Immediately you hauled your ass home after the incident. What have you done?! Okay, back up. Somehow you caught Shadow off guard. Somehow you kissed the ultimate life form. Smooched! Pecked!
Then he disappeared. Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he? This was a breach of personal space! But it also felt like he was returning the gesture. No, you must have been imagining it.
The awkward situation has you pulling on your hair in distress.. There is no way you could face him now. Flee the country. Change your name.
You hug the flowers close to your heart. At least.. he was thinking of you. If only you didn’t pull that move, maybe things could have slightly gone back to the way things were. It’s too late.
After being placed in a vase, your eyes study each and every individual flower. How you wish you could thank him for them. These particular flowers feel awfully familiar.. You can’t place your finger on it but it’s on the tip of your tongue.
In order to relax and calm your mind, you decided to take a long nap. Hopefully when you wake up, it was all just a dream. Climbing into bed, you bury yourself under the blankets and silence your phone. Sleep over takes you in an instant.
The sound of your doorbell ringing over and over pulls you from your slumber. It felt as though you slept a thousand years. When you pick up your phone to check it, it flash bangs you in the dark of the room. It was the middle of the night.
Your doorbell stopped ringing on your way over to the front door. You rub your eyes as you answer it, ready to give whoever was there or even the empty air a good yelling.
It opens and is slammed shut right after. What is he doing here? The day definitely was not a dream.
He bangs on the wood, “Open up.” An exasperated sigh leaves you. This guy is not going to give up. If Shadow really wanted to, he could have chaos controlled into your home by now.
You open the door just a crack, enough to see him. He’s leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Locking eyes, he shifts his gaze away. After moving the door further open, he says, “Walk with me.”
While you rush to put on your shoes, Shadow is waiting patiently and watching your every move. Strange. You expected him to have left you behind to catch up.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾
On the way to the park, it was filled with awkward silence. Not a single cough, squeak, or word between the two of you. Night air cools your burning cheeks while walking side by side. Eventually you both spot a bench to rest at, overseeing the wide grassy area. The sky ever clear as the stars above twinkle.
Shadow allows you to sit first before taking a seat right next to you. Leaning forward, his fingers intertwine, opting to stare at them rather than you. Likewise, you pick a random tree to observe.
“I’m,” he pauses, unsure where to begin, “sorry I left without a word. These kinds of things, I’m not good at.”
“I thought you’d hate me after doing something like that to you,” you reply in the softest whisper. A wry smile appears on your face.
His head snaps up to look at you. Eyes widen in shock. He instantly protests, “No, I could never!” Placing a hand over his chest, he continues speaking, “I wouldn’t— couldn’t lose another person dear to me.”
Your breath hitches. You did hear that clearly right? Shadow considered you dear to him? Important?
You can feel his intense gaze on you. At the moment, you don’t have the courage to look him in the eye. “That’s.. a relief to hear. I also need to apologize.”
“For?”
“Avoiding you for so long and making you worry. You really didn’t do anything wrong, Shad. I let my feelings for you get in the way”
“Hmph. Consider it accepted once you realize what a fool you’ve been,” he says plainly. There was no bite in his words, rather a hint of playfulness.
What? You turn to him, absolutely astonished, “I’m sorry?”
Shadow leans against the back of the bench, arm over it. His other palm covering his face. He groans, “So you really haven’t noticed. Looks like I owe that damn bat fifty bucks.” His hand drags down to cover his mouth, “I noticed so many people eyeing you. A disgusting feeling constantly clung to my chest. Instinctively I kept myself physically closer to you. When I asked Rouge about it, that’s when...” Shadow trails off, not wanting to elaborate further.
So this whole time… You two were pining for each other, completely clueless that the feelings were mutual. The thought of it forced a laugh out.
“What’s so funny?”
“That’s why you had such a stink face glaring off in the distance!”
An exhausted sigh was his only response.
It feels a bit mean, but you couldn’t help but smile. You take a moment to look up at the stars. All of the tension dissipates into the air. How beautiful… Sort of reminds you of— ah! That’s why the flowers were so familiar. They’re the same ones at that field you and Shadow gazed at. He remembered. How thoughtful of him. You didn’t take him the type. Goes to show how much this whole ordeal flew over both of your heads.
Now that the air has been cleared, what next?
…
“Hey Shadow?”
“Mm.”
“You said you haven’t had much experience,” you begin.”
“Correct.”
You reach out to hold his hand before laying your head on his shoulder. “Can the ultimate life form handle a date?”
He gazes down at you, thinking about his next words: “If it’s with you, I have no doubt.”
You know, it occured to me that I should really let people fight their own battles.
So I've sent this messages (under the cut) here.
If it bothers his publishers, or Mr. Sapkowski himself in any way, given that the Witcher wikipedia apparently gave Netflix their own page when they came asking politely, I'm sure they won't mind doing the same for Mr. Sapkowski.
And if Mr. Sadkowski's people don't see any issue in having a single page blending books canon and games canon in the intro, and/or believe the way that the references are indicated are more than enough to ensure that the people looking at the wiki can quickly and clearly make the difference between what's part of the books and what's part of the games, I'll just have to let it go!
That being said, kudos to that "Wiki Specialist / Bureaucrat" for their patience and kindness in that conversation (and very lenghty answers... I've never had a moderator on any wikipedia devote so much time to answering me. I'm very impressed, actually.)
The fact remains that those decisions don't rely on a single person, and they pretty much have to convince the vast majority of the people working on the wiki that something is problematic and that those changes are indeed needed. So, it's not like they could have just gone "Of course! Just let me go and fix this right away!" whether they agreed with me, or not.
Some of the arguments they gave me might not even have been their own (when you're part of the group, you represent the group).
So yeah, I think that's probably the most productive / potentially effective approach, if I'm remotely hoping to actually fix anything.
