#excited to share my appearances with critter tumblr :]

[sleepingtimber]

I tried posting this before but tumblr keeps fucking up the formatting so trying again. But after some encouragement and thinking I'm gonna start posting my alterhuman art here! Mostly my theriotype stuff but perhaps other stuff too. This one is months/a year old now but it was a first attempt at depicting my usual envisage shifts/forms. My coyote/wolf appearances are very fluid, but I have a few specific dog forms that reoccur very often!

[tunabesimpin]

Hi Tuna! Congrats on getting 800 followers and kudos to you for taking on this big milestone project!

That said, mind if I submit my Yuusona for this?

She hasn't gone to the beach in years, but the last time she went, she and her dad collected sea shells, looked for sea critters on the rocks and in the water, and let the waves hit their legs as they stood still.

At the party, Yuu plans to collect seashells and look for sea critters, but may pause to try to play volley ball and is willing to join a water fight. The thing they won't do if they had a choice is go swimming--they just don't like swimming in the ocean.

Their favorite color is honey yellow. They're going to be bringing a canvas bag holding sunscreen, sandals, and a bottle of water and they'll be carrying a body towel.

Yuu will be bringing along their sentient teddy bear and Grim. The teddy is especially excited to look for sea shells and maybe cool rocks (and Yuu is going to have to make sure it doesn't pick up a crab or get swept away by the waves. . . oh nelly). Yuu managed to convince Grim to come along by saying it wouldn't be a great party without him and it wouldn't feel complete if it was just her and the teddy. . . and also he'd be missing out on the food (lol).

Bo y howdy. I don't want to make this longer than it already is (plus Tumblr doesn't allow links to be shared while anonymous)--would it be cool if I sent the references through PM?

(btw this is yuus-sentient-teddy, but I'm following you under a different blog--I can let you know through PM which one it is!)

---

When Yuu wanted to go shell collecting, they didn't expect Grim to take it to extremes like he did. To be fair though, when has Grim ever not been rambunctious? Yuu, Teddy and Grim were all collecting shells together and at some point Grim made it into a contest to see who could have the bigger pile of treasure.

Yuu could only sigh seeing the mighty Grim run amuck on the beach search for the best of the best shells. Turning back to the selection of shells Teddy had been collecting, Yuu carefully examined each one. The vibrant colors were stunning. Teddy had outdone himself in his search. Yuu smiled and pulled one her own shells out, a large clam shell adorned with a red and white marble appearance. She held it out to teddy and pointed to one of his shells for a trade. Teddy gave a pleasant look and handed Yuu the shell they picked out.

It was a tender display, but that only lasted a moment as Grim came bouncing back. "NYAHAHA FEAST YOUR EYES!" Grim plopped a conch shell atop his pile of treasure, popping shells below out from the pile. It was quite the sight to find a conch in such good condition. Yuu and Teddy awed over the mighty Grims find, that was until a certain uncanny eel began to make way over the horizon.

Jade was quickly catching up to Grim, his signature closed mouth smile plastered on his face "Oh Grim surely you were going to repay me for my hard work getting that conch shell weren't you?" Yuu eyed the now cowering cat monster behind her, 'Grim what have you gotten us into this time...'

---

Thank you thank you!!!! I was so excited to have a more Grim& Yuu centric story this time! Your Yuu and the teddy is so cute. I hope you can enjoy this!

[lurafita]

Petvengers Chapter 3

Read chapter 1 here: Chappy 1

Read chapter 2 here: Chappy 2

:-) Guess now what kind of animal Stephen gets, and see if you guessed right later in the chapter! Cookies for everyone who knows who Detective Davis is. :-)

To stave off any confusion that might come, MJ's parents are divorced, and Michelle has no blood-related siblings. *Insert name here* has no blood-related siblings, and his mother died.

Regarding the pet introduced in this chapter, please remember that this is a fanfic. I therefore take some liberties with the laws on which animals can and can not be held as pets. 

Dr Strange

America may be the land of the free, but it was sadly not the land of good tea. Not if you asked one Dr. Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts.

He could have sworn he still had a stash of the fine leaves he had brought back from his last visit to Kathmandu, but he hadn't been able to find it anywhere. His quest to find a vendor that sold decent tea, had taken him almost all the way to the ends of Manhattan, but at least he now had something to tide him over with, until the next time he was due to visit the monastery. If it weren't for the almost unbearable summer heat outside, the trip might not have been so bad.

Since he was in his civilian clothes, he headed for the nearest alley to open a portal to the Sanctum. No need to draw attention to himself, after all. He wasn't Stark.

