#after all he has great taste in incarnations

[dreadark]

6 and 7!

orv ask game

6. whats a headcanon you have that you absolutely believe is canon?

1865knw like... that he exists. and he ends up traveling with their group. please

i mean it just makes sense right. yjh obviously cares about him, i think at that point hsy has most of 1863hsy's memories so it's a similar deal there, abfd isn't hsy's sponsor anymore... etc etc here's how kim namwoon can still win !!

(i want to try writing smth about this but i have to reread orv first... and probably take notes this time there's so much going on

7. conversely, whats a headcanon that youre just pulling out of your ass but you love anyway?

that one of the abyssal black flame dragon's stigmas is a partial dragon transformation

does this really matter to anything? no but would it be cool as hell? Ye s

if jhw can have angel wings hsy can have dragon wings!! and claws. and fangs. and

also abfd said he could do that and he would never make things up. Surely,

though han sooyoung can just change the form of her avatars right (...what are the limits to this exactly? beyond mana usage...?)

she probably says something like eh i thought this sponsorship would come with more useful stigmas and then abfd refuses to talk to her ...until she recites one of his "summoning" chants to make him happy. sorry i love hsy and abfd...

[ckret2]

So a while ago some friends were talking about fans who claim the Same Coin theory is canon. And I made the mistake of saying:

Do you know who also has tons in common with Bill? Mabel. Yet nobody claims Bill reincarnated as Mabel. …wait now I want a "same coin but it's Mabel" AU. Funniest Bill reincarnation option. The all-seeing arsonist is making macaroni glitter art. The omnipotent tyrant is crying because a unicorn called her a bad person.

And then I overthought it for two months.

So—AU where after death, Bill's soul shoots 13 years into the past and reincarnates as Mabel. I'll call it ✨ Sparkly Coin AU ✨

Don't leave yet. Lemme show you why it works. Behold the eerie amount of parallels in their personalities, dialogue, behavior, mannerisms, tastes...

I could have kept going but my attention span ran out. All right, we all on board now? Convinced we could segue from one personality into the other? Great. Now here's why you should be interested: the juicy post-Weirdmageddon angst potential.

As long as a small fringe of the fandom still thinks Weirdmageddon is Mabel's fault, why not amp that up x100 and have some fun with it?

Is everyone sold now? Great. Let's get into the details. I've got 8 more pieces of art under the read more.

So the AU starts the instant Bill dies. Thanks to invoking his deal with the Axolotl—one way to absolve his crime, a different form, a different time—the Axolotl gives him a new shape and shoots him thirteen years into the past. Apparently, the Axolotl thought it would be very funny to stick Bill in the family that defeated him.

Which probably made for a jarring transition.

(It's fine, she's like 10 minutes old, she probably can't even tell who she's looking at. Not being able to tell who she was looking at is what got her into this situation ayyyy)

When Dipper & Mabel come back from Gravity Falls complaining about this triangular jerk Bill, their parents mention that Dipper's name was nearly Bill. See, after they knew they were going to have a boy, one night their mom dreamed about a visitor—some kind of magic pink salamander??—calling her child "BILL." Then at the next sonogram they found out they were having twins, the girl must've been hidden at a weird angle the first time, and they wanted matching names, so they thought, Bill and Bell. But they didn't really like Bell; but eventually they stumbled on Mabel, so to keep the names matching they switched from Bill to Mason. Isn't that the darnedest thing?

(Of course, Mabel and Dipper assume Bill harassed their parents to try to trick them into naming a kid after him. To be a jerk.)

When Bill meets Mabel, he's unaware that she's his future self—Bill's notably bad at doing things like, say, double-checking to see whether he's going to die anytime soon—but like... he can tell something's up.

Naturally, before visiting Gravity Falls, there were echoes of who Mabel used to be—but nothing anyone would be able to identify without context. All her Bill-ish quirks either smoothed out with time (see: how between second grade and fourth grade Mabel went from being the "freak" to the popular girl in class), or else they were accepted by her family as Mabel-ish quirks.

After they meet (and kill) Bill, they have the context to understand some of Mabel's behaviors... and unfortunately, some of Mabel's latent Bill-ness starts surfacing after she's been directly exposed to her prior incarnation.

The part of the Pines family familiar with Bill thinks the worst case scenario is that maybe Bill's survived and is slowly possessing Mabel; but far more likely, they think this is just some weird way of trying to subconsciously process last summer. Mabel doesn't think she's being weird, you guys are being weird, stop giving her weird looks. They get attacked by one triangle and now she can't wear yellow or pick up macrame as a hobby??

(It's not all red flags and uncomfortable triangle imagery, though. When Stan asks her what she'd like as a gift for some important event, she shyly admits that she thinks she's starting to outgrow her plastic gem jewelry and maybe she's old enough to get her first piece of real gold jewelry, if that's not too expensive? And Stan's never been so proud of her. Thirteen years old and already thinking about buying gold!)

But of course, the real fun starts when Mabel finds out.

That's the face of a girl who's just discovered that she tortured her great uncle. Now imagine running into the brother she possessed.

But I've already spent a million words and thirteen images on this post. If enough folks are interested in the AU maybe I'll expand on it later. Let me know what y'all think.

[justwinginglife]

Hello!! I absolutely love all your works and always look forward to them! I was wondering if you could write a story where Soshiro is tasked with overseeing y/n, who has been placed under his care as a punishment for reckless behavior in another division.

At first, y/n appears composed and polite when they meet, though sometimes a bit detached. However, on the battlefield, she reveals a completely different side—crazy obsessive over research, (just like Hange from Attack on Titan or Merlin from The Seven Deadly Sins.) She gets excited at any chance to learn something new, eagerly diving into every opportunity.

Y/n also has a sadistic side, often prolonging fights and tormenting her targets to satisfy her curiosity and ambition, showing little empathy towards the Kaiju she encounters. (And maybe kinda found hot out on the battlefield 😗 she can be gun or blade user, either one is fine!)

AHH thank you so much for the support!

Hoshina was shocked that you were here. 

He’d been told that you were reckless, rambunctious, crazy incarnate, a hellspawn, all manner of devious and disastrous. He’d been told he’d have his hands full with you, that any semblance of sanity he had would be ripped to shreds. He’d been told to expect the worst and then double it. 

So imagine his surprise when you showed up at his doorstep, smiling sweetly, so sweet he could almost taste the sugar dripping from your lips, looking prim and proper, salute at the ready, as you patiently awaited his orders. He looked at the transfer orders again, then back at you, then back at the orders. You couldn’t possibly be the devil they were describing. 

“Vice Captain, sir, is everything alright?” You spoke in a mild mannered tone and he could hardly believe his ears. 

He scratched his head. Then he held up the paper in his hands. “This is you, right?”

You nodded. “Yes sir, I’m your new transfer, pleasure to meet you. I look forward to working with you, Vice Captain, sir.” Respect practically oozed from your every word.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, mumbling to himself, “Is the Second Division seriously just full of liars and gossips or what?” Then he ushered you inside the base and began taking you for a tour. 

He watched you curiously as he walked alongside you, but you never gave any indication that you were as wild as the rumors said. Eventually he began to relax. 

If he was honest with himself, he actually enjoyed your company. You laughed at his jokes, regarded him with high esteem (not everyone did), and seemed like a genuinely good person. You even made a big deal out of requesting a duel with him, stroking his ego by making him think it was a great honor to be trained by him. He was astounded to think anyone disliked you.

He’d been told that your transfer to the Third Division was your punishment for insubordination and disorderly conduct, but he thought that the way you conducted yourself was just fine. Was more than fine. He thought you were the perfect picture of an exemplary soldier and an exemplary person. 

And when he began overseeing your training, he was impressed even further by the grace and the skill you possessed. The ease with which you fought made him eager to stand beside you on the battlefield, so he assigned you to the front lines on your very first mission with the Third Division. His eagerness was his downfall. 

He was sure you’d make quick work of the Yoju before joining his takedown of the Honju, but you toyed with every single one, taking great pleasure in their torment. You were like a kid on Christmas, if that kid was maniacal and clinically insane. He found it impossible to ever erase the image of you smiling sinisterly, your eyes ablaze with a devilish gleam, cackling hysterically, as you slaughtered the Kaiju, and then kept slaughtering them even after they’d gone to their graves. The other soldiers around you shrunk back, wincing, as you massacred the Kaiju corpses, reveling in the desecration of their bloodied remains, even going so far as to giddily collect samples for further research. You found this gory landscape a playground and you were more than happy to play. You took such pleasure from demolishing these demons, from splattering their organs on the pavement, from grinding their matter into grime, that it was almost orgasmic. 

Hoshina was more than embarrassed to realize that the sight of you slaying each monster with such hunger and tenacity, with such joy and thrill, turned him on. He had been instructed to enforce punishment upon you, but he found himself wondering what your punishment on him would feel like. Would he find himself in whatever heaven you were enjoying right now? He shivered at the titillating thoughts that had begun to gnaw at his brain. 

When you finally turned your sights to the Honju and absolutely ravaged it, wreaking nothing less than total havoc and mayhem on its unsuspecting form, Hoshina had to actively stop himself from licking his lips. Was it wrong if he promoted you so soon?

He found you decently pleasant upon first meeting you, but now he was finding you increasingly more enticing with every passing minute. He wondered what it would be like to be ravaged by you and for a moment he envied the Honju. 

Of course, the Vice Captain in him knew that eventually you could grow to become a problem, but right now the Vice Captain was off duty. Right now, he was just Soshiro Hoshina, he was just a simple man. And as a man, he was defenseless against his urges. He was finding himself to be more and more like you, more unabashed and reckless, as he suddenly felt the overwhelming desire to take you right here, among these corpses, amidst the raging battle. Somehow he felt that you wouldn’t care if you were laid bare in the middle of the city, officers and citizens alike gaping, as they watched his lust devour you whole. 

But the obscenities quickly evaporated from his mind the moment he saw you were hurt. It was just a cut on the arm, nothing to be too concerned about; you hadn’t even noticed it yourself, as you were still riding out the high. But Hoshina snapped to attention. He raced to your side with bandages and alcohol to clean the wound. You were honestly shocked when he started attending to an injury you weren’t aware of, but his genuine kindness grounded you, brought you back to the present moment. And presently, you were touched. No one had ever cared about you enough to tend to you like this, no one had ever looked past your derangement long enough to care.

When you’d been reassigned, you’d been prepared to defend yourself, been prepared to go out kicking and screaming, clawing and biting. You were prepared for people to cross to the opposite end of the hallway or even just turn around and go the other way when they saw you coming. You were prepared for whispers and rumors, for malice and misintent. You were resigned to the fact that no one could meet your gaze. 

But Hoshina was looking right at you. He stayed right by your side through your whole frenzy, and he never faltered, and he never fumbled. He kept pace, and even had the audacity to be entertained by your crazy. Was he crazy? 

You wanted to ask him but you didn’t want to ruin the moment. 

He finally broke the silence. “You know, I could always ask the cleanup crew to save some organs for you. For research purposes.”

Your eyes lit up but you were still wary, still unwilling to let yourself dream.

“And I could maybe see about getting you a lab somewhere.” He continued.

The more he talked, the more you wanted to kiss him. 

“I just need you to focus on taking down the Kaiju as quickly as you can so we don’t risk any more lives and then I can get you anything and everything you want afterwards, understood?”

You nodded eagerly. 

He smiled.

Your heart melted.

“You can talk, you know. I won’t hold anything against you.”

You bit your lip. “I know, Vice Captain, sir. Thank you, sir. I appreciate the offer. I’ll… I’ll do my best. For you. Sir.”

He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “You know you can just call me Hoshina. You don’t have to be so formal all the time.”

“Of course, Vice Captain, sir. I will try my best to not be so formal, sir.”

He laughed again. “Work in progress, huh? I’m okay with that.”

You blushed. You weren’t sure how to process whatever mangled mess of emotions you were feeling right now and you felt pathetic that blushing was what you were resigned to at the present moment. 

Whenever you met with Death, your blades clashing with his scythe, you met him with no fear. You welcomed Death. You fed him souls, sent demons to his door, swords in hand. You weren’t afraid to die on the battlefield, Death was an old friend. But whatever monstrosity you were now feeling, that, you were afraid of. That was a whole different beast. 

As you gazed into Hoshina’s eyes, you felt the red alert go off in your mind. 

Danger.

Proceed with caution.

But you fell in love with him anyway, the way you did everything else- with reckless abandon. 

[thedrunkenreadersreviews]

Regarding Alastor's Hallway Scene in Episode 5 of "Hazbin Hotel"

Good day, folks! As sweet Mimzy said, "...pour a few fingers of rye and he turns into a kitten" so let's do that. Let me set up my Redemption, and let's get into this.

*Sip, sip*

Now, this is quite an interesting thing; the phenomenon of the reactions I have been seeing particularly regarding Alastor in episode 5 of Hazbin Hotel has been ... curiouser and curiouser.

*Sip, sip*

The big question that I think we should be asking after this episode is who Alastor is leashed to---but there seems to be something else on people's minds and that is the interaction Alastor had with Husk in the hallway of the hotel. I mean, every great character needs an epic hallway scene. For Star Wars it was Vader and Luke. For Hazbin, it is Alastor. Let's explore this.

*Sip, sip*

As a society, feasting on entertainment, whether it be through books or films or a series, fans often say that they enjoy the "villain" or "morally grey" character as opposed to those who are set on their compass of goodness. I find this to be a lie that we often tell ourselves and believe completely.

Sure, we find them more entertaining and thus we favor them, but then we try to find excuses for their behavior, make it a despicable act that is done for righteous reasons. Or because we desire to see someone who is tremendously struggling or has a rather horrid reputation overcome this and prove to be a fantastic character underneath all the layers of darkness. We don't like them because they are bad. We may pity them for they often have the most tragic backstories, or we see the potential of their goodness. But we like them because we believe that everyone in their universe has the wrong perspective of their wickedness while we, outsiders looking in, see the potential of their heroics. What they can do despite everything.