And if it doesn't work, well, at least I'll know I've tried...
Hi,
I would like to bring your attention to a particular situation with the way that the current Witcher's wikipedia is run, that I believe is currently contributing to the misrepresentation of the content of Mr. Sapkowski's books in the media.
Essentially, instead of having chosen to adopt the model most often used by fandom wikipedias, where the source material has its own page, and each franchise/adaptation of that source material also have their own pages, the people in charge of the general Witcher's wikipedia have chosen a different approach, quote: "the idea when we started overhauling bios for characters was to make them read like an actual bio. Thus, we refrain from referencing the books, games, shows, and other adaptations within them as the focus is to summarize the character/their importance to the overall lore (the witcher lore is more than just the canon books). The only exceptions are items or crucial gameplay features where bios aren't as important as just providing quick game info for those needing game assistance.
[…] If there's anything to take away from this, you have to remember this wiki is about the witcher, not just the canon books, but the entire witcher lore and universe. We are not purist: that means all the adaptations, both canon and non-canon, are allowed here. Everyone appreciates the rich and in-depth Witcher series by Sapkowski. We also respect his thoughts that none of the other adaptations are canon to those novels and try to re-affirm that whenever it gets brought up. However, the witcher lore has been greatly expanded on by others with his approval/licensing and has also helped not only bring to life the witcher but also greatly expanded the witcher universe. To deny all the work by others (and let's face, many cite the CDPR games as the reason his books even soared in popularity outside Poland) would be a disservice to those who helped bring it to life and those looking for a complete picture of the entire lore (regardless which adaptation it came from)."
This was in response to me pointing out to them that the way their wikipedia has been designed (here is how it looked before I started trying to edit it: https://imgur.com/a/old-version-yZN6sd4 ), with the "game canon warning" placed where it was at some point in the biography, suggested that everything that had appeared before it (including the introduction paragraph that mixed both books lore, and videogames lore) were ALL part of Sapkowski's books, when that is not the case (here is a compilation of every reference that I was able to find about Radovid in the books, for your convenience: https://imgur.com/a/AbGA9eL ).
And that this confusion - regarding what is part of the books and what was written for the videogames by CD Projekt Red on the main Wikipedia page - has lead to at least 7 articles like this one pictured here ( https://imgur.com/a/CmOP41q , source: https://screenrant.com/the-witcher-king-radovid-future-books-games-comparison/ ), where game content has been erronously attributed directly to Andrzej Sapkowski.
All 7 articles can be found here:
https://collider.com/the-witcher-season-3-jaskier-radovid-romance/
https://www.looper.com/1364442/why-the-witcher-season-breakup-radovid-and-jaskier-romance/
https://screenrant.com/the-witcher-season-3-prince-radovid-books-games-changes/
https://screenrant.com/the-witcher-king-radovid-future-books-games-comparison/
https://screenrant.com/the-witcher-season-3-king-radovid-age-story-different/
https://www.dualshockers.com/the-witcher-season-3-prince-radovid/
https://www.dualshockers.com/the-witcher-season-3-jaskier-radovid-relationship/
Though there may be more (Let's say I didn't do much digging to find them).
They also argued that "there are more than just Netflix and CDPR game adaptations and not all of them are confirmed canon to each other. For example, there's Polish comics that are also not canon, there is the original Hexer show and movie that the author has distanced himself from (but was created so the info still gets added here), the pen-and-paper games, and even non-canon and non-witcher books Sapkowski has written but still touched on topics within his witcher universe. In short it wouldn't be a simple "just 3 tabs" because the way you're wanting to split all info out, it'd be at least: canon books, CDPR games/Dark Horse comics/Gwent, Polish comics, non-canon books, Netflix's show, Hexer show/movie, pen-and-paper games, etc.. In short, this would be very impractical and create a lot of nearly empty pages (there are times where the books themselves only mentioned a sentence or two of something that got greatly expanded on in other adaptations). The main reason Netflix is its own tab is because that was requested by Netflix and it made more sense as the show progressed as they altered a lot of information to the point they were completely new bios (as opposed to just adding details in where gaps were to fit their narrative, like with CDPR's adaptation)."
So, here was my last answer to them:
Except the books are the source material, they are not adaptations of Mr Sapkowski's work!
In the examples you've given me:
The books and the added material Sapkowski wrote (like the details about legacies) are all part of the same lore / universe.
The videogames / gwent, etc. are all part of CDPR's own lore / universe.
"The Witcher", "Blood Origins", "Nightmare of the Wolf" are all part of Netflix's own lore / universe.
And then, you have "other adaptations", that are part of their own smaller universes, that could either have their own pages, or share one bigger page with a different section for each.
If you want to organize it into tabs, you would have:
Tab 1: The original franchise (with its own world / lore).
Tab 2: The videogame adaptation franchise (with its own world / lore).
Tab 3: The Netflix TV show franchise (with it's own world / lore).
Tab 4: The "standalones".
This is how most fandom Wikipedias are built, actually.
They are usually divided by franchises and recognize that each of them are their own distinct entities.
Not by mixing all together a bunch of different franchises that are not owned by the same people, and are not telling the same stories!
And Mr Sapkowski having sold the rights to videogame writers to create their own franchise from his own work, by borrowing any element from his books that they want, does not give CDPR the right to claim that their videogames are part of the same lore / world / franchise as Sapkowski's books (despite a lot of elements having been integrally borrowed from the books)!
Far from it!
And this shouldn't give the right to fans to blend his characters with the videogame characters, either, by using excuses such as "the videogame writers didn't diverge from what Sapkowski wrote to create their own character, therefore it's okay for us to absorb the book character into the videogame's, and treat that character as a single entity in the Wikipedia, rather than two completely different characters existing each in their two separate worlds".
