#i think rest of the critters are well known enough

[dingyhongy]

the

indie game critter creatures

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

Alright know what here's a little Guild Wars 2 reblog game for everybody; what mounts (if any) do your characters have in their canon, do they have names? Personalities? How'd they meet??

Spill it all below, tell me about all your creatures!!

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Insectiride

Debut: Mario Party 6

Mario and friends get up to all sorts of shenanigans! Many of these are dangerous shenanigans, and I would prefer not to get involved with them. If I were to fall in lava or be hit by a barrage of hammers thrown by a turtle, I would Die! I lament this fact, but I am no scrimblo. However, some of the antics are good safe fun, and that includes the act of racing in funny bug-shaped vehicles! I wish I could do that in real life!

Though there is a snail among these insects, for the sake of simplicity, I will call all these creatures Bugs. I usually reserve that term for arthropods, but I don't feel like saying "creepy-crawlies" a bunch of times in this post like some kind of Talking Flower. So Bugs. There are some people who'd call a snail a bug without even a disclaimer! Can you imagine that?

Players begin Insectiride by choosing their vehicle out of the four unique options! I think I played this minigame once and I THINK I used the grasshopper. I think it still might be my favorite! I'm sorry to this snail, but I don't like it much. It looks like pizza, and I like pizza a lot- I regularly observe #pizzafriday- but it's just not the sort of thing I'd like a snail's skin to remind me of.

Each of these bugs has its own control scheme! The player on the ladybug must press the indicated button ten times quickly to make it crawl forward a bit. The player on the grasshopper must press a sequence of various buttons to make it hop forward a few times. The player on the stag beetle must press each indicated button that appears one at a time, each press making it push along a bit. And finally, the player on the snail must press A when its body extends fully to make it pull the shell along behind.

When playing this with humans, there is probably no one Best Bug to reliably choose, since human reaction time must be taken into account. If playing against ambitious robots, however, there is absolutely an imbalance! In tool-assisted speedruns, Grasshopper is the winner, followed by Ladybug, Stag Beetle, and poor Snail in last...

Mario Party 6 is a Koopa Kid Game! And there is official art of him riding the funny ladybug mechanism! I'm glad he got to have fun here. We all know he isn't having fun where he is now... in the Purgatory Zone... poor kid. Oh well! That's life!

Those were the only four bug vehicles present in Insectiride, but in Mario Party 3's Ridiculous Relay, there was another! Way before all the rest! Here we have a Skeeter-inspired contraption, allowing the operator to maneuver across the surface of the water! I think this would be the main mode of transportation in Wet-Dry World, for those who are not already Skeeters. Between being a mecharthropod and having a strange control scheme that must be displayed to the player, I would not at all be surprised if this was an inspiration for Insectiride!

Now don't think you're getting out of this post without some real Bug Facts! Humans, of course, are much too large to ride on a bug. To be small enough to ride a bug, you would have to be a bug yourself. And some bugs do indeed do this! This is phoresy, the interaction in which one animal will latch onto another animal for the purpose of travel. Usually, the hitchhiker will be a tiny arachnid such as a mite (including ticks), or my favorite arachnid, a pseudoscorpion!

Phoresy is EXTREMELY funny to me. A teensy little critter will just grab onto the leg of a fly or something, and away they will go! Hang on tight! This is a type of symbiosis known as commensalism, where one organism (in this case, the one hanging on) benefits, while the other (the host) is largely unaffected. Humans riding horses is another example of phoresy! A human can be like a mite sometimes. Ok, see you later! *grabs onto a hoverfly's leg and flies away*

[starsfic]

DogDay is initially anxious and withdrawn after waking up in his new body and life, but the genuine care and support he gets from the Ranglers and mascots gradually helps him find his old optimistic spark again. Seeing his old friends slowly make a comeback one by one definitely helps. He gradually learns as time goes on that he doesn't have to always be the emotionally supportive one, and (most of) the other Critters are more than happy to return the emotional support he's given them in the past back to him. When CatNap revealed to the other Critters what was happening on August 8, 1995 as it was going down, all the other Critters had their reserves about the whole thing, but DogDay was the one to stand his ground and refuse to go along with it, which inspired the rest to follow suit.

Trying out a number of different hobbies he didn't have as much time for when PlayCo was just using him mainly for manual labor, DogDay has taken a particular interest in video games. In fact, he seems to find an odd comfort in playing horror games, including mascot horror games, either in spite of or because of his past, though he still gets enjoyment out of feel-good games on the side. After the Smiling Critters' inclusion at Indigo Park becomes public knowledge, DogDay starts his own gamer streaming channel and is known for always having positive things to say to his viewers no matter what genre of game he's playing.

Bubba Bubbaphant is the first Critter other than DogDay whose remains are found and used to transfer him to a new body, and DogDay was overjoyed to be shown this to be in the works, as it was the first concrete evidence that his friends may not be dead for good. Working for PlayCo, the Bigger Bodies Experiment based on Bubba would have his intellect and photographic memory (traits that got his former human self selected as a subject in the first place) used for problem solving skills, but he was given little to no freedom for real critical thinking and none at all for having opinions. So it takes him by surprise for a while when he's given full freedom of both by the Rangler staff. Bubba is, in turn, happy to occasionally contribute to the technical upkeep of the park and more than happy to jump in and assist in designing the new bodies of later recovered Critters. Bubba does enjoy gaming as well, albeit not to the extent of DogDay, and has a particular talent for puzzle games. DogDay would occasionally bring him on as a guest on his livestreams, to his initial embarrassment. Bubba's trunk on his Bigger Bodies form was fully functional, and the same is true for the trunk on his new form. Both were/are somewhat notably bigger on his face than what's depicted in his official artwork.

Bobby BearHug was the next one recovered (the news was broken to DogDay and Bubba by showing her recovered emblem as a humorous "late Valentine's Day" present). Bubba recalls the troubled production her Bigger Bodies Experiment form went through with multiple surgeries before she was able to properly move, sense the world, and ultimately even talk. Bubba had managed to discover the concept of ASL to communicate with her in the meantime, and all the Critters still remember how to this day, even CatNap (if this sounds like a PP fic prompt you still have in your ask box, there's a reason for that, lol). Similarly to DogDay, Bobby starts to learn that it's OK to put her own emotional needs first from time to time.

CraftyCorn (or just Crafty most of the time in conversation) came next. Like each newly remade Critter when first coming online, Crafty was a wary at first of the freedom the ones remade previously express in living how they want but grows to embrace that freedom. Funny enough, it's the park's designated "antagonist" Salem that draw's Crafty's attention by identifying as something other than girl or boy, something pretty much everyone around them supports and goes along with. This leads Crafty to explore their own gender identify and ultimately identifying exclusively as they/them, which the other Critters wholly support (albeit with Bobby jokingly "complaining" that she's back to being the only girl back at that point).

Crafty continues to express themself in creative endeavors, given even more creative freedom than PlayCo gave them. At times, this includes artwork with some disturbing imagery inspired by their past experiences, including things she witnessed during the Hour of Joy. The hired on-site therapist encourages this on the basis that it helps them process lingering unresolved feelings. Crafty creates puppet animation assets for themself and the other Critters, based stylistically somewhere between their old cartoon depictions and their current android forms, with eyes inspired more by the art style of Indigo Park's mascot designs. As I previously established, Rambley wasn't even aware until DogDay one day casually slid on screen next to him.

Hoppy Hopscotch came next, so Bobby was once more no longer the only girl in the gradually regrowing group. She was perhaps the most actively curious out of all the Critters getting revived and occasionally needed to be reigned in before the public could take notice until Indigo Park's legal team either influenced/proved their brand's shift to public domain or secured it for themselves (whichever of those two I go with). For a while, Hoppy would occasionally slip up and accidentally address Crafty as a girl before correcting herself. Apparently, she was ultimately caught as the Hour of Joy was still ongoing trying to spring-jump low-level employees caught in the massacre to safety.

KickinChicken (or just Kickin) was perhaps the most initially distrusting of the Rangler staff and park cast, not counting CatNap who had his own reasons. He was certain at first that he and the others were being lulled into a false sense of security and expected another proverbial shoe to drop. But gradually, he grew to realize the freedom and support they were getting now came from a genuine place. Kickin found Crafty identifying as neither boy nor girl and everyone allowing them to do so amusing, which ultimately led to him questioning himself. While being called a girl had some appeal, he still liked being called a boy. That's when he was told by Bubba, who spent time researching the subject to be a good ally, that bigender is a thing. Following this, Kickin would come out to the others by jokingly asking Crafty if he can have their old pronouns if they're not using them anymore. She has also taken to music, particularly singing and a little in songwriting. Heavy metal is a genre Kickin has gravitated towards, and he hopes to use it to process and express his feelings of past trauma.

PickyPiggy (alternatively, Picky Piggy, two words, or just Picky) has an initially awkward time adjusting to no longer having a body with a stomach, relying only on water. She always did enjoy baking and cooking food just as much as she did eating, however. According to her files, the human test subject who became her had apparently been given her own Owen the Oven to use, despite the toy having been pulled off the market due to multiple lawsuits over second- and third-degree burns. Even without taste buds nowadays, Picky has an intricate understanding of how to to combine ingredients well for tasty and filling meals; she's interested in pursuing nutritional science studies.