He had barely stepped foot into his home, when he heard the voice of the boy, Peter, coming from the sitting room.

"-which is why MJ is currently getting ready for a 'get to know you' dinner with her possible new stepfather and brother. Ned and I researched the guy beforehand, of course, but he checked out. He is a police detective with the Brooklyn devision, and so far we haven't found anything that would point at him being dirty or the likes. No shady connections to the Mob, no underhanded courtroom deals, no crooks or witnesses that vanished under suspicious circumstances while connected to any of his cases, and no secret Swiss bank accounts."

Stephen could only shake his head at what he heard, even as a fond, little smile stole itself across his lips. Kid was watching too much TV. It seemed Wong shared this perspective, as he could hear the other man next.

"While your devotion to assure your friends safety is admirable, don't you think that hacking into the police stations database is taking things a little far?"

How Wong could say something like this, and still sound completely relaxed, was a mystery to Strange. He himself was contemplating to inform Stark of his ward's latest shenanigans, so that the man could perform some damage control.

"One can never be too certain. But don't worry, we made up for the hacking by strengthening the departments firewall. Their data was almost as easy to get to as the hospitals. I actually think I met Detective Davis as Spiderman once, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. I'm not actually too worried, but I will be keeping an eye on things."

By then Stephen had made his way to the room, where Peter and Wong were talking, both had a glass filled with cold water before them on the table, while the Cloak of Levitation had draped itself beside the teenager on the couch, apparently listening in on the conversation as well.

"As long as you don't commit any more felonies while 'keeping an eye on things', Spiderman, that's perfectly alright."

The boy immediately grinned at him.

"What's up, Doc?"

Stephen sighed. Sometimes he really despised Bugs Bunny. Wong nodded at him in greeting and the Cloak fluttered one of it's corners, which was it's way of waving hello.

He continued on to the connecting kitchen, and started boiling the water in his teapot.

"What brings you here, Peter? And how come your canine companion isn't with you?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Peter pout.

"It's too hot for Hope. We went for a walk yesterday morning, and he burned his paws on the asphalt. Colonel, too. Tony sectioned off a few yards behind the tower, and had a company deliver some soil and fast growing grass seeds. And pavilions for some shadow. So any outside activities for the animals are restricted to the new backyard, until this heatwave passes. But it's just as well, because Arthur is still getting used to his new leg Dad and Bruce built him, and he still needs to take things slow. And Eames can more easily stretch his wings there, without bumping into anything and having to maneuver around walls and stuff."

Stephen, thanks to Wong, knew all about the little arachnids efforts to turn Stark tower into a zoo, and could deduce that Colonel, who had also burned his paws, was one of the pets that Peter had coerced someone into adopting. 'Eames', likewise, must be an avian type of animal that now belonged to one of the Avengers. But he had no idea who or what 'Arthur' could be.

"Arthur? Did the Avengers get a new member?"

To his surprise, Wong answered the question.

"Arthur is Sergeant Barnes adopted, young raccoon, who lost his hind leg to a hunter trap. He is very cute. Peter sent me pictures."

Said teen scowled at the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Which you would have gotten, too, if you finally accepted my friends request on Whatsapp."

Thankfully that's when the kettle let out a shrill whistle, and Stephen could finally start brewing himself a cup. He would not be able to get through what was to follow, without a nice cup of tea.

"Peter, you have my number for emergencies and other important things, not to spam my phone with pictures of every cute, little critter you come across. I remember the day you adopted Hope. Wong's phone vibrated so much with received messages from you, it fell off the table. Also, I don't have Whatsapp."

Completely ignoring everything else the man had said, Peter zeroed in on that last statement.

"What about twitter?"

"No."

"Instagram?"

"No."

"Tumblr?"

"I don't even know what that is."

"You gotta have Facebook at least! Even Steve has a Facebook page, and he uses a flip-phone!"

"Definitely not."

Peter, seemingly beyond shocked, turned to the older monk beside him.

"How do you live with him?"

Wong sighed, shook his head, and took a sip of his water.

"'Tis the cross I must bear."

Thank the Ancient One that his tea was done! He took a long drink, disregarding the scalding temperature, and sighed in relief. Better.

"Why don't we get back to my first question, shall we? What brings you here, Peter? Do the Avengers need assistance?"

Peter grinned and dove for his backpack.

"Nope! I just brought over the next part of the Harry Potter movies for Cloakie!"

He quickly yanked the movie disk out of his backpack and held it aloft triumphantly. And then the Cloak of Levitation, an ancient, magical, powerful artifact, that was revered by many, fluttered in absolute excitement and tackled the teenager in a hug, while also grabbing the movie.

