Thursday, April 30, 2015

Sci-Fi - Young Scott

"This little Sci-Fi prompt hardly seems worth a whole blog post, but I really liked how it turned out." -Casey


“Maybe a little,” the small human boy answered with a far off look in his eyes. “Why aren’t there any other humans here?”
Edrev felt his ears twitch with his nerves and hoped that Scott couldn’t read his “tell.” The military base was a training ground for the Tonkit army recruits. The strict alien race didn’t appreciate the weakness of the human race polluting the ideals of the recruits. 
“They like to do things their own way, just like the Tonkit, but their ways don’t always work together,” the man said at last. Scott nodded as if that settled everything in his mind.
“So, maybe one day I’ll join the Tonkit army and then I can help them work together.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Edrev scoffed. “A nice boy like you doesn’t need to become a soldier.” 
Story and Characters (C) SuperheroGeek13 

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Starlit Knight - Jason

"The seaqual to Bright Light about the next generation of super heroes. Jason missed out on having cool super power light his siblings." -Casey


Jason cried out in protest as a burst of light blinded him. He turned to find that his sister was holding her old heavy camera over a pot of flowers, mentally creating her own lighting with her powers.
“Can’t you just use the flash on the camera?” he grumbled in annoyance.
“I’m trying for unique source lighting,” the girl replied. “Flashing light from behind creates rich silhouettes.”
“I’m trying to do my homework!” the boy complained.
“Go and do it in your room,” Holly said absentmindedly as she set of another spark of light.
“Can’t,” he sighed. “Tom and Chris are messing with the black light.”
Holly finally looked up from her camera with a skeptical frown. “You don’t have a black light in your room,” she argued.
“We do now,” Jason sighed as he closed his school book and went to work out on the front porch. He never really wanted super powers of his own, but he did wonder why he hadn’t received any like his older and younger siblings. What use were “light powers” anyway? They only seemed good for interrupting one’s algebra homework.

Story and Characters (C) SuperheroGeek13

Sci-Fi - The Empath



"Mysterious character introduction time! I've used him in a couple of writing prompts on DA, but this is probably the most spoiler-ific of them all (even though it still tells you nothing! Mwah, ha,ha,haha!)." -Casey
 


The young man tapped his fist against the clear surface of his containment cell. The sound was muffled by the heavy atmosphere that filled the cylinder, but the boy wasn’t really trying to hear the sound. He was actually trying to feel the vibration high above him in the machinery. His captors didn’t really monitor him, he was nothing more than a failed experiment after all, but he monitored them very closely. He was an empath after all and he’d realized over the years that even computers could be understood if you just listened.
Among the endless chatter of information and their mantra of “Forever, forever, forever,” he could just make out the automated repairs that were made to the cell for the wear and tear he was causing. Repairs were ordered and carried out without any interference from the actual AIs that ran the facility.
He focused his thoughts, accessing the nanites coursing through his blood and added one other order to the chatter. “Open containment cell.”
The order was ignored, as usual. He needed to sound more like them, devoid of emotion and centrally focused on the task at hand. “Open,” he ordered once more. There was a whirring sound and then the cylinder surrounding him began to lift. He could feel the heavy air rushing out almost like running water and suddenly he felt so much lighter, like he might float from gravity’s grasp altogether. He took in a deep breath, which was suddenly much easier and then made a run for the exit. He could already sense all the alarms going off.

Story and Characters (C) SuperheroGeek13

Sci-Fi - Jack

"I've been really busy writing this month, but most of it has been for my story Athol, which means I won't be posting it here on the blog anytime soon.
So in the meantime, I do have a few writing prompts from Pinterest to share! This is from my still unnamed Sci-Fi story." -Casey


The nurse crept through the dark empty hallway, ducking beneath the windows that peeked into each of the hospital rooms. It didn’t do much good, the patients could still sense her walking by and they shouted and screamed at her presence. They were all so violent, trashing and swearing in their cells. She hated working this section of the hospital, but she was off the clock now and she was going to get answers about the patient at the end of the hall. She could feel his presence on the other side of the door and she was sure he could feel hers, but he didn’t shout. He never shouted. He was the only psycho in the ward that didn’t act like one. Yet he always received the harshest of treatments, the nurse knew this because she had signed off the equipment on the sign out sheets.
She unlocked the door and stepped inside the small bare room. The only piece of furniture in the room was the bed and the patient was strapped down to it at the waist, ankles, and wrists. His eyes were closed, but he took in a long breath as he heard the nurse approach. She stopped a few feet short, suddenly afraid of what the young man might do.
“So, are you now stalling for anticipation’s sake?” the young man asked, still keeping his eyes closed.
“Stalling?” the nurse asked, surprised by how normal the boy sounded. The patient turned to look at her at last with no trace of anything but contempt in his gaze. As hostile as the young man’s gaze was, she still recognized his kind pale green eyes. He’d been in the news so much lately, his smiling face plastered over every news scanner. He was much thinner now and his long hair had been cut short, but she knew with absolute certainty that this was Jk’son Tr’lock.

