#ed is a really big newt

[greetingsfromuranus]

Ok I know I said I was gonna draw eene forest creatures but what if I drew eene as swamp creatures/amphibians

[flock-talk]

Hi! I've been following the Newt and Toto friendship arc intently, thank you so much for sharing all this in such detail! It got me thinking, so I apologise for the lengthy ask. Have you ever had a bird that will just not integrate with other birds? Ed was placed with us by the rescue because he doesn't get on with other birds and we didn't already have others. A couple of different behaviour specialists have told me that especially given his age (24), he was probably hand reared and taken from his parents much too young, he just doesn't understand how to relate to other birds and probably can't learn now. As far as I know he lived for most of his life as an only bird.

I feel like it's impossible for me to give him all the friendship and attention he deserves. Even though I work at home he wants to be with me and have my attention constantly, and of course it's just not possible in real life. A bird friend seems like an appealing idea at first but could easily be a big mistake and make things even worse. Even if it could be possible for Ed to learn inter-bird skills, it may be beyond my level to teach him. What are your thoughts?

Thank you 💚

In a scenario like this I would definitely be sure to be prepared for a worst case scenario, if you really want a second bird it's definitely possible to teach them to coexist in the same space under supervision but not necessarily to be able to really want to integrate and be friends.

If you yourself want a second bird you absolutely can teach another bird at any age to be able to share communal spaces, it can take a lot of work depending on the severity of the problem but in general just about any bird can learn to ignore another bird and go about their business. Actual integration and forming a relationship is something that's entirely up to the birds, training can set them up for the most success but if they don't want to form a bond then they won't.

If you have bird shows or conventions in your area it may be worth bringing him in a carrier and see what his response is to other birds, there may also be Facebook groups in your area that are willing to have their birds in carriers meet up so you can just get a feel for how severe his reaction is and whether or not it's feasible, or in his best interests, to add another bird. Some rescues will have trial periods as well or allow meet ups which could allow you to get a better feel for things as well.

A lot of the times rescues mislabel birds, the stress and trauma of going through the rescue process can cause animals to present a lot of behaviours that aren't their true nature. it's also possible that he may be more social than what was believed or that the introductory conditions that gave him that label were improper.

I would definitely er on the side of caution and aim to get Ed some exposure to other birds prior to making that decision.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

7 to 7: The Scrapped Pixar Originals of the '10s

The other day, I was revisiting the concept art of the cancelled Pixar picture NEWT.

NEWT, as many would know, was going to be an adventure story about newts. Little amphibians that kinda look like lizards. Two blue-footed newts, the last of their endangered species, a guy and a gal. They have to mate to save their species. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The Blue Sky film RIO did this story, but with blue macaws.

NEWT was announced by Disney Pictures and Pixar in April 2008, then penciled in for a summer 2011 debut. This would've been the feature to succeed TOY STORY 3 on the release schedule, and coincidentally, this was the year RIO opened. It was pushed back months after its unveiling, as it played musical chairs with CARS 2, formerly a summer 2012 release. And then as time passed, NEWT was without a release date...

If you frequented the corners I did in the early 2010s, you would've known NEWT was dead before Pixar said so. Floyd Norman, who needs no introduction, casually let it slip in a reply section in early 2010... And then a few months later, Pixar officially announced that NEWT was cancelled... Unprecedented, in a way... An original movie, previously announced, was no longer moving forward. They then proceeded to dump a ton of concept art for the movie... The other remnants of the movie are merely small Easter eggs seen in TOY STORY 3 and BRAVE.

Many seem to believe that NEWT was scrapped by Pixar brass because of its similarities to RIO, and that they wanted to avoid another ANTZ vs. A BUG'S LIFE situation... But given how many other similar animated movies have opened near each other, I never bought that. ANTZ vs. A BUG'S LIFE was its own unique case, while almost every other similar-movie situation was really just coincidence. NEWT and RIO were no different. (This of course applies to big studio movies, *not* cash-in mockbuster shovelware like those Video Brinquedo movies.)

The real reason is more fascinating. Former Pixar president Ed Catmull stated in 2014 that they had first removed director Gary Rydstrom from NEWT, and then gave it to Pete Docter (current CCO), fresh off of directing Oscar winner UP. Docter showed them an idea he had been working on the previous summer, and they decided to go with that movie instead, leaving NEWT to collect dust. What was that idea? INSIDE OUT...

