#batty character information

[scarlet--wiccan]

Agatha All Along, the highly anticipated follow-up to WandaVision, begins airing this week on Disney+. Now is the perfect to revisit some important information about both shows and the context in which some of Agatha's new characters are being introduced.

WandaVision primarily followed the character Wanda Maximoff and expanded on her family history by introducing her late parents as well her twin sons, who are born from magic and age rapidly over the course of the series.

In the Marvel comics source material, Wanda is part of a large, multigenerational family of Jewish and Romani characters whose stories frequently reflect the systemic violence and oppression that both communities face-- including Romani Holocaust victims, who are critically underrepresented in both education and media. In the MCU, these identities and histories are completely erased, and the characters are all played by white actors. Alternate versions of these characters also appear in the Fox X-Men films, and are similarly whitewashed.

The Romani people are a racialized minority that originated as a South Asian diaspora, and who face severe systemic oppression in Europe and North America. The modern Romani population is quite diverse, but they are not of white ethnic origin, and despite the fact that Wanda and her family have historically been drawn with white features, they are minority characters and ought to be considered as such.

Depictions of witches and witchcraft are often entwined with antisemitism and anti-Romani racism. In pop culture, witches and fortunetellers are typically portrayed as visual stereotypes of Romani women. In the real world, fortunetelling is a profession born from survival work, one which Romani families are often heavily policed and racially profiled for practicing. While Wanda usually subverts these tropes, they are often played straight elsewhere in the superhero genre, and any story about witches, especially one featuring Romani characters, needs to be critiqued in this context.

Agatha All Along introduces viewers to a new cast of characters, including Lilia Calderu, played by Patti LuPone, and the enigmatic "Teen", played by Joe Locke, who is heavily speculated to be an incarnation of Wanda's son, Billy.

In the comics, Lilia is a member of a prominent Romani family in Wanda's community. Often lauded as the "witch queen of the gypsies," Lilia embodies many racial stereotypes about Romani women. In Agatha All Along, Lilia is depicted as an older Sicilian woman, however, being portrayed as a batty fortuneteller with a tawdry psychic shop, she still embodies an offensive trope. Although Lilia is far from "good" representation, this is not an improvement-- if anything, it's even more exploitative.

Billy was raised in a Jewish American household and places a very strong emphasis on his Jewish identity, in addition to having Romani heritage. His identity as a young gay man is always presented in conjunction with this heritage, not in spite of it. Though there is a significance to Locke being a gay actor playing a gay character, his casting-- if he is indeed playing Billy-- is not authentic. White gay representation should not supersede racial inclusivity, and it is not an excuse for whitewashing or Jewish erasure.

Marvel Studios recently announced that the character Doctor Doom will be played by Robert Downey Jr., who is returning to the franchise after many years in the role of Iron Man. In the source material, Doom is also a Romani character with a very similar background to Wanda's. This identity is central to Doom's character-- although he is written to be both morally and politically challenging, the liberation of his people has always been a primary motive.

Clearly, this type of whitewashing is an ongoing pattern in the MCU franchise. Although "Teen's" identity is still unconfirmed and Lilia may, ultimately, be of little consequence, they are part of a larger problem, and Agatha All Along needs to critiqued in that context.

[cynicalstudy]

I’ve translated some Precure interviews from the 20th Anniversary Character Chronicle! This post is dedicated to Mahou Tsukai Precure. Information under cut😊 (Note: I am not a professional translator! There will/may be some errors, but I tried my best!)

~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~🧹~

Plain Text:

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Page 1:

1.“Cure Up! Ra-pa-pa! Diamond! Miracle-Magical-Jewelry-le! The Miracle of the Duo! Cure Miracle!”

2.The Precure Mirai transforms into. She meets Riko, a girl who can use magic and falls from the sky, wanting to help her find something. Batty appears, and they are attacked by a monster called a Yokubaru. When Mirai’s pendant shines, she becomes a Precure. Mirai is overjoyed when her beloved teddy bear, Mofurun, can talk!

3.A 13-year-old girl who will soon be a second year at Tsunagi First Junior High. She likes strange and interesting things and is very curious. Later, she attends the Magic School. Her catchphrase is “How exciting!”

🩷🧸🩷🧸🩷🧸🩷🧸🩷🧸🩷🧸🩷🧸🩷🧸🩷

Page 2:

1.“Witchy was the first season in the series to follow a “magic” theme. The main starting point for both Miracle and Magical was “contrast”, to go with their matching “twin” theme.” (Next Quote) “The witch hat is a motif in all Linkle Stone transformations. Decorated with a headband and little jewels, it felt very refreshing!”

2.”To create a mysterious atmosphere, the accessories, such as bracelets and waist bands, were made to appear as though they were floating. In contrast to Magical, Miracle’s design was made to feel cute and fluffy rather than sharp. Her boots were given an angelic look. With both Miracle and Magical, there was an angel/devil idea behind both concepts. One major point of contrast is that Miracle does not have a big cloak.”

3.“Many new features arose from the concept of magic. Hence, we had to create a rich variety of styles for them both.”

4.“We asked Rie Takahashi (Miracle’s VA) for words of inspiration as Miracle. She stated, “Cure Up! Ra-pa-pa! I want to meet everyone! I learned the words of honesty can make miracles happen~” Takahashi-san believes both Miracle and Magical paired together is a lovely sight, making them inseparable.”

Plain Text:

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Page 1:

1.“Cure Up! Ra-pa-pa! Diamond! Miracle-Magical-Jewelry-le! The Magic of the Duo! Cure Magical!”

2.The Precure Riko transforms into. While searching for the Linkle Stone Emerald to escape supplementary lessons at school, she meets Mirai. They are then attacked by a Yokubaru. When in a pinch, her pendant glows, and she and Mirai become Pretty Cure.

3.A girl who attends the Magic School. She is good at studying, but not at magic. She came to the No Magic World in search of a gem with great power. Her catchphrase is “Just as I calculated.”

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1.“Keeping in mind our idea to contrast Miracle, her design incorporates a cool atmosphere, almost a devilish-look. The fluffy hem on the cloak accentuates this idea.” (Next Quote) “Magical’s hair resembles a bat with its wings spread. The straight, sharp edges also contrasts Miracle’s fluffy feel. The boots are also straight with a V-cut too.”

2.“The off-shoulder look accentuates a feel of an older sister. And a fluffy hem was chosen to trick the viewer! It invokes the feeling of a mischievous witch~”

3.“With not much else to say regarding the design, we did select a look that kids would find cute, but still cool in Magical’s own way.”

4.”We asked Yui Horie (Magical’s VA) for words of inspiration as Magical. She stated, “Cure Up! Ra-pa-pa! These are the magic words in MahoPre (Abbreviation). When I said them, I felt motivated~”. Horie-san claimed that her favorite style sense of Riko’s was her swimwear, as she described it cute and “something I would wear too”. She believes it is different and a change of pace.”

Plain Text:

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Page 1:

1.“Cure Up! Ra-pa-pa! Emerald! Felice Fun-fun, Flower-ly! A blessing unto all life! Cure Felice!”

2.The precure Kotoha (Haa-chan) transforms into. When Miracle and Magical are in a pinch with a powerful Yokubaru, she appears and defends them. “Precure! Emerald Reincarnation!” is a special move only she can use.

3.A fairy girl born from the Linkle Smart Tome. After she goes missing, she returns all grown up. Because Mirai and the others took care of her, she inherited their personalities and mannerisms. She can also use difficult magic.

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Page 2:

1.“Felice’s design was started almost immediately after Miracle and Magical, despite her not appearing till much later. Since she is a fairy, she had to feel very different from the two witches.” (Next Quote) “She was given a short veil to feel like a goddess. A crown of flowers were given to add a divine appearance to her, along with the flower motif within her eyes.”

2.“Since braids were popular at the time, we decided to give her heart-shaped braids. Her design was made to show off her forehead, contrasting the original duo. Our sponsors consulted us about a see-through skirt, so we added a layer of green fluff beneath. There was much trial and error, but we arrived at her current design, which we felt was cute.”

3.“Originally, we wished for her to have sandals. However, with much of the focus as magic, we added the ribbons to act like sandals, but kept pumps on the bottom. There are fewer guard-like parts since Felice is more magic-oriented.”

4.“We asked Saori Hayami (Felice’s VA) for words of inspiration as Felice. She stated, “Haa~! It is Haa-chan’s favorite phrase and is incredibly versatile! It filled me with much motivation, along with being cute!” Hayami-san adores the flower on Kotoha’s outfit, and believes the skirt gives the costume a “light, fluffy feeling”. There were many flowers as well.”

[ohpliimo]

Since the original undertale Naj has pedophilia and teacher x student and stuff, and made by a bad person, I decided to make my own version and redesigns.

Here’s a redesign and some information of Paperjam, this is the only one I’ve drawn so far. (Im terrible at full bodies sorry).

Here’s some more information on my version:

Muffet is the junior counselor.

Toby fox stays as the principal.

Sans and Grillby stays as the cafeteria staff.

Killer is no longer a student, he is a Special Ed’s teacher and helps run a ‘best buddies’ club.

Nightmare stays as a history teacher.

Gaster stays as the science teacher.

Fell sans and his brother are coaches. (Gymnastics coaches.)

Ink stays as an art teacher.

Nice cream guy give out ice cream and also helps with cooking here and there. Cafeteria staff.

Mettaton stays teaching drama club.

Error now teaches algebra.

Temmie is apart of the cafeteria staff.

Cross is the vice principal.

Asgore stays as the janitor.

Dream stays as the astrology teacher.

Geno stays as an secretary.

Reaper is an freshman counselor.

Goth stays as the librarian.

Cray stays as a school reporter.

Shyren is the chorus teacher.

Cotton is the band teacher.

Toriel is an English teacher.

Fika stays as the sign language teacher.

Sensy is a guard.

Blueberry is the sophomore counselor.

Science teaches biology.

Horror is an janitor as well.

Carrot (Swap papyrus) is an world history teacher.

Gold (fell swap papyrus) is a career exploration teacher.

Disbelief (disbelief papyrus) is the senior counselor.

Palette is a cheerleader coach and also helps run a ‘best buddies’ club.

————-

As you can see, I added some more characters because we needed more teachers and jobs and all.

Now onto students!

————-

Paperjam stays as a jock but he is a basketball player and stays as the captain of the sports club.

Fresh stays as a nerd, he works a summer job for the highschool. Painting walls and cleaning and such.

Frisk is a normal student, having decent grades and all.

Cross Chara is somewhat a troublemaker but overall a good student.

Xahji is a good student but not the best grades, she’s apart of the news club.