Story and Characters (C) SuperheroGeek13

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The Prince and the Poltergeist - Chapter Three (snippet)

"Well, I was holding off on this post until I could extend it a bit, but that hasn't happened yet. I'll have the finished chapter posted on fanfiction.net soon enough." -Casey


Chapter Three: The Ghost Revealed

The dancing lessons had done little to nothing to improve Prince Dexter's skills, but he Danny and Sam met up for the lessons all the same. Danny "Phantom" already knew all the steps to every dance, but thanks to his friends he was learning everyday to control his ghost powers. He could now fly through the air on a whim, which he learned as helped Sam to set up the lights and disco ball. He could turn himself and others intangible on command, which helped when Dexter lost control of his spin and nearly stumbled into his friends. Invisibility was still a troublesome trick, though he didn't much need it. He had no desire to hide. In fact, he hadn't felt so visible in his entire life. The ghost boy spun Lady Manson around the dance floor as Prince Dexter watched in a studious manner.
"Gee willikers, I'm never going to be able to do this," the teenager sighed. "And the ball is in less than 24 hours!"
"Dex, relax," Danny laughed. "I'm sure you'll get this by---wait... Less than 24 hours?"
"Well yeah," Sam nodded. "First thing tomorrow night."
"You are coming to the dance, aren't you, Danny?" Prince Dexter asked.
"Uh, well..." the younger prince hesitated. He'd grown so comfortable with his friends that he'd nearly forgotten about his need to stay hidden. No one was supposed to know that he'd become half ghost, Sam and Dex didn't even know that he was really Prince Fenton.
"I'm going to have an actual ghost at my ball!" Lady Manson shouted in delight. "This party is gonna rock!"
"I don't know, guys," the ghost boy sighed as he kicked uncertainly at the ground. "I don't think Lord Masters would really want me at the party."
"Wait, Lord Masters knows that you're here?" Dexter asked in surprised. "And he hasn't sicked the Fearsome Fentons on you yet?"
"W-well, it's sort of a special case," Danny stammered, realizing that he'd already said too much. "He---that is to say---He normally would, but..."
"Masters is harboring a fugitive? He's cooler than I thought," Sam joked as she nudged Dexter in the shoulder, perhaps a bit harder than was necessary.
"Guys, look, it's supposed to be a secret," the boy insisted.
Sam held her hand out and then waved it with a turn of her head in a nonchalant manner. "Pssh, relax," she assured him. "We haven't told anyone about you, Danny."
"Yeah, trust me, if anyone can keep a secret, it's me," Dexter said as he pointed to himself with his thumb.
"You will come to the ball, won't you?" Lady Manson asked once more, this time handing him an invitation that had "Nurturing Nature Ball" scrawled across it in shimmering dark green ink.
Danny knew better than this. Master Masters hadn't noticed him slipping away every night, but he would be at the party along with all the other guests. There was no way he could lay low amongst a crowd of normal none ghost guests. But what would he do after the party? Lady Sam Manson and Prince Dexter Poyne would be going back to their own lives across the Kingdom after this ball. Was he really going to pass on one last opportunity to hang out with them?
"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" he answered at last.

Danny Phantom (C) Nickelodeon
Story (C) SuperheroGeek13

Monday, February 23, 2015

Athol - Re-visited in Narrative Format

"One thing I often do to get over writer's block is to revisit scenes I've already finished in a different format. In this case, I moved to a narrative style for the ending of the first volume of Athol just so that I could get a better idea of Ciar's mindset at the time." -Casey


Once the dragon finally stopped moving, Ciar took in a deep breath. He clasped his right arm, which felt numb after swinging the axe against the dragon’s hard scales. That hadn’t been a problem before, but maybe that was why he hadn’t succeeded in killing it the first time around.
“Come on, Ciar,” came Perry’s voice. “We have to go.”
Perry probably saved his life with that glowing light trick. Ciar nodded, not looking forward to fighting anymore monsters today or ever again. As they made their way through the busy streets, Ciar’s numb arm began to burn with a searing pain. He tried to shake it off, but that only seemed to spread the sensation through the rest of his body. He told himself not to think about it, which in turn made his thoughts return to Sorcha.
“Where are we going?” he asked suddenly, realizing that they were getting farther and farther from the school.
“Back to the woods,” Perry replied as he glanced at the street signs uncertainly. “I can’t…it wouldn’t be safe to return to my village so we’ll have to make do with the wilds.”
Ciar stopped dead in his tracks and pounded his numb fist against the wall of a building. “We have to go back,” he demanded.
Perry turned to him with a pitiless frown. “Didn’t you hear them, Ciar?” the elf asked as Ciar leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “Your sister betrayed us!”
“We can’t leave her!” he insisted, his head spinning from how upset he was with Perry. He pushed himself off the wall with every intention of walking away and leaving the elf on his own, but he stumbled back against the wall instead. His legs were now numb and burning as well. What was going on?
“Ciar?” Perry asked with concern. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”
“Don’t know,” he replied, shaking his head. He ran his hand over his brow to wipe away the sweat that was beading on his warm forehead. As he did so, Perry began to stare at him with dismay.
“That witch’s blade…” he muttered. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”
“Didn’t exactly have time,” Ciar replied. In truth, he had nearly forgotten about the witch threatening him with a knife, but now he could recall it burning in the same way as it sliced through his cheek.
“It must have been coated in some sort of poison,” Perry sighed. He then recited one of his spells as he held his hand out to the cut running along Ciar’s face. When nothing happened, Ciar turned aside in annoyance.
“I don’t think that’s working,” he stated calmly, though he was starting to panic on the inside. What sort of poison was this if Perry couldn’t heal it?
“It did, there’s just no poison left in the wound,” the elf stated.
Ciar’s legs gave way beneath him and he stumbled forward, unable to use his arm to catch himself. He shoved his shoulder against the wall and locked his knees in place as best he could so that he wouldn’t fall to the floor. He realized now that he probably couldn’t walk anymore.
“What does---?” he started to ask, but was silenced when Perry commanded him with his magic words to sleep. Ciar of course didn’t understand the language, but he felt his eyes closing and he couldn’t hold himself up any longer. He fell forward, but Perry must have caught him because he didn’t ever hit the ground.

