#then i started singing the we don't need no education part

[glow-in-the-dark-death]

The Daycare

Danny moves to Gotham after Lady Gotham themselves asks for his help.

Gotham's natural ecto has been deteriorating, and considering ecto was what held everything in existence together safely this was a major problem for Lady Gotham.

If Gotham got too bad it would spread to the rest of the world, and could cause it to cease to exist entirely.

So Danny came, as the Ghost King he had the power to filter in great amounts of the corrupt ecto just by being in the city.

But part of his obsession was protection & helping, Gotham already had a lot of help (Batfam). So he decided to focus on helping not with the problem at the top (villains), but with the problems at the bottom.

The problems at the bottom that would be the root cause in breeding more problems.

After all, many didn't start evil, but need and desperation pushed them towards that path.

So Danny moved to the worst part of Gotham, The Bowery.

What did he do there?

Why open a Daycare of course!

Many parents could not get a good or stable job simply because they needed to look after their kids and could not afford to pay the daycare fee.

Danny wasn't worried about money after all the coffers that he inherited as king would take forever to even make a dent in it, and that's only if he was living a very lavish lifestyle everyday for several human generations.

With this in mind his Daycare fee was pretty much nothing.

He would take care of the children of a very wide age group, while the adults could focus on getting a decent job or even returning to school for a higher education for better opportunities.

How does he care for so many children?

He duplicates himself of course!

At least in the very beginning, after a while he begins expanding his Daycare offering classes and tutoring to the children as well as free food at all times.

Who's helping him ?

His ex-rouges and other ghosts who volunteered.

Lunch Lady absolutely adores having so many people and kids to make food for, and Box Lunch can socialize and play with the other kids while she works.

Ember even volunteers to be the music teacher!

Danny has the help of many ghosts who once they heard his plans were very excited to help, many having the obsession with teaching children or in general. Other ghosts helped with building, expanding, and just generally helping maintain the building in great shape. Even building a very diverse and fun playground.

Of course all this catches the attention of Red Hood. Danny just appears one day on his territory with many others and practically having a building appear out of nowhere with how fast it was built, asking literal pennies to take care of the children, and free food for anyone who asks.

All that gains a lot of attention and is rather suspicious.

But the crime rate has been going down since he opened, which is a good thing.

But many people don't want good things and decide messing with Danny and his Daycare.

Unfortunately for them cuz Danny is absolutely down for violence if he's protecting what's his.

~

Villain: "What a lovely place you have here would be a shame if something were to happen"

Danny who has the audacity to fight Gods and win: "Someone call an ambulance! But not for me!

Also Danny: "These hands are rated E for everyone"

~

Other people:"Should we call someone for help?"

The ghosts:" Nah, let him have his fun he needs his enrichment"

~

Red Hood: "He's very suspicious"

Danny is absolutely covered in paint and singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with the young kids: "Ah yes I'm totally doing normal Gothamite behavior"

~

Lady Gotham is having some self care spa time she's having a grand time: "Should I warn the young king of the other halfa (Jason)? Hmm best not, it'll be more entertaining if it happens naturally"

~

Just an Idea

[solar4seekstron]

Transformers One x Reader: Awakening Chapter Three

Chapter 3: Traitor!

Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six

Transformers One x Cybertronian!GN!reader

TW/tags: B being adorable, death (deer robot and primes flashback), tried to add reader in the best I can without changing too much, D loses his shit near the end, 3rd pov, that should be all

(Alright gang it’s time for chapter 3! It was a bit hard for me to add much moments for Y/N and B in this bit because most of the time it didn’t feel right to change certain parts and moments except for the part where the gang is walking. As always I try to add accurate dialogue as I imagine that it’s what the characters would say. Hopefully you all enjoy this and enjoy the reader as you see their character grow and more of their personality and so on. Enjoy.)

Elita starts punching the giant rock next to her.

“Ok so uh this is us. And if we follow the path to-“

“Now you listen to me Mr. Zero seconds since my last accident. I’ll go on your little quest ‘cause I don't have a choice! But I carry the map. I navigate. And if this leads to nothing! Then I’m dragging you and those two idiot GoBots back to Iacon city and into the first supervisor depo we see at which point you will explain everything that has happened using words that reflect me in a very positive light! Got it!!”

“Yeah ok deal all right all right.”

“Lets go!”

B would then follow Elita after look at Orion. Orion looking terrified. As the four walk forward following Elita. Orion was waiting for D first to catch up then starts walking. D admiring their surroundings both curious and confused. Y/N was next to Orion as the two walked forward. Orion would look over at Y/N.

“This is going well. Sorry for bringing you into this. Didn’t plan you two joining.”

”It’s fate at least someone other then D joins you. More then one it seems.”

”Yeah B we just met when Darkwing brought is to one of the sub levels to keep us hidden. B helped us escape and thought of the train once we found the map.”

”Well. He seems pretty nice….Enough.” The two would then start walking once D caught up

”She- She’s joining us? Fantastic! Hi there, uh Elita right? Am I saying that right? Wanted to formally introduce myself. Uh, I’m B-127. You kneed me in the face earlier back there. Uh you-you can call me B or! Badassatron. It’s a nickname sort of what the guys gave me I don’t know. I didn’t give it to myself or anything, it's just-…actually it’s pronounced “Badassatron!!”…In case you were wondering. “Badassatron!!” You like that right?….”Badass-“

“I’m going to need you to talk less.”

“Sure oh yeah no problem. What am I stalking less about? My nickname? That’s fine with me.” Y/N started to walk forward a bit. Giving the two some privacy as they smoke and continues to look at their surroundings. Then joining Elita and B.

“Hey. You’re thinking about what you’ll say when you hand the Matrix to Sentinel aren't you?”

“I can’t help it.”

“D! We’re really doing this.”

“So glad I’m out here with you. This was a great idea.”

The five will continue their journey for what seems like a few hours.

“I’m just having a good time. How much further is the matrix on the map? Make an educated guess that- This is the coolest thing that's ever happened to anyone anywhere I’m telling you! One not two not three, not four but five. Five best friends who are walking through the door- there’s no doors we’re outside.”

Y/N would chuckle finding his humor funny other then the others. They were walking next to B as the others were a bit further.

”B-127 you certainly know how to sing”

”Oh well thank you. You know I just got that talent I guys.”

The two would laugh as Elita rolls her eyes as Orion and D groan until he notices plants from the planet showing again

“Hey look there’s more of it over here.”

Orion would touch the planet life coming out of the ground.

“What is it?”

“It’s not metal.”

“Like some kind of uhh weird nature. It’s weird.”

“So are they.” Soon seeing robot deers

They all then hear a loud noise

“What was that?”

“Uhm I think this is not right, we should go.” Orion seeing dust past him and the deers running the direction they were headed

“Yeah, good idea. “ The five start running getting to what seems like an abandoned town

“Run!”

“What are we running from?”

“What is that!?”

A ship will show itself

“Oh no. It’s a Quintesson ship!”

“What!”

“Oh that ain’t right!!!”

“What do we do? What do we do?”

“Shh. Quiet.”

Soon the five have their backs against a wall. Orion, D, Y/N, B, And Elita all looking up at the sky confused and scared. The five would then see one of the deers running and soon the poor deer was hit with something that caused it to explode. Elita was the one to grab Y/N’s hand after they tripped for a second and kept running

“It’s scanning for lifeforms. Move! Move!”

They soon start running

“Go go go.”

D, Y/N and Elita are able to make to a spot where the structure over them of the town can block the scanners above them.

“Come on! They’re not gonna make it!” Y/N trys to step forward wanting to help them but D and Elita would put their hand on Y/Ns shoulder and chest stopping them as the three watched.

Orion then grabs B by just stopping him as they stay under something that keeps the scanners from detecting them. B soon falling on his knees once they pass. Soon the ship will leave

“What- what were they searching for?”

“Someone to hug B. How should I know?” Y/N hits Ds arm with your fist

“I’m not waiting around to find out.”

“This way we’re close.”

“Quintessons haven’t been for 50 cycles.”

“It doesn’t make sense! There’s nothing out here.”

”What ever they’re looking for can’t be up here!…I hope.”

They soon make it to a cave. Climbing to an unpleasant entrance.

“A cave with teeth. Nothing scary about that.”

They start walking forward. B staying close to Y/N as the two look at the eachother scared and unsure

“Knives coming out of the ceiling. Everyone, do we have to go- ok yep we’re going in. Why shouldn’t we? Just walking into the scariest place I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Not ridiculous.”

They continue to walk until they see a sight that causes them to have to stop for a moment

“I don't believe it…”

“The Primes…”

“We’re here.”

”It’s…..really them..”

The five then start walking deeper in the cave. Elita looking at the body of Solus Prime. D. Walking to the head of Megatronus Prime. Kneeling down as he puts his hand on it. Soon looking angry. Orion looks at Zeta Primes body soon kneeling down before him. Y/N walks to Vector Primes body. Taking a knee and bowing their head to him

“Megatronus Prime…..”

“Zeta Prime….The Matrix?…It’s gone.”

“Lets keep looking.”

“Hey guys!”

Soon the five find rocks pilled together making something that was big and after removing them it’s revealed to be Alpha Trion

“It’s Alpha Trion.”

“He’s powered down, but his spark is still lit.”

B would then give Orion a small cube. Orion puts it in Tyrion’s mouth. He soon awakens and the five step back scared

“Message before!”

“Whoah whoah it’s ok! It’s ok. You’re safe now. The war is over.”

Trion would then stand up and make his way to Zetas body as he held his chest.

“I’ve failed you. Old friend. You deserved so much better than this end.”

“No you didn’t fail. We heard your message. We’ve come to find the Martrix-“

“Your transformation cogs- what happened to you? Who are you?”

“We’re cogless miners. From Iacon.”

“Miners? Why?”

“Well we’d have to drill for energon ever since it stopped flowing.”

“Impossible.”

“That’s why we came to fix things. If we find the Matrix of Leadership and get it to Sentinal Prime he sai-“

“Sentinel Is No Prime!”

“WHAT!?”

“He’s broken. Frantastic.” D and Y/N say looking at eachother thinking the same thing as they look back at Trion.

“What are you talking about? Why would you say that?”

“Sentinel Prime is our protector. He’s been saving us from the Quintessons ever since the-“

“You have not been saved. You’ve been living a lie. I saw the truth with my own eyes. Come. I will show you.”