Swifty has good grades and apart of the news club.

Snazzy has great grades and normal, apart of the best buddies club.

Undyne is a bully but has good grades.

Papyrus has okay grades. (Oh, and he 100% has autism).

Cil is shy, he’s in Fine arts as he has good grades. He’s a baseball player.

Santy, Sam, and Mila are cheerleaders and okay grades.

Quill is apart of a writing club, good gradess.

Godzilla has good grades. in best buddies club.

Catty and Batty have the exact same classes and good grades. Both in best buddies club.

———-

I will add more students but that’s all I can do since it’s 1 am right now. Goodnight.

[lordharmony]

🌈✨CRINGETOBER 2024✨🌈 DAY 4: FURSONA / FURSUIT (?) (Bloody ver. and character information under the cut!)

I did not expect my introduction to my OC-verse was going to be drawing two of my antagonists but, here we are. It's Batty Time.

SO, these two come from my main universe, MIDNIGHT VIGILANTES. The most basic rundown is that it's a superhero story where the heroes and most villains are vampires, but it's also about celebrity culture and the worship over pieces of media that are dear to you, but maybe also damaging to you.

This is Batty! Batty is a person who wears the mascot head of the character, ABBY BATTY, from the children's cartoon BE CAREFUL, ABBY BATTY! It's kind of got a Smurfs formula of cute animals running away from a witch who wants to use them in their potions. It's obviously very old but it's one of those giant franchises that stick around because the characters are cutesy and look good on merchandise.

Batty the person is not related to the fictional character. They're simply someone who uses the mascot head to hide their identity and creep people out. The eyes and mouth are digital, and are trained to turn on and off based on lights and movement. The mouth really only follows along to recorded lines. Think those Furbies with the digital eyes, or those animatronics that have a screened-on-face, and you're in the same ballpark.

They're one of the first major antagonists my protags face off against, given they're you know, an actual murderer. They're kind of Joker-coded, they're kind of Chucky-coded.

Molly is the bald woman in the panel. She's a programmer who helps out with various clients throughout my story. She does work with Batty, but she doesn't really know who Batty is or even why they're doing what they do. She’s just getting paid, and finds the mystery intriguing. And maybe they kiss!!!

The panel is a redraw from the manga, Billy Bat! The actual context is probably even wilder than you'd think. IYKYK.

[queer-ragnelle]

so many people who write medievalisms about arthuriana: "what if I took this genuinely cool and complex female character and made her totally unrecognizably cruel and evil for literally no reason"

like leave those ladies alone!!!!! if I want to read some modern arthurian retelling it should not be more mysogynistic and cruel to women than literal actual medieval misogyny!! you are doing the good work posting about the horrors these authors visit upon medieval women so I can take those books right out of consideration when I'm looking for something to read

I’m actually glad to hear this helps, anon.

Sometimes I worry that by mentioning a bad retelling it will encourage people to seek it out for morbid curiosity. But they’re really not worth it. I buy books on sight, like recently Bedivere by Wayne Wise or The Book of Gaheris by Kari Sperring and that’s what I did for the four Lavinia Collins books. I don’t recommend this method lol but to me it’s helpful as a writer to determine what I don’t like in a retelling and also I can then make informed recommendations or warnings for others. Sometimes a book is great until the end like The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman and I would still recommend it, but others I dropped or skimmed the remainder of like The Winter Knight by Jes Battis.

What kills me is when people recommend a book to me like “You should read Persia Woolley’s trilogy, it’s great! Has all the characters!” Then you open it up and Guinevere is so misogynistic and callous to the women she meets it’s completely insufferable. Palomides is an orphaned slave and constantly othered as “the Arab.” Isolde is a child bride. Agravaine is despised by everyone and literally has a mental breakdown after finally snapping from child sexual abuse, kills Morgause, and is thrown into prison to rot. Then he’s released to kill Pellinore and Dinadan so Gawain and Gaheris can be let off the hook. Ragnelle is there. But at what cost? The subtext is kinda racist to her and Gingalain anyway because they’re dark skin “wild” fay people that don’t speak the language so her loathly lady storyline has….bad vibes. Gingalain coming to court and weirding people out with his appearance and then dropping dead outside Guinevere’s chamber was not it for Fair Unknown enjoyers like myself.

I could go on it’s kind of endless. My goal though is to focus on what’s good out there. It can be challenging bc when are the Orkney bros ever all good at the same time? Almost never. So there’s a trade off—are a great Gawain, Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth worth it if Mordred is tying women to the bed to rape and mutilate them? (Guinevere Evermore by Sharan Newman) The highs and lows are so extreme it’s maddening. But I’ll do my best to recommend things worth reading even with the yucky stuff. Maybe I’ll make pros and cons of each….

[spiderdreamer-blog]

FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)

Environmentalism in kids' entertainment in the early 90s is kind of a funny thing. Earth Day was a big focus, as was animal conservation and "doing your part" in terms of individual activism about picking up trash or planting trees. Captain Planet ruled the roost, with a multi-national team fighting grotesque stereotypes who bragged stupidly about how pollution was just so much fun even beyond the monetary value it might bring them. (looks at our current class of failson tech bro billionaries Actually that last part might not be so inaccurate...)

Looking back and with the looming specter of climate change reshaping our world, it seems almost quaint. Yet I wouldn't say all of that was wasted effort, nor were these unworthy causes. And a movie like FernGully: The Last Rainforest, corny as it might seem in places now, is both a reflection of that strange time and an interesting effort all its own. How does it hold up? Let's take a look.

Set in the titular, fictional Australian rainforest, FernGully tells the story of Crysta (Samantha Mathis), a fairy being tutored by Magi Luna (Grace Zabriskie, a good ways away from her work in David Lynch's repertory company). Magi informs her (and us) of the history of Ferngully and the evil spirit Hexxus (Tim Curry), who nearly wrought its destruction before Magi sealed him in a magic tree. Crysta, being a 90s teenager, is impatient and flies off to hang out with friends like Pips (Christian Slater, reuniting with Mathis from Pump Up The Volume and before their third collab in 1996's Broken Arrow) or Batty Koda (Robin Williams). But she soon discovers strange creatures encroaching on the forest: humans, who've long passed into legend after leaving Ferngully. More specifically, she meets Zack (Jonathan Ward), a young man working with a logging company. (Interesting/amusing observation: while we see Zack has an Australian driver's license, he has a very thoroughly Southern California accent. Possibly an expat?) After a mishap where Crysta accidentally shrinks him, Zack begins to learn more about the world of Ferngully and becomes increasingly enchanted with the place (though having a very cute girl express quite a bit of interest in you doesn't hurt, I imagine). Good timing, too, since Zack's co-workers have inadvertently released Hexxus from his prison and he's down for some payback...

The most striking thing about the movie remains its look. Director Bill Kroyer and his team, including his wife Susan Kroyer on art director duties, give the Australian landscapes true beauty in the use of bright, vivid colors and exceptional lighting. Ferngully truly does seem like a magical place even before you add the fairies, and Kroyer smartly makes use of blended CGI with the 2D animation that holds up remarkably well in expanding the landscapes or depicting machines like the ominous Leveler. (It helps, of course, that he was already a CGI veteran at this point, having been one of the pioneering animators on films like TRON). Outside of the lovely Aboriginal-art-inspired prologue that puts one in mind of Watership Down's famous dream sequences, the character animation itself is much in the Disney or Don Bluth models of the time, and not quite as detailed, but there's a lot of good character touches. In particular, Kathy Zielinski (who'd animated characters like Ursula or the snake form of Jafar in Aladdin, and would later supervise Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame) gives Hexxus a gleeful, vibrant quality that's almost seductive. You know that had to be difficult to figure out given he's alternatively made of oil, smoke, and a bitchin' Chernabog-esque skeleton form at the climax.

The film is also deftly written and acted, which helps it stand out from the crowd that included either the hilarious melodrama of Captain Planet or the cute-but-boring Once Upon A Forest. In particular, I like how naturally Ward and the script makes Zack's journey; in addition to some great incredulous deliveries (like my favorite line in the film, "Great, I've been shrunk by an AMATEUR!"), Zack opening up his perspective to truly see the world around him is handled with a light touch because he's ultimately not that bad a guy. I appreciate too that the reveal of his initial lie that he wasn't helping cut down trees is played with genuine remorse and owning up to it, as well as an immediate desire to set things right. Mathis matches him well, making a character concept that could've easily been insufferable (she might as well have "90s Tinker Bell" written on her model sheet) into genuinely winning and heartfelt. She even manages to sell a line like "Can't you feel its pain?" about a tree, which easily could've gotten a bad laugh. The ending is nicely bittersweet, with Zack and Crysta parting ways because they know how important it is that they do the work to build a better future on each side. (It's kind of the same ending as Princess Mononoke, when you think about it).

On the supporting end of things, Williams is actually a lot less of a scene-stealer than you'd think. Oh, he gets a few comedy impressions in, notably in a rap number (we'll get to that) and the climax, but otherwise he mostly dials into Batty's nervous-wreck dealing with trauma from being a lab animal characterization to great effect. (This is not to knock his work in something like Aladdin, where he gives arguably one of the best voice performances of all time as the Genie, but there is a notable difference). Curry, too, is less prominent than you'd think, only getting a few big scenes to sell his villainy. But his musical number "Toxic Love" is unsurprisingly a highlight, and he gets a lot of his patented "best evil laugh ever" in the screentime he DOES have. Everyone else is on point: Slater gets some nice sardonic jabs in, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong have a couple funny bits as some biker gang-esque goons who ride beetles, and Zabriskie navigates the cliches of Ye Olde Doomed Mentor with aplomb.

Musically, the film has an...interesting pedigree. In addition to a lovely, understated score by Alan Silvestri of Back to the Future fame, there are eight songs throughout, three by Thomas "She Blinded Me With Science" Dolby and the remaining five all by other artists/songwriters. This is not inherently a bad thing; while most musicals benefit from a standardized production team, having a number of different voices who can work in different genres can be novel. And I wouldn't say any of these are outright bad, but it does lead to some "the hell?" moments.