Nobody at Indigo Park knew CatNap was no longer an accepted member of the Smiling Critters group until they were already partway through designing his rebuild, mainly because the Critters were so cagey about addressing the alleged "former friend turned traitor" that it didn't even occur to them that said former friend was, himself, a Critter. Rambley was quite happy to show DogDay that the eight and final Critter was on his way to a comeback only to be surprised when met by a quiet yet forceful "No." They went through with it anyway, reasoning that CatNap was just a frightened kid forcibly turned into a living plaything like the rest of them and probably just needed proper adult guidance, to which DogDay reluctantly agreed on the grounds that CatNap be kept away from the rest for the time being.

CatNap is constantly kept on surveillance during his rehabilitation period and kept away from anything he could potentially use to harm others or possibly even himself. He is given a private room to himself, where he stays when he isn't being escorted around the Rangler areas, and he at one point calls it "a luxury suite compared to his old cage," but he hates that it's nicknamed "The Cathouse". Despite openly not wanting to be around CatNap, DogDay finds himself occasionally peeking in on him via his Crafty-made puppet-animated form and the screen in The Cathouse. For a while, this would typically lead to arguing matches, as both are unapologetic for their opposing actions back in 1995. Eventually, as time goes on and CatNap slowly and reluctantly alters his worldview, things start to cool down between the two during DogDay's virtual visits, though DogDay still isn't letting him forget he lost his legs to him.

The Critters all have artificially-generated voices modeled after voice clips of their characters, though some creative liberties have been taken for CatNap, since the most anyone could find of him was audio of snoring. They initially have no memories of their past human lives, aside from CatNap having second-hand knowledge from the Prototype. But as they undergo therapy sessions and explore themselves over time, bits and pieces come back to them every so often in their dreams. Interestingly, they rediscover that they all sort of knew each other before the experiments to some degree or another. Even Theo, CatNap's former life who was noted for a lack of friends at PlayCare, has some memories of Neil, DogDay's former life, trying to connect with him, though DogDay seemingly regains those memories first. Perhaps that past attempt to make friends subconsciously made CatNap's betrayal sting all the more.

OOH, this is all so great!

Is the "DogDay plays video games" inspired by that one YouTuber who has started playing as DogDay? I know it would be complex, given the whole copyright issue, but maybe it would be fun for Indigo Park to draw attention via its characters streaming and playing video games!

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

Heya, how good of pets do you believe a Nuzleaf could be? I really like them. They're just lil masked guys.

Nuzleaf is a tricky one. While I certainly recognize the appeal of these silly little guys, and they don’t seem to be particularly violent or anything, but it seems like they just plain don’t like people. That, as a starting point, is unfortunately not a great one.

At three feet tall, I must admit that nuzleafs are a bit bigger than I thought. This certainly doesn’t make them too big to live in a home, but it would bring with it some complications. For one, wild nuzleafs are prolific climbers (Emerald). Giving a three-foot-tall pet enough spaced to climb around might not be the easiest if you don’t have access to trees (their natural jungle gym of choice) for them to explore and play in. These pokémon are also known to live in holes bored in the sides of trees (FireRed/LeafGreen). The pokédex isn’t clear about if nuzleafs carve out these burrows themselves or if they find holes already created by other species. Either way, you will need to provide your nuzleaf with an enclosed burrow-like space to rest in, which may be beyond the means of some owners.

But really, here’s the thing: this species does not like humans. Nuzleafs live deep in “densely overgrown forests” (Ruby, HeartGold/SoulSilver), and they seem to be solitary, territorial critters (Scarlet). Whenever anyone, especially humans, enter a nuzleaf’s territory, they will try to scare them off by making unnerving sounds with a flute made from the leaf on their head (Sapphire). This sound is known to make listeners feel full of dread, afraid, uncertain, and uneasy (Sapphire, FireRed/LeafGreen, Diamond/Pearl/Platinum). The only time that nuzleafs leave their forest of their own accord is specifically to frighten humans (Ruby). According to all the available data, I can’t really assume that a nuzleaf would enjoy being a pet. It seems like they much prefer living alone in the forest.

But are they dangerous? Well, kind of? Nuzleafs boast a pretty versatile move set, utilizing Normal, Grass, Dark, Ghost, Rock, Fire, and even Flying-Type moves. Nuzleafs are mostly physical fighters, making use of their mobility and weapons like razor-sharp leaves to take down enemies. They can use a few moves that should really raise eyebrows, like Explosion, which could easily prove lethal in the wrong situation. You probably don’t want to get on a nuzleaf’s bad side. But hey, there’s some good news on that front. For one, as previously alluded to, it seems like thos species prefers to scare off intruders rather than fight them. If you do find yourself on the receiving end of a nuzleaf’s attack, try to grab their nose. Nuzleafs’ noses are the center of all their sensory functions (Violet): grabbing a nuzleaf’s nose renders them powerless (Emerald).

Overall, I don’t think this pokémon is the best choice for a pet. They’re a naturally solitary and territorial bunch that prefer to stay away from humans and even delight in terrifying them. If you think you could melt their cold heart, go for it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

[lady-of-endless]

JJBA part 3 & part 6 match-up for @critter-paw

Author's Note: I love writing and talking about matchups. The whole process is fun so thank you for another trade. I also appreciate all the matchups that I got from all!

(Lovely gif is not mine, I'll thank the owner for it)

From part 3, I ship you with...

Kujo Jotaro

(Again. Yes. I know. But I'll adapt it to his personality from part 3. I just can't get enough of you two.)

- This stoic guy is secretly a sucker for kindhearted people, and he notices you being one from the start, even if you're reserved. He still understood that. Jotaro will see how you always listen to others and secretly wish it was him the one you paid attention to like that. But then he remembers he doesn't like opening up to someone forcefully.

- So it is known, he's not too open nor friendly to people at first. He enjoys that your presence is not pressuring him into weird conversations. In time, everything feels more natural and you two start warming to each other and surprise (not) it feels good.

- And to know that you have brains too? Where are you coming from?

- I already said that he would admire your interest in Psychology and Criminal Justice but now I want to mention your interest in Botany. He finds it peculiar in a good way. I imagine that seeing you talk about plants motivates him to indulge in his own interest in Marine Biology.

- Too nice? Perfect. It will balance with his apparent harshness. Imagine Polnareff asking you to ask Jotaro something because he looked kind of angry and he's scared. All of the Crusaders will do that. Hot-headed? He loves it. He's looking at you proudly when you have a fiery reaction from time to time.

- He sighs deeply when he hears you apologize so often and to people who don't deserve your attention. It will reach a point when even with the rest of the group around, he'll cup your face with both of his hands and tell you to stop apologising. Even if his tone is serious, his hands are gentle.

- Another power couple coming through, not only because of how well you're completing each other but also aesthetically wise. I feel like this is available with each style you mentioned, I can't say which one he likes the most, his reactions differ. For example, when you go for gothic, he'll feel even more confident next to you. When you wear something pastel, his cheeks will have a rosy tint he'll hide with his hat.

Runner-up: Kakyoin Noriaki - He's secretive about his fascination for you. However, you'll still find him looking at you from afar way too often.

From part 6, I ship you with...

Narciso Anasui

(I know it feels like I've pulled the uno reverse card with this one but hear me out.)

- Anasui is utterly fascinated by you once he notices how you're teasing the people you care for, affectionately. He wishes to get with you to that level too. You'll be able to see the fascination in his eyes crystal clear even if at first he doesn't verbalize it.

- Your emotional intelligence comes in handy when trying to understand his complex personality.

- Psychology and Criminal Justice? He finds it both worthy of admiration and scary. He might feel a bit anxious that you'll judge him and his sins. He'll try to act differently when you're around, trying to be excessively nice but you see right through him. Once you pull him aside and let him know that he doesn't have to act differently and just be himself, he's almost already on his knees to propose to you.

- However, he might still feel just a little exposed when you're around, vulnerable even. It's bittersweet. To know that someone can see right through him but that someone is you? It thrills him in a good way.

- Might also think you're too nice but he's not at all worried about you. He's seen you stand up for yourself before (and he was your biggest supporter, shouting to kick that idiot who tried to disrespect you). He's your fan and a smooth talker too when he wants so expect a good amount of compliments from him. Hell, he'll even go for poetic sweet words just to impress him. He'll put in a lot of work, you're worth it after all.

- About betrayal...He knows how it feels, very well, and hates it that you had to go through it. Someone so lovely and nice. And because he hates betrayal, expect to get pure loyalty from him with no exception.

- I can see him getting baffled an entire day if he sees you in gothic or pastel outfits. Everyone will tease him all day for being whipped and he won't even be able to have a comeback.

Runner-up: Weather Report (ofc): your presence is just so calming to him. He simply finds himself so drawn to you. You'll be the very few people he will open up to.

[bayoubashsims]

Senescence

Senescence is a short visual story of the twilight years of Agnes Crumplebottom (the title is inspired by this machinima, about a Crumplebottom as well, check it out guys, it’s so lovely). I wrote this many years ago in my teens and illustrated it (with my limited drawing skills), and found the time to do the story in TS2 some time ago.

This post is dedicated to elder Sims, who I feel are often overlooked as they are often so in real life as well. With the COVID-19 epidemic going on at the time of this post, I fully realized how vulnerable elders are and I feel we must care for them especially in these times. 