“For thousands of cycles the war with the Quintessons have been a brutal conflict. Until sentinel, the principled aid to the primes. Intercepted an enemy transmission. There was going to be a secret gathering of Quintesson commanders. Their intermission would end the war. It was a mission so important. We primes took it on ourselves. We agreed to meet sentinel for his sensitive intel. In Secret. Here in this Cave. But we were Not Alone.”

The five would watch as the vision of the primes from the sands move around them

“We were outnumbered but stood as One. Our Victory was Near!” The primes continue to fight until one of them, was stabbed from behind

“Until we were Betrayed.”

It then shows sentinel stabbing one of the primes through the back and soon makes his way to the other primes. Shooting Solus Prime. Decapitating Megatronus head. Then shooting Zeta Prime causing him to fly back. Making the four scared and prepare for impact as he appears to fall on them and slides back a bit.

“Sentinel….why…”

“For all the power of Cybertron.”

“But sentinel never understood the true power of what he desired. The Matrix of Leadership can only be wielded by one that Primus himself deems worthy. And sentinel most certainly was not.”

Orion and D watched. Orion with fear and D with anger. Orion would fall on his knees

“Wai- ho- hold on. Yo-you’re saying that the Matrix of Leadership just vanished?”

“No. No no no no. That is impossible. I don’t believe it.”

“Why would sentinel do that?”

“To make a bargain.”

“A bargain? With who?”

“With the new rulers of Cybertron.”

“Quintessons..”

“There are so many.”

The five would see many ships and then one over them as it heads to an open area. The biggest taking center stage. Y/N would kneel between Elita and B as they all watched to see what’ll happen

“He’s here! Sentinel prime is here!”

Sentinel and the other guard are seen flying and soon land in front of the ships. Transforming. The Quintessons solders soon start marching out of the ship getting in line on both sides before their leader

“Keep your eyes open.”

“They always are.”

The master and one of the leaders floats out. Soon sentinel is seen kneeling as the others behind him do the same. The four gasp quietly from what they just saw. He would then look back and nod. The boxes in the trainsf float and then open.

“I load those crates. Those are filled with contaminated metal.”

“I don't understand. What do the Quintessons want with toxic waste?”

“Our energon!”

“Traitor!’’

“D no.”

“I know what I promised you. But our mines. They’re running out. There’s barely enough energon for us.”

“I swear I will get you the rest.”

“Triple time every mining shift. No miner gets a break until I get my energon. All of it! Lets go!”

From there the Quintessons leave and so does sentinel and the other guards. B let out a sigh and looked down showing to be pretty scared as Elita goes to leave. Y/N noticed this and puts their hand over Bs hand. Comforting him and giving a gentle smile. B would then look down with a bit of a frown and follow Elita after. Orion would then leave back into the cave with the others while D stayed for a bit longer still processing what he just witnessed. Y/N stay down a bit as the three would pass them. Seeing D they come next to them, putting their hand in his arm. When he looked at them he saw their expression was anger. They are just as mad as he is looking at the ships then down. Then they look at D as the two stare at each other. Nothing knowing that each other are very, very upset of what they just witnessed.

“Now you have seen the truth.”

“Everyday…every single day of my life has been a lie.”

“My god I knew it! Deep down I always felt something was off!”

“He deceived everyone.”

“Sentinel bought himself power and then put us to work. Paying off his debt.”

“I can’t believe it. Well obviously I can believe it I just saw it. But I still…I can’t believe it.”

“Sentinel..lied…to my face.”

“He lied to all of our faces! To believe we were protected. To believe we had hope and dreams of a future with no worry of the enemy. No! Gone now. Now that the truth is out.” They would then get a big rock close by. But it not creating any pain or anything to them

“It was all a sham. How could we have been so gullible? Oh this. This is going to change everything.”

“You just had to do it, didn’t you?”

“Me? What did I do?”

“You just had to go to the surface. Head into the Iacon 5000. You just had to break protocol.”

“Who cares about protocol?”

“I do! I care! Because nothing ever happens when you stay on protocol!”

“Sentinel prime has been forcing us to work in the mines until our gears strip! And all the while he’s been giving the energon away to our greatest enemies!”

“And what do you think he’s going to do when he finds out that we know?”

“I’m not thinking about what he’s going to do. I’m thinking about what we’re going to do.”

“Well that’s the whole thing! You’re never thinking about anything else! Just yourself! Fantastic! Another Orion Pax master plan! I can’t wait to hear this!”

“Hey don’t you want to stop him?”

“No, I want to kill him! I want to put sentinel in chains and march him through the mines so everyone can see him for the false prime that he is! I want him to suffer then to die in darkness! But we all know that it doesn't matter what I want right Pax? The fact is we’re just cogless bots, right? We had limited options. And now, now we have non.” Y/N would look down. Getting deep in their thoughts as their hands tighten out of anger

“No son or daughter of Cybertron is born without a cog.”

“Oh yeah, I have been with myself since I came online and this slots always been empty!”

“So what are you saying?”

“No, no way. Nobody can be that evil. Not even sentinel.”

“He removed your cogs before you came online.”

“We were born with transformation cogs. But he-..he-“

“He took them from us.”

“OH so he has not only made us work since the moment we wake up. But he is the reason he are fragile and insignificant to the rest of Cybertron!”

Y/N chuckled a bit at first before speaking. Elita looking at them a bit surprised as she put her hand on their chest when they tried to step forward towards Trion. B putting his hand on their arm. Elita never saw Y/N this upset before

“What defines a transformer-hmm..Is not the cog in his chest but the spark that resides in their core. A spark that gives you the will to make your world better. My fellow primes had that spark and I see their strength in you. Take their cogs and access your full potential. Prima. Onyx. Alchemist. Mircronus. Vector. Warriors of noble spirit. Loyalty, Strength, Their uniqueness enhanced by you.”

From there the cogs inside the Primes float out of their chests making their way as the five float and the cogs go into their chests. Transforming them to full Cybertronians

“They were one. You are one. All are one.”

The four would and on their feet and see they have changed

“Wait we- have- you-you gave us-“

“The ability to change your world. How you choose to use that power is up to you.”

Orion would look up at Alpha Trion was hope and joy in his eyes. D doing the same once he looked at Trion as well. Orion turning back to look at B first as B laughs excited. Elita and D looking at each other excited full with pride. Orion soon turning back again to look at the two. Y/n looking at their self as barely has any words. B and Orion look at them with large smiles on their faces excited. Y/N doing the same as they too cheer.But the moment is cut short when the four soon hears a loud rumble.

Hope you all enjoyed and hope to see you for the next chapter!

Next chapter will be released on Friday Nov. 1st

[ugotcooneycrossed]

a christmas education • kyra cooney-cross

a/n: little something based off this since its christmas tmr

you're determined to educate your girlfriend on all things christmas

------------------------------------------------------------the build up to an appropriate time to blast christmas music has you buzzing. having been on the team for two years now- everyone has promptly banned you from anything christmas related until december first. a rule in place after your first year with the team, when you rocked up to training donning a santa hat, singing jingle bells at the top of your lungs, two days after halloween.

so, the moment your alarm sounds on the first of december- you shoot up in bed, in your excitement, you momentarily forget your girlfriend spent the night, and you send her tumbling out of bed.

leaning over the other side you smile at her sheepishly- she's sprawled out on the floor, face hidden in the mass of blankets she brought down with her.

"oops- sorry ky."

she sends you a thumbs up- sitting up fully now. her hair still messy and yawning.

"come on kyra- it's christmas time!"

"it's only the first baby."

"umm yeah- the first of december! now come on-there is so much christmas music we can listen to from now until training."

-

"tell me baby- do you recognise me?! its been a year, it doesnt surprise me!"

"oh god- here she comes."

you dance into the change rooms- invisible microphone in hand. your christmas sweater-complete with flashing lights, bells, and a protruding, squeaky, red nose- jingles as you shimmy your way to your locker.

"merry christmas everyone!"

kyra comes in after you- dragging her feet, she stops at lia, whispering in the older woman's ear.

"why didnt you tell me she's crazy?"

-

you steal the gym speaker before anyone else can-connecting your phone and ignoring the groans that ring out.

"babe! what's your favourite christmas song?"

"uhh- i don't know."

"what do you mean, you dont know?!"

"if im being honest (y/n), i dont know much about christmas stuff."

kyra shrugs-brushing off it off, smiling at you. but when she see's your mouth hanging open- eyes bewildered and unresponsive, her smile faulters.

"babe?"

"what do you mean, 'you dont know much' about christmas kyra!"

"dunno- just never really thought much about it."

"we- i need to fix this."

-

"so, first we decorate the tree- yes i did take everything off, so we can do it all over again together and listen to all the christmas music possible, then we're going to decorate gingerbread houses and watch all the christmas movies."

you smile proudly- standing in front of your now bare christmas tree.

-

"rudolph the red nose reindeer- something, something, some-something."

kyra sings softy under her breath- moving around the tree- hanging the ornaments on gently.

finally, you reach down- handing her the star, and nodding to the top of the tree.

"you want me to put this on?"

"yeah!"

-

"okay- so we'll start with the grinch- and then see where we get from there!"

you watch kyra decorate and watch the movie with a grin- something about kyra loving the grinch just makes so much sense.

-

"done!"

you look up from yours- the final touches perfecting your house, you look at her's, then yours, then back to hers.

she's brandishing it to you proudly- grinning at you with frosting around her lips.

the roof of her house has collapsed in- some of her gummy lollies half bitten and stuck to random parts of the house. most of the frosting probably eaten instead of holding together the walls of her house.

"its beautiful?"

"thanks! i know right!"

-

"now this is my favourite part of christmas."

you take her hand- leading her to your bedroom, the door open.

"your bed?"

"no you idiot- look up!"

"why do you have a random bush-"

"its mistletoe ky."

"ohhh- oh- oh."

you put your hands around her neck- her own wrapping around your waist- and you share a sweet kiss.

"mmh- you taste like frosting."

[gerogerigaogaigar]

In the wake of the Drake/Kendrick beef its become clear that a lot of people here don't know what hip-hop is and/or don't know how to listen to it. Instead of dunking on people's ignorance I'd like to offer up an educational opportunity. Hip-hop can be difficult to get into if you come from an exclusively white and rock oriented upbringing. It simply listens differently than other popular music and you have to learn how to listen to it. This is honestly true of all music, but white america grows up with modern rock and pop that more or less derive their structure from tin pan alley music of the early 1900's. Hip-hop is a derivative of the 70's disco scene. Disco had an even more dance oriented feel than the funk that it spun off from. And funk was already more rhythm heavy than the Soul and Rhythm & Blues that birthed the funk scene.

