#i mean…. there are design principles ofc and there are a lot of bad designs out there. but i think knowing the ‘rules’ helps u bend them in

[cicadabite]

i don’t think a lot of ppl know what good font pairings look like. or what good font design looks like. but also who cares

[zshipperandartizt]

Hey Zshipper, mind answering some headcannon questions of mine?

Note: I'm not trying to bash your interpretations of the fallen children nor the interpretations themselves at all.

1. A lot of people see the Patience soul as a shy girl. Why?

2. Some people see the Patience soul as a grumpy and mean/gremlin girl. Why?

3. Some people see the Patience soul as a boy. Why?

4. Some people see the Bravery soul as a girl. Why?

5. Some people see the Integrity soul as a grumpy and mean/very uptight girl. Why?

6. Some people see the Integrity soul as a boy. Why?

7. Some people see the Perseverance soul as a grumpy and mean/very serious/very stoic person. Why?

8. Most people see the Kindness soul as a boy. Why?

9. Some people see Chara as a very grumpy and mean kid, especially towards the fallen children. Why? (Now I know Chara hated humans, but after the Pacifist Route, I personally think that her extreme misanthropy would be dumbed down a lot thanks to Frisk showing her that not all humans are bad. But she would still be a bit wary of humans, though. Also, yes, I personally see Chara as female and Frisk as male.)

10. Some people like to make the 6 fallen children have closed eyes just like Frisk. Why?

I'll try to answer these as best I can! I apologize if I don't answer them correctly though as I have just woke up from a nap lol.

Just a warning, this is all my opinion! These aren't facts and my opinion isn't always right of course so please don't take anything the wrong way! This is just how I view things and if I say anything wrong please feel free to educate me so I can get more things correct!

1. Hmm idk why most see Patience as a shy girl, I guess it's just up to interpretation. I've seen lots of designs where Patience is loud and proud too! I guess it's just preference lol. In my defense when I came into the undertale fandom Patience being quiet and shy was the headcanon t

2. I don't really understand how they'd see her as a grumpy/mean girl when she's supposed to have patience, meaning she doesn't necessarily get like upset as quickly as the other kids would (at least that's how I see it) but eh, again that's their interpretations of her.

3. I mean, it isn't really specified what genders all the soul children are, so ofc people will make up their own headcanons! Patience being a boy is an uncommon one but it's also interesting! I've seen people interpret Bravery as a girl multiple times myself so if anything they're just as acceptable interpretations as the others!

4. Ah I was just talking about this in #3! I don't really know why some people would see Bravery as a girl, maybe to have some diversity because it's obvious girls can box as well! Plus like I said before none of the soul children's genders nor designs were specified in the game which leaves people to make up whatever they want without any restrictions!

5. I guess people see her like that because she was "genocidal" in Undertale Yellow, and because the definition of Integrity is "the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change". It gives the idea that she's stubborn of which I completely agree with, although I don't think she'd be mean. Like I said in my other posts I just can't really see her being mean and such, I can fully see her acting like the other soul kids and just generally being a kid who had fallen in the wrong place at the wrong time which resulted in her death.

6. Like I said before, it's all up to interpretation and diversity! Boys can do ballet as well most definitely, like I said in #3 and #4 none of them have confirmed designs! Sure their items can be found around the underground but that's pretty much it! There's no specification about gender, design, etc. If people interpret them as different from you then that's their view and it's canon to them!

7. I am one of these people so I'll share my view, while I don't see Perseverance as a "mean" person I do view them as stoic and very serious because I think that they are pretty smart! They like having knowledge of things and priortizing info over having relationships with others made them emotionally distant, at least that's how I see it!

8. Hmm I feel like they'd see Kindness as a boy because it would break the stereotype of "oh most guys aren't kind". Like I said before it's up to interpretation!

