#panda judges the world

[jdrmfavs]

Ryusei Yokohama.

[redsamuraiii]

Panda Judges the World / Shiro demo Kuro demonai Sekai de, Panda wa Warau (Ep 8)

Kento Kaku is right saying how her eyes is sparkling. 🤩

[velvet-vox]

My Top 10 Favourite Male Villains of all time.

"How arrogant of you to think that any of us are anything but irrelevant". -John Greer, Person of Interest (2011-2016).

There comes a moment in a blog's life where some things are just long overdue, and while the argument could be made that this happened way too early, I'd say that as long as this helps me to find my groove, I am free to experiment as much as I want.

So..... Villains.

Gotta love them. As long as I do not meet them in real life. This post is in particular about male villains since I have one dedicated to their female counterparts in the pipeline so expect that to come soon enough and for this part to be rewritten. By the way, "villain" is a generalisation, I can totally put antivillains, antagonists or more general antiheroes in this list; your definition of "Bad Guy" can vary greatly and so can mine, someone like Walter White from Breaking Bad could have made it in here. My taste is very unusual, so prepare yourself for some unexpected picks.

Also, since these are meant to be some big celebratory posts, for the occasion I'll reveal my Italian heritage and translate every line of dialogue in Italian and publish it separately with a link, so that English readers who are learning Italian can exercise.

Here's also a follow up to this post, the first part of my top 30 favourite female antagonists of all time. Check it out, if you are curious to see more.

The bad girls

But first, some honourable mentions:

Oropo (Wakfu): Once you see the number 2 spot for both this list and the female villains list you might notice that I tend to gravitate towards characters with wasted potential more often than not, but while we're just talking about this guy, I cannot stress enough the amount of unceremonious mishandling that lies within his concepts and execution. Really needed two seasons of 25 episodes each to explore it to their maximum.

Tai Lung (Kung Fu Panda): I love him, but not as much as others, it's a matter of personal preference. He's an amazing antagonist, so even if he is just an honourable mention, I wouldn't call him a lesser villain by any stretch of the imagination; I once felt like he was too sympathetic for his movie's sake, but looking back at it again, he's actually moderately evil for a lot of reasons, even if Shifu is the main one.

Bill Chyper (Gravity Falls): It's been way too long since I watched Gravity Falls, I really can't give you an accurate opinion on this guy anymore.

Flintheart Glomgold (DuckTales 2017): That season 2 episode. If you know what I'm talking about, you KNOW. Also the music for that whole sequence was a banger, really driving home the deranged nature of that twist reveal.

Big Jack Horner (Puss in Boots The Last Wish): I feel like when people praise Jack for being a breath of fresh air in a stale environment, they often forget just how good of a villain he was in his own right without the larger industry wide void of truly devious antagonists that act out of pure malice.

The Wolf (Puss in Boots The Last Wish): Two villain entries from one movie? Of course it was gonna be The Last Wish, what else could it be? Honestly I don't even wanna talk about this guy, you need to experience the movie for yourself.

Rob (The Amazing World of Gumball): Everything I have to say about this guy gets talked about much better by the number 6 Spot on this list, but as it stands Rob was my first villain OTP and the guy who opened the box of Pandora for me on what an antagonist could and should be, since then my perception of villainy only widened and now I enjoy their role in a story in much different way.

And now, with that out of the way, let's finally start with the ranking of my personal favourite male villains of all time.

Major spoilers down below:

Number 10: Silco (Arcane)

This guy is the reason that brought me to specify who or what counted for this list as trying to simplify Silco into one specific group of characters is a challenge that can only end in a misunderstanding of what makes Silco such a complex and fascinating character with an amazing character arc, that ends with him not being redeemed, mind you, but allows the audience to grieve in such a way that would make a side character death jealous.

When writing an antagonistic character, Silco is my goal and high standard, and just for that he deserves all of my respect and endless praise.

Now, admittedly, Silco's arc takes a while to kick in, but it works out to his advantage by the end of it since you don't realise just how much you've grown to care for him until he's dead and you're left with the surprise.

10 out 10, the nation of Zaun would have been much better (worse) with him than with Vander.

Number 9: The Riddler (DC)

The Riddler is literally my ride or die villain, when I'm in the mood for him, he's literally my favourite antagonist ever; when I am not in the mood for him, I completely forget about his existence.

When compared to many other entries on this list, Riddler is definitely more on the pop culture side of antagonism, and when you've been around for almost a century, you tend to have many different versions of the same character written by different writers, so I wanted to highlight here my favourite versions of him:

Arkham Games: He's hilarious. He's not my ideal Riddler, but whenever he comes on screen, his whiny rat's ass voice stimulates my pheromones.

Batman The Animated Series: I've heard somewhere that this version of him is disappointing, and to that I'll say... yeah, but only when he wasn't on screen, because otherwise, he kind of slayed.

Matt Reeves The Batman: This is the version that rekindled my love for him after so long. Out of every interpretation of The Riddler throughout the years, this is the one version that treated Edward more as a character rather than an obstacle for Batman to overcome, and for that I'll be eternally grateful.

LEGO Batman The Videogame: My very first introduction to The Riddler and the Batman universe as a whole, this version has a permanent place in my heart , I love how much information and emotion you can get out of him by just looking at his mannerisms and quirks alone; unironically, being silent helps him reach that quote on quote idealised version of Riddler that I was talking about earlier.

Number 8: The Snatcher (A Hat In Time)

There are many things that can carry on a villain in a story, their evolution, stage presence, complexity, thematic contrast to their counterpart, and so on and so forth. While an antagonist can check off many of these boxes simultaneously (like the one pictured), there's one box that is almost impossible to truly nail perfectly: comedy.

You see, comedy is subjective, and when your main antagonist is also the funniest part of a given story, it becomes hard to also match a sense of gravity and menace that allows them to also be an imposing threat, even harder is to give said antagonist depth and a tragic backstory.

But somehow, out of nowhere, The Snatcher from A Hat In Time manages to simultaneously be the funniest character in his section of the game, carrie said energy throughout the whole experience even down to the DLC, simultaneously strikes the balance between being scary, wholesome, sympathetic and tragic, exude an insane amount of charisma, all while having a deeply disturbing backstory that touches on some heavy themes and re contextualises his actions into something more complicated and out of a broken man, everything I just said + he's the biggest bastard in his videogame and never repents nor does he have his actions called out.

Snatcher really has all the right cards that make a stationary character work and uses them to his maximum potential, and it works because his character arc throughout the game is more about becoming affectionate to Hat Kid than it is about redeeming himself.

Lastly, his voice actor, Luke Sizemore, aka Yungtown, really sells the performance of this devious soul eating worm and burns his catchphrases into your brain for the rest of eternity, much like his boss theme,

Your Contract Has Expired

A song that switches around being scary, epic, energetic and desperate in a short, yet perfectly paced amount of time. You need to listen to it regardless of if you've played the game or not.

Fool.

Number 7: Judge Claude Frollo (Hunchback of Notre Dame)

You can never say no to a classic.

There's nothing that I could say that hasn't already been said by thousands of videos on YouTube, but I'll try anyway: you see, Frollo is the reason why we need a new term to identify certain villains that aren't "sympathetic" but still make you feel some sort of human emotion and a form of "I wish someone could give you the care you need to fix your life", I guess the term empathetic exists, but when do you really see it used?

Now, don't get me wrong, Frollo is absolutely not sympathetic in the slightest, he wants to r##e a Romani woman that's way younger than him, but you can still feel that he's very troubled about it in the Hellfire scene and has definitely a lot of unidentified issues and internalised bigotry that could be worked through, even if it's too late to work through them right now.

In general, I feel like people forget that the main reason why past Disney villains worked had to do more with their human traits juxtaposed to their malice rather than just their plain wickedness, otherwise the Horned King from the Black Cauldron would be top of the Disney villains league and that couldn't be further from the truth.

We should really strive towards writing more villains like Frollo, less omnipotent beings that end up falling flat because they don't have much thematic relevance aside from being a threat (Bill Chyper works because he represents Ego and he's used sparingly) and more average vicious individuals who use their power and influence to get what they want.

All in all, if you've seen The Hunchback of Notre Dame, then you know why this guy is here, but just to cite a couple of repeated points, the Hellfire scene is perfect. It's immaculate. It's unreproducible; there will never be another scene like this coming out of the House of Mouse or animation ever again, the excessive amount of stars and elements that came together to create this gothic classic is so vast that it's literally a miracle.

Frollo is truly the personification of the dark, twisted side of humanity peaking through the door and into your mind, from which he shall never escape as his performance still remains perfect to this very day.