When people commented about this epidemic being a ‘boomer-remover’, it stroke me as insensitive, because even though I know there are a lot of unpleasant older people out there, a lot of them are still pleasant and our loved ones (plus, not only older people are vulnerable). 

Agnes Crumplebottom was not known as a nice Sim, but her story in The Sims 3 enabled us to look at her in a different way. I was both tickled and touched by @yakumtsaki's words on Agnes here–poor woman is probably only able to rest in peace once she kicks the bucket, so, here is my attempt at a touching tribute before she did.

Also, I suggest listening to this playlist while reading this!

Everyone around Downtown knew the pitter-patter of those shoes. Couples would flee in horror, the scantily dressed would rush to the bushes, and pickpockets dared not go near her infamous purse. But that day was strange. She walked cheerfully past an unwary pair of lovebirds locked in amorous embrace on a bench and she greeted a young woman in a sequinned tube top ‘good morning!’.

She went to her usual spot, a pair of green, wooden recliners near the pond at the Crumplebottom Memorial Park (named after a renowned relative who was unfortunately crushed to death by a chandelier many years ago). She brought out some bread crumbs and fed the ducks swimming at the pond, swarming at her by the side. She was always so kind to animals. But to people? Not so much.

“There you go, little darlings!” She said to them, her voice high-pitched and rickety. A duck came near her feet to peck off the crumbs near her shoes. She didn’t realize it was there until it had pecked the toe of her shoe.

“Ooh!” She exclaimed, giggling a bit. “Aren’t you a curious one!“

She took out her lorgnette glasses and inspected the little critter. The people walking by were rather confused by this. She’d usually sit down and feed the ducks, but giggle and smile? They’re not even sure if it’s really THE Agnes Crumplebottom. Truth be told, they haven’t seen her for the past few months. At any rate, it was a quiet autumn day, and there weren’t many people around. 

She sat down and allowed the curious little fowl approach her. "Now don’t you peck and be a good girl, alright? I’m just here to relax.” 

She caressed the pearl necklace hanging around her neck. “My fiancé gave this to me, you know. He’s just the most darling thing! And his last name is Darling, too, funnily enough. I’m going to be Agnes Darling very soon. Isn’t that wonderful?”

She adjusted her weaved picture hat and seemed rather confused. “Why am I, why am I wearing this…hat? Where’s my grey hat? Oh, darn. I must’ve left it at my sister’s. My word.”

“What was the name of her son again? Murray? Mortimer? Oh, he’d love ducks, I think. Those little boys are always up to something, but he seems like a bright young man. I’ve never really had a chance to spend much time with him. Truth be told, I don’t know him or his father that well. So silly of me. Oh! And I’m talking to a duck!”

She laughed, then sat back and took a deep breath and looked around.

“My my. Where is Erik? He said he was going to meet me here.”

Agnes rose from her seat and approached the rental shack at the corner of the park, not far from there. The rental shack clerk was raking the leaves nonchalantly whilst humming and heard the pitter-patter of shoes approaching. He lifted his head and greeted the woman, after only seeing half of her from under his hat.

“Good afternoon, how can I he–ELP YO-uu…” He jumped, fixing his glasses that slipped off his nose in shock.

“Merciful heavens! What on earth is the matter with you?” She yelled, lorgnette glasses in hand, inspecting him suspiciously.

“No–nothing, Miss Crumplebottom.”

“I was wondering, have you seen my fiancé? He’s about so tall and has blonde hair?”

The rental shack clerk was quiet for a few moments. “Fiancé?”

“I thought I was asking the questions, here!” Agnes yelled.

“Um…um…no, I haven’t…I thought he…your husband…passed on?”

Agnes lift her left eyebrow. “Husband? Passed on?”

The rental shack clerk looked both confused and scared.

Agnes blinked a few times, saying nothing and looking like she was thinking about something. She turned around and walked away, leaving the rental shack clerk relieved and he went back into his shack to go about his business. 

“Oh, what nonsense. Passed on. Passed on where...” She rubbed her pearl necklace and looked apprehensive. She clutched her pearls tightly and squinted her eyes, fiddling with her fingers.

Agnes walked a few meters away into the park and stopped. She dropped her purse and began sobbing as she fell to the ground. It had all came back to her.

The honeymoon. The accident. The years of pain and hurt and the bitterness that followed. She had woken up that day like a new woman, who only remembered of her days before all of that disappointment, the false hope of love. 

How confused would the Downtowners be had they seen it. They’ve never seen her cry or express any emotion other than rage. The younger ones hardly knew who she was except for the stories they’ve heard about the purse of terror.

Some simply thought she was just a demented old bat. Now, even more. Those years of self-righteousness were born out of the disappointment, but now, she was no longer a threat. If anything, she realized that she had been her own biggest threat in the decades that she’s lived. 

“Aunt Agnes!” Called out a woman’s voice, running towards her. A hand grasped her arm and helped her up as the elder lady trembled. Agnes could barely see, worsened by her tears. She squinted but didn’t know who it was.

“Who is this–who are you? I don’t know you…” She asked, meekly, in between little sniffs.

“It’s me, Cassandra.”

She sobbed and shook her head. “I don’t know! I don’t know where, who–”

“Cassandra. Your sister’s granddaughter, remember? Grandma Cornelia?”

“Oh…” She answered, as if she remembered, but not really. Nevertheless, she calmed down. “Cornelia, Cornelia. Yes.” 

Cassandra led her great-aunt into the wheelchair she had brought and sat her down gently, tucking her purse firmly into her lap. “Aunt Agnes, you shouldn’t have left the house. It’s lucky that your nurse called me, we’ve been trying to find you for hours. You know you can’t go out on your own.” 

“I don’t know…I’m lost…I couldn’t find Erik…”

Cassandra tilted her head and put her hand over her shoulder.

“Why don’t we get you home, Aunt Agnes? Would you like that?”

Agnes leaned her head to the side and nodded.

[souglias]

I see there's still a slot left for foul legacy: raging tide so I hope I'm not too late to request something 👀

Three things about me:

As I said in my other ask, I love to draw and write and I try to do that as much as I can during my free time between hw and class. Although it's been much harder to find time during college and I am often plagued with art/ writer's block 😔

I'm a bio major and I have no problem with handling bugs and other little critters that most people get queasy about. Once you've dissected sheep brains and whole squids, grabbing a spider isn't such a big deal lol

It generally takes me a while to start seeing someone as a close friend rather than a friendly acquaintance that I sometimes see in class. In the same vein it also takes me a while to begin considering someone as a possible romantic partner bc I only start to feel attraction after I've known them for a while and established an emotional connection

I'm a big fan of the star student/delinquent trope and even though I'm not really the type that only cares about studying, I do generally prioritize that over other things

Thank you in advance!! I can't wait to see the rest of this event unfold :D

The Delinquent [Childe]

c/w: mentions and implications of rumours, implication of bad school culture, Biology dissection (not described in detail)

Note: Hello!! I'm so so sorry this fic took so long! I wasn't particularly inspired for this fic so I was holding it off, then school came in the way for quite a bit. I don't know much about dissections, but I did a quick Google search and I hope I've written it such that it's not too difficult to believe. I hope that you enjoy this!

word count: 1.5k

--

Sun and moon. Both you and Childe live worlds apart. The two of you are only in each other’s orbit, seeing each other from a distance. The closest that you’ll ever get is being a few seats away in biology class. However, even though you only share one class with him, you know him all too well.

Childe is the infamous sporty kid in school. He’s also one who often wins academic competitions for the school. The student body doesn’t necessarily dislike him either. In fact, the girls adore him. They think that he’s hot and charming. But outside of his friend group, everyone is mostly too intimidated by his aura to approach him. 

You can also always count on Childe to constantly talk back to teachers and staff. Now and then, you would catch him breaking school rules by exploiting their loopholes. The school hasn’t expelled him, given that he’s not causing harm or trouble to anyone. On top of that, he largely excels in many areas. Though… There are rumours of him beating other students up. But no one has actually seen him do so.

You, on the other hand, keep to your group of friends. That’s how you decided you were going to spend the rest of your school life. Comfortable with a group of friends that you cherish deeply, out of the spotlight. 

That is until Childe decides to collide into your world for a reason you cannot bring yourself to turn down. Okay, you could have, but you don't dare to.

As a short breather from studying in the library, you doodle a little. Childe walks up to your side while you’re doing so. 

With a volume lower than usual, he greets you. “Hey, [name]- Oh these look pretty cute.”

You dropped your pencil on your notebook, taken aback that the Childe is talking to you. 

“What’s up, Childe?” you ask as your hand subtly shifts above the doodles in your notebook. Honestly, you want nothing to do with him. But, at the same time, you are courteous enough not to shut someone out the first time they speak to you.

He smiles sheepishly as he requests, “Sorry to bother you, but could you give me a demonstration on the dissection of a sheep’s brain?”

You only blink at him in response. You asked him to repeat, making sure you didn’t mishear him. Assuming you couldn’t hear him, he raises his volume. Only slightly, so as not to disturb other students. 

“I need some help on dissecting a sheep’s brain and I’d like you to show me a demonstration. Would that be okay for you?”

Fumbling over your words a little, you agree to help him with his dissection. “Great! Thank you so much, [name]. Will tomorrow after our biology lesson be good?”

“Yeah, sure…”

With that, he walks off with a slight skip in his steps. But you, on the other hand, are highly preoccupied with your thoughts. You think you got a little too nervous around him. They say you shouldn’t show fear in front of what you are afraid of. Wait, since when were you afraid of him?

