants the challenge, wants the chase, is fueled by the prospect of catching up so "wait for me" LAYS DOWN NONE OF THESE CHARACTERS HAVE NAMES OR DESIGNS OR ANYTHING BUT IM ALREADY ATTACHED TO THESE CONNECTIONS mc pair: one techy soft boy nerd who just wants to protect his family so thats why he agreed to help develop/operate tech bc he thinks this is how he can help headstrong pilot ace girl who has no one but wants to prove herself and make a name for herself so she'll be remembered she wants to win glory for herself and comes off as super confident but actually she's just. asuka evangelion except she doesnt crash and burn so bad bc she has the boy who sees thru it, you dont have to try so hard probably happens after a fight where she's reckless hes not one to get mad but this time he's pissed bc she was exceptionally close to dying, yells at her, why do you keep trying so hard to die kinda snaps her back to reality he wants her to rely on him more bc that's what hes here for anyway loyal dog defects from enemy + meets this pair after other loyal dog suggests he joins the crew, tech boy is kind to Everyone but loyal dog FORMERLY AN ASSASSIN ???????? TYPE?? SNIPER?? develops baby crush girl sips her drink :3c

I HAVE TO THINK MORE ABOUT THEM BC OH NO THEYRE CUTE but girl is chasing after some nb femme prodigy who she's rivals with and admires for more than just her skill theyre both emotionally constipated idiots tho so its like. (hand touch) thats enough for 100 years there is. so much tension. and prodigy seems so perfect on the outside but is actually in some kind of super strict fucked up program bc of her skill, and she hated it and is suffering ace pilot is the one to barge in headstrong and fuck everything up and get her out of there girl believes prodigy is amazing. really. incredible. a part of her feels like she'll never catch up . but even so watching prodigy walk into the unknown unflinchingly resolute ... it's both sad in a way bc she's being left behind but also she wouldnt have it any other way bc she thinks forward is the only way prodigy should be facing. its what inspires her. that strength ... h they definitely settle down together in the future tho bc i need ththattt

"when this is all over" said the prodigy, "come find me" this is so self indulgent anyway plotwise once both the govt and the enemy r revealed to be equally bad the main cast defect to a revolutionary group. they will Not win within the span of the novel but theyll have a small victory, very les mis one day more flavored, and even if they did not win they stood for something they believed in, did something to try and tell the truth... also i need more of a cast so i can kill characters off nice now all i have to do is fill all this in with world building and action and stuff and ill have a novel so many sci fi things have done the 2 pilot mind sync emotional thing right so if i do the same thing no one knows if i took it from one franchise or another i need to twist it around a little but i may have ideas haha i can. totally make this a part of my fucking huge sci-fi au really wanna call main girl lane and main boy khemrin . .. i cant unsee the girl as rey flavored so shes ending up w red hair and irish, but boy is SEAsian with a huge family, loyal dog who defects is african, prodigy is asian, other loyal dog feels south american prodigy... astrid is her real name but she may have a codename fsr? idk why i feel it. icarus? assassin defector... something that starts with an o or a d other loyal dog... i need to think but i also need to figure out the personalities of their respective pairs inserts minh as evil one. done. maybe mephis adjacent character for the... no mephis doesnt care abt anyone BUT hed be a great side character OH god what if au jonah and ambrose oh boy. FUCK jonahs probably there for some special task bc hes. attuned to some shit idk

I GUESS IM GONNA DEVELOP AMBROSE MORE ive only written him as a young adult but as a teen hes angry and rebellious and got drafted, ended up being a simple foot soldier but he meets jonah and a lot changes jonah's there on top secret bullshit, same program as astrid definitely has some shit to do With Experiments. astrid has enhanced eyesight/coordination on top of being an ace combat pilot, i think jonah might be able to open up warp gates or limited pocket space mephis is evil scientist who doesnt care abt casualties