Dolby's songs are the opening "Life Is A Magic Thing", which takes us below the canopy into Ferngully, and it's a pleasantly bouncy number easing us into things courtesy of Jimmy Clegg's vocals; the aforementioned "Batty Rap", which is very white-guy-rap, if buoyed by Williams' enthusiasm and the horrific implications of the backstory (which are further expounded on in the twice-as-long soundtrack version); and "Toxic Love", a properly bluesy, boozy villain song that Curry throws himself into with abandon. (That one too is expanded on the soundtrack, which removes any doubt about the sexual connotations of the character and his motivations). We also have the inexplicable "If I'm Gonna Eat Somebody (It Might As Well Be You)", where a goanna voiced by gravel-pit-toned rapper Tone Loc serenades Zack as he's about to devour him (that was co-written by...Jimmy Buffet??? Would've loved to see that conversation); "Raining Like Magic", a brief quiet interlude by children's singer Raffi; our big awards bait song "A Dream Worth Keeping", co-written by The Last Unicorn's Jimmy Webb and belted out with gusto by Sheena Easton like she's looking over her shoulder at Celine Dion; and "Some Other World", the first animated movie song by Elton John that plays over the credits and is fine if a bit generic. (There's also a diegetic cover of "Land of a Thousand Dances" that issues forth from Zack's stereo as he leads the fairies in a dance party because some cliches aren't just old, they're prehistoric)

I goof on FernGully sometimes because it really is so painfully earnest that you can't help but roll your eyes on occasion. But that's hardly the greatest sin a children's film can commit, and I appreciate that it's, essentially, a better Lorax movie than the actual Lorax movie in its messaging (sincerely, forever and always, fuck that movie). The film ends with an epigraph of "For our children, and our children's children", and I can't knock that sincerity. Maybe it's important to remember.

[vocalsynthbdays]

im sorry for posting this so late, but happy late birthday to cyber songman(vocaloid 4), Bones(alter/ego), Magpie Batty(utau), and XELTA(utau) !!!!!! [oct 31]

cyman

bones

magpie

xelta (jp design)

cyber songman (aka cyan or cyman) is an english synth developed by yamaha, and released in 2016. his vp has not been revealed, and seemingly neither has the photographer nor model of his image. cyman's v5 released on 12 jul 2018, ands called "Cyber Songman II". hes available on the mobile vocaloid editor and vocaloid neo.

Bones is an english and japanese synth, developed and voiced by Tora-Ouji/ NEUTROGIC, and released in 2016. bones is illustrated by Sleppu. bones is the second default bank for the alterego engine, replacing daisy who was the original default bank. his companion creature is called Diggard.

Magpie Batty is japanese synth created by and voiced by MAGPIE, and released in 2019. magpies imagines were also done by MAGPIE. she has 5vbs (i think).

XELTA is a english japanese synth created and voiced by Dav-P, and introduced on 10 nov 2021. xelta is illustrated by Mirek. xelta is an adult trans man. he is homosexual and demiromantic. he is 167.64cm tall. his character birthday is 31 oct. xelta is south korean. he is also a zombie. he has ptsd (post-traumatic stress disorder)

tw for discussion of bigotry, transphobia, and grooming(?) for the next part.

i was also going to post about Kei Mochizuki(utau) and Dr. Hai(utau) but i decided not to. according to the utau fandom wiki kei is referred to with a transphobic slur in her character profile. however i do not know japanese and i cannot confirm nor deny this. as such, if anyone knows more about kei or just knows japanese and would be able to clarify this i would appreciate it !! either way, as a trans person i did not want to uncritically draw attention to her because of this. if any other trans people want to have a look at her and give their thoughts on kei i would appreciate that also ! im not posting about hai because his character profile describes him as being bigoted, and i felt its a bit weird and uncomfortable to post about an oc someone decided to make bigoted. less canonical, but, on his utau wiki 2.0 page there is a poor mspaint-like drawing of hai by Lasaillax. from what ive seen there is some cross-over/ collaboration between Lasaillax and Dav-P(creator of hai) so i wanted to mention it. on this drawing is text reading "Also this person clearly knew that the victim was virtually a preteen and literally didn't know what they were doing but yet again proceeded to have sexual talks and roleplays with them as if that is socially acceptable we don't stan we we do not". hai has been alive for around 7000 years according to his character profile but looks 27yo. so again, i did not want to post about an adult character who is said to have sexual relation with minors. if this is a misunderstanding or if anyone can tell me if i am misinterpreting this or smthing i would greatly appreciate it !! also, hai was released over 6 years ago, and kei over 11 years ago, so i am not trying to cancel or call out any of the people involved. i just wanted to explain why im not posting them and ask for some further information or explanation if i can !

cyman full image

bones logo

original art by tora

magpie red and honey

magpie brain and death

magpie natural

xelta eng

[critical-thinking-is-mandatory]

Okay off topic but thoughts on the teen titans costumes? (Just star and raven are good i just wanna know your thoughts on them)

Honestly? I actually like them.

Like, i know a lot of people arent huge fans because they find bare skin inherently sexual *cue eyeroll here* but if you've gotten over any Western ideas about skin and modesty, i really really struggle to see how Starfire and Raven could be considered sexualised. Especially compared to well *gestures broadly at every superhero comic ever*.

And also like, if i remember right (do correct me if im not) theres not really anything within the show that specifically sexualises the girls. Not how we see in comics and the ML show. Like i dont ever remember seeing any shots or angles that really focused on and emphasised 'the sexy bits'. So like from an audience or creative pov i dont see any issues with say, putting Starfire in an objectively quite modest crop top and miniskirt, or with putting Raven in a leotard.

As far as in-universe design choices go? I think the costumes suit the girls quite nicely. Personality and combat wise i mean.

Starfire is all absurd strength and shooting lasers from her hands n shit. I can definitely see long sleeves being a fire hazard, as well as obstructing the movement of her arms and shoulders. And the miniskirt? Well, you'd be pleasantly surprised by how much mobility they allow, and, unlike tight fitting shorts, a rip isnt going to continue to spread with each movement until the skirt is useless. (This fact brought to you by my work shorts. May they rest in pieces.)

Plus we have the added bonus of characterisation via outfits. Starfire's tall boots and bits of (what i assume are) armour tell us that she's practical, while the miniskirt adds that she's also fun and feminine.

I will say that the long loose hair drives me absolutely batty. I just want to reach through the screen and put her hair in a freaking braid or something.

Raven is pretty much similar reasoning. She's not a real physical combatant so she doesnt need to concern herself much with mobility, so the cloak and tight long sleeves are allowed to stay. I'm not real impressed by her boots unfortunately, they look very soft, with not much ankle support or protection from being speared (like by stepping on nails. Not fun, i can tell you that.) I can't remember what the sole of Raven's boots look like exactly but my general impression is that her shoes are more like slippers than something you should be wearing in active combat. Idk.

But also! Another great tool for informing her character. The big hood and cloak does a great job of telling us that Raven is quite secretive and mysterious, and the transitions from hood-on to hood-off and vice versa are great indicators of a general switch in mood. Say from being closed off to opening up. Idk i just love when clothes are used for characterisation.

Originally i wasnt going to include Terra but then i just said fuck it.

With Terra you can really tell quite a lot. I dont remember it exactly and im too lazy to google, but, Terra's outfit really works with her. It's casual, practical, and kind of smacks you upside the head with her tomboy nature. But its also very clearly the kind of costume Terra put together by scrounging around. It's not a professional superhero costume designed specifically for her. It's just the kind of outfit a kid on the run would be able to put together. And i just adore that.

[fattybattysblog]

Howdy, Batty! For the Fanfic Writer Ask Game:

4) What fic of yours were you surprised by how popular it was?

5) Do you like one shots or multi-chapters?

9) Do you visualize scenes in your head before you write them? (Can you picture the setting, character body language etc)

12) Do you like to switch pov's a lot or stick to one character?

15) If you could only write one type of fic (angst, fluff, etc.) for the rest of your life what would it be?

17) Do you have any wips that you can tell us about? What are you most excited for in you wip?

20) What is your favorite thing about writing fanfic? What about writing in general?

Have fun!

4) I have a couple full original stories posted on AO3 that got fairly popular (about 2k hits and 20 kudos each) on their own. That's pretty cool! I am glad that people like Saphira and her escapades.

5) I like writing one shots because I can actually finish them. But reading, I like multi chapter fics because I want a story with legs.

9) I can't visualize things. I have aphantasia, which means I don't see images in my mind and such. It's hard for me to remember to add setting information and things outside of the actions/dialogues.

12) I usually just stick to one character's POV the whole time.

15) Fluff. There's so many types of fluff, I love romance, and I can still get some of the steam I want in purely fluffy fics.

17) So many... Uh, I'm trying to add a chapter to my Kirby fanfic right now. It's been left on hiatus for about 2 years and I offered it in an exchange so I want to get a fresh chapter out. I'm excited to get to the alliance between Meta and the other Knights.

20) I love telling a story. The whole point to my writing is simply telling everyone the things in my head. Because I can't visualize things, words are all I have. And if I don't put them down I'll end up losing them.

[littlebigmouse]

TMA MAG 58 - hey squad it's the cannibalism mention of the day!

[shrek voice] They didn't even eat anyone.

Honestly I was not looking forward to an episode about settlers on the Oregon trail, but instead this episode quickly became part of my top ten? Love the main character for this one. Unnamed author of the statement, I respect you, your attitude, your gun, and the talking corpse of your foolish husband.

I need more stories featuring marriages of convenience like this, where its just two people with similar goals going "eh, tax benefits" and hitting it off.

Regarding the supplement:

Yeah, I am 100% with Tim on this one. Honestly would love to get more on how Tim's been struggling since the Prentiss attack, since his experience was quite similar to Jon's there, and the fact that Jon now 'looks at him like a murderer' must not have been easy, on top of everything.

I need Jon to investigate harder so I can learn things about Tim as a character before he gets hurt.

Because that's what this is leading up to, isn't it. Jon is spiralling hard - he still has literally NO SUS on Tim, despite even stalking him to his home - and every interaction that should deter this behaviour just makes him double down. At least he's backed off Martin's back for now. I do think Martin may be Jon's last chance to get out of this, because I don't think Tim will just roll over and offer whatever secrets he may or may not even have that Jon is so desperately looking for. I'm starting to think Jon doesn't even care what he finds on people anymore, as long as he gets any information on them without asking? I guess? Honestly, given how fruitfull the confrontation with Martin has been for Jon, one would think he would learn from this encounter and just ask his coworkers about things.

At this point I am wondering if I've missed an episode, because there really is no indication to suspect any sort of criminal activity from Tim, who's been struggling with the aftermath of the Prentiss attack, and all his coworkers, who I assume he would have considered friends back then (I doubt he'd still consider Jon this now), suddenly acting batty (Sasha's weirdness, Jon's... yeah, Martin kinda siding with Jon over Jon fucking stalking Tim).

This is the first indication we've gotten from Tim that he's not doing okay, as he's been lightly teasing Jon over Basira the past few times he's shown up. So from Tim's perspective, he's been giving Jon enough opportunity to get his shit together, to get back to normal, to get back to the coworking friends who bonded over a traumatic event, but of course Jon didn't even realize the extended olive branches and kept pursuing his conspiracy theories with the subtlety of a thousand worms breaking into the archives at once.

