#Cultural Ferociousness

[witchofthesouls]

What’s your thoughts on the Cone head seekers?

I got a lot. But it's expanding on the "Starscream is Vosian royalty" trope in the tf fandom.

The Coneheads are part of the Vosian Elite hierarchy. The tension between Starscream and Thrust is made worse by their family connection as well as their heritage and social customs. They're 'cousins' through their mothers.

Vos is a matrilineal society and places a deep emphasis on full carriages. Vosians believe that the newsparks gain more durability being nurtured within their carrier's frame. Starscream has a higher rank due to his own carrier belonging to a femme who's the sparkling of femme Winglord's clutch, and she managed to bring Starscream to term despite the high-risk medical complications that unfortunately whittled down to only one viable sparklet. (She was a favored daughter and an excellent diplomat for other city-states. With strings, she buried the medical records that another attempt could kill her before the sparklets had a chance to drop down.) A very ill omen among the Vosians as it means an early death or major compatibility issues with others.

Meanwhile, Thrust came from a "proper" clutch from a carrier that can trace her lineage to a Ruling Trine. However, she was sired by those mechs upon a bondmate.

Going back to the Coneheads. It's a high-ranking trine that is the equivalent of head of the royal security forces and major contenders to succeed to the Ruling Trine or court a femme Winglord or settle her heat should she has no claimed trine or lover.

Non-Seekerkin can not understand how they can function with that kind of system that allows the possibility of deception and treachery. But it's their way of checks and balances within their social structure. The push-pull between the Winglord with the Ruling Trine and the constant testing with the outer and inner rings will hone skills and keep instincts sharp as violence is settled in acceptable manners.

Starscream and Thrust have major beef with other as they both differ on how to guide the remaining Vosians... and surviving Seekerkin. Thrust is very much: Vosian first. Decepticon second.

He also thinks of his cousin as a fuckup. He won't deny Starscream's brilliance, but it's crippled by how Starscream allows himself to be corrupted by 'outside' influences rather than keeping to themselves. A weakness, Thrust views, that stems from Starscream's attempts to go against traditions and expectations. Skywarp was an utter hellion of a Wilder barbarian, and Thrust still can't believe that Starscream trined to that when others mechs were willingly to overlook Starscream's ominous signs and standoffish quirks. The addition of a Praxian femme Thundercracker as the war escalated nearly had Starscream and Thrust come to blows. Starscream catapulting his way into Winglord and Decepticon SIC did have them come to blows. Starscream's trine won the right to lead.

Meanwhile, Starscream sneers at his cousin's lack of imagination. He's upset that Thrust's shortsightedness had been nurtured by Vosian sense of superiority... which crippled them with interacting with other city-states and blinded them to their own troubles. And it even follows them to this point in the war. Even now, there's little mixing between Vosian Seekers and the rest of the faction. Unlike Skywarp that relishes his duties as the Left-Wing to a Decepticon SIC and Winglord and the remaining Decepticon Praxians and Polyhexians that have no issues intermingling with the rest of the faction, Starscream sees that they are getting isolated. He's banging his head against so many walls because that's something that needs to be taken care of before they're written off as they further dwindle. Air superiority means little without the proper numbers, and he already is verbally vivisecting any plans that propose to split trines to further air support across divisions. He may be the established Winglord, but he has too many duties to counter the social pull the Coneheads have on the remaining Vosians. Thundercracker keeps them in line, but she can't force them out to interact with the others.

(Their family was hoping that Starscream and Thrust would trine together as they had compatible skillets and opportunities to grow well together. Thrust could handle Starscream's acerbic words and guide him to of the more successful ventures, whereas Starscream had the creative vision to go well with Thrust's excellent social finesse.

However, their personalities and motivations clashed too much as neither of them are willing to back down. They kept hoping as Thrust was still settling with his brothers and classmates but still gravitated to Starscream, even to heckle at him... They eventually gave up after Starscream trined with Skywarp.)

[bonefall]

Question: Since the mutation that makes sphynx cats nakey (their hair is fragile and sucks) can just happen at random. How would a Clan treat a nakey cat born among them? Could they make them a coat?

I think, at first, there would be concern that it's some kind of sign. Hairlessness looks like mange, a very serious and contagious condition. This could be a terrible omen-- that mange will be brought down to us.

But it would become apparent the kitten isn't a fader, it isn't a StarClan warrior who came down to deliver the others, or a mere sign. It's pink and wrinkled, like a newborn rodent, but moves as the other kits do. Did StarClan... forget its fur?

There's another feared creature without any fur-- humans. It looks human.

I think the poor thing would have a lot of problems with the other cats its age and maybe the more superstitious members of the Clan, but a warrior of the Clan is a warrior of the Clan. Life would be harder for them, but there would still be love that exists.

They'd be capable of making them a coat, and they WOULD need it, but I can see that cat trying to go without it for fear of being made fun of. That's another thing humans do-- wear pelts all over themselves because they have no fur of their own.

Unfortunately they'd also be prone to a ton of really bad health problems. This poor guy would be in the Cleric's den a lot, and may need to retire early or focus on campbound activities.

Health problems;

Pelt is a LOT weaker; injuries from battle or even training would be a lot more severe, Cleric may recommend them not taking part in fights.