9. Yeah the fandom stereotype of Chara being mean really irritated me before, yes they hated humans but they were a kind child that just wanted to protect their family of monsters. They only acted like that in the genocide route because the Player didn't want to finish the route so they did it for them. I don't think they'd be mean to the soul kids because they weren't mean to Frisk, often guiding them and translating for them aso I think they'd do the same for the other soul kids but because that stereotype of them was around for so long people just interpet them as a blood thirsty demon that wants to see everyone suffer and die which isn't the case at all!

10. Well since their designs are ambiguous none of them have canon eye colors, either that or they just think it fits with their design! (like how I did with Integrity in my design)

Again this is all my opinion, I'd love to hear other opinions in the comments! Also please keep sending asks, I love answering questions! Ty all for listening to my ramblings

[kallunavulgaris]

just some thoughts as of late of criticizing vs. asking and how Christianity is especially relevant to this split. religion should be a topic people are apt to ask the most questions and make the least amount of assumptions but i think we're eager to feed into our mental limitations and really even encouraged to do so

i notice a lot of dismissive sweeping statements being applied to religion as a whole but we all know Christianity is the "fair game" one for little jabs or sexy nun fetishes or themed horror movies or media disrespect. it's not really playing the victim imo as a Christian in the US i dont feel persecuted or discouraged from practicing (like plenty of Christians are globally) but noticing an obvious thing that happens... it's popular to confront one's personal feelings toward Christianity as a vendetta instead of an inquiry. i understand this to an extent since we don't always have the best representatives (lol), but humans are flawed and God's word is not

but something else i see a lot and have paid much mind to is biblical principles being taken out of context. to me it's so clear that scripture that predates our society and has outlived many others is obviously given to us to be applied? i see people taking issue with Romans mention of "all sin" and running with the unrighteous vs righteous categorization to think that means equal and therefore pedophilia is as bad as drinking or something lol. the bible doesn't conflate sin and the bigger point is that we are to govern the *world* and do so accordingly, we can do this alongside God's word... He calls for government explicitly, which makes other sweeping statements like "only God can judge me" annoying lmao.

i also don't understand picking one principle given to us and forming a counter argument to a specific verse or book. biblical teachings are designed to be found throughout the *entire* book. compilations of "the most disturbing bible verses" are useless when the entire point of being given a *book!!!* is to... read the book. there's context and translation and themes and many factors to account for. that doesn't mean you can't disagree ofc but it's so strange to me how often the reason for that is just made up and assumed. you *cannot* fill in for the aspects of the bible you don't fully comprehend with 100% certainty. no one should ever do this, not even a priest. we are humans with limited capacity for thought and understanding, and thousands of years of debate exist for a reason.

also, not every verse is a teaching and not every teaching is a commandment. it's also no one's place to tell another person that they're not religious. the whole point is we all live in sin, i do think plenty of people are "band-aid" Christians, in that they take solace in a label more than a lifestyle... but it's not up to me or anyone else to tell them if they truly believe or not

[ikusayu-no-hana]

ok so after staring at the costumes continuously for one hour ,,,,i may have discovered a few things.

starting off simple are the words on baku's and tsumugu's shirts. baku's reads: 'it will not change tomorrow/ beginning of the end/ desired world/ waiting on the world to change'. honestly theyre pretty random and generic lines but the last one is important since its a reference to an actual song: waiting on the world to change by john mayer. the lyrics are a criticism of the way the world works, which in the context of SLANG supports the idea that baku is just tsumugu's imaginary escapist self in a never-ending dream away from all mention of reality. tsumugu's shirt has a few lines from the sound of silence: 'I've come to talk with you again/Because a vision softly creeping/ But still remains/ Within the sound of silence' (theyre not perfectly transcribed from the actual song, but its clear they are referencing it.) i'll come to the significance of this later on.

coming to these three, initially i thought that they simply wore those somber colour schemes (b&w) to signify that they were in the "real" world and they had their respective roles to play: kai wearing white since he's a ghost and ito wearing black as she's mourning for him. but then....what explains tsumugu's colour scheme?