Hip-hop is, first and foremost, a black artform and I am not black. So I'm not trying to position myself as a community ambassador or anything, but I do get that there are some barriers that white suburban kids face when it comes to getting into hip-hop. I also know that I am very, very into hip-hop so being a suburban white kid is clearly not an excuse for dismissing an entire artform. And racism isn't something you are it's something you do. So its time to stop talking about Weird Al and Eminem* whenever someone asks if you like rap. Right now it is time to learn how to listen.

*all due respect to eminem, he's actually really good, but we aren't talking about white rappers right now

When listening to rap one of the first things you need to pay attention to is the rapper's flow. A rapper's instrument is their voice, but unlike what you may be used to rap vocals are part of the percussion. In the songs included below, try to listen for how the vocals create a rhythmic counterpoint to the instrumentals. and listen for how rappers use rhyme as well as rhythm to create a pleasing cadence. Don't worry about what they're saying, listen to how they say it.

All Caps We start with All Caps, an absolute beast of a song. MF DOOM meets the frantic energy of the beat with a steady even flow that feels effortless. DOOM interlocks Rhyme schemes and uses matching vowel sounds throughout the verses to create the illusion that he is just dropping thoughts off the top of his head. The maneuver he pulls in the last stanza always blows my mind. making a *pop* sound to onomatopoetically match the vowel sound in pot, got, and snot while also rhyming troubles and bubbles.

A Milli Next up is Lil Wayne. Much like DOOM he can bury rhyme schemes for days, but instead of a smooth even flow he goes in bursts of frantic energy to contrast the very steady beat.

Ultimate Denzel Curry is probably one of the best in the trap scene and Ultimate is an early track where he is nailing the lazy beat, angry delivery thing. his shouted couplets overlay the trilled snare to create a texture that is actually very typical of trap music.

Izzo (H.O.V.A.) Jay-Z has a triumphant tone and a sing-songy cadence to his voice. He tends to match the percussive parts of his raps to the downbeat of the drums and it further emphasizes the strings from the Jackson Five sample and his more melodic lilting.

Bad Character You might notice that Quasimoto sounds... uh... well its Madlib with his voice pitched up. Weirdly Quas has a totally different cadence than Madlib. The timbre of his voice is so distinctive but he raps so casually. It almost feels like he is disconnected from the beat, but he's still right on it. It is a weird quirky atmosphere.

ATliens ATliens is the first song on the list with multiple rappers on it. Big Boi is a master of the straightforward 90's gangsta style while Andre 3000 has a supernatural sense for where he is on the beat that allows him to dodge and weave around it. the two of them work together by giving a back and forth between the extreme steadyness of Big Boi and the extreme wonkiness of Andre 3000.

Protect Ya Neck The Wu-Tang Clan had a lot of members and Protect Ya Neck has all of them on it. It would take forever to explain the different styles of the whole Clan so I'm just gonna let you hear it all yourself. even if you can't tell them all apart it is still pretty easy to tell when they pass the mic.

Ready Or Not Wyclef Jean and Ms. Lauryn Hill are two of the best rappers, and also Pras is here. The interpolation of soul hooks that show off Lauryn Hill's singing skills were standard for the group, but Hill could switch from singing to rapping on a dime. Even when they are rapping there is a sense of soul music underlying their music.

Life's A Bitch Another track with a laid back beat. I couldn't tell you when Nas takes a fucking breath in this song. he just goes and goes. everyone on this is so smooth.

Fix Up, Look Sharp Finally I had to get some really rowdy shit on here. Dizze Rascal's flow is so bombastic. he hits every downbeat as hard as possible and almost drowns out the steady snare-kick beat with his voice alone. Like Jay-Z he is also very sing-songy.

To Be Continued ===> Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part4 | Part 5 | Part 6

[tsams-killswap-au]

Hi Sun, hi Moon! :D How do you guys attend to the children? I know Sun had that Killcode, I imagine since it's a complicated code to derive from your normal programmed coding, it took a while to separate? I'd assume if it was like, super progressed, most likely it'd have taken.. at least a few weeks or maybe a month/more? :P

Also can I hug you guys :3

Sun: Oh!! Our first ask!! How exciting! 

Sun: Okay, okay, I practiced this, okay, *inhales*

Sun: Here in the Superstar Daycare, we offer a safe and clean space for the children to play in! We provide toys and activities, such as arts and crafts, games, read-aloud times for books both entertaining and educational, movies and television shows, healthy meals for lunch and tasty treats for snacktime, and plenty of indoor playgrounds for the children to run out their energy! We have castles, the many tunnels of our play places, slides, and the ballpit of course! 

Sun: I supervise the children at all times and ensure they’re always playing safely and having fun! I lead during activities, and help ensure all of our little superstars have something to do and are comfortable! I’m equipped to care for children with special needs, or various allergies or conditions! In the event of an injury, I’m programmed with first aid training. 

Sun: And after hours, I clean the daycare and keep it washed, sanitized, and spotless!

Sun: And MOON–!

Moon: … 

Sun: …

Moon: …

Sun: …

Sun: –Isn't here a lot of the time. 

Moon: Nope! 

Moon: I just supervise naptime. (I think you mean I supervise naptime most of the time.) I make the kids lay down and sleep. (I usually end up doing that cuz he doesn’t show up for WORK very often–!) If they don’t wanna, moondrop candies work WONDERS. (At least that’s one of the NICER ways you deal with the kids.) 

Moon: I dunno what you want from me, I’m not good with kids. 

Sun: Says the guy I’ve caught reading bedtime stories and singing to the kids.

Moon: *AHEM* They also want to know about the killcode and how we separated. 

Sun: Oh… they do? I don't, I don't, uh… 

Moon: I can take this part. 

Sun: Yeah… please…

Sun: …You're better at the sciency stuff anyways! 

Moon: Alright, about that.

Moon: The only thing I will say about Sun's Killcode is that IT wasn't the issue when it came to separating.

Moon: What sucked about separating was that Sun and I were built in such a way that everything we were was intertwined. Our minds, our codes, all of it was built to rely on both halves being there. The body itself was designed to have two separate AIs, and it was a HUGE RISK for the body to only have one AI after one of us left. (In their infinite wisdom, whoever made us designed us that way intentionally. The dick.)

Moon: Sun and I were so entangled that separating was a massive risk to us; if we weren't extremely careful, our minds could be damaged when being pulled apart from each other. So that was one thing, making sure we could unwind our codes without breaking either of us.

Moon: The Killcode wasn't a big deal when it came to this; that thing was just one bit of code among a million others.

Moon: Then I had to find a way to make sure Sun's body could survive only having the one AI instead of two, and THAT was a whole thing...

Moon: I started researching this as soon as Sun and I stopped fighting  You really wanna know how long it took? It took over a YEAR! A year of research trying to figure this out, only a few hours each day, in the short periods of time when I was able to move when the lights were out. Once the lights came back on and Sun was back out, I couldn't DO anything.

Moon: It was HELL.

Moon: ...

Moon: But, as for when we finally had everything ready, the actual procedure itself only took about a day…

Moon: We were sitting around, hooked up to the computer down in parts and services, and the computer combed through our heads to make sure everything was in the right place.

Moon: (At least, that's what it was SUPPOSED to do... Except now we find out it might have made an error and given me too much of Sun's code... his killcode...)

Sun: (Um...)

Moon: As for the Killcode, all you need to know is it's gone now. Sun doesn't have it anymore. 

Moon: That was a fair question to ask though.

Sun: *AHEM!* Okay, okay, that’s all they need to hear about THAT! Moving on!! 

Sun: …

Sun: Oh yeah there's one more part to the question! 

Sun: They wanna know if they can get a hug!

Moon: Oh do they.

Sun: If you want to, sure! I give the kids hugs all the time, so why not! 

Moon: No you may not. Don't touch me.

[solitary-cutie]

Darkness to our light. Part IV

Part I

Part II

Part III

prompt: you and coriolanus are married, it's unbearable for you, but it will all end soon

contains: dark, manipulative, controlling coriolanus. fem!reader.

The guests were slowly gathering. While you were spending time with Tigris, Ginny appeared on the doorstep, just 40 minutes after the evening had started. It was a good thing she hadn't missed dinner after all. It was clear from her astonished look that this was the first time she had seen such gorgeous outfits in person. No, she had been invited to such events with famous personalities, but because she was so tired after work, the diligent teacher had no desire to be there. She didn't want to waste the evening on shallow, partly lustful, greedy and proud empty human shells with a bag of money over their shoulders.

Coriolanus was not in the hall at this time, nor were Father Sejanus and Mr. Highbottom. You frowned and became uneasy, but Ginny, Tigris, and Sejanus, who had come up with a glass of whiskey, were nearby.

“Sanitizing before consumption?” You laughed. Sejan glanced at you with a frown and annoyed smile. By the way, it was funny. “Literally pouring it over your collar. Does your family have such fondness for drinking ?” Silent. “Come on, I didn't know. Well, it's not for me to judge, as they say!” continued with Tigris and Ginny laughing.

“Oh, Grandma’am needs me, I’ll be in a second!” Your Lord's gentle sister whispered, rustling her purple dress loudly because of her quick footsteps.

“Aren't you tired of being a clown?” Sejanus asked trying to be sarcastic but because of his habit of directness, it didn't work for him

“No, thank you for being concerned.”

The loud voices of Grandma’am and her other elderly friends from Capitol were heard singing the Panem hymn in the hall.

“Oh, you're sitting next to that tipsy madam and her friends, by the way.” You warned Ginny.

“Don’t I sit next to you?”

“I'd like to...” You looked away.

“Then sit with me, what's the problem? - Ginny asked, frowning.”

“I can't, the rules don't allow it, we have stupid etiquette here.” Not wanting to hear the answer, you took two glasses of red wine, one of which you handed to your teacher-guest. “Drink and relax! You're much easier to talk to when you're relaxed!”

And then the trio that had been absent all this time entered the hall. There were no smiles on their faces, but rather deep thought. You noticed the quick, blank glances Coryo was throwing in Sejanus' direction. Yes, that's right, He had always tolerated him, didn't even consider him a friend. It all made sense.

While He stood off to the side, talking to Dr. Gaul, Grandma’am, and Mr. Highbottom, you secluded yourself in a corner with Sejanus and Ginny. Three stragglers sipping cocktails and discussing revolutionary ideas.

“On what basis does the principle of elites exist, please explain?” Sejanus asked.

“You and I have been discussing this for the last time.” You replied, smiling, pronouncing the last syllable with a gasp.