Number 6: The Spot (Spider-man across the Spiderverse)

"You've hit me with a bagel!" It's still the greatest villain origin story of all time. There's truly something maniacal about this reveal, like the entire universe was shattered and reality was shocked at the mere realization that while Miles was having his coming of age moment back in the first film, this guy was having his normal life completely and utterly shattered by a combination of both our heroes stepping up to do the right thing and our doofus lack of foresight and self reflection; all of this stuff is hilarious and completely made up for the film but good god they did such an amazing job tying all the elements together in an unexpected way that makes sense and parallels the journey that our protagonist faced in the first movie.

Like with Rob from The Amazing World of Gumball, and a little bit like number 2 on this list, I just really enjoy the concept of turning background characters who had no relevance whatsoever into the big bad of the story who's been there all along and the heroes (and the audience) just couldn't notice.

With The Spot in particular, there's that sense of satisfaction of turning the wasted potential of a villain who has been underestimated for literal decades and treated as a "villain of the week" (God do I love the meta narrative of this movie) into an actual competent, well written antagonist that is aware of his reputation and strives towards bettering himself and his powers.

He's also the funniest character of his movie too and the voice acting of Jason Schwartzman only accentuates his mannerisms and pettyness.

He also has the coolest usage of portals I have ever seen and his whole "There's a hole inside all of us" metaphor is simultaneously hilarious and very deep personal information that can only be understood if you put yourself into his shoes.

I can't wait for Beyond the Spiderverse to come out and see how his arc resolves, more importantly, I wonder if he's going to rank higher in the future.

Number 5: Lord Shen (Kung Fu Panda)

"Happiness must be taken. And I'll take mine"

.....

What a character.

What a movie.

You cause so much pain and suffering, because you don't understand the people around you, and then those people banish you, and you can't understand why, so you start to believe that they hated you.

They never loved you, so you keep causing pain and suffering but it's not that easy anymore; the guilt starts to resurface, all those bodies keep piling up, but you can't stop because then it would have all been for nothing; so you keep chasing those dreams of grandeur because that's all you have left; the emptiness in your heart can no longer be filled by love, so you try to fill it with something else.

You try to fill it with power. You try to fill it with glory. You try to take everything else for yourself so that you can fill that cup, but it doesn't work, because that cup has no bottom.

And so you're left... with yourself.

And the damage you've done. But now it's different; you've failed. You are left with nothing. Nothing.

And so you outrage, for the last time... And then it all ends. Forever. And you've finally come to accept this, after all....... Who could ever love you?

Number 4: Spamton G Spamton (Deltarune)

You know, in retrospect, it's kind of insane what Toby Fox managed to achieve when creating Spamton.

Not only because Spamton feels like the most insane combination of ideas ever conceived, but also because Toby Fox created such a complex character with such a complicated language and personality and then not only shafted it all aside for the players to go out of their way to interact, but also made all of this in what are officially 2 or 3 cutscenes at most (4 if you consider his shop encounter as one) and only one of them being truly mandatory.

You spend so little time with Spamton, and most of that time is spent fighting him, and yet by the end of it you've become enlightened by the knowledge of him, that after a while... you forget how scary it all was.

All the memes comparing Spamton with Turbo are 100% correct and justified, Spamton truly is Turbo but better; you go through an insane rollercoaster of emotions with this character that you are left absolutely dumbfounded when it all comes to a stop and you go back to play the rest of chapter 2 normally.

His insane mannerisms and mood swings are pretty funny at first, but once you peel back the layers a bit they reveal a pretty realistic and sad portrayal of mental illness, mania and hysteria coupled with an unhealthy amount of social distancing, loneliness, and abandonment issues, that reinforce into your brain the idea of someone lacking proper healthcare and needing to be locked away from society for their (society) own good, simulating the vicious cycle that Spamton lives by: nobody wants to help him but he's still expected to act like a regular individual despite the amount of hardships he's facing and the lack of a support system keeping him from falling back into his bad habits.

I'll admit, I've considered putting Spamton in place of the Number 3 spot on this list; but then I've realised that on an objective level, the next entry totally deserves to be ranked above Spamton; plus, with at least 5 more chapters of Deltarune on our way, whose to say that one of the next gremlins won't be able to dethrone even the number 1 spot?

Drumroll for our top 3:

Nox, the Watchmaker (Wakfu)

There will never be another experience in my life as cathartic as watching the first season of Wakfu for the first time ever again.

On a later rewatch, the initial problems that you've noticed throughout the first half of the season and a little bit in the second half become too apparent to ignore, but the first time everything that goes from the ball tournament to the finale is one of the best paced arcs of television, and everything that happens when the team reaches the Sadida kingdom is just peak Wakfu.

And the king, the culprit, the crown jewel of properly paced stories and arcs is no other than the sad clockwork dilf himself: Noximilliem Coxen the Watchmaker.

Arguably, the greatest sympathetic villain of all time. There has never been another case of a character who has committed such vile, unspeakable crimes, and yet still managed to make me root for them while simultaneously not putting down the heroes.

And let's not be mistaken here, Nox is pretty evil:

Aside from the generic murder, Nox also defiled and stitched together the corpses of multiple victims and turned them into his obedient puppets in order to commit even more murder and genocide in order to achieve his goals.

Also, this is one of the funniest crimes Nox has committed: he abused his dog. It's really not that hilarious nor is it that important in the context of the show, but if you look back at it from an outside perspective then it's really like: Oh yeah. That happened too. Lol.

One of the best parts of his entire arc is his defeat. The "20 minutes" scene deserves a "One Villainous Scene" coverage video to forever immortalise it amongst the greatest. Everything from the music, the subversiveness, the cinematography, the voice acting and just the general art direction of it is worthy of an Eminem award at the Oscars, there's genuinely nothing wrong with this scene, it's truly immaculate.

Words alone cannot do justice to the treacherous, gut wrenching emotional rollercoaster that is experiencing his story for the first time. An hour long video essay would only serve to cover the basics and fundamentals, while for the real deal you need to watch the first season of Wakfu for yourself.

Number 2:

Bradford Buzzard (DuckTales 2017)

And now it's the perfect time to pull out my final wild card, the hole of the sink of my autism, the masterpiece of wasted potential that is Bradford Buzzard from the DuckTales remake of 2017.

When you'll also see the number 2 spot on my villainesses list, you'll come to realise that this spot is more of the "I really wish I could put this at number one but I can't because objectively he doesn't deserve it and the majority of things I love about him in canon were probably an afterthought and in fanon were never plausible to begin with."

And that's how I feel about Bradford Buzzard, an antagonist I spent more time thinking about than probably anybody else on the Earth.

The show runners were so genius for this: we are going to create an original character that will probably struggle to maintain a foot print on the franchise due to the way the Duck verse works, we'll give him an insanely cool backstory and motivation, all coupled with interesting character traits and ideology, we'll make him the ultimate foil to Scrooge McDuck that has been working with him for literal decades, we'll make him the one who has got the closest to isolating Scrooge and destroying his family, and THEN we'll turn him into a generic anime villain that shoots lasers and fumbles his own plan and loses because of insane plot armour and contrivance. Good job writers.

Anyway, I should probably make the case for why this guy ranks so highly in my mind to the point of almost taking the podium for my most liked villain of all time, especially when compared to the stiff competition that we just went through.

Now, part of it is just because this is a personal top 10 and so I can put whoever I want in whatever order I want. But also, with Bradford in particular, there's a personal aspect of relatability, various interests, and passions all coming together to make him stand out in my brain.

The thing is, I've had a pretty strong connection to Disney's Duck's comic books my entire life, even if my love for them came dwindling over time, so when I finally started watching the Reboot and it was amazing, all of that buried passion and love finally re emerged back to the surface, turning me into an annoying super fan. But while season 1 and 2 were great, season 3 actually gave me something to latch on for the rest of time even after the show had ended: the character of Bradford Buzzard.

You see, DuckTales, both in the shows and comics, always had a plethora of villains; from the crazy, megalomaniacal millionaires, to witches, demons, and other mythological creatures, to power hungry aliens, to straight up super-villains. But while all of that is true, there has never been another villain, aside from Magica, Glomgold and Rockerduck at traits, that was built specifically as the anti Scrooge McDuck, and even further, there has never been another antagonist who challenged the very core ideas and concepts of the entire franchise.

Bradford is like the Frank Grimes of DuckTales: just a regular, average, real world guy who's fed up with the nonsensical constant state at which their fictional universe operates and seeks to correct it in the most logical way possible. And while Frank was ultimately a victim of a world in which he couldn't conform, Bradford's outrageous and extreme plans and methods put him on everybody's hit list until he was left all alone, but not before indirectly causing every major disaster throughout the reboot's runtime.

A cold, calculating, machiavellian mastermind whose impact and presence secretly permeates the show, right till the very end.

Shame he wasn't written better.

