#fun at least for some other bigger ones. but overall i am not going to be participating in a lot more 'bigger' polls like this in the

[chatxkilluaxnoir]

Damn, we had been SOOOOO close to a tie.

So close.

So close, that I am taking it as a tie god damn it. Lol.

They both won to me (though, even if hadn't they had been so close to a tie, they both would win to me).

Anyways, yeah, I kinda of expected this, esp. since there was already 2012 Raph propaganda before this the riseless tournament, because he got so close to winning the Rise winning (and considering that, Leo did actually pretty will against him both times he went up against Raph), and considering the outcome when they have already gone up against each other in this tournament (though, to be fair, they got close then, and even closer this time. I am happy all the Leo propaganda worked at least some and/or that people did really try to go for the tie. Esp. since in other polls; not just TMNT ones, sometimes it seems like making arguments with for why them, doesn't do a lot, so it is nice to see when it does), and considering my own sometimes bad luck polls and Leos' sometimes bad luck too.

So yeah, I expected this kinda.

I am both disappointed as a Leo fan, because Leo(s) don't/doesn't always have the best luck in polls/voting (He does in some, but still. I am now hoping like Raph with this poll and some others, that Leo also starts getting some/even more luck with them. Because both Leo and Raph didn't/don't always have the best luck in them. Sometimes they do, but ahhhhhh), but also still congrats to 2012 Raph, since I do also love him too, and he deserves it quite it a lot too.

[twst-hottest-takes]

I might have missed somethings while writing this hot take.

Hot take: Sebek should like humans.

I find it weird Sebek hates humans, not just because he's half human half fae. I find it weird because this man grew up with a human father, a human loving mother, two older siblings, and it's even told in some events that Silver and Sebek grew up together.

And I would understand if Sebek didn't like human culture, or if he didn't like humans who couldn't use magic. BUT THIS GUY REALLY HATES EVERY HUMAN. And I get it Lilia pulled out the "He grew up with a grandpa who didn't like humans." But I just don't really understand it. Not only because of his family either. I don't get it because he's been away from Briar Valley before, he's been around humans (and presumably beastmen) as a child. So I really don't understand how his speciest grandpa had such an influence on him.

I also don't really understand why Malleus holds such a different opinion from Sebek. I mean the human and fae war kind of caused his mom to die. And while I don't know THAT much about Malleus's grandma, I feel like she wouldn't really like humans, considering Sebek's grandpa is arguably younger than Malleus's grandma.

And while I do know Malleus was mainly raised by Lilia, is royalty, and did have Silver in his life. Sebek knew Lilia from a young age, and knew Silver as well! If the kingdom is willing to accept a prince who likes humans, shouldn't the royal guards be required to like humans?

I do question how much time he spends with Grandpa Zigvolt.

Now, I don't collect Sebek cards or read every character vignette, but I am under the impression that Sebek just spends a lot more time with his grandfather than his older siblings. However, I don't think that answers the questions here. How much influence does that man have? How much of it is from holding grudges and has any of it been watered down after his daughter married a human? I feel like there has to be some other factor to Sebek's past that contributes to his current bigotry and overall Malleus simpery. Was he made fun of or ostracized for being half human when he was younger? Was he made fun of or ostracized for being half fae? As anon pointed out, you'd think he'd have much more going towards him being more favorable to humans.

Now this conversation has struck an idea in me and we'll see if it makes sense or explains anything:

Hypothetically: Sebek loves Malleus. Sebek wants to be close to Malleus. Sebek pledges his life into servitude to Malleus. Sebek goes to closed-minded grandpa to learn how best to be a royal guard. Sebek also learns from Lilia, but Lilia's influence is much subtler in terms of ideology whereas Baur is very passionate and vocal about his feelings concerning the inferiority of humans (while somehow not badmouthing his family?). Sebek is also very passionate and vocal and latches onto Baur's words and takes them very much to heart. Sebek, being a stupid teenager, refuses to see any nuance or notice any holes in the way grandpa speaks or treats his daughter's family and instead just spouts off a firm belief that humans are trash compared to fae. Sebek essentially took what he liked about what grandpa said and made it a much bigger part of his personality and mindset than was maybe intended and now he's an obnoxious loudmouth with incerdibly transparent bigotry.

Tl;dr: Sebek is a teenager who thinks he knows everything about something he's passionate about and had just enough influence from home to make him think he's absolutely correct and currently has little to know wiggle room in terms of his current harmful outlook. His personality might also predispose him to being very proud and stubborn on certain viewpoints once he has committed to them (most people usually have at least one thing in their lives like this. I hope the train of thought makes sense.).

The good news is, it's obviously a setup for character development. I believe he's supposed to be very immature and he'll grow out of it when he learns a bit more about things like empathy and understanding.

As for the comparison to Malleus, I think this post is long enough for now and that's something that could be discussed in a later post. Suffice it to say, it also got me thinking.

~I am sorry if I got lost in the weeds there! Thank you for the take.

(Also, in regards to the guards being required to like humans as a reflection of their prince, the answer is "No." They may be commanded to not harm or antagonize humans, but I doubt there's much in the way of rules thay say, "Human-haters can't be in the army.")

(Also, also, I am so sorry this took so long to respond to! I honestly sat on my hands too long wondering what picture to feature along with this post. *facepalm*)

[monstermonger]

Hey!!

I have recently been going through a rough patch with my art. I am not enjoying or liking how I do linework and shading, and in order to remedy that, I'm collecting works from artists I like that I can study/re-imagine.

Your linework and composition is stunning 😍 and I am currently working on a reinterpretation of one of your pieces. This is the most fun I've had with a piece in a while. Beautiful work !! 👏 👏👏

....Er, I've been away from social media for quite a while, and even before that, I was behind on messages... I'm so sorry for my late responses to asks. I wanna say I appreciate ppl taking the time to send them, really :") thanks for the patience LOL

I'll try to condense this - respond to multiple in a single post. So I don't take up too much space in people's feeds.

so first of all @laurikarauchscat I'm sorry to hear you're in a rough patch, and I think your method of overcoming it is on the right track. At least, it's definitely something I do and it really helps me xD Most notably with all the Caspar David Friedrich-inspired pieces. As long as you give credit to the artists you're reinterpreting from (and asking is polite too, if they're an alive artist :D so yes thank you for asking) it seems perfectly fine to me to do so. Good luck and hope it goes well, I'm interested to see c:

More asks under the cut!

@blurred-antics thank you so much for the words ;b; it's validating to hear, since they're definitely emotions I have in mind while drawing lately. I lost both my parents in the last 2 years, and I've dumped a lot of feelings of grief/longing into my pieces since then, including ones that might seem rather cheerful and perfectly peaceful at a glance. I'm happy others can feel the bit of conflict under the surface-- I don't necessarily mind if my art comes across straightforward, since when throwing art into the public it must be accepted that everyone will interpret it how they want, but it does feel nice to know that some people sense the extra bits. Thank you again!

@kinnersonne thank you very much!! Definitely my favorite subjects at the moment c: You're very sweet.

@marinaaniseed I'm starting to get to ... quite old ones, and I worry this was a time-sensitive question :"D I'm very sorry if I'm too late.

First of all, thank you for asking! I'm honored people like my art enough they'd want it tattooed, it's pretty mind-blowing to me. I've actually had several people ask to use my art for tattoos the last few months and I think overall, I'm pretty okay with it. if you'd like to express support for my art for using it, then you're welcome to buy a print from my shop. It's not required, but it's very appreciated <3 Hope whatever you end up going for (whether my art or not in the end) goes well ^^

@wandersoffdoodling Aw, thank you T.T I'm happy they resonate with you! It's kind of my dream to finish some zines and some bigger projects in this sketchbook/journal art style. So that's very motivating to hear. Thanks again c:

@eldathe once again I apologize for how late I am to respond to questions that were intended to be very quick exchanges lol. First of all, thank you! :") I'm sure this is no longer relevant for how old this ask is, but in case you/(or anyone reading this) would still want to use it as a blog pfp or anywhere, yes, feel free, as long as there's credit somewhere visible! Thank you for asking <3

@starrforge thank you kindly, yours is great too :")

@herebesherlocks Aww thank you so much :") I'm honored it evokes that feeling.

@the-halcyon-effect 100 years later: thank you that's a huge honor to hear :"))))

[eventinelysplayground]

This is my entry for @aquagirl1978 Leon sequel release event. I used more than one prompt, though some are just touched on while others are a bigger part of the fic overall. I hope everyone enjoys it and gets a good laugh out of it, it was interesting to write interactions that don't normally happen and with side characters too. Leon's attitude is turning what should be a special ball into a frozen landscape. Just pure fluff and fun, WC approx 1420.

Growing Up

There's no question that a ball is a magical world unto its own. The dazzling jewels, bright dresses and outgoing dancers accompanied by delightful food and intoxicating music. It was enough to fuel little girls' fantasies for years until they were old enough to partake at which point this same magic world fueled their fathers nightmares.

This ball was no different really to the hundreds that had come before or those that would follow after except for the fact a Princess was making her debut tonight and a King who normally smiled like the sun now stood to the side glaring daggers.

“Seriously now Leon, you can't just keep standing here like this all night!”

Yves let out an annoyed huff and Leon just folded his arms across his chest.

“Oh yeah, watch me.”

Yves sputtered and nudged Licht in the arm.

“You're scaring them all Leon.”

“Good, they should be scared.”

Those last words were uttered in a low growl.

“Well I tried.”

Licht turned to the table behind them plucking a tart from a tray and taking a big bite of it.

“That is not trying! Leon, listen to me, I know you're just being protective but if you keep acting like this then nobody will dance with Sophie and you know how that will make her look and feel.”

For just a moment a flicker of regret passed across Leon's face but he shook it off.