i think it represents dichotomy between the real world's tsumugu's guilt in "killing" kai, and dream world's baku denying he had any hand in killing muneo. he's essentially a middle piece whose literal life depends on him staying alive in his dream world. black and white, good and bad, real and imaginary, dead and alive, sister and brother.

which brings me to the next point: a teeny tiny bit of homoeroticism sprinkled in tsumugu/baku's and kai/muneo's interactions (this is all solely my interpretation btw, im not saying this is how it IS, just that this view explains a lot). it is mentioned that ito is tsumugu's lover irl, but in the dream world, there's no mention of baku and onemu's relationship. they barely exchange a few words in there and even then its on a topic centering around muneo. you're telling me tsumugu would go entire lengths to make up a perfect dream and then just not interact with his 恋人? also, there's something to be said about the fact that even in in imaginary world, baku allows muneo to pursue his 'realistic journalism' even though the entirety of dreamworld is built on the principle on non-reality. and, ofc, a

then comes tsumugu and kai's diametrically opposed literary interests: they literally have impassioned conversations about what they want to be and how they'll support the other's endeavors in it. kai is definitely a person tsumugu looks up to, respects, in a way you could call longing for something far away.

now coming to the words on tsumugu's shirt. the two lines they've chosen for it are really. And I mean really referencing kai. 'ive come to talk with you again/ a vision softly creeping' is LITERALLY about the ghost of kai!!! (since it's implied tsumugu can see Kai's ghost) and since we're counting white as representative of Kai and black as representative of Ito, it definitely is smth to note that the words in white are written on the black half of it, almost like his thoughts and feelings about kai are taking over what he feels for ito (rip)

also. like i said in my prev post's tags...muneo's little floofball on his hat literally is one of the tassels on baku's shirt. none of the other characters share any design motifs like that.

[bloomeng]

MDZS/Hogwarts au Headcanons

This au is a classic, but per usual I have opinions so here we go. (Also let’s pretend we do not see you know who)

All the patronuses are based on the official list and descriptions (I’ll leave the link below).

Wei Wuxian:

Gryffindor

Do I even need to make an arguement for this??

Patronus: Crow or Dolphin (I genuinely can’t decide)

Has friends in all houses and floats around among the tables in the great hall

Has been in all the houses common rooms tho

Probably good at most subjects, but he is amazing at defense against the dark arts

Definitely plays Quidditch, and is definitely the seeker too

Y’know typical over-achiver, star of the show, but without really trying

Steals books from the resticted section, not because he wants to read them, just because he was told they were off limits

He also steals food from the kitchen on his way back from the Hufflepuff common room (visiting Yanli ofc)

Is the kid that looses all of the points for his house, which means he also has most of the names in trophy room memorized (just from the sheer amount of time he’s had to clean them in detention)

Curfew is more of a suggestion, in his opinion nightime is the best time to roam the castle

He’s ended up in the hospital wing so many times that he basically has a bed reserved

Jiang Cheng:

Gryffindor

Between the loyalty, courage, ambition to “attempt the impossible,” and secret heart of gold, he could rival wwx’s Gryffindor spirit

Patronus: Chow Dog

Grumpily follows around during his misadeventures to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself

Or rather he’s the one who drags wwx’s ass to the hospital wing when he does hurt himself

Only one out of the trio (wwx, nhs, jc) who actaully studies

Hates divination, thinks it’s all a hoax, and it bugs the crap out of him that nhs actually belives in it

Is the captain of the Quidditch team, started as a chaser but now he’s the keeper

Was chosen to be a prefect

His favorite perk is the fancy bathtub, which nhs has definitely bribed him to gain access to

Shares his dorm with wwx, and he’s always complaining how he has to drag him out of bed

Lan Wangji:

Ravenclaw

He do be out here being super creative with that Guqin, and also owning our asses with his intelligence