And now, for the one and only,

Number 1:

Qilby (Wakfu)

Qilby is the biggest example of an anomaly that you could ever observe in a work of fiction. The first time experiencing a story is the most important and impactful moment of that story, as every future rewatch won't be as good as the first. In particular, this is an important aspect of twist villains, as they can only surprise you the first time, since at future rewatches the twist becomes predictable.

Furthermore, if the twist ends up ruining the character that was established up to this point, or it doesn't make any sense, then the story is kind of ruined and it only gets worse on future rewatches, since now you know that everything that you are seeing right now is ultimately worthless and doesn't provide any value.

So why do we love twist villains and keep churning them out? Well, you see, it's a matter of execution. A bad guy introduced in an unconventional manner is much more memorable than one introduced in a straightforward way; the twist can also serve to showcase different aspects of the character before becoming an obvious obstacle, be it quirks, interests, personality in casual settings, or cunning.

Let's not beat around the bush.

If Nox is the single greatest sympathetic villain of all time, then Qilby is by far the greatest twist villain of all time, and the crazy thing is, that he surprises you two times in a row, at first by revealing himself as more evil than you could ever imagine, and then, by outing himself as more complex than you could have ever anticipated.

Let me paint you the picture: you just finished the first season of Wakfu, and you are still pretty fresh of the hype surrounding Nox, so you think to yourself "Oh, now every future antagonist is ruined because nothing could ever top the emotional gut punch that I just went through. Whatever, I'm going to stick around just to see if the story gets worse" and you start the second season.

So far, everything is normal, even better of the first season in terms of engagement value, but you can't help but feel the lack of a Nox like figure inside of the story, but at this point, you just accept it.

Then the final six episodes roll around and OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING, HAS THE WHOLE SHOW JUST GONE INSANE?

Somehow, in some mystical, french, magical way, the season 2 finale is arguably even better than the ending of season 1 despite the fight having less buildup and introducing a lot of brand new characters and an entirely irrelevant faction into his conflict.

The entirety of the scene in Emrumb is some of the best writing I have ever experienced in any work of fiction, and the music accompanying it only accentuates the repressed dopamine being released after various episodes of filler, all of them important for this moment to be as impactful as it is.

Qilby is also just a great, tragic character, that is simultaneously an unforgivable bastard that tried to kill his family and doomed his entire race for a family trip, and a sad, nihilistic man still trying to reconcile his love for his family and his need for knowledge and discovery; his curse never truly allows him to move on or relate to others but his ego and need for his forgetful brothers attention just pushes him even further into resentment, ending up damaging himself and those around him, until he's finally isolated again by the vary people he harmed and showed his love towards.

He's as good as the evil secret sibling trope can get and I never get tired of watching him on screen. His reveal scene to Adamai still gives me the chills to this very day and demonstrated me just how good the surprise villain concept can get when it's executed correctly.

Just an all around great show.

[puhpandas]

i just *know* there's gonna be people who will be disgruntled to play HW2 if Gregory is indeed the protag. i can just hear the "ugh, why does the feral gremlin murderer have to be back? 🙄" now.

LET GREGORY COME IN FULL SWOOP LIKE THE TINY BADASS HE IS!!!

if ppl get that genuinely upset about it then maybe the story with the literal protagonist being Gregory isnt for them. at that point their arguments or opinions arent worth listening to and it's their fault they stick around with a story they dont even like and shit talk it all the while

[emporium]

Pants are important (and on sale right now for $40)

Pants are important. They are the foundation of human civilization. They are the only thing that separates us from animals. Have you ever seen a Panda Bear wear pants? What about a fish? Didn't think so.

Pants not only keep us warm but out of trouble. Today, go to work or school or outside without pants and see how long it takes for someone to get upset and try to get you in trouble.

Our sweatpants were overpriced. We paid too much for them (cough, cought, custom woven tag) which pushed the retail price too high. That won't happen again.

I'm sure there are those among you saying I'd never buy those, they have the word "tumblr" on them. I'd say if people are staring at your pants that carefully, carefully enough to read that it says tumblr you need to get the heck out of there.

I've put the pants on sale for $40, which is basically our cost. I'd much rather see them out in the world keeping your phone safe and warm than on my shelf judging me for being such a terrible marketer and not being able to sell them.

Edit: Here is the sizing chart, sorry for not including it. HT to @cursedbekoi for finding a sizing chart was was actually useful instead of the one I originally posted.

[cityofmeliora]

another absolutely insane Primo interview

in my first post about Primo's characterization, i noted that he has a dark sense of humor and possibly cruel inclinations. i recently found scans of a April 2012 Metal Hammer interview that features Primo and a Nameless Ghoul (big thanks to @ Primoismelting on twitter!!) i can now say with absolute certainly that he delights in evil and cruelty and being a villain.

this interview is like. really long. so i'm not posting a whole transcript. but here some highlights from this interview:

Primo says he would maim a panda bear for less than $500.

THERE ARE VARIOUS MEANS OF ASSESSING WHETHER SOMEONE IS EVIL OR NOT You don't need to wait until a person plunges a rusty pair of gardening shears through your eye to stop and think: "Yes, my reading of the situation is that he's a bit on the evil side." Criminal psychologists and those working in secure psychiatric facilities use questionnaires called psychopathy tests in order to judge whether someone is a grade A violent nutcase or not... whether they're mad or simply bad. Today's two subjects from the occult rock band Ghost – a sinister figure shrouded in robes who answers only to the title of A Nameless Ghoul and a desiccated cadaverous fiend wearing the pope's robes and mitre, called Papa Emeritus – have agreed to sit ARE YOU EVIL? 101. We tell them, "No one will ever find out. Tell me how much money it would take to persuade you to hit a panda really hard in the face with a brick." Despite his voice being disguised by electronic effects to help preserve his identity, the disgust in the Nameless Ghoul's answer is audible: "It would take a lot of money. An insurmountable amount of money." But you would not kill the panda – probably just fuck its nose up a bit. And I have a Large amount of money to offer you. But the Ghoul will not budge and is clearly appalled: "I will pass thank you. I have no desire to hit a panda in the face with a brick." Papa Emeritus pauses for what feels like an eternity before croaking: "One. Million. Lire.” A willingness to harm animals is often judged to be an indicator of psychotic behaviour. Most people would never agree to hit the unfortunate bamboo-eating, sex-phobic, monochromatic bear on the hooter. Papa is not only happy to do it but he also knows a Gene Simmons-sized business opportunity when he sees one, yet the Ghoul on the other hand has revealed he has a more moral outlook. This is very confusing. Another test is needed. Metal Hammer (April 2012)

the Italian Lira is a now-obsolete currency that was phased out and replaced by the Euro from 1999-2002. in 2001, its last year of usage, it had an average conversion rate of roughly ~2180 Lire = 1 USD. 1 million Lire would be about $460 USD. Primo dgaf about endangered animals LMAO.

Primo reacts with sinister glee at the idea of invading and conquering Poland. (understandably, this is the interview where a Nameless Ghoul compares him to H*tler.)

We put the following to them, "OK, consider this. You are passing by Poland. Do you stop and think A) What a fantastic opportunity, I must visit this famous land and soak up its rich culture and history and make new friends in the process, or B) I must annex this God-forsaken strip of dirt and grind its populace under the heel of my jackboot in order to create Lebensraum for my Reich which will reign in glory for a millennium?" The Nameless Ghoul stammers: "I have yet to step foot in Poland so it's a foreign country to me." Stop avoiding the question. Would you sooner visit Poland for a holiday or invade it? He sighs and says: "In my line of work we are pretty much into invading countries. Being a rock musician with the aim of putting on a very good show all around the world, it would be very handicapping to not explore the cultural aspects of countries you visit. But when you are in a band such as Ghost that's on the rise and you go to a country like Poland, you go there with the aim of conquering the country. You go to their country to enrich them with your culture of blasphemy.” Papa Emeritus does not add anything but he is grinning as much as his rigor mortis will allow and rubbing his hands together. It looks like in his mind he is already packing his bags and choosing a particularly severe tank commander's outfit for the trip. Again there is a big divide between the mysterious monk and his partially decayed singer. The conclusion of the test is far from clear. Could it be – as strange as it may seem – that they are nothing more threatening than ordinary travelling minstrels who simply wish to excite young people with an invigorating and theatrical "rock show"? Or are they indeed, as they claim, emissaries sent from Hades to recruit foot soldiers for the most evil of battles to come? More tests are needed. Metal Hammer (April 2012)

Primo has no problem with being compared to H*tler, but he DOES NOT want you to forget that his dick is HUGE.