Peter laughed, Wong smiled, and Stephen resisted the urge to burrow his head in his hands, and instead took another sip of his tea.

After he had managed to untangle himself from Cloakie, Peter downed the rest of his water, thanked Wong for the beverage, and stood up.

"Alright! I should be on my way now."

"Do you want me to open a portal into the tower?" Stephen offered, remembering the sweltering heat outside. Peter shook his head.

"Thanks, but I wanted to fit in a little patrol before going back. Though I don't expect a lot to be going on, with the temperatures outside. Thank God the suit has air conditioning. Bye Doc, bye Wong, bye Cloakie!"

Two "Bye Peter"'s and a full body flutter from the Cloak, and the young superhero was gone. With the closing of the front door, Strange sat down on one of the couches and relaxed. He liked Peter a lot, but the boy could be a bit taxing at times. As he drank his tea and watched the Cloak fly off in search of his laptop to watch it's new Harry Potter movie, he never noticed the deeply amused, knowing and conspiratorial little grin Wong was wearing.

                    -------------------------------------------------------------

"So, MJ said the dinner went really well. She likes the guy, said she had a good feeling about him."

Ned told Bethany, the shelter worker who had been there when Michelle and Peter had guided Sam and Bucky into pet adoption. Peter had boosted himself up on the reception counter, and was carefully stroking the soft feathers of the big snow owl perched on his arm. While Bethany wouldn't normally allow a visitor to have one of the animals in the open like this, and in the buildings lobby to boot, she had made an exception for Peter. Not only was the boy extraordinarily good with handling the animals, he had also needed a little pick-me-up, seeing as the persisting hot weather had not allowed for his dog to accompany him to the shelter.

Peter added his own little tid-bits.

"The son had apparently been a bit quiet, but she said he seemed very sweet."

Bethany nodded.

"Well, I believe anyone would feel a little awkward, meeting their father's new girlfriend, and girlfriend's daughter. How old did you say the boy was?"

Since Peter was very busy smiling over the cute faces the owl was making as he pet it, Ned answered the question.

"11. Though MJ did get him to talk a bit about hobbies and stuff. She said he has a real interest in art, especially graffiti painting."

Peter chimed in then.

"Which means he and MJ will have plenty to bond over. Hopefully she doesn't make him take up her 'painting people in distress' thing. Otherwise my frowning face will likely be the first of many, to one day appear on walls all over the city."

Ned paled visibly.

"Dude, that's horrifying."

Bethany laughed softly.

"Now, now boys. You shouldn't fret about things like that. My wife always says that artists carry old souls. Anything they draw, is worth drawing. Even a frowning face."

She winked at Peter. Bethany was totally cool. She was 58 years old and had been together with her wife since they were both 20. When America finally lifted the ban on gay marriage, they had been one of the first same-sex couples to tie the knot in 2015. Peter opened his mouth to reply, when his ears picked up the distant (though rapidly closing in) sounds of screaming and cursing. He grinned.

"Ned, get your camera ready. Operation: Harry Potter, is about to begin."

The other boy obediently pointed his camera towards the entrance, and before Bethany could ask what the boys were talking about, she heard a male voice screaming at someone or something to: "Stop it, goddammit! You insufferable piece of magical cloth! If you don't let me down this instance-"

And then suddenly the doors burst open and what looked to be a man, swaddled in... a red cape?.. came literally flying in.

Peter jumped from the counter (carefully though, so as not to unsettle the owl still perched on his arm), and took a few steps forward.

"Cloakie, you made it!"

Then the cape seemingly unraveled itself from the man (giving the poor guy quite the spin in the process), and came floating over to the teen and owl.

While Bethany was still trying to cope with the fact that there was an apparently living article of clothing, hovering in front of Peter and seemingly ogling the owl (which ogled back just as much), the man the cape had dragged into the shelter (and boy, that was definitely a line of thought she never expected to have) was slowly getting his bearings again. Then he pinned a very pointed gaze at the two teenagers, and made a notable effort to keep his voice calm.

"Peter. Ned. Would it be correct for me to assume, that you are to blame for my unwilling journey through the streets of Manhattan?"

As Ned tried to shrink back behind his camera (that he still kept resolutely focused on the sorcerer), Peter just grinned brightly at the man.

"Absolutely. Very astute of you. Guess that's why you are the Sorcerer Supreme."

 (Oh, so that was that magical superhero that her wife had told her about. Really, her love was such a fangirl where New York's hero community was concerned. Well, at least that entrance made sense now.)

The man, (Dr. Strange, if Bethany remembered correctly), narrowed his eyes at the teen.

"And for what possible reason, do you require my presence?"