And/or "since the page on the book section of the wiki would be just a small paragraph, it's better to make the CDPR character absorb them and treat what Sapkowski wrote as a simple template for the videogame character, rather than a full fledged book character, belonging to its own independent world/franchise!"
In the case of Radovid, for example, in the physical appearance section, it states he is bald.
Not:
Book: N/A
Games: Bald.
They aren't the same characters and they do not share the same continuity / world / lore / franchise, and yet, it has been decided that, because the videogame filled in blanks that Sapkowski never filled, he's officially bald!
We are treating the books and the videogames as a single franchise / entity where, if nothing was specified by Sapkowski about a specific aspect of the character, then who he is and what he looks like can be determined by CDPR.
And Sapkowski has never authorized the fans of his books to treat his work as belonging to the same franchise as the videogames, and in filling in any blanks that he didn't fill himself with someone else's work.
You can do it in your own fanfiction and headcanons because those aren't meant to accurately report or describe someone else's work, and they are personal to each fan.
But Wikipedia pages aren't supposed to be fanfiction.
Right now, regardless of all those added references, that's what Radovid's main page looks like: fans taking a character from an independent book franchise (the original material, no less) and using material from one of its adaptations (the CDPR one) to fill in the blanks and create their own mixed together version of the character!
Sapkowski is not David Gaider, that wrote stories and characters directly for "Dragon Age", and then published novels (prequels, sequels, etc.) that all exist as part of the same franchise.
In that situation, it makes perfect sense to put all the information gathered across books and games together as a single "Dragon Age" Wikipedia page for a character.
They share the same lore/world/franchise.
But here, we have three big franchises (Sapkowski's books a.k.a. the original, the CDPR games, and the Netflix TV show), that all belong to different people.
Even I only personally learnt that Mr. Sapkowski was not a "Polish David Gaider" thanks to the show, because until then, I thought that he was something like "The Witcher's lead videogame writer" that had written novels about it!
A lot of game fans are still under that impression and, the way "The Witcher" 's Wikipedia is built, treating everything as a single franchise all sharing the same lore on its page (if that's what you're saying), is extremely confusing for fans because they start thinking that the books and the games are all part of one single big franchise all sharing the same lore, that "Netflix has the chosen to disrespect"!
Netflix asking for their own page sadly only reinforced that belief.
But, at the same time, they are not part of the same franchises, so what were they supposed to do?
I don't remember having ever come across a Wikipedia that had appropriated the source material (the books) to give it to another franchise/universe (the games) in such a way as it is done here, to attempt to integrate game content into Sapkowski's universe.
Usually, on a fandom wiki dealing with more than a single version of a world/franchise based on a series of novels, you will have a specific section for the novels (source material), a section for the TV show and any graphic novels or novels written specifically for the world of the show (the adaptation), a section for the movie (another adaptation), etc.
For example, see "Jace Herondale" here ( https://shadowhunters.fandom.com/wiki/Jace_Herondale )?
Under his info box you have:
Jace of Thule ( https://shadowhunters.fandom.com/wiki/Janus )
TV Jace ( https://shadowhunterstv.fandom.com/wiki/Jace_Herondale )
Film Jace ( https://shadowhunters.fandom.com/wiki/Film:Jace_Wayland )
This is usually how it is done when you want to respect and honor the integrity of the source material, and ensure it doesn't accidentally get erased / confused / absorbed into other people's work (or other people's work don't end up being added to it when the author has explicitly said they want to avoid it happening), and even avoid potential legal troubles (should the owner of the original material realize that their own original work is being absorbed into other people's work).
Because authors tolerate fandom activity as long as it benefits them and does not threaten the integrity of their work.
If characters from the books had their own pages, things like these articles I showed you would be a lot less likely to happen.
Because a quick search in "The Witcher" wikipedia would have brought these authors right to the "Books Radovid" 's page, and the way he's portrayed in the books would have been clearly written there.
I genuinely do not understand why "The Witcher" fans apparently care so little about preserving the integrity of the author's work in the fandom and in the media, that they think giving Andrzej Sapkowski's franchise (characters, lore…) its own standalone page for his characters, locations, etc. would be the same as giving "Gwent" its own page!"
Gwent belongs to CDPR!
"The Lady of the Lake" doesn't belong to CDPR! It belongs to Andrzej Sapkowski.
Do you see the difference, and how that argument fails to stand?
The books, as the source material, are more than deserving of their own Wikipedia pages.
If Sapkowski's books do not deserve their own pages on "The Witcher" wiki, free of additions taken from other people's adaptations (that the author keeps insisting are not part of the stories he wishes to tell), who does?"
And the answer I got was:
"I do really appreciate your thoughts on this, however as noted previously, we've already discussed this topic several times at length among admins and moderators over the years, and each time the majority have agreed it's best to keep the information as it is currently set/on one cohesive page with markers and refs. If anything changes in the future, we’ll be sure to revisit this topic and make any necessary adjustments as needed. For now though, most people reviewing the wiki (i.e., not those using bots to auto summarize) can easily distinguish between the canon books and other adaptations, and many in the community already know Sapkowski's stance so any newcomers to the lore generally are quick to learn this themselves. I thank you for your understanding!"
(Here is the link to the entire conversation: https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Message_Wall:Mechemik?threadId=4400000000000064664 )
From this conversation, we already know that when Netflix came knocking at their door, requesting that they be granted their own page on the Wikipedia, they complied.
So I figured, instead of continuing to argue with them, I would bring this issue directly to you.
That way, you'll be free to evaluate the situation, and decide if any action seems necessary.
Thank you, and wishing you to have a wonderful day!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Title: In a Dark and Stormy Alley
Chapter: 5/5
Word Count: 5,202
Rated: G
Tags: Friendship, comfort, action, continuity is only a state of mind, might be a little ooc at the end but not much, you might need tissues
Summary: After losing yet another race, the rookie Dick Dastardly walks down an alleyway on a dark and stormy evening, only to literally fall over headfirst in front of an annoying little furball. My interpretation on how these two first met aka Dick Dastardly is a reluctant dog parent.