The Nameless Ghoul says this is partially the point: "A lot of people presume we're parodying the church by inverting it but this isn't the case. We do the exact same thing as the church but we add a little topping to make a point. I think the real Pope is a very frightening character and that's the reason why he is an impenetrable, invincible and uncontrollable figure. It is the same with Papa Emeritus. You can't defeat Papa Emeritus because he's sacred. Most people find authoritative figures like the Pope enthralling. So he represents everything that is sacred, powerful and authoritative. It is very humorous as well, because not only is he our own Eddie, he's also Freddie Mercury, Adolf Hitler, Dracula, Marlon Brando and the Pope rolled into one.” Anger rouses Papa Emeritus from his near slumber: "Don't forget John Holmes!" The Nameless Ghoul sighs and corrects himself, throwing the 13 -inch-cocked porn star into the mix: "He is like Freddie Mercury, Adolf Hitler, Dracula, Marlon Brando, The Pope and John Holmes rolled into one.” Metal Hammer (April 2012)

Primo fucks, but he DOES NOT do foreplay.

"Thank you," says Papa E. It has to be said, while the singer no doubt cuts quite a figure in his robes and he undeniably has great bone structure, some of which is exposed to the elements, it's perhaps a shame that he doesn't have a better grooming routine as this might afford him and Ghost more young female fans. The Ghoul laughs raucously beneath his hood: "You'd be surprised at how many women flirt scandalously with him from the audience. The Ghouls get repelled when we see this happening actually. It is true that he has good bone structure but I think it is not so much his looks as the idea of him being whoever they want…” So basically you're saying that there are a lot of women out there who are having impure thoughts about a cadaverous cross between Hitler and Freddie Mercury in a dress? He lets out another chuckle: "Yes... yes, I am." Papa cuts in with a lascivious leer: "Whatever makes you think that I do not engulf myself in the carnal aftermath of our masses? I do, however, refrain from so-called 'foreplay'."

in the original lore, Papa Emeritus I was a zombie pope. he was supposed to be an actual literal corpse.

the interview makes several references to Primo being a zombie. he's described as 'cadaverous', having rigor mortis and exposed bones. the joke was that the title "Papa Emeritus" is the title of former popes, but a former pope would by definition be a dead pope, so the idea was that Ghost's Papa Emeritus I was a dead pope. this was before Pope Benedict resigned in 2013 and became the first living Pope Emeritus, ruining the joke, LOL.

[jolalibrary]

✨ jolapeno turns three today 🥹

(or undercoverpena, mvtthewmurdvck - however you've come to know me)

no matter when i stumbled into your dash, whether through my bucky barnes stage, daredevil, the umbrella academy, daredevil again, call of duty, daredevil again again, narcos, triple frontier, the last of us, the mentalist, the mandalorian and likely back to daredevil again, thank you. not just for the laughs, or the notes; the kudos or the asks, but for being here when it's been cloudy and stormy. thank you for reading the things my brain comes up with and urging it to continue.

i started as a person who didn't know if she could tell stories and I'm now a person who loves to tell stories. even with the lows, this has still been a place I've felt super happy to be a part of, and I'm so grateful that so many of you have stuck around (or allowed me to forcibly drag you from fandom to fandom).

i wish i could go back and tell three-years-ago-jo that in two years she'll have friends she couldn't go a day without speaking to. i wish i could see the look on her face when i told her that she'll have written not one story, but countless romance stories after never thinking she'd be able to do it again. so thank you, for being here, for reading and supporting, for cheering me on and also being my friend. i love you all lots. (sorry not sorry for being a mush)

some special thank you's to just some people who inspired great things in me, who have seen my work when it hasn't been as polished as when it's posted and not judged me for my random misspellings or crazy dyslexia.

even when i didn't think i could do it, you all did. so thank you. to my friend aish, who held my hand through late night texts (which allowed me to find my tuesday sister @goodwithcheese without who i cannot humanly go a day without now). without @eupheme we'd never had had din going around the universe, without you telling me i could do it. and if not for @tonysopranosrobe we'd never had me writing outbreak joel who just can't keep his hands to himself and even more joel's since then. to the wonderful @secretelephanttattoo who inspired and cheered me on for do me yourself (it wouldn't have existed without you) i am amazed by you all the time. and to @luxurychristmaspudding for fancying the pants of frankie and blue so much we're still not sure who we're choosing, for helping me cull the ideas and holding my extra 'S' with all the love in the world. and @toomanytookas for being a sounding board when i change plot three times and not judging me.

and last but no means least, my panda, the girl i have trekked on a train for even if i hate trains, @thetriumphantpanda you don't just inspire great things in me, but make me do great things. your honesty and care with my heart and work is never taken for granted and if you're not crying as you read this, what the living fuck hahaha.

[the-s1lly-corner]

tadc cast(any of them is fine) reacting to s/o that uses singing to cope with their daily stress? like theres a karaoke room for it bonus if they sing death metal or real dark stuff that arent very child friendly so theres a lot of censors love your work!

Gangle, Kinger, and Caine x a reader who sings to cope!

Since you specified any characters I went ahead and chose characters i think would pair well with this !! Hope that's alright!

Typing this up on mobile, cant sleep so may as well write !!

This reminds me of that one

Show

I forgot the name of it

The one with the red panda gal who does karaoke stuff to decompress

Need to finish watch that, never got past season one!!

CAINE:

Ive said this so many times for caine but he is your number one fan, even in your times of sreess and need, hes going to put his entire being into supporting you! Even if... some of the songs you sing go against the child friendly part of the circus... though it you need alone time to sing your feelings out, I think he would respect it!

I think he would push you to keep doing it if it helps you relieve feelings

KINGER:

Honestly they are all very chill and normal about it, with a world like this you need to find any way you can to cope in order to not abstract

Sure I think the shift in demeanor from your sweet personality to you swearing up a storm while nearly screaming into the mic throws him off the first time, who is he to judge you ?

I think he would try to help you find a different means of coping since this way rips your digital vocal cords up real bad

GANGLE:

I think if she were to accidentally walk into the karaoke room caine recently installed, and caught you going absolutely ham on the mic I think she would just

Quickly apologize for walking in on your private time... though I think it would be funny for gangle to also sing her feelings out... oooo stress duet... sounds nice but also tiring since you're both popping off with your entire beings

She joins you and you guys de-stress together

[yugoooooooo]

Wakfu Season 4 Episode 3 "A New World" Thoughts

yugos reaction to amalia

qilby is still a hater. smh

NORA AND ADAMAII teamup!!!

adamaii leaves. goddamn it dude, you just came back :( he'll be back in 5 and 6 -Nora's portal is a triangle - why? What makes her portals different from Yugo's and Qilbys? Does Qilby has a different portal pattern? If so, thats pretty interesting… -NORAS MOVES WERE SO COOL. I LOVE THAT SHE HAS SABERS/WHIPS!!! -HAHA, one of the eliatropes spoke that Nora was the strongest and she keeps the world safe, and then it pans over to qilby like. yeah. sure. -Qilby goes on a quick trip to a bakery - for crossiants. I think thats hilarious. His mama even knows him "only when he has something to gain from it."

-Yugo asking questions about how the goddess eliatrope can see everything was kinda cute.

-Adamaii definitely knows something suspicious is going on. "So you're the one to judge and to carry out the sentence" straight to nora. He's obviously very bothered by this.

-Qilby brings back A piece of bread for Yugo. Kind of cute but obviously he has motivations.

-YUGO TURNING TO THE GODDESS AND TATTLING. oh my god -"that's a stretch" - qilby 2024 -ooo qilby and yugo getting into it.

HES SUCKING HIS THUMB. "I HATE HIM MOM" LOLLL

nora saving the kittens <3 -dudes walking. a long time. "its the person that kills, not the weapon" i saw some theories that this dude might be evas grandpa- excited to see who he is!

love that the panda demigod is just chilling in their house lol -"love the re-decoration!" - i love you eva lol

rip ruels treasure. apagone is doing a good thing, hopefully ruel will realize that lmao

why am i surprised that he has a full ass motorcycle.

-yugo falling asleep in his mothers body/arms/hair was a little weird but i get the sentiment. it was a little cute. -HE'S GETTING HIS NAP!

HAHA I JUST NOTICED. QILBYS ALSO GETTING A NAP. He's such a mamas boy lmao <3

[drabbles-mc]

Stomping Grounds

Mike Duarte x F!Reader

Summary: Months after everything between you and Mike crumbled in the worst of ways, the two of you are put face-to-face all over again.

Warnings: 18+, language, alcohol, light angst

Word Count: 2.7k

A/N: What can I say??? I catch up on SVU and immediately decide that canon has no place here 😂 This is my first SVU fic, and by extension my first Duarte fic. I already want to write more for him lmao but one thing at a time

SVU Taglist (currently just tagging other people I've seen write or enjoy SVU things lol): @the-hinky-panda @bullet-prooflove @nessamc @proceduralpassion (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

It had been a long time since you were in the right part of the Bronx to run into Duarte. It’d been purposeful avoidance at first, but then it just became your new routine. The reasons for the switch started to fade from memory the farther your life moved on.