“She has all of you to dance with, she'll be fine.”

“That's not, argh!”

Yves was clearly becoming frustrated and had just placed his hands on his hips when a big hand clapped him on the shoulder.

“Now now Yves, a ball is no place for a lecture.”

“But Jin, Sophie has put so much work into preparing for tonight and-”

“I know Yves but he's clearly not gonna listen to any of us so let's just go enjoy ourselves and let him stew.”

“But-”

Yves turned around ready to lay into Jin but although he was smiling it was a smile that told him he wouldn't be argued with.

“Fine, but I hope you know what you're doing!”

Yves stormed off and Jin quickly followed behind with Licht. Once they were far enough away Licht turned to Jin.

“You have a plan right?”

“Nope, not this time.”

“Then?”

“Just because I don't have a plan doesn't mean there isn't one.”

Licht looked over his shoulder and saw that Clavis was closing in on Leon and he sighed knowing full well this wasn't going to go well.

“Well this is certainly entertaining, did you know you look just like Chev right now?”

“I do not.”

“Hahaha, deny it all you like little brother but you could freeze water with your glare right now.”

Leon shifted uneasily at the comparison.

“It's just…”

“It had to happen sooner or later Leon, all children grow up.”

“Why did she have to grow up so fast?”

Clavis shrugged.

“I should have made a new decree about children not attending balls. Or one about boys and girls having to keep at least a hundred feet apart. Maybe it's not too late-”

Clavis was laughing hysterically, almost doubling over in the process but it was enough to draw Leon's attention away from his daughter.

“Do you hear yourself right now? You sound positively insane!”

“Mad I'm infringing on your territory?”

Leon smirked at Clavis, the first change to his expression all night and Clavis feigned a wounded expression.

“I may be eccentric, dashing, handsome, cun-”

“Clavis.”

Leon's tone was taught, clearly he was in no mood for Clavis' games.

“I am not insane, and neither are you. You and Emma have been fair and just rulers, beloved by everyone in the kingdom. Would you really throw it all away now because you don't want to face the fact that your baby girl has grown up?”

“That's just it she hasn't grown up, she’s still-”

Leon's words were cut off by a firm smack to the back of his head. It was Clavis who recovered first.

“Did you really just slap your King?”

“No, I slapped my son in law who's acting like an idiot.”

“Oh my this night is turning out to be quite entertaining! How deli-”

“Be quiet or you're next.”

“Dear me.”

Mr. Akatsuki glared at Clavis who couldn't help but gulp.

“I didn't know you were coming tonight Pops.”

“Of all the things you could have picked up from that mutt….”

Mr. Akatsuki sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Listen here, I know what it's like to watch your daughter grow up, to not want her to grow up but you're annoying brother-”

“Hey! I object to that.”

“Did you forget what I just told you?”

Leon was still rubbing the back of his head from the smack and Clavis put his hands up in surrender.

“Good. Now as much as you don't want Sophie to grow up she is and there's nothing you can do about that.”

“I know that, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.”

“Well of course you won't like it, no father likes it! I didn't like it, I'm actually still mad at you for taking Emma away from me.”

Mr. Akatsuki was the one frowning now and he crossed his arms across his chest mimicking Leon's stance from earlier.

“That's different, Emma was an adult whe-”

“Says you. To me…she was still the same little girl she had been. We have to let them grow up though and hope we taught them well, so that when the time comes they make a good choice. Not like some women.”

Mr. Akatsuki stuck his chin out gesturing to where Nokto was currently engaged in seducing a noblewoman. Leon sighed, running a hand through his hair and that's when he noticed it. Sophie was being escorted to the edge of the dance floor by a boy with familiar red hair. He wanted nothing more than to walk over there and pull them apart but his still faintly throbbing head was enough to make him restrain himself.

“I had always wished we had another girl but now…one is definitely plenty.”

Mr. Akatsuki nodded his head in agreement to Leon's words. The three men watched in silence as Sophie twirled her way around the dance floor, a smile as dazzling as the sun lighting up her face. As soon as the song ended and she had been escorted off the floor another young man came up and offered Sophie his hand which she gladly took.

“Hahaha it seems Cedric's courage has spread to others.”

Leon grumbled something under his breath before he walked away from the other two. Clavis waited for awhile to be sure Leon was out of ear shot before he spoke.

“You know I was curious how my darling sister had planned to deal with this but I admit calling in her dear old Papa to handle it was not on my list.”

“Seems like I wasn't entirely needed though. Not when you can order around your knight to order around his son. What did that cost you anyway?”

“Oh I didn't have to pay, as it turns out dear Cedric finds the Princess quite enchanting. I did have to stop his father from discouraging him but anything for young love.”

Mr. Akatsuki groaned and Clavis' expression turned serious.

“Leon still has a lot to learn doesn't he?”

“Yes, but he’ll get there eventually. At least my granddaughter is also making sensible choices.”

“True, she could have been led astray by someone like Jin, or Nokto.”

“Or even worse, you.”

“Dearie me, that hurts my feelings.”

“You'll be fine and so will he.”

“Of course, but will you be fine?”

“Huh?”

There was a devilish grin on Clavis' face as his gaze settled on Emma and Leon who had now joined the other dancers on the floor.

“Well Sophie is still pure and innocent after all but Emma isn't. I mean they have eight children after all and the direction Leon's hands are currently going in it looks to me like he may be anxious to try for numb- ow!”

Clavis began rubbing the back of his head, he was honestly surprised the old man still had so much strength in him.

“Clearly Emma learned her famous, or should I say infamous, slap from you.”

“Nope, hers is even worse.”

Clavis shuddered at the thought while Mr. Akatsuki began to laugh, taking what solace he could in Clavis' pain.

[trainsinanime]

It's been a while, let's discuss Deadpool and Wolverine in detail, with some spoilers.

D&W is a very fun movie. I had a blast, I enjoyed myself the entire time I was there, and I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Now, the main criticism that I think can be levied at this movie is some form of: It was just a fun movie, not more. Deadpool explicitly makes fun of "hey it's that guy, in the right outfit!", but that is a key part of what this movie itself is.

Where Deadpool 1 and 2 had way more depth than you'd think, with loss, grief, found family, foster home abuse and so on, this one was fairly surface-level. There's a very generic "hero getting back up again" story for "the worst Wolverine", but that feels almost perfunctory. Deadpool's arc is likewise way less interesting. And all the side characters we grew to love from the previous movies, Vanessa, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Yukio and so on, are basically shuffled off two to scenes and a polaroid, with nobody from Deadpool 2 even appearing at all.

However, that is not actually my main criticism of the movie. My main criticism is one that it shares with every other Marvel film, whether made by Marvel or Fox or Sony, and that is that it doesn't have enough Dafne Keen as Laura Kinney in it. It still has the second-most Laura of all of them, of course, but there has been no movie that had enough Laura in it yet for me, and yes, that includes Logan.

Interestingly, she is presented as a big important deal here, far more so than any of the other characters. I loved the movie Logan, but nobody loves it as much as Ryan Reynolds. However, in the end, her presence doesn't actually affect the movie much, if at all. This feels more like Ryan Reynolds personally going, "hey, remember her? She was cool! Disney, please bring her back for something bigger!". I fully agree with that statement, by the way.

She is ultimately just one part of the main phenomenon here, though: This movie is just a cameo mill. I'd argue it's a cameo mill done right, but still, a cameo mill. It's characters we actually know, they're presented as cool and fun, and they leave the movie in ways that I would consider satisfying. Marvel has been criticised for its over-reliance on "hey it's that guy!", and this movie does it more than any other. But it does it really well, so I am giving it a pass for that. If someone hates the movie, I imagine the main thing they'll disagree with me on is this point: Whether all the pointless cameos that disrupt the main plot are fun or not.

As for the main part of the movie, the buddy comedy with Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine perfectly once more and the way he plays off of Deadpool, I mean, that part is perfect, so there's really not much to say here. It's exactly what you want it to be. The movie is excellent at that.

I like how they manage to keep Deadpool's annoying-ness under control by making most characters perfectly aware of what he's doing; they're getting the jokes, they just don't think they're funny. That works well.

I want to say something about them bringing up the TVA from Loki, but I can't think of anything, so I'll just say that I still always think of the Tennessee Valley Authority first no matter what, even though I've never been to Tennessee. It felt a bit clunky to have them here, but they made it work.

Overall, a good movie, easily the best Marvel movie since, I dunno, Black Panther? (Definitely the best since Endgame and Infinity War, but I actually didn't like either of them, so the best since whatever really good one came before them) But also in my opinion in some ways the least interesting Deadpool movie, although that is still complaining on a very high level. Logan was still better, though, and I have no doubt Ryan Reynolds agrees.

[pleaseeeimjustagirl]

Your Physical Glow Up 

Most of us when trying to level up are very excited to work on the physical aspect. I know I am. I'm excited about finally getting my dream body, skin, and hair. I have been working so hard this month on being intentional with my habits so I can attain my goals. So in today's blog post, I want to break down the things you should focus on to enhance your physical appearance I will be making more in-detail blog posts about each point<3.

Diet 

This is the most important thing to me that we should all focus on whether you are trying to lose, gain, or maintain weight. Your diet can affect a lot. Having a bad diet can affect your gut health causing uncomfortable bloating it can affect your skin giving you bad acne and so many other issues. Depending on your goal try to find a diet that best fits what you're going for. I recommend eating a balanced diet and not limiting or restricting any food. Watch YouTube videos and read books on proper nutrition. Also, find out how many calories you should be eating daily on TDEE calculators. Always consult your doctor especially if you have medical issues. Always consult your doctor especially if you have medical issues. WATER I know some girlies aren’t big fans of water lol but you need water! I wish I could put a bigger emphasis on the need for water it's a must especially when it comes to your skin and overall body health. If you don't like drinking water you can put lemons or other fruits in your water. My favorite item to use to give my water a boost of flavor is flavored packets they sell them every where and they are very low in calories ranging from 0-10 Cals. Finally, your gut health I know you have been hearing about this all over tik tok this topic is so deep ill be making a separate post for it but yes gut health is so important it can affect our physical appearance causing us to look bloated or inflamed. So do your research on how to improve your gut health and expect a post soon <3.