Patronus: Wild Rabbit

I’d estimate that he spent 90% of the first 3 years of school in the library

Insert intense glaring at wwx as he tries to sneak into the restricted section

Somehow missed that wwx played Quidditch until his brother dragged him to a game

Needless to say he never missed a Gryffindor game after that

Somehow he managed to score one point off of a perfect grade on his OWL

Y’all already know he’d be a prefect, do I even need to say it

His favorite place in the castle is the window seat in Ravenclaw tower

Pretends to protest wwx sneaking into his common room

Imagine: Wangxian Hogsmeade dates and wwx trying to get him to wear his Quidditch jersey

Lan Xichen:

Hufflepuff

Although I feel like you could make a strong case for Ravenclaw, but the compassion and open-mindedness wins out

Patronous: White Swan

Professors love him, even Snape manages to tolerate him, probably by his 5th year he’s friends with half his professors

His favorite class is herbology but he’s also really good at charms and transfiguration

Owns an owl that he shares with his brother that he named something dumb like “Harold”

Has the Daily Prophet delievered every morning, and always thanks “Harold”

He grew up in a pure blood family so he is fascinated by muggle culture, and he is constantly asking jgy questions

Once jgy shared music from his ipod (yknow like one of the og ipods) and it blew his mind

Probably tried to help the house elves in the kitchen at some point, but was kicked out because he caused more damage then actual help

Somehow he was made a prefect in his fourth year???

He just roots for the under dog in Quidditch games, which often leads to a friendly competition between he and his brother (Gryffindor is never the underdog, not with wwx and jc on the team)

Nie Huaisang:

Slytherin

Again do I even need to make a case for this???

Patronus: Sparrow

Doesn’t even try and hide the fact that he let’s wwx and jc into the Slytherin common room

Often sits at the Gryffindor table because he wants to sit with wwx and jc

Instead of studying, he is constantly trying to find ways to cheat by designing bewitched items

By his 7th year he has his own business selling his cheats

His favorite class is divination, everyone assumes it’s because he’s a believer, but in reality he finds the subject hilarious and he’s amazed how a scam can go so far as to have a full educational class dedicated to it

Forged his brother’s signature on the Hogsmeade form, because Mingjue told him he wasn’t allowed to go if he was failing a class

Can’t fly a broom for the life of him

Barely passed his OWLS

In general he’s far more concerned with gossip and playing match-maker then doing any of this school work (who do you think told lxc to bring lwj to a Gryffinsor Quidditch game??)

(My monkey Xiyao controled brain likes to think that he’s been trying to set the two of them up for years, but that might just be me)

Jin Guangyao:

Slytherin

AGAIN do I really need to explain my thought process on this??? He’s cunning and manipulative, case closed, I do not take critism

Patronus: Grass Snake

Struggles in conjouring magic, but makes up for it in written work and testing

In general he works very hard and is most likely top of his class, despite the lack of natural ability

His favorite class is potions, because it’s simply a matter of following directions

The first friend he made was lxc after realizing as first years that they had really similar class schedules and decided to study together

His mother was a muggle, and thus he was raised in the muggle world, so there’s a lot of prejudice from his housemates

Every once in awhile he’ll quietly ask lxc to explain something about the wizarding world

To the annoyance of his house, he was made a prefect

Somewhere along the way he befriended nhs

The relationship dynamic is as follows: jgy forces nhs to study, while nhs forces him to come with him to Hogsmeade (mainly so that he doesn’t have to pay for his own food)

Jiang Yanli:

Hufflepuff

She’s just so sweet, compassionate, and kind not to be a Hufflepuff

Patronus: Doe

Her favorite classes are Herbology and Care for Magical Creatures

She’s really good with animals

She read that you were allowed to bring an animal and immediately went out to buy a cat

Buys wwx snacks on the Hogwarts Express, even though she made him lunch

She brought a phonograph and a collection of records from home, and set it up in the common room

No one knows where it came from, but people started to slowly add to the collection of records

Now the common room is just constantly filled with music

Lxc knows it was her, but he didn’t see the harm in letting it stay, so he let it be (plus he also enjoys music)

She goes to Quidditch games and roots for Gryffindor despite... not being in Gryffindor (she’s a supportive sister)

Spent most of her 4th year stopping wwx from fighting Jin Zixuan (the year before she started dating him)