“Sorry, Ciar, but you need to stay calm or you’ll spread it further.”

No! Ciar mentally shouted at the elf as he slipped into unconsciousness. His sister was as good as dead if he couldn't reach her. His dreams flooded with the image of Sorcha kneeling down in the empty halls of the school, right where Ciar had left her. She was crying with her face buried in her hands, the indistinct sound of her calling his name mixed in with the sobbing. The girl was so preoccupied with her sorrow that she didn't see Fiona walking up behind her with a long knife clutched in one hand.

Athol and it's Characters (C) SuperheroGeek13

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Legend of Zelda: Or is it?

"Prepare to be confused! This is and is not a part of my Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker fainfic. I've had this in the works for a long time now. I won't spoil the surprise for those of you who actually know my characters. Read on!" -Casey


Vean stumbled ashore and quickly ended up falling to his knees. He'd been at sea for weeks now and had readjust to the ground not swaying under his feet. He stood up and slowly began to regain his balance as he walked up the beach. He remembered now that he really should have tied his boat down, but he didn't really care if it floated away right now. It wasn't like he had to worry about it carrying away his friend Loafer anymore.
There were tall cliffs rising up in every direction and Vean begrudgingly realized that he'd have to scale them if he wanted to get up into the forests to look for water. He decided he'd walk for a while and see if he could find a less steep way up. That ended up taking an hour, but he didn't really mind it. He hadn't gotten much excersize on that little boat and it felt good to stretch his legs again. He'd been sailing the ocean for almost fourteen years now and the appeal had long since worn thin. It took a while to scale the cliff, but the shade of the trees was more than worth the effort. This place was a lot more peaceful than the last place he visited.
Just his luck, right at that thought he felt a chill run up his spine. Something was nearby and it wasn't anything pleasant.
There was a loud crash deeper into the woods and Vean rushed forward with his sword drawn. It could just be a rouge monster, but he didn't want to take the chance that someone might be in danger. He found that the source of the noise had been a fallen tree that had been cut (or possibly clawed) right in half. There was a rapid clawing sound and a blur of something moving high up in the trees. That was all he saw before he was whipped aside and then pinned to the trunk of a tree. The creature had it's claws embedded in both the tree and Vean's left shoulder. Each of the crawls was as long as a sword and long black hairy arm stretched at least seven feet. What sort of monster was this?
Vean swung his sword at the long fingers of the beast and it recoiled with a low hiss. The claws were yanked away and Vean cried out at the pain in his shoulder. The monster's face finally came into view as it charged the boy, a long black mane around a small head with glowing orange eyes. Vean ducked and rolled aside as he gripped his sword tighter in his hand. It still wasn't charged yet.
A spray of water shot through the air, knocking the long spidey creature aside and giving Vean some room to breath again. He placed both his hands on the hilt of his sword and focused his powers. There wasn't time to wonder from where the water came. The blade began to glow with a white light and he sliced it through the air, sending a swirling disc of light at the monster. There was a blinding flash of light on impact and the the monster fell limply to the ground.
Vean turned his blade on the presence he felt behind him. The spray of water had come from something and he wasn't about to drop his guard now. He found another young man like himself leaning against a fallen tree, seemingly unable to retreat from the blade pointed at his face. Water dripped down the other teenager's dark hair as he attempted to pull himself up. "How did you...?" he began to ask, but he didn't get to finished his thought. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Vean sheathed his sword and quickly went to help the boy up. His pulse was weak and he looked rather pale, but other than that he didn't seem to be injured. As Vean tried to lift him up his own shoulder screamed out in pain. He was still bleeding from his earlier injury. He decided instead that the woods were as good a camping spot as any.

***

The sun had set by the time Vean's mysterious new friend began to stir, making an awful lot of noise on the bed of leaves he was wrapped atop. Vean rubbed his bandaged shoulder as he remembered the stain of getting the unconscious teenager onto that blanket.
The other boy sat up suddenly, grabbing at his forehead as if he'd gotten a bad head-rush from the action.
"Good evening," Vean said with a nod, catching his new friend's attention. "You alright?"
The other boy glanced around rapidly, trying to regain his baring in the dark. "What happened?" he asked as he finally decided to focus on Vean.
"Well," Vean began, trying to summarize what had happened in his own mind. "You picked a fight with a giant spider-squid, somehow drenched it and yourself in water, and then passed out."
It was probably better that he didn't mention the beam of light he had shot from his own sword. If the stranger had somehow missed it, there wasn't any point in drawing attention to it.
"Are you a sorcerer?" the boy asked.
So much for that plan. "Not exactly," Vean replied. "Are you?"
"Of sorts," he replied with a frown. "I'm a water mage. My name is Zared."
"Vean."