But then it all came rushing back the second you walked into the bar and saw Duarte there with Muncy and the rest of his team. There was no hiding from him, not when he was always clocking every single person who walked in or out of every room he was in. Clearly that was one thing that hadn’t changed. The first scan you took around the bar you found him already looking at you. You almost didn’t believe it until you heard Muncy's laugh. There was no way you were just imagining both of them.

If someone else hadn’t been walking in behind you, you would’ve frozen up right where you stood. You fumbled your way farther inside, too deep to just turn around and walk back out without it feeling strange, without it feeling like a missed opportunity.

You were about to go to the bar, get a drink to try and steel your nerves a bit before throwing yourself into the thick of things. You were a few steps away from being able to order when you heard Muncy call out to you. Being addressed by your last name felt so foreign now.

“We just ordered another round,” she said when you walked over. She greeted you with a grin and an awkward hug as she sat in her chair at the table they were all gathered around. “You can have Duarte's,” she said it like a joke, but you knew that when the drinks got brought over she would be handing one to you.

Judging by the look on Duarte's face, he wasn’t going to fight it, but he wasn’t going to be happy about it either. That seemed to be his MO with your after all.

“Was starting to think you left the Bronx altogether,” Duarte said, letting that be his greeting instead of extending you a real one.

To an outsider looking in, it would’ve seemed harsh. But it was Duarte, and pleasantries were never his strong suit. You considered the acknowledgement a win in and of itself, because you knew that if Muncy hadn’t called you over, Duarte definitely wouldn’t have. You couldn’t really blame him considering how everything played out. It wasn’t anything malicious, even if it had felt that way to him. The two of you were just the victims of the worst timing in the world.

You tried not to think about it as you caught up with everyone. They told you about everything that had been going on, the details they could spare at least. You gave them the broad strokes of what you’d been up to since you saw them. It was hard to separate it out, what you were telling them from the reasons Duarte’s jaw was clenched so tightly the bone of it was about to break.

You didn’t know if you should call it a shame or a blessing. Maybe it could be both. Regardless, you knew that it was unfortunate timing. After months of trying to figure out your place in Duarte's unit, you finally figured out that you weren’t meant to be in it at all. In fact, you figured out that the badge wasn’t for you in general.

That would’ve been unfortunate enough, but those realizations just so happened to hit you the day after Duarte had spent the night at your place. The first and last time.

It had nothing to do with him, with what happened between you. And you tried to tell him that. He didn’t hear it, though, didn’t see it in your eyes how much you meant it—all he saw was you turning in your shield.

The conversation flowed around the two of you. Duarte staying quiet wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary, but you felt the weight of it, the way that it was different this time. Apparently you were the only one, because everyone else was talking circles around him, throwing comments and jokes his way that he didn’t respond to. Despite the gray cloud looming over Duarte's head, you were having a good time catching up with everyone else. You’d always meant to keep in touch, but at first it was painful, and then you all were just busy.

Eventually, that same busyness slowly started pulling everyone away from the table. You could’ve gone too, before it was just you and Mike left. You saw it going that way, and as much as part of you wanted to avoid it, another part of you wanted to see what would happen, if anything would happen.

“I guess I owe you a round,” you said when it was just the two of you left, the first thing that you’d said directly to him all night, “since Muncy gave me one of yours.”

You half expected him to reject it, to get up and leave. Instead, he quirked his eyebrow and gave a small nod. “I guess you do.”

When you returned with your drink and his, you asked, “So how've you been? You’re the only one who didn’t give me a run-down.”

He watched you take a sip of your drink. “You know how I’ve been.”

You laughed. “Do I?” You shook your head. “You never answered any of my texts. At one point I was pretty sure you blocked my number.”

“I didn’t.” He took a long sip of his drink. “Thought about it, though.”

You sighed, toying with the glass in your hands. “I meant what I said, you know. It really was just—”

“Do you like it?” he cut you off. “Your new job, do you actually like it?”

“What, you think I’m lying just to save face?” You chuckled at the look he was giving you. “I like it a lot. And for what it’s worth, it’s not a new job anymore.”

He shook his head. “It’ll always be your new job.”

Hearing the sarcasm without the anger was reassuring. For a second things almost felt like they used to be. You missed him, truly. For as gruff and insufferable as he made himself sometimes, you really had missed him.

“So,” he sighed as he leaned back in his seat, “finally decided it was safe to cross back into my territory?”

You let out a small, slightly uncomfortable laugh. Of course he knew you had been avoiding him. He’d been doing the same thing, to be fair, which was why all of your texts went unanswered.

“Actually, no,” you admitted with a sad laugh. “I just had kind of a shit day, and this was where I ended up.”

“Shit day got shittier.”

You gave a small smile as you shook your head. “Not that much shittier.”

“Work?”

You nodded. “Yea. Stakes are different, obviously. Shitty day now doesn’t mean the same thing as it used to.”

“Those kids…” he trailed off, shaking his head.

The laugh you let out was a little more genuine. “I love ‘em. They test me, but I love ‘em.”

“How many of them are gonna end up on my radar in a few years?” he asked, always the brutal cynic.

You shrugged, trying not to let it faze you. “Hopefully fewer now that I’m there.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but he could see it on your face that you were where you belonged now. He wanted it to be with him, on his team, but it wasn’t. The tone of your voice, the look in your eyes, you never had any of that when you talked about your work with the gang unit. And he wanted to be happy for you, but he was still stubborn and selfish and admitting things to himself wasn’t the same as admitting them out loud to you.

“You like your boss?” he asked.

All his years of police work and yet he still couldn’t sell that sentence to you in a way that would stop you from seeing through it.

You smiled, nodding. “Yea, he’s, you know, he’s a good guy.”

He saw the look on your face and tilted his head back just slightly, just enough so that you knew he was trying to piece apart what your expression meant. “What?”

You had to laugh. “Nothing, nothing. He’s just, you know, he’s nice.”

“Hm,” Duarte drummed his fingers on the outside of his glass, “I was never good at that.”

You chuckled, not disagreeing with him necessarily. “He’s nice because he can be. You…it’s hard. It’s hard to do what you do and still be nice.”

“Good thing you got out then.” With his tone and attitude it was hard to tell if he was being snide or genuinely grateful.

“Yea…” your voice trailed off as you tried to figure out what you were trying to say to him. “I miss it sometimes. Not,” you chuckled quietly, “not all of it. But I miss parts of it.” You paused. “I even miss you sometimes, too,” you joked.

“Only sometimes?” he quipped right back.

You laughed. “Maybe if you were nicer I’d miss you all the time.” You were joking, of course, because of course you missed him all the time. And you could tell by the look on his face that he knew that too. Clearing your throat, you asked, “What about you?”

“What about me?”

You rolled your eyes, finishing off your drink before you asked, “You ever miss me sometimes?”

His expression was serious for all of a moment before he recovered, putting the same façade on that he always had. “Sometimes.”

It wasn’t much longer before the both of you squared up your lingering tabs. Neither of you said anything while you were still in the bar about how you were getting home. You knew that Duarte wasn’t going to drive, and you didn’t even have the option if you’d wanted to. You didn’t want to walk home alone, not with everything that had been going on in the city lately, but you also had no desire to get a taxi either.

Going against all the little voices in your head that were telling you not to ask, when the two of you stepped out of the bar and onto the sidewalk, you said, “Think you could walk me home, Captain? For old time’s sake?”

He hesitated, looking at you. You could tell from his expression that he was trying to figure out if there was a play here that he wasn’t seeing. He must’ve decided it was safe enough, because he nodded and started walking in the direction of your apartment.

It was a nearly-silent walk back. You wished you knew what the right thing to say to him was. You felt like you had said everything you’d wanted to say to him when it ended, but he never said anything in return. He still hadn’t ever said how he felt about any of it. Actions speak louder than words, sure, but you still wanted to hear something from him. After everything, it felt like you deserved at least that much.

“It’s been shitty, you know,” the words flew out of your mouth before you could stop them, “not hearing from you at all.”

“You looking for an apology?”

You rolled your eyes. “No.” You knew better than that. “But I just…you never said anything after I left. Like, at all.”

“If I had said something, would it have made a difference?” he asked, glancing over at you as you waited for the crosswalk sign to change. “Would you have stayed?”

You took a deep breath as you both walked across the street. “Would I have stayed on the force? No.” The two of you reached your building and you didn’t extend an invite for him to come up, hoping that continuing to talk to him as you walked through the main door of your building would do the work of that for you. “But just because I left the force, it didn’t mean, you know,” you hesitated as you started walking up the stairs, “it didn’t mean that I was leaving you.”

He scoffed quietly as he followed you. “In the same twenty-four hours that we—”

“I know my timing was bad,” you cut him off, already knowing what his argument was going to be, “but never once did I actually say that I didn’t want to be with you.”