She really do be living the cliche dream of the Hufflepuff/Slytherin relationship

Jin Zixuan:

Slytherin

He’s the typical pompous, preppy, asshole, that people assiociate with Slytherins

Patronus: Peacock

The first thing he did when he got to Hogwarts was set up his side of the dorm room to make it more up to his “standards”

His dad tried to convince him to play Quidditch, but he refused

Basically ignores jgy’s existence.... even though they’re in the same house

Loathes herbology because it requires getting his hands dirty

Is racist(?) towards muggleborns

He always has a mob of girls surrounding him at all times, yet doesn’t know how to properly process his own feelings for Yanli

I’d say he’s trying his best but that would be a lie, he thinks he’s doing the most though

He takes school very seriously, and he scored pretty well on his OWLS

One time in potions something went wrong and his potion blew up in his face quite literally, and wwx hasn’t let him live that down

Xue Yang:

Slytherin

He is bad man grrrrrr and a sly bastard, so ofc he’s the house of snek

Patronus: Weasel

Everyone hates him, his professors, his housemates, even the ghosts avoid him

Except Peeves, in fact Peeves love him

Probably because he’s constantly messing with people

He’s the only person to rival wwx’s detention record

He is fantastic at defense against the dark arts

He likes to mess with Trelawney by purposely making death omens in his readings

He just doesn’t do assignments, yet does really well on exams and passes???

Snape would vouch for him, that’s the vibe I get

He plays as a beater on his Quidditch team, and he’s known for knocking people out

Xiao Xingchen:

Hufflepuff

He’s kind, selfless, and is always trying to see the good in people, which screams Hufflepuff

Patronus: Dragonfly

Is really good with charms

Even though he’s of age, he hates appariting and will do a lot to avoid it

Runs group study sessions, with the help of sl

A big activist in freeing house elves working for old families

Stops to have full conversations with the paintings

Is the only person in the school that tries to be friendly to Xue Yang

Song Lan:

Ravenclaw

He seems to have that very principled and intelligent nature of a Ravenclaw

Patronus: Dun Stallion

He doesn’t really have a lot of friends outside of xxc, but he doesn’t seem to mind

He’s that one person who actually enjoys professor Binns’ History of Magic class

He lets xxc drag him to Hogsmeade, even though the crowded shops make him uncomfortable

Shh it’s a secret but he also has a major sweet tooth and he will buy a shit ton of candy

Because of his scary amount of knowledge of Hogwarts and its history, he managed to find the room of requirement

So he and xxc end up moving their study sessions there when their group size outgrows the library

Anyway that’s all for now, but if you have a request be sure to ask!

Anyway I’m proud of the patronus choices I made for these, mostly. I know that it’s inevitable that someone will disagree with the house placements, so just note that these are purely my opinons.

Patronus info link:

[dyketectivecomics]

{{ Oooh, ooh, "who would win" for Babs and Raven!

this got LONG bc i REFUSE to simply answer without elaborating on WHY one wins over the other. and also bc.... i could resist the challenge to answer all of them even if that was just bc you misread them at first zira  jfklds;alf;al all is forgiven

y'all feel free to send me 2+ characters + a number from this list & i’ll be doing a snippet about who wins! (not for these ones now tho jkfdjflka)

1. A game of chess

IT Depends. Babs is an excellent strategist ofc (i mean its her ENTIRE THING AS ORACLE LBRHH) but Raven is cunning and extremely patient. Raven tries to simply outpace Babs until she makes a mistake, while Babs tries to back Raven into a corner as quickly and efficiently as possible. I can see them absolutely reaching a stalemate simply because Raven’s taking her sweet time on her next move and Babs has at least 20 moves planned for any one that she finally chooses fjkdasjfal;

2. A game of basketball

Babs. idc what anyone says. Raven + competitive athletics just DONT mix jfksdljfa; she doesn’t care enough to put in effort & Babs cares too much to let even that stop her from absolutely (physically but moreso metaphorically) DUNKING on Raven.