That is not liking a character because they are the villain. That is liking a character because of why they are the villain and how they can overcome it.

A few examples:

Rhysand dressing Feyre up like a whore and tattooing her without her consent: well, he was doing that to protect her and help her.

Darth Vader: Mass murderer and second in command of an empire built on absolute control; but he fulfilled the prophecy of the Chosen One and had originally fallen because he wanted to save the love of his life and his unborn children.

Loki: Yeah, he slaughtered 80 people in 2 days, attacked NYC with an alien army killing hundreds if not thousands in the process, and committed genocide prior to that, BUT that's because he was severely broken and now he sits all alone at the end of time, saving an infinite amount of people.

Granted, I love 2/3 of those characters because of the reasons provided. But also because in their prime they were WICKED!

*Sip, sip*

Now let's look at Alastor.

Alastor, the Radio Demon, and one of the most feared overlords of Hell ... threatened one of the souls he owns. And now, I see people comparing him to Val or saying they hated him at that moment or now have a poor taste for him in their mouths. But ... this is exactly what you asked for from him.

*Sip, sip*

Val, who ACTIVELY tortures Angel Dust, is being used as the comparison for Alastor because he THREATENED and scared Husk after Husk stepped over the line.

*Sip, sip*

Alastor, when alive, was a serial killer. Alastor in Hell captured overlords, tortured them, broadcasted the torture throughout Hell, and became one of the most feared overlords.

He didn't do that by being "nice" or "charming." He did that by being vile and not for a greater good. He did it because, as far as we know, he wanted power. And, damn, he got it.

Demons KNOW to be afraid of Alastor. Granted, his reputation may have faltered because he has been away for 7 years but before his departure and even upon his return, for the most part, demons avoid Alastor as though he were death incarnate.

*Sip, sip*

Now, let's examine him in episode 5. Only the scene that is getting the most traction; I'll talk about Alastor and Lucifer in another post. But let's look at this scene:

Alastor and Husk in the hallway.

*Sip, sip*

Let me put some quotes here real quick:

From the Pilot:

Husk to Alastor: "Don't you [Alastor, the owner of my soul] 'Husker' me, you son of a bitch!"

Husk to Alastor: "Are you [Alastor, the owner of my soul] shitting me?"

Husk to Alastor: "You [Alastor, owner of my soul whom I have just shoved off of me] think it must be some big fucking riot just to pull me out of nowhere? You think I'm some kind of fucking clown? [even though I am contractually obligated to obey your summons]"

Husk to Alastor: "I [the one contracted to serve you and obey your commands] ain't doing no fucking charity job [even though you told me by your order that I have to]."

Alastor to Husk: "Don't worry my friend [you, who sold your soul to me so that you could keep your power because you almost gambled it all away], I can make this more welcoming [providing you with something that you enjoy even though you are contractually obligated to obey my commands without payment/reward], if you wish."

From episode 5:

Alastor to Husk: "It's nothing I can't handle, don't worry, Husker. [Proceeds to walk away, leaving the conversation] Who in their right mind would cross me? [Continues to walk away, posing the question as rhetorical and not requiring an answer]."

Husk to Alastor: "... You've been gone a while. And it's not like anybody knows why---"

Alastor to Husk: "They don't need to know. [And it does not need to be discussed further, so leave it alone.] And don't you worry your fuzzy head about it. [Drop it. Drop it now. Don't pick it up]"

Husk to Alastor: "You may own my soul, but I ain't your fucking pet!"

[Personally, I think Val would have instantly backhanded AD for that alone.]

Alastor to Husk: "Hmhm. But you are [So stop talking, just let it go, I'm letting a lot slide here]."

Husk to Alastor [the owner of his soul, who has slaughtered overlords of Hell]: "Big talk for someone who is also on a leash."

Alastor to Husk: "Aha. What did you say? [Now you have tested my patience too much!]"

*Sip, sip*

In the pilot, Husk openly and without fear insults and cusses at Alastor. And what does Alastor, the owner of his soul, do? He lets it slide.

In the one scene between them in the hallway, Alastor essentially still does nothing even though it is evident that Husk struck a nerve. At least twice over in this scene alone, Alastor gives subtle hints to Husk that it is best he just stops. And it is not like he even dismisses Husk's worries about Mimzy or even his absence. It's more along the lines of, "Oh, I know she is in trouble and came here for me to clean up her mess, but I am a bit occupied at the moment dealing with the actual King of Hell, so I'll get to it when I get to it. Just keep her busy for now." And in regards to his absence, he makes it abundantly clear that Husk is better off just not mentioning anything about it. He cuts Husk off, and essentially says, "Look, just keep quiet about it. It's no one's business but mine and I'm fine, I can handle it, so let's just leave it alone."

All the talk people say of Alastor having a big ego, oh undoubtedly, but it makes sense why Husk is in pride in this one scene alone. Alastor tells him "let it go," and moves to walk away from the conversation.

But Husk pushes. And pushes. And on that final shove, I think Husk even knows before Alastor got mad that he went TOO far.

*Sip, sip*

And Alastor still, for the most part, does nothing.

He reminds Husker that he owns his soul, pulls on the chain just to knock Husker off-kilter, and then, rather demonically, tells Husk to not EVER mention the fact that he is leashed again. Honestly, with what Alastor COULD do to Husk ... that was letting him off SUPER easy. Like, Husk should be kissing his feet that that threat was the only punishment he received for that comment.

Val? Forget it. AD would probably be filming for 3 days straight. Alastor doesn't even touch Husk.

This move is also a sense of security for Alastor, I think. Husk probably thought this was just another comment that would result in Alastor just ignoring it. But it takes Alastor by surprise and destroys his comfort. He loses himself in a fit of fury and pulls on Husk's leash to remind both Husk and himself, "Yeah, I might be leashed but I still own YOUR soul, Husk! So do not test me!"

*sip, sip*

So, yeah, Husk gets scared, as he should. Alastor is terrifying.

Should this lessen our opinion of Alastor as it seems to have done with so many fans?

No. Absolutely not. If anything, this scene provides balance to that paradox I supplied earlier; how we like the evil characters because of the good they could do but we should also like them because they are evil and should be expected to do evil things.

Alastor IS evil. He owns Husk's soul.

And yet, this evil overlord allows Husk to get away with soooo much. And when Husk oversteps, as he absolutely did, to not even be smacked by Alastor speaks volumes of Alastor's opinion of Husk.

*Sip, sip*

Here is my speculation:

Husk obviously knows more about Alastor than most. But Alastor owns hundreds if not thousands of souls. Husk is someone he calls on often, obviously. Husk knows Alastor is leashed. Faustisse, a former employee of Spindle Horse, and one of the original teammates beside Viv for the Hazbin project said that Alastor regards Husk as one of his closest friends. Perhaps not friend, but maybe one of his closest confidants. Why else would Husk know that Alastor is leashed? Granted, we cannot tell from the dialogue if Husk knows where Alastor was for 7 years or even if he knows who Alastor is leashed to. To some extent, though, Alastor must trust Husk.

In this scene, Husk violates that trust. He deserved to be threatened, reminded, and terrified. I adore Husk. He is one of my favorite characters and when I saw the hallway scene, I thought Husk deserved way worse than what he got.

And Alastor still takes what Husk had to say about Mimzy into consideration. He still tells Mimzy, a friend he has had since he was alive, that she needs to leave.

*sip, sip*

Yes, Alastor is evil. And it is soooooo good to see him BE evil. And not for a good cause but just because someone got under his skin. He owns Husk and he lets Husk off very easy. So to see him lose his temper and not even physically hurt Husk allows the nugget of possible, minuscule glimmer of somewhat kindness to linger.

I loved the hallway scene. It did a fantastic job of showing us what Alastor COULD be if he really wanted to, why you shouldn't mess with him, and how he elicits fear.

Val lords over his souls through physical abuse. Alastor does it mentally when called for. They are two totally different overlords with really no comparison to be made between them save for this: they are both evil.

*Sip, sip*

Alastor ate in episode 5 and left no crumbs. He remains, quite possibly, the most interesting character in the show. I cannot wait to discover more of him and watch him be absolutely wicked towards others.

Cheers to you, Radio Demon. If I were in Hell and had to be leashed to anyone, I would want to be leashed to you.

*Sip, sip*

[talonabraxas]

Avalokiteśvara 'Chenrezig Bodhisattva' Talon Abraxas

Oṃ Mani Padme Hūṃ / Om Mani Padme Hum

Chenrezig, also known as Avalokitesvara, "One who looks with unwavering eye," is the most revered of all Bodhisattva, embodying the compassion of all Buddhas. He listens to the prayers of all sentient beings in times of challenge and difficulty. In one prominent Buddhist story, Chenrezig vows never to rest until he has helped free all sentient beings from samsara, but despite his best efforts, his task is overwhelming. So in his effort to reach out to so many cries of suffering, his arms are shattered into pieces, making them many, to better reach out to those in need. Sometimes Chenrezig visualized with eleven heads and a thousand arms fanned out around him. Tibetan Buddhism relates Chenrezig to the six-syllable mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, and when this mantra is spoken aloud or in silence, it invokes his benevolent power and intervention. Chenrezig is consider the patron of Tibet, and, in fact, the living Buddha, the Dali Lama, is an incarnation of him.

When ever we are compassionate, or feel the love of another directed as you, be they human or animal, we experience a taste of our connection with Chenrezig.

His two front hands are in a devotional gesture, clasped in front of his jewel-draped heart. His upper right hand holds his special symbol, a crystal akshamala, or rosary, symbol of the never-ending cycle. While his left hand holds a white lotus, signifying that he frees the sentient beings from the muddy waters of suffering and hellish realms to the pure states of enlightenment. He is draped in silk garments, both legs in the "diamond pose" of mediation, and seated on a row of lotus petals.

"Bodhisattva," literally meaning "enlightenment ('bodhi') being ('sattva')" in Sanskrit, has two primary meanings in Buddhism. One of them, held by the Theravada and by some Mahayanists, is of someone who is dedicated to becoming a Buddha. The other, held by some Mahayanists, is of someone who deliberately refrains from becoming enlightened, a Buddha, in order to help others.

Great Compassion Mantra: Purification, healing and protection, the Maha Karuna Dharani Sutra — benefiting all beings

[quitealotofsodapop]

YELLOW1!!1 it's been a hot minute since I sent in an ask!

Since pokemon has really come to bite my butt, I wonder what kinda pokemon Mei and Macaque would have! (I'd guess Mei would have a gyrados for some reason, but it makes sense to me and that's good enough!)

the LMK storyboard director (Ashe Jacobson) actually made pokemon cards for the LMK gang based on her hcs of them! Although they were made during S1/2 and likely don't reflect current ideas or fanon (also too many legendaries for my taste). Also no Sandy card :(

Things I do love about each though:

He/They pronoun MK. MK having bunch of little monkey pokemon. Plus a Krabby for some reason. Also Age: Unknown foreshadowing... instead of the legendaries I could see him having a Ground type like a Gligar (cheeky bat pokemon based on a tyoe of Japanese yokai) or a Swinub (snow boar piglet).

Red Son out here with all the pronouns and a bunch of poor Bug/Steel types about to get melted XD. Honestly surprised that he doesn't have a Tauros. The Houndoom seems like an Erlang pokemon though, Red Son seems more of a Torchic kinda guy. I could also give him a legednary like Chi-Yu; a little piece of primordial fire based on the Chinese Great Peril of Hundun/Confusion.

Mei def deserves a Gyardos - no fault to Rayquaza but no legendaries allowed. Rapidash is perfect for her, but perhaps a shiny to fit her theme a little more + she def would be a Shiny hunter. Sceptile is a more subtle choice since it's a lizard pokemon with one of the highest base speed stats (450) and has sword-like leafy protrusions. I've seen ideas for her having a Blitzle (electric zebra pokemon) as well since it just seems like a Her pokemon to have.

I just love Tang having Shedinja (the cicada husk pokemon) partially because it falls into a little theory I have of him >:3 + Golden Cicada connection. Chimecho is also based on a type of shinto warding bell used to scare off spirits - a useful pokemon for a priest/superstitious nerd to have. The Hoothoot is adorable, he's just here cus of nerdiest. Spoink is based on a bible verse about casting wisdom to those who won't appriciate it (pearls before swine) so thats pretty Tang-coded. The Shuckle makes me think of Noodles and the infamous "don't fuckle with the Shuckle"-meme because of it's ability to become the most lethal attack pokemon under the right circumstances. Tang deserves another non-legendary tho so lets give him an artifact pokemon like a Golett or Baltoy for him to nerd about (and struggle to carry).

Pigsy has pigs. You know if Gen IX was out he'd have a LeChonk no question about it. The Munchlax is super adorable since is a hungry baby pokemon (reminds him of MK?), and the Clefable could be a hint at his amazing singing voice. Blipbug is a ladybird larva aka a "bookworm" pokemon - you know he got that one cus of Tang. The Ambipom is interesting tho - extra hands in the kitchen obvs, but maybe hinting at his incarnation's connection to SWK. I could def see him having "food"-type pokemon around too like Smoliv, Milcery, and/or Tatsugiri.

+Tang and Pigsy both have a pokemon that reminds them of eachother omg; Spoink and Blipbug. Perhaps the Spoink is (Pigsy's) Grumpig's baby?

Wukong using his flattering game art for his ID is very in-character of him XD. Most of his pokemon are really on the nose too - Infernape is legit based on him after all. I excuse the use of legendary pokemon (esp Landorus since it's a earth/cloud god pokemon) for him too since thats what he is. The most recent legendary pokemon is uber-Wukong coded tho - Pecharunt, based on the Peaches of Immortality combined with the japanese folktale of Momotaro + japanese death mythology. I could see Wukong also walking around with a bunch of horse (Mudsdale) and fruit pokemon (Boundsweet, Cherubi) as well. Maybe even having a team thats made of up pokemon that remind him of his old friends.