I'm thinking about unnamed pilot lesbians and i am. enamored immediately holy shit god they're both so goal oriented and focused but once the fighting is finally over they finally allow themselves to embrace the intensity of their emotions for eachother and i am fucking perishing they were essentially raised as child soldiers so it's this clumsy process of trying to figure things out for the first time, this kind of innocent but intense and blooming love between two hardened soldiers, the years of war coming away when they're together for the first time actually fuck i did name them but i'm still not sure about ace pilot girl? i want to name her lane or something monosyllable, maybe i'll revamp raine and make her this oc instead... either way i'm just. ugh. UGH. FUCK. holy shit they love eachother so much

I"M GETTING REALLY FUCKED UP ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THE PRODIGY (ASTRID) DYING IN THE LINE OF DUTY or well at least goes missing, presumed dead but raine just... doesn't believe it. astrid can't die. she's too amazing. there's no way fucking. huge disbelief. she refuses? raine going on a near suicidal self-appointed mission against commander's orders to rescue her, khemrin tries to hold her back but he can't, she' fucking gone speeding off on one of the fastest scouting ships she can hijack raine finding her alive but barely conscious in a damaged cockpit floating in space for who knows how long, raine unable to open the hatch and get to her but anchors her ship to hers, NOT EFFECTIVE BUT HER ONLY REAL CHOICE w/o compromising the air seal. makes the journey back astrid barely makes it to the space equivalent of a truck stop (unaffiliated) and raine calls for backup in panic and tries her best to tend to astrid's wounds an feed her and she's fucking PANICKING but trying so hard to keep it together astrid wakes up and raine's crying i don't have anything specific its just really soft and raine never Does this god when they meet again after the war, raine running her fingers over the scar left from astrid's helmet shattering h raine in a tux and astrid dressed like a princess and raine kissing her shoe sorry im gay bye

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themastercylinder · 5 years

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How many of us started into filmmaking with crude, 8mm “mad scientist” horror epics, churned out on weekends in basements, garages, and living rooms? How many of us later progressed to more sophisticated Super or Single 8 (maybe even 16mm) films with sync-sound, elaborate special effects, and jazzy titles? And finally, how many of us through these first two stages of normal film-making development yearn for the big times that crack at doing a real, honest-to-goodness feature film? The answer to all three questions is most of us. And our group certainly wasn’t an exception. Ever since the beginning of this magazine back in 1972 I have become very aware of the abundance of true talent hiding itself in the shadow of the words “amateur filmmaker.” I think the articles and film profiles presented in Cinemagic testify to that fact. And though many of the films and filmmakers presented in these pages are truly amateurs (albeit creative, talented amateurs), a good many have the ability and experience to rub elbows with the best of professional film people. With this knowledge in mind, and the fact that I’ve come to personally know so many talented filmmakers through the sheer existence of this magazine, I figured that it was time to pool local (and some not-so-local) talent for the purpose of making a feature-length theatrical film.

The plan was simple enough: gather together a group of technicians and special effects artists get each individual to chip in an equal share of money, and let everyone “donate” his time and talents. With this concept, and a very rough idea for a story, I called together a varied group of filmmakers from the local Baltimore area. Most of us knew each other pretty well on a social level, but few of us had ever worked together on a creative film project. That first meeting, back in June of last year, went exceptionally well, and after three or four subsequent gatherings, we had kicked the story concept around and were setting our sights on a July 1 starting date. Our assembled group consisted of Dave Ellis, who would handle the sound recording; Britt McDonough as our chief cinematographer; Tony Malanowski as assistant director; John Cosentino on creature designs and special effects; George Stover playing a featured role in the film, as well as pulling in additional local acting talent; and yours truly, as script writer and director. Actually, such “titles” are nice and professional sounding, but when you get right down to it on just about any independent film, everybody does a little of everything. As mid-June rolled around and we had spent about two thousand hours in pre-production work (the tiny details are endless), I got a call from our only out-of-state partner, John Cosentino, who was handling the creation of two of our creature designs. “We’ll die inside these foam rubber suits in that heat,” John persuaded. And I listened, and finally. I agreed. So the July 1 commencement was pushed up until an October commencement. That worked out just as well, because typically, we hadn’t realized the tremendous amounts of time necessary to merely get ready for Day One of the shoot. October 1st came and went, and it wasn’t until October 16th that Day One actually happened. Now it is mid-January, and filming is just about completed. After working for five weekends in October and November, and knocking off for the holidays during December, filming was resumed a few weeks ago. We would be finished filming now, too, except for some terrible sound problems which cannot be ironed out. At the outside location for one of our major sequences we discovered that we were near a small suburban airport. Despite waiting endless hours for small planes to either land or get out of mike range, we still picked up enough of the buzzing airplane engines to be very noticeable. Our choice is to spend tons of money and time in a studio dubbing sound, or to find a new location and re-film that major sequence.