On top of that worry, you aren’t sure if you should be proud that Childe thinks highly enough of you to ask you for help, or if you should be concerned that you are now responsible for tutoring the infamous school delinquent instead. 

Do you really know the dissection like the back of your hand? What if he asks you about the details that you've thrown to the back of your mind? As an extra precaution, you start to relook at your notes on the dissection. Before you sleep at night, you give your notes one last read too.

The next day, you realise during lessons that you forgot to check if there was a supervising teacher present after school. For students to use the laboratory after school, there is a rule stating that a teacher has to be present. Childe probably wouldn’t heed that rule in normal circumstances. But since your last lesson is Biology in the laboratory with him, your teacher would definitely know both of you are staying back. If there was no one around, your teacher wouldn’t permit you two to use the room and kick the both of you out. 

So, you pray. You pray that there wouldn’t be any supervising teacher, so you’d get to slip out on Childe. But unfortunately, when class ends, you find out that your teacher is on duty today.

Sighing internally, you resign yourself to helping Childe. As you prepare your workbench, you catch your teacher's eyes darting between the two of you. Likely surprised that both of you speak to each other, you suppose. You'd be surprised too.

When all the preparation is done, you try to hide your disappointment and ask, “So, how do you want me to teach this to you?” 

“You can do a step-by-step demonstration, then I’ll try to follow along.”

After every step, you check on the steps that he executes. While doing so, you notice how slender his hands are and the little faded scars on them. 

“[Name]? We can continue.”

You snap out of your daze and mutter an apology, continuing the dissection. At some point, you stop him. “Hold on, you’re about to cut the wrong part.”

He shifts his gaze over to your scalpel, trying to assess the exact point to cut. Before he does anything, you move over to his side as you always do when you teach your friends. You wrap your hand around his that holds the scalpel and you guide his hand.

Childe becomes momentarily distracted by your touch on his. He tries to ignore the feeling of his skin tingling and regain his focus. 

(But it is for nought because all he can think of is how cool you are for being so good at Biology. Heck, not just Biology, but other subjects too. Words of your consistently stellar grades don’t escape him.)

You only realise the proximity between the two of you after you let go of his hand. Taking a step back, your leg bumps into the stool. You stumble for a bit. Childe’s hand reaches out to your arm and it hovers right above your skin, ready to catch you. But you don’t fall and a few moments pass.

Inside, you beat yourself up a little for almost falling onto the ground in front of someone you’ve barely spoken to before. You straighten yourself and Childe withdraws his hand back to his side. 

You clear your throat in an attempt to dissipate the tension in the air. “There’s only one more step left to go. I can show that to you and if you’re good, we can pack up.”

You note how hot your face feels and hope he doesn’t tell this to his friend circle. You don’t particularly like them, given the amount of drama they attract. 

You try to concentrate, though the incident earlier remains at the front of your mind. Soon, he ends the procedure without a hitch, so you assume that you’ve taught him the right step despite your lack of focus. With that, both of you clean up the workbench. 

Childe finishes cleaning up faster than you. He always packs up quickly after class, and you chalk up his speed to his desire to leave class early. You think he’s about to leave when he comes over to help you. When he does, he thanks you.

“Thanks for the tutoring session, [name].”

A few seconds of silence lapse. You’re not sure if you should thank him for helping you. But before you say anything, he asks, “Say… could I ask you for more help next time? I struggle quite a bit with Biology.”

Immediately, you nod. It'll just be more tutoring sessions that'll benefit you too. Though, you ask, “Don’t you have friends who do Biology?”

Childe’s face sours a little, a smile still plastered on his face. He whispers, “Let’s just say that while I do hang out with them, I don’t like to stay around them more than I need to.”

Your eyes widen slightly. The two of you have more in common than you thought.

As the two of you walk down the hallways to the exit, he exchanges contacts with you. Childe does a tiny fist pump in the air. “Nice! Now, we can easily arrange study sessions!”

He turns to look at you and offers, “If you need anything too, you can always ask me!”

Childe flashes you a smile. He’s really not so bad.

When the two of you part ways at the school gate, you wave to him. He returns one with that annoyingly vibrant smile of his. But, maybe you could get used to this.

Only then do you realise, oh, you are in so much danger. The moon is reaching its orbit closest to the sun now.

--

All likes and reblogs are appreciated! Thank you <3

[princesscolumbia]

It's time to spin the wheels!

So a few weeks ago a post floated into my awareness for #AU roulette 2024, and here's me working on becoming more well known and widespread as a writer, so I thought, "Why not?"

Well, I just got my assignments, and they are as follows:

Ghost/Cryptid Hunters

Western

Coffee Shop

Because you can't just pick your favorite of all your babies, I decided to randomize it a bit and found a dual-wheel spinner:

As of this moment (now...no, now. Now!) I haven't spun them yet, but I will be doing so in a moment...as soon as I set myself a couple more rules:

No Ranma/Ghost hunter, I'm already doing that for one of my current WIPs (Double Isekai) and that just wouldn't be sporting

No pairing up The Locked Tome with Coffee Shop. There's already a canonical, in-story Coffee Shop AU (and if you don't believe me you haven't read Harrow the Ninth)

No Star Trek/Western. Since the original Trek series did this to the point where Enterprise and Lower Decks followed suit and Next Gen did a holodeck episode of it, it just doesn't seem like a challenge if I did this. (As hawt as Troi-as-Durango is, to much of a gimme)

So, with no further ado, let's spin!

MLP: FiM - Coffee Shop

Divine Beans - Donut Joe is getting on in years and expanded his offerings from his beloved donuts to include coffee, and in the years since he's catered to many, many customers...but none quite so unusual as the two that showed up on the twentieth anniversary of Princess Twilight's coronation.

She-ra (2018) - Western

Big Enough - Adora's retiring. After nearly a decade of hunting down rogues and outlaws, she did one too many jobs that made her feel dirtier than a pair of riding boots at the end of a long ride. She finds a small town that's not likely to have ever heard of her and moves out to live out the rest of her days...but doesn't expect one of the most notorious gang leaders she'd ever faced to be in the same little town.

MLP: EqG - Ghost/Cryptid Hunters

In Plain Sight - Sunset is the producer of the show 'Un/Known,' where the hosts seek to prove or disprove the existence of ghosts and cryptids. The hosts are the ever sensible Applejack, known for her down-to-earth attitude, skepticism of the supernatural, and methodical approach to their investigations and the wildcard Rainbow Dash, ever ready to charge right in and ready to believe in even the wildest supernatural stories. Behind the scenes, Rarity does their make-up and wardrobe. Fluttershy is the animal wrangler, often discovering that a 'haunting' was just a poor critter that wandered where it didn't belong. On both the technical advisory side and the in-field editor angle is Twilight Sparkle, also known to their fans as "SciTwi," who brings a level of lore knowledge and research that boggles even the most die-hard believers in their audience. Pinkie Pie is...there. Nobody's quite sure what she does or how she follows them from shoot to shoot, but she's not on the payroll and apparently is completely oblivious to the fact that she's on a show, she just insists on "hanging out with her friends." To everyone's frustration, she's not a cryptid.

What none of the rest know is that Sunset is a cryptid. An alien to this universe, to be specific. She's been able to keep this a secret for years now...but there's a report of a new cryptid appearing in the form of a tall, willowy woman (with "Big Mom energy" according to a local witness) in exactly the small, suburban town she first arrived on this world in, and worse, she suspects she knows exactly who the new 'cryptid' is.

Well there you have it, three AUs, all ideas I had not before receiving the email.

Rules of participation say I only need to post one, but my personal stretch goal will be all three.

Oh, and keep an eye out for a surprise in each of these.

...what, you didn't really think I wasn't gonna sneak something into this, did you? 😉

[idolises]

(  taylor zakhar perez,  cis man,  he / him  )  —  🎬  just  announced,  DOMINIC 'MICKEY'  SOSA  is  casted  as  TYLER LOCKWOOD  in  upcoming  THE VAMPIRE DIARIES  reboot.  the  twenty - nine  year  old  is  trending  as  people  are  debating  if  the  redbull spiked espresso shot hastily tossed back before an early shoot , a notification packed phone - thousands of unread emails , ignored voicemails and messages left untouched , a kilowatt smile and easy laugh that lights up the room , never backing down from a challenge  that  they  are  known  for  is  enough  to  make  them  as  good  as  original.  a  quick  google  search  shows  that  their  fans  call  them  easygoing,  but  internet  trolls  think  they’re  more  libertine.  i  guess  their  newest  interview  for  variety  where  they  talk  about  his arsenal of useless party tricks  will  let  people  to  know  them  better.