Macaque having a Zoroark and Zarude is super genius. Zoroark is a mimicry pokemon (based on kitsunes/huli-jings) and that checks out with what Macaque tried doing in the novel - also reminds me of my hc that Jiuweihuli took him under her wing. Zarude is a spooky legendary monkey pokemon obvs, but it's introduced in it's debut movie as "Dada" by the human it raised - sorta foreshadowing how the FFM baby monkeys really love Macaque. Gengar and Marshadow are great choices for his shadow powers ofc - with Marshow having a "lantern" kind vibe to it. Grimmsnarl I think was choosen based on it's Gigantamax form - it looks a lot like Macaque's Smoke Monster form. I could also see Macaque having a few Sneasels - little dark types based on a wind Yokai. I think that while he'd like sound/music-focused Pokemon, his ears are too sensitive to be around the moves - he'd start running the second he sees a Whimsur.

+Macaque and Wukong have Eevee-lutions that evolve based on high affection depending on time of day. Like the Sun and the Moon everybody. Oddly enough in the pokemon "I Choose You!" movie, Marshadow is considered a "guide" for those chosen by Ho-Oh (which Wukong has), early foreshadowing how Macaque becomes a legit mentor to MK.

Jin and Yin just have duo pokemon that work best together. These two def would buy both versions of a pokemon game so that they could play and trade together. The two NInetails is a cute reference to their mom - the OG Nine-Tailed Vixen. They need a Gourgeist for their Calabash tho.

This is the best i can do rn for poor Sandy; I used a mix of microsoft office word shapes, Imgflip, and the Pokecharms Trainer Id generator (I couldn't figure out how to change the trainer to a custom image).

I gave him Mantine and Lapras cus they're gentle "Ride" pokemon who like carrying people across water. Polteageist cus Tea and secrets. Smergle cus of art. Vivillion cus of the blue butterfly in "To Catch a Leaf" and the Dewpider cus Huntsman. Some more ideas include Dhelmise (the seaweed anchor pokemon), Misdreavus (cus of his necklace), and/or Machamp (wrestling theme in the Scroll of Memory). Lots of cat pokemon too - him and Nanu would get along. He's not a fighter at all - and neither are his pokemon. Don't underestimate them tho - they hit hard.

Additionally; Nezha has all snake pokemon + I can see him having a Charcadet. He's got a Phantump and a Dratini too but don't ask about them.

PIF has a swarm of Castform following her since they can't be blown away by her winds (she treats them like baby wind spirits). DBK has like fifty Tauros of different breeds' and a few Miltanks + a Scovillain who provides him with peppers.

Erlang has a Houndoom and nothing else... except maybe a Lotad who reminds him of his greatest regrets.

Chang'e owes a few bunny pokemon (Scorbunny, Buneary, Azumarill, Bunnelby etc) and an Alcremie, plus a bunch of stray Clefairy-line pokemon (moon origins) and Minior (meterorite/star candy pokemon). She also has a little Rowlet plush that she hugs tightly whenever she goes to sleep (Hou Yi's starter).

I feel like animal demons dont really "own" pokemon cus they see them as fellow demons/monster species. Wukong is an except since his are probably old friends/decended from pokemon he knew back on FFM.

this got a little away from me sorry - I love pokemon too <3

[fast-moon]

I'm 30 years late, but...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine originally aired when I was 10 years old. I loved Next Generation when I was a kid, so I gave DS9 a try back then... and immediately grew bored of it. They weren't going to new planets or having space battles, they were just sitting around in one place discussing space politics, and there wasn't even anyone funny like Data to hold my attention. So, I stopped watching after a couple episodes.

But, since I keep hearing it ended up being the best Trek seres, I've decided to go ahead and give it a full watch-through. Maybe now that I'm 40 and have more life experience under my belt, I can appreciate it more.

Turns out I do! I've finished the first season, so I'll give a run-down of what I thought of the S1 episodes below the cut:

1-2. Emissary: All right, I actually understand the premise this time which completely went over my head as a kid. The Bajorans were under Cardassian occupation for decades, the Federation showed up and drove them out, now the Federation is in control of the Cardassian space station DS9 to help the Bajorans rebuild and return to self-governance. But wait! Turns out there's a wormhole that goes to the other side of the galaxy here and it's suddenly become prime space real-estate! And the wormhole is inhabited by... mysterious non-temporal entities that spit out a magic orbs from time to time and the Bajorans worship them as prophets.

3. Past Prologue: Garak is queer-coded like whoa and gives Bashir a taste of his own medicine about not respecting boundaries. Is also possibly like a quadruple-agent. And tailors a fine suit. Also, Kira got a haircut. There's rats on spaceships?! Oh, that's just Odo. Okay. Still, the fact that he considered that a convincing disguise means there's rats on spaceships?!

4. A Man Alone: A guy backstabs himself and blames Odo for it.

5. Babel: Poor overworked O'Brien gets so stressed out he starts speaking in tongues. Then it turns out it's contagious. And it turns out that it's because someone sabotaged the station decades ago with a dyslexia virus and then just kind of forgot about it.

6. Captive Pursuit: This actually touches on a moral question I'd been wondering about if we ever end up with sentient AI: If something is bred/programmed to like being oppressed, is it more moral to remove it from its oppression even if that makes it miserable, or to return it to its oppression if that's what makes it happy? This episode chose the latter.

7. Q-Less: A surprisingly boring Q-centric episode whose only shenanigans involved a space stingray Vash was trying to sell off. Q really does miss Picard.

8. Dax: Oh, another philosophical thought-experiment: If you committed a crime and then get reincarnated in a traceable manner and retain all the memories of your previous incarnation, can your current incarnation be held liable for your previous incarnation's actions? This episode decides it doesn't want to answer this because she's not guilty, anyway.

9. The Passenger: Bashir becomes even more insufferable and nobody notices.

10. Move Along Home: Samurai hippies come through the wormhole and demand everyone LARP with them whether they like it or not.

11. The Nagus: Quark falls victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is "Never get involved in a land war with Asia". But only slightly less well-known is this: "Never get involved with a Ferengi when profit is on the line".

12. Vortex: So... Odo just lets a guy get away with murder because he has a sob story and claimed he knew others of his kind? Just because he was wanted unjustly on his home planet does not change the fact that he murdered a guy for hire. Also, Odo can get knocked out by a rock?

13. Battle Lines: Remember that "Great Divide" episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender that everyone hated? No reason.

14. The Storyteller: O'Brien goes down to Bajor to fix the pipes, becomes God.

15. Progress: Kira has to go convince a Boomer to leave his land because they need the resources to rebuild the planet, but he's all "I got mine, screw them." She humors his sexist behavior all episode, then burns his house down.

16. If Wishes Were Horses: Bashir wishes for his own personal side-piece Dax, and real Dax is weirdly okay with this because "boys will be boys". The conflict in this episode is literally solved by thinking happy thoughts.

17. The Forsaken: Odo gets sexually harassed so reports it to HR who just laughs him off because they think it would be good for him to get laid. Then he gets stuck in an elevator with his stalker and it's revealed just how physically strenuous it is for him to maintain his human form all day, and yet he has never been afforded any accommodations beyond a bucket to sleep in. This poor space slime, no wonder he's always so grumpy. #JusticeForOdo

18. Dramatis Personae: TNG's "The Inner Light", but stupid. Once again Odo has to save the day because he's immune to the humanoid crazypox that seems to infect the station every half-dozen episodes, and yet they still just can't find it in their effects budget to adjust station operations enough to allow him the minimal comfort of not having to contort himself into human form every day until he collapses just to do his job.

19. Duet: I am a sucker for "Did the janitors on the Death Star deserve to die?" sorts of moral discussions, and this episode delivered that very well. Also, I'm in lesbians with Kira.

20. In the Hands of the Prophets: Lady who doesn't even have kids at the school nevertheless takes issue that the children aren't being taught in accordance to her religious beliefs. It's been 30 years since this came out and nothing changes.

All in all, a decent season 1. It does show its age in places, especially in its treatment of female characters, and being written before the internet and smartphones caused seismic cultural shifts that its vision of the future failed to take into account. But still, I'm liking it now that I actually understand what's going on. On to season 2!

[alexanderlightweight]

Sooo how about some more sneak peaks of Like real people do for writing wendsday? Like how does Alec react to Magnus having to leave or Magnus' thoughts when he finds the book he needs and realizes he has to leave Alec?

I hope everyone is having a great day!!

thank you! im doing much better rn so it's a good day! i hope you are also having one

here is a bit of where they're headed!

-

Alexander explains with a breathless delight that he’d finally figured out the source of the elemental storms and been able to rip the sprites caught in the small rift under the lake out. After that, it had been easy for him to disperse the storms with the power of his wings. When Magnus asks what happened to the sprites, Alexander gives him a look as if he’s being silly and scoffs.

“Obviously I ate them Magnus—” then he hesitates, looking a little contrite. “Should I have brought you one?”

Magnus is unwillingly charmed and he chuckles, shaking his head and leaning forward to taste the cold copper flavor of Alexander’s mouth.

“No treasure, seeing you like that was all I needed.” Magnus isn’t lying, he feels like he could do anything with the knowledge that Alexander’s strength trembles under his touch. For the first time in his life, Magnus thinks he understands the power that Lilith and his father fight for, because the taste of this strength is intoxicating and devouring.

Alexander gives a breathy sigh and leans into Magnus, greedy for his warmth and caresses and Magnus marvels as his hands run over naked skin. Alexander is slow to warm up and he’s still colder than even the biting winds around them. Magnus longs to warm him up and keep him that way until Alexander no longer feels cool to the touch. It’s a wicked idea because as much as Alexander loves warmth, he can only handle so much of it as a time.

It makes Magnus wants to heat him from the inside out and play with him until Alexander can’t even imagine what it’s like not to have Magnus keeping him warm.

There’s too much temptation here, in the heart of a dragons hoard but Magnus finds that the greatest temptation he’ll have to face is Alexander himself. From his dark hair to his naturally indigo nails that can sharpen to adamas claws at just a thought, to Alexander’s charming obliviousness.

Magnus knows why he should care about the outside world, he’s just finding it very hard to actually do so. When Ragnor, Cat and the rest of the Elder’s had discussed the temptations Magnus would undoubtedly face, none of them could have ever prepared him for Alexander.

“Let’s go inside?” Magnus urges and he nudges Alexander down the bridge, passing the crystal clear cold that he could taste as he inhaled. It felt like every breathe was filled with a thousand frosted crystals. Alexander grins at him, something endearingly soft about him without whatever pain the storm was causing him. If Alexander was already temptation incarnate, then Magnus finds himself cursed twice over because with every moment spent with him, Magnus becomes more and more entranced.

[gemsofgreece]

How did the Ancient Greeks and the Byzantines each celebrated Christmas? (Or winter in general 😅)

Christmas started being celebrated on December 25th in Rome in 336. The Roman Empire split for good in 395 so I am just gonna go with how the Byzantines celebrated Christmas. Not many surviving sources remain but I found on Quora the answer of Eleftherios Tserkezis, who apparently has a master's degree in Byzantine history, so I am essentially giving you his answer as I doubt there is more informative souce easily available.

Quoting parts from Eleftherios Tserkezis's answer on Quora:

"Christmas was always a major feast. The church of Constantinople originally put it on par with Easter and Epiphany, and later counted it among the twelve great feasts after Easter. Various liturgical elements proved its prominence — 40 days of preparatory fast (though less strict than the Great Lent), vigils, a pre-feast period longer than any other etc. Hymns and sermons focused on the meaning of Christmas for salvation and the paradox of the incarnation. According to a 12th c. source, Christmas mangers were sometimes set up inside churches with real boys playing the role of Jesus, although conservatives disapproved.

Things on the street were more colourful and vibrant. Roads and houses were cleaned and decorated with rosemary and myrtle. Children, and sometimes adults too, would go from door to door playing the flute and pipe, and singing Christmas, New Year and Epiphany carols. Those were folk songs, quite different from the solemn, high-minded church hymns, but not without their own taste and value. They often included lines in praise of, and containing wishes about, the families they were sung to. The singers expected treats or some other form of payment and wouldn’t leave without receiving it. Sometimes, the singing continued until the evening or night.

Sources also attest to secular, even dissolute celebrations. The twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany were a chance for relax after the fast. Teases and pranks were common. Some people would wear costumes and roam the streets having fun, as if it were the carnival. Their disguises were often provocative — nuns, monks, animals or satyrs. Mockery of institutions such as the emperor or church was not uncommon in Byzantium, and the authorities themselves were particularly lax on holidays. Chariot races were also held on Christmas day, usually in the emperor’s presence. The church didn’t condone any of that, but couldn’t do much.

The menu of the day included meat, which could be beef, goat, hare, bird etc. The winter pig was also slaughtered around Christmas, depending on the exact local tradition. In the middle Byzantine period, on December 26, the Byzantines prepared and gave each other a syrupy delicacy known as lochozema. Made of flour, semolina, honey, herbs, sesame, nuts and cinnamon*, it was normally offered as energy booster to women who had just given birth. Its association with Christmas is obvious, although the church stressed that the Virgin Mary didn’t go through regular puerperium. People need to feel familiarity with the divine.

Christmas was also important for the imperial ceremonial. According to Constantine VII’s De cerimoniis (10th c.), the emperor went in solemn procession from the palace to Hagia Sophia, where he joined the patriarch and attended the divine liturgy. All the way, he heard acclamations, wishes and stereotypical verses about Jesus’ incarnation from the people and chariot racing factions. Later, there were official receptions and a banquet at the Hall of Nineteen Couches, attended by officials and foreign emissaries. Christmas was considered a good opportunity for promotions and the official coronation of new emperors, which couldn’t take place on any day.

Not even Muslims were excluded from the banquet, and extra care was given so as not to serve them pork.

PS: A lot of the above sound quite familiar to modern Greeks, especially those living in the countryside — archaistic carols, carnival-esque acts, the slaughter of pigs."

The adoration of the magi, the second major iconographic type of the nativity in the post-6th c. period.

I used bold text for the customs that are still the norm in Greece, the ones Tserkezis mentions to be familiar. Perhaps several of them are also preserved in other Christian Orthodox countries but I can't speak on their behalf with certainty.