Exercise 

Get your body moving babe! Exercise can be fun find a form of exercise that makes you feel good and that you enjoy. I think the reason why a lot of us do not enjoy working out is because we are doing what everyone else is doing instead of doing what makes us happy. Some people might love HIIT workouts and you might like something more low-impact like pilates and the next girl could like walking 5 miles every day. Figure out what best suits you dibble and dabble in different forms of exercise. And yes I know sometimes we will have to do exercise we don’t like to get a certain look I recently started weight training at first I did not like it but now I love ittt! It makes me feel so good and I have been seeing results and the more results I see the harder I want to go in the gym. Also, you do not have to pay for memberships to be able to do pilates and yoga YouTube has a lot of amazing women who will get you right. So look at your goals figure out what aligns with them and be consistent.

Rest

Sleep is very important and the most overlooked. You need to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Start training your body to sleep more no more late nights. Of course, staying up here and there is understandable but you shouldn’t be staying up and going to sleep by 3 am every single day. Take it easy allow yourself to rest! Do not overwork yourself to achieve your goals. With patience, you will reach your goals in the blink of an eye, and you’ll be where you want to be.

Skincare 

First figure out what skincare type you have and the type of products that are best for your skin. I have hyperpigmentation and dark spots it's not extremely bad but I do not like it and would like my skin to be one color and clear. So I did some research on what I could try to get the skin that I wanted. I recently started using Kojic acid, Cosrx, MediCube, and Neutrogena. Also, sunscreen is important for all of us to use. I'm a black girl if you haven't realized yet lol but growing up I heard black people do not need sunscreen yesss we do! I recently started getting into anti-aging skin care as well still doing my research. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be youthful you can't stop aging but you can slow it down.

These were the basic things to focus on when trying to physically level up if you want me to go more in-depth let me know. I'll be making posts on each separately over the next couple of weeks.

I'm open to any comments or private messages if you can relate and please let me know any further topics you want me to cover<3

[melloianv2]

Have a Good Night Sleep, Dogday AU

Alternative:

Finally, after an month and an half of month, am finally finished.

Before I start i wanted to take back both things I said in my WIP.

When I said its cartoon world, i actually meant was its mostly take place in the cartoon world. it really an Imagination world, as you'll see what I meant during this post.

What i actually meant about its not a shipping au, its not a shipping au between Dogday and CatNap specifically. well there is no couple pairing of the critters existing, just crushes. but its never important at all (besides it only 2 critters.)

Now there is some things that are related to the bigger bodies however it has nothing to do with bigger bodies dogday nor catnap at all. it just about the cartoon world. So not even worshiping prototype exists here.

and I apologize for any grammar mistake I miss.

Anyway on to the post!

About:

About Have a Good Night Sleep, Dogday or HGNSD AU

In a nutshell, it basically two children created entire storyline about Dogday trying to find a way for CatNap to turn back to normal. At least what Dogday thinks because if there was a way to strengthen Catnap (dark essence bottle), then there has to be a way to get him back to normal.

The previous storyline before the brother came was just smiling critters just doing normal activities.

Originally the au was post to be slightly similar to 2016 stuff, but I think it not really "2016" like anymore. This series is post be animated on youtube only, but i have no idea if i should since i need motivation and still have to practice my animation skills.

Just note, some characters personalities are the same, but just altered a bit or a lot. Then the other altered completely

Anyway lets start with the characters that no one will cares about first!

Welcome to the Yearwoods Family.

Family Photo Link

It was- I mean is a happy family! The family are Christians. The family consists 2 children and a sphynx cat

All names of the family are: Mr. Yearwood, Mrs. Yearwood, Amber Yearwood and Kevin Yearwood. (the parents are nameless)

the cat name is pinky. (its a girl)

Out of the 4, Amber and Kevin are the important ones.

Amber and Kevin

Whenever Amber goes to school, she's bullied. She hates it as it ruins her self esteem. But she claims that she's fine and she don't need any help.

--------

Amber and Kevin gets along. Though, Kevin likes teasing and playfully making fun of his sister a lot. Amber usually ignores him or just pretty much says its not funny. Overall, they love each other as siblings.

Every day they play with the smiling critters toys before their mom tells them to go to bed. Amber sleeps with catnap toy or sometimes craftycorn.

Amber and Kevin playstyle is different. Though at the end, they're both obviously equally immature.

Amber's Playstyle:

Amber plays a CatNap, not shocking.... She sometimes play as the other critters (most likely CraftyCorn), but she mainly plays CatNap. And i mean main, she doesn't even let her brother play CatNap for once.

Amber is good with crafting an story, but very very bad at power scaling.

usually when she plays the other critters, they act bit more mature. However when she plays a CatNap, she either being serious or being a joke. there is no in-between.

One of the running gags of the Au is CatNap's powers. He keeps gaining new ability every time. Amber is doing that deliberately so she can win, and counter her brother every time. However when her brother starts winning, she gets annoyed and slightly mad when she starting to lose. But its the entire fact she wants CatNap to win entirely. by going as far as weakening the other critters.

She also pull the "nuh uh" or miss despite the attack was obviously undodgeable.

Kevin's Playstyle:

Whatever Kevin plays the critters, its more jokes and being unserious. sometimes he be serious but then its ruined with an joke. He mainly plays Dogday but he do play other critters. He gave Dogday powers because he thinks its more fair to have everyone with powers. Despite Kevin joking a lot, his powers are usually kind of balanced (expect for the fact Dogday is kind of op not as op as Catnap.) Dogday gains powers too but only if he learns something. The brother often wins.

Kevin likes overdramatizing fights, dark scenes and using powers, mostly because he watch too much action tv shows.

Now that's done, let get to the real AU.

Welcome to Sunnyville!

(i literally had to compressed the file omfg, this stupid image lags so hard everytime i open it..)

Here's a better close up version

Sunnyville is the brightest and cheerful town around! This is the main location where the Smiling Critters resides in. The positivity and good vibes came from Smiling Critters themselves.

There's more than one groups as the known ones are Smiling critters, Nega Bratzz, The Quacking Sisters, and The Ordinarys

The town is mostly nice however there are bullies (Nega Bratzz and The Quaking Sisters), but it doesn't quite override the sheer amount of positivity. Smiling Critters has a reputation in this town, often for their upbeat attitude. Outside of the critters group, Dogday is well liked by adults, awhile children thinks KickinChicken is cool. Not all though fine with their upbeat attitude, especially Nega Bratzz.

The houses are altered but Every single Night, Catnap's house changes.

Well not the exterior, But just the interior does.

The interior becomes an nearly endless mansion with whole bunch of halllways and rooms. turning back around doesn't get no better. Once enter his house, the doors are shut tight enough for no one to escape.

The inside of Catnap's house is described as an dream world or illusion world. Once entered here and manage to end up falling asleep or become unconscious, it would be treated as if the critters was dreaming the entire time. That's because when the sunrises, the interior turns back to normal. Any injury is also gone.

example:

The "illusion house" is quite dangerous, due to it being unpredictable unknown danger. Some rooms are safe, awhile others are not. Some could be neutral awhile other could be a trap. The critters will never know.

Aside from catnap's house, DogDay's house been redesigned in this au too.

Smiling Critters Section

Enough explaining everything else but the critters!

The story mostly revolves around Dogday and CatNap. KickinChicken is an major character. The other critters are very important too, but not as much.

Once wholesome positive team, is now a distressed team. Smiling Critters has to work together to solve this mystery of Catnap and the happenings that are caused by him. Awhile they try to solve Catnap awhile balancing their routines.

At day, Smiling critters just do their normal routine, get ready, eat, play, eat... But as soon as its Night, that's the where the real kicker is. Majority of the events that happens in this AU, takes place at night. At the moment, no one but outside of Smiling Critters area knows what's going on with Catnap.

They try to gather clues and research CatNap to get understanding on what their facing.

The Critters acts like their description.......somewhat. its altered a bit.

About the Other form i mentioned on the about, what was the so called form am I talking about? Well its called Enhanced Form. Enhanced forms are magical forms that gives a smiling critter powers. In order for an Smiling Critter to be enhanced, Dogday must enhance them, as he the only one who is able to do it.

Enhanced forms are strong, at least strong enough to fight the CatNap.

In order for an Critter to transform into Enhanced form, Dogday must use his powers to enchant the pendant (on the necklace). Then, the critter can either grabs the pendant tightly or smack it, causing them to transform into enhanced form.

Dogday can change at will, but he does not have enhanced form, but rather just a stronger form. Though, Dogday don't even need to transform, he can still use half of his abilities without it.

When a critter transforms, their pendant changes too.

An Critter can de-transform by either de-transforming willingly or when they become unconscious.

I will now talk about the Smiling critters separately.

Dogday the Guardian of the Sun:

Makes sense to start with the titular character of this AU.

Dogday is the main character of HGNSD.

Other things that I didn't add due to space:

Dogday is an early bird, he tends to wake up everyone to get the day started. Excluding CatNap, He's the last critter to go to sleep.

full content (but also not) of how Dogday gained his powers: Dogday was slammed multiple times by Catnap (due to the fact he rebelled, fight back and took the risk of letting himself be the one getting the punches instead of his friends), before tossing him to a deep pit. The pit had spikes at the very bottom. Despite Dogday was clearly about to die, he still had some hope and determination left...causing gain powers and fly upwards in result.