Skin becomes filthy, and needs special cleaning. There is no fur to absorb the oil that the skin naturally makes to keep the coat healthy, causing buildup.

Even with proper cleaning, the skin is super prone to rashes, lesions, and constant irritation. Wash TOO MUCH and the skin will become dry and chapped.

SUNBURN. Especially in WindClan, where the warrior might spend a lot of time on the open moor in daylight, and RiverClan, where light reflecting off the water could cause an intense burn. It would be recommended the warrior take night shifts, but this could be an issue because night is cold. (BB!Cats are crepuscular).

Additionally; such severe, uniquely-placed sunburns are something Clerics wouldn't see very often. Lack of medical experience with these sorts of injuries could prove dangerous.

Ear infections. Cats naturally have hair in their ears, which their earwax production accounts for.

Both heatstroke AND frostbite. Very bad temperature regulation leading to severe ailments. Fur helps stabilize body temperature.

So in conclusion...

Life would be very difficult for this individual. Fur isn't just full-body hair; it's almost as fundamental as a top layer of skin. This would be a serious disability for a Clan cat to have, and it may invoke the image of detested humans leading to social stigmatization.

But because they're clanborn, they are unambiguously a member of the Clan. It's likely that the Clan would make clothing for this warrior out of fur pelts, but in their struggle with internalized ableism, they might have conflicted feelings about wearing it.

The Cleric would recommend campbound activities, night shifts, and WEARING YOUR PELT, DAMN IT. They would need to take full baths every few days, not too much and not too little, plus frequent ear cleanings.

[careful-please]

"So how do you know when to move?"

"You watch for an opening."

"OK, but what does an opening look like?"

"See how it seems alert? You must wait for it to relax and turn away."

"And then we inch closer?"

"Then you determine if you are ready to move or shoot."

"Oh. I'm too far to make that shot."

"Then you should work on your range. You are not ready for this."

"Really? Are you telling me Atreus can make this shot? It's 50 feet away!!!! Can you make this shot?!?"

"......"

"....... show off."

"Hm."

"Not even gonna bother denying it. I see how it is. Fine I'll go practice with Atreus then."

"Hm."

"Stupid dreki welps...stupid bow....stupid Kratos."

"Brother. I don't think hunting beasts was her only aim for this lesson."

"...speak plainly, head."

"Well, I could be wrong, but I believe she was trying to woo you."

".........what?"

"Oh brother. Norse women tend to use such tactics when they first take interest in a partner. Try to be patient or you might run her off."

"....... and how should I respond to her ... advances?"

"I'm so very glad you asked. Heheh."

[kinslayersadvocate]

Proud to report that my sister can't stomach polin's season as well, so we will have to leave it partially watched

[vegacoyote]

I mean, strictly speaking, a feral animal is a domesticated animal. It’s just one that’s grown up outside the direct influence of its domesticators. As such, it is likely to have been eating whatever is most readily available, whether that be food scraps from tipped over trashcans or the most commonly played songs on local Top 40 radio stations.

You cannot say that a top grossing artist is "feral" or making you "feral." You are listening to the Billboard Top 40. You are very domesticated.

[ozzgin]

Due to a rather embarrassing bureaucratic mistake, you - a mere human - have been appointed as the new Death of the Monster Realm. The monster souls are confused (and unexpectedly aroused) to find a small, frail creature as their guide through the Underworld. Content: gender neutral reader, monster romance, collab with Kafka

“Who the hell are you?”

Before you stands a Beast. Your body is frozen in sheer terror, crumbling under his all-knowing stare. You feel like you’re facing God Himself. Could it be? Have you died? God certainly looked a little more merciful in those Christian depictions.

You swallow dryly and open your mouth, words rolling out clumsily.

“I-…it’s (Y/N). I’ve been told to come in.”

The creature continues to glare at you incredulously before abruptly turning and speeding towards an enormous desk, a sudden realization occurring to him. He throws papers around, as if searching for something, occasionally releasing a thundering curse. Aha! There it is.

He collapses into a chair, head resting in his clawed hands.

“There has been a mistake. You're not supposed to be here", he growls, defeated. "And yet, it can't be fixed."

He scans your features briefly, taking his time and searching for the words.

"Listen, kid. I don't know how to tell you this any better: you're going to be guiding souls into their Afterlife. Monster souls."

You blink.

"Alright. Is there some training for it?"

The Beast is a little taken aback by your nonchalance. Given the extraordinary circumstances, he expected you to cry, beg and scream. Perhaps you won't be such a terrible fit, after all.

"You will learn from me. I am the previously appointed Death, and have been here for the past millennium."

Formalities finally aside, he takes you through the colossal, arched halls, explaining your job through words shrouded in mystery and cosmic terror. You nod and scribble obediently in your little notebook.

Thus begins your task as the new Death of the Monster Realm. A never-before-seen peculiarity: the ferocious, departed creatures are greeted by the small frame of a...human. Their eyes widen in disbelief.

In Monster culture, Death has always been described as the creature above all creatures. A blasphemy of gargantuan dimensions, with many eyes and horns, a pitch-black blight of dread. Even the highest-ranked Monsters shudder upon his arrival.

You wave your hand dismissively. It's the hundredth time today you've received this reaction of utter shock. Let's move on, shall we, you think to yourself sarcastically.