3. A race (on foot)

Again, athleticism. Gonna go to Babs.

4. A race (in their vehicles of choice)

okay now, THIS. I actually like to carry over my headcanon from my EARLY early tt03 days that Vic gets Raven genuinely interested in cars as an outlet (the full nine yards. the mechanics, the racing, the design, all of it) so this makes her not only a FORMIDABLE driver, but one who KNOWS HER SHIT. this is one of those times babs just CANT beat her. no matter how hard she tries.

5. A card game

DEPENDS. listen. a lot of card games (ones that deal with a standard deck of playing cards at least) are probability & understanding what’s LIKELY to happen (something that’s right up Babs’ alley) other times it can be just pure dumb luck and a SMIDGE of strategy (UNO, & 99 or Bust, which i fucking HATE having to play at work bc its????? just so arbitrary once you know the Way To Win oooof) so yeah. not one I see them Revisiting for certain types of games. 

6. A game of twister

i headcanon Raven getting into yoga as she grows up + retires from Superheroing, so not that babs COULDNT win, but I'm gonna give Rae the flexibility points on this one.

7. A game of Cluedo/Clue

I was looking up the fewest number of moves it takes to win Clue and did you know there’s a 1 in 324 chance of blindly guessing the combo right on the First Try? Anyways, Babs. C’mon. she’s a detective. ALL of the Bats are bound to win within a round or two on this one.

8. A physical fight

again, not that I doubt raven’s athletic ability, but a pure physical fight? this one’s going to babs. BUT why would they WANT to fight?? they're in love obviously!!!

9. A pillow fight

raven: i mean.... is there REALLY a winner when it comes to pillow fights??? other than the cherished memories ya make along the way? babs: yes. and its ME *thwacks raven with the pillow*

10. A tickle fight

PHYSICALLY i think raven could beat anyone in a tickle fight, but Emotionally???? IMAGINE the toll.

11. A fencing match

POINT. GORDON. (athletics check lmao)

12. A rap battle

both channeling their inner poets? MAYBE they can skate by with something only minority embarrassing. but god, would it be something. i honestly have no clue which way i’d swing on this one fjkdjfl;a cant they just work together in this case? please?

13. A dance-off/dancing video game

i.... actually saw them both as wallflowers in this case??? from way back when i didn't quite realize shipping them together could be an option??? so neither fjkdafj;al

14. An instrumental duel

wait, shit, wasn't babs canonically a band kid. didn't she play an instrument or did i totally imagine that??? she has band kid energy at least??? idk man. IDK

15. The pocky game

ME. I WIN BC THEY’D KISS. BC THEYRE BOTH TOO STUBBORN TO BACK DOWN.

16. Hide and Seek/Manhunt

Barbara “I have everyone’s information & locations at my fingertips at all times” Gordon

17. The dare game (both players give each other increasingly difficult or embarrassing dares; the loser is the first one to refuse)

Raven refuses to even indulge in something like this, so Babs would win on principle alone fjkdsfjal;

18. The ‘Bogeys’ game (Also known as the ‘Penis game’; can be played using any rude word; players have to yell the rude word of choice in a public place and the winner is the one brave enough to yell it the loudest)

G O D i forgot about this one omg. uh??? another Childish Game that I see Raven backing out of p quickly. but Babs when she’s with the batfam? and trying to make a point? i can absolutely seeing her hack some kind of electronic billboard & vandalizing it if dared adequately to do so fjksdajfklaj

19. A fighting video game (e.g. Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Brothers, etc)

y'all can pry Gamer!Gordon from my COLD. DEAD. GAY GOBLIN HANDS.

20. A pokemon battle

again, Gamer!Gordon. (but Raven was absolutely introduced to the video+card games by the Titans. absolutely!)

21. Dodgeball/Paintball

Babs. that competitiveness man. i just SEE IT.

22. A drinking competition

Demon constitution means Raven can drink EVERYONE under the table, and it absolutely drives Babs up the wall.