-------------------------------
Coming into the station, Dastardly spotted the Buzz Wagon and its occupants by one of its pumps.
"Excellent," Dastardly whispered with a grin. "I can knock that ridiculous lumberjack and his burly beaver off our tail in one fell swoop. Muttley, it's time to see what you can really do."
Muttley whined again, tearfully this time. Dastardly rolled his eyes and sighed impatiently.
"Alright, alright, fine, do what you have to," he conceded, then the impish grin reappeared again. "But not before you hear my plan."
Muttley listened carefully as Dastardly lowly spoke into his ear, even with no one else around to hear them in the car. The floppy-eared puppy chuckled.
"You got it?" Dick asked, then Muttley nodded. "Well then, get on with it, and make sure they don't see you!" The man demanded in a strict tone. He then pointed to the rear with his thumb. "The back exit is right through that hatch behind me. I'll go get the disguise."
Muttley nodded again and went out from the backdoor of the car, hiding himself in the grass. Dastardly parked his car on the other side of Rufus and Sawtooth's pump. From under his seat, the nefarious villain got out the disguise he needed, left it on the floor of the car, and prepared the rope for the plan. This was going to be fun.
Dastardly got out of the Mean Machine and started to refill the tank, locking the gas pump nozzle into the car. As he did this, he overheard the conversation the other two were having.
"I'm telling ya, Sawtooth, we shouldn'ta used up so much of our fuel on cutting those trees down back there. The stumps and hills got in our way, anyway."
The beaver chattered with an annoyed tone.
"Well, how wuz I supposed ta know it would damage the car?!"
Yeesh, Dastardly thought as he climbed to the top of the pump and tied the end of the rope around it, making sure he wasn't seen by the two. Like an old married couple.
Dastardly saw that Muttley had returned to the car and was trying the costume on for size. Much too big for him, but it'll have to do. Muttley peaked out from under the mask and gave a cheeky smile along with a thumbs up. Dastardly returned the gesture, climbed down from the pump, and opened the hood of the Double Zero.
The two were still arguing. Good. They won't be expecting this at all from Dick. Now was their chance.
"Alright then, Muttley," Dastardly whispered, grinning wickedly. "Make with the nasty laugh!"
Muttley laughed heartedly. Rufus and Sawtooth stopped and shook their heads around, trying to find the source of the sound.
"What in the world is that?" Rufus asked perplexedly. "Sounds like some sort of…whistling tea kettle or something."
Sawtooth shook frightfully as he clung to his partner. Rufus looked at him irritatingly.
"There's nothing to be afraid of! Must be some sort of deranged coyote or somethin'. Hey, Dastardly!"
Dick started at his name. He was still standing near the pump, trying to look innocuous by holding the rope behind his back with one hand while putting the nozzle back into the pump with the other.
"Dastardly, do ya know where that sound's coming from?"
Dick couldn't hide the small smirk on his face as he shrugged. "No idea! But it sounds haunting, doesn't it?"
The soft laughter wasn't letting up as it continued unabated, louder and louder. Ruffcut was starting to shake too.
"Ohh, gee, what does it want from us? Maybe we should go, Sawtooth."
With both their backs turned to him, Dastardly turned on the engine, stood on his car seat, and pulled the rope. Muttley launched out from the Mean Machine, flew above the pumps, and hung right over the shaking pair. The two slowly turned around and looked up, then they yelped in fright at what they saw. Muttley, wearing a large and horrifying tiki mask, raised his arms up and laughed terrifyingly. The lumberjack and his beaver held each other tight as they screamed loudly.
"Now! I got you!" Dastardly shouted as the small dog swung over back to the car, let go of the mask and rope, and dropped into the man's open arms. Sitting back down, Dastardly quickly hit the gas, drove around the pumps and back onto the road, leaving Rufus and Sawtooth standing in shock.
"Maybe you should've appeased the spirits more!" Dick called out as he laughed evilly with Muttley sitting on his lap, chuckling along. Dastardly brought the hood back down and stepped on the gas more. He looked down to see the puppy still wheezing, holding onto Dastardly's jacket in hysterics, practically in tears. Dastardly petted the little thing on the head to calm him down.
"We did it, Muttley! Man, what a rush. I don't think even I could've done that myself. Well done, very well done!"
Muttley sniffed a little and looked at Dastardly through misty eyes. "R-r-you think so?" he grumbled out.
Dastardly started from hearing the words. He didn't expect for the pup to react so strongly from the prank. He looks like he's never heard of a compliment before, Dastardly thought.
The villain tried to play it cool and said nonchalantly while petting Muttley's head again, "Yes, yes, you were good. Now, stop sniveling! We're in the lead, and we're going to stay that way."
Dastardly found a slightly used hanky and gave it to the snotty little furball. Last thing he wanted was his jacket getting wet again, especially not from puppy sniffles. Muttley blew his nose into it hard, then smiled weakly at Dick.
"I know that was exciting, but keep your wits about you! We don't have much of the race left to go," he gave Muttley a confident smile. "So… now's a good time to stop and plant a trap!"
Little Muttley chuckled.
Dastardly went about a few more miles before finally stopping at the side of the road, near a fast- moving river. Muttley yawned a bit as Dastardly stepped out of the car, leaving the puppy in the driver's seat. Dastardly turned to look Muttley straight in the eye.
"This isn't the time or place for a nap, Muttley! Besides, I know what plan we'll be implementing now. I call it- 'Operation: Strike, Drop, and Roll'! Lucky for us, I'm pretty sure we got everything we need: a bowling bowel, pins, rope, an axe, a box of matches, and lots of dynamite, as per usual with me. It's a good thing I always come prepared for such an occasion," he added conceitedly. The truth was that he didn't have the time to work out the trap in the last race, since his car blew up before he could even attempt it.