The path to the Gate feels like an eternity. Without exception, the monsters will ask you too many questions. Not about their situation, mind you, about yourself. Are you truly a human? How did you come to be the legendary guidance of souls? What was your life like before this? Surely you must have some interesting stories from your life as a mere mortal.

The former Death stands up from his seat.

"What do you mean, there's an increase in lost souls? Is that damn human not doing their job?" he demands, turning to the servant who'd come to announce the latest statistics.

"They are, Sir. It's just...Well..." the beast is visibly tense. "It's the monsters who don't want to leave."

"And? We've had plenty of those before. Why're they refusing to pass this time?"

The answer is clearly of a sensitive nature. The short, stocky butler fidgets and stumbles, then finally confesses meekly:

"They claim to have fallen in love with the human."

In all his eternity working as the Soul Collector, he'd never imagined such ridiculousness. He'd always been feared and well-respected, performing his task swiftly and without issue. It never occurred to him that he'd have to include as a guidance step "how to handle the monster souls flirting with you." He grabs his scythe and marches outside with an exasperated sigh.

Somehow, he doubts his retirement will come anytime soon.

[More Monsters]

[stressfulsloth]

Harry, dressed in a mesh shirt and culturally insensitive robe, dedicating his karaoke song to a ferociously defensive Kim who is almost but not quite blushing, in a tender moment of affection and catharsis.

Garte:

[bogleech]

Top ten imaginary bugs?

A tree dwelling cockroach that lights up like a firefly

A big spiny predatory katydid that lights up to lure the cockroaches

A freshwater mantis shrimp I could just find at the average creek like I can crawfish.

A "giant" (like 2 inches) flightless lousefly that can thrive on any vertebrate blood and bites things at night like a vampire bat, wouldn't spread disease or infest homes or even be any more painful than a mosquito but you know it'd freak people out real bad anyways. Just something extra to keep humans on their toes.

A giant (like 1 inch) snout mite because they're really fun carnivorous mites with pointy noses, I wanna be able to keep them as pets too, or an even more giant tick but it's a non-biting scavenger. I want a big friendly tick.

A freshwater goose barnacle that can grow on land and catch insects like a venus flytrap.

A fully terrestrial crab that lives positively everywhere just so we'd have a culture in which crabs have to be recognized as common woodland creatures instead of mainly sea or beach creatures. I just think that would be fun. Might be neat if it's also super spiny all over.

A positively colossal (half an inch) tardigrade. Some tardigrades are predators, it could be one of those. A ferocious mega tardigrade that eats worms and termites and things.

One single small, plain species of trilobite that survived extinction by coming onto land but it's a petty nuisance to us, like it loves to eat stucco or something.

A biting vampire butterfly. Vampire moths exist, but they're rare and nocturnal. The vampire butterfly should be common and act like any other butterfly except that it will bite you if it gets the chance. As with the woodland crab I just wanna see what cultural impact there'd be if one butterfly was scary. It should look really distinct among all butterflies for ease of artistic use. So nobody has to explain what kind of butterfly it is if they got it for a tattoo or put it on an album cover.

[tiredneutron]

Terrans

Humanity.

Listen well, for this is a tale of warning and of caution.

When humanity was first observed, many of the council thought they should be eradicated. A tumultuous and violent species who revelled in the destruction of their own kind. It was a close thing, but the council voted and humanity was allowed to develop - under the condition that none were to contact them until they were deemed ready.

Humanity never gave us the chance to do so.

They progressed their technology in timeframes yet unseen. They went from discovering electricity to landing on their own moon in a matter of decades - doing so with primitive technology, but it was a feat nonetheless.

From there they developed their own world - the space around their home planet Terra became a field of haphazard signals and messages, a bombardment of signals that interfered with our observational machinery. Due to this we weren’t ready when humanity ventured into the stars truly for the first time. They blasted themselves out of their atmosphere with controlled explosions of all things, their technology was nowhere near discovering antimatter coupling yet. Despite this they reached the edge of the quarantine zone within a matter of years, and we were discovered.

Despite our initial thoughts, humanity reacted very differently to us than expected. They didn’t wage wars on us, didn’t lay claim to our planets. They met us with unrestrained joy at finding others in the universe. They told us of their numerous attempts to reach out to us, and showed us some of their works of fiction that depicted how they imagined us (though they seemed to hide some others for reasons we couldn’t ascertain).

Humanity was welcomed into the stars, and they became commonplace. Their biology was baffling and their behaviour bizarre, but we accommodated them and they taught us how to work with them.

Centuries passed, and though the initial explorers were long gone, humanity had become a part of the council as low ranking members. Their species had become mostly peaceful, lowering their internal wars to less than skirmishes. Humanity’s violent and cruel nature seemed to have been tempered by the stars.

We were wrong.

From beyond the councils borders, beyond the observable space in the void, a threat appeared. They blasted through our sensors and demolished our border colonies in hours. Our intel on them was near zero due to the ferocity they annihilated our kin.

They reached the inner borders of the council, and the elder members prepared for a bitter battle. To our surprise, humanity asked to join the defence. They told us that their kin had settled on some of the border colonies, and that many had lost loved ones. We allowed humanity to join our last fight, even if we didn’t expect them to affect the battle.