“How else did you want me to take it, then?”

“I was done with the job!” you said, exasperated. “It wasn’t, it wasn’t right for me. There’s no way that you didn’t see that.” You glanced over at him as you said it and you saw the resignation on his face. “Exactly.”

“You could’ve been a good cop if you wanted to be.”

“But I didn’t want to be.” There was a long pause as the two of you walked down the hallway and came to a stop outside your door. “I hated that you just cut me off.”

“I hated that you quit,” he snipped back.

You chuckled softly as you took your keys out of your bag. “Touché.”

“I thought I was part of the reason that you left,” he admitted as he watched you slip the key into the lock on your door.

“I told you that you weren’t,” you replied. “If you’d read any of my texts, or listened to any of the voicemails I left—”

“I didn’t believe you.”

You looked over at him. “Because I’ve always made such a habit of lying to you?”

It was the most that the two of you had ever talked about any of it, and yet he cracked a small smile and you couldn’t help but to mirror it back to him. The two of you were standing in your doorway, both of you knowing that you were lingering longer than necessary, longer than you should’ve. You’d pushed your door open halfway, your hand still on the knob. You watched as his eyes flicked down to your hand before going back up to your face.

“I should go.”

“Do you want to come in?” You both spoke at the same time, resulting both of you to chuckle awkwardly, trying to figure out which one of you was going to follow through on what you’d said.

Duarte cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t.”

“Didn’t stop you before,” you said, more hopeful than you should’ve been.

“And look how that turned out.”

You let go of the door and stepped in closer to him, close enough so that you were chest-to-chest. “Nothing happens the same way twice.”

His shoulders rose and fell with the deep breath that he took. He looked at you, and you could feel the indecision radiating off of him. You knew that there was nothing you could really say that would sway him one way or the other—he was always going to do whatever it was that he wanted to do.

When he didn’t say anything for a few more seconds, you took it as your answer. You took it as one more loss. Taking a deep breath, you said, “Goodnight, Mike,” and pressed your lips to his cheek, over the stubble that he never stayed on top of shaving.

You went to step into your apartment, shut the door on all of this one more time. Before you stepped too far, he pulled you back to him and right into a kiss. His hands came up to cup either side of your face, thumbs brushing against your cheeks as his lips moved against yours. All the hesitancy, the manufactured distance he’d put between you, all of it was gone as you melted against him.

When he pulled away, he still held onto your face. He was close enough that you could still feel his breath against your skin, smell the alcohol that still lingered on it. You pushed forward just enough so that your lips brushed against his again.

“Just tonight,” he said, his voice low and rough. It almost sounded like he meant it.

You let him have it, if that’s what it took for you to have him. “Yea,” you agreed, stepping through the door and pulling him with you, “just tonight.”

[hollywoodlady]

'It was September 1949 and Bogart was the biggest movie star in the world. He was in New York, out drinking with an old buddy named Bill Seeman. His wife, Lauren Bacall, had gone back to the hotel hours ago – so, the men reasoned, they needed a stand-in to scare off any potential home-wreckers or drunks. Somehow it emerged that a nearby delicatessen had stuffed pandas for sale. Not just any stuffed pandas: these weighed in at more than 20lbs.

Bogart and Seeman bought a couple and grabbed a cab to the El Morocco club, where they requested a table for four – two for them, two for their dates.

And that was supposed to be the end of it: getting seated with two pandas. Unfortunately for Bogart, this escapade would only end four days later – in court.

A young model named Robin Roberts approached Bogart’s table on her way out of the club, laughed, and picked up one of the pandas. Bogart, who had put away a large number of drinks by this point, pulled the panda close to him and told Roberts to leave him alone. Then she fell over.

She said he’d shoved her. He said she’d lost her balance. Four days later he was in a Manhattan courtroom facing legal action.

The panda fiasco immediately hit the tabloids. Fortunately for Bogart, the judge threw the case out. One reporter asked Bogart he was drunk at the time of the incident. The star replied: “Isn’t everybody at 4am?”' (x)

[rainboneish]

more general Nobara thoughts (no recent manga spoilers, just a general character analysis post based on information we got up to the end of season 2 with some bonus backstory spoiler bits for some characters)

at the beginning of of the story, Nobara is the only one of the Tokyo students who technically has the option to quit being a sorcerer after graduation without major complications (which is emphasized during her introduction with the multiple mentions of being scouted by an agency, as well as her motivation of moving to Tokyo/out of the village not being inherently tied to being a sorcerer, as long as she can find a different way to support herself. This is further emphasized by the fact that her backstory itself isn’t really influenced by her being a sorcerer. Her story with Fumi and Saori makes no mention of her abilities, and while the negative feelings the villagers had about Saori can be connected to cursed energy, it’s a backstory that would fit into the real world with zero alteration. Nobara does come from a sorcerer family, but it’s not one of the major clan and as far as we know her Grandmother keeps her distance from the rest of the community and we don’t have any indication that she would pressure Nobara into taking up the family business.

While Yuji did grow up as a “normie”, his options were literally presented to him as “die now or be a sorcerer and die at an unspecified point in time in the future” (plus, unbeknownst to him and us at the time, he already had a finger inside of him and Kenjaku would have most likely helped things along if he hadn’t eaten that finger willingly

Megumi is tied to the Jujutsu world through his birthright and technique, as well as through the deal Toji and later Gojo made with the Zenin clan, as well as Tsumiki’s fate in general. Yes Gojo might have been able to get him an out (since the condition stoping his sale to the Zenin is just him being there and sound of mind, Megumi being a sorcerer is to pay off his debt to the school)

Panda is a Panda (cursed corpse edition)

Inumaki’s family situation isn’t clear enough to know if they would be an obstacle to a change in profession but the nature of his cursed technique complicates his situation, he could live as a mute person but we know how easy (/s) society likes to make things for people with disabilities

Maki might have been able to quit being a sorcerer, but it is unclear if the zenin clan lets their children go to a normal school (we never see her or mai wearing middle school uniforms and i feel like it is at least heavily implied that the clans homeschool their kids) and i doubt the zenin clan would make it easy for her to get any kind of official documentation. She could have probably become a mercenary like Toji, but as we saw in his case, even he couldn’t fully shake that world, to the point where it killed him.

(I’m not including Yuta here because he wasn’t present at the beginning of the story (outside of jjk0), he probably could have left jujutsu society after graduation in theory but his obstacle was his power being too strong (leading to political pressure) He also tied to jujutsu society through his bonds, as is made very clear in jjk 0, which is something he and Nobara have in common (like a certain other thing (a crush on maki sorry i couldn’t help myself ))

(this is just the situation at the beginning of the story, a lot has changed since then rendering a lot of these points moot)

so yeah, Nobara is the only one who is technically free to leave at any time, as long as she can secure a job (which is a pretty normal hurdle that anyone who isn’t born with inherited wealth would face). She has had a normal schooling before going to jujutsu high and judging by Nanami’s story, the school probably has the authority to give graduates the necessary paperwork to get into normal higher education or get a job that isn’t necessary for (idk jack shit about the education system in japan and i’m not going to research it for a sentence in a tumblr post)

Which makes it even more of a statement to her character that she actually sticks around and gives it her all.

Nobara is a character who can seem abrasive at first. She seems vain and immediately belittles Yuji and Megumi upon introduction. Then the scene with the kid happens and you start to glimpse that she is kinder than she seems. Through her backstory and her relationship with Yuji and Maki especially, as well as her relationship with Fumi and Saori, it becomes evident that despite initial impressions, she is a character who cares, deeply.

And while she later claims that she can only care for so many people (which is true to a certain extent), she shows a willingness to sacrifice herself for a little boy she never met and immediately agrees with Itadori that they need to help the people in the juvenile detention center (even if she isn’t as absolute as Yuji about it). As she says herself, she does not have Yuji’s compulsion to save everyone, but she isn’t selective to the degree Megumi is either.

She willingly goes back into Shibuya station, despite the fact that she has been told that she is outmatched in skill and seeing the devastation that has occurred while she was outside the veil, because she knows that Yuji, Gojo and other people she knows are still in there, something the others around her were unwilling to do at that point. As i said, she is brave, and she cares so so deeply!

When she is taken down by Mahito her last thoughts are dedicated to both her sorcerer friends AND her non-sorcerer friends. Nobara, despite what she said after Yuji’s “death” at the detention center connects with people fast (one could say that, like Yuji and his ability to touch the soul, she too represents her powers in that way, resonating with the people around her) That’s something we’re allowed to see about her early, her lip wobbling in spite of what she said, her dedication to Maki, her outrage at how other people treated Fumi and Saori.

I believe that Nobara is the person who had the best chance to leave Jujutsu society behind her if she hadn’t built meaningful relationships with her schoolmates… but i also believe that similarly to Nanami, she would have inevitably returned to it because she couldn’t watch people getting hurt and not do anything about it.