Muttley immediately brightened. He reached for the guide, opened up to the page needed, and showed it to Dastardly.
"Yep, that's exactly it. So, you know what to get- good! Gather the stuff, and then I'll explain the plan as we go along. I think you're ready to help me out with setting up a trap now."
Muttley laughed into his paw, then quickly started to crawl around the Double Zero to get the necessary things. As he searched, a familiar sounding voice cut through Dick's ear.
"Setting up another trap, Dastardly?" the narrator curiously asked.
"Why, of course," he said with a prideful chuckle. "That is my M.O., ya know. Although, I haven't heard a peep from you since I turned at that fork. As a guy called 'the narrator', you don't seem to narrate a lot, do you?"
"Let's just say your earpiece was turned off by the management for, ahem, for your own convenience."
"My, how gracious of them," he replied flatly. The puppy popped his head out from the back of the car, snickering. Dastardly walked over to him and asked, "You got everything, Muttley?" The little cur nodded, then widely yawned again. Dastardly dismissed it for now. "Good, good, let's set things up."
The man stopped as the narrator interjected, "Overworking the kid, Dastardly? I had no idea you'd stoop so low for help."
Dastardly quickly turned to stare daggers at the camera. "I'm not making him do anything if he doesn't want to!" he vehemently said. "Here's another favor you can do for me: buzz off!"
"We'd like to take this moment to apologize to all the good little boys and girls watching at home. Remember: these are trained professional racers, and they are racing on a closed course. Do not try to imitate anything you are seeing - or hearing- on this program at home. Thank you."
Dastardly scoffed and shook his head as the narrator's voice fizzled out of his ear. "Unbelievable," he whispered to himself in angry disbelief. Him, overworking the kid? Stooping too low? Impossible.
Shoving this train of thought to the side, he turned back to Muttley, a smirk returning to the man's lips.
"You ready?"
Muttley nodded ecstatically.
"Then let's set it up quick, and then I'll explain on the way."
As they laid the trap, the villain expounded on his plan: "First, I'll send a bowling bowl right down the middle for a strike, which then activates the trigger that pulls the rope down, swinging the metal axe near the precisely placed match, igniting it! The match will then light the strategically laid dynamite, which will all then explode, opening up a large crater in the road and towards the rushing river! The river will flood into the road, making it impossible for the other racers to cross!"
The villainous duo laughed. He really did enjoy having someone listen to his plans. It made him feel actually important. Dastardly picked up the bowling bowel and evened himself between the bowling pins. "Alright," he said carefully as he set himself up for the roll, sticking his tongue out in concentration. Finally, he brought his arm back and exclaimed, "Here we go!"
He unleashed the ball down the "lane" and… knocked out three pins to the side.
"Drat!" he yelled, snapping his fingers in frustration. Muttley looked at him disappointingly, and Dastardly could only respond with a helpless shrug.
"Well," he said, sheepishly smiling. "I'm not exactly a bowling champion, you know."
Little Muttley walked over to the other pins, pushed them all aside, and pressed the trigger located behind the set-up, starting up the trap.
Dastardly walked over and stopped behind Muttley, hands on his hips. He shook his head and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "For shame, Muttley. Now, where's the fun in just pulling the trigger, huh? Where's the excitement, the thrill of seeing a good trap go through all its necessary steps to- say, where are you going?"
Muttley was running back to the car in a panic as the axe came down and ignited the match, which then sent its flame up the fuse and towards several dynamite sticks. Dastardly's eyes slowly bulged in realization as they darted from Muttley's shrinking figure in the distance and back to his trap, where he was standing right near the dynamite.
"Oooh…" he muttered as he fearfully clutched his hands, then he drooped his arms down and resignedly said to the camera, "Drat."
The dynamite exploded right from under him, sending Dastardly screaming into the air and careening towards the rushing river. The dynamite was not distributed well, and it didn't create a crater at all, but only a black mark on the pavement. The panicked man fell right at the ledge of the road, his fingers desperately hanging on to its edge as his legs dangled frantically over the stormy waters. Throughout his years, he's been in many precarious predicaments, but he couldn't remember the last time such a phrase fitted his situation so well. He also couldn't remember the last time he was in such a dangerous circumstance.
"HEEELP! Somebody, anybody!"
Was this the end for the failing villain, and was this to be his last act in daredevilry? Dastardly could've sworn he saw his miserable life flash before him, until he felt a pair of hands pull his wrists up and over the ledge, slowly bringing him back up to the safe earth. Dastardly gave a huge sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" he blurted out as he was being dragged up. "You don't know how lucky I am that you happened to be passing by to save me. I'm forever grateful to-"
He stopped short as his head peaked up over the ledge. It was the brown puppy, straining with every fiber of his little being to pull the larger man over to safety. His tail was spinning rapidly in circles, as if he were trying to use it as a propeller to bring some extra leverage for the two of them.
"You!" Dick yelled in bewilderment. "You saved me?!"
Muttley opened his eyes and exchanged stunned looks with Dastardly. He quickly pulled the rest of the man's body out from the ledge, ran over to him, and hugged him so swiftly and tightly that it made the man grunt in surprise. The little dog shuddered as he whined loudly. Dastardly took a moment to absorb in astonishment at what was going on. Then, once it came to him, his arms slowly and uncertainly came around to return the hug.
"Hey now, it's ok, it's ok," Dastardly worryingly whispered as he lightly patted the frightened little thing on the back, trying to calm him down. "I'm fine now, really. I'm telling you, I get into these sorts of things all the time, but I always come out alright. Honestly so."