*Although lochozema is not a thing nowadays, the traditional Christmas delicacies like Melomakarona share the same ingredients in their majority.

I am giving you the link to his full answer in which there is also information about when major cities of the east adopted the December 25th as the celebration of the Birth of Jesus, Byzantine hymns translated to English and then the personal testimonies of two visitors participating in the imperial Christmas feast, that of Liutprand of Cremona and Yarun ibn Yahya (both from the 10th century). He provides also more iconography and modern recordings of Byzantine Christmas hymns although unfortunately those links didn't work for me.

[shmilestprower]

Warning: The headcanons described have heavily detailed torture, graphic content, blood and abuse, including drug usage and mentions of murder/suicide are in here. So turn away if you're uncomfortable.

Final Boss Engaged.

Secret History Tails (The Final Boss/The High Chief)

The Final Boss Has Arrived.

"The Final Boss" Miles 'Tails' Prower (Secret History Tails)

Headcanons:

- Tails is the current ruler and heir to a eldritch, primordial, unhinged and nightmarish royal family and dynasty. The Prower royal family has it's name drenched in sadism, manipulation, perfection, conquest, murder, winning, succeeding, omnicide, sin, cover-ups, elitism, superiority, money, power, control, empires, corporations, businesses, abuse, fear, mutilation, genocide, blood, inciting wars, torture, being the alpha, tyranny, sacrifice, evil and indoctrination, alongside a totalitarian regime, wrath, envy and mass omnicide. Every atrocity possible.

- He became the current heir and ruler to the Prower royal family, after his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Maximilian Von Prower, who was a self-centered misanthropic, eccentric and twisted warlord and murderer. Someone so depraved, cruel, power-absorbed and vicious, he was shot repeatedly, cut his hands off, mutilated to where he was still alive. And then, slightly burnt alive. Then, they lobotomized Maximilian and pulled his brain out, for a pack of rabid dogs to eat his corpse. Something Tails loathed entirely.

- Enjoys country, bluesy and Elvis Presley music. And will insult and mock people through concerts, some of these concerts are decorated with hanging heads from chains, literal intestines and hearts. And will use macabre jokes.

- As punishments for not listening, he'll chug a whole water bottle and spit in Amy's face.

- Whilst he was bullied, he began using their tactics against him. And repeatedly stalked them, along with having literally almost crushed one's head in, another bully believed he was the Devil Incarnate. After Tails justified himself.

- Amy is constantly emotionally mentally, domestically and psychologically abused. He also had cut out her flesh, hence her look in TSAA Part 4. And has physically abused her as well, for punishments.

- Knuckles, after POST-TSAK is his pet. And his enforcer, which works well. As he is a mass-murdering eldritch mechanical beast.

- Used a chainsaw to rip Blaze apart, as she watched her house be burned by Amy and Knuckles.

- Mildly autistic with somewhat epilepsy, and has mild ADHD. Along with a learning disability and a unique case of lupus. But he often harasses people, like repeated calling their phone.

- He has spies, mangled beyond comprehension but still alive. And yet in pain and suffering watching Mario's regime, and reporting everything back. And he was the real mastermind behind Harry Potter becoming a egomaniacal, perverted bully with a taste of hookers. The Wizards are slaves to him.

- Owns a entire slaughterhouse, where he sometimes uses for humans, alternate universe versions of himself, Sonic or other characters. He emotionally, physically, mentally, psychologically abuses them. Having driven one version of Sonic to commit suicide by hanging. As he constantly swears, cusses and was trash talking with profanity. Sells blood off as wine and the meat as extra-special.

- Can freely move between different levels and planes of reality and existence.

- He is a gourmet chef, and will cook humans. Feeding Knuckles, and reluctantly Amy.

- Is never seen around without Cosmo. Ever, at all. And if he is, he's stalking her or observing her from one of his, or his family's enterprises.

- He loves to spoil Cosmo, gifting her mamy gifts. Sometimes in really grim ways, like a bloody and somehow, still beating heart. He constantly spam texts her, constantly asking whether she is ok, where she is, what's she doing or if she's thinking about him.

- Is quadrupedal, sometimes and will cannibalize other foxes. Tearing flesh apart, or cutting it up, sometimes he will put foxes on meat hooks to prolong their suffering.

- Very indeterminate and knowledgable, as it is almost impossible to describe Tails, or his bloodline in a knowledgeable and comprehensible way.

- Supersedes everything above him including narratives and himself. Can warp reality, and is immune to anti-metaphysical fields. He also can alter events through time, Cream's neck was crushed by his boot and he skinned half of her face. Eating the flesh and muscle, saving her body and flesh for "special occasions". Being a immensely powerful entity.

- Has a highly aggressive, very active, strong and deadly local reality, specifically in the form of temporal and spatial distortions surrounding him. These distortions are occasionally accompanied by random, violent outbursts that may dramatically shift or damage local space and time. Spatial and temporal distortions are irreversibly fatal.

- Stole all of Sega's profits, to further expand and build his regime. Just because he's greedy and envious.

- He wraps one of his tails around Cosmo, like a snake. He's also masochistic.

- His bullies are currently in a pocket dimension, being tortured the same way he was. And how he manipulated Amy to kill Sonic.

- Smokes weed and drinks Tequila, pre-SHOSAT. Before inheriting Maximilian Von Prower's estate, he was at 4 mental asylums. And psychiatric wards.

- Gamer, able to bigger his empire and enterprises. Along with his mother company Miles 'Tails' Prower Enterprises whilst playing video games.

- Japanese-German, American and possibly European. Along with being fluent in every language, a master spy and master in espionage.

- His mother was The Isdal Woman, and his father was a BND agent who had been in and out of jail, and security prisons. He died in a gunfight with the National Guard and FBI agents.

- Cracked Eggman's head open,exposing his brain and torched him alive, Eggman is paralyzed. Having his spinal cord cut, Tails currently has him strung up by wire and cable by two fences. Whilst his flesh falls apart and blood leaks, some of which Tails drinks. Keeping Eggman alive.

- PURE EVIL. A cruel, vile, cold-blooded and ruthless monster.

- His chain around his neck came from his mother, so he cherishes it very deeply.

- Due to his unique nature, he is highly egotistical and has a superiority complex. Calling himself The Final Boss, as he sees himself as the ultimate ruler to his bloodline. Tails gloats about his family legacy, and himself. Being narcissistic, and megalomaniacal. Sometimes, he will literally enforce Amy to listen to his family's history, if she threatens his life.

- He is so extremely abusive, controlling, cruel and sadistic that he is naturally, genuinely actually and more evil than Dr. Eggman, being completely devoid of the sympathetic element. He believes sacrifices must be made to achieve power. Nothing is off limits for The Final Boss, from expelling his own family. To asserting himself as a fox who believes he has surpassed Sonic. He keeps a meat grinder where he often will chop his victims up, and will use the kitchen to process the meat. He also has made Sonic bleed. He knows he's a horrible person, but he doesn't give a shit.

- Amy has repeatedly seen hanging corpses in a meat locker, most victims are still alive. Tails often laughs. Even worse so, he has a cruel, sick, morbid and dark, twisted sense of humor. If it could be called that, such as him asking Amy if she liked what she saw about his victims. And he claims he's been meaning to "check back in' with Silver, implying he's ready to murder the psychokinetic hedgehog.

- He also treats Sonic and Amy less than friends and more of test subjects, as he calls them a series of fine specimens. As if they're just a line of cattle, he's been grooming and ready to slaughter at the right moment.

- With Cosmo, he is OBSESSIVE. She is a divine entity in his eyes, he will be outside her door. Or window, no matter the sun or the moon. Stalking her. He is just grateful to have her in his world, as he gives her all the affection. And doesn't treat her like she's cattle. He also likes to think he sees things, and himself in her.

- Uses lingo and idioms like "boy" and "riding off into the sunset".

- His tongue is a bioluminescent long tongue, and his saliva is constantly changing shape and coloration.

- Very flirtatious and alert, sometimes making out with Cosmo. Bisexual as fuck, he will make suggestive remarks sometimes. As he slowly tortures them, using different weapons.

- Easily irritated by Amy, seeing her only as that whiny daughter. Tails also has taken over his primordial and eldritch bloodline's estate, wealth and businesses. Creating his own, some businesses have mutilated corpses in boxes.

- He will kill anyone who has flirted or touched Cosmo, and sometimes he will rip their organs out. As he is extremely homicidal (he has over 300 charges right now)

- He takes great sadistic enjoyment in beating others. Viciously bearing others and being gruesome, bloody even, with a belt like a dog and beating "the piss" out of them savoring the moment and prolonging the torment, claiming this is what happens when they "fuck with The Final Boss". Tearing the skin, tearing the flesh, even demanding those who like Sonic more than him look at their so-called hero. He also demands no one touches his women. Being criminally insane. He is a power-hungry, money-hungry Corporate villainous overlord who uses his authority and influence over Amy to ensure she listens to him.

- Runs a illegal honey badger fighting ring, much to PETA and animal rights activist groups' disliking. The badgers are in a constant state of a berserk mode, insane and angry, because Tails feeds them drugs, from his drug empire. And cut-up honey badger.

- His relationship with Amy is more of a friend and friend or daughter and father relationship, he finds her easily annoying. But could listen to Cosmo all day.

- Knows every single aspect of Trevor Henderson's lore, Hello Neighbor lore, FNAF lore and Bendy lore. Will explain it to Amy every fucking time he gets.

- Amy is like his sadistic assistant.

- Has no fear, and will disrespect the dead. Because he doesn't believe in ghosts.

- His beach resort has a section where the "water" is actually just the melted and liquified remains of the family that used to live there and everyone who stood in his area. His guards there, are fucking Wendigos and Skinwalkers.

- Engages in deals and bets with dark web fanatics and black market individuals.

- Agent of Chaos, sometimes he will imprison a victim. Adding to their suffering, and toying with them. Sometimes peeling the skin away, or licking their sweat.

- Calls Sonic fans who think he's a coward or worse than Sonic "so entitled, obnoxious and brash." Remarking how some of them have sex, but they gotta pay cash. He is obsessed with making Sonic bleed, saying how there's some lines you just don't cross, and they all can kiss the ass of The Final Boss.

- Makes chili dogs and sandwiches out of his own kind, and victims. Condiments are blood. Mustard is included as well, Tails' favorite drink is Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 or '2017.

- Can shapeshift into literally anything he wants, like a squid-like Lovecraftian monster, a mass of energy and matter to a amorphous multi pointed star of a bright white material.

- He celebrates holidays way too fucking early, it could be only the 29th or 30th of November, and he's gonna have a fucking Christmas tree and the whole house set up. Ready for Christmas, it could be June 18th, and he's gonna be ready for Fourth of July.

- HUGE mama's boy, he calls his mother the protector of their family, the guiding force even when his father died. And a trail blazer, his immense respect and deep love for his mother goes so far where he visits her grave at Møllendal, Bergen. And he sees her, in his eyes and his heart. She was the real Final Boss.

- Has been to Hollywood, and is best friends with The Rock. As Tails looks up to, and idolizes him, seeing him as the brother Sonic never could be. To him, Sonic is deadbeat. And he is finally number one.

After all, if you smell what The Final Boss..

Is Cookin'.

[bdzonthareel]

Wonka

Cynicism: a belief that ideas are motivated purely by self-interest; this was my thought process going to the origin story of Willy Wonka. I have more than my fair share of soulless cash grab backstories long before starting my career as a film critic, so I came in to this with a heavy amount of skepticism.

After seeing the first trailer I groaned in a manner similar to an allergic reaction, I came into this movie prepared to be underwhelmed. Funny thing about expectations, sometimes they surprise you.

Wonka is the origin story of the future enigmatic candy mogul, Willy Wonka; he travels to the legendary Gourmet Gallery with only is suitcase and his dreams of making the world’s greatest chocolate in his very own shop.

This movie was a much needed shot of serotonin, and I don’t use that statement lightly.

I guess I should get the negatives out of the way first, because they were few but absolutely need to be pointed out.

I can’t stand the “white savior” trope, and there is a subplot where it’s used and I could have done without it.

Timothee’ Chalamet, is an amazing actor as the title character, but he’s a milquetoast singer. With the exception of “Pure Imagination” I was not impressed by the songs that he led.

His more emotional scenes felt disingenuous at times, the performance while trying to combine the energy of Johnny Depp and the late great Gene Wilder, leaned more towards the former which was a disservice to the character.

All that aside, everyone in this cast gave entertaining performances regardless of my complaints.

Chalamet’s Wonka performance while somewhat derivative was overall delightful, adding a level of charm and whimsy that the character is known for throughout every incarnation.

Hugh Grant brought his dry salty wit as Lofty the Oompah Loompah.

The trio of Patterson Joseph, Matt Lucas and Matthew Bayton were hilarious as the bumbling trio of antagonists Slugworth, Prodnose, and Ficklegruber respectively.

Callah Lane, was delightful in role as the precocious Noodle.

Olivia Colman and Tom Davis as Mrs. Scrubbit and Mr. Bleecher reminded me of characters from Annie and Les Miserables which is not a negative, but it definitely left an impression.

Keegan Michael Key brought his comedic charm and timing to the role of the chief of police. Some of the gags involving him could have been disastrous, but I was pleasantly surprised by how tasteful they were.

The visuals were as colorful as the sweets from Wonka’s factory, the settings were magnificent In their diversity, Director Paul King has an amazing eye for mood and setting.

The music composed by Joby Talbot and Neil Hannon, was a spectrum of emotion. The songs were all toe tappers, and I highly recommend copping the OST.

And the choreography is just as solid, sadly I could not find the credits for it as of this writing.

Most importantly Willy Wonka’s mystique is left fully in tact. Paul King and co-writer Simon Faranby, understood what a lot of prequel writers don’t, not every question needs an answer. Willy Wonka just is, and I love that they understand that.

I couldn’t stop smiling as the film continued, it’s warm cup of hot cocoa on a winter’s day and I highly recommend checking it out this holiday season.

Wonka gets a very solid 4 out of 5.