Cloakie had extended one of it's corners to lightly pet the white owl on the head. The owl seemed to like it.

"We need a designated adult to sign the adoption papers for Hedwig. She is a 9 year old snow owl. Her owner was a huge Harry Potter fan, which is why he named her Hedwig. He sadly died in an accident not too long ago, and his remaining family didn't have the kind of space to take Hedwig in."

The eyes narrowed further.

"If you want to adopt another pet, then get your aunt or Stark to sign the forms."

Peter shook his head.

"But Hedwig isn't for me."

Bethany looked on intrigued as suspicion formed in the sorcerer's eyes.

"Peter, I'm not getting a pet."

The teen rolled his eyes.

"I know. Hedwig isn't for you, either. She is for Cloakie!"

As if to underline his point, he lifted the arm with the owl a bit, drawing all eyes to the way the Cloak of Levitation cooed (could a cloak coo?) at Hedwig.

The look on the doctor's face right then, was one that Bethany had seen many times on her sister in law, when she had to explain to her 4 year old daughter why she only got one birthday every year.

"Kid, the Cloak of Levitation may be a sentient being with it's own will, but it cannot adopt an animal."

Peter gave the man the most deadpan look that Bethany had ever seen him make.

"I. Know. Which is why we need you to sign the paperwork. Didn't I say that? I thought I said that."

He looked questioningly at Cloakie, who nodded in agreement, and then went right back to petting the owl.

Stephen decided not to suffer any more of this lunacy, and waved his hands to open a portal to the Sanctum. Before he was able to fully step through, however, the Cloak had settled around his shoulders and dragged him back into the shelter's lobby. He directed his stern gaze at the Cloak.

"I don't care how much you love Harry Potter, you will not keep an owl in the Sanctum."

The Cloak folded both of it's lower ends together, in an imitation of a human folding their arms over their chest. Stephen pointed a finger right at it.

"Don't give me that look. We are not taking that owl home, and that is final."

Hedwig, (with a little whispered encouragement from Peter), took matters into her own hands (claws? Wings?) and gave the teen an affectionate headbutt, before flying off his arm and right through the still open portal, into the Sanctum. While Stephen was still trying to process this fully, his magical cloak fluttered in excitement and dove right after it's owl. The portal closed right behind them. Stephen stared.

Before he had the chance to chase after his wayward magical artifact, Peter was suddenly before him, shoving a bunch of papers and a pen into his chest.

"Great, doc! I knew you would come around, though there was really no need to get Hedwig to your home in such a rush! Now, let's just quickly take care of the formalities. You wouldn't want Bethany to think that you were kidnapping her animals, right?"

The wide, brown eyes looked meaningfully first at him, then at the older woman behind the counter, then at a still filming Ned.

Master of the mystic arts, Sorcerer Supreme, protector of the magical realms, Doctor Stephen Strange, let out a long suffering sigh, and grabbed for the adoption forms.

                       -----------------------------------------------------

When roughly twenty minutes later, a portal opened up in the sitting room of the Sanctum Sanctorum, through which stepped a thoroughly annoyed Stephen, Wong was already prepared with a cup of steaming tea.

"The Cloak and Hedwig are in the upper level, playing a game of tag." He quickly handed the cup over, completely ignoring the calculating eyes his friend was bestowing him with. "I have already placed different perches for our new roommate all over the house. The special bird feed is in the kitchen."

Then the older monk calmly sat down in his armchair, and resumed reading the thick tome of incantations before him.

"You were in on this, weren't you?"

Wong casually turned a page.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

Stephen swore loudly, took a sip of his tea, and vowed to find a way to get revenge.

[thatlittlebee]

First Impressions- A Critical Role Pride and Prejudice AU

Chapter Two is now live! I hope it pleases- thank you to all of you who said such lovely things on twitter, tumblr and in the comments, it was very heartening. I had wanted to post a lengthier update, but time got away from me! I'll try my best to keep them regular. Also! An excellent critter, @NewKidMan on twitter, did a really wonderful reading of the first chapter that I highly recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBGf5TNwwN0

Read under the cut, or on A03: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10152458/chapters/22835369

Perhaps, Vex’ahlia thought, it might have been prudent to tell her brother of Mr de Rolo’s shocking rudeness when Velora was not within earshot. Not that their sister seemed at all perturbed by Vax’s rather ungentlemanly response.

‘Ugh! I wouldn’t be upset, Vex,’ Velora insisted, grasping her hand tightly. ‘He is a most awful, horrid man and not at all worth pleasing regardless of how rich he is.’

‘If I had heard him…’ Vax muttered, his expression stormy as he sunk back into the plush carriage cushions.