Dogday is more powerful than any other critters. He can even sometimes surpass Catnap's powers. Dogday's powers deals with the sun aka light. Dogday's powers are 2x stronger at day but at night, its normal strength of the power.

The AU name is post to be ironic (really just an bullying title since dogday cannot even go to sleep properly because of CatNap) but at the same time, its foreshadowing something.

Dogday is traumatized, but he doesn't show it.

He was horrified at the state of Catnap tall self. But after dealing with him for so long, he's desensitized to it. doesn't means that's a good thing though.

Dogday gets insulted a lot, he gets upset a little but it doesn't really effect him completely. The only thing that effects him is the fact his best friend is even like this at all.

Other Critters

Now the main character is out of the way, let's talk about the other critters (expect for Catnap). They will be ordered from most important to the least important.

KickinChicken the Guardian of the Stars:

(i added the bottom beak on purpose)

Let's start with kickin'

Other things that I didn't add due to space:

KickinChicken is most likely the one who defends his friends from bullying.

KickinChicken powers deal with stars and light. He is almost as strong as DogDay.

He often sacrifice himself in order for his friends to escape to find safety. If Dogday is almost there to being killed, he jumps in to prevent it. Because of his sacrifices....he almost had access to change into form at will permanently.

He was able to change into his enhanced form twice without Dogday's assistance. But it happened in two different circumstances. not to mention sudden change, but it was in a necessary moment.

KickinChicken and Dogday works together sometimes.

No matter how much an critter insults KickinChicken, it doesn't bother him. In fact, he will twist the insult into a positive one.

He considers Hoppy Hopscotch his best friend. They both have an friendly rivalry when comes to any game. They get a bit too competitive....almost destructive sometimes. They always doing the "am better than you" attitude. If one of them lost, they take the lost but still cocky.

KickinChicken usually compliments himself and looks at the mirror in his bathroom.

Kickinchicken secretly can sing. He didn't tell anyone because he wanted it to be personal for him only. Until catnap exists and ruins everything. There's concept designs of kickinchicken in his singer outfit design, but i hadn't finalized it.

CRAFTYCORN the Guardian of Colors:

Other things that I didn't add due to space:

More info about her own magic: she has an specific book to learn her own abilities. She tries to learn her own magic, but it pretty much hard for her too. She struggles to use her magic, when it successful, its usually something small. In her enhanced form, she able to use her magic like she trained for years.

Sometimes Craftycorn's magic is successful either under concentration or distress. And sometimes it fails. She also the only critter who can create her own form without Dogday's help. Though it isn't an enhanced form, but rather a different form.

Craftycorn one day wants her art be display in a muesum

In her enhanced form, she has the powers of creation, unicorn magic and color. Making her quite strong. She only has on specific healing ability called Revival. she can only use this on one critter awhile focusing, and if she gets distracted, the progress will fail.

Craftycorn sometimes ends up finding out some stuff before anyone else.

Craftycorn one time was able to beat Catnap without help.

Craftycorn has a crush on Dogday, she didn't at first though. She was saved by Dogday, causing her to gain a crush on him since then (omg its almost like proto-). She been drawing a lot of pictures of him closed doors.

Sometimes she plays chess with Bubba Bubbaphant. She loses mostly.

Bubba Bubbaphant the Guardian of Intelligence:

Other things that I didn't add due to space:

Bubba Bubbaphant has the power of vision, intelligence and detection. He is able to rewind to able to see an vision from the past. Since he most likely using his powers for investigating, making clues and ideas for any sign for an cure.

When bubba bubbaphant is targeted, he sometimes gets it the worst than Dogday, simply because "he's smart". For example, everyone else will get tied up in one way, but bubba bubbaphant will have 15 different ways of being tied and caged to make sure he doesn't try to strategize to escape at all.

Bubbe Bubbaphant pacifism caused injuries. He never try to switch sides, he's still standing his ways.

When Dogday first gain his powers, He went to Bubba Bubbphant to figure things out. Though Bubba Bubbaphant obviously could not answer how to deal with his powers. So instead he tries to study both Dogday's and Catnap's powers.

Bubba Bubbphant had try to to keep up with Catnap's powers, but he clearly wants to give up at this point because its way too much. Its stressing him out

Hoppy Hopscotch the Guardian of Energy:

Other things that I didn't add due to space:

Hoppy Hopscotch powers are lighting, super speed, super jump and energy. She can charge herself by simply running.

Hoppy and KickinChicken are friendly rivals mostly competitive in games. Though Hoppy is usually the one ends up making it more destructive then it originally is. She usually try to win, by doing things faster. She also view kickinchicken as her best friend.

Extension of the trained fighter: When using her fighting skills, she usual attacks fast. Awhile Hoppy was teaching Dogday, she accidentally gives him bruises in the beginning...

She can be just as cocky as kickinchicken sometimes without using the better than you phrase.

When she is being insulted, she usually insult back.

Even when its fighting with Catnap, she still wants an challenge.

Here an example of one of her sports form

Bobby Bearhug the Guardian of Love:

Other things that I didn't add due to space:

Bobby Bearhug have the powers of healing, enchantment and love. She is able to heal multiple critters at once or strengthen them. Her attacking ability is life drain. She discover this by accident.

Due to Bobby Bearhug's pacifism, she gets injured too but not as bad as Bubba Bubbaphant.

She's has been bullied a lot, despite it all she still wants to show love. She don't really judge anyone, despite people judge her.

She does care about Dogday's situation, at the same time she just feel sympathy for Catnap.

Bobby Bearhug can cook, she mostly bakes though. Her food is delicious.

PickyPiggy the Guardian of Food:

Other things that I didn't add due to space:

PickPiggy have the power of food and mixing. That's it. She's considered the weakest critter out of all the powers. At least she can create certain foods that isn't possible.

She is not a cooker at all, despite having cooking related powers. Instead, she just be the first one at the table when the food ready. Getting large portions of foods....no wonder there's no leftovers in the fridge. (no she doesn't eat the ENTIRE cooked meal, she does let her friends get a plate too.)

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CATNAP SECTION

Now....Catnap.. well now you saw how everyone views catnap or at least treat him. Its only right to finally show him now, yes?

He needs his own separate section.

Catnap is the main antagonist of the story.

Catnap....:

Other things that I didn't add due to space?:

Truly everyone is guessing what happened to Catnap, cause no one has no clue.

Catnap powers are either the most strongest or the most weakest... I cannot pick, blame the kids. Catnap has so many powers, even god give up. His powers are the negative versions of dark, psychic, moon, and dreams. He also can send more smokes in his nightmare form, which is from his spores that's on his back. The advantage he has over everyone, his powers at night are 10x stronger....so he can take down all the critters. However the massive downgrade, at daytime, all of his powers goes bye bye, he cannot even turn forms either. He stuck back to just Catnap. Only power he can use is transporting from dark areas. So when the sunrises, he slowly turns back to normal size.

Lunar/Third Quarter Form is usually what he changes into the most, its a mix between the regular form and Nightmare's powers but not having all of its powers. This form is somewhat comic relief. This is where most the jokes be, in this form.

Nightmare form is the most strongest, as he usually do not talk in form. He either wants to put fear or he was extremely angry to change into this form.

Out of all the critters, he believes bobby bearhug is the most insane, ironic.

Catnap at first hated the boot like socks in Lunar form, but ends up being fine with it because it was comfortable.

Unlike the canon og Catnap, catnap committing evil is a complete mystery...or the fact the kids never planned one. who knows.

He has the able to put critters inside a cocoon-like substance, to make them live inside their own nightmare. The victim actually has to find the way to break out of it..somehow

He got the name Boogeyman due to teleporting underneath hoppy's bed and kidnapping her.

Catnap likes pretending to be an magician.

Past Catnap usually likes being around areas that was calm and peaceful. any interruption would startle him.

Past Catnap used go to Bobby to talk about private stuff. Not things that between Dogday and Him though.

He's the only critter in the smiling critters group to not have an enhanced form

Catnap can change his eyes at will. but nightmare form he cannot.

He owns the Lair, which the lair only appears at night. its no where to be seen at day. He got an lair later in the story because he wanted to craft his plans far away from the smiling critters sometimes.

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Now for last one its relationship between Dogday and Catnap (also my last picture i can even post i reach my limit :()

Other things that I didn't add due to space:

Catnap equally insults Dogday, calling Dogday "DogStupid" because he believes that Dogday is actually stupid. Catnap actually insulted Dogday first.

Rarely, Catnap doesn't attack Dogday on certain days, as he sometimes target someone else.

Every since Dogday gained powers, Catnap been obsessed with trying to gain his powers. Mostly because he wants to torture him so that Dogday wouldn't be able to defend himself or enhance anyone no more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End !! now for the extras and Concepts! sorry no images.

---

Concepts/Removed:

Originally there was going be humans in the cartoon world. Because how care bears and the old MLP had humans. There was 2 humans that was along with the Smiling Critters, Oliver and Maxwell. Oilver would have blond hair pigtails and pink overalls and Maxwell had brown hair. Oliver was the confident feminine girl awhile Maxwell was a curious boy. She and Maxwell would've helped the smiling critters. Oliver would've try to fight Catnap but Catnap wouldn't even attack her, but rather put her somewhere safe.

In continuation of the humans concept, there was going be a castle way up in the sky, as the only way to access it is through a magic beanstalk. The castle had a princess named princess balloobow. She is a human with powers. She would've attempted to cure Catnap's evil but it would failed. She also would've been the one who taught Dogday on how to use his powers properly.

lastly of the human concept, in some epsiodes, The smiling critters would've travel all over the world to find the cure. having an adventure and meeting new people or critters. Catnap still would've been a villain during those adventures. They would've have got clues about the cure, the origins of Dogday's abilities, an hint about what happen to Catnap and the mystery of the current Catnap. However during those travels, Catnap would've slowly become stronger...due to collecting stuff. Dogday would've also become stronger, from looking at the ancient stuff. Sometimes in their travel, they would help people or other critters.