[thekatebridgerton]

Have you ever thought about a Kanthony (and others) re-incarnation au. I'm thinking a Housefull 4 style bridgerton fic starring Kanthony, Benophie and maybe Polin. Housefull 4 is a bollywood comedy gold. Surprisingly it's without any angst that u expect of reincarnation tropes. But maybe we can have some angst if someone decides to make a fic out of it 🤞. Anyway if someone does decide to make one I will recommend watching the movie first or look at the plot on wiki for the main gist of the story. U know I got this idea because of the spider scene (equivalent to the bee sting according to me) in the movie so like we can have Kanthony as Madhu n Bala (eldests), Benophie as Meena n Dharmputra, n Polin as Mala n Bangdu.

Thank you for listening to my mumbling 😊.

i've said it before and I'll say it again: people in Tumblr have good taste. So guys, if you haven't seen Housefull 4. Go watch it, it's an awesome movie and it deserves a shoutout. And the funny thing is that I did see the movie a long time ago. But I thought that it would be a great twist if the girls were the ones having the big problem making the guys remember their past lives. So anon, I know this take on the movie isn't what you asked for but bear with me.

So in 1813 you have Queen Violet ever despairing on marrying off her three rakish sons. And then there's Kate, Sophie and Penelope. Who for one reason or another love these three idiots. first there is Kate, Minor indian royalty, princess Kate was vanished from her father's court because of a tiny disobedience (staging a coup to put Edwina on the throne is not a tiny disobedience Kathani Sharma) so she is kind of scheming to marry Anthony and become the future Queen. So she can return home with something to show for it.

Anthony's second brother, Benedict, is desperately inlove with his sister's ladies maid/bodyguard, Sophie. Who has saved his life more times than he can count. And finally, Colin, ever the young prankster. Is inlove with the court lead gossip maker. Miss Penelope aka notorious scandal mongrel Lady Whistledown.

Kate and Anthony fell inlove, and together they also worked very hard to unite Benedict and Sophie against those who opposed their class difference, and defended Colin and Penelope's choice to be together despite Lady Whistledown's reputation. BUT on the day the three of them were going to get married. Someone bombed the cathedral. And the three couples died.

Back in the present Kate Sharma is a down on her luck photographer working too many jobs who accidentally gets in trouble with the Indian Mob and has to pay back a sum that seems astronomical, or work for the mob for life. Well, never let it be said that Kate doesn't know how to scheme her way into the lives of the rich and famous. Her boss Lady Danbury sets her and her two best friends up with the sons of a super rich business' woman, who need convenient wives that don't mess on their style ( in exchange for a few favors after the girls are officially Bridgertons. ) Penelope and Sophie have agreed to help Kate pay back the money to the mob and well, at least the guys are handsome.

Everything is going swimmingly, the three couples are getting along well, at least until Kate visits the Bridgerton family cemetery with her new fiancée and starts getting flashbacks of her past life...

Here's the thing... In this life, she is sort of going to marry the wrong brother!! oh no, Kate needs to help her friends remember their past lives too. She doesn't want to get married to Colin, or let Sophie marry Anthony, also she's pretty sure that if Penelope knew she's getting hitched to the same Benedict who was head over heels for Sophie in their past life, she would die of embarrassment.

Now all Kate has to do is help her friends and their husbands remember their past life. Reconnect with her husband who doesn't know she's his wife because he thinks she's the gold digger who is putting the moves on Colin. Somehow figure out why they all reincarnated AND find out who bombed the cathedral in 1813.

Easy peasy right?

[tygerbug]

DOCTOR WHO: The Star Beast (2023): It's great to have David Tennant and Catherine Tate back on Doctor Who. That's enough to give this a good review; little else matters. It's a return to form (or format) for the series, and should delight fans of the 2008 incarnation of Doctor Who. The things that are bad about it were also bad in 2008, and might seem nostalgic by now. Tate and Tennant have funny and touching moments, and are still a great team. It's like they never left. It's also about as subtle as a croquet hammer to the face. This is not necessarily a complaint. This is Doctor Who, after all.

It's the 60th anniversary of the venerable British sci-fi series, which follows a sort of Sherlock Holmes from space, a hyper-intelligent Time Lord from Gallifrey, travelling in his blue police box, the TARDIS, on adventures through time and space, battling monsters and saving the day. Originally running from 1963 to 1989, the series was revived by Russell T Davies in 2005. Series star Christopher Eccleston left after one series. He is a man of strong principles, who had a terrible first shoot as the producers and directors were still figuring the show out (and putting the cast in mortal danger quite by accident). Perhaps he disliked the producers, and their phony praise and positivity. Perhaps he disliked the sex criminals in the supporting cast, John Barrowman and Noel Clarke. Or maybe he couldn't see himself as part of a franchise selling action figures.

Eccleston said later: "I could not get along with the senior people. I left because of politics. I did not see eye-to-eye with them. I didn’t agree with the way things were being run. I didn’t like the culture that had grown up around the series … I thought to remain, which would have made me a lot of money and given me huge visibility, the price I would have had to pay was to eat a lot of shit … My face didn’t fit and I’m sure they were glad to see the back of me. The important thing is that I succeeded. It was a great part. I loved playing him. I loved connecting with that audience. Because I’ve always acted for adults and then suddenly you’re acting for children, who are far more tasteful; they will not be bullshitted. It’s either good, or it’s bad. They don’t schmooze at after-show parties, with cocktails."

The revived series was a hit, which became a culture-shifting phenomenon in the UK during the tenure of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. There were endless toys and spinoff series (including The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, and Doctor Who Confidential). Steven Moffat took over as showrunner in 2010, for series with Matt Smith (and later Peter Capaldi). Matt Smith's series got a big promotional push in America, but in the UK, viewership peaked during David Tennant's later series and specials (including his guest appearance with Matt Smith for the 50th Anniversary special). By viewership figures, David Tennant was the Doctor for a generation. Russell T Davies had also cultivated a female fanbase who enjoyed this more romantic take on the Doctor, and who didn't connect quite as much with Peter Capaldi's Doctor later on.

The series has its issues, its weak points you can criticize it for. Almost all of these involve the writers. None of these problems involve the lead actors. Doctor Who is a meaty role for any actor to play, and every actor has given an interesting and unique take on it. David Tennant, however, cast a longer shadow than most. He felt like the actor that Russell T Davies had been writing for the whole time. Arguably, Christopher Eccleston and Peter Capaldi based their portrayals on Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor. But Matt Smith and Jodie Whittaker were interpreting what David Tennant had done.

Russell T Davies' tenure was criticized for its lack of subtlety, with loud music by Murray Gold and over the top emotional content. Plus whatever was going on in Torchwood, the sex pest spinoff of Doctor Who. There was a hint of sex pestery in Steven Moffat's Doctor Who as well, along with misogyny, and it wasn't nearly as clever as it pretended to be, a problem which affected later seasons of Sherlock (with Benedict Cumberbatch), and that 2007 Jekyll show. These shows presented complex puzzle-box mysteries that the writer had no actual answers for, and then openly called the audience stupid for asking for those answers.

In spite of these issues, Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat produced a lot of excellent television during this time and are some of the best and most consequential writers the show ever had. It has been said that every Doctor Who writer has one Doctor Who story within them, that they are going to rewrite over and over again, and that the show needs to switch writers and lead actors every few years in order to avoid repeating itself. The Davies and Moffat years eventually did repeat themselves, and needed to move on to something new.

The series has suffered declining viewership since its heyday around 2008-2010, even taking the years of 2016 and 2019 off for budgetary reasons. There were long stretches between new episodes, and social media was not as interested in the series as it had once been. Chris Chibnall's tenure as showrunner, beginning in late 2018, and starring Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor, was not as much of a cultural force as the show had been a decade earlier. There wasn't much press coverage, and very little merchandise. In Tennant's day, every minor character seemed to get an action figure, even a "Faceless Grandma" and the metal frame that previously displayed minor villain "Cassandra." This time round, only the Doctor and a few of her friends got toys. There was even an incarnation of The Doctor that didn't get a figure- Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor. It also caused a civil war within the older Doctor Who fandom that the lead character was now played by a white woman, and a black woman. Most of the older fans on social media came out as openly racist, sexist and transphobic, declaring that the show had lost its soul and had been ruined by "wokeness."

Meanwhile, other Doctor Who fans, who are not raving bigots, struggled with this incarnation of the show for other reasons. Personally, I found it rather dull. While Jodie Whittaker herself is a delight, writer Chris Chibnall was less so. He introduced more women and people of color into the cast, and gay themes, but the result was hardly explosive. As a white Doctor Who fan, he wrote these characters as if he was afraid to break them. Canonically, Doctor Who becomes a woman and has a lesbian romance with a woman of color, and that should be more interesting than it is. In practice, the love interest is a police officer with no character traits, and the two barely hold hands, or show any affection toward one another. At one point, Doctor Who, herself, has more sexual tension with a frog on a chair. Many scenes consist of one of Doctor Who's friends telling another friend how wonderful they think the other friend is. This was the introvert's Doctor Who.

Chibnall wrote with subtlety during his first year, not wanting to bring back classic villains, and preferring to let this incarnation of the show have its own vibe. For the second year he attempted to be Russell T Davies and bring all the villains back. Then he did whatever Flux was. There's a big, overarching story where they retcon the Doctor's lineage, basically to fit the backstory hinted at in novels in the 90s, and in some of the last stories before the show was cancelled in the 80s, where The Doctor is a more ancient figure than suspected. It's nerdy, and a bit "woke," as Doctor Who often is. This was a little controversial and they leave that plot thread hanging. It's unresolved by the end of Chibnall's tenure, making me wonder what the point was. Oh, and Chibnall has clearly watched the Russell T Davies episodes but not the Steven Moffat ones, so for anyone still paying attention, the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey gets destroyed and restored and destroyed and restored and destroyed and etc, because the writer has lost track of the series lore. I guess 90s lore from novels when the show was cancelled was more important than the last few years of actual episodes, which normal people would have watched.

This incarnation of the show wasn't bad, exactly, but it wasn't enough either, at least not for me. Doctor Who has always been a silly show, and it's allowed to be good or ridiculously bad, as long as it's interesting. There's not much room for bland subtlety, and Chibnall didn't do "over the top" all that well. The Sacha Dhawan version of The Master, for example, could be a bit much at times.

"Come back, Russell T Davies, all is forgiven?" There is no such subtlety in Russell T Davies' interpretation, for better or for worse, and I'm thankful for that. Russell has invited Steven Moffat to return, and I wouldn't be surprised if he brings Chris Chibnall back as well, to get the three flavors of current Doctor Who. For all the bigoted fan complaints about Doctor Who becoming a black woman, and the show becoming "woke," Russell T Davies' writing here is about as "woke" as the show can manage. Yes, the Doctor is a familiar white man again, with a familiar white woman as his supporting player. But the supporting characters are basically just talking into the camera and giving speeches that boil down to "Trans rights," "Queer rights," "Nonbinary rights" and/or "rights for the disabled." There's a good-guy UNIT soldier in a turban, and women have a particular superpower. It is as subtle as a croquet hammer to the head.

Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Well, politically it's a good thing. Transphobia has taken over every newspaper in the UK like a disease, and the average British journalist has a position on trans rights indistinguishable from that of Adlf Htler. So it is important to say these things without equivocating or "listening to both sides," since in the UK this is the great civil rights battle of our time. (The US is having a similar battle, but not one where the bigots control the newspapers entirely, and pretend to be left-wing feminists. In the US, wanting to exterminate the queers Dalek-style is generally considered to be a right-wing position, rather than a feminist one.) At one point, back in the day, Russell T Davies wanted to do a David Tennant Doctor Who story guest-starring Joanne Rowling. Guess that's not happening now. That would be scarier than the Daleks.

In practice it's a bit clunky, and the characters of Rose Noble (Yasmin Finney) and Ruth Madeley (the wheelchair-using Shirley Anne Bingham of UNIT) end up feeling underdeveloped, like day players saying political slogans, as if they're in a commercial. At least they're pleasant enough, and in a Doctor Who context one welcomes the lack of subtlety. But I'd have also welcomed a few rewrites. Who is Rose talking to, when she's saying this? Doesn't firing a gun cause kickback that would send someone on wheels flying backward? Is no one asking these questions? As has often been said about Doctor Who, a Doctor Who writer needs someone to stop him, someone to say "no."

Oh, but these are not questions for a Saturday Doctor Who. This is nit-picking a family adventure show which was never designed to hold up to such scrutiny. The onscreen representation is saying "Trans and non-binary and disabled people are good," and there are just enough little human moments here and there to make that feel lived-in and relevant. These characters were designed to be cosplayed. Rose faces bullying from her schoolmates, and Donna gets most of the good lines about it. Maybe the problem is that these characters aren't Doctor Who or Donna Noble. We don't know as much about them, and they're not allowed to be as funny.

Because, hey, have we mentioned, David Tennant is Doctor Who again, with Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, fifteen years later? Tate was a television comedian and they're still a funny team together, returning to these roles as if they never left. Tennant's glee at being back in the role is infectious, and seems to multiply tenfold in his scenes with Tate.

Tennant had returned for audio plays by Big Finish, with both Billie Piper and Catherine Tate, and the Tate ones are better. Billie Piper, as Rose Tyler, was really the star of Doctor Who for its first two "new" series. She's good, but it pushes Tennant into a romantic role, almost as a supporting character, which is tougher to play. Tennant was more secure in the part by 2008, and he and Catherine Tate have great chemistry as a comedy team, something they also did onstage in "Much Ado About Nothing."

The character of Donna Noble was originally a one-episode celebrity guest star, having a terrible wedding. Donna proved too memorable not to bring back for a full series. There's something honest and real about Donna, and Tate's performance. Russell T Davies seems to delight in writing bitchy middle-aged women. Incidentally Jacqueline King is back as her mother Sylvia.

Donna Noble also has unfinished business here, and Russell T Davies is all too happy to finally undo her bittersweet ending. (Whether Martha Jones will even get a mention is still up in the air. The poor girl ended up with Noel Clarke's Mickey Smith, and Torchwood, a nasty fate indeed.)