23. A gross-out competition

LISTEN. they've both seen Some Shit on the job. i don't think either of them could be completely grossed out at this point.

24. A flex-off

listen. Listen. Buff Babs Rights. 

25. A staring contest

Raven. if only because Babs knows that staring unblinkingly at her screens for too long has ALREADY caused bad eye strain & she REALLY doesnt need the hassle of adding to it fjkdsla;fjkl;

[whifferdills]

"I serve at the pleasure of the human race." Something kinky involving sub!12 needs to be written about this line. Please?

12&OFC, background implied Twelvedole, nonsexual bondage, not explicit but maybe don’t read at work, ~1.4k words

Experiencing an extended period of time linearly tells you something about yourself, the Doctor has discovered. What you’re made of, your mettle, your strength and perseverance, your ‘when the going gets tough the tough get going’. And your weaknesses, as well: the anxieties and resentments and what might be analogous to withdrawal from a fairly serious addiction.

(That line sounds familiar, but they’re not sure why - could be from anywhere, really.)

So they’ve discovered, or re-discovered, some truths about themself. And they say, out loud, in the vague hope that Nardole’s around somewhere to listen, “I’ve learned a lot in our time here.”

No answer.

“Really - really quite a bit.” Louder this time, with an unfortunate underlying whine.

Nardole pops his head out of the cupboard, fiddles his glasses back on, and says “That’s a question designed to lead into a conversation I do not wish to have.”

“Fair enough.” The Doctor slumps down in their chair, eyeline at the top of the desk, wheels skidding out slightly. “It’s just that - ”

The cupboard door slams shot. The Doctor should know better than to interrupt one of Nardole’s naps, and they’re not bothered. Just - they’ve been very good, for a very very long time, and they are very, very, very bored.

So go do something, a voice in his head says. Could be anyone’s. You don’t need to travel in time and blow up planets to get off your arse and have fun.

“It does help, though.”

Again, no answer. They’re used to being ignored, it’s fine. The point does stand, though: after so many hours (in a row) spent moping, and/or stomping around in a snit, the moment of ‘stop complaining and make the most of it’ has probably arrived. So they go.

This first time they go, it’s to the local, filled with fellow professors, a handful of brave post-grads and a few scattered pensioners who have not received the memo about this being a university bar. It’s pub quiz night, and no one will let them play alone, even if a handicap is only fair. The Doctor is handed a pint of some appallingly bitter microbrew and a partner, whose name is - they forget, but it’s something to do with flowers. The questions assume false narratives and no one appreciates the Doctor’s explanations of why the questions are bad, least of all Ms Flowers.

“I’m not sure what you’re on,” she says, sotto-voce. “But cool it, maybe. I want the free t-shirt and bragging rights. Stop throwing the match.”

The Doctor rolls their eyes and slumps down and downs the rest of their truly awful beer, breaking their moody silence only to whisper hints.

The quiz ends in a draw, free t-shirts for everyone. They put the t-shirt on over their other two t-shirts and then the hoodie/jacket back on over that. Ms Flowers buys them a glass of decent scotch and slaps them on the back, and this is called ‘bonding’ or ‘making friends’ or something.

“If you can’t go adventuring, might as well go slumming, eh?” Nardole, apparently having waited up.

“I was having - ” They pause, digging for the rest of the sentence. “The thing. Uh. Fun.”

“You smell like a distillery.”

“And you smell like a cupboard - ”

“That doesn’t even make any sense - ”

“So there you go,” they say, swaying on their feet. “Both wearing our vices on our sleeves. So go, I dunno, go tighten your screws, or whatever it is you do in there.”

Nardole stiffens, and glares in that way where he can’t quite handle glaring directly at the Doctor so glares at the mantle or such as instead, and does his best to storm off in a huff. I.e, walk slowly away in hesitant disapproval.

The Doctor lies carefully down on the floor and listens to the alcohol leaving their system, til it’s sun-up and a new day. Another day. All these days, one after another.