We were wrong.

Many of my comrades who survived the battle have sleep terrors to this day. Not of the void settlers, but of the humans. The cruelty and viciousness we thought had disappeared from their culture came back with a vengeance. Who we had seen as scientists and farmers for centuries, comrades we had known for decades - they showed us that monsters don’t come from the void.

The void settlers never stood a chance. The council was barely able to get in formation before the battle was ended. If the void bringers tactics were ferocious, then the Terran’s were monstrous. For every ship they lost, every life they sacrificed, the void settlers lost a battalion, a planet’s worth of lives.

This loss brought the void settlers much shame and anger. They made a mistake that haunts me to this day. They used their speed to reach Terra before the council could relay to the humans the threat. Humanity watched as Terra split, as trillions of their families and non-fighting members were eradicated.

The fighting ceased. Humanity seemed to have frozen. Their fleets stopped dead in space and their communications went silent. Where humanity had been surrounded by wavelengths and frequencies that interfered with some technology still, the space around them became eerily silent, as though the death of the planet had killed even those off world.

The void settlers continued their attack on the council and disregarded Humanity. No need to worry about a broken opponent… Right?

They were wrong.

The Terran’s weren’t dead, or even broken. It was later revealed that the freeze had been due to grief. Humanity had lost its home world, but worse than that it had lost its peaceable citizens. The ones who should have been safe from the conflict.

All of humanity had watched, and all of humanity had grieved. But they were not broken.

The void settlers learnt this very soon.

Humanity descended on them in ways that made the last defence seem like a diplomatic discussion. We though we had seen the worst of humanity in our early observations. WE. WERE. WRONG.

Humanity has a saying “Hell hath no wrath like a woman scorned”, but the council has adapted it: “The void hath no wrath like a Terran without a home”.

The void settlers were routed from every planet they had taken. They retreated to the void leaving behind their technology and supplies, not even taking the time to recover some of their teams. But the humans didn’t stop.

In a move that the council had forbidden for millennia, the humans flew into the void. The entirety of the Terran race disappeared into the blackness beyond space and wasn’t heard from for longer than we had known of them.

The council mourned their losses, but viewed their final act as something done out of the madness of their loss. The Terran’s were remembered as warriors, as fighters, but also as family. They became known to those of us who’d seen them fight as “The angels of Death”.

I never expected to see a Terran again, assumed that the void had devoured them and their destructive grief with them. But one day a vessel I was onboard, tasked with assessing possible colonies to rebuild in the border planets - it detected something.

The frequencies and wavelengths of data that had only ever been human in nature. They were coming from the void.

The council watched as humanity emerged unexpected for the second time.

The flagship docked with our observation vessel, and the leaders came aboard to see us. I vaguely recognised the captain. Their features so slightly similar to the grief driven warrior we’d watched descend into the void. We asked what had happened, and the captain responded with the most chilling visage I had seen since the first footage of the void settlers. Their baring of their teeth was savage and joyous. So similar to the expression we saw at first meeting, yet so distorted. In that moment I saw what could have happened if the Terran’s had waged war on us.

“We won.”

[artist-issues]

Tell me every reason you enjoy Zootopia enough to give it all the rewatches you do.

Every? Oh boy.

Good Story

Perfect Characters

Visual Appeal

Earnestness

Let me break it down.

1. Good Story

Zootopia’s main point is: “Try to make the world a better place by realizing we’re fundamentally the same.”

That’s a really good main point.

It has the benefit of being true. Right now our culture is super into “self-identification,” and this crazy contrast between, “I want to be able to identify as something special” and “Now that I know what categories I fit in, I can choose who’s ‘one of us’ and who’s ’not one of us.’” Okay well that sounds pretty and I’m sure it fulfills some emotional need at some point, but it’s actually super divisive, and self-serving, and it’s the seeds for all prejudices. Including racism.

Do we have differences in origins and experiences? Yes. Of course. Do we also have some fundamental things in common? Yes. Of course. Which truth are you going to give the highest priority to? If it’s “no, I’m a prey animal, I know exactly where I belong, that’s who I am, that’s how I dress, that’s my compass for how I interact with others” then you’re getting all your security from your “sense of self,” and being able to understand what that is…which is just a fancy way of saying “I’m all about me. My own perspective informs everything I do.”

Anyway. Zootopia’s message was super true.

And the coolest thing about it is that if only Judy were in the wrong, and the other half of the dynamic duo, Nick, was this open-minded, un-prejudiced guy…and she just hurts him and has to apologize…the movie’s message wouldn’t be as well-communicated.

They have their prejudices and their hurt-from-being-prejudiced-against in common!

They’re the same…because they’ve both felt what it’s like to be treated like they’re not “the same.”

Nick isn’t the only character being mistreated and written off because of his species. The whole first half of the movie is about Judy being mistreated and written off. They think she can’t be a cop because she’s little and cute and a prey-animal. They think Nick can’t be trustworthy because he’s sneaky and small and a predator.

So literally…if Judy represented one race, and Nick represented a completely different race…the movie would be saying that both those races are discriminated against. They even have discrimination in common. AND, if Nick represented men who people make assumptions about because he’s a man, and Judy represented women who people make assumptions about because she’s a woman—the movie would be saying that both those genders are falsely judged.