Muttley sniffed and looked up to Dastardly's face in tears. "R-rreally?" he growled out.
"Sincerely…really," he said with a reassuring smile, then it slowly turned into a concerned frown. He sighed slowly, then whispered, "No…No. No, you can't do this. This is too much for you."
Muttley stopped and looked at the man, unsure of what he was saying.
He continued. "I…know what it's like to have to grow up too fast. Living on the streets…doing things other kids my age weren't usually doing. Seeing things you shouldn't be seeing. It feels exhilarating at first, until reality kicks in later in life."
The man swallowed. "I wouldn't want to pressure someone as young as you to do this with me, and yet that's exactly what I've been doing. I know I said I'd treat you like an adult, but you're not one yet. And you probably won't be until who knows how long."
Dick put his hands on the puppy's shoulders. "Listen, I know I'm bad at this. I know there are other people out there who could take you in and give you a normal life, and I wouldn't be against it if you wanted it. You can just say the word, and I'll… help you find someone better who can take care of you." The words stung for him to say.
Muttley's ears drooped as he looked at Dick with huge eyes. And as the man gazed back, he felt something break inside his chest. Dastardly forcibly closed his eyes, then slowly turned his head away from the puppy.
Muttley stepped back from Dastardly, took a good look at him, then ran on all fours back to the car.
Dastardly opened his eyes at the sound of the puppy's scurrying. "What is he…?" Dastardly muttered as he got up to run after him. He found the fuzzball again, digging around in the vehicle. Muttley then stood up on the driver's seat, presenting Dastardly with the guidebook in his paws. His muzzle quivered, and his large, wet eyes looked beseechingly at the man.
"What? What is it, Muttley?" Dastardly asked urgently.
Muttley whined, then he grumbled out some words in a worried tone. Dastardly's eyes widened. He doesn't know how, but he could now understand what the puppy's grumblings meant. And yet, he felt as though this wasn't supposed to be a surprise to him. It was as if he knew this would've happened on its own, eventually with time.
"You," he slowly translated in a whisper, his face growing wider with shock as Muttley spoke. "You…like being with me…and you want to stay with me? You wouldn't want to go anywhere else without me? You…"
The little puppy dropped the book and jumped into Dastardly's arms, chuckling and wagging his tail. Dick's startled eyes began to water, and he felt some tears run down his cheeks. Then, he smiled softly, and deeply returned the hug.
"Are you sure this time? No take backsies."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Dastardly sniffed and rubbed his nose. "You- you little idiot," he teased, wiping his wet face. "Well then, that settles it- again!"
But then he wagged his finger in front of the puppy's nose in admonishment. "But you're going to need more training than ever, you floppy-eared, little fleabag! No more surprises for either of us, that's for sure! You got it?"
Muttley nodded in agreement, happily wiping his own tears away with a grin. Suddenly, a gigantic yawn escaped from his mouth.
Dick raised an eyebrow in jest. "Well, gee, I had no idea I bored you that much with my spiels, Muttley. You look like you can sleep for a week."
Muttley growled out some words.
"You were up all night trying to study my plans? Oh, boy," he rolled his eyes. "How long did it take for you to read them all, anyway?"
Muttley grumbled, shrugging his shoulders.
"You only studied the pictures?! You dimwitted dog, you could've just asked me to explain them all to you once we were on the road- I personally would've loved nothing more."
Muttley laughed a bit, then yawned again. Dastardly sighed in both resignation and satisfaction as they both got in the car again. The Machine was undamaged from the explosion, thankfully.
As Dastardly sat back down into the driver's seat, he looked straight into the camera with a nervous smile. "Okay, I'm almost afraid to ask this, but…"
The narrator's voice fizzled back into Dick's ear. "Oh, you won't have to be for long, Dastardly. You're in last place again. The other racers have already crossed the finish line."
"Of course…" he whispered disappointingly, but with a small smile. Dick started up the car and drove forward with Muttley sitting on his lap again, who struggled to stay awake for the drive.
After a few miles more, the two finally crossed the finish line last as Dick warily said to himself, "Yeah, well, like this race even mattered, anyway. It could've been far worse."
"Well," the narrator said. "The good news is that for the first time this season, you passed the finish line with your car still in one piece."
Dastardly laughed sarcastically at the little factoid. "Great. And what's the bad news?"
"The bad news is that since you crossed with an unregistered partner, you technically forfeit the race either way. So, even with the last place finish, it won't be counted into your overall score by the end of the season."
"Oh," Dastardly said with mild surprise. "Drat."
A very tired Muttley grumbled some words out and wagged his tail. Dastardly looked at him somewhat confusingly.
"I didn't catch all that perfectly but… I'm going to assume you said you're happy at least you became my partner today, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!"
"Well, it's going to take some extra time for me to say if this has been all worth it to me in the end but," he lightly petted Muttley's head, "I'd like to say you're getting there."
Muttley wagged his tail more and looked up at Dastardly gleefully. Dastardly couldn't help but smile in response, but then his eyes wandered off to the side and his smile dropped.
"Drat, I forgot! The other racers! I can't let them see me like this!" he roughly grabbed Muttley, unfastened some of the buttons on his long coat, and pushed him under there. He left the car and started to casually walk off the track, whistling as he went. But as soon as he only took a few steps away from his car, it seemed like all the racers this time crowded around Dastardly, with all of them shouting out different things.
"What happened, Mr. Dastardly?"
"Did you hit your head on a tree or somethin', Dastardly?" "It looks mightily sore to me, sarj."
"We got into that danged oil slick you sent out- not fun, I tells ya!" "You tell 'im, boss!"
"And those nails, just frightfully awful!" "Friiiightfully so."
"Dun't forget that dreadful detour sign- I've zeen two-year-oldz with better art skillz!"
"All a' us came out ahead and we saw neither heads nor tails of ya besides yar car on side of the road. We had na' idea what happened to y'all."