*　　　　&　　◞　　　　𝐢　　　　.　　　　BASICS

full name : dominic emiliano sosa nickname(s) : mickey ( primary ) , dom , d age + bday : twenty - nine + december 3rd ( sagittarius ) gender + pronouns : cisgendered man + he / him / his orientation : biromantic bisexual language(s) : spanish , english hometown : boston

*　　　　&　　◞　　　　𝐢𝐢　　　　.　　　　BACKGROUND

mickey sosa has always been a dreamer - a fun - loving , carefree spirit who inspired likeminded antics in everyone he was around. as a child he drove his mother crazy , worried her sick , with skinned knees , broken bones and various reptilian / woodland critters he would wander home with. ' you can't do this ' she would admonish , the beginnings of a tirade that would inevitably shift into spanish while his father stood by and simply shook his head with a soft laugh. there was no rhyme or reason why at the age of ten he determined then and there that he was going to be an actor but by then his parents knew well enough that once he'd made up his mind there was no changing it ( ' he's your son , rodrigo ' his mother sighed , ' he gets that from your side of the family ' his father insisted ). despite their reservations , his first apartment in los angeles was a graduation gift from his parents. the years following graduation were a series of shitty jobs that barely managed to make ends meet , shittier apartments , auditions and rejection but mickey endured. no matter how bleak things seemed he never lost his spark and was always able to make light of a bad situation. game of thrones was his first big break , the first time he'd really been in the public eye and his first hollywood relationship ... if you could call it that. they were a star with an established career , mickey was an up and comer who had worked too hard to ride someone else's coattails the rest of the way to fame so to keep their involvement hush hush mickey engaged in various pr relationships. it didn't take long for the press to spin a playboy narrative , painting mickey as a casanova who had slept with half of hollywood and would work his way through the rest. whatever. like everything else mickey rolled with the punches , leaned into the narrative and had fun with it. following the success of game of thrones mickey received more auditions and role opportunities. instead of scrambling to find ways to pay rent he was able to carve out a place for himself in hollywood. his relationship came to a quiet end , the whirlwind of fake relationships steadily stopped and mickey found time to enjoy the perks of fame ; interviews , networking , parties - social by nature the narrative spun by the press may not be wholly inaccurate ...

*　　　　&　　◞　　　　𝐢𝐢𝐢　　　　.　　　　CONNECTION IDEAS

past pr relationship(s) , while he's not one to engage in these anymore mickey had numerous fake relationships when he was an up and coming actor. i imagine some of these would have turned into genuine friendships and maybe one even became something more down the line

flings , self - explanatory tbh when not in a relationship mickey is happy to engage in meaningless sex

ex , while there may be a grain of truth in the articles written about him , mickey isn't a true casanova not really he catches feelings just like anyone else but your muse wasn't expecting that and when things started to get serious they dipped. happy to discuss when / how things ended but i'd like this to be a more recent breakup so ! lots of angst and dealing with lingering feelings at least on mickey's end. he's not the type to hold a grudge but he'll definitely be awkward about it. bonus points if they're Also part of the tvd reboot

ride or die , just like misery , chaos loves company and mickey is chaos personified. gimme two himbos fuelling off each other's energy pls

*　　　　&　　◞　　　　𝐢𝐯　　　　.　　　　EXTRAS

post credits : robb stark on game of thrones , alec lightwood on shadowhunters , joaquin desantos on riverdale , matthias helvar on shadow and bone

more one day ,,,

[dextixer]

The good, the bad and the fandom -V9E1 - A place of Particular Concern - critical review (Spoilers)

Greetings everyone, now that we have survived the hiatus and we have a new volume to talk about it is time to stop talking about Ironwood and Adam and time to discuss something ACTUALLY NEW. I wanted to start this little "series" to give my opinions, be they good or bad of the new volume and to cover some of the discourse that will inevitably happen and to add on my opinion to it.

Keep in mind that all of these are opinions and not all of them are what one could consider to be "traditional" criticisms but rather personal preference. Also, for the most part i will not go into detail too much in these, just a general overview.

The Good

Little - Adorable lil critter arent they? I am personally a sucker for animal sidekicks that serve partially as comedic relief and Little seems to be able to service that role well. Of course my sadistic cannot wait till they start suffering due to Rubys upcoming character progression, though hopefully they will be a bit of a stopgap/limiter to Rubys depression that would not allow her to break too much.

Also, the interactions with them and the voice is just too cute...

The Intro - Ah, i have sincerely forgotten how it feels at the start of the Volume, with 101 different theories coming out of the smallest things. I like the new intro just by how weird and out there it is. Lots of symbolism which i am a fan of. It is also from my understanding the first full song that Casey has made for the series with her band, it does retain its "RWBY" sound but sounds different enough from previous tracks to be distinct, which i am a fan of. I expect only good things from Casey and her band.

The Opening Sequence - I LOVED the opening sequence with Ruby and Neo falling and fighting, and seeing the fight in first person. It and especially its position in the intro + being a sort of recap of events from Rubys perspective reminded me of the same thing being done in a VERY old stickmen series Castle:Repercussions . I liked the opening sequence from a visual perspective, but also how it showed Neo being completely unhinged. We dont need to be told that she hates Ruby when Neo, even when she thinks she might die as her last ditch effort tries to remove Ruby from life.

The Jabberwocky - I am definitely a fan when RWBY goes more into the less known monster designs or more creepy monster designs than regular beasts/dragons. And Jabby is no exception. When its near the ground it looks bigger in size but we can see when it attacks that it is quite lanky. Its constant speech about its actions in that deep and distorted voice is also unnerving. The constant twitching is also a nice effect, making it look more unpredictable despite it calling out its actions, and it is overall an unsettling kind of movement. It is definitely a nice monster.

The humour - I did like the jokes for the most part. They felt natural and at least to me did not feel forced/cringey as they sometimes are with RWBY.

The bad

Overuse of instant-motion - Instant motion in animation is not bad, it can be used for comedic purposes especially well, and RWBY has used it before to good effect. But at least in this episode it felt overused, especially with Little and the rest of the mouse kingdom. This is not a major problem but something i noticed and did not like too much especially due to liking Little and their movements in general.

The Jabberwocky - What, the Jabby? Didn't i just praise him? I did, but not everything about his design worked for me. While i do appreciate the deep voice, i will be honest, it makes it REALLY hard to understand what Jabby is saying. Some lines are clear, others are extremely muddled, especially in the action sequence. While i did like the twitching of the head, i also felt it like its a bit too "slow", it feels a bit like the twitching is in slow-mo if it makes sense, as someone who liked twitchers and their movement in dead space, i noticed this small difference. It might not matter for most people, but it was something that was visible at least to me.

Tonal shifts - While i did like the humour in the episode, the tonal shifts threw me offguard a little bit. Some of them like the entrance of Little were fine, but it feels like there are too much sad-happy-sad-happy changes going on. While tonal shifts are not inherently bad, i felt like this time it was just a little bit too much.

Too fast - In my opinion, the reunification of the team came way too fast, i expected all of this to take 2 episodes, not them all getting united in 1. Not to mention that we only saw Rubys perspective when she woke up. HOWEVER, that might change, from what we know Yangs arm was stolen by a racoon, so we MIGHT be getting some flash-backs, but at least for now, i feel like the reunification happened too fast. In fact, the entire episode felt a bit like it was on fast forward. Maybe its just the effect of a long hiatus, but at least to me the episode felt a bit too fast and jumpy. We jump from one set-piece to another in a quick manner, at least after Rubys meeting with Little

The Fandom

Of course, it would not be the RWBY fandom without disagreements and arguments inflaming in it. At least for now most arguments centered around the BB hug and Rubys moment of unconsciousness.

BB hug - Let us get this out of the way, i am not a fan of BB. So consider this to be my disclosure of bias. Like a lot of others, i felt like the BB hug was not a good thing. Not the hug itself, that is fine, but the fact that it interrupted the Ruby/Yang interaction. It is no secret that quite a lot of people hold an opinion that the BB relationship sometimes comes in the way of developing the Yang/Ruby sisterly bond. Even though we know from what we are told in story and supplemental material that Yang and Ruby have been close and that Yang acted as a surogate mother, many interactions between them post V3 seem to either not happen or be interrupted by the need to develop BB.

This of course creates dislike in many people, as many of them want to see the relationship between Yang/Ruby as it was in V1-V3. Especially since these BB moments do not NEED to interrupt the Yang/Ruby interactions, but they do. While not a big deal, i feel like this is just an ongoing problem, a long-term problem that people have had with BB. Me included.

Others of course disagree and find that moment to be charming, especially due to Blake doing the entire GLOMP thing. And i do not disagree, it was indeed a good scene.

I also do have to bring up that this caused some RWBY fans on twitter to start saying that people who disliked that scene are CISHET and should shut up. And as always i have to say that this is an incredibly dismissive and harmful attitude as many of those that dislike RWBY are queer themselves, to deny/ignore their identity is not a good thing nor does it make the people doing it look good.

Rubys unconsciousness - For many it felt strange that after Ruby lost consciousness (Can i just note how ANNOYING it is to write this word?) her team seemingly did not attend to her enough, by giving her a lap pillow for example, or being very near, or using something to cover Ruby. Only Little seems to be doing something in that moment.

Some people have claimed that she is in a "recovery" position, which from what i saw is questionable, others that it shows how the team doesnt care about Ruby, which is also questionable.

I think people are overblowing that scene out of proportion. Yes, i also think that the scene is strange and something more could have been done there, but it is not a large problem. For me the stranger thing was how Ruby instantly got involved into a conversation. Despite being unconscious she just rises like a vampire from slumber and instantly gets involved in the discussion. That moment did feel weird to me as Ruby did not even look like she ever lost consciousness.

Ending Word

There is not much left to discuss i feel. Episode 1 felt normal. Nothing was too amazing and nothing was too bad, its simply an intro to a volume and we cant expect every volume to start with everything going wrong like V8. I guess that is what partially inflames the tensions currently, because people have been starved for RWBY content and the new episode alone is not sufficient to feed the masses just yet.