[redsamuraiii]

Panda Judges the World / Shiro demo Kuro demonai Sekai de, Panda wa Warau (Ep 2)

It’s better to try than to regret not trying and wondering the what ifs.

[ophanum]

Hi!!! I love the way you write by the way! I get embarrassed to request but you seem you don't shame so could you do a Tai lung x fem dog reader smut. Can you make Reader chubby and is embarrassed to show any body part and thinks Tai is embarrassed of reader and doesn't like them anymore since they gained weight a bit and they weren't as skinny as they were before

IF YOU WRITE THIS THANK YOU SO MUCH! I hope you have a good day I would give you a huge hug ( not in a weird way) THANK YOU POOKIE!!!

BIRTHDAY CAKE - ! Kung Fu Panda

ft. Tai Lung x Chubby! Dog! Fem! Reader

"Want you to live like the world's on fire, Want you to love like hearts don't break" - That would be enough by Hamilton.

Note: Thank you for your kind words! I'm so glad you enjoy my writing, and rest assured, I never judge—this is a safe space for your creativity and ideas. This is such a wonderful idea, because for one based on Tai Lung's character, he's more of a decisive person. If this is what he thinks will happen, it will inevitably happen, according to him. So when he chooses his significant other, for sure, he is rock solid on that decision. And no amount of change in appearance would change his mind.

Reader’s insecurities about her weight lead her to believe Tai Lung is ashamed of her, but he proves just how deeply he adores her—inside and out.

You had been avoiding Tai Lung for days now. Ever since you’d noticed the extra softness in your figure, you couldn’t shake the thought that he must have noticed, too. And what if he didn’t like it?

The thought gnawed at you like a shadowy beast, its claws scraping against the edges of your mind. Your reflection in the mirror seemed to warp, features blurring under the heat of your spiraling thoughts.

The idea of him seeing you like this—less toned, less perfect—made your chest tighten. You couldn’t bear the thought of him being disappointed, or worse, embarrassed to be with you. So you started wearing looser clothes and kept your distance, hiding your body from his golden, piercing gaze.

But Tai Lung wasn’t one to let things slide.

When you returned to your shared space one evening, you found him waiting for you, arms crossed and tail flicking impatiently. His eyes locked onto yours, intense but unreadable.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said bluntly. “Why?”

You froze, clutching the fabric of your oversized top. “I… I haven’t,” you stammered, though your voice betrayed you.

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t lie to me, [Name]. You’ve barely looked at me all week. What’s going on?”

You hesitated, the words caught in your throat. How could you explain it? That you felt like you weren’t enough for him anymore? That every time you caught sight of yourself, all you could think about was how much better you used to look?

Finally, you dropped your gaze, mumbling, “I just… I don’t think you’d want to see me like this.”

His ears twitched, and he took a step closer. “Like what?”

“Like…” You gestured vaguely at yourself, frustration bubbling up. “This! I’m not the same as I was before. I’ve gained weight, Tai. I’m not as fit or… or attractive anymore.” Your voice cracked, and you felt tears pricking at your eyes. “And I thought… maybe you were embarrassed of me now.”

The room fell silent for a moment, the air thick with your words. Tai felt a flicker in his stomach when you said his nickname, only you get to call him that. Then Tai Lung moved, closing the distance between you in a few swift strides.

“Embarrassed?” he repeated, his voice low with disbelief. His paws gently gripped your shoulders, forcing you to meet his gaze." [Name], how could you think that?”

You shrugged helplessly, tears spilling over. “Because... look at me! I’m not the same dog you fell in love with, I gained weight and lost it, I'm not disciplined as I was before- I'm despicable. And you… you’re perfect, Tai. You deserve someone who—”

“Stop,” he interrupted, his tone firm but not unkind. His hands forming into fist. Those calloused but gentle hands never had the time to relax, always curling itself back when pressure is given to the body. Your eyes lingered on it, then to his yellow eyes, which you know could cause some damage to your mental well-being if given the right amount of emotion. And now he was giving her none at this moment. Which was strangely uncharacteristic. Tai always knew what he wanted and he will show it without hesitation. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

Before you could say another word, he pulled you into his arms, his grip strong but tender. You felt his breath against your ear as he murmured, “I don’t care if you’ve gained weight or not. I care about you.”

You never stutter, do you? You thought joked melancholously

You tried to pull away, embarrassed, but he held you tighter. “Listen to me,” he said, his voice softening. “You’re beautiful. Every curve, every inch of you. And if you can’t see that, I’ll remind you every single day until you do.”

Your breath hitched as he leaned back, his eyes scanning your face with an intensity that made your heart race. “You think I’m perfect?” he said, a smirk tugging at his lips as his eyes darted for a moment at the corner of the room in disbelief and a sense of astonishment. “Then trust me when I say this: you’re everything I could ever want. And more.”

His paws slid down to your waist, his touch firm yet reverent. “Let me show you,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a low rumble.

You barely had time to process his words before he tilted your chin up, capturing your lips in a kiss that stole your breath. It was slow and deliberate, his tongue brushing against yours as he coaxed you to relax against him.

“Let me see you,” he whispered when he pulled away. Your breath hitched and was inconsistent. His eyes darted from your eyes to your agape lips. His paws trailing down to the hem of your shirt. “All of you.”

You hesitated, giving a small, light grunt. Your insecurities flaring up again, closing your eyes shut. But the look in his—a mix of adoration and desire—made your walls crumble, scrunching your brows in disbelief of him. Slowly, you allowed him to lift your shirt, revealing the soft curves you had been so desperate to hide.

Tai Lung’s gaze never wavered. If anything, it grew warmer, his lips parting as if to say something, but instead, he leaned down to kiss your shoulder, then your collarbone.

“You’re gorgeous,” he murmured between kisses, his claws tracing patterns along your sides. “So soft, so perfect…”

You gave a small chuckle. "Don't think I've heard those words before?"

"I don't care about any of that. Tonight I want to show you... show you that these mere words are nothing to my worship."

You gasped as his lips moved lower, trailing kisses down your stomach, his paws kneading the flesh of your hips with a reverence that made your cheeks burn. “Tai…”

He looked up at you, a playful smirk on his lips. “What? I’m just appreciating what’s mine.”

Tai Lung’s kisses grew more deliberate, his lips trailing along your stomach as his paws caressed your hips with reverence. You shivered under his touch, a mixture of nervousness and longing swirling in your chest.

“You’re stunning,” he murmured, his voice deep and husky as his claws teased the waistband of your bottoms. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

You opened your mouth to protest, but he silenced you with a kiss, his tongue exploring yours with unrestrained passion. His paws gripped your thighs, squeezing gently as if to anchor himself to you.

“Let me show you how much I love every inch of you,” he whispered against your lips, his voice rough with desire.

With a gentle but firm touch, he began removing the rest of your clothing, taking his time as if unwrapping a gift. You instinctively moved to cover yourself, but he caught your wrists, pinning them above your head with one paw.

“Don’t hide from me,” he said, his gaze locking onto yours. The intensity in his golden eyes sent a thrill through you. “You’re beautiful, [Name]. Let me prove it to you.”

He pressed his lips to your neck, kissing and nibbling along your pulse point before moving lower. His mouth worshipped every curve and dip of your body, his paws exploring your softness as if he couldn’t get enough.

When his kisses reached your thighs, he paused, glancing up at you with a smirk that made your breath catch. “Relax,” he murmured, his voice a low growl. “Let me take care of you.”

Before you could respond, his mouth found the most sensitive part of you, his tongue moving with deliberate precision. It was rough, his paws grabbed your thighs with his nails grazing your skin. He lapped at your heated sex, the juices made him drown like a bee to a queen's nectar. He couldn't have any other way. You were his and everything that comes within you. Gasp escaped your lips as your back arched, your hands tangling in his fur. He chuckled softly, the vibration sending shivers through your body. His eyes looked up and sent a soft, raving look. Melting to one of your sounds. He was indeed drunk off of you.

“That’s it,” he murmured, his voice filled with adoration. “Let me hear you.”

His paw slid up to your waist, holding you firmly as he continued his ministrations. The tension in your body built quickly, each flick of his tongue pushing you closer to the edge. When you finally fell apart beneath him, he didn’t stop, drawing out every wave of pleasure until you were trembling.

Tai Lung moved back up your body, his lips finding yours in a heated kiss. You could taste yourself on him, the thought making your cheeks burn.

“You’re incredible,” he whispered, his voice thick with desire. “But I’m not done with you yet.”

He shed the last of his clothing, his powerful frame towering over you. He chuckled at himself for his silliness, you gave him a smile. Despite his strength, his touch was gentle as he positioned himself between your thighs, his gaze searching yours for permission.