I mean. Wow. Right now, your movie is either pro-woman or pro-man. Right now, your movie is either BLM or white-supremacy. Everybody’s lining up on one side of the line or the other. Zootopia says, “it doesn’t matter what character you’re looking at, from the elephant that can’t remember anything to the two main characters—every single one of them has fundamental things in common, and one of those things is that they all live like they’re in their own special category. When actually, they’re all fundamentally the same.”

I don’t want to keep beating the dead horse. But I have a post somewhere that lists every background character and points out that each animal is the exact opposite of what you would assume they are based on their animal-stereotype. The otters are never shown being playful or snuggly, only traumatized and ferocious. The cheetah is fat and slow, not quick or even quick on the uptake. Etc.

Even if you look outside of characters—look at the sets. Look at the environments. The whole city is designed “for animals, by animals.” But it’s in neat little segments. The animals organize themselves by habitat. Of course, in one sense that’s practical—the polar bears can’t live in Sahara Square, etc. but the point is, by making Judy and Nick, the main characters, small animals, in a city where everything is built to accommodate by species—UGH this is so good—they have to figure out how to problem-solve in situations that weren’t made to accommodate them.

Little Rodentia? Judy has to avoid stepping on all the mice or knocking over their buildings. Parking tickets? She has to figure out how to jump to reach bigger animals’ windshields—or she inconveniences smaller animals because the tickets are all printed at the exact same size. Stuck in a cell? The guards didn’t think about the fact that small animals can fit down the pipes made to accommodate big animals.

Zootopia is a city advertised to be where all the animals can come together. But the way they do that is by trying to accommodate every species’ preferences. So then actually while they try to come together, everything from their cars to their districts remind them of their differences. The whole idea is that they prioritize the wrong truths. Yeah, mice can’t drive giraffe cars—but they still have “driving” in common. See?

And oh my word. Initially it was supposed to be a spy story. But they changed it to a buddy cop story. Why? Well because justice doesn’t discriminate. Or at least, it’s not supposed to. So then there’s another lens to look at the story’s main theme through.

It’s just that every layer, every perspective you look at the movie from, is just hammering that truth into you: “Try to make the world a better place by realizing we’re fundamentally the same.”

2. Perfect Characters

Every character is so well-thought-through in this movie, even the side characters. You get the feeling you could watch a whole movie based on the side characters, because that’s the amount of love and nuance built into them.

Look at the main ones, though. Bellwhether is supposed to be soft and a follower. She’s a sheep. Instead, she’s hard and bitter—and she’s a leader. A villainous leader, but a leader, nonetheless. Even as she tries to keep animals divided based on fear of their stereotypes, she’s not fitting her own stereotype. Her voice actress has this strained, half-hoarse, but sweet voice. Like you can tell that this character has spent a lot of time under pressure and trying to manage appearances. Appearing like she’s fine, and she can handle it—until you realize that the appearance she’s really managing is “the cultural fear-based identify of the city.” They dress her in plaid and flowers and she’s a farm animal, because that’s the kind of character Judy would be most likely to trust. But she still has green eyes, and jagged teeth, so that when she does start making evil expressions there are some caricature-pieces in there that come out and accentuate that.

Nick Wilde—everybody’s favorite—is supposed to be sly and smooth and shifty. And he is. He’s a fox. But he’s also brave, helpful, and trustworthy. The first time you see him is when he’s dodging out of the way of a bigger animal ignoring him and about to run him over. Well, that’s important.

Because Judy knows what it’s like to have to get out of the way of larger animals, because they overlook her.

So right off the bat, this character she has to get along with and work with, this character who furthers her development and nails the main point, is introduced in a way that has something in common with her. But he’s also introduced in a way that gives her an opportunity to focus on a different truth—that he is different from her. Because the sheep is yelling that he’s a “fox.” Right away, we’re back to species-as-identification.

And that’s what the movie does, all the way through. It presents new animal characters, and with those new animals characters, more than one thing is true at a time. And Judy has to try to focus on which truth is more important. “Try to make the world a better place by realizing we’re all the same.” Yes, Nick is a criminal. But Nick is also brave, helpful, and eventually, becomes trustworthy.

Judy, too. Judy is an incredibly well-done character. Because she believes, in her head, that anyone can be anything—which is not what the movie ends on. In fact, she goes from saying, “anyone can be anything,” to saying, “we all have limitations.” It’s not true that a fox can be an elephant. But it is true that a fox can be trustworthy. Figure out what’s true, and try to make decisions for the better, based on that.

I could talk about character design and acting. Ginnifer Goodwin gives just the right amount of smugness and self-confidence to Judy without making her unlikeable—you don’t realize she’s smug and her self-confidence is misplaced until she does, when she fails to make the world a better place for Nick.

Judy wears tight, actionable, well-fitting uniforms for the whole movie. In her civilian clothes when she comes to Zootopia, she’s wearing athletic t-shirts and shorts. Ready for action, that’s Judy, even in her civvies. Meanwhile, Nick? Nick wears loose-fitting clothes. Loud, patterned clothes that don’t match. Like he didn’t even what, ladies and gentlemen? Like he didn’t even TRY. “Try to make the world a better place…”

Because when you meet Nick Wilde, he’s long since given up on trying, in life. So his character design reflects that. He rarely even stands up straight, or opens his eyes all the way—his default is drooping. And guess what?