We just have to wait and see how the volume continues to develop.

[christiewryte]

oc asks that reveal more than you think (responses!)

1 Morn: Mother told her she was too old for stuffed animals when she was 8.

1 Fahda: Handed hers down years ago, but misses them sometimes.

2 Morn: Oh, plants are easy. She can handle plants, no problem. Plants are routine. She can do routine. Pets... she's never had a pet. She thinks she could handle one fine. They're mostly a routine, too, right? Children... well, as long as they're old enough to be obedient, she should be fine?

2 Fahda: Oh goddess, no, do not hand her a plant. She will forget entirely about it by day 5, latest. Kids and critters she's fine with, they can both remind her when they need something.

3 Morn: "Oh, well, Fahda's... um... well... Where to start... She's... well, gorgeous, obviously, you have eyes. And cool, and creative, in... a violent sort of way... but... What really gets me is... she's so warm. She's like a warm blanket that throws itself on me when I come out of the rain. And bundles me up, and makes me feel safe, and warm, and... wanted... and... known."

(i.e., "She can fix me.")

3 Fahda: "Morn... She reminds me of the ocean. Vast, and deep, and dark. She's mysterious, and full of terrifying things I could only see in my nightmares. But I keep feeling this force pulling me deeper, and deeper, until there, under all this horrifying pitch and bone there's this wet, shivering little puppy, and I just want to gut anything that would lay a finger on her."

(i.e., "I can fix her.")

4 Morn: No one knows, and no one ever will, because she has never, and will never, wear red.

4 Fadha: Hell yeah, she's straight fire in red. Especially whenever she's got her hair dyed that good fiery orange she likes.

5 Morn: Oh, clots, she wasn't prepared for this. Um, uh, does she have to? Like, in an official capacity? Okay... (crudcrudcrud...)

5 Fahda: Short and sweet, Cheers to whoever earned it!

6 Morn: The only person she found harder to refuse than her ex was her mother. Not that either of them were giving "advice," so much as ultimatums.

6 Fahda: Her sister and godmother have her ear for anything. The old drillmaster never offers input on anything unless it's worthwhile. Her bestie's about 50/50, her squire's a brat. Anyone from the upper crust is totally tuned out.

7 Morn: "As the future queen, I must be absolute, incorruptible, and penitent. I'm... working the 'absolute' part."

7 Fahda: "I'm a sexy, badass outlaw-warrior-princess, and yes, that was only three, I hyphenated."

8 Morn: Intrigued until she hits a wall for too long, then crumbles to frustration easily.

8 Fadha: Has no patience for puzzles... unless you frame it as a competitive game.

9 Morn: Sapient >>> Sentient > Living > Inorganic, but BOY is it honestly starting too high for sapients. Like, to an actually problematically self-sacrificing extent.

9 Fahda: Develops deep sentimental attachment to things, but still sees a separation between sentient and nonsentient.

10 Morn: Either 5, or, like 30. Everything was simpler when she was 5, and surely she'll have her life figured out by the time she's 30, right?

10 Fahda: Eh, maybe 23-ish? Get a few more years training and experience under her belt, and she'll be even more unstoppable than she already is, but honestly she's never felt any pressing desire to be any age than she's been in the present. Not since she was 8, anyway.

11 Morn: Save. The village is very efficiently self-sufficient, but it'll be good to have something to fall back on in an emergency. The Red Ears always need additional funding for their work, too.

11 Fahda: SPLURGE!! ...about 10%, then invest the rest into the clan. We need equipment upgrades, building materials for housing improvements, so much for medical care for both our people and our horses...

12 Morn: There are books with romance in them???

12 Fahda: Every story's better with a little sauce.

13 Morn: Her mother taught her obedience, shame, and magic.

13 Fahda: Her mother taught her about equality, and now to read and write in three languages. Her father taught her to be kind, and lots of card games and variant rules. Her godmother taught her to strike with intent, and a finger-training exercise to use for stimming.

14 Morn: All pleasure is guilty.

14 Fahda: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

15 Morn: Bodily functions and malfunctions, like using the bathroom, menstruation, and getting sick. All massive time sinks people only put up with because they have no choice.

15 Fahda: Anything to do with the upper crust that isn't robbing them.

16 Morn: Money isn't what's stopping her from dressing differently.

16 Fahda: Dresses and armor. Almost all of her armor is cuir bouilli if not soft leather, and while that mostly works for her, she would kill for some steel gear to supplement. A chain shirt would be a good start, but oh boy, what she would do to get her hands on a lame breastplate.

As for dresses, she's never had a real fancy dress since she was a little girl, the kind that only comes out for real special occasions, or when you've just gotta leave that special someone breathless. Maybe one of those ones with the shimmery fabric that seems to dance when you move, or the risque ones with the daring cutouts or sheer sections.

Oh! And replace her entire wardrobe with silk and cotton. Nice, lovely, smooth silks and soft cottons that don't make her feel like she's breaking out in hives every time she gets dressed.

17 Morn: Kids make her feel responsible, and she has enough of that on her plate already, thank you. She's trying not to think too hard about the day she inevitably needs to produce an heir.

17 Fahda: She loves playing with kids and is happy to look after them in the short term, but wears out of patience if their actual caregivers aren't prompt about taking them off her hands when they're supposed to. She looks forward to parenthood in the unspecified future, but isn't about to put a time frame on when.

18 Morn: Tongue, but build up to it.

18 Fahda: Not opposed, but needs warning.

19 Morn: Flashcards and studyplan review until dawn, ride the stress high through the event, then crash hard as soon as pencils are down.

19 Fahda: That's what all the training you did up until now was for. It's called the "calm before the storm" because you should be relaxing and letting all your tension drain away so you go into the fight fresh and clear.

20 Morn: Pigeons.

20 Fahda: Not exactly something that no one else likes, but she appreciates light, soft, and smooth textured clothing far more than anyone else she knows. Fahda is extremely sensitive to certain textures, and a lot of common clothing materials are unbearably uncomfortable on her skin, wool being one of the biggest offenders.

21 Morn: Her ex literally dumped her, cursed her, disappeared for 3 years, betrayed their people, practiced dark magic, arrested her, drugged her, scheduled her for execution, stabbed her, planned to release an eldritch abomination for revenge, and Morn was still holding onto hope until the bitch tried to kill her for like the third time.

21 Fahda: Has dumped people for chewing with their mouth open.

22 Morn: Has some trauma around pet names from her ex. Fahda has special permission for therapeutic purposes. Doesn't usually do petnames herself, but fell into using a common one from Fahda's mother tongue as one of the first terms she successfully committed to memory once she started trying to learn.

22 Fahda: Nicknames anyone she doesn't get an actual name for within moments of encountering. Sometimes they stick. Calls Morn "Storm cloud," after her pretty gray eyes and stormy disposition. Loves whenever Morn calls her by hers.

23-25 Morn: Stability, charity, safety.

23-25 Fahda: Novelty, honesty, possibility.

26 Morn: Talent is a ceiling that no effort can pass, however heartfelt.

26 Fahda: You've gotta have both if you're gonna make it, but effort's definitely more admirable.

27 Morn: Forgiveness. I have no right to hold anyone to higher account than myself.

27 Fahda: Vengeance. Some crimes are unforgivable.

28 Morn: *blushes and hides face* "Sh-shut up!"

28 Fahda: *smirks and leans into her* "I didn't say anything~."

29 Morn: Has literally been cursed with the same recurring nightmare every night for the last three years from her ex, reinterpreting their breakup as a betrayal on Morn's part with generous eldritch abstraction.

29 Fahda: Doesn't remember her dreams, but has a vague sense she often dreams about the night her mother and father died.

30 Morn: "I'd be happy if it could just pay off the burden of my foremothers. To be granted a clean slate... sigh."

30 Fahda: "Like, legally, or emotionally? Because if legally, I'd gut the Goat and decorate his palace ramparts with his entrails like festival garlands. Emotionally... I guess I'd chew my sister out for all the things that piss me off about how she runs the clan."

[adobe-outdesign]

Thoughts on Grafaiai?

I’m really excited to have a new ‘art’ themed pokemon

(You guys know the drill! Special review today for the new 'mon. Requests will resume in the standard first-come-first-serve order after this.)

Anyone who's read enough of my blog knows that I am a big fan of gremlin and goblin Pokemon, so unsurprisingly I really like this terrible little gremlin (affectionate) a lot.

Conceptually, it's perfect. I was trying to parse together the design from what we knew from leaks, and I was assuming it sprayed fluid from its tail, like Smeargle, but I wasn't sure what that had to do with aye-ayes. But the actual concept is way cooler: the poison fluid is sprayed from their mouth, and they instead use their fingers to paint! The fluid in turn lures bug Pokemon in and causes paralysis. This is a brilliant spin on how actual aye-ayes hunt, not to mention the obvious finger painting reference.

(For anyone unaware, as this Pokemon has made me aware that there are a lot of people that apparently don't know what aye-ayes are: aye-ayes tap wood with one of their fingers as a form of ecolocation to find insects, then use their elongated fingers to dig the insect out. They're strange critters.)

And to make things even better, the face is designed to look like a painter's gas mask, and the trees it paints are a reference to the painted trees in Spains' Oma Forest. And on top of that, they use the fluid to mark their territory, and get into turf wars with each other by painting over markings to claim territory, like many graffiti taggers do! There are just so many levels to this concept, and I adore all of them.