"I must admit, even I was feeling remiss about the whole thing."
"DASTARDLY!" a giant booming voice came out from the back, belonging to Rufus. Dastardly stepped back nervously with an uncertain chuckle as the muscular man and his angry beaver came closer and closer to him.
"I got a bone to pick with ya! What's the meaning of scaring us off like that, something fierce? And who was that giant chipmunk with ya with that giant tiki mask? Did you kidnap him from the forest or somethin'?
"Giant?"
"Chipmunk?"
"With Dastardly?"
"Dickie, old boy, what in the world happened to you?" Peter asked worryingly. "And what is that thing poking out from under your jacket?"
"NOTHING HAPPENED! ABSOULTLEY NOTHING HAPPENED! And I'd appreciate it if all you ninnies would give me some space!" Dick screeched out in frustration, gesticulating everywhere while struggling to keep his hands covered. "And there's nothing underneath my jacket, absolutely nothing at-"
A little whimpering noise came from underneath his coat. Within a short moment, Muttley snuggled his little head out from in between the opened fastenings, grumbled a few words, yawned widely, then closed his eyes and gently fell asleep right on Dastardly's chest. Dastardly's face became as bright as a tomato.
"AWWW!" all the racers cooed at the same time.
"Ohh, Dastardly," Peter lovingly said. "Why didn't you tell us you had a baby?"
"A ba—does this look like a baby to you?! He's clearly supposed to be a puppy!"
"Oh, I know, I was just teasing. I mean, look at him. He practically looks like your baby."
"Is that supposed be an insult or a compliment?" Dick deadpanned.
"Oh, how adorable!" Luke said, squeezing Blubber tightly. "Looking at him reminds me of when I first saw Blubber here as a little, itty bitty cub. Right, Blubber?"
The bear rolled his eyes good naturedly.
"Gee, Dastardly," Rufus said apologetically. "If I would've known it was just you and that little pup doin' us in, I wouldn'ta been so scared. Now, ain't that right, Sawtooth?" The energetic beaver clicked in agreement.
Penelope stroked the little puppy's head with two fingers. "He's downright precious, Mr. Dastardly. What are you gonna call him?"
"I don't understand any of you," Dastardly said as he unconsciously brought a protective hand over his puppy, making Penelope retract hers in surprise. "This dog is obviously going to grow up to become a vicious, man-eating hunter, and yet you all treat him as this harmless, innocent little cherub. He's not going to be like this forever, ya know."
"Mmm, that's true, Mr. Dastardly," Penelope replied earnestly. "But I think that's what's so special about being a baby. You don't know how or what they'll grow up to be. And that's why it's so precious to appreciate them when they're still young. Because before you know it, they'll be all grown up lickity-split."
Dastardly looked down at the sleeping Muttley with a slightly worried expression. As much as he can admit he never had a childhood himself… he also reluctantly admitted that he never really grew out of it either. Muttley is still a puppy, and he knew he couldn't impose his own choice onto him. But…the idea of appreciating what that meant didn't come to his mind before. He hated his own childhood but…maybe it doesn't have to be the same here.
"M-maybe," he whispered. Finally, he conceded to her with a sigh. "Muttley…his name is Muttley."
"Awww," another round of cooing irritated Dastardly's ears, making him cringe.
"Well," Penelope said as she petted the sleeping puppy. "That's a cute little name for a cute little critter like Muttley."
"Well, I- um," he mumbled, unsure of what to say about that. The idea of Muttley being cute didn't cross his mind until now. Was that what he saw when he looked into the puppy's eyes?
"Well yes, he is…rather cute, I can say," he reluctantly admitted. He then turned to leave. "Well… I guess I'd might as well head down to my motel now. Got nowhere else to go, anyways…"
Peter reached out a hand and touched Dastardly's shoulder. "Oh, you won't be staying at any more motels now, Dickie."
Dastardly turned back in shock. Peter continued, "You'll be staying at the same resort as us, at no extra charge. And you'll have your own suite, along with little Muttley here, of course. Plus, room service!"
Dastardly's eyes became huge as he imagined all the food he could order, mountains and mountains of it. Finally, a decent meal for the first time in months. "Yes, room service," he said quietly, smiling a little. "That…does sound rather nice."
-----------------------
Dastardly stood close to the fire as he laid his small puppy down onto the soft, woven dog bed. The hotel room was wonderful: it was spacious, clean, and it had two bathrooms with a walk-in shower in each. The warm, crackling fireplace illuminated the walls of the darkened living room with a pleasant shade of wavering orange. Dick had left all his clothes to be washed up by the staff and, as he sat himself down on the couch while wearing a nice, plush robe, rubbing his large, satisfied stomach after eating the first big meal he's eaten in a long time, he admitted to himself that he's never felt so…good. The place had even given Muttley a full, puppy-sized meal with complementary dog food, plastic saucer plate, and toys.
With whatever money he had left, he had ordered for a cheap camera and a nice bed for Muttley. Muttley was too small for the bed now, but Dick was sure he'll grow into it.
Dick opened the back of the camera and started to wind his only film roll, finicking with the timestamp setting as he did so. He wanted to keep this moment. He wanted to remember him like this. He needed to. However Muttley will grow up to be, at least Dick'll have a picture of the little puppy that reminded him so much of himself when he was young and unaffected by the world. A reminder of the day the little puppy chose to stay and be with him. Him, of all people.
A companion. A partner. Someone to be there with him, through thick and thin. Whatever happens, at least he'll have this moment.
Dick Dastardly held onto the camera as he knelt down on the carpet near the woven bed. Dick noticed that even while asleep, Muttley still wore a contented smile. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he lifted a hand and stroked the puppy's small, messy head, tenderly combing the thick fur through deft, careful fingers. Once he adjusted the hair to his liking, Dick pointed the camera, shot the photo…and messed it up. He rolled the film, shot a photo, and messed it up again. Again, and again, until finally, on his last chance, he got the photo he wanted.