Rachel Talalay is also back in the director's chair, after doing several excellent episodes with Peter Capaldi's Doctor. Murray Gold is also back, doing his usual loud job on the music. Bombastic and overpowering, but memorable. They've done something different with the theme tune! It's kind of weird! But it's fine! It has chewing noises!

The Star Beast is also the first onscreen appearance of Beep the Meep, a creature who first appeared in Doctor Who comics (starring the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker) in 1980 (and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, who is credited here). A practical character enhanced with some CGI, Beep the Meep looks very impressive onscreen, and instantly becomes an iconic Doctor Who creature. Miriam Margolyes is the celebrity guest voice. (Stuntwoman Cecily Fay also performs the character.)

Yes, it's a return to form for the series, as it was intended to be. It feels like a 2008 episode, apart from the murky, dark, contrast-free, cinematography which has infected most television these days. (See: any Disney+ event show.) The show has struggled with budget and cultural relevance lately, and bringing back a popular Doctor for three specials feels like exactly the right move for its 60th anniversary. They've partnered with Disney+ for this run of episodes, a move that I hope they don't regret. And you see it in the budget, including an astoundingly large TARDIS set, which Tennant's Doctor visibly loves running around.

Davies and Tennant already did a five-minute comedy scene for the Children In Need charity this year, where we see Davros, creator of the Doctor's evil arch-enemies The Daleks, without his famous mutation and disabilities. Oh yes, it's the "woke" agenda again - Davies felt it was in bad taste to show an evil disabled character alongside an appeal for disabled children, and will apparently present the character this way going forward (at the cost of his familiar design). Since The Doctor is always meddling in time, any continuity errors between stories in the show's long history can technically be explained away by the timeline changing. And for example, the James Bond series has a long history of associating disability with villainy. There were complaints about the change, of course. The short is funny and cheeky, playing off of older Doctor Who lore while demolishing it at the same time. "I am allowed to do this," Davies and Tennant seem to be saying to the viewers, "and I am having fun doing it." Well, as long as you're having fun.

Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who didn't get as much press coverage and merchandise, nor did Capaldi's, and maybe this is the shot in the arm the show needs to be a cultural force again. This is not a knock against these actors, who did good work in the role despite my nitpicks.

The original anniversary specials for Doctor Who involved bringing back the second Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton, whose layered and mischievous performance inspired every Doctor that followed. Bringing back David Tennant, the second Doctor Who of the New Series, feels very similar. It worked ten years ago, for a special in 2013, and it certainly works now.

This is an attempt to get the general public to say, "Wow, Doctor Who is back." It's big and silly in a very specific way that you'll remember from 15 years ago.

And yes, Doctor Who is back. Oh, and this isn't David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. It is, somehow, David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor. Older and unshaven, The Doctor remembers being female very recently, and it has changed the character's perspective on things.

Some of the ending sucks, and some of the middle involves Tennant doing schtick apparently written for Tom Baker, who is a different actor than David Tennant is. (The 1980 comic was adapted for audio in 2019.)

I believe that two more specials will follow, followed by a series starring Ncuti Gatwa as Doctor Who. This promises to be extremely "woke" and "queer," if we're lucky.

Neil Patrick Harris will also be playing The Toymaker, an incarnation of Michael Gough's famous villain from a now-mostly lost 1966 serial, who was always teased to return, but never quite did. An 80s version, "The Nightmare Fair," has been recorded for audio. The original serial is so old that the character has slightly racist Asian undertones, and the N-word is said by a supporting player. It's not a great serial, but Gough is good in it, as a seemingly all-powerful puppetmaster, playing deadly games. The show considered writing (an ailing and cranky) William Hartnell out of the program here, using the Toymaker's powers. The Doctor would "rejuvenate" instead in "The Tenth Planet," later established as the "regeneration" powers of a Time Lord, which cause one actor to become another. Convenient. It's also the crucial reason why the show has lasted as long as it has. The show's format is fairly repetitive, but it can switch out lead actors and headwriters at will, and interpret the character in a different way, every few years.

Oh, but we miss them when they're gone. Most of the actors who have played Doctor Who and his friends have come back for audio dramas presented by Big Finish (and, occasionally, the BBC). There has also been the occasional anniversary special. But David Tennant coming back as the current Doctor is something a bit different, something unprecedented. They should do this with the other actors as well. They won't, but they should. Especially since Paul McGann and Jo Martin never actually got to do series as the character.

In the same week, we saw two special presentations. One was 2013's "An Adventure in Space and Time," made for the 50th Anniversary and starring David Bradley as the first actor to play Doctor Who, William Hartnell. For this rerun, dialogue from the first story "An Unearthly Child" has been cut, as the son of credited writer Anthony Coburn is currently having a months-long racist shit fit on Twitter, claiming that the BBC killed his father and is "woke" and gay, and withdrawing rights to that classic first adventure. All of classic Doctor Who is now streaming as part of the online "Whoniverse", but not that story, due to Coburn's meddling. A lot of the series is also streaming on Pluto TV. Ah well, you can still get the old DVD, which also includes the unaired pilot for the 1963 series. (About 100 early episodes are missing and only exist as audio. Many have been animated.)

The 2013 film has also been cheekily updated for this airing. A scene in which William Hartnell imagines seeing 2013's current Doctor Who, Matt Smith, has been reshot to involve Ncuti Gatwa. This fixes a small continuity error, as the background for Matt Smith's greenscreened closeup was identical to his medium shot. Maybe they should shoot one of these with Tennant, Capaldi, Whittaker, and Martin as well.

Meanwhile David Tennant, and presumably Ncuti Gatwa, become the latest actors to remind viewers to subscribe to the official Doctor Who Youtube channel, in what is becoming a tradition, or at least a meme.

(The 2013 film spends a lot of time on the production of the first episodes of the series, but gets sketchy toward the end, having very little time for the later episodes of the series, and the "replacement" actors that William Hartnell was less keen on. A cameo by Reece Shearsmith as Patrick Troughton is unconvincing, and Mark Gatiss was also onset as Jon Pertwee, as a joke. This was elaborated on later, with Bradley reprising the role for Big Finish audio dramas, and the Peter Capaldi episode "Twice Upon a Time." Scenes from Hartnell's final story "The Tenth Planet" were reshot for this episode with Bradley, as a flashback, but largely cut from the final product.)

The week's other special presentation is "The Daleks," the second ever Doctor Who story, which has here been colorized and reedited to be much shorter, in a "feature film" edit with new music and voice work. It's a bit of a hack job but gets the point across. Back in 1965, this was also adapted into the first of two color feature films starring Peter Cushing, and intended for a younger audience. Bernard Cribbins turned up in the second, decades before appearing as loveable grandpa "Wilf" in the 2008 Doctor Who. Cribbins is expected to appear in these specials somewhere, having taped an appearance before his death, and this special has Tennant's Doctor giving a heartfelt tribute to him.

There's also the matter of "Tales of the Tardis," in which some of the past stars of Doctor Who return for brief segments inside the TARDIS, introducing and reminiscing about their past adventures. It's a nice excuse to involve actors who would be hard to shoehorn into these specials otherwise. They've returned for audio plays from Big Finish, and in-character trailers for the Doctor Who Collection series of Blu-Rays, and even the final Jodie Whittaker special "Power of the Doctor." But this goes a step further, and is designed to feel like catching up with old friends. It also accomplishes what the first series of "Doctor Who Confidential" did. That was a series about the making of Doctor Who, whose first series also spent time talking to the stars of the classic series, and attempting to sell the classic series to young viewers who might not be familiar with it. You could get something similar by watching the classic Doctor Who DVDs, but presenting them alongside the making of the new series really gave a sense of perspective, and made Doctor Who feel like the long-running cultural icon it is, rather than some cruddy low budget relic. "Doctor Who Confidential" (and its kids counterpart "Totally Doctor Who") did a lot to sell Doctor Who as a cultural phenomenon, past, present and future, to audiences in 2005, and that sort of hype has been conspicuously missing as the series has gone on. Oh, they've got a "Making of Doctor Who" show again? Yeah, I'm thinking they're back.

It looks like Doctor Who fans have a lot to be happy about this year. And Doctor Who fans have a lot to write about, and worry about. And complain about. Doctor Who fans are very good at complaining. The Star Beast isn't perfect, but what Doctor Who story is? It is good fun, and a return to form for the series. And a lot of so-called fans will hate it. And that's a very good thing.

[gnomeicecream]

Joy! Joyous day! I have been tagged by @scribeprotra in an ask game. Four Ships, Last Song, Current Reading, Last Movie, and Craving

4 Ships:

Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu: Two great tastes that taste great...ah no, too bitter plah plah. XD Shen Jiu has a very strong presence in the narrative despite dying on page -1. He is the protagonist of a story where things never got better up until he became the next protagonist’s villain. And Yue Qingyuan loves that for him. Did you need him to hide shidi’s body? Do you want him to sweat the sweat from your brow from beating that one child in particular?

Seriously though they have so much potential to dig into. Reveling the one key information each needs, that one event didn’t happen or happened in a different way or to someone else, great! The high charge of emotion that is bubbling like a pressure cooker! Eee!

3xun, Nie Mingjue/Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao: Just like the above ship, but now with new angles! Class struggle, legitimacy, compassion, justice, reasonably priced love and a hard boiled egg (leading to a son being thrown down like, four sets of stairs. Seriously. Meng Yao is the spice that holds this recipe together he can have whatever he wants). There is that same pressure coming from things just never meshing right because people are talking past eachother as a result of their individual upbringings and traumas.

Cloud Strife/Barret Wallace: Man. Big. Mmmmm. Cloud Strife could use some looking after, and Barret Wallace has daddy energy to spare! This one is more of a rare pair off to the side of the great Seph, Aerith, Tifa, Zack, all those other soldiers, war. They have things in common! Both are dual survivors of Shinra burnt towns, both lead Avalache, they have a tension that comes from Cloud replacing him as the leader even while they both come to try and trust eachother. Good meat to make a good story with.

Kim Dokja/Yoo Joonghyuk/Han Suyoung: Did you want to cry because of the very concept of platonic incarnations of the love that is both given and received in the act of reading, being a reader, writing, being written, being yourself within and without a character? Well it doesn’t matter if you don’t this book and ship will find your tears. The book is put together like a crystalline clock, you can see the machinations and they are only made more lovely and tragic by understanding. But in specific to this ship, they have the tension that I need to make a ship enjoyable. Big emotions. Hidden feelings.

Last Song: I’ve got a piano BGM ten hour mix on, heaven knows what any one song I’m listening to at any time is called-Oh hey wait thats Always With me (spirited Away).

Current Reading: I’ve got 6 tabs of fanfic open right now. The Power of Friendship (and This Gun I found) by Gallus cause I wanted to reread when the new chapter came out then put that off for smaller bites. Thats Not a Real Trope You Hack Author by Boom_After_Dark. It starts off haha funny, the author is stuck in his own book and encountering tropes he deliberately used incorrectly. Oh, those are feelings. He is not haha anymore. Hm, a long fic collection with Shen Jiu by blackflowetea. Stripper au Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian by pumpkinpaix. My Erstwhile Dear by ErradianWhoCantRead which is a Jiggy skips town after Guanyin Temple then writes back home fic. and Anyway, heres Wuji by kakikaeru. Very funny fic with the Lan Juniors + Jin baby.

Last Movie: Puss in Boots, the Last Wish. I had a great time! It was a well put together movie, good storylines and good art. I would rec it to people even if they haven't been keeping up with the shrekverse (goodness knows I haven't been)

Craving: Oh hm, I am pretty content at the moment. But I am always down for some sushi. Mmmm...sushi.

Tag 8

@lacertae-dreamscape @blondejaneblonde @ibijau @a-mere-dream @veraverorum @naked-bee @spicedrobot @sarah-yyy

[lucascecil]

Something I Read - The Eighth Doctor Strips

So, while I haven't (yet) heard all of Eight's audios, there are only a handful left. And I have started reading the books (going through Kursaal right now. You can find my commentary of the books on the 'bookshelf' tag). So, while I have a lot to go through, I wanted to start something new, different, exciting.

And so I decided to read the Doctor Who Magazine comics. And what a ride it was.

To make it easier for me and to write a cohesive text, I'm going to talk about individual stories and then at the end of each volume comment upon the overall arch.

Endgame, by Alan Barnes - ★★★☆☆

It's not a bad start, but not my favorite. The Toymaker is a fun concept but his stories are very inconsistent to my tastes. Here, he is fine. The comic is smart in the sense that the use the format to its fulliest, allowing the Toymaker to be as cartoonish as ever - and it fits.

And even tho there is a comedic tone, he still comes off as a threat. There is a gruesome scene where he crushes a character bones and flesh. You can feel the pain. I usually do not like when a new companion is introduced in a continuity heavy story as I think it takes atention away from them.

Izzy is great. She is a geek, she is witty, she wants adventure. She is flawed, I couldn't help but wince at how selfish she sounds when she talks of her parents - which she has been fighting with over insecurities about being adopted. She doesn't even call them mom and dad anymore. And that makes her come alive. She is a breathing, living person. And we have a wonderful journey ahead in a yellow brick road.

The Keep, by Alan Barnes - ★★★★☆

The comics got me here. Endgame is nice and all, but it's The Keep who starts playing with bold new ideas for the stories. I got a glimpse of what I could get out of these and I loved it. I was all in for the ride.

Eight and Izzy arrive at the far, far future, near the time the sun is failing and soon enough it will be no more. It's Earth dying days. It's a wasteland. The whole planet turned into a warzone as the Transmat Wars begun - a concept never fleshed out but engaging nonethless.

What's more interesting, though, is that a local scientist have dedicated his whole life to building a superficial star. It had unexpected consequences, as it turned out that it's actually alive. Eight is nedeed so someone bonds with the star, guide it towards the right path. Crivello, the scientist, tried - but even short exposure to the star was enough to make him age years in a blink. A time traveller - even better, a time lord - is needed.