Big Hero 6 - Sunfire AU

"Inspired by a fan theory I heard about the movie that makes it fit in a bit better with the Marvel Universe. I didn't realize that "Big Hero 6" was a Marvel movie until weeks before the release and was kinda bummed to when I realized that there was no way they'd be able to allude the the X-Men. (Thanks, Fox! Grrr...) But now I have this fanfic to console me! And *Spoiler Alert*> this also means Tadashi isn't dead! Yay!<*End Spoilers* I'm sure there'll be more for this story pretty soon, seeing as how the DVD comes out on the 24th." -Casey


The streets had been little more than a blur of neon lights and rain for the last twelve blocks. The city was always chaotic, but it seemed even more so when you were lost. Tadashi couldn’t tell if it was early morning or early evening, but it was definitely dark out and there wasn’t anyone on streets. The teenager wandered in a daze until a line of cherry trees came into view. They were surrounding a small temple with a red columned gate with black tiled eaves that kept the steps dry in the torrential downpour. The young man stumbled underneath the protective cover and went to sit in the corner. As he took a moment to catch his breath a faint steam began to rise from his shoulders. He quickly removed his sweater and threw it aside, but the steam continued to rise up around him. He wiped the sweat from his brow and shook his head and closed his eyes in an attempt to clear his mind.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” he whispered as he clenched his fists before him. He opened his eyes as he unclenched his fists and a small flame bust to life between his fingers.
His muscles tensed as the flame danced before him.
Suddenly he wasn’t on the temple grounds, but at the convention center again. Flames were erupting all around him, heat rising up from below, and smoke choking him from above.
Where was Professor Callaghan?
An explosion suddenly consumed the building.
What was once a blazing nightmare was nothing but fire now.
Fire that swallowed Tadashi whole.
He cried out and dropped the small flame that was dancing above his hand. It died out before it hit the stone floor. He was back in the in the temple again, thunder rumbling outside. He shouldn’t have survived. Professor Callaghan hadn’t made it out, so why had he? How had he? No matter what angle he approached it from, it didn’t make sense.
The young man reached up to adjust his cap only to remember that he had lost it back at the college. He turned his hand before him instead and gasped at what he saw. His entire right arm was as black as soot. He attempted to wipe the strange substance off, but it didn’t come off. He pulled back the sleeve of his shirt to find it on his shoulder and even beginning to creep over his neck.
“Tadashi Hamada,” a voice called from the entrance of the temple.
The boy looked up to see a tall muscular figure standing in the rain, his features completely obscured by the backlight of the city streets, not the mention the lightning.
“What do you want?” the boy demanded, jumping to his feet and turning so that his blackened arm was out of the man’s line of site.
“I don’t wish to harm you,” the man continued. “In fact, I doubt anyone could harm you now that you’ve realized your abilities.”
“How do you know my name? Who are you?” the boy demanded.
The man stepped underneath the eaves and removed the kabuto style helmet he was wearing, revealing his short dark hair, though Tadashi still couldn’t quite make out his other features in the dim light.
“I am called the Silver Samurai,” he replied as he pounded his fist against his chest. “Like you, I am a mutant.”
The man stepped forward and Tadashi stumbled back in an attempt to gain some distance.
“Stay away from me!” Tadashi warned, raising his fists defensively. “Get back!”
Fire erupted from the boy's hands, the flames rising high above his head on either side of him. He recoiled, but the flames did not relent. He felt panic sweeping over him, but he forced himself to remember that he wasn’t in the convention center anymore. There had to be something he could do. Why was the fire stalking him like this?
The Samurai’s loud voice called out over the roar of the blaze. The man’s square jaw and dark eyes were finally visible in the light of the fire and he didn't seem fazed by the spectacle even though the flames were beginning to lick at the ceiling above them.
“The fire acts of its own spirit because you grant it that power,” he explained calmly. “Stop treating it as an outside force.”
Tadashi glanced quickly between the flames and the Silver Samurai as he struggled to stay in the moment, to focus on what was happening right now rather than what had happened before.
“Embrace that the flames are an extension of you yourself,” the man continued. “Then you may calm the fire as you would the beating of your own heart.”
Tadashi swallowed nervously as he felt his heart beating like a jackhammer. He forgot about the fire, both at the convention and here in the temple, and focused on slowing his pulse. He closed his eyes and took a long calming breath of the warm air around him. The heat slowly subsided and when he opened his eyes he found that the flames had relented and were little more than small torches in his hands. He waved his hands at his sides and the fire went out completely.
“How did you know that would work?” Tadashi asked as they both stood in the dark again. The man again approached the teenager, but the boy didn’t retreat this time. The Silver Samurai put his hand on the boy’s left shoulder and nodded in understanding. “I too have had to struggle to master my unnatural abilities,” he admitted. “I met with someone that guided me in control my gifts. It was she that sent me to find you.”
“She?” Tadashi asked, his voice filled with both curiosity and concern.
The Samurai took his hand from the boy’s shoulder and took a step back. “A brilliant scientist that knows more of our abilities than any mutant,” he explained as he put his helmet back on. “She is unparalleled in her work and she wants to meet you.”
“Are you intentionally dodging the question?” Tadashi asked as he considered bolting off into the rain. “Who is this expert?”
“Madam Hydra.”