The Leemoid in the climactic battle scene in The Alien factor.

We’ve decided that in the long run, it’ll be much cheaper to re-film. The result is that we have only two small sequences which are usable from our October/ November shooting. Those sequences represent a lot of the total film, and our challenge now is to complete filming within a few weeks. We’ve already been out for two weeks in the worst winter weather in Baltimore history (average temperatures of about 10 degrees or lower) , and we have three more weeks to go. We’ve got most of the film in the can now, and we’re confident that we’ll have 100% by February 13th. Of course, by the time you read this it will probably be late March, and filming will have been finished, but I’ll let you know how it worked out in the next issue.

The Evolution Of The Story

My original idea was to make a ” film quickly and cheaply, a fast-buck vehicle that we could use as a springboard to bigger and better projects. The first title for our film was Lance Sterling Monster Killer, and it was to be a parody of every horror flick we’d ever seen. At first there was so much enthusiasm for this approach that we were coming up with more comedy and sight-gags than plot, and it seemed that the whole thing was turning into a sort of one-act satire. Finally, we came to our senses and said. nix.. From everything we had heard and read, the safest bet for a “first feature” was a straight-approach horror film. We continued on that premise, and I began writing the script. As the days rolled on, and script page after script page was completed, I started to notice that our ordinary horror film was turning more into a science fiction kind of thing, demanding a lot more special effects and good acting performances than we had previously calculated. A conflict then set in: should I continue writing this rather involved story, or scrap it and go back to a simple “monster-on-the-loose” concept? My decision was to compromise: three monsters on the loose with science fiction overtones. Thus our monsters became alien creatures, set loose on earth by an accident. Since we wanted our film to ring nostalgic of sci-fi films of the ’50’s, I set the whole story within the mythological small town of Perry Hill. If you change “Hill” to “Hall,” it should sound like a familiar place but “Perry Hall” somehow just doesn’t cut it as a small town.

The Zagatile attacks george Stover in this publicity still from Alien Factor.

So our imaginary small town took on all the characteristics of typical old sci-fi movies. Although there isn’t really any scene in the film taking place in the town’s exterior, we did find a suitable location for a few establishing shots. Just about all of the action “in town” was written to take place in the sheriff’s office, an interior we built on a super-modest budget in part of my basement. Our total office set budget came to about $50.00 and most of that was for lumber. I had several planks of sheet rock, which we used for the walls, and between us we all donated something to embellish the set: an old varnished door and table lamp from Dave Ellis, Venetian blinds from Tony Malanowski, a black dial phone from George Stover, and even an old wooden coat rack brought to us by our good friend Bruce Dods, who came down from New Jersey to watch us film one weekend. Our gun rack was purchased from a secondhand store for $5.00, and the guns placed on it were borrowed from a variety of people. The large bulletin board in the set is merely another piece of sheet-rock, framed and painted tan; and the local Post Office was eager to donate several old “wanted” posters. For a “call box” we set up a microphone and a wood-encased stereo speaker on top of a small particle board desk. The mike is a genuine tabletop one, picked up by one of our actors, Chris Gummer, for a dollar at a flea market. With all the ingredients put together, I’ve got to say that our sheriff’s office has charm, and a definite photogenic quality. Composition was generally easy when we shot on this set, and it’s visually enjoyable on the screen.