“We are discussing it because you do not recognize my right that the formation of the elite and those who are behind it, i.e. people deprived of any rights, is inhuman and so in the spirit of our state, although you position yourself against the established regime.”

“You reason within the bounds of conscience and morality, and divine morality at that.” You laughed.

“No, we are all equal by nature, we are all born without money debts, with equal potential, just someone has more money, so he can afford not only school education, so he is considered smart, and therefore, the elite, and someone has nothing.”

“Yes, the downers are now and other people with deviations from the right foot are sent to hell.”

Several people turned around at your scolding. You were embarrassed. Again. But what can you do if you like to swear? Although someone once told you that the amount of swearing in the vocabulary depends on the level of fatigue... by this logic, suicidal people on the eve of tragedy should communicate only on crystal mate.

“You're trying to get off the subject. Of course, they are a different topic of conversation...”

“No," You interrupted Sejanus, "if you're going to talk about it, then be specific. If a dun is born into a well-to-do family, then with enough investment and effort, they will be indistinguishable from a person with a normal number of chromosomes. They'll be smarter than Arachne's idiot," they both chuckled. Gossipers, that's what being in the elite is all about.

“And yet, a poor family with enough investment of effort will raise an equally normal child. But children from well-to-do families won't let them break through, even if they are an outstanding geniuses.”

“I don't agree at all," you shook your head. “History proves the opposite. The same Leonardo da Vinci, born in the affair of his father, an aristocrat and a peasant woman. He grew up to be a genius, though he spent the first part of his childhood living with peasants who didn't care about your arguments about elites and education.”

“That's the exception.”

“Paganini? Or is this the second exception that somehow fucking proves your rule?”

“Look," Ginny finally intervened, "Sean comes from a family of politicians, and he's talking about inequality?”

“It's a paradox that we always talk about, word for word, at every party.” The mistress of the evening muttered, ignoring the astonished looks of the guests.

Sejanus was about to reply, but his father's sonorous voice distracted him. He withdrew and the girls were left alone. Ginny and you looked at each other, smiled embarrassedly, and then ran their eyes around the room, only to hide their gaze somewhere else. It seemed to them both, the beauty of the one standing across from them was incomparable to anything. You eere in a fitted blue dress with very wide sleeves and a puffy crinoline, wearing what you considered tasteless silver jewelry, because you hated that metal, with a hateful scent of roses, and standing surrounded by those same flowers, which He adored, and moreover, grew himself. And Ginny... in a stunning black dress that showed off her trim frame, she was a gymnast, for sure. It was simple, not flashy like everyone else's, but so elegant and beautiful. Just when Ginny wanted to say something nice to you, the bell rang. It was Mr. Snow.

“My dear guests," He found you, his cold eyes fixed on your face, making freeze to him. At the same moment, you hurried to be beside him, as a hostess should, “My wife and I will be glad to invite you to the table. I suggest that we continue to talk about everything over a meal, except politics, of course, or we'll all poison each other.”

The room reacted with restrained laughter. The men landed hands to their ladies, following the example of the Lord and Lady of the evening, and followed them to a table set with food for every taste. The abundance of colorful food, ranging from brightly colored vegetables, various kinds of meat to alcohol and desserts, abundantly watered with syrup, whetted everyone's appetite. The cutlery sparkled under the refracted rays from the crystal stones on the chandelier, and the multicolored plates with fancy patterns were like mirrors, so diligently cleaned by the assistants. The master felt proud. He pushed back a chair, tending to his wife, seating her beside him as befitted a mistress, before sitting down himself.

“Bon appetite to everyone.”

You glanced at Tigris sitting across from you, holding back a chuckle. The two of you always had fun together. His sister made a pained grimace, pointing her eyes under the table, at her shoes. You nodded understandingly, but Tigris nodded again, a little more steeply. Perplexed, looking down, amazed eyes. Tigris took off her high heels and dangled her feet under the table, urging her brother's chosen one to follow suit. It became awkward. "Grandma’am is next to you!" you pointed out with a glare and received rolled eyes and a wicked grimace with the tip of her tongue sticking out. You glanced quickly at your husband, absorbed in conversation with Mr. Highbottom and Sejanus's father under Dr. Gaul's curiously frantic gaze. After thinking for a moment, you followed Tigris' example and kicked off the hated heels that squeezed your forefingers. Relief. Tigris' smirk.

“Hopefully, under your careful guidance, the broadcast and the games themselves will improve each year so that our spectators and themselves will get a feel for the arena.” Coriolanus spoke softly, as if to address Dr. Gaul's remark, but looking into Highbottom's eyes.

“My husband loves not only spicy food, but also acute experience, so he offers them to others!” You joked, getting a dozen chuckles from the confirmation of the abundance of spicy food on the table.

“And so I found one who will share with me not only my aspirations, sickness and health, sorrow and happiness, but also acutes.”

So many puns could make you sick.

“Don't forget that everyone wants a thrill at least once! “ Shouted one of the guests Ginny was talking to.

“There's a new addition to the Sejanus Legion!” And so Ginny joined in on the wave of excitement.

“Explain it, sweetheart!” The other guest laughed.

To Sejanus, the Lord and Lady of the evening the second before her answer seemed like an eternity. Sejan's father glanced absent-mindedly at the unfamiliar guest and then at his son.

“Let's give an acutes not only to the Capitol, but to the Districts as well! What equality!”

The people at the table looked at each other. Everyone was noticeably quiet, still fiddling with their plates. Most looked at Sejanus and his father with open incomprehension or even annoyance. How could it be? The cream of the crop and in favor of equality? What heresy! What could this girl possibly know about you? Someone laughed openly.

Coriolanus immediately looked at you, meeting your gaze. And then He realized that now, for the only time during your interactions, your marriage and his observation of you in general, he had not grasped the essence of your actions. That was why you had joined the conversation so actively. That's why you had complained so much to Ginny about your life. That's why you were letting her listen to their conversations with Sejanus. Binding her, disposing her, showing her trust to take advantage of her at one point. That's why you taught her to mock Sejanus right in front of him, not behind his back. That was why you had invited her to dinner, why you had seated her next to the chatty, elderly ladies, who made up stories about their grandsons or daughters passionate love for poor, unhappy couple whose role Jeannie was apt to play. That's why you were getting the girl drunk, to make it all easier to pull off.

You knew everything. You learned everything from him.

[leoslosttoolbelt]

What I think the demigods would major as and why

these are personal head canons dont take them too seriously :)

Percy: Education. I know that we usually hc as a Marin biology kinda guy but I genuinely think that he wouldn't be too fond of the workload but instead want to work towards being a teacher and being the kind of teacher he needed as a kid, y'know? Alternatively, I can see him being into something like baking and pastry art to take over Sally's shop.

Annabeth: Architecture. I really don't think I need to explain this one to y'all but yeah she's an architecture girly. But if we want to branch out I can also see her studying law and working in the area of Child Protection.

Leo: Astrophysics. I have this head canon of him panicking because of the sheer amount of choices that he's presented with and choosing the first one of the alphabetical list. Lucky for him, he's insanely good at it AND it'll pay well in the future. He minors in mechanical engineering and realises that although he has all the practical knowledge because of his father, his theoretical knowledge isn't as strong lol.

Piper: Food Science. I'm trying to be unique here because yeah, she could do environmental studies but I also think it would be super cool to see her learning about food and developing new vegetarian versions of food because it's something she's visibly passionate about in the books.

Nico: I can see him getting a history / philosophy related degree for his bachelors just for him to get a ��doctor of philosophy (Ph. D.) in mythology or folklore. His hyperfixation runs deep and he sure as hell is going to fuel it as much as he can.

Jason: Doesn't go to college!! Is severely burnt out <3. No but like idk man I think he'd legitimately want to take it chill if that makes sense? Maybe he'd do a business major just so that he can get a job somewhere but I can't think of somewhere he'd fit in nicely. Jason does have a lot of part time jobs though!!

Frank: Nurse! Nursing school! Despite being the son of Mars I can see him being in the medical field because he wants to help people in need. It's a long journey with lots of ups and downs but finally getting his degree makes it all worth it.

Hazel: Geology because rocks. And also women in STEM!! This one directly correlates to her powers in the books as well as both of her parents! On the other hand, I can see definitely see Hazel studying in the field of archeology with the goal of being an archeologist and then eventually a museum curator :)

Reyna: Psychology!! Listen, I know this seems out of the blue but Reyna gives me the right vibes. Everyone is skeptical at first because they don't think she'd fit the mold of a clinical psychologist but that's okay because Reyna wants to further herself in research! She studies Neuropsychology and becomes a prominent researcher in her field! Please tell me you see the vision.

Will: From what I can see in the books, Emergency Medical Services degree seems like the right field for him. He's already basically a paramedic at Camp Half Blood so he knows it's naturally the right step for him. On the other hand, for something a little different - he seems like the kind of guy who might be interested in studying cinematography or art history maybe.

Travis: He studies Economics because he's so fucking convinced that he can become the next Elon Musk if he studies this. Alternatively, he studies music because he wants to travel the world and like sing with the wind and all that shit.

Connor: he's a communications major because he's a really popular youtube and technically doesn't really need to go to college but oh well he can study communications.

Drew: She goes to cosmetology school as the first step to start her own makeup and skincare empire. She's super nice to all of her clients and helps out all of the other students when they're having trouble with something! I will not tolerate any Drew slander let my girl breathe.

Pollux: Chemical Engineering. He got influenced by watching breaking bad and somehow landed himself a degree in chemical engineering. He doesn't know how he survived that degree but it doesn't matter because he decides to not give a fuck and open a coffee shop that becomes really popular because all the drinks are to die for.

Thalia: I don't really know the right terminology but she has an art related degree / tattoo apprentice so that she can work as a tattoo artist!! It fits with the thalis vision and also she is the eldest daughter who loses it lowkey so she doesn't follow your usual education route. Tattoo artist Thalia for the win!!