I find the scene Eight merges with the plasma beautiful. This incarnation more than any other feels to me like a force of nature, a constant to the universe, and so I'm always on board when he is influenced by forces outside his control - and vice-versa. Izzy gets anxious and cries, because the Doctor may have died, and it finally hits her that if he does, there is no way back home - for now the narrative don't dive into this topic, but it's a nice touch still.

And then the story takes your breath away, as when everything seems nice and done, Crivello is brutally murdered by his assistant.

Fire and Brimstone, by Alan Barnes - ★★★★★

I did not want a Dalek story, but I am glad I got one because this one is great. It continues the plot points left open at the end of The Keep, as Izzy and Eight visits the same place decades later. The new artificial sun is now stable, but there is a threat in the horizon.

I love that plasma from the Cauldron can be used to see the future, and I love that Eight still have a link to it because they'll always have a bit of each other. I really like the wasps weapons (biological?) the Daleks use to control the humans. It's horrifying, it's disgusting, it looks great. It's truly unsettling, the panels of characters vomiting hordes of insects after infection.

The Daleks are a real threat this time around and it makes perfect sense that they would try to irredicate genetic variants from other dimensions. It's a pity that we see little of that conflict, because the mutant Daleks looked GREAT.

I was devastated that the Cauldron imploded at the end. It all ends considerably well, but there is a wild sorrow of knowing that a whole new lifeform died. I love a rich diverse universe, and I want it to last. What is even more bitter, though, is Eight's silent rage that he can't right now strike back at the Threshold - you can tell by looking at his face in the last page how furious he is over Ace.

Tooth and Claw, by Alan Barnes - ★★★★★

The superior Doctor Who's Tooth and Claw, mind you. I loved this. It's a horror story at heart. The Eighth Doctor and Izzy are pulled into a murder mystery plot in an isolated, atmospheric isle as one old acquaintance of his, Fey, call for his help. And then the guests start dying, one by one.

It's fun, it's believable and it's the kind of horror story I am always open to. Conflict comes not only from the apparent supernatural menace, but also from humans interactions - Marwood hunting Izzy is terrifying, the human ability to be more frighting and cruel than any fictional villain ever could.

Which is not to say the fictional villain is bad, because it only gets better. From the start we are told of a local ghost; then we have bodies on the house and killer monkeys; and yet we also get bottle diseases and vampires. And it all ties well together. This is an island of terrors, ever entertaining.

It ends on a huge cliffhanger, with Izzy and Fey taking Eight to Gallifrey to help him recover from what may well be a mortal wound.

The Final Chapter, by Alan Barnes - ★★★☆☆

Reading the extras I was surprised by how harsh Barnes was with this story - it's not bad at all. Yes, a lot of its themes and plot points were better fleshed out in Neverland, but it's good for what it is.

I love the scene where Eight meets Rassilon and a whole council in his dreams. Demoiselle Drin says she has taken the seat of Merlin the Wise, and given that the Doctor himself is Merlin I wonder about these implications. I love villain Rassilon - but it's refreshing to a seemingly well meaning version of him, too. I wonder, also, as Eight is in the Matrix, if this is the same Rassilon of Zagreus. It's fun to try and fit all these piece of a jigsaw never meant to be completed.

The clone plot is not that enganging, but as Eight and Fey explores "madworld" to try to understand what the hell is happening, I was wondering if a bit of this went into Seven's part in Zagreus, with little rat Charley. And that's the main problem of this story. Ideas better realised elsewhere. A group of time lords trying to gain control of Gallifrey and rewrite its history? Neverland. A kind-of time cult? Faction Paradox. Weird surrealists scenes in the Matrix and timelords' minds? Zagreus.

The regulars are great, and the story is engaging enough. Also, the cliffhanger of a lifetime.

Wormwood, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

This was fun and a great conclusion overall to the Threshold. It's not what I was expecting and while that sometimes oes play a role in how much I like a story, this one has ideas strong enough so that it didn't really matter.

I wouldn't say this story is mocking the Briggs-Doctor, but it does play with the readers expectations in that way in a time we only had the expanded universe. Of course I already knew Eight wouldn't be regenerating while reading these comics so it didn't hit me in that way, but it was fun nonetheless. What I thought, however, is that this would be a retroregeneration or something alike, so I was very much pleased to known that it was actually Shayde playing as the Doctor.

I'd have preferred if the Threshold were actually a natural ocurrance of the universe and not a fabricated species made mainly of humans buuuut as I said previously this is fine. I also wished to a darker motivation for them other than greed, but that's also fine. What I do like a lot is the terror that went through my body when they killed everything in space - and I wish it was not reversed at the end. Not only it would weight upon the characters, but also would be so interesting to see how the whole universe would handle something like this.

We have a glimpse of that kind of horror, of whole civilazations colapsing, but I wish we got some time to explore this idea fully.

Shayde is ine of my favorites things about the comics. It's an amazing concept brought to life wonderfully and that gets even better when coupled to Fey, who is also amazing. How they handle their new status quo is not explored here but rather in future stories, but I do have to say that I love it.

Happy Deathday, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

It's a fun anniversary story. All these Doctors interacting is great.

The Fallen, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

I'm not the biggest fan of Grace, mostly because I don't see many ways to use the character interestingly. Well, The Fallen does it wonderfully. There is something wrong in London and Grace is somehow at fault.

I love her relationship with Eight. It's still a bit sexual - they do kiss once more - but honestly it doesn't bother me. I do not share the opinion the Doctor should never engage in romantic or sexual relationships, I just want it to have meaning.

Grace is repenting for her faults. She thought she had a special future ahead of her beacuse of what she was told in the movie, but now she helped creating a huge danger that is getting people killed. She resents the Doctor in some ways, that he wasn't there and feels like he mislead her. She calls him out when he gets angry with her - he out the world in her hands and left her and she didn't known better.

Izzy and Eight at this point are already the dream team. Their domestic scenes are great and this time around Izzy is alone for a bit - the Doctor believes her dead. She is growing up and have already come a long way around, which is one of the main themes of her stay in the TARDIS. She is in a way a mirror to Ace - completely differente character, yes, but I mean in how she fits as a companion.

She is a sapphic character with parents issues, her stories can be read as a coming of age and her relationship with the Doctor is a bit paternal. Just like Ace. The first big arc of stories with Izzy as a companion handles the Threshold, who are responsible for Ace's death, so I don't think I am completely out of my depth when I say that this era of Eight mirrors Seven's life.

Unnatural Born Killers. by Adrian Salmon - ★★★★★

I love Kroton. If you don't love Kroton, there is something wrong with you. Seek help. This is not his introduction, he appeared on the magazine twice before - both good stories, but Ship of Fools is a must read. He is tragic to the core and deals with a concept that I love and wished to see more in Doctor Who: a faulty Cybermen, who kept this emotions.

I am happy to dicovered the expanded universe because now I have three plots like this to feed my fictional needs: Kroton, Marc and Bill. So that's no longer a problem. But I would love to see more of Kroton - it's such a pity that these stories don't leave much room to have him along Eight and Izzy because they are absolutely one of my favorites TARDIS teams ever.

Unnatural Born Killers get Kroton - already well established - and makes him even better by making him an action hero. The art is beautiful and I love every single fight scene of his. Also, he punches some Sontarans in the face. I love the guy.

The Road to Hell, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

Izzy and Eight get to 17th century Japan, where creatures from the myths are terrorizing local population. Sato Kitsura is a samurai who just lost his lord to a demon and now seeks revenge upon these creatures.

I am a sucker for stories of fictional characters or monsters being real, so we already started strong. I also love historicals, so that's two points for The Road to Hell. And while I do prefer them to be pure historicals, I actually love how this story handles its sci-fi elements.

An alien species gave a local lady a machine that allows her to make anything alive out of her thoughts. They only wish to observe what she makes of it as they want to understand the concept of honor. It's a great idea even if not the highlight of the story, as their conflict with the Doctor is not all that much relevant, but I like it still.

What makes wonders out of this concept - besides amazing drawings of creatures and japanese pop culture - is when lady Asami uses the machine to try and see what comes of Japan in the future, when she discovers that Izzy is from the 20st century. What she sees is, of course, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And then she goes bonkers.

What I think could've been handled better is how much seeing so impacted her psyche because she has little character layers after this points as she is going balistic. Because while she was not a good person up to this point, it's not hard to understand why she would get mad at what she saw. She has every reason to get furious. And I don't think that entitlement to anger is given proper focus. But I like it still.

This story also ends with the Doctor making Sato immortal, which he hates as he was trying to kill himself in ritual now that his revenge was done. He feels the Doctor robbed him of his honor, of his humanity even, but is dismissed. In one perspective, I like a lot what this says of the Doctor - about how him being a time lord make him insensible to others sometimes and how badly he can mishandle a situation. Because he thinks he knows better. And so he dismisses what other people have to say.

But I was also rewatching seasons eight and nine of the new series while reading these comics, so I was surprised about how similar Ashildr's character is to Sato. They are handled completely different in some aspects, and while I actually like Alshidr a lot, I would say Sato makes the most of it. I don't known if Moffat had ever read these comics, but oh my gosh it's almost the same plot.

TV Action, by Alan Barnes - ★★★☆☆

Beep the Meeo is back. Haven't read The Star Beast yet so I wasn't pumped, but he is fine. The best part is Beep being defeated by Tom Baker talking too much, however.

The Company of Thieves, by Scott Gray - ★★★★☆

Or that story where the Kroton plot comes into the ongoing Izzy storyline and we get the best TARDIS team ever.

I got worried for a second beacuse of Eight's initial reaction to Kroton - he tries to kill him and it appears to be sucessful - that I was going to be denied grandeur, but it all works out well. The crew characters are not that interesting and they look a bit too 90's comics for my tastes.

The Glorious Dead, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

One of my favorites Doctor Who stories ever. It does everything it wants to do magnificently.

The setting is gorgeous. I love how this diplomatic meeting goes wrong in the worst way possible and we are left in this deadland. I love also how it ties to the religious themes and what makes humanity - in a loose sense of a human. The Doctor is out of the story when things gets bads; Izzy and Kroton are left to handle things themselves.

And how far has Izzy come. In one if its parts, this story makes the best of the doctorless time to show us how Izzy is now capable of doing a lot - I got my eyes wet reading her letter to Max; her relationship with Kroton is beautiful and I love how they relate by feeling like outsiders and less than human sometimes. I love that Izzy has a plan and that it works. The whole universe was doomed, but then Izzy Sinclair gave them a chance. And then she is dead.

Or so Russell T Davies thought, alongside us readers. Kroton rage after her death is heartbreaking. And then we see that Sato is somehow tied to this situation. Time made him insensible in his immortal life and now the only thing he believes in is death. Being denied death made it the thing he wants the most and the Doctor, even if unintetional, made a monster out of him. Of course Sato has personal responsabilities and this theme is dealt within the story itself, but it was his immortality that made it possible this horror movie ti happened.

And while I am in this topic, I love the body horror of this story. The way these people burn themselves to death for their beliefs is disturbing. The "monsters" desings are dope. There are a lot of alien species here, and they all look cool. Ooooh, and towards the end when it's revealed that this is what came of Earth...

And so I need ti talk about the other half of this story: the Doctor meets the Master once again. And of course he has been manipulating recents events. And it's interestingly in many layers.

First, the Master seems to have changed into someone different. Or so he says. And I do believed he did, I just don't think it was for the better. What he has now is a belief and that makes him more dangerous than ever. He may not have become a better or worthier person, but he does terrible things while trying to prove so. He wants to show how monstruous the Doctor's actions are but don't take any responsability to himself as he believe it was done for a cause. And it all comes into his need to prove himself better than the Doctor.

Secondly, it's a meta commentary on their relationship and how they destroy everything around them. And I mean that in a textual sense - they are the main characters of the story, but what about the lives of the people they leave in pieces? The Glorious Dead turns this around by making the Master - and even the Doctor, a little bit - think he has a destiny, that this story is about him and his friend. But it's not. It's about the little people. It's about Izzy and Kroton and Sato and how they try and get up again. Trying to reclaim themselves of a world that is usually center around other people stories.

Kroton and Sato are mirrors of each other in that sense; in how they are dealing with death and immortality. With loss. Of other people, of their souls. It hurts, but it's beautiful.

The Glorious Dead is one of favorites Doctor Who stories. You should read it.

The Autonomy Bug, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

This is going to sound pedantic but I am not a comedy guy. It's not that I hate it, just that I prefer drama overall. It's why it's rare to see me having much to say about a comedy story. This was great. It's a basic concept - robots appears to have gone crazy - but handled beautifully to tell a story about what makes us, us. The characters are weirdly complex for the little time they have to show it off. The funeral scene is as sad as they come.

The ending made me emotional. It's completely different from the stories Scott Gray told in his Eighth ternure overall, and it's great by being so. It may not be my favorite of the bunch, but it stands ou as unique.

Izzy's Story, by Alan Barnes - ★★★☆☆

Second time listening to this story. The first one I hadn't read any Izzy stories yet so I wanted to see if my opinion changed. It didn't. It's not bad, I have fun with it and all, but it takes what I like the least from Barnes' stories to make an audio. It's one of Eight's most cuttest and comedy based like Deathday and TV Action and so it feels inconsequential to me.

I don't know if I agree this should be placed here. Izzy sounds a bit too immature and so I think it would work best earlier in her timeline. The plot itself of Izzy going after a comic book that desappeared is nice, but I don't care much for the conclusion.

Ophidius, by Scott Gray - ★★★★☆

This is interesting in many ways. It introduces Destrii, so that's already a must read. It also starts the body swap plot, which I love. Izzy has never been so betrayed and it's really interesting to read, as next stories will explore. And I love the setting. Ophidius is a living ship who has its own ecosystem. The people who control the ship are horrendous and the idea that so many people have been turned into beats is horrifying.

The visuals are beautiful. I love the design of the mobox when they are in fours, but I thought they didn't look that good on two legs. There are many other cool aliens designs in Ophidius, including Destrii. That chair that let Eight become invisible by placiing him just a milisecond in the future is a dope technology that, under the show rules, make sense.