A rare instance where an animated movie outright replaced another one in development, because most of the time in these big studios... That never actually happens. For example: Sony Animation did not jettison Genndy Tartakovsky's POPEYE movie in favor of THE EMOJI MOVIE. Tartakovsky's take on the classic sailor was openly disliked by top Sony brass at the time, such as Amy Pascal, and he was off the movie by the end of 2014. The studio wanted to make a POPEYE movie, but under another director, as Genndy went and focused on HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2. THE EMOJI MOVIE was thought up by animation vet Tony Leondis on his own, and three studios got in a bidding war over his concept, Sony being the winner... And that was some time in mid-2015. So, no correlation. I think a lot of animation fans were simply upset that they cancelled Genndy's POPEYE, but saw EMOJI MOVIE through to completion. That's not the same as putting two separate movies on a table, and voting on which one to go through with.

Anyways, back on track. NEWT. Not cancelled because of similarities to RIO, cancelled because it seemed like no one wanted to make this picture. I found it kind of bizarre that Pixar, which was being run by John Lasseter at the time, didn't hand it to someone else after Docter pitched INSIDE OUT. I get the sense that he hated it, and just wanted it off the runway. Either that, or it was perceived as a standard talking animals adventure and not the usual "what-if" stuff that Lasseter's Pixar tended to favor. For whatever reason, it's a shame, because this is a movie I'd like to see happen. Who knows, maybe Docter - given that he doesn't run Pixar like Lasseter - could let either Rydstrom return or give someone else a fair shot with the concept. Maybe it can be turned into a short film or a Disney+ special/featurette... Who the heck knows!

Pixar released only four original features in the 2010s, which were BRAVE, INSIDE OUT, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, and COCO. Four original movies, against seven sequels. NEWT being made would've definitely brought things a little closer... But that wasn't the only picture that got put on ice during this tumultuous decade under a Lasseter who was letting all that leadership (not just Pixar, but also Disney Animation, Disneytoon, and various parks positions) get to his head...

Around 2010, Henry Selick and his CinderBiter Studio struck an ambitious collaboration with Pixar to bring out the studio's first stop-motion film, and their first feature co-production at that. First known as SHADEMAKER, THE SHADOW KING got very far in production. Lasseter, however, aggressively micromanaged the picture and imposed all of these changes on Selick, ballooning the budget. The picture was aiming for an October 2013 release, but after a change in leadership for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (this is when we went from the inexperienced Rich Ross to former Warner exec Alan Horn), and no faith in Tim Burton's then-upcoming stop-motion pic FRANKENWEENIE, THE SHADOW KING was cancelled and all the props and hard work done on the film were destroyed. Workprint footage still exists, and Selick was allowed to shop the concept/script to other studios.

So that would've been 6 original films. Heck, Selick could've even adapted Neil Gaiman's THE GRAVEYARD BOOK for Pixar, so we could've had 7 non-sequel movies *and* Pixar's first feature film to be an adaptation of pre-existing source material. (Prior to this, two stories by William Joyce - THE LEAF MEN AND THE BRAVE GOOD BUGS, and DINOSAUR BOB - were in consideration for the Pixar feature treatment. The former was eventually made at Blue Sky and titled EPIC.)

Lastly, to my knowledge, there's an eighth film... A film we know little about, that was to be directed by Pixar long-timer and Brad Bird collaborator Teddy Newton and written by Derek Connelly (a regular collaborator w/ Colin Trevorrow), a film some news sites talked about in late 2012... But not Pixar themselves. Something that was said to be a little edgier than the usual Pixar fare. Someone I know, who attended an event where Newton was present, learned that this was the case... And that it ultimately didn't make it because of how edgy it was. With the way they made it sound, that could've possibly been Pixar's first PG-13 film.

Speaking of PG-13, one of BRAVE's directors wanted to be the one to make Pixar's first "adult" movie. That was Mark Andrews, the person who essentially "finished" the movie that originator Brenda Chapman had started and had been kicked off of. Andrews had an original sci-fi film lined up at Pixar as far back as early 2012, when BRAVE was in the final lap of production... But eventually, it fell to the wayside and Andrews apparently left Pixar. That film likely would've been an early 2020s release, I reckon.