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Having the set built early helped me tremendously to visualize camera set-ups while I wrote the script. I knew the limitations of camera angles, and I always knew which direction the characters would have to face for continuity’s sake. The basic story of The Alien Factor is fairly typical, but that’s the way we wanted it. Three alien creatures are loose in this small town, and they’re attacking the townspeople left and right. The sheriff is stumped (he at first attributes the deaths to a large animal), and the mayor is on the sheriff’s back to “get out and find the thing before it kills anybody else!” The town doctor (a woman) helps thicken the mystery by discovering strange, impossible symptoms in several of the bodies (“No animal I’ve heard of could do that”). Meanwhile, there is an overly ambitious girl reporter the small town girl who’s been to the big city to study journalism and has now returned home to become the assistant editor of the town paper. She’s pesky, and constantly risking her neck within the film. Finally we have the outsider who comes into town, befriends the mayor, and inevitably becomes the savior. With these characters it was easy to create emotion and turmoil and hence, conflict. You’ve got to have conflict to have any sympathy for your characters, and if the audience can’t sympathize the story loses credibility (and it’s tough enough trying to make horror and science fiction believable). So far, our actors have done a convincing job, and in the daily rushes they seem believable to me, so I’m confident that when all is cut together properly, our story will have believable characters with whom the audience can identify. I should point out that we did things a bit backwards in our preproduction scheme; that is, we held screen tests and chose our actors before the final script was written. I had roughed out a story, described the characters, and scouted most of the exterior locations before we held the screen tests. With our cast selected, I knew precisely what sort of personalities I was dealing with, and although I had preconceived notions as to the characters in the film, knowing what the actors were like really helped. This was my first crack at writing an entire feature-length script, and Baltimore is not Hollywood—so it wasn’t a matter of having hundreds of talented actors at our disposal. We had to take what we could get locally for the most part, but somehow, the people we cast fit beautifully into their respective roles. The only sort of difficulty we encountered with our performers ( who are all working on a deferred payment basis) was in scheduling. We wormed our way around this by giving available actors scenes which were written for other actors (who weren’t able to meet schedules on particular days). Luckily, this sort of character-switching had no ill effect on the story, and in one case it actually worked out better.

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The Special Effects

Although our original concept was to make a quickie, fast-buck monster film, we wanted to at least have the monsters look good. When the script metamorphosed to a more plausible story line, we at first still decided to let our special effects go at three different “monster” creations. However, as we got further into developing our story, we saw a definite need for additional and more sophisticated effects. The first decision here was to make one of our creatures a stop motion model, rather than a man in a suit, like the other two creatures.

The Leemoid

For this task I convinced our cameraman, Britt McDonough, to build a ball-and-socket, latex build-up model, based on my specs. Britt put the model together in one week, using a new, simplified ball-and-socket construction method recently developed by a young man in Virginia. (This new method does not require drilling or soldering, and uses ready-made parts. We will present an article on this in a future issue.) The only significant difference in our stop-motion sequence is that the model will be superimposed over live action of an actor. The reason is that we want the creature called a Leemoid in the film, to be a rather ghostly energy creature who is visible only at night. The sequence involving the Leemoid takes place near the end of the film, and will last about three minutes on the screen.

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Ernest Farino ened up constructing the final version of the Leemoid.