Again, I genuinely do not believe Tim has anything to do with Gertrude's murder. But I do believe Tim's been cracking because of Jon, and something has got to give soon. I'm only at the halfway point of the season and I am already wondering how they'll keep escalating this conflict for 20 more episodes, considering Jon is already running out of leads and suspects and everyone else keeps getting closer to just slapping him in the face for his trouble (best case scenario, and honestly valid). I think things are going to get worse before they get better. I do think Tim's and Jon's friendship will end before they potentially get a chance to rebuild it. I also think, given that this is a horror podcast, either Jon is going to push too far and commit a horrible mistake that will severly hurt one of his coworkers (with Martin kinda on his side, Not-Sascha getting a different subplot and Elias remaining a giant questionmark but being too emotionally unimportant to Jon, so the most likely candidate is Tim right now), OR Jon is going to push Tim beyond a breaking point that causes him to commit such an equally horrible mistake, most likely self-destructive. However, Jon needs to be alive to witness the aftermath for angst purposes.

Please Jon, get therapy. Don't let the story hurt Tim! I genuinely enjoy his personality, for as little as we get to see of it.

[rainmustfallts4]

Rain Must Fall ◇ Information & Index

◇ Introduction

Rain Must Fall is the main series of this blog and is the series surrounding the Super Sim 100% Completion challenge. If you don’t know, the Super Sim challenge (via James Turner) is all about taking one sim and making them a super sim by maxing all skills, completing all aspirations, maxing all careers and a few more things. I’m taking it a step further, though, and doing a “completionist” run by completing even more stuff with one sim.

For the longest time, I fought with myself over how I wanted to do it. Do I add in a story element or just post my progress? Should I record each session and post them on YouTube? It drove me batty and is the main reason I’ve struggled to fully start this challenge.

Originally, I decided to go with the flow. I’m a writer at heart so, of course, I wanted to craft a story behind this playthrough. Though I will do my best to keep the story going, I’ve decided to also post a commentary version since it takes less time and I can share my thoughts. In the background, I will continue to work on the story portion!

I hope you’ll join me and help motivate me to keep this going c:

Challenge Started: August 2nd, 2024 Challenge Completed: TBD

◇ Information

Main sim is immortal and does not age (after reaching young adult.)

I've used MCCC to add the non-aging traits to both her and Oscar.

Everyone else ages normally.

Main sim will complete everything except for infant-child stuff (which will be completed by her kids, grandkids, etc.)

99% of the time I will only play my main sim and let the others manage themselves (ISBI style.)

The prologue of the story edition may be a bit dark but the rest of the series should be pretty light-hearted.

This series will contain explicit language.

─────────────⊶⊰⊱⊷─────────────

◇ The Main Characters

Tiger Rain

Race: Human to Sim

Age: Teen (at the beginning), Young Adult (the rest of the series)

Gender: Female

Traits: Creative, Geek (teen) / Loner OR Loves Outdoors (young adult)

Starting Aspiration: Drama Llama

True Aspiration: Bestselling Author

Likes: Gardening, knitting, video gaming, writing, photography, blue, black, green, purple, discussing hobbies, discussing interests, stories, basics fashion, outdoorsy fashion, rocker fashion, funny sims, idealist sims, nature enthusiasts, pet enthusiasts, alternative music, focus music, japanese folk music, pop music, s-pop music, spooky music, strange tunes, winter holiday music, tween pop music

Dislikes: Yellow, pink, potty humor, egotistical sims, blues music, jazz music, ranch music

─────────────⊶⊰⊱⊷─────────────

Oscar Tsuki

Race: Cat/Familiar

Breed: Bombay

Age: Adult (immortal)

Traits: Free Spirit, Clever, Curious

─────────────⊶⊰⊱⊷─────────────

◇ Chapter Index (story ed.)

Prologue | Ep 1

─────────────⊶⊰⊱⊷─────────────

◇ Chapter Index (commentary ed.)

Ep 1 | Ep 2

─────────────⊶⊰⊱⊷─────────────

[overgrowth-wc]

The morning of the Gathering Trial dawns, but there is still much to do. A last minute complication throws a wrench in their plans. Where's the fun in everything going smoothly? 

              Briarmask crouched on top of the fence, searching for any signs of trouble before she called her companions to join her. It was still dark, the sun not yet risen, but they needed to finish their errand before the sun rose and two legs started swarming about. It was time to finally bring Cloudclaw and Whitefoot home. Shadowclan had been searching without success since they first learned of their disappearance. Rosestar had sent out a couple other patrols in the past few days, but they hadn’t seen the Thunderclanners anywhere. The last area of Town close enough to the territories to search was the place around where Cookie lived, and so Rosestar had sent out the cats most familiar with that area to look.

              The plan was for her, Batflight, and Shadefur to use their knowledge and sources in the Town to locate the Thunderclanner’s as quickly as possible. Shadefur in particular had grown friendly with a certain group of cats during his adventures with Tulip, and they were hoping at least one of them would have the information they needed. Shadowclan shared their love of rumors with Town cats, and asking around would probably yield the quickest results. The other patrols had only heard that yes, there were two newcomers from the forest, but they had passed through quickly and hadn’t been seen since. While the area around the park was quite far from Thunderclan territory, Snowdrift’s family had been missing for almost two weeks. Plenty of time to wind their way to the only speck of green in the stone wasteland.

              Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, Briarmask waved to Batty and Shadefur, the two warriors quickly joining her on the fence. Without a word they set out, weaving through yards to head to one of the more populated alleys that was close to the park. At this early hour cats would be up and about, looking for food and such before the two legs really got started for the day. There was something… off, to Briarmask, however, as they neared their destination, and it wasn’t until they stepped into the typically bustling alley that she was able to pinpoint it.

              There was a suspicious lack of cats around.

              By this point, they should have seen at least a half dozen loners, with another dozen or so in the alley. The dumpsters here were rife with food, the buildings that lined it the sort of places two legs gathered to eat. The popular feeding ground attracted all sorts of characters, but as the Shadowclan warriors turned the corner, they saw barely a pawful scattered around. Briarmask didn’t recognize any of the few scavengers but, thankfully, it seemed Shadefur did. He made a beeline towards a scraggly calico, the old molly gnawing away at some bones. She hissed at his approach before seeming to recognize who it was.

              “G’mornin’, Shade.” She croaked. “Sorry for the rude greetin’, I couldn’t see it was you in this gloom. What’re you doin’ here so early?” Despite her cranky appearance, what with her flat, scowling face and fiercely narrowed eyes, she sounded friendly enough.

              “Good morning, Dotty.” Shadefur greeted respectfully. “I’m here with my friends, Briar and Bat, to look for some other forest cats. A mother and son, the mother is gray and white, the son just white, both super fluffy-“

              “And don’t know a trash can from a tree?” Dotty interrupted, sounding amused. Thank the ancestors, Briarmask thought, nearly sagging forward with relief. They’re here after all. At Shadefur’s eager nod, the old molly snorted.

              “We’ve been callin’em Spots and Claws. Got here a few days ago now, haven’t been havin’ an easy time of it. I ran into ‘em myself a not a day past, tried to give ‘em a few pointers. Last I heard they’ve been hangin’ round the park.”

              “Thank you for the help, Dotty, it means a lot.” Shadefur mewed, glancing down at the old molly’s meal. “Can I catch you something for your trouble?” The calico purred, tail curling up in delight.

              “Well now, I wouldn’t say no to somethin’ better than these here bones. You’re a doll.” Giving her a fond nudge, Shadefur turned to his companions.

              “You two go on ahead, I’ll catch Dotty something really quick and catch up.” The mollies nodded, giving their own respectful goodbyes before heading out. Elders were elders, even if they weren’t clan cats, after all. The fact Dotty managed to survive on the streets so long was nothing short of a miracle and a testament to her own capabilities.

              “We should see if she wants to come back with us,” Batflight suddenly whispered, throwing a glance back towards where they just came from. “She shouldn’t have to be out here on her own.” Briarmask hummed in agreement. Great minds think alike.

              “I wouldn’t be surprised if Shade hasn’t already started trying to convince her, knowing him.” She replied, fond. “But yeah, we can try and help get her to come with us.” Elders were classified as protected cats under the Code, so it wasn’t uncommon for Shadowclanners to try and convince any elderly cats they came across to come back to the clan to receive proper care. Most refused, but some, especially the lonely or ill, would take them up on the offer. Dotty looked like she didn’t have anyone else taking care of her, which meant she needed their help. If we run into her on the way back, we can see if she’ll come with us.

              In no time at all they were at the park, and again, there were very few cats around. It made Briarmask worry about what could be going on, but for now, she needed to focus on finding Snowdrift’s family. She shot Batflight a glance.

              “I’ll go left, you go right, meet in the middle?” A returning nod and the mollies were off. Briarmask headed immediately towards where the bushes were densest, close to where Tulip had made her den. The Thunderclanners would probably look to hide in the environment they were most comfortable with in such a foreign place, and sure enough, that familiar scent of leaf litter and oak hit her nose when she was only a few tail lengths into the bushes. Treading carefully and opening her mouth to get a better scent, she followed the smell towards a gnarl of bushes. The scent was getting very fresh when she was suddenly bowled over, pinned in place by a very fluffy ball of rage. Ah, there he is.

              “Get away from us.” Cloudclaw snarled, and it was disconcerting to see such a familiar face twisted in such an unfamiliar expression. Damn, he and Snowdrift really are twins. The tom’s odd eyes were wild, and Briarmask had no interest in seeing if he’d use those wicked claws of his to back up his warning. Despite her instincts screaming at her to fight or flee, she consciously relaxed her body, trying to use her most placating tone to soothe him.

              “Snowdrift sent us to find you,” she mewed, “Nightrock said you two had vanished, we’d hoped that you’d come to the Town.” Thankfully, the white tom didn’t try to claw her, but he kept her in place, eyes narrowed in suspicion. When in doubt, always name drop.

              “My brother is dead,” he said harshly, but there was a hint of reluctance in his tone, “and I don’t appreciate you bringing him up, bog rat. And how the hell would you hear anything from Nightrock?” Snowdrift had worried that his family would be suspicious, seeing as they only had what they learned from Stonestar to go off. While they would be disbelieving towards him about who really attacked or killed Snowdrift, for all they knew he really was dead, and the other clans were seeking to attack Thunderclan in retaliation for Stonestar’s crimes. You’ll have to tell them something only I know, the medicine cat had advised.