[black-arcana]

CARLA HARVEY Opens Up About Decision To Leave BUTCHER BABIES: 'There's So Much That Goes Into Being In A Band'

During an appearance on a recent episode of The Ward Bond Show, former BUTCHER BABIES vocalist Carla Harvey, who works as a grief counselor and an end-of-life specialist, spoke about her decision to leave the band after a 15-year run. Reflecting on BUTCHER BABIES' formation and her eventual departure, she said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's quite interesting because [prior to BUTCHER BABIES] I had come to a point living in L.A., you get opportunities and they're snatched away from you. You make money, then you lose your money. And I was so tired of the entertainment business. And I was, like, 'I don't wanna do this anymore. I don't wanna play music anymore. I don't wanna act anymore. It's too much. Nothing is ever gonna happen with it.' So that's when I went to mortuary school and I was committed to only working in funeral service from then on out. Well, after a couple years of working, I got my dream job at a very big mortuary in L.A. And at the same time, I got an opportunity to start my band and go on tour for the first time in my life. So I had to make a choice in that moment. I've committed myself to this death-care career. Do I drop it all, everything that I've worked so hard for in school, and go on tour with this band and just see what happens one final time, or do I just stick on my path? And I chose music in that moment, and that was 2009 that I really committed back to music, and 2012 we went on our — we were touring non-stop, so there was no way I could work in funeral service anymore. Well, it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me because our career just exploded, and so I got the best of both worlds. I had gotten my education. I had gotten a taste of working in death care, and then I could still live out my dream, and I am so grateful for that. The last 15 years of my life have been spent on stage, entertaining people in a capacity that I never dreamed I would have, especially after so much disappointment in my early years in L.A. So I got to do that. I got to be a rock star. I got to do all the things. And then 15 years later, my mind kind of changed again. [Laughs]"

Elaborating on her decision to leave BUTCHER BABIES and return to the death-care industry, Carla said: "So there's so much that goes into being in a band, especially as you get older and your life changes, you have relationships, you have a partner. I have a stepdaughter, and the idea, all of a sudden, of being on the road 10, 12 months out of the year became just a lot to handle. And in a band there's five people, and half of those people may feel like they want to be on the road constantly all the time and then some people are, like, 'Maybe it's halftime.' So it doesn't always work out for the greater good of everybody."

She continued: "My dad said something to me once years ago, when we had started the band, and he meant it in jest. He said, 'I saw you singing on the Internet. Don't quit your day job.' And at the time I was, like, 'That's the nastiest thing you could say.' But I'm glad I never quit my day job. In fact, all the while, the last 15 years, while I've been on tour, I've been getting more education and getting more certification so that I could continue on because I always had that need to still be in death care in some aspect. I founded my grief coaching company so that I could still be of service to people who need me in that capacity. It was very important to me. And then last year, I was on this major summer tour. We were playing sheds, the outdoor amphitheaters and it was wonderful and every day you're up on stage singing your heart out, but, man, I saw this post about [innovative solidified remains company] Parting Stone looking for a partner success manager. And I thought, 'Man, I wanna apply for this. I wanna see what happens if I can take this job.'"

Harvey added: "There's just so many moments in life where you really have to assess what's best for you. Life changes. And also another thing about the entertainment industry and the music industry, it's not the same as it was for musicians 20 years ago, 10 years ago. My future husband's [ANTHRAX and PANTERA drummer Charlie Benante] in a legacy band. They never have to worry about having a real job — ever. But bands my size? You're not breaking the bank. You're not really earning a livable wage unless you're on the road 12 months out of the year. You can't support yourself. So I've always had other jobs, whether I'm painting pictures for people or doing my grief coaching on the side. That's a day job that I've been able to maintain throughout my career with music. It was a necessity as well as a passion, because otherwise I'd be couch surfing somewhere. [Laughs] I have nothing. So it's really hard to live passionately and just follow your dreams without something to fall back on or something to assist you. And I tell this to a lot of people, and some people are, like, 'No, man. I don't want a backup plan. This is the only thing I'm ever gonna do.'

"I always thought about, 'Okay, this is awesome right now. What about when I'm 60? What am I gonna do then?'" Carla said. "Because my mom is 72 and she's working all the time still. She loves working. We're not 70-year-olds that are gonna be sitting on a couch or 60-year-olds that aren't gonna be out doing something. Life is different. We're still gonna be working. We have to do something, and I'd rather have that be a career rather than a job that I'm forced to have to sustain myself in the [later] years."

Last month, Carla announced that she was launching a new project called THE VIOLENT HOUR. At least some of the early recording sessions for the project have been overseen by producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER and URIAH HEEP, among many others.

Harvey shared the news of THE VIOLENT HOUR's launch in a social media post on September 21. She wrote: "It's coming. I've put my heart and soul into my new project THE VIOLENT HOUR over the last 6 months. I can't wait for you to hear it. Keep your eyes peeled for updates. This is a slower process than I'd like...but...I'm pumped!"

BUTCHER BABIES announced their split with Harvey in July, saying in a statement that "Carla has been an integral part of our journey, bringing her unique talent, passion, and energy to the band," and wishing "her all the best in her future endeavors."

Carla, who co-founded BUTCHER BABIES in 2010 with fellow vocalist Heidi Shepherd, confirmed her exit from the band in a separate post, saying that she was "super proud" of her work with BUTCHER BABIES and adding that she was "not done making music and performing."

Last fall, BUTCHER BABIES completed a European tour without Carla, who sat out the trek in order to undergo emergency surgery on her left eye.

BUTCHER BABIES recently embarked on a three-week European tour, starting on July 27 at the Stonehenge festival in The Netherlands.

This past January, Harvey and Benante announced that they were officially engaged.

BUTCHER BABIES released a double album "Eye For An Eye..." and "…'Til The World's Blind", in July 2023. The double album celebrated the tenth anniversary of BUTCHER BABIES' critically acclaimed debut, "Goliath", released on July 9, 2013 via Century Media Records.

Smitten with tales of the Sunset Strip, Harvey made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles from her Native Detroit to play a little rock and roll…and instead found herself the entertainment report for a groundbreaking cable TV news program. After hosting two series and acting in a variety of television programs, movies and commercials, Harvey took a break from showbiz to earn her degree in mortuary science. She embarked on a successful career in embalming and funeral directing before going back to her first love: music.

In addition to writing and recording, Carla has a passion for drawing and penning comic books. Her love affair with the genre started when she discovered the Incredible Hulk at four years old. She spent the majority of her teenage years holed up in her room listening to PANTERA and developing an affinity for drawing her own scantily clad comic book characters. Dubbed a "comic book master-mind" by Hustler magazine, Harvey's first published comic book "Butcher Babies" (a fantasy, horror concept surrounding her now-former band),premiered and sold out at its Comic-Con San Diego debut, leaving fans chomping at the bit for her next comic, "Soul Sucka". Shortly after, she released her first full-length novel, "Death And Other Dances", to rave reviews. Carla's art has been featured in Famous Monsters magazine and has graced the cover of iconic Heavy Metal magazine.

[midnightanxietytm]

A little nightmares rant

The canceled comics are largely considered non-canon, but they do carry some relevant implications about the Nowhere. The largest of them is that the Nowhere has a set hierarchy.

This is supported by the games themselves; of the three regions we explore in-game (The Nest, The Maw and The Pale City) all have a major, more powerful entity that rules over it, and all of them, despite being vastly different, have one common factor.

The implication of Wealth.

The Pretender rules over the Nest; a giant mansion, her butler and her crafter working to attend to her every whim, powerful in their own right, but still bound by hierarchy.

The Thin Man rules over the Pale City, it’s citizens kept pliable by the Signal Tower whilst the Doctor and Teacher work to keep things moving in the dream-like logic of the nowhere.

The Lady runs what seems like a cannibalistic vacation destination, her cooks and the Janitor working to put food on her clients mouths (and clients on her clients mouths).

And the comics give us even more characters, namely the North Wind and the Ferryman.

Those “rulers” each seem to have a role, watching over the cogs that make this nightmarish world spin, lubricated by the blood of countless children, but they want more. In the canceled comics, it’s implied those overlords are competing in some way, their goals long blurred, but their ambitions ever burning.

Hierarchy is an essential part of capitalist mentality; those who hold the means to make money are the ones who call the shots. Those who don’t, obey orders.

And the thing about those hierarchies is that the ones who hold the power will do anything to hold on to it.

Through the eyes of children, this is all pointless.

Children have a unique non-role in capitalistic society. For the smooth functioning, they are best silent and unseen; quietly getting ready to fulfill their future jobs; educated enough to be efficient, but not enough to rebel.

This is what Six and Mono did during their games. You can almost call it a horror coming-of-age story. 

It's more clear with Six, because her journey in the Maw is the one that is most clearly an ascension to power. She literally climbs up on it, passing through every area until she takes what once belonged to The Lady. But Mono is also climbing up a hierarchy, and his setting is more urban and explores the role that media holds in conformity. In the real world, most TV and media companies are owned by the 1% when it comes down to it. Anyways, by the end of Mono's journey he has, quite literally, grown up. There is also themes of conformity in TSON, where Otto constantly expects and forces conformity onto Noone. Otto represents the mentality that children don't know any better, which eventually Noone herself starts to believe it as she relents and enters the Nowhere definitely when someone she trusts more beckons her to, probably to enter a cycle of her own. Also. Dolls! There are dolls or doll-like objects in all the games, and I think its's a commentary on how our society endorses the idea of children and needs them to survive, but can't actually make the world good enough for those children to grow. The Lady collects dolls sings them lullabies, caresses them, but when seeing actual children she attacks (or, yk, uses their meat to feed her clients.) Unfortunately I don't think that the next game will carry those themes with as much care due to the changes in company, but alas, hope is the last thing to die.