When Judy “gives up?” Quits her job? Goes back home? Stops trying? Her civvies aren’t ready-for-action, trying clothes. They’re loose flannels. And her “ears are droopy.”

SERIOUSLY, you can find things like this in every corner of the movie. For every character. Not one character is a throwaway, not in voice acting, not in design, not in animation, and not in narrative.

3. Visual Appeal

Which leads me into this point—no other animated anthropomorphic animal movie is as visually appealing as Zootopia.

What Zootopia does is it matches the best of the best anthropomorphic animal designs from past Disney movies:

And they marry it with this incredible intentionality with modern CGI.

Did you know Disney invents its own software for things like fur textures?

The sheep’s wool, the velvet pig skin, the fox fur, the bunny fluff—it’s all completely different textures. There’s no one “fur” covering all the hairy mammals.

Nick isn’t just orange. He’s orange with deep red and dark tufts. Judy has black tips to her ears, too—which helps the two of them look like, in some sense, they belong “together” in every shot.

It’s so important to the movie that the animals feel like animals that they worked this hard to do this. And then that extends to the textures of the snow, the ice, the sand, the wet leaves, the grass, the fire.

Every character moves like their animal, and like themselves. Nick and Gideon are both foxes, but they don’t move similarly at all. Gideon is aggressive and glowering and physical. Nick, again, is slouchy, leans on everything, completely non-confrontational.

Other anthropomorphic animal movies like Sing or Puss in Boots—they’re not doing both as well. Zootopia is appealing, without sacrificing realism completely, and without cutting character acting.

The lighting. Nope. This post is too long, I can’t talk any more.

4. Earnestness

There is no disingenuous moment in this movie.

The animators are never lazy. They always go for the challenge. They don’t cut corners. Have you ever seen “Over the Hedge?” I like Over the Hedge. But I watched it recently and it’s crazy how many shots are strategically placed so that the animators don’t have to solve a certain effects problem.

For example, when RJ sprays Hammy with cool whip to make it look like he has rabies? He doesn’t. You never see the cool whip leave the can. It just cuts away, then cuts back when RJ is pulling the can away from his face. The shots are also cut so that you never have to see gas actually come out of Stella—and you never see Vern’s full body as he gets back into his shell, just the upper part of the shell as he wiggles it around, going through the motions of putting it back on.

That’s because that stuff would be painstaking to animate. Any time one character has to interact with props or substances (especially liquids) that are not part of their model, it’s harder on the animator.

Zootopia? We’re getting full-on views of characters getting wet, fur and all, characters touching various objects and elements, foam coming out of the mouth, new clothes, new set pieces, multiple models, huge crowd shots of different animals in different outfits, all with their own movement patterns and acting.

And all that hard work and effort, aimed so totally at the main theme of the movie? Making sure it looks as good as it can? Not just that, but the way it’s written, the acting, is so genuine. They don’t hold anything back. They don’t shy away from real emotion.

Judy Hopps’ apology scene is brutal. She’s crying, having a hard time finishing a sentence, her voice is all tight. It’s not pretty, it’s not romantic, it’s like…ugly crying. And her character is wrong in a super embarrassing way. They're not afraid to go there. The writers, the actors, the animators—they’re not afraid of being too vulnerable with these character flaws.

So many movies, especially kids’ movies today—they just pull up and shy away from being real through their characters. They think a quick sad facial expression will get the point across. And it does. The audience gets that the character feels sad about whatever the circumstance of the scene is. But not as powerfully. Because you didn’t put as much work and heart into it.

Zootopia is all heart, from work ethic to vulnerability to the filmmakers enjoying what they’re doing, enough to make it as good as it can possibly be. I can’t explain it better, other than to say, you feel like they would’ve been happy making this movie much much longer than it was. You feel like they’re cramming every bit of joy and passsion into every little joke, every side character, every hair on a CGI bear.

There you go. Long post, you did ask for it

[venussaidso]

So from my Saturn Dominant Themes post to Venus Dominant Themes, this is what I'm getting;

Saturn nakshatras build a foundation in stagnancy or from nothing, Mercury nakshatras use the foundation to expand the abundance which was controlled prior or must prove themselves worthy enough to handle it, Ketu nakshatras deal with the deep roots within the gandanta knot which has one fixed by, Venus nakshatras break free from these roots, traditions or legacy which one was burdened by prior.

Exactly why Mulan is so perfectly Venusian. Due to her culture and tradition (Ketu), she didn't have to worry about going to the army. But her heart opposed these conservative ideals. All Venus nakshatras are Ugra nakshatras, meaning that they are ferocious, their intense fire is weaponized against any opposing forces — purposely burning away the roots that held them down. And I've touched on Ketu nakshatras quite a lot — they have an heirdom or old money theme in which one cannot escape their roots and have to carry out the legacy of their family. Ketu will be burdened with traditions (as explored in this post) but blessed with past knowledge which guides them. Venus nakshatras will have a mix of the old way of doing things and a new way of doing things. Mulan literally disguises herself as a man, but still lacks the biological strengths to be equal to her male comrades. She finds new ways to compensate for that lack, being creative and innovative while still maintaining who she is at heart. I've already done an article on Purva Ashada and its trine nakshatras.