‘Perhaps he needs new spectacles,’ Velora remarked archly. ‘I thought you looked very fine tonight.’

‘I love you both dearly for being so offended on my behalf,’ Vex laughed. ‘And though I have no cordial feelings towards him, I’m quite alright.’

Both siblings appeared unconvinced by her response, but allowed the matter to be dropped as the carriage rattled along the road. Velora happily filled the silence with in depth assessments of the merits of each of her dance partners, which – considering she had not once sat down once since the dancing had begun – was enough to carry them all the way home to Longbourne.

Though she had been sincere in her instances to her siblings, Mr Percival de Rolo’s words would not leave her as Vex’ahlia lay in bed that night. ‘She is tolerable, Keyleth, but not handsome enough to tempt me and I’m in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.’

It was not that he had insulted her looks - her vanity was not so easily wounded. But Vex was certain that until then, excepting their introduction, Mr de Rolo had not looked at her once. In that single moment, in that single glance he had judged her and deemed her inferior.

Tolerable. The word rolled about in her head, again and again. Tolerable. He had spared her but a single glance. In a single look he had judged her worth, and proclaimed it to be of no consequence. Vex cared little if she was not handsome enough to be of interest to such a man. But to be so rashly, and indeed so harshly judged had injured her more than she cared to admit.

 *

 Over the next fortnight, the Vessar siblings found themselves often in the company of the Netherfield party. Lady Keyleth and Miss Ripley called at Longbourne a few days after the assembly to take tea with the ladies and came again the following week with Mr Stormwind to dine with them. Though Syldor was somewhat perturbed to discover that Mr de Rolo was not in the party, his disappointment was not shared by his children. Vax, who had visited Netherfield twice to shoot, had reported to his sisters that the gentleman did not improve upon acquaintance.

‘He is a good shot, but apart from that I’ve found little about him favourable,’ he remarked. They had left the house soon after breakfast, having promised to call at Trickfoot Lodge for Pike so that they might all walk into Syngorn together. ‘But you can confirm that for yourselves soon enough. He is to attend this evening.’

‘Well I won’t dance with him,’ Velora huffed as she skipped and skittered ahead.

‘And I’m sure he will be devastated, darling,’ Vex replied with mock severity.

They found Pike awaiting them on the path, clad in a periwinkle blue spencer trimmed with yellow, and already in the company of Mr Shorthalt - who had just ‘happened’ to be passing that way. The party’s conversation quickly turned to the party Pike’s grandfather was to host that evening, and once again the poor impression made by Mr Percival de Rolo at the previous assembly. Being as yet unfamiliar with it, the story of his slighting of Vex was related to Mr Shorthalt by Vax’ildan and Velora with cold resentment from the former, and exasperated indignation the latter.

‘Poor Vex,’ Velora sighed, ‘to be only just tolerable!’

‘I think, considering his temperament, it would be far more bothersome to be liked by him,’ Pike laughed, shaking her head.

‘Agreed! I wouldn’t be too vexed by his words, Miss Vessar,’ Scanlan interjected, with a brash grin that earned him a groan from the rest of the party.

‘Anyway- what of the rest of the party?’ Pike continued, silencing Mr Shorthalt with a pointed look. ‘When I called on Lady Keyleth yesterday she spoke very warmly of you, Vax’ildan.’

‘She is an unexpectedly remarkable woman, I admit’ Vax responded, adjusting his cravat with a faint blush that did not go unnoticed by his sister, who shot a sly wink to Pike. ‘They are an oddly matched party. Miss Ripley seems a fine lady, and her manners are polite enough – but I can’t say I found them pleasing. But Mr Stormwind is a welcome addition, I think.’

‘Welcome! I thought he was a bore,’ Velora huffed, rounding on her brother with cheeks pink in disagreement. Vax’s attempts to defend the poor gentleman were loudly rebuffed by his sister, and soon the conversation devolved into jovial chaos. The rest of their walk was thus passed, with all members of the party able only to agree on only one point: that any further assessments must be postponed until that evening.

The neighbourhood had recently welcomed, in addition to the newcomers at Netherfield Park, a large regiment of militia officers that had been garrisoned at Syngorn for the season – much to the excitement of its young ladies, including Velora. With their society so greatly enriched Sir Wilhand Trickfoot had decided it proper to mark the occasion with a ball.