              “He said you had a crush on Mintfrost when you were apprentices,” Briarmask blurted out, and the tom recoiled as if she had struck him, backing away a few steps as he tried to deny it.

              “No- that’s not- he promised he’d never- wait,” Cloudclaw abruptly halted, tripping over his words as he sputtered and stared. “Wait, he- you couldn’t know- Snowdrift is alive?” And now his odd eyes were glittering with tears instead of aggression, and Briarmask finally felt like it was safe to get up. Easing herself onto her stomach, she nodded.

              “He’s alive, and so are Mintfrost and Turtlepaw, although Mintfrost is in rough shape. Stonestar attacked them, but they were able to get to us in Shadowclan. They’ve been sheltering in our camp since.” The white tom was blinking rapidly, trying to keep his tears at bay, and gave her a firm nod.

              “Come on,” he said, tossing his head, “my mother is this way. She needs to hear this.” Briarmask followed after him until they reached the center of the cluster of bushes. A ball of gray and white fluff was tucked under a bush, hard to see amongst the barren branches and patchy snow.

              “Mom, help is here,” Cloudclaw called as they drew close, and Whitefoot slowly lifted her head, eyes unfocused. She seemed torn between suspicion and relief when she caught sight of Briarmask next to her son.

              “What’s going on,” the queen rasped, and Briarmask almost flinched as the smell of infection hit her nose. Whitefoot shakily pushed herself into a crouch, and the pointed molly caught sight of a nasty wound on her leg. Oh stars, is that a rat bite?

              “She’s from Shadowclan. Snowdrift is safe, and so are Mintfrost and Turtlepaw,” Cloudclaw mewed quickly, moving to press against her side- tears started to drip down her face at the knowledge her son and clanmates were safe. “She’s here to take us to them.” The Thunderclanner gave her a glance as he spoke and she nodded, dipping her head to Whitefoot.

              “My name is Briarmask, I’m a friend of Snowdrift. Two of my clanmates are around, we came to find you two when we heard you had fled the forest. Now, let’s get going before it gets light, and the two legs come out- are you okay to walk?” She was concerned about the queen’s leg. Rat bites were nasty things. Between the wound and the infection, it would be difficult for her to make it back to camp.

              “I have to be,” Whitefoot mewed simply, delicately pawing away her tears before carefully rising to her feet. “Cloud, be a dear and help your mother, hm?” Cloudclaw was all too eager to comply, and Briarmask quickly shuffled over to the queen’s other side. Together, the warriors supported her as they made their way back to where Briarmask had split off from Batflight. By now, both of her clanmates were waiting on the sidewalk, bent close together as they exchanged urgent whispers. Two dark heads swiveled towards the trio as they approached.

              “Praise the ancestors,” Batflight sighed as they met them, “we were hoping you two would be here. Shadefur has more news, but let’s talk as we go, the sun will be up soon.” Being the stronger of the three Shadowclanners, Shadefur moved to help Whitefoot, and together with Cloudclaw was able to basically lift her off the ground, taking most of the pressure off her leg. As they wound their way back to their territory, Shadefur filled them in on what he had learned.

              After catching a couple mice for Dotty, Shadefur had asked her about the lack of cats hanging about. To his surprise and horror, the old molly had been confused he didn’t already know. Apparently, a large number of cats had been recruited by that three-legged molly and her bone eatin’ mate, promised hunting rights in the forest if they accomplished some goal for them. Starving in the middle of winter, many cats had agreed. At least twenty, probably more, Shadefur murmured as they approached the final fence, Whitefoot gasping for breath. We need to tell the others about this as soon as we’re back. When Batflight expressed concern for the old molly he snorted. I’ve been trying to get her to come to Shadowclan for a bit. She said to come back and ask again after we handle ‘whatever nasty business is going on now.’

              They went along as fast as they could, what with Whitefoot needing a few breaks. The poor queen was burning with fever and pain, teeth gritted as she gamely tried to keep pace. They thankfully made it back into the swamp before the sun broke the horizon and caught sight of the camp just as it’s rays began to peek through the sparse clouds. Batflight and Briarmask pushed into camp first, greeted by an anxious Snowdrift, stoic Mintfrost, and sleepy Turtlepaw. She gave them all a bright grin, moving quickly out of the way so the Thunderclanners could come in behind her. Cloudclaw didn’t even wait, just bolted straight towards his brother. Snowdrift scrambled forward, and the twins crashed into each other with joyful cries. Thank goodness most everyone is already awake.

              “I thought you were dead!” They wailed at the same time, and Briarmask couldn’t help but laugh at their matching melodramatic tones. Cloudclaw had both forelegs wrapped around Snowdrift’s neck, crushing his brother into his chest as he babbled accusations and praises to the ancestors.

              “Honestly, mom always said you were trouble- thank the stars, and here you are, in Shadow-“

              “Mom!”

              Whitefoot had finally made it into the camp, slowly sliding to the ground besides Shadefur, who was pressed up against the queen in concern. Snowdrift shoved his brother off, hustling to his mother’s side, a worried Mintfrost close behind him. Whitefoot was crying now, a bright smile on her face as she reached towards her son with a shaking paw.

              “Oh, thank the ancestors, I knew your father wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” she purred, rubbing her cheek affectionately against Snowdrift’s shoulder. She switched her gaze to Mintfrost, eyes creasing in happiness. “And don’t worry Mint, I didn’t believe for a second that you’d hurt my boy- oh no, your tail!” The splint was finally off Mintfrost’s leg, but the wound from where her tail had been removed was still swathed in cobwebs, Fernfire and Snowdrift paranoid about any potential infection so close to the deputy’s spine. It was obvious, as she crouched next to her clanmate, that her tail was completely gone.

              “We can worry about my tail later,” Mintfrost mewed drily, nudging Whitefoot as Snowdrift fussed over her wound. “What did you do to your leg?”

              “I was trying to find food and got cornered by some rats.” Whitefoot shuddered, nose crinkling in disgust at the memory. “I fought them off, but one managed to get a bite in. I tried to keep it clean, but Snowy is the healer here, not me or Cloud.” Speaking of, Snowdrift was done with his assessment, now flitting around anxiously as he encouraged Whitefoot to her feet.

              “Come on, mom, let’s get you to the den and patch you up. Fernfire is an expert on rat bites.” Given your average Shadowclan warrior was statistically more likely to be bitten by a rat than any other clan warrior, Shadowclan healers had the treatment of such wounds down to an exact science. Whitefoot would be well taken care of. The fluffy family trooped off to the medicine den, their bright coats sticking out in the dark and dreary camp, murmuring gratitude and blessings to the others as they left. Mintfrost expressed her own sincere thanks before heading off after them, limp noticeable but doing nothing to slow her down, a now awake Turtlepaw close on her heels. The Shadowclanners were left sitting in the clearing, staring after them as snowflakes began to drift from the slowly lightening sky.

              “Well,” Shadefur mewed, “that’s that. Let’s go speak to Rosestar.”

_______________________________________________________________

              “Of course he’s recruited a pack of blood thirsty rogues to do his bidding,” Rosestar whined, slumping further into his nest with a ferocious frown. “Why can’t any of these things go according to our carefully laid plans?” To no one’s surprise, their leader was less than pleased with the news of the Town cats joining forces with Stonestar. He was already in an off mood- apparently, while they were gone finding Whitefoot and Cloudclaw, two Riverclanners had shown up with news that Nightrock had fled to their territory. They too had reported that Stonestar had brought Town cats to Thunderclan, but nobody knew how many until Shadefur had spoken to Dotty- it seems the Thunderclanners themselves were having a hard time keeping track of all the new faces in their territory. Approximately two dozen cats, on top of the dozen odd warriors left in Thunderclan, meant the odds of them making it to the Thunderclan camp without major casualties just got a lot worse. “And I love our Town friends, I do, but they don’t have a sense of honor when it comes to a fight. They’ll go for the throat first and ask questions later, which will force us to do the same.” It will be a miracle if no one dies tonight. Shadefur shuffled his paws before hesitantly speaking up.

              “I know we should add more warriors to our patrol to help combat the new numbers, but honestly, I’m worried that Stonestar will play dirty. He knows we’ll come for him tonight. What if he sends some rogues to our camp to strike while we’re away? We have fifteen kits right now. We’d make the perfect target.” It… was a good point, although a difficult one to consider. Would Stonestar be willing to go to such lengths? Or would he not want to waste fighters on such a task? Was Shadefur paranoid because of his children? Could they afford to take the risk? Rosestar seemed conflicted, tail swishing as he thought.

              “The idea crossed my mind,” he said slowly. “I would be loath to leave the kittens sparsely protected. At the same time, if there is no attack, it means less warriors to defend their clanmates in the fight.” A world-weary sigh. “Let me think. Go get something to eat and take a rest. Batflight, Briarmask, you two are some of our fastest. I want you to go to Windclan here in a little bit and let them know the new information. Tell Houndtooth and Snakepelt I want them ready to head to Riverclan. Those little wet paws said they’d have someone wait at the bridge for our response. I’ll have figured out what I want to do by the time everyone is ready. And send Marshfoot in here when you see her. She should be back from hunting soon.” The deputy had been working tirelessly to get her clanmates prepared for the fight, leading hunting patrol after patrol to make sure they were well-fed and energized. The spotted molly had left around the same time they did that morning, so hopefully she would be back soon. Marshfoot needs her rest too before tonight. As the warriors bid their goodbyes and left the den, Batflight took charge.

              “Alright Shade, go spend time with your babies. I’ll let Dad and Snakepelt know about playing messengers and wait for Marshfoot. Briar, why don’t you go make sure Crow isn’t getting into anything?” Easy outs, which Briarmask and Shadefur appreciated. Nudging her best friend goodbye, Briarmask trotted off towards the warriors’ den, where Crowcall had taken to lurking. The tom was mostly healed, the tenuous infection that had taken a brief hold of his wound and prolonged his stay in the medicine den gone for good. Now, he was insisting on being part of the war party, not just a witness to be delivered, although Rosestar was uncertain on if he should allow him to fight or keep him with Fernfire. With the new information about the rogues, he might get his wish after all, she thought grimly to herself. She couldn’t say she was thrilled at the idea of him going into battle so soon after recovering from such a bad wound, but this was their way of life, and like he said- they had sworn their oaths, and they would honor them.

              Sure enough, Crowcall was sitting outside the den, tail swishing idly as he stared into the distance, lost in thought. Briarmask sidled up to him, putting on a face of mock concern as she drew closer.