Big Hero 6 Movie (C) Marvel Studios and Disney
Other character (C) Marvel Comics

Monday, February 16, 2015

Teen Titans - Duplicate's Skills

"I already posted this in a meme on DeviantArt, but it does count as something I've written recently. I've had a lot of fun figuring out my character Duplicate's powers and this is one of the many drawbacks that he has to deal with." -Casey



Dark grey clouds hung over Titans Tower, but there still wasn’t a drop of rain to be seen. Down near the base of the tower stood Duplicate, his leather jacket tossed aside on a nearby bench while he stood determinedly on the basketball court. He weighed the rubber ball in his hands for a moment more and then darted across the concert. He dribbled the ball and then threw it for a 2 point shot.
The ball bounced off the rim of the basket and then came hurtling back towards the boy. It smacked him in the face before bouncing across the floor in front of him.
Duplicate rubbed his forehead as he glared down at the basketball. He’d been at this for nearly an hour and he still hadn’t sunk a single shot.
“Kind of a gloomy day for a game,” shouted Cyborg from across the court. The teenager was carrying a basketball under his arm as he approached with a confident smile on his face. The armored Titan darted forward and made a perfect basket from half court.
Duplicate watched in admiration and then shook his head warily. “Oh, great,” he joked. “Do you have to be good at everything?”
“If you can’t take the competition, get off the court!” Cyborg whooped as he pumped his fist excitedly.
“There really isn’t much competition,” Duplicate mused as he tossed his ball over his shoulder. The shot was nothing but net. “Unless you can figure out a way to shut off my powers.”
“I don’t mind you copying my mad skills,” Cyborg assured him. “It’ll finally give me an even match!”
“Actually, I think we’d better go inside,” Duplicate shrugged. “It could start pouring any moment.”
Duplicate walked past his friend and headed back towards the tower. He would have loved to play a little one on one with Cyborg, but every sport and game always he ever played ended the same way. They’d go back and forth between his skills being as great and his opponent’s and then to having no skills of his own at all. He’d come out ahead of the rain in the hopes of practicing on his own, but that hadn’t improved his skills much anyway.
Cyborg grabbed Duplicate by the shoulder and then wrapped a piece of cloth around his eyes like a blindfold. “Hey! What are you doing?” the boy asked as he peeked out from underneath it.
“There! Can’t see me, can’t copy me,” Cyborg nodded. “Now let’s shoot some hoops!”
“Is it even legal to play while blindfolded?” he asked dubiously.
“Maybe not, but I can at least teach you the basics,” the Titan replied. “You in?” Duplicate smiled and then made sure the cloth was secure over his eyes. “I’m in,” he nodded.


Teen Titans (C) DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and Cartoon Network
Duplicate (C) SuperheroGeek13

Gravity Falls - Blinded AU Fanfic

"I had to make a decision to post everything on this blog no matter how silly or obsessive, didn't I? Well, now you can see what happens when one obsesses over the show "Gravity Falls" and then spends too much time looking into the Alternate Universes the fans come up with.
That being said, I really have been enjoying this show. How does Disney keep getting a hold of such gems??? I guess I can just credit the madness of creator Alex Hirsch and call him being hired by Disney a fluke. Just like Dan and Swampy with Phineas and Ferb.
And then there's this "Blinded AU" conjured up by Dragonfangz on tumblr. Spoilers ahead if you've not caught up with the series! Otherwise, you should totally go and check it out." -Casey