Catnap would've an fourth form called Disenchant form, being the opposite of enhanced form.

The original name of this au was called Nighttime with Catnap. it was also called Smiling Critters and Shenanigans.

Dogday and Current Catnap was originally considered frenemies.

~~~~~~~

Origin of this AU

This start off as an one-off joke where Dogday staying up all night playing videogames with Kickinchicken. Dogday was trying to keep himself awake until he fall asleep. As soon he woke up he was chained up on his own bed, just to find Catnap smiling at him. Catnap says he's about to punish him because he surpass his healthy sleeping schedule and decides to punish him by forcing him to watch Megamind 2. Dogday beg for mercy but Catnap turns it on, causing Dogday try to struggle to escape and scream.

----

Extras

Pickypig is the only character to even question why don't they just attack Catnap at daytime because he's basically weak. (the reason is because the smiling critters do not want to cause commotion and attract large attention from the people in the town)

Possessed Dogday exists in this au, but ill talk about it on another post. Just so you know, He did not get his body controlled in the same way the bigger bodies Dogday was.

Amber first ever toy was the poppy playtime doll. every single smiling critters came out, she abandoned her, but she still in her room.

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

End of the actual post ! ! this took too long, and i might forget to add certain details as usual. anyway i hope you enjoy the post, see ya

[boycritter]

can you explain your most recent poem? i like it but i don’t really get it lol

ohhhh okay. holy shit you have no idea how happy this makes me. idk how in depth you want me to go. but i’m going in depth. i know there’s not like separate stanzas or anything in this poem but in my head there’s chunks it’s split into. overall this poem is about not really knowing who you are or what you’re doing (i’m 17 so all my poems are kind of about this at least a little bit). it’s about uncertainty and loneliness and trying to make something (a place, a life) for yourself when everything feels like so much.

so the first few lines ‘in this one im a cumulonimbus cloud. in this one im mango juice. theres a world where i supernova and one where i pitch drop’ are kinda setting the themes for the poem. like the objects im gonna use to convey the message as well a kinda overarching theme of unstable identity/endless possibilities. and then the supernova/pitch drop part is smth im really proud of i like that a lot :3 idk if you’re familiar with the pitch drop experiment but basically it’s a super super slow moving liquid and people are trying to see when a drop will fall. (a few drops have fallen but no one’s seen them it’s a whole thing you should look it up :3). so that line is saying there’s a timeline in which i burn myself out in a super destructive way and one where i take it slow. and then ‘pitch drop’ is also a reference to testosterone voice changes lol. so there’s a timeline where i live my true life and take it slow.

and then the next part is ‘i cried planck epoch and nothing came running and i cried planck epoch and all my protons were so lonely and i cried planck epoch and all my sheep died anyway. i cried mango juice and the universe hugged me tighter.’ which is using the double meaning of cry as yelling/tears. and it’s an allusion to the boy who cried wolf where i’m saying something is happening but no one’s even paying attention. disclaimer i am not an expert on the physics of the beginning of the universe. like at all. but basically the planck epoch was the first 10^-43 seconds of the universe when everything was super super hot and super super condensed. so i’m saying this is happening and no one’s listening, and even when everything is happening and i’m objectively not isolated but i still feel like i am. and then the crying mango juice part is using the other meaning of cry, and the universe hugging tighter is also planck epoch stuff.

the next chunk is ‘i rained fractals and the dirt sang ion. my electrons touch anything they can get their hands on.’ i like this part :3 the raining fractals is just a mess of uncertainties, bc that’s what fractals are yknow!! the singing ion part is also fun, bc obviously ions are particles and sound is a wave, so it’s a little paradoxical :3 and also i didn’t want a later line to feel so out of place. the second sentence kinda calls back to the ‘i cried planck epoch and all my protons were so lonely’. bc while our nuclei are so so tiny in terms of the entire atom and will likely never touch another nuclei, our electrons are constantly interacting with other atoms electrons. so it’s meant to be saying like. i’m lonely and i’m trying to fix that. somehow. in some way.

the last chunk is the biggest one and also the one inspired by smth @/green-cargaytions wrote and sent me which isn’t posted anywhere but i still need to hype up their writing skills bc it’s insane it’s actually bonkers. anyways. ‘once i tried to derive a function for the meaning of it all and my paper fissioned love and jazz quartet. some infinities are bigger than other infinities and i used to think that was blaspheme but now i think id like to make it idolatry. and i think id like to be one of the smaller infinities. i think i’d like to be closer to it all.’ so the first part is about the intersection between math and science and music bc i’m insane about stuff like that. but also, i tried to find a formula to fix my uncertainty. and it didn’t work. and my paper broke apart. which basically says that you don’t know what you’re gonna do. and you don’t have to know. you can’t know. but in the meantime, you have to love what’s around you and you have to appreciate art. the fact that some infinities are bigger than other infinities is also something i’m obsessed with. and i personally never found it blasphemous lol but when georg cantor introduced that notion people definitely thought it was. because the only infinity is g-d. and idolatry is also blasphemous. but i like the juxtaposition of synonyms. idk how to put this part into words exactly </3 and then the last part is kind of saying. there’s so much uncertainty and instability in the world. and isolating yourself isn’t the answer. you gotta just live life and try not to worry too much. which easier said than done obviously lol but. still. it’s about coming into your body and out of your head. at least a little bit.

anyways this is probably one of my favorite things i’ve ever written and now i get to talk about my thoughts on it. i love this i love writing essays on my own work thank you so much ^-^

[neengareadynaaready]

Salaar Part 1 (FULL SPOILER-Y REVIEW)

I finally saw Salaar on Netflix, and as promised, I am going insane over the guys Varadeva.

MUSIC

Music is by Ravi Basrur, same guy who did the scoring of KGF. Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the songs of KGF. They were high-energy songs perfect for getting yourself hyped up for something. I went into watching Salaar expecting the same thing, but I was proven wrong.

The songs in Salaar are actually more varied. The children in the school singing, "Prathi Gaadhalo" gave me goosebumps. I applaud the fact that Ravi Basrur has such range and versatility in the music he composes and arranges but you can still see his signature in his creations.

KGF & SALAAR?

Speaking of signatures... The visuals are beautiful. Obviously, Prashanth Neel's style is coming through in KGF and now Salaar. Also, there was something in the way the story is told to Shruti Haasan's character, just like how Rocky's story is narrated in KGF.

90% (or more) of mass action films have a flashback portion where the hero's backstory is revealed. In most cases, it's to clarify the hero's motivation or to show us his heroism/what he suffered/his traumas, etc.

In Salaar and KGF, the flashbacks are the entire story. In KGF, it's through an interview for things that happened in the past. In Salaar, the present and the past are more connected. It reminded me of Baahubali Part 1 where the present-day events make up the first half before we then dive into the entire backstory of Amarendra Baahubali. Mahendra's/Shiva's story in the present only really starts in the 2nd movie.

So this is where my ramblings lead to: we all know SS Rajamouli is thinking on a bigger scale. He's thinking epics. With KGF and Salaar, it feels like Prashanth Neel is gearing up for that, too. A lot of the people who dismissed KGF said it was because it was style over substance, which I'm fine with, to be honest, because what PN was trying to do in that movie was obvious, from the storyline to the music especially. He was trying to create a legend, the Legend of Rocky Bhai. Even if the story is not that unique and/or cringe, the fact is Rocky Bhai will now go down in history as one of the most unforgettable mass action characters of Indian cinema.

Here, in Salaar, we get a new world. It is in Khansaar where our epic unfolds.... (At least that was the vibe I was getting while watching.) I mean, Prithviraj said Salaar had Game of Thrones vibes. I'm a sucker for court politics in an interesting new world, so I was hooked. Also, that revelation of Deva being the rightful heir to the throne? C'mon, it's obvious, but it's a classic for a reason. It's such good angst and how Varadha and Deva navigate this revelation when it's revealed to everyone in Part 2 is gonna be amazing.

VARADHA and DEVA

In general, I think most of the characters are very interesting. Not gonna lie, I lost track of some of them midway through the movie. I was consumed by Varadeva every time they were both on screen.

Look, I kinda wished Ranga was still alive so there's that one character that has it out for Varadha and Deva would have to come to his rescue again in Part 2. Anyway, he was an interesting character because he spiraled so fast, and he was always clinging to Rudra's arm and going "I have never asked you for anything since childhood. I want Varadha." and then he was bawling his eyes out, like what a certifiably insane character.

Prabhas and Prithviraj's interactions were really very interesting and fun. I wish we had more. They bantered while fighting, and you can feel they're the type to make fun of each other and have fun. But you can also see how much they truly care for each other that time when Naarang was wielding his sword. They're like, "No, kill me, spare him." DUUUUUUDE. I loved that.

And when Varadha made up his mind, Deva was ready to support him. Who knows what's gonna happen in Part 2.

Action is okay. Was very nice to see them fight side by side.

OVERALL

The cast of characters, the story, the premise, the subplots going around... I'm excited for Part 2!

[ravenwitch45]

How about Crimson with an Imp reader who is much bigger then Crimson?

Okay, I like this idea, not sure what you mean by bigger though, that means a lot of things, So I'm gonna take it as taller and thicker built cause that sounds like a fun way to go, but interpret the writing how you envision I suppose, grumpy Mob boss flustered at being so small compared to his partner, let's do this XP

Crimson with an Imp Reader who is much bigger then him

Ah... Okay then.

Most of Crimson's men are shark demons, which are just generally taller then him for the most part, so he's kinda used to being the physicaliy smallest in the room, but he still feels like he's the strongest since they listen to his every whim after all. You on the other hand were different, whenever your close to him or touch him, he ends up feeling very small and vulnerable, and he refuses to boss you around, Satan knows what happened when he did that with his last partner.

He of course usually keeps his cool, tough as nails demeanor even though he's pretty flustered internally just being around you, even if you've caught him just looking you up and down, for varying reason, awe, attraction, wanting to just nuzzle up to your large form. But you can bet he's not admitting any that. He is very grumpy if you ever pick him up, just pouting and crossing his arms till you set him down, glad his only scars are around his eyes making his blush hard to notice.