“Are you ready?” he asked, his voice softer now, almost reverent.

You nodded, your heart pounding as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “Yes,” you whispered, and that was all he needed.

He entered you slowly, giving you time to adjust to his size. The sensation was overwhelming, a mix of pleasure and intimacy that left you breathless. Tai Lung’s paws gripped your hips, his movements controlled as he began to rock into you.

“You feel amazing,” he groaned, his forehead resting against yours. “So perfect… just for me.”

His pace quickened, each thrust sending sparks of pleasure through your body. He watched your every reaction, his eyes filled with a mixture of love and desire that made your chest ache.

“Don’t hold back,” he murmured, his paw sliding down to intertwine with yours. “I want all of you.”

As the heat between you built, you clung to him, your moans filling the room. Tai Lung’s name spilled from your lips as you reached your peak again, the intensity of your release making your vision blur.

He followed shortly after, his grip tightening as he buried himself deep inside you, a low growl rumbling from his chest. For a moment, neither of you moved, your bodies tangled together as you caught your breath.

Tai Lung pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, his paw brushing stray strands of hair from your face. “You’re perfect,” he whispered, his voice filled with conviction.

You smiled shyly, your insecurities melting away in the warmth of his embrace. “I love you,” you murmured, and he smiled, pulling you closer.

“And I love you,” he replied, his tail curling around your leg. “Exactly as you are.”

The rest of the night passed in a haze of whispered praises and gentle touches. Tai Lung took his time, worshipping every part of you with a patience and tenderness that made your heart ache. He made sure you knew—without a doubt—that he adored you just as you were.

And by the time you fell asleep in his arms, his tail wrapped securely around your waist, you finally believed him.

[companion-showdown]

we are deviating from companion tournaments for a bit to judge Doctor Who's

Freaky Little Pets

(this has absolutely nothing to do with me wanting to include a certain sandbeast, i swear)

The current contestant list is:

The Slyther (Dalek Invasion of Earth)

Sandy the Sandbeast (The Rescue)

Zombo the Zarbi (The Web Planet)

The Chumblies (Galaxy 4)

HiFi (Steven's stuffed panda)

Aggedor (Curse/Monster of Peladon)

The Drashigs (Carnival of Monsters)

The Clam (Genesis of the Daleks)

K9

The Shrivenzale (The Ribos Operation)

Fifi (The Happiness Patrol)

Spider robots (The End of the World)

Arthur the horse from The Girl in the Fireplace

Rose the dog (Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel)

The cat that vanished in Fear Her

Cybershades

Gadget Gadget (The Waters of Mars)

The Triceratops (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

Mr Sweet (The Crimson Horror)

Handles

The T-Rex (Deep Breath - the Doctor world have so it counts)

The beatles in Knock Knock

Myfanwy the Pterodactyl (Torchwood)

Janet the Weevil

Wolsey (everyone here and after is from the EU)

Rose-the-cat

Antranak

Bernard Socks

Group Marshal

Lynx

Splinx

Keepsake's Vulture

Jasper and Stewart

2-2

Grandfather's shadow

Gramps

Ramsay the Vortisaur

Fred the Eternal Snail

Marmaduke

The Butterfly Room

Mina the cat and her kittens

Vampire squirrels

Darwin

We are playing fast and loose with the definitions of every word in the title, contestants do not have to be freaky, they can be normal, standard, earthly pets, they do not have to be little, horrible giant monsters are welcome, if you can justify calling them a pet its fine

any creatures that any characters make friends with or look after in some way are welcome, go wild

the only rules (that I probably don't have to explicitly state, but I will anyway) are that

submissions absolutely cannot have a level of intelligence comparable to humans. Animal-like intelligences only. (K9 is the exception to this because he is a robot dog)

should be treated well by the people you are claiming they are pets of, so, for example, you can't have the whale under the thames in Thin Ice

Some items on this list are from stories I have not seen in a while, so potentially won't meet these rules. If that is the case please let me know so I can remove them

Nominations will close 19:15 BST (UTC+1) tomorrow (27/09)

(also when the time comes you will vote Sandy or I will delete this blog and you will never see a companion tournament again for as long as you live (<- this is a joke but please let my beloved sandy do well))

[takabinaryy]

Gaming & Kisses

This is my iidea that I had in my drafts since 2020...... ...I finally finished it :) Boyd x Erica x Stiles. Malec Lydia x Aiden Human stiles , Boyd and Erica are alive because I said so. Slight Shadowhunters crossover

Erica being the gamer girl or well gamer woman she was , she was sitting in her game room sitting in her Black and navy blue chair.( it was actually Boyd's)Sitting with her knees up to her chest with Stiles's Batman themed headphones over her ears. And black and mint green coffee Starbucks cup with iced caramel macchiato in it. Accompanied by a sailor moon bowl next to it with those panda bears with chocolate in them. Originally Erica was going to play the walking dead with Stiles , after both males were done with the errands.

However Thier little pup had slipped after a Karen had yelled and cursed at him for being to "talkative" with the cashier. So Boyd had taken Stiles back to thier shared apartment and explained everything to Erica. So that's why there's a blanket and pillow nest , a few feet away from the blonde, there on the Blankets is Stiles in the center being in his own little world. Boyd had kisses both of thier heads and telling them he will be back in an hour to finish, up the errands that were interrupted by that ridiculous lady in the previous store.

So instead of a gory blood game Erica had switched it to another game she liked " Among Us" , it doesn't have much nightmare stuff in it so if her pup were to look up at it he wouldn't be scared of it. There were a few of their friends online to play the game with her like Danny, Aidan, Cora , Magnus. And his close friend Clary or well also know as "Biscuit_Bunny" on YouTube and TikTok. Mostly known for her Witchy stuff , art , and dark folk lore content. Not to mention she's also Lydia's and Erica's favorite YouTuber/Tiktoker. Before the game starts she told her friends she would be right back , then muted her mic turning to Stiles.

"You okay over there Duckling?"

" Mmhms I okays mama"

" You wanna have a movie night tonight? "

" Stich?"

" Of course we can watch Lilo and Stitch, ducky. Here I'll text papa so he knows it's movie night. Why don't you sit in Mama's seat while I go prepare everything okay?"

" Okays , loves you"

" And I love you angel"

Erica gets up then steps forward to the little one and and ruffles his hair , earning her a soft giggle from the baby. Said baby gets off his nest of softness from the floor and sits in his papa's chair unaware that , his mama was technically streaming so the camera on the computer and on the ring light were on. Which means his favorite babysitter(Magnus) could see him to , out of curiosity he put his headphones on and instantly hear talking. Stiles didn't notice when moved his stuffed blue dino that it accidentally hit the mouse that was hovering over the immure button in the screen. He couldn't help but giggle when he heard Clary start speaking. Making everyone else aware of who was now in view.

" oh my goodness! Batwoman was hiding the precious bean from us! Hi pumpkin."

" you filling in for her sweetheart? Is that the dinosaur plush I got you? " HaleOfAAngel said who was also known as Cora. Stiles nodded his head and held up the cute plush so "Bluebarry" is under his chin and now in view.

" mhm named  em Bluwbarry"

" Awe so cute!"

" awww that's an adorable name muffin! You know I'll be watching you next friday , Alexander  is definitely excited to see you again" Mags.Of.Magic aka Magnus had said getting a playful groan from Aiden. The man switches his camera on in the bottom corner under Cora's before speaking , you can clearly see Lydia's dog judging him in the background.

"What? No fair you get to see the baby before I do! Lydia is gonna so darn jealous. "

"It's not my fault Aiden dear. Muffin's caregivers have to help with the repairings on Cora's house. You know with what that nasty hurricane did to it. "

Giggles were filling room as everyone talked about chatted about stuff , keeping it pg13 for the baby in the room. It didn't take long for Erica to come back upstairs to the gaming now seeing their white husky sitting on her hunches next to stiles, getting light head pats. She's happy to note that Stiles is indeed having fun with their friends even if their game was forgotten at this point. The blonde woman taps her knuckles on the side of the door now alerting Snow the husky. Which makes the canine getting up fully then going over to greet her "human" . Which also makes her pup turn his head to her with a smile on his face.

" mama yous back! You took all the evers!"

" and hello to you too ducking. Mama only took forever because I was helping papa put stuff away"

" papa backs!?"

" yep why don't you go give him a big hug "

Stiles says his goodbyes to their friends before taking off the headset and darts passed Erica and down the stairs to his papa. The action makes the blonde laugh even more so when Snow follows the boy to , shaking her head as she gets back to the chair and tells everyone that they can play another game another day, for now Erica is going to go spend Tim with her boys. Which everyone was fine with of course since they got to talk to a regressed Stiles for most of the time anyway. Erica turns off her live stream , and exits out of her game and turning off her computer before leaving the room with the pillows and blankets so they can use them on the couch for movie night.