Despite herself, Vex’ahlia still felt a little apprehensive about the prospect of being again in the company of Mr de Rolo and she dressed that evening with extra care. Her gown was a light, delicately patterned muslin that fit her well, trimmed with a deep blue that matched both her sash and the feathers set into her hair. Whilst Vax’ildan, dressed in a handsome suit of grey and black with his hair pulled into a smart ponytail, had waited with patiently, Velora, in an embellished satin gown of pink and gold, had already knocked for her sister twice before Vex resigned herself to be ready.

The carriage ride was a silent one; the twins both found themselves nervous (though for very different reasons), whilst Velora’s spirits were noticeably dampened by their father’s last minute decision to accompany them.

Any anxieties were soon lifted, however, upon their arrival at Trickfoot Lodge; the house was already alive with gaiety. Leaving their father and Devana with the somewhat hopeless task of keeping watch over Velora – who had already surrounded herself with red coats – the twins quickly excused themselves to find Pike. Miss Trickfoot, again accompanied by Mr Shorthalt and currently engaged in conversation with Lady Keyleth and Mr Stormwind, caught Vex’s eye as they entered the room and eagerly waved them over.

‘Mr Vessar, Miss Vex’ahlia! I am pleased to see you both again,’ Keyleth cried, catching sight of them. Greetings were made, pleasantries exchanged and promises made for dances.

‘I think that your brother quite admires our new neighbour,’ Pike observed later as she and Vex stood to the side of the room, watching the couple lead the first dance. ‘I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him blush before. It’s rather amusing.’

‘Isn’t it sickening?’ Vex replied, with a mock groan. ‘You know, I think he really wanted to detest her just to spite father. But she makes it very difficult.’

‘Poor Vax! But I think she admires him too.’

‘They make a good match,’ Vex agreed, watching them with a fond smile. ‘Which suits me- she’s plenty rich enough for me to live happily as an old maid surrounded by their many, many children.’

‘Oh, don’t say that,’ Pike scolded. ‘Look, there’s a whole gaggle of officers over there desperately trying to build up the courage to ask you for a dance.’

There was indeed a group of about four young men stood some feet away, watching the young ladies intently and whispering amongst themselves. Vex caught the eye of one of the soldiers, bringing scarlet to his cheeks as she offered him a wry smile and a wink.

‘Pike, a soldier’s pension is hardly enough to keep me in luxury.’

‘Perhaps. But they at least seem to find you tolerable enough to stand up with,’ Pike teased.

‘Indeed, and I’ll dance with all of them if they properly flatter my vanity,’ Vex laughed. Certainly, the unkind words of one gentleman were not enough to keep her from amusing herself with another and so as the next movement began, she happily allowed herself to be led onto the dancefloor.

Occupied in the merriments of the evening, Vex’ahlia was far from suspecting that she might be becoming the object of some interest to the very same gentleman who had previously slighted her. Though he had spent some time in the company of her brother, Vex’ahlia Vessar had not crossed the mind of Mr Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III since their first meeting.

On first beholding her, he had scarcely allowed Miss Vessar to be pretty. He had been surprised, on their arrival into the country, to hear her regarded as beauty. Keyleth had spoken of her often as a bright and enchanting woman, but Percival had assumed such praise was coloured by Keyleth’s regard for the brother. Yet as he observed the dancing he found his attentions oddly fixed upon her.

Why this was, Percy could not say. It was not a sensation he had ever experienced before.  Where he had previously seen nothing worth his interest in her features, he now could not but notice the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. Though she moved without delicacy or refinement, there was something strangely pleasing about her as she danced and in the playfulness of her manners. He could not help but watch her, admiring the liveliness of her steps and the way in which the cut of her dress complimented her figure. She seemed to hold herself as if the rest of the room were of no consequence to her.

As the music swelled, watching her laugh and turn, Percival found himself overcome with a sudden need to know more of her. She had intrigued him, and his curiosity demanded to be satisfied.

Of all this, Vex’ahlia was perfectly unaware; - to her he was only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with.

[shoecartel]

The 12 best memes of 2015: Runaway llamas, The Dress, Adele …

The internet in 2015 has given us a lot of giggles a vigil to a raccoon, Drake playing tennis and the duck army but which memes construct our cut of the best?

12. What are thooooose!

A police officer. A cheeky dude( Brandon Moore) hollering what are thooose ? at the officers functional, ugly footwear. Millions of loops and views and copycats afterwards, a meme is born. The first urban dictionary entry for the phrase and practice appeared in 2011, but it was 2015 when the sport of pointing at some awful shoes( preferably Crocs) and shouting what are those ?!! entered the mainstream. The best example is the wonderful take on the Jurassic Park theme tune( see below, 50 million Vine loops so far ), which I like because its less mean-spirited than real life instances. In fact, “the mens” who started the whole thing back in the summer seems kind of rude and is now in jail. Um.