THE END
Author's Note:
I've always had this question ever since I first started watching the original cartoon as a child: did they really care for each other? Why does Muttley stay with Dastardly if he treats him so poorly? Muttley is fully capable of leaving if he so chooses, but the two have never been seen separated for too long. What makes him stay, other than being able to enjoy seeing his big-headed partner be embarrassed on a daily basis? And after watching Scoob!, I finally got my answer. They really do care for each other. Sincerely so. And it makes my heart feel warm just thinking about it. And compared to Shaggy and Scooby, their origins of how they met have never been explored. I just wanted to write this fic to fill up this gap.
This was also written after I saw that adorably sweet photo of baby Muttley in Scoob!. The photo speaks volumes to me. If a villain like Dastardly could take such a sweet and innocent photo of his puppy for keepsakes, and then hold onto it for such a long period of time throughout their adventures, through thick and thin, it only furthermore sealed these feelings for me.
This is the story of how Dick Dastardly took that picture.
Deep down, I still think I made DD too nice and self-observant here. He's not exactly the introspective type, if I'd say so. He's still a rookie here and he hasn't lost as many races yet, so I interpreted the character as not being so jaded and short-tempered as he in the original show. The same with Muttley since he's only a puppy here and is experiencing all this for the first time.
Either way, I just wanted to see them happy and satisfied for once, dangit.
Thank you for reading this little story, and I hope you enjoyed it! And thanks to everyone who left a review and a favorite- y'all are awesome! And an extra special thank you to the HB discord group for all their help! *wink wink*
A collab by @justagirlinabookworld and @pjoheadcannonsandaus
Previous parts
Epilogue
Sam sits on the front steps of the Big House, watching the campers go by. She watches in silence, as she does every now and then since the loss of her best friend three months ago.
It’s weird. At first, she couldn’t even manage a step outside her cabin without wanting to crawl up and hide. Then, she manages a break for lunch, or dinner, or a campfire. And then she goes a day- a full day- without crying. And then it was a few days. And then a week. Before she knows it, it’s been three months since Ethan Jackson had died to stop a war that wasn’t his to fight.
She would never forget him. But it grows easier to watch the world around her, see how the gift she had requested from the gods had benefitted both camps. It was simple. She had gone to the Empire State Building and walked confidently into the main gathering space; her request had been straightforward and to the point: Peace.
Peace between the camps. Between the Roman demigods and the Greek half bloods. An attempt at peace between the gods themselves, as farfetched as it seemed. She had just wanted, for once in her life and her parents’, peace.
And that’s what she got. Things aren’t perfect, Sam knows they won’t ever be, but that’s what she feels everyone needs a bit of.
“Hey,” Sam hears from behind her.
She looks and finds Nicole standing there. “Hey.”
“Feeling better today?” Nicole sits down next to her.
“Yeah, a bit,” she replies. “How are the Jacksons doing?” Sam hasn’t seen Percy and Annabeth since the funeral. She could barely manage to look at them, especially since Percy reminds her so much of Ethan.
“Alright. They’re doing their best,” Nicole replies. “They’re concerned about you, mostly. News from Chiron travels fast.”
“I’m fine. I’m going back to New Rome tomorrow for a bit. I need some space from this place,” she tells her friend.
“Sounds fair. If you need anything, IM us.”
“Don’t worry, I will.” Sam smiles a bit.
The next day, Sam leaves Camp Half Blood. The praetors welcome her back as a hero, and honorary member on their council to help keep the peace between the two camps. It keeps her busy for a bit, and her mind wasn’t wandering to Ethan for months. Only for a few moments do her thoughts go back to her best friend. But she can’t always let herself think about it. She knows she needs to move forward.
She loves Ethan with everything she has, and she knows she always will, but she can feel herself opening up to others. Opening up to her friends and her family, to the camps and the half bloods in them. To the Apollo boy who had been nothing but kind to her recently.
The camps were growing closer, rebuilding the bridges they had been forced to burn down. Sam knew they would be okay.
“Sammy,” her mom’s voice pull her from her thoughts. Hazel looks nervous to be next to her daughter, afraid to be pushed away and afraid to see her hurt.
Sam smiles. “Hey, mom.”
“I haven’t seen you in a while, honey. How are you?”
“Better,” she replies. “I feel better.”
“That’s good.” Hazel offers her daughter a small smile. “I’m glad you’re doing better.”
“Me too,” she says automatically. But she thinks about it for a moment, thinks about how far she has come and how much she has done. “Me too, mom.”
After a few minutes of content silence, Hazel’s tentative voice breaks through to her.
“What’s next for you, Sam? Where do you go from here?”
She had been dreading this question. She knew it was coming, but she didn’t want to disappoint her mom.
“I… I think I need to leave. Discover the world outside of camp.” Hazel sucks in a sharp breath, but motions for Sam to continue. “Being here hurts too much. I want to come back, and I will, but I think I have to explore a little more and… live. I’ve never been tested like this before, and I can’t just go back to the way it was before.”
Hazel nods, like she was expecting Sam to say this. “I was wondering how long it would take you to tell us.” She pulls her daughter to her in a hug, and Sam smiles. Hazel whistles for Arion and he appears only seconds later. “You need this, Sammy. I love you. Go.”
Sam sends another small smile to her mom as she stands up. She climbs on Arion’s back and takes him to her place in Camp Jupiter to pick up some extra supplies, then stops long enough to find her dad. Frank is talking animatedly with the praetors, but stops when he sees Sam across the forum. His expression goes sad for a moment before he smiles and raises a hand in a wave. Sam waves back, and spurs Arion. And then she was gone.