With all that, there is an alternate history where Pixar balanced out the flood of sequels that dominated their 2010s. Of course, those particular sequels existing is rooted in some *very* convoluted and sometimes legal stuff, which explains why we got at least three of those movies. That's another story for another day, and I've talked about that extensively in the past... But, it's interesting to note that a lot of originals were in some form of development during that decade, but sadly didn't make the cut... This all coincided in a decade where the sequels all flooded out, leading some people to think "Has Pixar sold out? Are they just a sequel factory now? Did Disney gut them of their soul?"

The reality of the situation is usually boring-er than that. Lasseter didn't greenlight some originals and outright pulled the plug on other ones, and Pixar's original contract with Disney didn't allow for sequels...

However, under its current leadership, Pixar could very well dust off an idea that may not have made it in the past, and could try again with it... That's not the first time that's happened. WALL-E is a great example of this, it was born out of an unmade movie called TRASH PLANET that was in development during the mid-to-late 1990s. It even went back and forth between Pete Docter and its eventual director, Andrew Stanton. By 2000, Stanton ended up pitching another idea he had been kicking around for some time, FINDING NEMO... but by the time NEMO was nearing completion in early 2003, Stanton revisited the robot... And WALL-E was his next picture...

Sometimes these things can be saved...

Wouldn't it be kinda mindblowing if we had heard that NEWT was back and was going to be one of the studio's 2025-2026 releases? I'd be delightfully surprised.

Anyways, that's some fun facts stuff I wanted to share.

Here's a list of a Pixar 2010s that could've been:

TOY STORY 3

NEWT

BRAVE

CARS 2

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

THE SHADOW KING

THE GOOD DINOSAUR

INSIDE OUT

FINDING DORY

UNTITLED TEDDY NEWTON FILM

UNTITLED MARK ANDREWS FILM

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK

CARS 3

INCREDIBLES 2

TOY STORY 4

..

[your-krazy-uncle-bob]

Gabbard: Today's Democrats "an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness"

ED MORRISSEY 8:01 AM on October 11, 2022

In 2019, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. She did well enough in the debates to expose Kamala Harris as an intellectual lightweight, although didn’t gain much traction otherwise.

Now just three years later, Gabbard says she’s done with the Democrat Party entirely. In a Twitter thread, and also on her new podcast, Gabbard says she’s been disillusioned by Democratic promises of an “inclusive, big tent” political party. “I can no longer remain in the Democratic Party,” Gabbard announced. “It’s now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness.”

Don’t hold back — tell us how you really feel:

…hostile to people of faith & spirituality, demonize the police & protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and above all, dragging us ever closer to nuclear war. — Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) October 11, 2022

Well, it’s tough to argue with that list of particulars. We have argued most if not all of those same points. In her inaugural podcast episode, Gabbard goes on to explore each of these points in more detail. She goes after some other specific points, especially the weaponization of the Department of Justice against political dissenters, such as pro-life activists and parents opposed to extreme curricula of indoctrination in public schools. Gabbard contrasts that with the DoJ’s inaction against illegal protests outside the Supreme Court justices before and after the Dobbs decision.

Gabbard offers plenty more in the full episode, embedded below, but she had Newt Gingrich at hello:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich praised Tulsi for ditching the Democrats in a Tuesday statement on Fox News. He argued that she is one of many Americans who traditionally have voted blue but now find the Democrats unrecognizable. “[Gabbard] has always been sort of an independent maverick,” Gingrich said. “And I think when she ran for president, she realized how really isolated she was from the great majority of the Democratic Party, which is now, frankly, a pretty weird party….I think you’re seeing this drift. And we’ve certainly seen among Latinos a huge drift towards the Republican Party as they’re driven away by the weirder policies of the Democratic Party.”

True, and I suspect that we will see this dynamic in serious measure in these midterms. That is the traditional role midterms have played — to check the excesses of the party in power, and there are surpassingly few reasons to think this cycle will be an exception. Gabbard may not lead an exodus out of the Democratic Party as much as she personifies a trend that had already begun over the last year of Joe Biden’s inept stewardship.

One point to note, though: while Gabbard announces her departure from the Democratic Party, it doesn’t appear that she’s becoming a Republican, at least not yet. That may also be true of a lot of voters this year who will give GOP candidates a chance but will force them to earn loyalty. Stay tuned — and if you want to take that literally, here’s the full episode from Gabbard.

Update: A fair point on perspective, as far as it goes:

Liz Cheney’s gripe with the GOP has to do with personality and taste more than policy and its implementation, however. Gabbard seems disillusioned on a far broader basis with her party than Cheney is with hers. Gabbard makes a far better argument for leaving because of that rather than working within the party to align it on perceived principles, although of course YMMV on that observation.