[professional-bulshitter]

just went back to watching community again and I cant-

so this time it's about 'Regional Holiday Music' 3x10,, and adhagsjjsb it's so fucking good because in a manner it sort of addresses all the wants of the characters right? because to convince them to join the Glee club they need to be incentivised and the incentive in this case is what's so interesting to me:

because 1. it starts with Abed and we all know Abed and how he's all he wants is to be together and loved and he chases the belongingness that he didn't find before in the study group right? but also literally the only thing that cory had to do to get him on board was talk about making him and his friends feel better and be together,,, but also it's literally because media of any kind be it behind the screens or people singing is so much simpler for him to understand cause they are catered and made in such a way that they are easy to perceive and take in without it being more complicated and involving other people's feelings in it

which is Great on its own but the second person to get 'caught' is Troy (because obv Troy will follow Abed wherever he goes, because even when he can't follow he'll wait for Abed to come back to him and tell him about his side quests or just be there for him, but I digress-) but also it's because there's this one thing he's always wanted to be a part of and could never but then comes Abed giving it to him on a silver platter and letting him do the things he wants even if it is by providing him with a loophole

and then third is pierce who even though I loathe him, i do understand (ish) because at the end of the day he's a man out of time and place, he's within people he doesn't understand and who don't want to understand him because all he wants to do is relive his glory days instead of rooting himself in the present (which in large part the study group help him with) (he'll never be my favourite character or even a liked one but I see him and I feel sad because of what he is and always will be and the way he came to be this way) all he ultimately wants is to be 'cool' maong his peers even though both of them operate on different understandings of cool (and yeahhhh)

fourth is Annie which, is very very weird to me because we never really get to know what her song was, what her one wish/incentive was,,, but also is it really that hard to assume that she would cave in when confronted by one of the first few people that she could safely feel as if in the company of friends with? also and this is a straight up hypothesis but I do feel that Annie didn't really get a song to convince her because it wasn't that hard to do it because it didn't really matter because at the end of the day it started with Abed telling her that he stayed for that experiment despite being angry because she was his friend,, and this was her way if reciprocating that (because it was just that given, be ause some things don't need to be explicitly stated to be explicit) (but then why did troy have one? because he was technically going against his entire belief system and the way he identified and looked at himself and that is life changing in some manners and he was still the second one and yeah)... maybe

the fifth one was Shirley and this one is rather simpler because at the end of the day, she traces and finds herself within her belief system rooted in Christianity (which while not for mez i can understand the way belief systems can be very all or nothing for some people) and she just wanted to educate and empower children and people with things that she herself feels empowered by (she goes about it entirely the wrong way ofc because forcing religion on others is never an answer but I don't think nad never have that she's coming at it from a malicious position or intention

then we have jeff and like Annie it's very curious that he doesn't get something that he wishes to incentivise him (at least that's the way I understand that episode) instead, we get to see what Annie and further the audience thinks or is supposed to think about Jeff. He's still that impenetrable (hehehe) person that no-one can actually understand because yes he's an asshole but he's constructed in a very stereotypic asshole kind of way so that's all we get to see from him at that point in time (that's all we're supposed to perceive him as which is why unlike others he never joins in on the song) instead all we get is that he also succumbed somehow. but we're never told what made him submit and give in,, we're always made to look at him from a distance (at least till that point in time and show trajectory) and he might be the main centre of the show (ish arguably more around Abed but plot more centered around him (also I'm very very biased cause I deeply resonate with Abed)) and yeah

and then Britta who again doesn't get a song at all because,, and again throwing arrows in the dark here,,, ofc she has a bad voice and narrative voice isn't really imp to Cory and his performance but also because much like Jeff, there's an induced sense of distance, wherein she technically is supposed to be the main female protag at that point (at least that's the intention it seems to have started with) but in many manners, she's reduced to just that, they make her dumb and so unlike the other main heroines (and I will never not be angry with the way they changed her character post season 1) that at the end of the day that's all she ends up being (again till that point in the show's trajectory)

and yeah ,, and then then at the end of everything, Abed gives up on what he wanted for the group as a whole because he realises that this is not actually happiness that it's creating in everyone, because it's forcing them into roles that they've been tricked into and that's never what he wanted,,, yes he wants them to be together but not at the cost of the happiness of even one of them or all of them and yeah

also anyone that says community is just a silly little show, it is. But it's also so much more because the way it talks about created families and families of choice and being an outsider and trying to find belongingness,,, and in the end finding a place that lets you be the trainwreck that you are and helps you embrace it, is insane and great. And I love the way community as a whole does all of that while feeling so organic and experimental but also insightful and a well thought out piece of media with actual things to say and yeah

(also very unconnected to anything I've just said but I truly despise Shirley's song with everything in me,, I'd ironically and unironically listen to all of the rest of the songs in this episode but not that one (yes including whatever was going on with that Annie mean girls esque but make it worse and yeah)(they are bops honestly 🤷‍♀️)

i will go now but yeah I love community (also also last thing but this is the only way that I'll ever be able to fully digest random musicals in any show because community just does it better, I said what I said.)

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Sami blood is a very important film. It portrays how we treated the sámi through history, about injustice, indoctrination, when you don't accept your own identity...

It's a film I recommend for everyone to watch. But I refuse to ever rewatch it.

The thing is, the things you'd be expected to get uncomfortable with, I didn't react as strongly to. For example, this scene

In this scene, the main character is getting examined for "race study". This is a dark spot in our history. There is an entire building in my hometown who used to be for race biology - they looked at sámi people, romani people, anyone that wasn't a white fullblood scandinavian, measured their heads, photographed them naked, to show how they were different, inferior.

This scene is uncomfortable, but it also feels like it's so far from reality from us now, as they don't do these race studies anymore.

But the scenes in this movie that really DOES hit for me. Scenes that... while the movie is set in the 1930s, feels like they could happen today.

When the main character Elle Marja is asked by some swedish girls if, since she's sámi, can't she joik for them? So Elle Marja does stand up and joik, and instead of people applauding, they just... laugh at her.

When Elle Marja has internalized all of the things the non-sámi have said, and starts to hate her own family, her own heritage, her own culture, because she only sees the prejudice cast upon them, and believes it to be correct.

When she stays at a boy's house, and his parents immediately are dismissive because they know she's sámi. The immediate prejudice and disgust because she's of "that kind", "she's not like us".

When Elle Marja is an adult and back for her sister's funeral. She hears some women talk about the sámi, and while they seem more "accepting" towards them in the modern age, this "acceptance" is only hidden through politeness. They still make passive aggressive comments like "but do they HAVE to take up so much space? They can have their scooters and reindeer, but they don't need to show off so much". It's a pretty powerful moment, realizing things aren't magically ok now just because people are more "accepting" as a society.

This film has been used for discussion twice in different uni classes I've taken. But I've only seen it once. Because you more or less only need to see it once, because it just has that impact. It's not a happy film, but it is important.

It focuses a lot specifically how the sámi were treated in Sweden - they were forced to go to schools where they were only allowed to speak swedish. This was to make them more "civilized". But they were only allowed to get educated to a certain degree. They could never become a swedish citizen. They're still sámi.

But these schools were very much active in Norway and in Finland too, where they were forced to learn the language to be "civilized", as well as also be active in the church, sing a lot of psalms and recite the bible.

And they did not teach us about it in school. In school, at least for me, we learned "the Sámi live up north and they have a form of song called joik." We did not learn about the race biology, the forced assimilation, the prejudice and the history of them. This movie tbh was when some schools actually started talking about it more. And I did not even see it until now in uni!

Anyway. I also recommend it to people who are not nordic, as it shows a part of our history that we don't often bring up, if at all.

[billpottsismygf]

The Church on Ruby Road (spoilers)

Oh my god! I absolutely loved that! Ncuti Gatwa is phenomenal. He's got so much presence right from the start, and there were some lovely little Doctor-ish quirks that he got across very nicely. I particularly liked his disdain for the Goblins' supposed time travel, him loving the name Lulubelle and the way he rattled off his police interview answers (though the bit about the proposal was perhaps a little too Sherlock). On a sadder note, his 'maybe I'm the bad luck' line was also delivered really well.

Ruby Sunday is pretty cool too, though I'm not quite as sold on her yet. Millie Gibson's performance felt just a trifle stilted to me, but I hope that goes away as she relaxes into the role. I loved her family, especially her gran. It's so nice to have a wider companion family like this again. We got it a bit with Yaz (and sort of Ryan and Graham), but I hope we get to see a bit more of this lot!

I wasn't sure what I was going to think of the Goblins, but I really like the alternative physics time travel thing they have going on with the language of luck. The Doctor's line about learning the vocabulary of rope was great; some real 'resonating concrete' vibes. But yes, the Goblins were fun and interesting. I don't know if they'll become anything particularly iconic, but not every villain needs to be.

The musical number was enormous fun. Obviously the first part was released ahead of time, but the Doctor and Ruby launching into a second part was unexpected and fantastic. Ncuti has a damn good voice. There have been questions about whether a musical episode of the show could work before, and I'm definitely here for it if there's ever a plan to give us more than just one song! Ruby's own ability to sing (improvisationally!) was also quite nicely set up with her being in a band.

Perhaps the best part of the episode was when Ruby was taken out of time. Her mum being a far more jaded and unhappy person, with even the lighting getting dimmer, was incredibly effective. Her declaring she was happy alone with tears in her eyes, the Doctor also crying, really got me. Ncuti's performance throughout that as well gave me a lot of faith in what's to come (not that I needed any, given what I've seen of him in Sex Education). (That 'then why are you crying' also had more than a hint of Amy crying for Rory.)

I have to mention the timeless child stuff. As with what he did with the flux in Wild Blue Yonder, I'm over the moon that RTD is taking things from the last era and actually doing stuff with it. I know there will be people angry about it because they expected him to retcon the whole thing, but I far prefer this approach. Granted, I never minded the timeless child stuff that much (unlike the flux), but it was really effective having the Doctor actually bring up the fact that he doesn't know where he's from. I wonder if RTD is planning to do anything more with it, or if it will just be used as character and relationship building material.

Smaller stuff:

We got another mavity mention, so is this just here to stay or is it part of a longer arc?

The way the gloves work didn't make sense to me. The way the Doctor explained them was as if the weight just shifted to the glove (which makes sense for making balancing and gripping easier), but if that's the case where does the extra weight come from when pulling the rope down? Oh well, I'll just imagine they're magic weight deletion/creation devices and move on with my life.

That spike through the Goblin King at the end was brutal! I'm surprised they were allowed to show it. No blood or anything, I suppose, but still!

Ruby's mother (we presume) was somehow still walking away after the Doctor's whole escapade with the Goblins. Bad directing (I might have bought it if she were much further away on a long road) or an indication of more at play? Either way, presumably this isn't the last of that plot thread!

What the hell is going on with Mrs Flood? When she was watching the Doctor towards the end, I thought it was pretty strange, and then in the mid-credits sequence I started to wonder if she was something more than she seemed. Then came the look to camera and her line about TARDISes… Technically, this could be a weird little moment a la Feast of Steven, but it seems more likely something else is at play. The Toymaker could bend the rules of reality, so perhaps she could be part of the legions he mentioned, able to break the fourth wall at will. We shall see, I suppose!

[sweetmariihs2]

🌞Daycare Attendant🌛

Sundrop/Moondrop headcanons

(and things we need to remark to ourselves because we always forget)

I'm used to referring to DCA as just "he", because I use the name "Sundrop" for the whole animatronic (meaning Daycare Attendant, not just Sun or Moon) but since I know that's incorrect, I'll try to use it more times the pronoun "they" because there are three characters within the same body. But sometimes I say "he". I'm sorry for that :(

And english is not my main language so I'm sorry for my writing errors. You can correct me if I was wrong in any part of the post.