I also appreciate the amount of thought that was put into it from a biological standpoint. Gen 7 did a good job with this as well, but Gen 8 was really lacking in the interesting semi-believable fantasy biology aspect. Between Grafaiai here and Koraidon, the writers have really been doing a bang-up job putting real thought behind their cool monsters.

Visually, it's also quite good. It captures the aye-ayes ugly cute look very well, and gives off a Stitch-like gremlin vibe, which is always a win in my book. The bright colors are a nice nod to its markings and really make the design pop, while the body is more subtle to avoid making it too garish or clashy. And the way it looks like it's wearing a hoodie with its hair poking out is perfect; noticeable enough to enhance the theme without being too on-the-nose about it.

My only real nitpicky complaint is that when I first saw it in the gameplay trailer, I was like, wait, the graffiti aye-aye is a robot like Miraidon? Something about the face is just very plastic-like, and it's the only part of the design that doesn't read like an animal to me.

First, why the random line down the face? It adds nothing and only serves to make it look less organic. Maybe it was meant to lean into the mask idea, but I don't think gas masks are well known for their forehead lines.

And secondly, the eyes look very fake and hard, like they're lenses or compound bug eyes. Don't get me wrong, I do love how they're pupil-less; they not only fit an aye-aye, but they give off strong gremlin energy and add to the mask idea. I think the problem is more how they're handled. Here's an assortment of Pokemon eyes that don't have pupils or corneas:

Notice how all the highlights in these eyes are rounded, and how they all have a darker area followed by a highlight at the bottom. With Grafaiai, the highlights are rectangular for some strange reason, and the eye is a completely flat gradient that has no shading at all. The result is that it looks very alien-like instead of organic.

And finally, minor thing, but why is the fur on top of the head cream when it could just be black or white? Aside from adding another unnecessary color, it also would make the face look less separate from the rest of the body if the color matched the rest of the fur.

With that said, though, that by no means ruin the design for me. Everything else about it is perfect in my book, and I'll likely have one on my team(s) if I end up getting S/V.

Side note: the mention of how the poison color changes depending on its diet makes me wish it had something where the colors on its fingertips would change if you fed it a berry during battle. It's little details like that can really make a Pokemon, but I doubt Gamefreak would ever bother implementing something like that, unfortunately.

Side side note: also, the nature documentary-style teaser introducing this thing was incredible, and I would kill a person to get an entire series of Pokemon shorts like that.

[codylabs]

What is a Human?

And what makes them special, among all the peoples?

It's not an easy question to answer. Especially since every human would tell you that humans are pretty much normal. I suppose any true answer would depend on who you ask.

To the Fairies,

A Human is a creature of great power, and great intelligence. Too massive to trade their feet for wings, they walk in strides the width of cities, wielding great tools, leaving deep footprints, thinking high thoughts. Their lives are impossibly long; they are known to possess the knowledge and fortitude to survive entire winters, and have such an abundance of time that they can even waste it. Their childhood and even their schooling can last for years, and in their adulthood they do not die, but age like the trees. Humans are mighty. And yet, they must not to be trusted, for they are alien to these lands, and at a gesture and a whim, could destroy the forest and all the world. They have no mind for the good of any hive, and they care not for laws. Humans are dangerous.

To the Merfolk,

A human is a creature of weakness. They have no honor, and no honesty, and no pride, and really, how could they, when they know nothing of hardship? Nature has been unfailingly kind to them; their summers are warm, their monsters are small, and their winters are short. They stay in place all their lives in bright little homes, feeding ooze to soft children, while their men grow boney and their women grow plump, with never a need to migrate, and never a need to fight. They cannot swim. They cannot smell. They cannot wrestle. They cannot punch. They can barely eat. Still, a human cannot be blamed for being what it is, and they are not all bad. The very fact that they made it here, so far from their home, can testify to their daring, and their tenacity, and their ingenuity. And there are a few which are honorable, and a few which are honest, and most of them are friendly enough. People who have lived among Humans have found them in many ways quite like us, so that they even share our virtues and our flaws. Some have even intermarried. Noble, not so noble. Different, not so different. For now we share a common enemy.

To the Leviathan,

A Human is an industrious and willful little critter. Their short lives are spent in restless rush from task to task, with hardly a pause to eat or sleep. Their societies are large, complex and regimented, with each member serving a unique and specialized task, be it child rearing, farming, engineering, healing, or management. Their lives are short, so they must prioritize their education, work together, and find joy in brief destinies. Biologically, they are intended to move about across the surface of high-gravity planets, so their limbs are incredibly strong and their reaction time is nearly instantaneous. They lack thrusters, radio antennae, and proper eyes, so, when far from home, they must compensate with a plethora of outrageous technologies. Their language is incomprehensible, their flesh is poisonous, and their many needs invite heartbreak in those who care for them, so they are generally more trouble they're worth. But you will never find harder workers, deadlier warriors, or more playful pets, and they can be quite endearing.

To the Natives of the Abyss,

A Human is a short hissing fire, untouchable, blindingly bright, hungry, and loud, loud, loud. The souls which drive the missiles from above. They are fortunately flat, and their chaos does not last. They remember little.

To the Elves,

A human is a biped terrestrial hunter-gatherer, native to a high-gravity, low-oxygen planet of a distant galaxy. The nature of this environment requires a large portion of their body be devoted to oversized digestive and respiratory organs, and their limbs are rigid and inflexible. Their natural hunting method, in a long-ago forgotten age, was to pursue prey to exhaustion across plains, using their upright stance and elevated stamina. Even today this nature remains, seen in their horizontal living spaces and their ability to work long hours. In most other ways, however, they are quite like us. It is probably a good thing they live so far away and have made so little contact, as we love the same sorts of worlds, and would probably begin quibbling and warring over territory. They like the trees, even if they cannot live in them. I don't think we have yet seen the worst that humans have to offer.

To the Vampires,

A human is one. One mind, one will, one nature, one face. They have no wolf living in their gut whispering to them, their flesh cannot think for itself, and would never betray them except in sickness. A human never changes its form or its shape or its nature, but persists and endures as it is. They can always be true to themselves, and be honest to those they meet, which frees them to join together in vast communities, mate for life, form lasting friendships, and accomplish great works together. It is said they have even conquered hunger. But this nature of theirs is a curse as well as a blessing, for the guilt of their lusts, violences, and greed can rest nowhere but their own heads, and no matter where they go or who they mate or what great works they accomplish, they always carry their great sin close behind them, for all their lives, for all the world to see. They are not as tasty as the fairies, and do not hold grudges as long as the merfolk.

To the Dwarves,

Humans are terrible cooks, which is doubtlessly why they're all so thin and unhappy. But they're even worse carpenters; their houses are fragile, all above ground, covered in windows, and obsessively clean to a frankly snobbish degree. They should use all their fancy technology to turn themselves into birds and fly away and not bother people anymore. HA! I'm kidding. Humans are alright. They write a lot of books. They dig septic systems, which are good for the economy. And actually the real reason they're so thin is because their brains are up in their heads. The more you know.

To the Blessed,

A human is a vague and fragile thing of flimsy intelligence, too slow-moving, cold, vast, and fragile to earn any interest or concern beside the academic sort. It is a fortunate thing we have never met; they would be transparent and immovable glaciers to us, that melt so readily to the touch and burn so quickly at the sight that we would be hard-pressed to even observe them, let alone communicate. They have been documented at a distance, however, and books have been written detailed every fact to be known about them. There is not much to know. They are as round as the world. We did not intend to curse them.

[daydreaming-away-reality]

The Sweetest Thank You

Bunnymund x Reader | ☁️ | 1.1k |Mother Nature!Reader

Having been around for so long, you often were not surprised by things. As Mother Nature, or (Y/N) as you preferred to go by, you had seen cities rise and fall, animals adapt, along with friends who come and go.

You liked to think that everything happened for a reason.

Forest fires? A chance for new plants to grow.

Bad thunderstorm? An opportunity for people to stay inside while nature to reconcile with tensions building up in the atmosphere. Or a way for you to express your anger you really needed it.

Love?

Well, that one was a bit harder to explain since it was out of your control. But love to you was sharing a special kind of happiness with someone who meant the world to you.

Love was something special. 

Despite everything that changed in the world, love seemed like it seemed to persevere.

When you had first met Bunnymund, you had been bringing a touch of spring somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. While there were spirits for different seasons, you liked to step in occasionally to help. Nature was your specialty after all.

It was rare for you to meet many new spirits with how big the world was, but getting to see another spirit was always a welcome surprise for you.

Bunny had been complaining about how cold it was as you were checking up on a flower patch that wasn’t going to bloom for another week. Having realized that the two of you could see each other, you soon learned that the dedicated Guardian of Hope was scoping out the area for Easter which would be arriving soon.

Hearing about that, your (E/C) eyes were drawn back to the flower patch behind you. 

“You know what could bring more hope into the world? Flowers.”

You had explained how sometime beautiful things had the power to encourage hope and had offered to teaching how to wield the magical powers over flora.

Although the two of you never intentionally met up with one another, you would always take the time to catch up and talk whenever the opportunity arose.

Spending some time in your favourite forest, you were spending the day checking up on the plants and animals that lived there with you. The gentle warmth of sunlight tickled your skin as you waved to the little critters that happily darted around you.