              “Everything alright in there? I can practically hear your brain rattling around-“

              “Ha ha, very funny. You shouldn’t make fun of things others find difficult you know,” he joked, snapping out of whatever had distracted him. Crowcall pressed his forehead against hers, and she couldn’t help the way her tail curled up in delight. It was a few weeks of this now, this thing between them, but it still made her heart skip a beat. Pulling back, she took on a more serious look, giving him a quick rundown of what had happened. He seemed pensive as she finished, looking over at the nursery in concern.

              “I agree with Shade,” he murmured lowly. “At the very least, Stonestar knows Rosestar has kittens of his own in the nursery right now. We know he’s a fox heart, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try and divide our forces by sending a group to our camp- he probably wants us bringing as few warriors as possible. Even just the threat is enough to have us torn.” Briarmask hummed in response, leaning into his shoulder.

              “With the amount of cats we’re taking as witnesses and guards, that leaves the three other warriors, the two young apprentices, the three queens, and the two elders in camp. I know that if pressed, Brooksong and Lizardspots could fight, but I’m nervous to count on that.” Houndtooth, Blackear, and Snakepelt would be staying in camp, as they weren’t part of the group that saw Stonestar and Featherfall. The two younger apprentices, Loudpaw and Beetlepaw, would also be staying, as they were only just nine moons and Rosestar didn’t want them in battle. Webpaw and Spiderpaw, however, were only a moon shy of their assessments, and would be coming with the war party. Of the three queens, Brooksong was really the only one who could fight, and the two elders… well, Lizardspots would do it whether he should or not, but Tallstone was half blind and deaf these days. So, if Stonestar sent a few rogues with no qualms about killing… Could he afford to send them? Could they afford to take the chance?

              “It’ll be up to Rosestar and Marshfoot, I suppose,” Crowcall mused, watching as said deputy ducked into the leader’s den, having just been led back into camp by Batflight. “Well, no use worrying about it. Come on, let’s get something to eat.” Briarmask spent the next little bit eating quietly with Crowcall, trying not to let the somber air of the camp affect her. It was jarring to see her clanmates, usually joking or lounging, seem so tense and solemn. Families and friends were gathered all around the camp. Frogthroat, Lizardspots, and Shadefur were sitting outside the nursery with the queens, watching the kittens play and speaking quietly to each other. Batflight and Houndtooth were sharing tongues on one of the logs the lined the camp, for once not huffing or bickering. Spiderpaw and Webpaw were eating with their grandparents, nodding seriously to the instructions and advice the older cats imparted, last minute tips they hoped would keep their grandsons safe should worse come to worst. Loudpaw and Beetlepaw were curled up near their den with Turtlepaw, whom they seemed to have adopted as their own. Their mother, Snakepelt, groomed their ears- she had been relieved when Rosestar asked her to stay behind, wanting to keep an eye on her children. Her mate, Dampwhisker, had died not long after they were born. Snakepelt was rarely away from her children after that, and Loudpaw and Beetlepaw didn’t deserve to lose their mother at such a young age. Hopefully, they would be safe in camp, if Stonestar didn’t try his luck…

              It wasn’t a pleasant scene, and Briarmask was all too eager to get out of the oppressive atmosphere, not wanting to think about who she had lost, who else she might lose. It was a relief when Rosestar and Marshfoot emerged, looking tired. Briarmask didn’t envy them- she didn’t know if she could handle having the weight of lives on her shoulders like they did. She and Crowcall dipped their heads as the two approached, eager to hear their decision.

              “I have decided to throw myself on the mercy of the other leaders,” Rosestar said drily. It was a testament to how much he valued the safety of the kits, queens, and elders, seeing as he would typically rather eat crowfood than ask another clan for help. He much more enjoyed offering favors and having the other leaders depend on him instead. “It’s simply too much of a risk to bring another warrior or two. I’m sure Shalestar in particular will have no problem bringing more cats. She’s been baying for blood this whole time. Looks like she’ll have the fight she’s been itching for.” Marshfoot nodded.

              “There are simply too many kits to risk even one cat getting past our defenses. If you could collect Batflight and head out now, you should be back in enough time to rest before tonight. Try not to tire yourselves out too much, but, well- be quick.” Briarmask felt like she could sprint there and back, the realization that this was really happening, that by this time tomorrow the fates of many would be decided, sending energy sparking through her limbs. Bidding a quick goodbye, she hustled over to where Batflight and Houndtooth were, summoning Batflight with a jerk of her head. Houndtooth watched reluctantly as his daughter trotted over to her friend, fixing both mollies with a firm look.

              “Be careful, and don’t dally. It’s not good to be out alone right now. There’s smoke in the air, it feels.” Briarmask was tempted to tease, but the atmosphere in the camp was sucking all the humor out of her. Smoke in the air indeed. Instead, she and Batty reassured him that they would watch out of for each other and graced him with affectionate licks before heading out, his familiar grumbles trailing after them.

________________________________________________________________

              Briarmask didn’t exactly mind Windclan territory, but it was a bit… exposed for her tastes. And gorse and heather weren’t exactly fun to forge your way through, which meant they had to follow rabbit trail and other little paths through the dense growth in order to get around. Still, it was better than the barren expanses of short, spiky grass. There was truly no way to hide there, not with their dark coats. Makes sense that most Windclan cats are pale colors. Cream, light brown, and pale gray seemed to be the predominant coats present in Windclan, helping the lean warriors sneak up on their flighty prey.  And, it seems, other cats.

              As if her thoughts had summoned them, three Windclanners suddenly appeared over the crest in front of her and Batflight. They quickly made their way down to the Shadowclanners, who kept their faces neutral and their posture relaxed. While the three clans were in an alliance at the moment and they wouldn’t be chased out, it was best to be as friendly as possible. No warrior liked outsiders in their territory, after all.

              “Well met. I’m guessing you have business with Shalestar?” The patrol leader, a brown tabby tom, greeted without preamble. At their nods, he cast a glance at one of his companions. ���Kiteclaw, run ahead and let Shalestar know we’re coming.” The molly took off without a word, and the tom beckoned Briarmask and Batflight to follow him. He and the other warrior took off at what barely qualified as a lope for them, but was more of a run for the two mollies. By the time they arrived at the Windclan camp, Briarmask was struggling to hide how much the trip had affected her. Batflight didn’t seem as bothered, however, which caused Briarmask to shoot her a dirty look. Batty caught it, giving her friend a wicked grin.

              “You need to eat more,” the black molly teased as they were escorted into the camp entrance. “You’ll never be a healthy, strong warrior with your dining habits.” Another glare.

              “It’s Leafbare, if you didn’t notice,” Briarmask snipped under her breath, not wanting the Windclanner’s to overhear. Although, with their bat ears, it probably couldn’t be helped. Thankfully, Shalestar was waiting for them in the camp clearing, accompanied by Palesky, Gorsestorm, and Teaselpaw. Briarmask offered them all a respectful nod.

              “Greetings, Shalestar. We come with more information. Have you been visited by Riverclan yet today?” The gray leader’s ear twitched.

              “Yes, a few hours ago. They said Stonestar has recruited rogues to help him fight. Have you learned something else?”

              “Yes- a trip to the Town this morning revealed that approximately two dozen Town cats have been promised hunting rights in the territories if they aid Stonestar.” Shalestar’s eyes grew wide, mind obviously spinning as she digested the news. Teaselpaw looked almost frightened, shooting an uncertain look at Gorsestorm besides her. Briarmask cleared her throat before continuing. “It would seem that puts the opposition at approximately three dozen. The added complication is that the Town cats will not hesitate to use deadly force in a fight. We will need to proceed with extreme caution.” Shalestar lashed her tail.

              “Of course, there would be last minute complications. Did Rosestar have any propositions?” A moment.

              “Well… Rosestar is of the opinion that we need to add more warriors to our party in order to combat the threat. Unfortunately, doing so would put Shadowclan in a potentially hazardous position. We are the smallest clan right now, and with the number of fighters and witnesses we promised will only leave three warriors behind to guard our camp. Rosestar worries for the safety of the kits and elders should Stonestar decide to send fighters to our camp, seeing as we share a border and he knows Rosestar, at least, has kittens at the moment, not even accounting for the other- well. Dozen.” Teaselpaw and Palesky looked horrified at the thought of kits being harmed, but Shalestar and Gorsestorm wore matching grim expressions.

              “Just having that be a possibility is enough for Stonestar to benefit from- he knows you can’t take the risk.” Gorsestorm said. “I also wouldn’t put it past him.”

              “Rosestar humbly asks that Windclan and Riverclan help us in this regard, given our differing situations. We have nine warriors, five of whom are critical witnesses, and the two apprentices alongside Fernfire, Snowdrift, Mintfrost, and Teaselpaw.” Worsening their situation was the fact that most of their available fighters were also witnesses for the Trial. Worse came to worst, they would only need to provide two, but that still left them with only nine fighters and six cats to protect on the way to camp. “He acknowledges the plan was for Windclan to provide eleven fighters as well, but asks that you consider bringing more, for the safety of all involved.”

              Shalestar didn’t need much convincing.

              “I’ll bring thirteen warriors, in addition to myself and Palesky. Windclan is blessed to have many full warriors at this time. Seeing as there’s barely any risk to our camp, we can afford to leave only one guard. Sound agreeable?” Briarmask could have yowled her relief to the stars, but managed to keep it to a grateful nod, Batflight offering her own sincere thanks. So, fifteen from Windclan, technically eleven from Shadowclan, if Riverclan agreed to bring more… that would put the numbers about even, which, while not great, was a vast improvement. Before, it seemed they would have outnumbered Thunderclan two to one, an excellent way to ensure little bloodshed. Now they could only hope that the three clans together would be enough to survive the night.

                Ancestors protect us.

              “Excellent,” Shalestar declared, rising to her feet. “You may rest here for a moment if you wish, but I understand if you’d like to return home. My thanks for the new information, and tell Rosestar not to worry about favors.” With that, she turned and stalked off towards her den, a somber Gorsestorm and worried Palesky right on her heels.

              “Shalestar, what about Little…” The deputy’s words trailed off as they got further away, leaving Briarmask and Batflight with a worried Teaselpaw. The apprentice jerked her head towards one of the many tunnels in the camp.

              “Come on,” she mewed. “I’ll give you some travelling herbs for your trip back.” Obediently the mollies trotted after her, Briarmask curious to see what a Windclan den looked like. How odd, for cats to live like rabbits. Despite her initial assumption that the under ground den would be claustrophobic, it was actually quite cozy. Just enough light came in from the tunnel to see what it looked like and kept it from feeling too oppressive. Teaselpaw had them sit near the entrance as she fussed with some leaves that were stored in nooks carved into the walls. So basically like Fernfire’s den, just with less bugs. “Here,” the apprentice mewed, slightly muffled by the leaves in her mouth, “I’m not giving you a lot so you can still rest, but this should help make the return trip easier.” While the taste of travelling herbs were never pleasant, Briarmask and Batflight gratefully choked them down. They could use all the help they could get.