Mulan cutting her hair, symbolic of cutting her old self and "roots" — she is voiced by Purva Ashada Moon Ming-Na Wen. Purva Ashada comes right after Mula, starting a new cycle which detaches itself from Mula nakshatra (as the Sanskrit word Mula means roots).

The section of the fire signs which signifies true boundlessness and liberation is indeed the Sun nakshatras. Since Venus nakshatras burned away all the roots (aka old, ancestral barriers which held them back), the Sun nakshatras answer to no one but themselves.

[bonefall]

You mentioned in the Pinestar post that there's more cats interested in non-clan life than we think. Who are some of those cats? I mean we have Ravenpaw, Cloudtail, Spiderfoot and Buster for sure who left (even if briefly) but who else?

Willowclaw of WindClan had kittens with a barn cat and really likes the taste of kibble. She brings nuggets to Aftergatherings and eats them with her soup like croutons. Boulderfur's lucky as hell she had to keep her tastes a secret else she would have named him Nuggetkit.

There's Featherwhisker waaaaay back in time if you want to count him, he had Frostfur with a secret kittypet lover.

Sneezecloud doesn't give a Doug Dimmidamn (Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmidamn) who you are as long as you've got good goods, when trading is involved. His mate, Havenpelt, was an outsider who caused a lot of trouble around the territory before they started talking. He turned a rogue into a business partner and then eventually into a wife, because he has rizz.

Either Rippletail or Rainstorm was seeing a kittypet who hangs out near the nature center in RiverClan territory, but I'm not sure which one.

I'm also sure there's more who have gone investigating, but these are just the ones who have brought something back from their cavorting. It's VERY taboo, but not unheard of.

[truetogaia]

Gimme some jake teaching na'vi reader naughty human things please bae I beg 😩😩

Im actually going crazy, feral, wild, ferocious, insane, crazed, deranged, mental, loco

pairing: dilf!dom!jake x fem!na'vi!reader

genre: smut, 18+

notes: honestly, I don't have anything to say. This one lowk sucks ass LMAO. anyway: Dilf Jake teaching his mate some kinky human things.

warnings: explicit and mature content, like partner drunkenness, oral (f receiving), fingering, p in v, bondage, mommy kink , daddy kink, lewd and vulgar language, praise kink, spanking.

word count: ab 1k words

!NOT PROOFREAD BC ITS 4 AM!

It wasn’t unusual for Jake to fall into some sort of depressing state of mind. The feeling of being incredibly different and left out of his surroundings, gnawing at his confidence and at his heart. His bearing, his language, his skills, his personality; they didn’t fit in there. Didn’t go well with the way of the people, the forest. 

He had felt so utterly useless, not being able to help the clan in any way other than as a jester for the rest of the na’vi to laugh at and ridicule. That was until he met you. You were so eager to learn his ways, almost completely abandoning the omaticaya way. 

He adored you so much, loved everything about you. And when he let you know, spilled his tender heart out to you, you soon became a pair, connecting the tendrils of your kuru as soon as the words left his mouth. 

Your mating had been so good, love radiating off of the two of you as you made love so innocently, producing the most loving family. And ever since then, sex became almost a daily occurrence. Jake simply couldn’t keep his hands off of you, always holding you or caressing your soft skin in some way. Gripping and groping at your hips, resting his chin on the top of your head, wrapping his long, strong arms around your middle to feel you against him. Anything.

And then, one day, when your kids were under your grandparents supervision, he suggested something. It made your heart flutter, knowing you would get to see more of his culture. A growing arousal settled between your plush thighs as he whispered into your ear the things he’d do to you. These were very unfamiliar things, things you had never heard of, or even thought about. His husky voice sent a shiver up your spine as he traced the outline of your waist with his hands, his hot breath fanning against your warm, blushing neck.  

The warmth of his hands left a trail of goosebumps on your pretty, blue skin as he ran them up your body. He peppered your warm neck with kisses, occasionally nipping at your skin, marking you. He was pressed up against your back, making you suddenly aware of his prominent bulge pressing into your ass. The warmth disappeared from your form when Jake pulled away from you, leaving you disoriented and dazed. You turned around, confusedly watching him walk back into the room with a rope in his hands.

You were sprawled out on the ground now, on the hard surface of your wooden mat, hands tied together by a loose knot behind your back. Your stifled moans and mewls filled your shared hut, alarming unlucky passerbyers of your business. Jake’s long, slender fingers were knuckles deep into your squelching cunt, making gentle scissoring motions as they delved deeper, hot tongue sucking on your neglected bundle of nerves. Your hands instinctively fought against your restraints, desperate to grab Jake’s hair. 

Your second orgasm of that night came crashing down on you as your hips rolled against your mate’s hand, a hot white blocking your vision as you came around his thick digits. 

“That’s it, mama. Knew you could do it.” His praise made your head spin, ears perking at the nickname. “Yeah? Y'like being called mama?” A deep purple spread across your navy skin. “Now, I have something even better. Y’ready baby?” you answered him with a groggy nod, too busy recovering from your intense orgasm.