Short jokes or teasing him about his height make him even madder, you don't do them often cause of that, but it's cute to see the angry blush. Don't get me wrong tho, he can manage not to be a blushy mess, he eventually adjusts to be able to keep up the composure to turning the teasing back on you, also you can bet he likes to top you when he can :3 Some of the teasing is innocent tho, like laughing when you bump your head on a doorway without your height in mind, or a ceiling fan tassel (Tall struggles I can confirm XP) Which always makes you fire back with you easily reaching the thing he just can't, you love to tease eachother about the height difference essentially. You sometimes recruiting one of his more lighthearted men like Chaz to tag team tease him. He doesn't take teasing sitting down though, if you get a little too bold, he'll sweep your legs right out from under and catch you, kissing you while your too flustered to respond, making you a stammering blushing mess. Which then makes any partner you recruited tease you right back, so hard to find loyal help these days am I right XP And while he allows that, thinking you deserve it a bit for getting too bold with him. If anyone teases you about it out of the blue, or Satan forbid insult you about it for some dumb reason, he'll roast the shit out of them, and probably arrange for them to get shot later if they talk back, Only he's allowed to tease you, or someone can with his approval, otherwise Fuck around and find out suckers. But sometimes? Sometimes he melts, clinging onto you desperately as you hug him in an encompassing embrace, only admitting to himself that you make him feel safe from all the regrets he refuses to agknowledge. Just grateful he still has you.

(Also thanks to my boyfriend @aveismaschine for the "encompassing embrace" alliteration, true genious dear) Overall it's a pretty wholesome relationship, filled with teasing and one upping flustering the other, along with genuine sweet moments that come with any good relationship, or at least that's my spin on it, thanks for the idea Anon.

[orphancookie69]

Disney Dreamlight Valley...Then and Tomorrow...

I was looking at my drafts and realizing we are at the end, nearly, of the next free roadmap for Disney Dreamlight Valley. Realizing I am on the lookout for a next roadmap a thought came to me, we should think about where we have been and where this game could possibly be going. So, I went through my old post and found all the roadmaps I could find. Throwback!

Every time there is an update, this loading screen changes. But this is the first image most of us saw, so expectations were set up from this one. You already see characters like Scar and Walle and Stitch.

The game is released as early access launch. You have your main starting bunch but Scar is one of the first ones to join you. He is teased in the loading screen. Woody and Buzz Lightyear are next. This has us in 2022 content wise.

2022 becomes 2023. The roadmap turns more into how we know it to look like today. You get Mirabel from Encanto, Simba and Nala from The Lion King, and The Forgotten. While this game is a good mix of new and old Disney-the forgotten is the new innovative character it made for the times. Well done really.

Still in 2023 content wise, but we really start working quality of life updates in the game. The bulk of the main story is out at this point so the developers get to have fun and refine at this point. Venelope from Wreck it Ralph comes, and then Beauty and The Beast. The end of the story teases the expansion.

Here the free content timeline and the paid content timeline start to overlap a bit. Lots of people complained about the fact they had to pay for more content, but this is a business for some. The expansion isn't bad, a little slow. You get Walle before this but eve gets to join him. You get Mother Gothel before, but Rapunzel joins her from here. And of course, its not a party without...Gaston! Jafar is your big bad, who saw that coming? And my favorite so far...Oswald the Lucky Rabbit!

Catching up to the current times, at least for when this is being written. Jack Skellington comes from The Nightmare Before Christmas, they timed him well. Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. Daisy joins her boyfriend, Donald Duck. Mushu and Mulan take a break from training to hang out too. Tiana is coming up next.

As I am typing this, this is also a way to play the game-as one of us who have been playing it from the start-to play in a sense of "proper" order. I also realize, even by looking at the roadmaps-it doesn't show every door opened in the castle, or even the doors yet to be open. The opportunity for other DLC's you see when going to the first expansion.

But this game, even with being about halfway done with doors and 1/5 of the way done with expansions-is not so simple. There are in game events, star paths, and weekly/daily challenges. As the game has progressed-quality of life has changed (mostly) for the better. Some people love it, some people hate it, and some people have way more money and time to play it than I do.

What do I think is coming next? Well, Summer should see the end of the first expansion. Expansions at this point will progress the overall story along. Doors in the castle spice things up in between updates. I have often said, Disney is a modern day monopoly and owns way too much content. For the purposes of this game-any future DLC's have lots of options to pick from. We already see Remy doing a DDLV Doordash, and Tiana is all about cooking. It could add value to the game but it also easily borders on too much to do-busy work instead of relaxing.

While I appreciate that most of the characters are old school, this game is also a marketing machine for Disney's movies and other business ventures. I could see future stuff being newer content. I could also see a Marvel DLC for this game. The bigger question will be, what do they think the people want to see? Who shows up in the valley that people are willing to put their money where there mouth (or fingers typing comments) to? I know how I would answer that, what about you?

[vorish-wonderland]

It's me the anon who doesn't play twisted wonderland! I have a request, could you please write something very cruel with Jade? Maybe some sort of scenario where he toys with a tiny reader and is overall extremely mean. Kinda like your story "Serves you Right" where the Floyd broke the readers arm, like cruelty similar to that! And also plz have an ambitious ending!

Despite me not knowing much abt twisted wonderland I am obsessed with the way you write for that guy 😭

Includes: soft/safe-ish vore, biting, blood, ambiguous ending

★✦A Midnight Snack✦★

☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ

You live a very quiet, usually peaceful, life in a building far too large for you. You find it quite nice, despite knowing your life could be in danger if you mess up at all and get seen by the... other people who reside here.

They're much bigger than you. They're basically giants, at least compared to you. Those people... don't take too kindly to people of your size. They seem to think of people as small as you as pests...

But that's fine. You deal with it just fine. Or at least, as well as you can. You often find the remains of people like you scattered about the place you call your home. It's hard to see that... but you deal with it as well as you can...

You only go out when you're sure those giants are all asleep...

But tonight...

Tonight was... different.

When you went out to get food, you saw... him.

"Oh my, what a surprise..." He kneels down in front of the counter to speak with you. "How small you are... I thought we had gotten rid of all of you... but you seem to have proven me wrong. Hello there, little one. Who might you be?"

"...(Y/N)." You decide to cautiously respond.

"Interesting, my name is Jade." He suddenly grabs you. "(Y/N) really is a lovely name... it really suits someone like you." He suddenly smiles, showing off his serrated teeth. "It's a shame no one will remember you."

Well... this was bound to happen sometime. You couldn't have kept hidden forever...

You're trying your hardest to stay calm... quite unfortunately, it doesn't work out too well.

"A-alright, hey, l-listen, y-you're not actually going to kill me, r-right-?" You nervously ask.

"Kill you?" Jade laughs boisterously. "Ahh, you're mistaken, little one. I'm not going to kill you, no, I'm going to eat you! And sure, that very well may lead to your death, but I assure you, it is not my intention!" He smiles politely.

"I-I'd really rather you not do that, r-regardless of what your intentions are..."

"Oh, if only I cared."

Jade gently lowers you down into his mouth, biting down on one of your legs. He applies pressure, slowly, slowly, slowly, as you struggle to escape his grasp.

It starts off feeling like a small prick as the tips of his sharp teeth poke into your calf... then, as the pressure increases, you begin to panic more and more.

Blood trickles out from the spots he bites down on... it runs down his teeth and drips slowly down onto his tongue. He smiles wildly and the pupils of his eyes dilate as he tastes your blood.

Then... he bites down on your leg as hard as he can, severing it from your body.

You scream out in unbearable pain as he sets you back down on the countertop. He quickly pulls out his magic pen and casts some kind of healing spell on you, almost instantly healing your leg to the point where the severed point is no longer an open, bleeding wound.

"Oh, do be quiet, little one. As much as I love hearing your screams and cries..." He closes his eyes, and swallows the part of your leg he just bit off. "Mmm... fufufu... we wouldn't want to alert anyone else to this fun we're having, would we~?"

Panicked thoughts race through your head, not a single one of them being coherent. There's only one real thought. Run. But you can't. You can't move even the slightest bit, all you can do is stare upwards at him in fear of this... predator.

"I have an idea, (Y/N)... I do so enjoy it when my prey decides to run from me... it's always so fun, seeing them think they have a chance of escaping me..." He smiles, and reaches for you. "Of course, I doubt you'll be able to get very far in your current state... but it would be so fun to see you try and escape. You know what? I'll give you a head start. You can have 10 seconds before I start chasing you! Go on, little (Y/N)~"

He begins to count down.

You can't move.

You can't bring yourself to move.

You're paralyzed in fear, even though every cell of your tiny body is SCREAMING at you to get out of there as fast as you can...

But you just can't move.

"...3... 2... 1..." Jade pauses for a moment, staring down at you. "Hm. What a shame. You didn't move at all. Oh well, that just makes it easier for me, I suppose."

Jade picks you up once more as you try to say something, anything... all you can let out is a pathetic whimper, however. How unfortunate.

He places you into his mouth, almost sucking on you like a hard candy before he swallows you down whole...

You're terrified. It's warm and dark and wet and you keep getting squished and squeezed as you're slowly pushed downwards...

His voice is muffled by the layers of flesh between the two of you... but you still hear him.

"What a wonderful midnight snack you were, (Y/N). And you were so cooperative, too~"

The air stings your eyes... it's hard to breathe...

"You know, you were quite fun to play with... maybe I'll let you out... maybe I'll let you live, just so I may play with you again sometime..."

You try to regain your balance, but you can't hold on to any surface without it stinging your hands and having your hands slip right off the walls you tried to hold...

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

You don't really know how much longer you can keep your eyes open... it gets harder and harder to breathe...

"I'll think about it. But of course, don't count on it. For now, get comfortable, because I don't know when or if I'll be letting you out. Have fun, little (Y/N)~"