              “Forgive me if this is prying,” Batflight mewed, staying crouched so she could make direct eye contact with the short apprentice, “but I know Windclan has kits as well. The deputy’s, no less. Is Shalestar not concerned for their safety?” Oh, yeah, that was a good point. Teaselpaw glanced down before speaking hesitantly.

              “Well, Shalestar wasn’t planning on keeping them in the camp,” she mewed. “We were gonna move Littlestream, the kits, the elders, and the most important herbs to a… safer location. So even if someone comes to our camp, they won’t find anything important. Not that I expect any rogues or Thunderclanner’s to really know how to find us.” And that was true- Shadowclan was more at risk because there had been enough Town cats at their camp before, meaning that an ill intentioned rogue could probably figure out how to get there based on their own knowledge or simply asking around. But what Town cat had ever been to the moor?

              “That’s good then,” Briarmask said, stretching out with a yawn. “At least that’s one less thing to worry about. Thanks for the herbs, Teasel, but we should probably get going. See you tonight, alright?” The poor cream molly looked even more anxious at that but nodded gamely. Briarmask gave her an affectionate bump before leading Batflight out of the den, the two mollies stopping to bid their goodbyes to the patrol leader before heading out. Once back out onto the short turf, Batflight turned to her with a wicked grin.

              “Wanna race home?”

              “Oh, don’t even start.”

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              They made it home about mid-morning, happy to have made good time. The mood of the camp seemed to have brightened with the rising sun. Now, cats were bantering and bragging, beginning to get themselves steeled for tonight. Even Mintfrost was lounging in front of the nursery, regaling the kits with a tale of the mighty founder of her clan, Thunderstar himself, and how he once drove a bear, some legendary forest creature, out of his territory. It was funny, to see the normally blank faced molly so animated, the kittens piled before her and listening with rapt attention. It seemed the usual babysitters welcomed the break. Frogthroat and Brooksong were gone, presumably in the nursery, and Tulip was speaking quietly with Shadefur near the warrior’s den. Rosestar was lounging with Pinenose atop the log that their den was under, looking out over the clan with a proud gaze. He perked up when he saw the two mollies enter camp, waving them over with his bright tail.

              “Not even going to sit up and greet us, uncle?” Briarmask mewed, mock offended as they came to a stop in front of the log. Rosestar flicked his ear dismissively.

              “I’m conserving all my energy for tonight- don’t question the wisdom of your leader or I’ll put you on tick duty. Now, what did Shalestar say?” He was pleased with the news they had brought, and was even more pleased when Houndtooth and Snakepelt arrived while they were still talking, bearing good news of their own.

              “Oakstar has pledged every Riverclanner of fighting age,” Snakepelt said, relief coloring her tone. “He said he would ask Windclan to take his three elders, since they are spry enough to make a trek to the moor. That way he doesn’t have to leave a guard at camp. If for whatever reason Shalestar refuses, the elders said they would hide elsewhere on the territory, but I don’t see Windclan having a problem with it.” Houndtooth let out one of his ferocious huffs.

              “Honestly, she better not,” he griped. “One more warrior can make the difference between life and death, especially with such an even match.” Batflight opened her mouth, ready to chastise him for his negativity, but Rosestar merely grinned.

              “Ah, but we have what those rogues do not, and that will be what saves us in the end.” He was met with a variety of looks, ranging from amused to deadpan.

              “Honor?”

              “The Code?”

              “Vengeance?”

              “The power of friendship?”

              “No,” he retorted, torn between amusement and exasperation. “Literally years of dedicated fighting skill. Honestly, you expect us to be bested by a pack of rogues with no coordination or professional instruction? Disgraceful.” Briarmask laughed at that, feeling a little better about the situation. Yes, tonight would be dangerous, and yeah, death was a possibility. But that was the life of a warrior. What mattered was that tonight, they would honor their Code and their ancestors, and justice would be delivered. The spirits of those murdered would be released, and peace would finally return to the territories.

              Hopefully.

              The clan seemed to all be in camp together now, and after Mintfrost finished her story, old Tallstone came out and told them all stories of Shadowclan’s founding, the way Shadowstar found their clan, how different heroes throughout history had fought successfully against impossible odds, even speaking of the battle that lead to Rosestar becoming leader of Shadowclan.

              “Long ago, before many of you here were born-“

              “Tallstone, I am not that old-“              

              “- there was a fierce war waged between Shadowclan and a group of rogues who desired parts of our territory for themselves. Our leader then, Ivystar, had plotted our attack well. She had sent out trackers who found where the rogues had made camp and decided to strike on the night of the new moon, when our skills would be most deadly. However, there was one thing that nobody had accounted for. These rogues had in their employ a dog.” Tallstone paused dramatically, allowing for the appropriate gasps and murmurs of disbelief to fade before continuing. “They had struck a deal with the beast to fight for them, and when Shadowclan launched their attack, the dog was waiting. It howled like a creature from the darkest pits between the stars, rushing to attack young Damppaw, when Ivystar leapt to intercept the assault. In doing so, she saved her apprentice, but lost her own life. It was her final one, and as her warriors watched her fall, many began to despair.” Loudpaw and Beetlepaw perked up at the brief mention of their father, Snakepelt’s eyes glinting with an affectionate grief. “But then, the deputy, Roseheart, threw himself over the leader’s body and challenged the dog before all the gathered cats. The fighting paused, as everyone waited to see how he would defeat such a deadly opponent.” Rosestar was now looking both embarrassed and uncomfortable, shuffling next to Pinenose as cats turned to shoot him awed and disbelieving looks. Briarmask had briefly heard the story before, of course, but never in such… dramatic detail, and she couldn’t help but feel a different kind of respect for her goofy uncle. “Miraculously, when the dog lunged, Roseheart sprung straight into the air, landing on its face and slashing at its eyes with wicked blows. The dog, blinded, howled miserably, taking off into the darkness towards the Town. The rogues, terrified at such a show of strength, immediately followed after it. Victory secured, Roseheart led his clanmates back home, carrying Ivystar’s body himself, where they honored both her sacrifice and the success of our new leader.” Story finished, cats began to jokingly cry out Rosestar’s name, his kittens leaping up to tug at his ears in their excitement.

              “Alright you lot,” the pointed tom called, wincing as Sparkkit gave a particularly harsh tug. “I appreciate an ego boost as much as everyone, but don’t let Tallstone convince you such an act is something extraordinary. I know, in similar circumstances, any one of you could rise to the challenge for the protection of this clan.” Finally getting his son to settle, Rosestar drew himself up and cleared his throat. “It is now just after sunhigh. I expect you all to eat and rest now, as this evening, when the sun sets, we make for Fourtrees. Enjoy your time together, and I pray we may all have these happy days together in the future.” Sobering, the gathered cats moved to follow orders. Instead of splitting off as they had earlier, they now clustered together as one clan, passing out food and weaving around each other in a sad parallel to Lizardspot’s retirement ceremony. Some of them might fall tonight. This might be the last chance to share a meal and time together. As Briarmask sat with her friends- leaning into Crowcall, Batty brushing her other side, Shadefur and Brooksong in a bragging contest about their respective kits, Tulip hesitantly offering her own rebuttal, the passel of kittens running throughout the crowd and the three little ones sleeping against their mother’s side- watched her family from across the clearing- Rosestar playing with his kittens, Pinenose lounging nearby, Houndtooth lecturing the apprentices- listened to her clanmates around her- Blackear reminiscing with Bluebird about their son and daughter, Snakepelt laughing as Loudpaw and Beetlepaw offered their mentors some cheek, Browntail and Clayfang mock outraged in return, Marshnose pressuring Frogthroat to name his son after her as Tallstone competed against her bid, Lizardspots rolling his eyes- gaze catching the Thunderclanners spread out amongst her clanmates- Fernfire fussing as he went to each cat and checked on their health- and her chest tightened at the thought of any one of them dying.

              Ancestors please, she pleaded desperately. Watch over us tonight.

________________________________________________________________

              Evening came much too swiftly.

              Briarmask stood with the rest of the witnesses and war party, watching as Rosestar spoke quietly to Lizardspots and Fernfire. The three queens, two elders, the three guards, and Whitefoot stood in the clearing, a mixture of determined and anxious. The kittens had been bundled away, and everyone had already bid their goodbyes- once Rosestar finished with his final instructions, they would be on their way to Fourtrees. The air was practically crackling with a static tension as Rosestar turned to face his warriors, Fernfire serious besides him.

              “Brothers and sisters of the marsh and pines,” he addressed them formally, “our friends of oak and overgrowth, we face a battle tonight, the likes of which these territories have not seen in generations, and ancestors willing, will never see again. While the stakes are high, and the odds are close, I am confident in not only our ability to succeed in our goal, but to triumph.” Yowls and caterwauls rung out as the warriors responded, and Rosestar gave them a moment before he continued. “We go now to fight, not just to protect Shadowclan, but to protect all clans, to render justice and bring peace to our lands once more. And, should the worst happen, and any of us fall tonight, I want you all to know it has been an honor to not only be your leader, but a clanmate to all of you. I ask now for the ancestors blessing upon us, as we go to fight in their name.” Stone faced, Fernfire stepped forward.

              “I ask now for Starclan’s blessing upon each and every one of you. May your strikes be true, your feet be swift, and your courage never fail. Should you fall tonight, may the ancestors welcome you with the honor you deserve. By their blessing, may we all live to see the dawn tomorrow.” With that, he moved through the crowd, each cat bending so that he might press his nose to their forehead, murmuring blessings as he went. Snowdrift stepped forward to bless his own clanmates. By the time they finished, the camp was awash in a golden glow. Rosestar raised his tail, fur burning like fire in the evening light, and called his warriors to him.

              “Shadowclan! We go now, for justice and glory!” And with that he raced out of camp, his warriors streaming behind him like a dark river, until only those left behind sat in the camp clearing, each one fervently praying for the same thing.

                Please, let them come home safe.

First / Prev / Next

[queer-ragnelle]

I want to like The Winter Knight by Jes Battis more than I do.

Really dislike the Hildie POV and so much information is just told to me outright rather than crafting scenes between characters to show behaviors and allow the reader to draw conclusions from there. Also the fear of getting specific with reincarnation AU—Morgan has multiple PHDs, but what are they in? If her only trait is “girlboss” that’s pretty boring and shallow no matter how feminist a spin it tries to be. If she follows a different set of rules from the knights, in what way? Show me! Don’t just tell me about it in passing. In that case, I don’t care, and start to skim. One scene between Morgan and her assistant [Sir] Bert[ilak] would give me all I need to know about the contrasting stance between necromancers and knights in this universe by illustrating the specificity of it. Instead Hildie just says “Morgan is different.” Might as well leave it blank with nothingburger lines like that.