11. Duck Army

It stormed collective internet consciousness in early September. Norwegian Kevin Synnes decided to embarrass his girlfriend in a store by pushing down on a bunch of toy ducks which, when pressed, emitted a loud aaarghh ! noise. The video was then appropriated by Vine star Charlie Murphy and subsequently looped millions of days, spawning multiple variants. There has even been a mash-up with the what are those? meme. My person favourite versions are those which pay tribute to Adele and Taylor Swift.

However, a Guardian investigation revealed that that the toy was not a duck, but a pelican. Listen to our interview with Kevin here.

Read more: How the duck army stormed the internet

10. Hello, its me

It took merely a 30 -second snippet of Adeles new single, Hello, debuted during the advert violate of the UK television show, The X Factor, to have the vocalist trending worldwide on Twitter. And while the haunting piano and hushed, smoky tones beloved of millions of fans induced much excitement among those desperate to hear the full song, the clip also inspired plenty of memes.

Hello, its me is a pretty meme-able phrase, and the internet did not disillusion. When the sepia-tinged video dropped, featuring the vocalist in an amazing coat, using a flip-phone and hanging out in an abandoned home, the memes merely multiplied. Especially re: the flip-phone. One girl even texted her ex the entire lyrics to Hello, without him catching on at all.

Read more: Hello, its me. On a flip-phone. Samsung unveils clamshell model

chuck (@ charlubby) October 23, 2015

you know it’s the emotional part of the song when adele doesn’t stop touching her face pic.twitter.com/ dkQvHRmL7 6

9GAG (@ 9GAG) November 8, 2015

#Hello, it’s me. https :// t.co /8 2PU9WzQHG pic.twitter.com/ 1y7xUrARvQ

9. Miley, whats good?

A lot of people characterised this as Nicki Minaj hurling tint at Miley Cyrus, which is a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of tint. Minaj didnt throw shade she immediately called Cyrus out, in front of a TV audience of millions. If anything, that is the direct opposite of hurling tint.

The incident happened at the MTV Music Video Awards in response to an interview Cyrus gave in which she called Minaj not very polite. While accepting an award Minaj called Cyrus this bitch who had a lot to say about me in the press the other day, before aiming with the perfectly passive aggressive, Miley, whats good? Cue memes. Plenties and lots of memes.

John Liacopulos (@ john_liac_9 7) November 3, 2015

When Miley Cyrus takes you to her favorite eatery that you’ve never been to before and you ask what to order pic.twitter.com/ qoGDlgHmuQ

KK (@ _ColeHeartedX) October 9, 2015

I hate whoever room this is #iup #MileyWhatsGood pic.twitter.com/ Peh3f 3Yq4b

8. Confounded Nick Young

Nick Young is a basketball player who shoots for the LA Lakers. His internet fame, however, is courtesy of a confused reaction face meme. At one point during a day-in-life-of documentary, Thru The Lens, positioned on YouTube, Young pulls a huh? face when his mother calls him a buffoon. His quizzical expression towards the camera has spawned likely the best reaction macro of 2015 and can be used for disbelief, astonish or a thousand other reactions.

Photograph: Instagram /@ Daquan

7. Why you always lyin?

The 21 -year-old college student Nicholas Fraser became an internet sensation when he decided to perform, in his yard, perched on a lavatory, as one does, a quick cover-up of Nexts Too Close, but with the lyrics changed to why the fuck you lyin?/ why you always lyin ?) Given that people lie all of the time , and we know about it, guys , and we all want people to know that we know, Frasers vine caught on and inspired multiple cover versions of his cover version. Now, when your mate texts to tell she is five minutes away but you know she likely hasnt left the house yet, theres a perfect means of responding. Thanks Nicholas.

Read more: When “theyre saying” Nicholas Frasers vine isnt the best use of 2015: why you always lyin ?

6. Fifty Shades of Grey

After the Fifty Shades of Grey series of volumes sold so poorly , it was a punt for Universal Pictures to have taken on a film adaptation. But oh, brave souls it was brought to the screen in summer 2015 with Sam Taylor-Johnson at the helm and Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson starring. Given that the book had already resulted in a lot of culture cache, it was inevitable that the film would inspire memes and gags. The internet delivered. In particular, the my savors are very singular line( altered to my passions are unconventional for the internet) demonstrated a rich seam.

The Beast (@ KrystalSim) February 9, 2015

pic.twitter.com/ m5Tpb21XRf

Photograph: BuzzFeed

5. Hotline Bling

One of the best ways of 2015, the video for Drakes Hotline Bling didnt drop-off until October three months after the ballads release. But it was worth the wait. A minimalist clip, Drake proves off his unusual dance moves against different coloured backdrops inspired by artist James Turell. The rappers moves and pained impression inspired multiple parodies shared on YouTube, Vine and Twitter.