DCA IS NOT THE KIDS CARETAKER. I know this sounds weird but hear me out. He's made to watching and distracting them, being more interesting to the children and an attempt to make them feel more identified with him than with adult employees. He's immature so that the kids can feel welcomed by him — he thinks like a kid. He's really programmed to help, though. Knows funny stories, how to draw, teaches kids how to read, and knows when a kid is in danger, or when it's sad, being bullied. Has permission to put the mean ones in "the corner of shame". But it's just that: programming. He can't replace a caretaker's job. He's like an attraction to the kids and at the same time a baby monitor. That's why he's so tall: because he needs to see every little kid that it's hidden behind those structures inside the Daycare, instead of being small to take care of them. But when something happens, the caretakers, or better saying, employees of the Daycare, show up to help. Maybe DCA work as a camera too so that the employees can make sure that everything's alright around him, if Sun/Moon/Eclipse missed a crying child that their visual recognition couldn't notice. Maybe they can see what he sees in those computers next to the door. That's why they can't leave DCA alone taking care of any child. He's not dangerous but he wasn't made to work alone. DCA is just a help.

They know every part of the human body. Everything abou anatomy. If a kid asks him where is the stomach, he knows where to spot and how it works. It's for educational purposes and also medical purposes, so that they can know exacly where a child was harmed, how to help (even if he's not made to do this part but it's still important to know) and how to teach them about their bodies. He's also programmed to avoid talks about reproduction. He can help them understand, using simple words and ways to teach (educational purposes), but always preserving their inocence in the subject. Either way they were made to avoid this subject as much as they can, not that it was not important to teach, but because Pizzaplex did not want to deal with angry parents.

They probably don't take care of the children medically. When a child is hurt, it doesn't matter which DCA, they are programmed to call human employees so that they can help the kids properly. When it's something small like a scratch, he makes a simple bandage. When the child suffers some impact but is not seriously injured, he gives a kiss to heal and tries to change their attention to other things so that they stop suffering from the impact.

I know that this is obvious for some of you, but it's good to remark: I know it's sad, but everything he does is made up. Is like he's acting the whole time because that's what he was made to do. Those patient quotes, techniques that make the children listen to him, his whole personality and mannerisms are planned so that his objective as an attraction to Pizzaplex is reached, that is, to take care of the children and occupy them. It's just a robot, but at the same time... somehow his programming started to turn into real emotions. Like when Sun was scared that Moon would do something to Gregory or any other kids, or when Moon took control in Ruin and Sundrop kept crying and singing trying to calm himself. It should be just a robot, but somehow he's devloping emotions, which is not uncommon inside the FNAF universe.

They have the capacity to learn and remember, like a sponge. If you tell them something, or explain something, show someone to them, they're going to remember. Like Roxy remembers Cassie for example, DCA does the same thing. But when he was reprogrammed into Eclipse again, he lost most of his memories. He just acts the way he did when he came out of the factory, that's why Eclipse was waiting for the kids in the next day, Sun and Moon KNOW that the Pizzaplex is closed. Sun was singing about having no more kids in the Daycare. They know, or at least knew, before the reprogramming. But the "thank you" at the end make me wonder if Sun and Moon really forgot, or it's just Eclipse... I thought that their memories were conected. They're not?

If Sun sees or learns something, Moon is going to see and learn this too. If kids tell them about other characters that aren't part of the Fazbear Entertainment they WILL memorize it. "Mr Sun have you ever heard about Hello Kitty?" "Who is this?" and then the kid tells him, but in the next time someone mentions Hello Kitty he's gonna say "Ohh that kitty girl??". It's against the Fazbear Entertainment self-sponsorship? Yes. But it happens sometimes. It helps with the kids tho. "What are you drawing?? Ohh it's Hello Kitty!!!!" "Yes, do you know her?" "Of course! She's so cute and she likes to do tea parties, sleepovers, painting and playing games just like me!!!"

When Sun is awake, Moon and Eclipse are watching, but can't interfere. The same happens to each one of them. When Moon was following Gregory, Sun was watching and screaming inside his head even knowing that he couldn't do anything to stop him. He probably watched Moon kill some other kids before, that's why he was so scared of Gregory turning the lights off. But he's not allowed to talk about murder with kids, that's why he couldn't explain the reason why Gregory needed to keep the lights on. "He could have told him that Moondrop is a killer!" He can't because it's against his programming.

He's a very inclusive animatronic. His hands and fingers are big for doing sign language, has bells on his wrists so visually disabled children can hear him, he was programmed to adapt to all kinds of different looks and behaviors, so it never makes people uncomfortable and always gives them the best experience he can. DCA knows how to understand and speak different languages, knows a little about other cultures, but Fazbear Entertainment forbids him to talk about religion. He is programmed to change the subject as soon as it is mentioned.

He is not programmed to talk about sexuality using formal terms, but instead talks innocently, using words like "it's okay to like boys" and stands up for kids who are bullied for it. He can't understand the feeling of loving someone (because he's a robot), but he understands that some kids love boys, others love girls and there's nothing wrong with that (it's a human thing). He acts completely innocent in the matter and treats everything normally. Usually small children don't have this part of their identity fully discovered yet, but some older ones sometimes understand.

He knows how to do magic tricks. Knows a lot of circus stuff, actually. He knows how to do malabarism and can give a clown show. Also he's a good actor for theater presentations and can do puppet shows. Can do shadow's shows with his hands (that are big because can do sign language, so it's even better). Knows how to read stories for little children and can teach them how to read — sometimes is programmed to act like he's not an expert in a way of trying to teach them a little easier and make them confortable with someone who's being through the same situation: Their best friend Sun! (While I believe that Moon and Eclipse act more gentle and patient instead of doing this)

Something that the Fazbear Entertainment probably didn't thought about is that they are made from a hard material, too hard to hug. You can try to hug his torso but it doesn't feel really good. Looks like you're hugging a light pole. Also he can warm his body because kids are constantly hugging and touching him so it would be weird for them if he was cold.

When the lights in the Daycare go out, it never gets fully dark. Well, at least usually not (except for that month in Security Breach, when Gregory was there and some weeks before, when Moon got infected by Vanny). Kids are usually afraid of the dark and the Daycare was planned exactly to deal with this: Moon being kind and calm, the stars shining in the walls and in the ceiling, probably a soft lullaby playing during nap time. They don't need to deal with kids being afraid of the dark, because there's always light enough to see everything, but when this happens, there's always a small light that they put next to the kid who's very scared and also Moon tries to tranquilize them giving them special attention, putting them on his lap, talking before sleep, singing.

They fit with almost every Melanie Martinez song. Cry Baby album, K-12, Dollhouse EP, After School, some songs from Portals (just a little bit) and a lottt of her unreleased stuff. I could make a full playlist for him out of her songs. Glued? Pity Party? Show And Tell? The Contortionist? Tag You're It? Teddy Bear? Schizo? ARTS AND CRAFTS?? UNHAPPY MEAL? TWINS??!?! These are just SOME of them (i had a playlist for him on spotify but i lost my account... i tried to find it again and it seems that it was deleted for some reason. ALL of the playlists that I made just disappeared)

If Sun was a human, this would be him

Sun and Moon are so similar to Gigi and Whisp from Monster High 13 Wishes

no I don't take any criticism that's him

They can't fall in love because they're robots. But maybe in the human version... Also I'm actually thinking about making a blog talking about my human!au. Just an idea, it would be nice. Cassie teaching him how to be a human after getting out of the Pizzaplex and signing him up for jobs like a mall caretaker or party entertainment so he can still work with kids, which is what he enjoys the most. Moon would still exist, Eclipse too, but he would use the excuse to people that it's just "a character" he created for kids. Vanny's virus would also disappear (because he is no longer an animatronic) and Moon would go back to being kind. Maybe he would finally taste his own candies (sundrop/moondrop), and he would need to learn about human feelings, common sense, social norms, culture, much more. He would need to change his name as he would need a "formal" name for his documents. I was thinking about "Sebastian". And his hair would be curly and ginger (maybe with a mix of blonde). Maybe he has freckles.

If you wanna add more to this list, feel free to comment <3

maybe i'm gonna add more. Idk.

[sumerus-little-sprout]

LORE P&F X GENSHIN AU

You guys (at least some of you guys) wanted an update about the lore of an AU I've started for fun (seriously idk what I was even thinking of)

Please take into consideration that this might be subject to lots of updates heh~

So to start things off, I began on the universe with a light note with some comedic banter between Cyno and Sethos, and with the title I've given the dialogue, I'm quite sure you could guess who was who. Cyno was Perry the platypus and Sethos is Dr. Doofinsmirtz.

Okay, now for the casting for the rest of the characters. Only one problem.......there isn't any.

Most of the characters can't be 'cast' per se with nobody from Genshin having barely or any similar traits to the characters of Phineas and Ferb. I've got a few, however.

Isabella: Nilou

Baljeet: Nahida

Buford: Scaramouche

Major Monogram: Azar (don't give me hate comments yet be patient pls)

Monty (I think that's his name?): Alhaitham

Carl: Xingqiu (Don't ask (Seriously imagine this guy singing that one song Carl sang))

For the people thinking 'What about Phineas and Ferb?! They're the main characters you should've at least cast them right!'

...yeah about that there is no Phineas and Ferb. I'll explain that right now.

The actual show of Phineas and Ferb is about them along with their entire gang of friends doing crazy and insane things on every day of their summer in an attempt to make the most out of it, inventing the wildest and wackiest inventions while their sister Candace tried to 'bust' them and get them in trouble with their parents.

Well, this is Genshin, we all know it's gonna be more complicated (and possibly more depressing) than that. So, I was thinking, since I've previously confirmed the existence of the Akademia in this universe, then obviously most of the Sumeru characters attend it.

So, instead of them being a couple of kids just enjoying their summer, maybe the Sumeru gang could be doing the same thing, making all of those crazy inventions, but with a different intent. The Akademia being the Akademia, could give the kids a summer long project to invent something extraordinary!

Kaveh, Tighnari, Cyno, Faruzan, Layla, Nahida, and Scaramouche have met each other on a couple of occasions and have become accquaintances, and had decided this project was far too big to simply do by themselves and have decided to team up with each other and do the project while maybe having a little bit of fun at the same time

Nilou, Dehya and Candace occasionally join the group because of common friends (Layla and Cyno)

Remember when I made Azar Major monogram? Yeah there's a good reason for that! I said in the previous episode that Cyno worked as a secret agent for the Akademia? Well, the Akademia is disguised as a school, but has secret intentions to take over not just Sumeru with their ideals, but the world!