...

You slowly close your eyes, hoping he decides to spare you.

[devilkittydeckbuilding]

hewwo everyone!!!! today im going to be talking about my favorite dimir deck i have made and why i think its really strong and cool!!!!

the commander is...

UKKIMA, STALKING SHADOW

(drawing is by my gf @goqmir )

this is a dimir deck built around loading up the unblockable commander with equipment and +1/+1 counters and swinging face until i win with commander damage!!!! this deck tends to kill in a few good swings if im allowed to set up due to the sheer amount of equipment that gives at least +2 to ukkimas power.

this deck is not playing the green partner commander in cazur, ruthless stalker because he isn't quite good enough in this shell (he at best gives a +1/+1 counter every one of my turns starting on turn 4) and adding green imo really changes the core idea of the deck. it probably gives me more good protection and i would love to try this deck with more good protection but ultimately it just didnt fit my vision lol

this deck has only the one creature in ukkima, and the majority of the deck is equipment, enchantments, and instants. every spell in this deck other then board wipes (which btw are mass bounce that keep ukkima on the field usually like wave goodbye and raise the palisade, also am interested in kindred dominance possibly) is built to make ukkima bigger or to protect ukkima from any potential removal. this deck runs about 14 or so counterspells, several blink spells to protect as well as blink ukkima and take advantage of her second ability, and lots of ways to give hexproof as well as phase out my commander.

this deck runs lots of utility lands that help it play the long game. some cool ones are witches clinic which is amazing and allows you to gain life while putting your opponents really close to death, cathedral of war is funny because it pumps my creature with exalted, malakir rebirth is death protection, and command beacon makes ukkima more resilient against command tax!!!!

some of my favorite cards in this deck are...

teferi's veil - this card i havent actually gotten to play with, but this deck does not block. it doesnt care about creature combat cause i want to win in a few swings with ukkima and therefore phasing my commander after combat leads to it being impossible to board wipe or hit it with sorcery speed removal. this card makes instant speed the only way to interact with my commander and that is pretty insane lol

unspeakable symbol - this is one of my current favorite cards and makes any creature that can get in into a one shot threat for only three mana and a lot of life. if you arent in danger of dying to damage this card is insane. it makes ukkima one shot starting on the turn after ukkima etbs so that it can attack unblocked versus the most threatening player or the one with the best removal and then the rest of the table isnt far behind. also if ukkima dies after the counters are placed you gain a bunch if life back lol

hatred - this card plays very similar to unspeakable symbol in that you pay a million life to one shot someone but is a little more efficient at doing it (although it does cost more :/) these are not that fun in a casual setting but they make this deck win out of nowhere if you have protection held up and thats important sometimes!!!!

homocidal seclusion - this is the reason i built the deck cause its really cute and funny with only one creature in the deck and also buffs ukkima to a 5 power creature with lifelink which is a pretty good unblockable clock!!!!

feast on the fallen - this card seems kinda crazy in multiplayer cause on my turn i deal damage which triggers this on the next upkeep and then my opponents have to deal combat damage at some point (at least in my playgroup) dotot theoretically grows ukkima every turn with a counter.

this deck overall is pretty insane and lets you play a control deck with a voltron win con and its a very fun mix of playstyles. this list could be improved further and i could probably make a green version and test that one out too but im very happy with the current state of this pile!!!!

there are a couple weird picks for cards that are my playgroup specific like unsubstantiate which is only there for bouncing thassas oracle on the stack cause my friend plays that but overall the deck is just built for speed!!!!

also my headcanon is that ukkima is a fucking girl baby!!!! she/it pronouns wooooooo!!!!

thank you for reading!!!!

[thebaffledcaptain]

For writing purposes, have you any anecdotes from battle reenactment, or references on the battle of Yorktown (1781)?

Oh that's a fun question… my first disclaimer is that I only started reenacting fairly recently, so I only have so many anecdotes. My second disclaimer is that I definitely know more about the British side of things than the Continental side, but luckily most of the military organization and conduct was virtually the same on both sides. My last is that I am no particular expert on Yorktown specifically—I've heard they've done huge reenactments there in the past but I have not been in the hobby long enough to have gone to one, unfortunately. However, what I would be happy to talk about are some historical details you could use in setting up your scene and kind of bringing it to life, most of which only occurred to me after experiencing them firsthand!

“The Fog of War”

Which is to say, powder smoke. Great white plumes of it, tearing from muskets on every volley, drifting across the field and saturating the air with the bitter smell of sulfur. I find myself holding my breath on every volley just so I won’t inhale a big lungful of it—at certain points it’s like marching through a cloud, and humid weather can exacerbate that even further, since it won’t dissipate. And it lingers. I remember standing up at the very top of the valley at Monmouth in the evening after the first day and you could still see that smoke blurring the horizon, hours later. We tend not to think so much about it as a modern audience, but it was a huge factor in these historical battles: you could write about how it obscures the visibility, how the smell lingers, the terrifying sight of an enemy battalion emerging from the smoke with bayonets fixed…

The Scale

Let’s be honest, reenactments don’t tend to be really massive events—some events are bigger than others but overall it’s a niche hobby and even our best turnouts are nowhere near the size of these battles in reality (my regiment requires a minimum of a mere 8 members to commit to an event for us to go…). Historically you’d be having somewhere between roughly 500–700 men per regiment, divided into ten companies. As a field musician, since it would have been my job, I’m always thinking about how it would have been to actually communicate with and maneuver a group that large with only a handful of drummers and fifers per company, especially with that many other companies on the field—it’s hard enough playing for 20 something reenactors across two units! And Yorktown was one of the biggest conflicts in the war, both literally (with regard to number of men involved) and figuratively, given how decisive it was; I can only imagine how much pressure it would have been on the commanding officers as they actually made those decisions for dozens or hundreds of men. Being on the battlefield is actually rather isolating, in a way—I’ll see certain regiments in camp and then never see them on the field because we’re in completely different places, so, you know, could make for some dramatic Character Worrying in the story if you're so inclined.

Last but not least, because I’m a little biased but still feel it’s important:

The Music (and other Sounds of War)

Being on a battlefield is loud! You’ve got men roaring as they head into a bayonet charge, drumbeats punctuating shouted orders, volleys firing, the shrill sound of another company’s fifes playing on the advance. When you've got artillery you can literally feel the shots reverberate through the ground beneath your feet, even across the field. Occasionally muskets don’t fire the first round, so they get double-loaded with gunpowder on the second—the 54th had this happen at my last event and when the shot went off it was so loud it temporarily deafened the two men closest to it. War is noisy. And of course I can’t not talk about the music—you could mention the musicians switching tunes to reflect a different maneuver, or mention listening across the field, hoping to hear the Cease Fire from the enemy. Fifes are loud instruments, designed to carry across these wide-open spaces, so often you’re hearing multiple companies’ musicians on top of each other (and even on top of that, some light infantry and dragoon companies were actually using bugles instead of fifes!). On bayonet charges we play the Reveille, on the advance we tend to do British Grenadiers. When men are aiming and firing there’s a different short drum beat for every command (make ready/present/fire). Obviously it’d be a bit much to write in every one of those instances, but it kind of puts it in context how frequently you’d be hearing music on the battlefield.

Anyway. If you can’t tell I love talking about reenacting. Thanks for letting me infodump to you and, though it’s not Yorktown-specific, I hope this maybe gives you some inspiration or some contextual material to work with while you’re writing!

[trainsinanime]

Everybody is posting their opinions about the interview about the Miraculous Ladybug season 5 finale, and I feel like I should as well, but I'm not sure I have much to say. There's just a few things that stick out to me:

First of, it's just very funny to me that the team started out with Bug Noire, and worked backwards from that, and that's why Adrien ended up in the isolation chamber. One of the most controversial things about the entire finale happened because Marinette wearing both Miraculous would be cool. That's just plain funny to me.

Second, I have not yet seen a better option for the finale. They did kind of write themselves into a corner there. The story is all about Marinette, but Adrien is the one to whom all the plot points attach. What do you do with that? Compare and contrast the movie, which I saw on the same day as the finale: It's all Marinette's story, until the big finale, where she just lays there and watches as Adrien and Gabriel resolve the main story by themselves. That option sucks, too. It's not terrible, but it's disappointing. I think all the arguments of Adrien can't be there because of Chat Blanc or Ephemeral are nonsense, even if they come from the show's head writers. But it's true that Adrien can't be there, because if he is, the story becomes about him instead of Marinette. If you know a fanfic that found a good way to resolve that, let me know!

As an aside: I know there are people who are disappointed that we didn't learn more about Emilie and the past of the adults, but I think that was never going to happen. I know I made a post about this years ago but I can't find it, but basically: Emilie was an interesting mystery for fans, but she was never relevant to the plot, least of all Marinette. This is the same kind of stuff as with the Marauders back in the days of the Harry Potter fandom, where a certain subset of fans went wild over all the hints. But those were never promises, they were just flavour, telling us the world is bigger and adventures have been going on since forever.

My final and most important point here is something quite different: I am grading Miraculous Ladybug on one hell of a curve. Have been doing that since the first episode I watched. I am willing to forgive most any jank in the storytelling if I get some cool and cute moments, and the show is full of those. So in that regard, the season 5 finale was no problem for me whatsoever. Yes, there is a lot of jank, but also a lot of cool stuff, and that makes me happy. There's a kung-fu crocodile! What more needs to be said?

(Aside: I know there are people who hate the kung-fu crocodile, and that the Couffaine boys are now mystical monks out of nowhere, with no explanation. I assume these people either hate fun or are arguing out of bad faith. If there's one thing in the finale that was obviously objectively 100% a good thing, it's that the crocodile knows Kung-Fu.)