Pictures by Dragonfangz



“Take them back to their little novelty store,” Ivan ordered as he tucked the memory device back into the sleeve of his robe.
“Back to the Mystery Shack,” the other members chanted as they untied their dazed prisoners. Ivan turned his back to them and examined the tube labeled “McGucket’s Memories” in the palm of his hand. Why had it been so important to these children to learn this man’s secrets? It was too late to ask them now. All four of them were babbling like idiots. The youngest girl was saying something about kittens, the young man mumbled something in Spanish, and the youngest boy was muttering about a journal.
Ivan turned just in time to see the last of the society members walking off with the smallest boy thrown over his shoulder. “Wait a moment,” Ivan demanded as he approached them. Ivan lifted the boy’s head up so that he could look directly into his unfocused eyes.
“What do you know about a journal?” he asked.
“My mind is clear thanks to the Society of the Blind Eye,” the boy muttered in reply. Just then, a book fell from the kid’s vest pocket and landed on Ivan’s foot. The man cried out in pain and surprise before moving to pick up the item.
It was just as Mr. Gleeful had described the other book. A journal bound in red leather with a six-fingered-hand on the cover. Inside were dozens of illustrations of the strange creatures that inhabited Gravity Falls. How had this boy come across something so valuable?
“What was your name, boy?” the man asked as he lifted the boy off his companion’s shoulders and stood him on the floor.
“Dipper,” the boy replied as he blinked and gained a look of focus again.
Ivan pulled the memory device from his sleeve and began to input the name “DIPPER” into it. He aimed the bulb at the boy’s face and he actually had enough presence of mind to shrink back from it, but he didn’t run away, still too confused to understand what was happening.
“Something tells me you could be a valuable asset to our society,” Ivan gloated as he fired the device. The boy gasped in surprise as the beam of light blinded him. He then fell over and the other society member had to catch him before he hit the ground.
“What did you do that for?” the hooded man asked as he helped Dipper back to his feet. Ivan quickly zapped the man with the device as well and he walked away without any further questions.
“What’s going on?!” the boy asked suddenly as he snapped out of his daze. The process was always much quicker when there weren’t other memories for the brain to rectify. He looked around at his surrounding in confusion, putting his hand to his forehead and knocking off his hat. “W-where am I, who are you?!”
The boy pointed at Ivan in what was quickly becoming a panic. He then began to pace in a small circle while pulling at his hair. “I…I don’t know my name, I don’t know---”
“It’s alright, you’re safe now,” Ivan assured the boy as he knelt to pick up the cap that Dipper dropped.
“Safe, right,” the boy nodded, taking in a deep calming breath. “Okay, amnesia 101… I don’t remember the 101!”
Dipper bared his teeth in a grimace as he began to pace the floor again. He came to halt suddenly and smacked himself across the face. “Get it together!” he ordered himself, much to Ivan’s amusement. The boy turned to the man kneeling before him and raised an eyebrow at him. “Alright, well, you seem to be the only one around right now, so I’ll ask you. What’s going on?”
“I am Blind Ivan and we are the Society of the Blind Eye,” the man answered as he stood up again, raising his arms dramatically. “We help the citizens of Gravity Falls forget the supernatural strangeness that plagues this town.”
“Okay, okay, following you so far,” the boy nodded. “Blind Ivan, Blind Eye. Heh, actually kinda clever there.”
“I’ve heard it all before and I’ve erased it just as many times,” Ivan sighed.
“Erased?”
“We in the society often wipe our own memories to forget the things that trouble us,” Ivan continued. “Everything from emotional trauma to annoying puns.”
Dipper narrowed his eyes, glancing apprehensively at the blue and white hat that the man before him was holding. “Wait, so unless that’s supposed to be the royal ‘we’ you’re using,” he said hesitantly. “I’m part of this society thing too?”
“Precisely,” Ivan nodded.
“And you erased my memory?” he shot back in annoyance.
“A simple miscalculation. Don’t be such a baby,” Ivan scoffed, as he handed Dipper back his journal. “You see, child, these monsters haunt this town even as we speak. They terrorize the people until not a soul can rest peacefully! We’ve taken it upon ourselves to protect Gravity Falls. Thanks to us, people live ignorant and happy.”
As the man spoke, Dipper flipped through the worn pages of the book with astonishment and apprehension. He came across a page that had a picture of a man in a hooded robe much like Ivan’s and stopped to read what wasn’t written in code.

What does it mean?
Can’t be unseen!

“But you can’t just take someone’s memories away,” the boy protested. “I can’t even remember my own name!”
“You wanted to do something about the strange things happening in this town,” Ivan insisted, handing Dipper his hat again as he took the journal away from him. “Because of you we saved three more people not moments ago. Your memories are of no importance.”
Dipper turned the cap over in one hands so that he could clearly see the pine tree embroidered on it. He frowned as he stared down at it, but he eventually sighed and handed it back to Ivan. “I guess I could take a look around the place and see if anything comes back to me,” he shrugged. “This is like our super secret headquarters or something?”
“Indeed,” Ivan said with satisfaction as he began to lead Dipper down the long halls beneath the museum. As they walked, he told the boy all the known history of their proud society and all the good that they had done.

As their shadows stretched across the system of pipes mounted to the walls, a triangular silhouette bobbed after them. There was nothing there to cast the shadow, but a distorted voice rang out all the same. “Timber! What a twist on our little game! I can’t wait to see how this plays out!”