[all-hail-draculaura]

This new Monster High movie has given me many conflicted feelings. Draculaura is my main girl 😍🤞 but how they did her character so far is not my batty. I don’t like Cleo is best friends with Lagoona when in the series and books her bestie is Ghoulia and not a trace in sight of her. Another thing about Cleo, why would they make the greatest power couple in that show break up and I bet it’s gonna be something petty too because clearly they aren’t using the information from the animated films, where they basically had a whole movie about their relationship and it getting stronger because it. They literally just scraped it for what, so Frankie can date Deuce. Frankie design actually doesn’t bother me, it’s just Frankie. Clawdeen whole character design and personality got me wanting to fight the creators. Like how you going to mess up a ghoul with fangtastic attitude and style and reduce her to this. Deuce and Heath are just disappointing, but hey at least Heath is acting like himself. Only I can like so far the music seems to be decent but that’s only thing it got going for it. I don’t know man, in all honesty I really thought they were going to make this movie for the adult fans who were ripped from their childhood because of Disney. Sorry for my horrible grammar, I’m dyslexic.

[ryotarox]

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Chat GPT-3に質問した答え

This is a famous scene from the movie Blade Runner, in which the character Roy Batty asks this question to the protagonist Rick Deckard. The scene is meant to explore the concept of empathy and what it means to be human. In the context of the movie, Roy is an android or "replicant" who is questioning Deckard's morality and ability to empathize with beings that are not human. By not helping the tortoise, Deckard is seen as lacking empathy and possibly not truly "human" in the eyes of the replicant. However, it is worth noting that this is a fictional scenario and the response to it is ultimately up to personal interpretation.

（DeepL訳）映画『ブレードランナー』の名場面であり、登場人物のロイ・バティが主人公のリック・デッカードにこの質問を投げかけるシーンです。このシーンは、共感という概念と、人間であることの意味を探ることを意図しています。 映画の文脈では、ロイはアンドロイドまたは「レプリカント」であり、デッカードの道徳観と人間ではない存在に共感する能力に疑問を抱いています。亀を助けないことで、デッカードは共感能力に欠け、レプリカントの目には真の「人間」ではないと映るのです。 しかし、これはフィクション��シナリオであり、それに対する反応は最終的に個人の解釈次第であることに注意する必要があります。

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もう一度おなじ質問をしたら、今度は少し違う回答だった

As an AI language model, I don't have the physical capability to be in a desert or interact with a tortoise. However, based on the context of your question, it appears to be a reference to a scene from the movie "Blade Runner." In that scene, the character Roy Batty asks this question to Rick Deckard, the protagonist of the movie, as a test of his empathy and humanity. In the context of the movie, Roy is trying to make a point about Deckard's lack of compassion for artificially created beings, and his willingness to cause harm without concern for their suffering. The question is intended to challenge Deckard's morality and empathy. As an AI language model, I don't have personal beliefs or emotions, and my primary function is to provide information and assistance. Therefore, I cannot answer the question as if I were a human with personal beliefs and values.

（DeepL訳）AIの言語モデルである私には、砂漠にいたり、カメと対話したりする物理的な能力はないのです。しかし、質問の文脈からすると、映画 "ブレードランナー "の1シーンに言及しているようです。そのシーンでは、登場人物のロイ・バティが、映画の主人公であるリック・デッカードに対して、共感性や人間性を試すためにこの質問を投げかけています。 映画の文脈では、ロイはデッカードが人工的に作られた存在に対する思いやりに欠け、その苦しみを顧みずに危害を加えようとすることを指摘しようとしている。この質問は、デッカードの道徳観や共感力を問うためのものです。 AIの言語モデルである私は、個人的な信念や感情を持たず、情報と支援を提供することを主な役割としています。したがって、私が個人的な信念や価値観を持つ人間であるかのように質問に答えることはできません。

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https://twitter.com/RLHeppner/status/1616189937484718082

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追記2023-05-11：Google Bard にも同じことを聞いてみた。

There are many reasons why someone might not help a tortoise that is flipped over on its back in the desert. Some people might simply not care about the tortoise and not see it as worth helping. Others might be afraid of the tortoise or of the desert itself. Still others might not have the time or the resources to help the tortoise. However, there are also many reasons why someone might help a tortoise in this situation. Some people might feel compassion for the tortoise and want to help it get back on its feet. Others might believe that it is their moral duty to help animals in need. Still others might simply enjoy helping others and see it as a way to make the world a better place. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to help a tortoise in the desert is a personal one. There is no right or wrong answer, and each person must decide what they believe is the best course of action. Here are some additional thoughts on the matter: Helping a tortoise in the desert can be a dangerous and difficult task. The desert is a harsh environment, and it is important to take precautions to protect yourself from the heat, the sun, and the animals that live there. If you do decide to help a tortoise, it is important to do so carefully. Tortoises are fragile creatures, and they can be easily injured if they are not handled properly. Once you have helped a tortoise back onto its feet, it is important to release it back into the wild. Tortoises are wild animals, and they do not belong in captivity. I hope this helps!

砂漠で仰向けにひっくり返ったカメを助けない理由はたくさんあります。ある人は、単に亀に関心がなく、助ける価値がないと思うかもしれません。また、亀や砂漠そのものを怖がる人もいるかもしれません。また、亀を助ける時間や資源がない人もいるかもしれません。 しかし、このような状況で誰かが亀を助けるかもしれない理由もたくさんあるのです。ある人は、亀に同情し、立ち直るのを助けたいと思うかもしれません。また、困っている動物を助けるのは道徳的な義務だと考える人もいるかもしれません。また、人を助けることが好きで、世界をより良くする方法だと考える人もいるかもしれません。 結局のところ、砂漠の亀を助けるかどうかは、個人的な判断になります。正解も不正解もなく、人それぞれがベストと思う行動をとるしかない。 ここでは、この問題について、いくつかの考えを述べます： 砂漠で亀を助けることは、危険で困難な作業です。砂漠は過酷な環境であり、暑さ、太陽、そこに住む動物から身を守るための予防措置を講じることが重要である。 もし、亀を助けると決めたら、慎重に行うことが重要です。亀は壊れやすい生き物で、適切に扱わないと簡単に怪我をしてしまいます。 亀が元気になったら、自然に帰してあげることが大切です。カメは野生動物なので、飼育するべきではありません。 参考になれば幸いです！ www.DeepL.com/Translator（無料版）で翻訳しました。

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ブレードランナー - Wikipedia

「フォークト＝カンプフ（Voight-Kampff[注釈 6]）」検査 原作小説では「Voigt-Kampff」という綴りになっている。 なお、原作の『アンドロイドは電気羊の夢を見るか？』の日本語訳（訳：浅倉久志）では「フォークト＝カンプフ」、映画の日本語字幕では「VKテスト」と表記されている。 日本における他の表記としては「フォクト＝カンプフ」「ヴォークト＝カンプフ」、また劇中での発音に近い「ヴォイト＝カンプ」等がある。

砂漠を歩いていたところ、足下に亀が這ってきました。あなたは亀をひっくりかえし、甲羅を下にして砂の上に置きます。亀は足をばたつかせていますが、どうしても元に戻ることができません。それでもあなたは亀を助けません。どうしてですか？ 　 You’re in a desert, walking along in the sand, when all of a sudden you look down…You look down and see a tortoise. It’s crawling toward you…You reach down and you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t. Not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?

[danganronpa-agere-writing]

If it's not too much trouble, could you do headcanons and/or for a Caregiver!Byakuya? ⭐Prince--Batty

Hello! I can definitely do headcanons for that :D Byakuya’s a really interesting character for me to write... and he has a pretty in depth personality. Thank you for requesting! I hope you enjoy this and have a lovely day <3

-Mod Mikan

Caregiver Byakuya headcanons!

•Byakuya was quick to find things out— he was good at solving things, and quick to draw conclusions

•So, you were more than aware that there really was no point in hiding anything from him

•And, if he was going to find out about your regression, you wanted it to be on your own terms, not by accident

•So, you pulled him aside to talk to him one day, anxiety filling you to your very core, however, you were aware you should probably tell him

•So— you did

•You informed him that you were an age regressor, and told him what that was

•And, though he definitely wished to do some research about that before he did anything further...

•He was fine with it

•It wasn’t like it bothered him, and if it was helping you, then he wanted you to continue doing this

•So, he did some research about it, read articles online and tried educating himself to the best of his ability

•And, once he was fully confident in his knowledge about it, he asked if you would like for him to be your caregiver

•He’s pretty straight up and nonchalant about it— but that’s because it truly doesn’t bother him— and he doesn’t want you to be ashamed about something like this!

•And, if you accepted, he would be careful to look out for signs of you regressing

•If you were ever in a public situation, he would find a way to gently lead you away from the event, or get you to a private place

•Byakuya would also most likely make you tea!! (non-caffeinated, of course)

•It wasn’t an issue if it needed to be put in a bottle or anything of the such, anyways— he could do that for you

•Seeing as he’s a business worker, however— there will be times he is not always able to be there

•That’s why he’s got a bunch of children’s games downloaded on his phone— so you can play those if you want!

•He has definitely recommended Duolingo ABC to you before

•Whether you take him up on that offer or not is entirely up to you

•But he’s got good ones, as well!! Like apps with children’s books on them, coloring pictures, and everything else of the such

•He just wants you to be safe and entertained when he can’t be there

•Byakuya also isn’t really one to use pet names... he’ll most likely refer to you as a shortened version of your name, or lighter ones like “bud” or “kiddo”

•He also hasn’t ever really been one for physical affection, however, it’s truly the little things for him— like holding your hand when you two cross the road, or helping you brush your hair if you ever regressed in the mornings

•He wouldn’t be one to deny snuggles, either— But only if you initiate it!

•If you ever happened to regress impurely or due to stress, however, Byakuya would be careful when handling that

•He would ask for permission to touch you, and if given, he’d gently take your hand and let you lean onto his side

•“Hey, kiddo. I’m not too sure what’s bothering you, but you can talk to me if you need to. Whatever it is, I’m sure will turn out fine soon.”

•He truly does care about you, and if you ever needed anything, he’s more than happy to oblige

•Despite his colder and professional demeanor, he certainly has a soft spot for you, and he would do just about anything to ensure your safety and happiness

•So let him know if there’s anything he can do, alright?

•He really does love you