Now, I'm not saying that you should grade the show on a curve, I'm just saying that I do. Yes, it's not entirely rational. Yes, there are plenty of shows out there, including shows aimed at similar age ranges, that don't require this. But if I didn't grade Miraculous Ladybug on a curve, if I didn't rate cute and fun and exciting over great interesting story, if I didn't separate the potential for fanfics from the actual way the stories are told, then I wouldn't be in the fandom to begin with. This is explicitly not a defence or apologia, it's just an explanation for why I have no trouble disregarding the janky parts. I know others disagree, or agree in principle but then some of the janky parts were just too bad for them and broke the spell, and that's valid.

But personally, I have no major problem with the season 5 finale. Yeah it was weird and quite a few decisions were stupid and didn't help any overall story. But I had fun, I'm looking forward to season 6 and I am going to write more fanfic. That's what matters to me.

[variousqueerthings]

This is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me in my life. The only exciting thing!

Bill! I've been writing with a friend while watching s10 and this friend really doesn't like m*ffat, and I think by s10 all goodwill had run out and they do tend towards the most negative read of every episode, and bill as character generally

and look, bill is introduced with a truly stupid, fatphobic, rambly-in-a-bad-way bit of dialogue. we breathe deeply. we remember that we're here to do a rating and so this will be included in that. but also that there are many many facets of bill's character that are very interesting, fun, and different to anything we've seen since m*ffat took the helm on this show, and that this line -- while fucking... argh... is not repeated. but also just never should have existed to begin with

(also oh gosh, fatphobia as sexism and/or as political... it's really both isn't it, it's going on both, y'all making your first lesbian main character say fatphobic shit, c'mon!)

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 7/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 10/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 8/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 7/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 8/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 7/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 7/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 7/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 7/10

FULL RATING: 78/100 (if I can count….)

m*ffat where was this energy five seasons ago???

OBJECTIFICATION: I knocked a whole three points off just for that "joke" to be honest. this episode is otherwise pretty good at writing its female characters, bill and heather

it's especially as a counterpoint to the paternoster gang, where lesbianism = sexy master/servant powerplay in leather, and look- look I am not averse to that as concept

but written my m*ffat on doctor who? yeurgh

point is, that's not bill and heather

PLOT-POINT: bill is the POV character in a way none of the other companions were in their first episodes (barring amy as a kid, but as an adult, not so much anymore). the doctor is some weirdo but compelling professor at her college, which she works at and secretly goes to classes at, her potential relationship with heather is what sets off the plot and carries it throughout, and is what drives the ending

it's pretty neat on the whole. my friend's main angry point about this episode (well one of them) was that bill was totally unconcerned with what happened with heather/that it should have had a bigger effect on her longrunning and... yehhh I'm not not in agreement but I do think that with doctor who being a bit of a bullshit-science type show in which characters don't die in a number of ways + that I know heather comes back at the end + there's that setup that they'll probably see heather again + the focus on bill's character as being in the closet to her foster mum (foster or adoptive, I've forgotten now) and working in a canteen and just not really knowing where her life is going and all of that wrapped up in meeting heather and that adventure with the doctor... it does work on the whole

it could have been more I do think that, especially heather's character, whom we know basically nothing about other than that she was probably depressed and wanted to travel places, but I think bill's emotions are far more grounded and long-reaching and important to the story than amy's or clara's ever were and this already in episode one

maybe I'm just happy to see something but I do think it's also something done -- for the most part -- quite well

COMPLEXITY: this plot as a mystery is quite fun. bill is just as much figuring out the doctor as she is the mystery of the puzzle. as such, it's kind of a slow-burnish that's not massive in scope, but I think it's rather delightful

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: new companion called bill whom we already know a fair bit about, woman in a puddle, mystery in the cellar, nardole is still there, the doctor is having a bit of an emotional Time (when are they not -- but it's an evolving emotional Time)

COMPANIONS MATTER: bill does a lot in this episode, which is extra great because she's so new. it's a lot of questions, but also a lot of proactive behaviour, and it's also questions that are about bill learning and not about acting as a sounding board for the doctor all the time

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: the doctor is mainly trying to stay out of things, and then bill drags them into things, and it's a bit about emotions and a bit about becoming a (grand)parental figure to bill, who needs some support, I like that this is the impetus that gets the doctor involved in the story... well, that and can't resist a mystery of course. and boredom. multitudes

also a defining thing the doctor does is go back in time and take some pictures of bill's mum for her. this is simply done out of kindness (and it doesn't hurt that it affects a later plot)

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: I really like the callbacks in this one, it really says some stuff about the doctor-as-character where they currently are -- that is, looking with melancholy at the past. funnily enough, with river and susan on the same desk, it kind of ties river to that past more effectively than the show managed to do during her actual episodes, I feel

also by putting susan there, it says a lot about how the doctor is going to be interacting with bill. a very different kind of dynamic to any we've had before on nu!who

“SEXINESS”: I've put this highly, as I don't remember anything. generally this season I haven't remembered if there's anything (actually no lies, one thing just popped up, but not this episode), so I'll just have to operate on that assumption and... maybe take notes for the latter half. but I think we're relatively free of this anyway, considering a lot of the heteronormativity has been removed from the show at this point

INTERNAL WORLD: there is a university and bill lives with her foster mum because her mother is dead, and she works in the canteen and sneaks into lectures. honestly an old university is the perfect place for the doctor to hide, tenured professors are like cryptids

there's a biiit less on the queer side of things, and there will be throughout the season. this not to say that bill is not definitely a lesbian, in a way where I'd say (controversially perhaps) that clara never felt queer to me

but simply that it doesn't seem like bill's involved much in queer culture, and that culture doesn't affect the plot as such. I'm okay with this, I think there's still a lot to be said for how bill's lesbianism already affects the text for the better, but it is the point and I am doing this particular rating, so it should be said

POLITICS: I mean to strip bill to box-ticking (not in a bad way) for a second, but she's a black, working-class lesbian who's living with a straight, white foster mother, whom she's not out to

and she is the hero of the story. she's funny, she's kind, she sees things, she asks good questions, and she remembers very very well and applies what she learns to the situations she's in. while one might ask whether some of these aspects of her could have been explored more throughout her run, it's fair I think to say that they are explored and are recurring parts of her story and affect how she sees and moves through the world

I also think there's just something about this weird professor type seeing her in turn, singling her out as special, which is such a different way to how m*ffat has written the doctor opposite women since s2, in which only women who are suitably Special in particular ways (through being "well-bred" and "highly educated" and essentially very classist ideas of being from the right background, or by first being introduced as a mystery and then later as a character)

dare I say... he might have learnt something?

which is why, to bring the mood down for a second, her fatphobic ramble feels out of character for who we later learn she is, and just feels more like a throwaway joke on the side of m*ffat to show that... idk actually what it's meant to show. that bill rambles? that she's slightly awkward? and of course m*ffat doesn't know that fatphobia is a thing (I imagine) and so wouldn't have wanted to write it to show that bill has unexamined bigotries (which could be interesting, but not done in this way or with this character or with the themes of this season), especially is we're kiiind of seeing bill flirt with that woman in a later scene?

(I also think this ramble is weird in terms of how it describes the doctor, it's so nonsensical. is it implying the doctor was essentially sexually harassing this unknown woman? this unknown woman that she also objectifies before we even get to the fatphobia???)

I should actually just include it as a reminder to people, because it really does suck: "Okay, so my first day here, in the canteen, I was on chips. There was this girl. Student. Beautiful. Like a model, only with talking and thinking. She looked at you and you perved. Every time, automatic, like physics. Eye contact, perversion. So I gave her extra chips. Every time, extra chips. Like a reward for all the perversion. Every day, got myself on chips, rewarded her. Then finally, finally, she looked at me, like she'd noticed, actually noticed, all the extra chips. Do you know what I realised? She was fat. I'd fatted her. But that's life, innit? Beauty or chips. I like chips. So did she. So that's okay."

I am not negating that this was terribly written and offensive, but I do think it's also at odds with later bill and I don't take it in as part of her character, so much as a massive bit of bad writing on the m*ffat's part, same as, say, when the doctor grabbed jenny and kissed her without her consent, which would be a character-ruiner for me if I decided that that was part of my canon. this isn't quite as bad as that, but it's not a great way to introduce a character that you're meant to root for, and also just... I mean not that there aren't fatphobic lesbians but c'mon, you're showing an ostensibly queer perspective and you're turning her into a bloke????? nah nah nah, fuck right off with that

FULL RATING: 78/100 (if I can count….)

it's frankly wild how far and fast this jumped for the first episode of the season. its main detractor, really is that joke, and perhaps the general limitations in including a queer culture to bill's queer identity, but bill is -- on the whole -- fantastic and immediately shifts the show into a completely different gear

I feel like it's a shame she came here at the end, after a lot of people had dropped off, not just for one season in and of herself, but the final season of this entire era. it's a lot of weight to carry and I think pearl mackie does a fantastic job