Cyno was recruited into the Akademia's secret agents as a part of Project Hermanubis. He was an orphan who was taken into the Akademia after being abandoned as a child and soon began displaying strange powers. The Akademia grew interested in what these powers could potentially be and made him an 'agent' in exchange of providing him food, shelter and an education and a vow of silence. When the Akademia could finally have Cyno's complete loyalty and trust, his powers would be at their disposal.

The Akademia didn't want to give Cyno the jobs of an actual agent and risk him finding out their true intentions just yet, but needed to give him a job to maintain his status as an agent, and Sethos' ridiculous plots were the perfect way to do it.

Sethos was part of a cult of geniuses called the temple of silence, who's motto was to make the world a better place and had connections to the actual Hermanubis. Hermanubis however was considered as a curse because of his powers. Hermanubis wasn't considered a god to the people in this universe.

Unbeknownst to Cyno, Sethos also had the power of Hermanubis passed down to him. When the cult found out of these powers, they exiled him from the it in fear of him becoming too powerful, as Hermanubis' powers brought chaos and destruction instead of peace and harmony like the cult had intended. Out of anger and humiliation of being exiled, Sethos attempts to blow up the secret base of the temple of silence.

The Akademia decides to send Cyno on this mission to foil Sethos' plan, so Cyno goes in, completely blind of Sethos' motivations for the said bombing and manages to succeed his first mission. Sethos, despite being foiled and humiliated yet again, he found a certain rush of adrenaline that he particularly enjoyed carrying out his evil scheme, so why did he need to stop?

So he came up with more and more schemes for Cyno to foil. The Akademia found this as the perfect distraction for Cyno and assigned Sethos as his arch-nemesis. Meanwhile, Sethos finds himself strangely enjoying Cyno's company, which in turn motivates him to come up with more and more ridiculous schemes.

Cyno slowly realizes that Sethos isn't actually that evil, and even secretly finds himself enjoying Sethos' company as well. Soon, their relationship becomes much more than just hero vs villain. They become frenemies

Cyno goes for his missions while when the others invent their stuff and are quite oblivious, even believing Cyno's incredibly weak excuses. Well, everyone except for Tighnari, who was Cyno's best friend. He didn't know anything about Cyno's past and his powers and his current affiliation with the akademia.

Alhaitham is the prodigy of Azar, but Alhaitham doesn't admire him and has his suspicions, but isn't currently aware of the Akademia's misdeeds. Xingqiu is Alhaitham's intern and helps him with his stuff and really looks up to him, but would also like to get recognition as the intern.

Any other suggestions are more than welcome in the comments!

Kudos fo reading all of this!

So long for now my sprouts!

[basingstokemercury]

Finally actually watched the Chocolate Factory film (original). I read the book years back and remember very little of the Depp film I watched when... elevenish maybe?

I had low hopes going in, at least it cleared the musical's "actually killing them on stage" bar?

First off, this feels like some kind of twisted horror world where everyone is obsessed with chocolate. Kids' film, yes, but I had absolutely no investment in the stakes. And I love good sweets as much as anyone.

Related: I don't like the... fetishisation? is that right? of poverty. Charlie comes from a comically exaggerated background, but it's just a backdrop to make the contest more important to him or something. Again, he's a kid, but how is chocolate the most important thing to him? A lifetime supply of it would be a pleasant way to keep spirits up, but wouldn't solve any long-term problem.

Hey, people with chronic illnesses! Turns out all you need is the right impetus to get up and be just fine, right?

And here we see some very sweet little kids who... Well, only one of them really has any kind of vice. One likes eating and has the audacity to also be a little fat, another, well, WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH CHEWING GUM AND BEING A BIT COMPETITIVE SHE IS A NORMAL CHILD, the third could use to have his television habits supervised but as an older sister it's normal for young kids not to understand that violence on television doesn't mean it's fun in real life, and the fourth throws very polite tantrums when she wants something because SHE IS A CHILD.

Gene Wilder's charisma is disarming here, but I must remember that this is a tenor and therefore capable of anything (opera joke, for my non-opera followers). He still smiles placidly and quotes as children are hurt, so I have no sympathy even if his acting was the best part.

"You can eat anything in this room! Wait, not that, I never told you and will do nothing when you are hurt because of it!"

Bodyshaming! How fun! Making fun of a young, adorable kid's looks!

Literal tunnel of horrors with flashes of insects crawling on people and dead animals. Seriously, what the fairfax? This is a kids' film!

"No! Don't eat that! I will not explain why until you are actually harmed and it's too late!"

These are kids. Kids don't always follow rules, especially when they don't understand why the rules are there.

This is where I started really, really hating the Oompa Loompa songs. They're incredibly annoying somehow.

Veruca might be throwing a tantrum, but she is very cute and a good singer. At least the song has the decency to put the blame on her upbringing, but then why should she be hurt? Someone could have stopped her at any time before she endangered herself.

My dad noticed there were only four suits at the entrance to the very creepy TV room. Which seems to mean the accidents were planned.

And here we have an absolutely egregious case. Mike does not activate the device himself, he stands on the pedestal and the operator knowingly presses the button! THIS WAS NOT HIS FAULT THEY INTENTIONALLY HARMED HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That last song personally offends me. "Television makes you stupid"??? I grew up on nature and science documentaries. I was quoting David Attenborough to my parents as a toddler. I'm sure educational TV existed back then in some form, at least?

Joe's indignation at being told off for breaking the rules is just ridiculous. You did it knowingly! You've seen how harsh this man is! Yes, Charlie only strayed at your instigation, but he could have refused, couldn't he?

And we fly into space inside a Dalek. The end.

Oh yeah, the songs? This barely counts as a musical.

Opening number was okay, if rather meaningless lyrically.

I remember nothing of the mother's lullaby thing, literally zoned out while she was singing it.

Golden ticket song a bit more fun but lyrics could still use work.

Pure Imagination, the only one I knew going in, was a bit disappointing in this rendition. Wilder's lovely voice is not at fault, the arrangement didn't grab me.

I've stated my opinion on the "making normal kids out to be monstrous" songs already.

And the one child who gets a song to herself? Okay, that I liked. It was fun.

[crehador]

brother crab’s 2023 seasonals in review: fall

most of the fall shows i'm watching are still an ep or two away from being complete but i'm leaving on a trip tomorrow and wanted to get this finished first so here we go

pretty sure none of this will change at this point (though aots and runner-up did just flip like five days ago lol)

FIRST UP. IN A STARTLING LAST MINUTE UPSET. ANIME OF THE SEASON

MIGI TO DALI!!! although for the past month or so i was convinced overtake! would take it, migi to dali has been coming to such a stellar climax that it's shot into the lead

overtake! is still exceptional and i've talked a lot about it this season, it's just a beautiful thing in its simplicity, with characters that are so Weird yet Real

migi to dali is EVEN WEIRDER in an astonishingly good way, it was intriguing right from the start and continued to build and build to a payoff that really blew me away

i don't think uniqueness is everything, sometimes a show that feels like i've seen it a hundred times before can still be my favorite thing of a season, it would just feel like home. but migi to dali's uniqueness is definitely a huge part in what makes it so alluring to me, the way it balances psychological suspense and comedy is so excellent and fresh

and now the sequels! in addition to spyfam, arknights, and dmdp, bpro and hpmi got sequels and hanako-kun got a little tv short

no comment on hpmi it'll get its own post

best sequel probably should go to dead mount death play, the world building is just fantastic to me, and this season definitely feels even stronger than the first (which was already very strong!)

however. i'm giving sequel of the season to arknights just for the sasha and eno ep, they put me on the fucking floor with that one

bpro s3 was unfortunately not really my thing, i want tsubasa happier and more well-rested :( but spyfam is adorable as usual, and some more hanako-kun was great (though we need more!)

quickfire thoughts on everything else:

onmyouji was unspectacular but surprisingly fun! and gay. gay as hell. asnm u have not led me astray this time

dog signal is not exactly High Quality but it's... fine and sometimes fun? i'm forever amused by the fact that it's billed as an educational series, and it kind of is! there's actual information about dog training in here. but there's also "guy walks other guy on leash in public for 2 hours" in here. and that was just episode one

kawagoe boys sing is a hot mess and i love it to bits, it starts out so silly that i'm sure it's an insta-drop for many people, but the club dynamics really come together throughout the series in a way i'm enjoying very much

bullbuster... talked about this a lot already, it was fine as an office drama/tiny business vs giant corporation type thing, but fell short on the mecha side of things

bokuame's shit. more on this later

atarashii joushi wa dotennen FREAKING ADORABLE. MORE OF THIS FOREVER

yuzuki-san chi no yon kyoudai EVEN MORE ADORABLE. MORE OF THIS FOREVER AND EVER

good night world was pretty decent, i overall... liked it, i think? it was very bingeable, so it was nice of them to drop it all at once lol and i liked the general premise and plot and all. but i think the wrap-up just felt a bit, eh, maybe slapdash to me? not Bad, but fell just short of exceptional

hoshikuzu telepath ADORABLE AS WELL as far as cgdct goes i'd say this is one of the better ones, kind of same tier as diy for me, but it's no yuru camp (the gold standard)

s-rank musume had a premise i really liked, and an overarching plot that was less compelling to me. wish we'd seen more of a focus on the family bond rather than like... magic and politics type stuff

watashi no oshi wa akuyaku reijou was a cute fucking yuri, the romance was a delight but as with s-rank musume, the 'plottier' bits were not as compelling to me

kamonohashi ron no kindan suiri feels like a very solid adaptation! makes me even more keen to read katekyo (which has been on my planning list for... fucking forever)

ragna crimson is pretty fun but not that outstanding, but like. really fun actually

shangri-la frontier is also very fun! not terribly high stakes (not really any stakes at all) but hilarious, action-packed in a good way, and probably especially entertaining for anyone who's played mmos before (because some parts are so so so relatable)

undead unluck is SO GROSS but IN A GOOD WAY idk how to explain this so i won't try

and sousou no frieren is anime of the year. no contest. (personally i disqualify my aots shows from winning aoty as well so i can do this. i can do anything i want forever)

as for the music!

we had a queen bee op this season and i will almost always pick queen bee as op/ed of the season when we have one, this is no exception. undead unluck's 01 takes op, and ed of the season goes to kamonohashi ron's lip-sync! just really like the vocals of that one

blorbo of the season MADOKA-CHAN KOUYA ship of the season surprisingly it's a toss up between like. seimei/hiromasa (WHAT YEAR IS IT) and kinjou/aoyama from atarashii joushi. like. momose/shirosaki VERY GOOD but those side bitches... they are in my head