The excited sound of bird chirping paused you in your tracks. As you approached, one of the birds flit over to the branch next to you.

“Good morning,” you greeted softly. “What’s gotten you all so excited?”

A series of chirping came back as a response. 

Surprised by the response, you looked at the little guy with a confused smile. 

“What do you mean a visitor came by?”

Another chirp caught your attention as some of the other birds flew towards you. They seemed pretty determined to take you somewhere.

“Okay, okay,” you agreed to their insistent words. “Lead the way.”

After a few minutes, you arrived at a small clearing with carefully wrapped gift sitting in the middle. Giving the birds a look, you moved over to the package. It was small and fit in the size of your palm. On top of the gift was a handwritten note, waiting for you to read.

To (Y/N). Happy Valentine’s Day, I hope you like my gift.

From Bunnymund

Smiling softly at Bunny’s note, you set it aside and opened up his gift. Once you removed the wrapping paper and opened the box, a gasp left your lips.

A necklace with a small charm of a red rose glimmered before you.

It was rare for you to get gifts, so you knew you’d cherish it right away, but something about this carefully chosen gift had another meaning behind it. One that created a strong desire within you to find the Guardian of Hope.

Red roses meant I love you.

Even though you wouldn’t expect Bunny to be a flower expert, he should have known that much at least.

Putting on the necklace, you took a moment to admire how beautiful the gift was before taking off. There was a bunny you had to find.

As Bunny nervously hopped around, he couldn’t concentrate on anything around him. Having dropped off his gift for you not too long ago because he didn’t know how to give it to you in person, he had been worried ever since.

What if you didn’t like it?

He enjoyed spending the time he had with you and he was certain the feelings were reciprocated. Neither of you had expressed moving past friendship in the past couple hundred years of knowing each other, but Bunny felt like he had to at least let you know how he felt about you.

What better time than on Valentine’s Day?

“Bunnymund!” 

The sound of his name scared as he nearly jumped. Spotting you moving quickly towards him, the first thing his green eyes spotted was the necklace.

The one that he had given to you, resting gently on your collarbones.

A smile broke out on his face as you dove towards for a hug.

“Why didn’t you give this to me in person?” you asked, voice slightly muffled as you nuzzled into him. 

“Ah, sorry about that (Y/N),” Bunny said. He could feel his cheeks heating up as he tried to think of a possible explanation without showing his concerns.

You didn’t give him the chance to explain though.

When you leaned back from the hug, Bunny was left speechless and in awe of how beautiful you were. Your (H/C) hair a little messy from the wind and your (E/C) sparkling with happiness. 

Bunny had fallen for your amazing personality, but you were stunning in every possible way that had him head over heels in love you. Everything about you was perfect to him.

When your eyes fluttered shut and your face moved closer to Bunny’s, he froze. 

Your lips gently brush his own, hoping to convey your unspoken feelings for him. Even though it only lasted for seconds, this moment felt like it could last forever for both you and Bunny.

When you pulled back, a pink tint dusted your cheeks as you whispered, “Thank you so much for your gift, Bunny. I love it.”

Your sweet words had the Guardian a bit flustered. Pulling you back into the hug, he could hear his heart racing. As if it weren’t going fast enough, your next words were probably enough to stop his heart altogether.

“I love you, too.” 

[tezzbot]

applejack headcanons in a sort of timeline i have in my head based on the flashbacks/statements in the show lol this is gonna get long i apologise

aj is born in the sweet apple acres barn to bright mac and pear butter :D

we get the apple family reunion episode flashback where she is lichrally baby asking for apple fritters 🥺

she grows up a bit, just by family gene pool luck shes a strong little fucker and as she grows her family realises she's not just physically strong but strong willed too, it becomes a running joke that shes secretly part mule with how stubborn she can be :P

bright mac had a dog from when he was younger that he loved with all his heart, big mac loved him too but applejack thought was a grumpy old lump of a beast she just Did Not Like This Animal you know how kids can be lmaooo

applejack and big mac dont really leave the farm all that much, theyre homeschooled by their parents and granny smith so, generally they dont have that many friends their age in their childhood, they say hi and play a bit with fillies and colts they pass while helping out with deliveries, aj and rarity possibly have a few interactions through this but nothing really sticks at this point, they know each others names and thats probably it, the apple siblings are a big hit with usual customer and ponies who sell them things in the market

pear butter teaches aj how to play the guitar and she practices until her hooves hurt, her ma is very proud of her, they like to play duets when they have some alone time :] then, deciding to branch out from that applejack also picks up other instruments like the banjo and the fiddle, they find out she has quite a knack for music! (applejack is only slightly disappointed she doesnt get her cutie mark from it, but unlike applebloom would be in the future, she doesnt mind all that much, after all granny smith always said it'd come with time 😌)

not long after little applebloom is born we get the great seedling episode flashback which is a turning point in applejack, a moment like finding out santa or the tooth fairy isnt real, she matures a little bit that day, gains more of the work ethic we see in her as an adult

around this time is when bright mac and pear butter die :( i dont have a concrete headcanon on How they die but the dangerous trade routes the apples have to take to make deliveries may have had something to do with it, or maybe they were trying to protect the farm from something coming from the everfree forest, im not sure

the rest of the apple family make their way to sweet apple acres to give their condolences and help out in any way they can around the farm while our apples grieve :( its sad but it brings aj and big mac closer than they'd ever been

after shes recovered a little from that, i think aj kind of loses herself, i mean how can you not after losing both parents :(( so she decides to leave the farm in the hopes she'll be able to find herself again in manehattan, this is the cutie mark chronicles flashback and where she realises she belongs in ponyville, Runs home and gets her cutiemark

after a little bit, to help her become a little bit more social with foals her age, applejack goes to camp friendship where she meets little coloratura and the two Immediately click, aj gives her new best friend the nickname rara and they're practically inseparable the whole summer, their friendship starts to grow into something more but rara is heading back to manehatten after camp and applejack belongs back in ponyville, so they decide to give a lonb distance relationship a try, they manage to exchange letters back and forth for a long time, ultimately deciding a long distance relationship wasnt gonna work so they mutually decide to break up but still stay pen pals! after a while, the letters stop and they become just a memory in one anothers minds

sweet apple acres eventually returns to a business as usual state, with groups of relatives stopping by the farm now and again to give a helping hoof considering its now run by a late-middle aged lady, two children and a baby lol, applejack, while still doing a lot of tree bucking, is starting to take on a more maternal figure role in applebloom's life as well as being her sister, her and big mac feels more responsible and protective of the foal since she would be growing up with no ma and pa, they sort of took on those roles, applejack more intensely i guess i just see her as having strong maternal instincts embedded in her or something lol, but she for sure isnt "single mom"ing it, with granny smith and other relatives ready to take the little bugger when aj needs to get stuff done :P it takes a village and all that lmao

since at this time aj and big mac are starting to go into town more often and are free to do as they please as long as their chores get done, they start actually interacting more with teens their age in ponyville! applejack starts hanging out with fillies like rarity who she had known in passing but now could finally get to know and the cake's new apprentice and ponyvilles youngest party planner, pinkie pie

after starting to hit some awkward growth spurts as she reaches her teens lol, she starts taking an interest in the business side of the farmwork too, dealings with customers, looking into trade routes stuff like that, this is when the where the apple lies flashback takes place i fuckin love that episode please watch it, and this starts applejack's lifelong promise to never lie ever again which she keeps bc shes a legend as fuck <3

one day aj notices cloudsdale passing through probably to start preparing ponyville for the next season, and she hears a Thud coming from a row or two over from where she's working, she goes over to investigate to find a pegasus filly shaking off what aj can only assume was a crash, she asks if shes alright, n the filly is like of course i am im so tough toughest around actually thanks<3 and aj is internally like hm. this kids kinda annoying. they introduce themselves and applejack finds out rainbow dash is looking for her friend fluttershy, she likes to come down from cloudsdale to play with animals or something, but applejack hasnt seen any yellow pegasi fillies around so the little blue filly says thanks anyway and zips off at what aj can only describe as probably the speed of light, she somehow has a strange feeling this isnt gonna be the last she sees of this kid

she turns out to be right when shes invited to a happy visit to ponyville from cloudsdale party thrown for rainbow and fluttershy, apparently rainbow had bumped into pinkie while asking around ponyville for any idea where fluttershy and of course pinkie Had to make an event out of it once she had helped rainbow find her friend, the party was of course a lot of fun rainbow and aj somehow managed to turn every party game into a competition and despite their first impressions of one another they actually got along really well and gained a good amount of respect for each other, aj eventually found fluttershy sort of hiding away from most of the party and fluttershy actually opened up a little after talking with aj bc of how calming her presence was for her

over the next few years the five got to know each other quite well, anytime cloudsdale passed by rainbow and fluttershy would drop into ponyville to hang out or just say hi, and once they were old enough they moved into their ponyville houses and the five of them became just a regular friend group youd see hanging out on the streets of ponyville, fluttershy helps aj pick out a border collie puppy for help with wrangling critters on the farm (applebloom was getting too old to be sent off to mindlessly run after little animals all the time and she had started going to school so she wasnt around as much lmaoo) and just as a companion for applejack, she names her Winona :]

and then after those few years Twilight shows up! you know the rest from there :P

if i missed anything uhhh whoops<3 lol