The second time they go it’s to catch their local chippy in flagrant non-adherence to local health code laws. Sure, they’re down one late-night snack source, but it’s the principle of the thing. Nardole’s pained sigh at having to walk two extra blocks at tea-time is an added bonus.

The third time: they run. To nowhere in particular, just over there, and then past that. Half a kilometer and the body around them is protesting, one kilometer and it’s giving up. And the what-they-are isn’t sated at all. It’s different, they posit, leaning over a railing and breathing hard, their clumsy lungs more obviously pointless than usual, the muscles in their legs shaking in an all-too-convincing performance. Different when there’s something chasing you, versus not. Different when you’re running away from a threat rather than just apathy.

It’s late, and it’s dark, and they stumble back to what home is now, to the handle on their leash. Nardole’s waiting up.

“What is it that you want from me?” The Doctor peels their coat off, and then the other coat, and so on. Leaving a trail of discarded clothing along the way to the back office.

“To fulfill your promise. So I can fulfill mine. And we can all, you know, not die horribly. Sir.”

The Doctor pauses at the doorway, abstractly aware that they are at - for them - an unusual level of undress. “And that’s all?”

“That’s all.” Nardole swallows hard, then nods firmly, and flees back to his cupboard.

The Doctor sleeps on the floor again.

The fourth time, it’s to a dark, crowded club. It’s too much, a mistake potentially but there is an energy here that almost makes sense. On stage, a complicated knot-tying routine is being demonstrated on a very flexible young man. The Doctor purchases an appletini with a handful of coin and approaches the display.

Ropes pulling tight against skin, the crowd reacting, the young man closing his eyes. The Doctor takes a sip of their drink and immediately abandons it on a nearby table.

“Fancy meeting you here,” someone says. Someone sidles up. Ms Flowers, decidedly more in the way of leather and butch than she was during the extremely normal pub quiz.

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” they say.

“Oh, I’m already out. Within tasteful reason, of course, but life’s too short to hide. And you? Is this your dirty secret, or are you just here as a tourist?”

Both. Neither. “To be here, very much here. And held to it, kept to it, by - ” They want to say ‘by humans’, but that’d be an obvious flag. “ - By someone who doesn’t care. Or, not that, but - ”

“I know what you mean,” Ms Flowers says. “For that-” She gestures to the stage. “To be its own world. Not about sex or relationships, just a mutually-beneficial process. You’re gay, right? You and your assistant…”

The Doctor blinks, staring at the sweat pouring off the brow of the man trussed up under the lights. “None of that, actually.”

“Close enough. I’m up next, I’ll be asking for a volunteer from the audience and obviously it’s staged, I have someone ready to jump in, but if you’d like…?”  She raises her eyebrows, and sets her half-finished drink on the table, and wanders off.

To be here and nowhere else. To be for them, their pleasure and need. Explicitly, like, and acknowledged. Which is something very powerful for a very, very, very old Time Lord set adrift and beholden on this planet. The lights flicker and the Doctor raises their hand.

And they go.

Time slows, but not in a bad way, as they make their way up to the stage. They’re not the ideal expected subject, they know - they did a Google - but press on through the ambivalent noises of the crowd.

“Are you alright?” she asks, in what might as well be a whisper, considering the ambient volume here.

“If you are. I’m here for you. All of you. Just - give the order.”

It’s like finally slotting into place, letting Ms Flowers strap them into the St Andrew’s Cross. No more temptations, no urges, the wanderlust kicked back. They’re here, they are very much here. And they, somehow, relax. Finally.

Nardole’s still waiting up when they get home, loose-limbed and bruised. They can feel it, under their clothes, the marks left. The reminders.

“I’m going to go lie down on the floor,” they say, heading towards the back office.

“I’m just curious - where is it that you go? When you’re not going anywhere?”

“Here,” the Doctor says, paused at the doorway, swaying slightly. “Just here. G'night.”

“G'night,” Nardole responds, after a slight delay. “Sleep tight, don’t fuck off out into all of space and time.”

“I’ll try not to,” the Doctor says, slamming the door shut behind them.