The Zagatile

For our other creatures, we called on John Cosentino and Larry Schlechter. John (who, as I mentioned earlier, is from Michigan) submitted several drawings of various creatures, and two designs were chosen. One of them, a 7-foot-tall beast with furry legs similar to Harryhausen’s 7th Voyage cyclops, became our Zagatile in The Alien Factor. The second design must remain secret for now, for it would reveal too much about our plot. In any case, both creatures were meticulously sculpted in clay, and huge full body casts were made in plaster. John decided that he would have to wear the Zagatile outfit, so he somehow managed to make his own body cast. He used 700 pounds of plaster for the cast, and described it as “Yucchh!” His process was so intriguing, though, that I asked him to write an article about it for a later issue of CM (he agreed to do so). The unique thing about the Zagatile is its feet: a foot and a half of welded steel, with claw-shaped toes, and ski-boots at the top into which John strapped his own feet. Together with his own six-foot frame, John stood 7 feet tall when suited up and standing on the steel Zagatile feet.

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The Inferbyce

Larry Schlechter chose a different approach to creature design. Since his Inferbyce was to be a man-like version of a cockroach, Larry decided that for it to look hard-shelled, it would have to be hard-shelled. He created the suit in hinged sections out of a cardboard base with papier-mache build-up. Several coats of liquid latex, paint, and varnish complete the effect of a shiny, slithery cockroach-thing. With our main three creatures out of the way, we took to the task of additional special effects.

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The Crashed Ship

Many of these were simply in-camera optical effects, while others were miniatures combined with live action. One of the most convincing on-screen effects so far is a shot of a huge spaceship which is crashed into the earth. Two of our characters walk up to the large craft and inspect it. Here again, we called on the talents of John Cosentino and Britt McDonough. Together they constructed a beautiful miniature of the spaceship and surrounding “earth.” The earth was sculpted in Celluclay (a ready-made papier mache substance) and appropriately painted. To pull off the illusion of the live actors looking dwarfed against a giant craft we did a “deceptive perspective” shot. That is, the spacecraft model platform was arranged in such a way as to blend in with the live terrain, and the actors were placed several hundred feet away from the miniature. The camera, sporting a 10mm wide-angle lens, was placed a few inches from the model, and the effect became the illusion of a large spacecraft and tiny men. The important thing in such a shot is how well the tiny miniature actually blends in with the live terrain, and having both the close miniature and the distant actors in sharp focus. We were fortunate when we shot this sequence because it was an extremely bright day and we were able to close down the lens to f8. To further insure sharpness, we focused mid-way between the miniature and the actors. All-in-all, the effect is totally convincing, and people who have seen it think it’s some sort of precisely executed matte shot.

John Cosentino places twigs into the miniature papier mache platform that the spaceship model rests on. The miniature was coated with real snow.

After the miniature blends into the real, life-size landscape, the camera with a 10mm wide-angle lens is placed close to the miniature.

The miniature placed close to the lens creates the illusion of a huge spaceship. The actors are placed 200 feet in the background, lined up so that they appear to be next to the spaceship. It is important for the miniature to blend perfectly with the life-size background. It is usually best, therefore, to assemble the miniature set. up on location. The models and main ground pieces are built beforehand, but the final assembly needs to include dirt, sand (or in this case, snow), rocks and twigs from the location properly blended to merge with the background.

The foreground miniature is complete and ready for setting up with the actors. Note that the small twigs on the platform will blend in with real trees in the background adding depth to the perspective illusion.

Space ship miniature

Bill Cosentino … special effects assistant John Cosentino … ‘Zagatile’ (tall creature) designed by / special effects Ernest Farino … ‘Leemoid’ animated by (as Ernie Farino) / ‘Leemoid’ designed by (as Ernie Farino) Britt McDonough … special effects Ted Rae … special effects assistant (as Ted Richard Rae) Larry Schlechter … ‘Inferbyce’ (incect) designed by / special effects Visual Effects by Ernest Farino … additional photographic effects (as Ernest D. Farino) Original Source Material Cinemagic v1 09 (1977) Cinemagic v1 10 (1977) Cinemagic v1 11 (1978) Cinemagic v2 06

The Alien Factor (1978) Retrospective How many of us started into filmmaking with crude, 8mm “mad scientist” horror epics, churned out on weekends in basements, garages, and living rooms?

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