Included below are some of the best: a dancing and adorable shiba inu( aka Doge ), the Man From Another Place from Twin Peaks and perhaps best of all, some tennis backhand action.

Chai Goth (@ Abid_ism) October 20, 2015

The hotline is filled with secrets pic.twitter.com/ 5zS0WZhGCG

4. The Dress

The most viral of viral phenomenons. A young lady took a picture of a dress in a clothes store and uploaded it to Tumblr. Why is this interesting? As the internet was genuinely divided as to whether the dress was blue and black, or white and gold.

The original Tumblr post pose the question racked up an enormous 73m page positions, and a BuzzFeed piece on the dress has more than 38m page positions to date. #TheDress trended for days on social media. Scientists were carried in to explain how people could be seeing different colourings. Rods and cones were mentioned. British current affairs programme Newsnight even offered its own election. The Guardian waded in, with the definitive take.

michael (@ 1975 NIGHTMARE) February 27, 2015

when you don’t know the color of the dress pic.twitter.com/ sQI7YLnjk 1

BBC Newsnight (@ BBCNewsnight) February 27, 2015

A live on screen vote on tonight’s Newsnight – what colour is #thedress? Get out your phone and going to see http :// t.co/ dRffVZfw0P at 10:30 pm

3. Poot Lovato

I dont guess Ive ever chuckled so hard as when I detected the Poot Lovato meme. A Tumblr post featuring an awkward fan photo of vocalist Demi Lovato posited the hypothesi that the snap was not of Demi herself, but her secret twin sister, Poot Lovato, who had been trapped in a cellar her entire life. The fable took hold and soon the internet was ablaze with hilarious and creative Poot memes. Fan-fiction was written, fan art draw, Instagram and Twitter accounts were established and even Demi herself addressed the gag( she wasnt amused ). Then, instead, brilliantly, a sleuth excavate out a paparazzi photo of Demi-as-Poot right at the moment the fan pic was taken. Its still funny.

Read more: Poot Lovato: has the internet detected Demis secret sister ?

A selection of the best Poot Lovato memes. Photograph: Guardian composite

2. Llamas on the run

On THE SAME DAY AS THE DRESS, the internet explosion with one of the great police chases of our time two llamas on the run. The llamas, one black and one white, ran loose in Sun City, Arizona. The whole internet followed, glued to the ABC1 5 live river of the runaway animals and tracking updates on Twitter. The llamas, true heroes of freedom and an inspiration to all, had escaped from their day job in an animal therapy centre. The black llama was caught first, its emancipation ended with a cruel lassoing. The white llama ran on, but eventually, it too was caught. Still, these two were the internets favourite llamas since Serge, the French llama who travelled by subway.

HannahJane Parkinson (@ ladyhaja) February 26, 2015

NOOOO. BLACK LLAMA CAUGHT. STAY STRONG WHITE LLAMA.

Matthew Baldwin (@ matthewbaldwin) February 26, 2015

LLAMA 1: We’re escaping this afternoon. LLAMA 2: Alpaca bag.

1. Dead Raccoon

My personal win for meme of 2015 is the dead raccoon, an unfortunate soul, detected deceased on a Toronto street. After a human tweeted the relevant city authorities to tell them about the raccoon, the poor critter was left for hours in the same place. Over the next 12 hours, a vigil was set up for the raccoon, documented online. A note was left, a framed photo , notes were written. Someone gave the raccoon an unlit joint as a mark of respect. It get dark. Candles were illuminated. The raccoon was named Conrad. Eventually, the authorities turned up and unceremoniously dumped Conrad in a rubbish truck. Such a lack of respect.

Raccoon update: he’s still there. Someone has written him a card .

A photo posted by Emily Taylor (@ emilyjs5) on Jul 9, 2015 at 9:14 am PDT

Shauna Pollock (@ misspollock) July 9, 2015

Don’t quite know what to say about this sidewalk discovery except that it really brought ppl together. #deadraccoonto pic.twitter.com/ BJ7efipLvq

Norm Kelly (@ norm) July 10, 2015

The sidewalk memorial is growing, @311Toronto. H/ T @jasonwagar. #DeadRaccoonTO pic.twitter.com/ 3vTUf9xB7b

Kris Pangilinan (@ KrisReports) July 10, 2015

10: 46 pm #DeadRacoonTO is still here. pic.twitter.com/ D9JbEuxJol

Read more: www.theguardian.com

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