▲▲▲

Mabel began leafing through the postcards on the spinning display and soon realized that they were all from Gravity Falls, Oregon. “This must be the Mystery Shack,” the girl concluded. “That must have been one wild bus ride, because I don’t remember any of it! Wah, ha, ha!”
She ran to the front counter and began rocking back and forth on her heels. “Excuse me!” she called to the teenage girl who was absentmindedly reading through a magazine. “I’m looking for my Great Uncle Stan!”
“Haven’t seen ‘im since this morning,” the girl replied without looking up from her magazine.
“Well, me and my brother were supposed to meet him---,” she stopped short with a gasp. “Hey! Where is Dipper?”
Mabel ran off to look around the rest of the shop for her missing brother. She peaked between the hanging t-shirts with a cheerful “Peek-a-boo” and then looked underneath the rug while calling “Marko,” but there was no “Polo” in answer.
“Kid, if you’re looking for that pig of yours, he’s chewing on the armchair in the living room,” a rough male voice said.
Mabel looked up at her Uncle, who was coming down the stairs, and her eyes lit up with excitement. “You got me a pig?!” she cried with joy.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Stan sighed. “You’re lucky I let just one of them run loose in the house.”
Mabel ran over and wrapped her arms around her Gruncle’s waist, happy to see him again after so long. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” the man asked, taken aback.
“Greeting you with a warm hug!” she shouted.
“Well, knock it off,” Stan ordered.
Mabel pulled away and smiled at her Uncle in spite of his grumpiness. “So, let’s get this Summer Vacation rolling!” she declared. “This is our first time away from home and I want to make the most of it!”
Stan raised his eyebrows and stared down at the girl in confusion. “What is this? You’re not making any sense, kid.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” the girl replied with a laugh.
“Where’s your brother at?” the man complained as he began to walk away. “Go and confuse him for a while.”
“I don’t know where Dipper is,” she shrugged. “I sure hope he got off the bus with me.”
Stan stopped short at this statement and narrowed his eyes as he turned back to the girl. “Whadda ya mean by ‘bus?’” he asked with concern.
“The bus that Mom and Dad put us on this morning,” she explained, smiling mischievously as she added, “I must have eaten a lot of gummy bears and blacked out.”
“Kid, what day do you think it is?” he asked.
“The first day of summer, silly,” she answered, with an off handed wave of her hand.
“Wendy! Have you seen Dipper?” Stan demanded as he walked up to the counter. The girl turned the page in her magazine and then shrugged. “Don’t know any dipper,” she replied.
Stan ripped the reading material from the girl’s hands and slammed it down on the counter.
“What’s the matter with you people?!” the man shouted. “This joke isn’t funny! Are you all covering for him or something.”
“Psshh, this is the worst first day ever,” Wendy sighed. “I’m going home.”
Stan stared blankly at the wall as the girl headed out the door. Mabel watched him with a look of concern, really starting to worry about where Dipper had gone.
“I’m sure that he’s right outside on the porch, Gruncle Stan,” she assured him halfheartedly. “He’s probably just struggling with our backpacks.”
Her uncle didn’t move, but he watched her carefully as she walked across the store to the front door. “Dipper?” she called out. “Dipper! Come out, come out wherever you are!”
There was no answer from the porch or the surrounding woods. Everything was silent and Mabel frowned as she called out once more, “Dipper?”
Her uncle marched out after her and locked the door behind him. “Come on, kid,” he instructed. “Let’s go find your brother.”

▲▲▲

Once the tour of the museum was finished, the boy found that they had come back around to the place where they stored all the lost erased memories. He could hardly believe most of the crazy things that Blind Ivan had shown him, but there was a whole room of staggering evidence before him. Not to mention the Journal that Ivan kept tucked under his arm.
“Perhaps after you see the good that we can do here, it’ll erase your doubts,” the man stated.
He then handed the child a small red robe that was folded neatly so that the symbol of the eye crossed over with an “x” was plainly visible. He then walked through the curtains that lead to the outside without another word.
“Hey! Wait!” the boy called as he darted after him, not daring to venture beyond the drapery. “You’re not just going to leave me here, are you?”
“I shall return first thing in the morning,” the man assured him before he disappeared through the secret passage.
“Great,” the boy sighed in annoyance as he slumped against the wall. “And just where am I supposed to sleep?”
He slid down the wall until he was sitting on the hard stone floor and then went through his vest pockets to find something with which to write. Lo and behold, there was a notepad and a pen there and he quickly set to writing a list.

Society of the Blind Eye
Society’s Ivan’s Journal?
Pine Tree Hat

What he did know was pretty limited, but there was plenty he could do to learn more. Ivan was reluctant to give away any information, but perhaps the other society members he’d mentioned would be more likely to talk.