 You squealed when he suddenly hoisted you up, turning you around so your back was facing him. Your pointy ears twitched as they picked up the sound heavy fabric falling to the ground. The sensation of Jake’s tip running through your soaked folds made you jolt, failing to suppress a moan you weren’t even aware of. It hadn’t been too long since the two of you had made love, but this was different, you had never been taken from.. behind before. It simply was not a thing na’vi did, because it wasn’t necessary, it wasn’t even a thing. 

“Damn,” his voice was deep as he whispered, almost to himself, “you’re so wet, sweetie. All of this, just for me?” He teased, chuckling lightly before sinking his cock into your tight heat, entering you in one swift movement. Your loud moans were enough to get Jake to move. He grabbed the rope binding your wrists together for stability as he pounded into you, setting a ruthless pace from the start. He knew you could handle it, and based on the volume of your moans, he knew you absolutely loved it. 

“Such a good girl. Y’enjoying yourself, mama?” He couldn’t see your face, but based on your lack of words, he could imagine exactly what you looked like. Eyes rolled back, mouth agape, a drooling, panting mess. “Yeahhh.. I bet you are.” His large hand dealt a smack to your ass, skin turning red at the sudden contact. Another new experience. He relished in how you screamed his name beneath him, how you were too fucked out to do anything but chant his name.  

His cock felt heavy inside you, balls slapping repeatedly at your swollen clit as he pumped his thick length into your pussy. “Shit, mama, grippin’ me like a vice.. Y’close? Hm?” He tugged at the rope, forcefully pulling your hips back to meet with his. 

“Cum for me whenever you’re ready, baby.” Jake angled his hips slightly, his fat tip now grazing your g-spot with each pound of his cock. He hunched over your arching form, gently kissing your neck. His ears perked up as an unexpected word rolled off of your tongue.

“Fhuuck, daddy right there-” You cried out, not being able to stop yourself. You hadn’t thought about it, saying it before your hazy mind could even register the word. Your hand gripped your mate’s wrist, a signal for him to keep going. His cock twitched inside your throbbing heat.

“Yeah? Gonna cum on daddy’s fat cock? Go on.” And you did. You came hard around his girth, body convulsing beneath his large body. Heat spread through your abdomen as Jake followed suit, pumping his seed deep inside your pulsing cunt. 

As you both came down from your highs, sweaty bodies sticking to each other, Jake gently undid the knot on the rope, placing a kiss to your shoulder. 

“I’m curious… Where did you learn that word?”

____________________________________________

Jake Sully masterlist ♡

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This is the only platform which this work is posted on. If you see this elsewhere, report it immediately! Do not copy or steal.

[theshadowrealmitself]

@somethingsweetsomethingbitter great tags to check out, thank you!!

Is there a tag for fun human-alien culture differences other than the “humans are space orcs” one? That one’s a fun tag, but it’s not really what I’m looking for (which is pretty obvious from the kind of content I post 😭)

[tc-doherty]

Dragon's Daughter is Published!

Dragon's Daughter is officially live in all formats!

Synopsis:

In a ruined castle deep in the wilderness, there lived a beautiful princess guarded by a ferocious dragon. Except for the fact that the maiden in the tower was no princess at all, but the dragon’s daughter. Rescued against her will, she is carried off to human lands and given the name Lady Patrice Drake. Caught between culture shock and grief, she must find a way to navigate her strange new surroundings lest she be drowned under human machinations and politics. Who among these people are enemies? Who among them are allies? And most importantly, who is she without her mother’s guidance and protection?

Age range: 16+

Type: Fantasy, medieval, F/F

Warnings for: occasional, non-graphic violence

E-Book | Barnes & Nobles

PDF

Print Edition

Tagging the reading list again

@bloodlessheirbyjacques @magefaery @did-i-do-this-write @marrowwife

@muddshadow @outpost51 @full-on-sam @bluberimufim

@unclear-contributions @talesfromtheunknowable @guessillcallitart @flower-reads

@ashiru @xarrixii @the-letterbox-archives

[tyrantisterror]

On the subject of Dinobot, do you have any personal theories on WHY he goes by, well, the name of arguably the single most famous Autobot sub group in history? He's explicitly well read and knows history that is NOT common in universe, and the Dinobots are well known, so why would a proud Predacon name himself after a team that infamously hates the Decepticons? I mean the real life reason is that Dinobot's character was not originally a Predacon prior to the show, but it does seem at least a BIT odd for him. (I suppose the most logical reason is that he is a proud warrior that respects foes, so he gives respect to the most fierce and ferocious foes of his ancestors.)

Ok, so, in the first episode of Beast Wars, we see all the Maximals give themselves new names to match their new beast modes. Whatever names they had before are not the ones they're going by now (which is a really interesting idea for transformers culture that I'm sad no other part of the franchise has played with - the idea that their identities, even their names, transform with them).

We then cut to the Predacons, where Dinobot, now sporting a dinosaur alt mode, is chewing out Megatron for fucking up royal before declaring his aim to take over the faction. My pet theory? He chose "Dinobot" as his new name to not only match his beast mode, but signal the fact that he was not a slavishly loyal minion, but a warrior who is not to be trifled with - because in most continuities, the dinobots are loose cannons who do listen to orders they think are stupid, and are more than willing to tell their bosses to fuck off. "Dinobot" because his name and his fucking threat to Megatron in the same moment.