I wondered for a second if Eight wasn't going to notice that Destrii was in Izzy's body but thank gosh he did. I don't like when this happens in this trope because it undermines the characters relationships and at this point Eight should be able to recognize if there is something wrong with Izzy - and he did.

Beautiful Freak, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

A wonderful character piece. Izzy is depressed. She is in a body that isn't hers; her own destroyed in Ophidius. She feels ugly, disgusted and angry and don't know what to make from here on. Her life has changed forever. While I think Izzy's thoughts about Destrii's body are a bit cruel, it's understable. She was betrayed, she had her own body and now she won't ever be able to go home. She has every right to be outraged.

The pages where Izzy is submerged in pool as she can't breath is painful and so, so beautiful. Her dialogue with Eight gets to my heart. A sample of the best Doctor Who have to offer.

The Way of All Flesh, by Scott Gray - ★★★★☆

An interesting story. I don't think we reach the full potential of the concepts introduced here, but it's fun and emotional and have nice things ti say. We get a glimpse at Frida Kahlo's life in the Día de los Muertos as there is something terribly wrong happening.

This is a horror story. It uses body horror concepts to the fullest. It's as disgusting as Doctor Who gets. The Way of All Flesh introduces the necrotists, alien artists that make art of the dead, out of pain. A bit influenced by Hellraiser, I would say. I like that Gray chose the day of the dead as a setting for this story because it me disguted that the girl would dare to make something horrible out of such a beautiful date.

Frida also fits well into the story. She can relate to what Izzy is going through and I like that she calls her our on her bullshit. The ending is so beautiful, with Frida painting Izzy as she "was". Because it's the same person beneath. There is still the same beauty in her, no matter the state of her flesh.

Character Assassin, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

Oh this is great. Scott Gray was already my favorite Doctor Who writer by this point but he got extra points by writing a hate piece for Moriarty, one of the most infuriating characters to ever be. Oh it was so fucking great to see him humiliated.

Children of the Revolution, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

I thinks about Children of the Revolution a lot, even more than a month after have read it. It's my favorite Dalek story and I doubt that'll ever changed. I love the setting, I love what is done with established history and I love the art and the colors.

Izzy and the Doctor visits a friend of his who can help her acclimate to her new body, Alison. She is a marine biologist who is working in an underwater station. One day, however, they are attacked by (underwater) Daleks. What will happen next will shock you.

Nobody is exterminated. The Daleks choose to get the humans into the city they built underwater. Nobody can know they live there. Because they are peaceful. They are the Daleks with the human factor the Second Doctor helped engineer in Evil of the Daleks. In that sense this is a heavy continuity story and I could have hated it, but I don't. Because it makes something incredible out of the continuity it's using.

This Dalek city is engaging. You doubt every second when something will go wrong, because you know it will. But this time it's not these Daleks fault. It's the humans. I do think it's a complex situation because knowing every single thing the Daleks ever did I would never, ever trust any of them either and so the human characters are not hard to sympathise. But it's so heartbreaking to see something to beautiful crumble into pieces. There was potential here, for a better future, and it's shattered because of hate and mistrust.

It's interesting to have the TARDIS team as outcasts not because they put themselves in an awkward situation - they were friends with the crew - but rather because they are fundamentally different. Neither the Doctor or Izzy are humans at this point. The Doctor have story with the Daleks, and these ones trust him. They are outsiders and for once the Doctor have his hands tieds. He don't know if he can trust the Daleks, but if he don't and he is wrong - this is a chance of a lifetime. But he has no pull over the humans anymore. There is no winning.

And of course, there is Kata-Phobus. This huge, gorgeous, lovecraftian monster who has lived in this planet for ages and influenced this Dalek colony since its inception. It also influenced the conflict with the humans as it wants to feed upon them all. Kata-Phobus in a sense is there to externalize all that is wrong with the Dalek-human conflict, that ideia of racial superiority, that ideia that there are outsiders. That some people are essentialy different than others. Phobus is that fear made flesh. He plants fear and distrust in the head of these into his reach and he feeds on it.

So yes, I was moved when, in the climax, Alpha commands his fellow Daleks to autodestruction so that Kata-Phobus is defeated and they die as they wished to live - a peaceful people who didn't want any more death or cruelty in their lives. And so the Doctor and Izzy are left speechless because for once there were goods Daleks - while they saw the worst humanity had to offer. It's a must read. I love it. Just, trust me.

Me and My Shadow, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

Children of the Revolution ends in a cliffhanger with Izzy being abducted by these weird aliens - and now the Doctor is out for blood. But that's not the focus of Me and My Shadow - this is a Doctor lite story as we are reunited with Fey and Shayde during World War II and see how they are doing - not that great, as they have difficulties sharing a body and for the modt part have agreed to be active at different times.

Fey is frustrated that she can't use her abilities to the fullest because Shayde knows what that can do with the timeline. They are now one living being, but they are not in sincrony, and that is holding them back. And we also get hem being badasses and killing some nazis. So ten out of ten.

Uroboros, by Scott Gray - ★★★★☆

The Doctor recruits Feyde to help him rescue Izzy. Somebody pointed out how this is a bit similar, but in a much smaller scale, to what he does in A Good Man Goes to War, and that's fair. He is also reunited with Destrii who, as we discover, did not actually die neither had Izzy's body been destroyed.

I know it's Destrii kissing him but that panel of Eight being kissed by Izzy's body it cursed. Burn it with fire.

I don't care much for the Mobox plot to be honest. And that's way it loses a star. It's a fair enough sequel to Ophidius and there sre some cool concepts, but the plot falls into who tropes that I don't like that much neither feel like this story had enough pages to try and do something new with then.

Still solid.

Oblivion - ★★★★★

So finally we go after Izzy, who has been taken to Destrii's homeworld. Which is very ugly. I know it's intentional because it's a wasteland, but nonetheless what a ugly, disguting place.

The local riches have turned into humanoid animals some decades before and are now there to entertain local "monsters" - who are actually people of this dimension who have been badly fucked up by actions of the royals themselves and...

This place is a mess and everybody is horrible and no wonder that Destrii became such a horrendous person. She is the most sympathetic of the bunch, actually. Her mother is indeed a monster and was horrible to her. And is horrible to Izzy, when she arrives there mistaken as Destrii. And, of course, she made her daughter fight in arenas to the death.

Destrii once had a pet, that she took care of for months, until the day her mother made her kill it. And Destrii's death since then have been pure death. I wonder why the hell the girl run away.

Oh and her uncle is not much better. He talks like a nicer man but he is as bad. He helps Destrii escape, but it's more so he could test a way to run away himself - he had no way of knowing she would survive doing so. He is only gentler as long as he get something out of it.

So yeah, Destrii is fucked up. The parallels between Izzy and Destrii are great and I love how it's written. I love that Destrii had the option to make hell on earth, but she steps away. I love that she tells Izzy how unfair she has been treating her parents. I love that she kills her mother, even.

And then Izzy. As I said before, this is a coming of age story for her. And now is fully intk adulthood, and is ready to leave home. The TARDIS. So she kisses Fey because you only live once and she is tired of being a closeted lesbian, asks the Doctor to take her to her parents and say it's time she fix things. Izzy has had many adventures and she has grown up so much, and now is time to move on.

And oh, how I will miss her.

Where Nobody Knows Your Name, by Scott Gray - ★★★☆☆

It's fine. The Doctor is dealing with missing easy while drinking in a bar. It has some fun alien concepts and the Doctor bits are fine. And unkown to him the barman is Frobisher, who doesn't know he is talking to the Doctor because he haven't met Eight yet.

The bits of Eight thinking about retiring do plant some nice ideas tho.

The Nightmare Game - ★☆☆☆☆

I tried. I promised I tried. But I have been reading hundreds of pages of wonderful imsginative stories and then I get to this and... it's inferior. It's leagues below the stories being told before.

The Doctor almost asks the worst kid to ever exist in London if he wants to travel with he him. I get that he is lonely but can we not.

Also it's that guy writing. Yeah. That guy.

The Power of Thoueris!, by Scott Gray - ★★★☆☆

Something I haven't yet is how more violent Eight is in these comics (and the books) when compared to the audios. You might think that's why three stars, but I like it. I think it's fine for some lives of the Doctor be more violent and even cruel than others.

And oh my gosh. He is savage here. That poor hippopotamo girl was irrititating, yes, but oh dear she was eating alive by crocodiles.

Overall a fun story with an art that I like but that is not that consequential.

The Curious Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack, by Scott Gray - ★★★★☆

And then we are back to form. The Doctor is still directionless and in search of his next companion to be, because he collects them as Bruce Wayne collects orphans, this time in victorian London as the city is being "haunted" by a badass looking prankster "ghost".

It has a kinda obvious twist but who cares, it's well written. And one of the best non-introductory companion stories I have seen so far as it actually does something interesting with the non-companion.

Once again the Doctor overstepped but this time he isn't called out neither by characters or by the story. I understand that the girl he met and the monster that revealed herself were two different people and you could make an argument that debating so would make a great plot, but that's not the focus of this story so instead what we see is the Doctor wiping a criminal's woman memory so she lives unaware of her crimes (and honestly without being taken to justice).

I understand why it happens, but I wish the story would delve more into the implications.

Bad Blood, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

I like this story a lot. The Doctor arrives in the USA in 1875 in the middle of a conflict by an indigenous tribe and white people. The leader of the the tribe believes that the Doctor was sent to help them survive. The scenes where the both of them go into the "spiritual world" are beautiful.

And then there is Destrii and her uncle trying to get something out of this situation. There are "werewolfs" attacking nearby villages, which has been rising the racial tension. Jodafra and Destrii offer weapons, much more advanced than they should ever get, to the white soldiers. And, of course, there is also second intentions behind their actions.

I *must* say: Destrii is far from being a perfect person but these traits are written intentionally. She is kind of an asshole in this story because she thinks of this situation as being part of a western movie, one of the few references she has of Earth. She doesn't understand that is helping genocide, the impact of her actions. But she is not a monsters, so when her uncle put children into risk she draws a line in the sand and betrays him.

I like to think she had flashbacks to her own childhood. She is distress by children in danger while she usually have no problem with people dying. And the way Jodastra hits and almost kill her is disgusting and horrifying. Destrii is not a good person, but she is trying to be. And that's a little bit heartbreaking.

Sins of the Father, by Scott Gray - ★★★☆☆

The Doctor takes Destrii to a space station where she can be healed but the station is attacked by vengeanful monkeys who live in zero grav and centuries before were slaves of the same alien race that now owns the medical station. They are not slavers or even violent anymore but that's the only revenge the monkeys are going to get so they will destroy it anyway.

Destrii is a decent person and kinda saves the day and the Doctor offers her stay at the TARDIS. Not the strongest the DWM have to offer but not the best either.

The Flood, by Scott Gray - ★★★★★

Ok so let's start by talking about the elephant in the room. Destrii character makes sense but I still wish she was written a lil bit different here. She is not human and the only thing she knows of humanity are movies and cartoons that are filled with racial stereotypes so she reproduces them when meeting humans and it makes sense but oh my god it's so umconfortable. And I know it's intentional but still.

That out of the way, this is good. Destrii entusiasm of properly visiting Earth is contagious. Too bad they arrive just before a Cybermen invasion. And what a invasion. They have been manipulation local population through water that mess with their emotions. The guy Destrii is racist to tries to kill her because of it as his emotions are totally out of control and it seems as if he is having a breakdown.

Cybermen from the future have arrived in London and are about to try and convert everybody. For starts I love their design, they are my favorite Cybermen just for how gorgeous they look. We meet the M16 characters again and it's disturbing when their emotions are manipulated to they actually have a breakdown. It's cruel and effective when we see these characters that we have met before are hurting themselves, asking for mercy and, later, even converted.

We see them partially converted and it's disturbing.

At its heart this is the best the cybermen have to offer: a story about how our feelings is what make us humans, no matter how heartbreaking it can be, or how painful it might get.

It's also about change, as Eight's time was near its end and the Ninth Doctor was ready to make his debut.

At the climax of the story the Eighth Doctor falls into the time vortex and almost merges with it and the description of him almost becoming one with time itself is beautiful. He chooses to step away from eternity, though, for Destrii. She needs him.

It was the right choice from DWM to not have Eight regenerate here, because they got the perfect ending. Eight and Destrii walking towards the sun, ready to have many other adventures. Because their story together just begun.

This was a wonderful read and there is barely a story I could call bad. Most of them are great or classics, to be honest, and this is perhaps the best Doctor Who has ever been.

So farewell, "but change is what makes us real".

[thedoctornumber11]

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒.

𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. The Doctor 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. Pretty much anything one of his other incarnations might call him.  So “Posh Doctor,” along with “ Legs Eleven,” or “Laughing Boy,” or anything along those lines. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧. None of them 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 — 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 ? Cold  𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲. Easter.  He just doesn’t get it. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝. Pears.  It’s the only thing consistent among all Doctor’s taste buds. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫. Also pear. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤. Most American sodas. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭. The smoke smell after a gun has just been fired. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. "Exterminate!” from a Dalek. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐯 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬. The Doctor isn’t really much of a TV person but ironically I always figured he might hate Game of Thrones. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥. All of it.  The Doctor was never a great student. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛. The only job he ever had was at UNIT and he hated being stuck on Earth. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. Selfishness 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. Skaro 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭. The Doctor will talk about anything. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬. His inability to revisit old friends and giving up on people. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞. Changing the TARDIS lightbulb on top.  It doesn’t need to be done daily though. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. Anything that he can’t wear a bow tie with. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫. He can’t stand speedsters generally. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. Being attached to someone. 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡. The fear of the unknown.  Not knowing who he might be next.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲. @spirit-x-ing 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠. @fullrangeofemotions​ @timeguardians​ @ihopeditwouldbeyou @minimavampiress @notsoinnocentlittleangel @pastelprincessrps @sadiesawyer @scarletwitchrpblog @twireneadler​ @ireallyneedmyinhaler​ @detectiverickitubbs​​