Talk to other members
Get proof of supernatural strangeness
Examine Memory Gun

“Making a list and checking it twice, huh?” called out a distorted voice. “Boy, I guess some things never change!”
The boy cried out in surprise and shank away from the voice that practically rang right in his ear. He found that the voice had come from the glowing yellow triangle with a huge fiery blue eye.
“What the heck are you?!” he shouted at the creature, trying to fend it off with his pen.
The blue fire of the triangle’s eye faded and it then used its thin little black arms to tip his top hat politely.
“I guess introduction are in order,” it said without any visible mouth, though there was a bowtie where one should have been. “The name’s Bill Cipher! I’m here to haunt the rest of your miserable existence!”
“How did you even get in here?” he demanded as he jumped to his feet.
“You’d be surprised by the things I can do, Pine Tree, especially in the mindscape,” Bill replied with a snap of his fingers. The boy gasped as he found himself blinded by a hood suddenly falling over his eyes. He pulled it up far enough so that he could see again and found that he was now dressed in the red robe of the Society of the Blind Eye. The very same robe Ivan had given him before he left.
“Bwah! How did you do that?” he asked in surprise.
“Ya know, I think that that hood actually suites you,” Bill mused. “Well then! What’s your name, kid?”
“My name--m-my name…well…” he stuttered, caught off guard by the question. “I haven’t figured that out yet.”
“I’m sure it’ll come to ya!” Bill assured him. The triangle turned away and the scene change with the movement, like the iris-out of a movie from one location to another. They were now in the middle of the woods with the sun shining down from high above the tall pine trees. The boy walked through the tall grass and mushrooms until he was finally out in the open. He was outside a rundown shack with incomprehensible letters across the roof.
“What is this place?” he asked aloud, though he’d already lost track of Bill Cipher.
A strange, but mirthful laugh broke the eerie silence. The boy ran off in the direction of the sound and found the small figure of a girl kneeling beside a wide pit. She had her back to him, but beside her was a plump little pig that she was petting lovingly.
“All this gravity will try to pull you down,” she was singing playfully. “But not this time! When the sun goes down and the light go out!! Then it’s time for you to shine!!!”
The boy drew closer, his footsteps dead silent as he walked. The girl didn’t seem to notice as she continued to sing gleefully.
“Brighter than a shooting star!” she droned. “So shine no matter where you are!”
He finally came up and put his hand on the girl’s shoulder. She spun around to face him, but suddenly she was a huge sock puppet with googly-eyes and limp little arms and she was laughing with the same distorted voice of the triangle.
The boy fell backwards in surprise and screamed as he found himself falling down a bottomless pit.
He woke up screaming with his arms flailing around widely for something to grab a hold of. His grasp landed on the hood that had been folded at his side when he had fallen asleep. He was still beneath the museum where Ivan had left him. He sighed with relief and then removed his dark blue vest and placed it on the floor. He curled up while using it as a pillow and draped the robe over himself like a blanket.

Gravity Falls (C) Alex Hirsch

Rain on the Adelaide Parade

"Inspired by this adorable picture that I found on tumblr of all places! I just loved Over the Garden Wall, but I've had little desire to write fanfiction for it. I just don't think that I could ever add anything to improve this wonderful story. It is absolutely beautiful." -Casey

Picture by modmad


Wirt walked on with renewed determination now that he didn’t have to worry about any loose shoelaces. They had stuck around the benefit concert until the animal students had to break for lunch. Gregory had wanted to stick around, but Wirt had insisted that they had to move onward. He didn’t like the look of those dark clouds gathering in the distance.
“Do you think Adelaide would like Potatoes and Molasses?” Greg asked as they walked. “Maybe we can teach her about it when we get there!”
“We’re not bothering Adelaide with your silly song,” Wirt stated. “Once we get there, I’m going to handle all the talking.”
“Sure,” Beatrice confirmed with a roll of her eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Wirt asked with a small frown.
“Oh, nothing,” the little bird sighed.
Wirt opened his mouth to argue further, but stopped short when a drop of water splashed down onto his nose. He stopped in tracks and looked up towards the sky. It was actually much darker than it should have been for mid afternoon and now the boy could see that it was because of the dark clouds overhead.
“Wirt, why did you---Ahhh!” Beatrice gasped as a few drops of rain splashed over her wings. “Oh! No, no, no! I have flying in the rain!”
The blue bird began circling around the boys frantically as the rain really started falling in earnest. The frog that Gregory had been holding in his arms hopped free and began leaping around them as well.
“Uh—Quick! Under the trees!” Wirt urged as he ran from the path and ducked into the forest. Greg and Beatrice both chased after him, but they really weren’t much better off with the sparse leaves that autumn had left behind.
Wirt crouched down and threw his arms up over his head, but there really wasn’t any avoiding the sudden downpour. “Hurry! To the tent!” Gregory shouted as he nearly tackled his brother to the ground. Wirt put his arms out before him to keep his balance and soon found that Greg was cuddled up beside him underneath his long cape. “Greg! What are you---” he started to protest, but then Beatrice landed at his feet shaking her feathers dry. “Whew! I knew you had to be good for something,” she said as she wiped her brow.
Wirt now found himself trapped in his kneeling position with his arms raised up before him as his so called friends tacking shelter under his cape. To add to his discomfort, Grag’s frog hopped onto his shoulder and began croaking happily under the heavy shower.
“I hope you realize that this is a very temporary solution,” Wirt said.
“Well, you’ll never catch me flying in bad weather!” Beatrice announced.
“Wait! Did you hear that?” he asked suddenly. There was the distinct sound of a horse trotting down the road before them and possibly even the rattling sound of a carriage or wagon.
Wirt jumped to his feet and ran back to the dirt road, leaving the others out in the rain again. Sure enough there was a horse drawn wagon coming towards them. The young man began waving his arms frantically and shouting for the driver to stop.
The man driving saw them and reined in his horse as he approached. “What are you kids doing out here in the woods?” he asked nervously. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous out here?”
“We’re looking for Adelaide of the pasture, the good woman of the woods,” Wirt replied. “Can you help us to find her?”
“Yes, yes! Just climb in!” the man insisted, looking around apprehensively.
“Greg! Come on!” Wirt order as he quickly climbed into the back of the wagon where there was little more than a huge pile of hay and a couple of geese. Greg climbed up after him with his frog in hand and barely made it before the driver set off again. Wirt pulled his brother up and they both ducked into the hay to get out of the rain.

Over the Garden Wall (C) Patrick McHale