Just Walk Away. There has never been a better time to do it. No one will blame you.

[mortifyingideal]

rewriting the script

“It can’t have been that bad,” Anathema said, folding herself into the corner of the sofa. 

“It was,” Newt sniffed, wondering if the Thundergun had another round left in it. Would it be difficult to shoot himself with it? Maybe Anathema would do it for him, put them both out of their misery. Since Armageddon hadn’t happened, the two of them had found themselves at a bit of a loss. Shortly after they’d burned the second book, the new tenant had shown up to Jasmine Cottage and insisted they vacate the premises immediately. Newt had offered her a place to stay in London, and then had panicked the entire drive over about whether it was worse to take her back to Shadwell’s place, or put himself through the ordeal of introducing her to his mum.

They’d been squatting at Shadwell’s ever since. Or, well, Newt had been. Anathema had taken over Tracy’s flat, finding keys for each flat stuck in an envelope addressed to both of them that had been taped to Shadwell’s front door. It had been nice, actually. Taking it slow. Being friends, properly, after the— after everything that happened on the day the world didn’t end. They’d even found a new project to work on together, one that didn’t require anyone to take their clothes off or face down several malevolent supernatural entities before tea-time. 

It was funny, when they’d eventually thought of it. They’d both been desperate to think of some way to occupy their time, but also were unable to shake themselves of the knowledge that nobody else in the world remembered what they did. That’s when it had hit Newt. Nobody else remembered what had happened. He’d proposed it to Anathema, who had said “like that awful Beatles movie?” and Newt had said “well, er, yeah maybe a bit, but better because Ed Sheeran won’t be in it.”

“Will you just tell me what happened?” Anathema rolled her eyes, picking up the script and flicking through it. “Did they give constructive feedback on why they rejected it?”

Newt groaned, curling up tighter on himself.

“They didn’t.”

“Rude. It’s common courtesy to just give a little—”

“No, Anathema,” Newt unfolded, deciding he just had to get this over with. “They didn’t reject it. They loved it. Said they want to get us on board ASAP. Think they might be able to get some sort of partnership with Amazon, something about appealing to an international audience.”

Anathema’s face turned slack with surprise, and she hit him with the wodge of papers in her hand. “Newt! Oh my god, that’s amazing! Why didn’t you lead with that, you big dummy?”

He was happy she was so happy. Really, he was, and she was right. It was amazing. First pitch, first script— Newt had never had anything come so easy to him in his life. 

“Anathema, they want to make changes.”

“Well, yeah, that’s standard, I expected that. And I mean, it is a kinda fantastical story, right? There were parts of it we weren’t actually there for and had to fudge, I knew the angel and demon love story through the years would be a hard sell, but—”

“They loved all that stuff,” Newt laughed sadly, shrugging. “It’s me, Anathema. They don’t love me.”

“You’re my co-writer, I’m not doing it without you,” Anathema was instantly sharp, and Newt was grateful for the loyalty he wasn’t quite sure he’d ever done much to earn.

“No, not me— me,” he specified, tapping the script. “They said that all the other characters had something to them, but that Newton Pulsifer was… a bit of a wet weekend.”

“A… what?”

“A drip. A waste of space. A character no decent actor would ever want to play. ‘All the sex appeal of a Mini Milk that’s been dropped into a pile of cat hair’ one of them said.”

“So they want to… what, write out your character?” Anathema said, frowning and taking his hand. “But then how do they think they’ll be able to resolve the storyline about Agnes and Adultery? The central theme of breaking away from the predestined path and living your own life? Or the computer thing, or—or—”

“They want to make me a sexy lesbian!” Newt finally burst, unable to hold it in anymore. “You too, I mean, both of us. Together. You, you and me. Lesbians. In the show. Sexy, sex-having lesbians.”

“Huh.”

“They said they thought they could get that Fleabag woman for it.”

“Huh.”

“I mean, do you think I’d be more interesting if I was a lesbian?” He asked, and instantly regretted it when he saw the way Anathema wrinkled her nose in response. “Oh my god, I’m going to be a lesbian, aren’t I? You’ve already decided. This is happening.”

“If it helps at all,” Anathema said, patting his knee consolingly, “I think you’re going to make a great lesbian.”

[inktog]

Marcy’s home life was probably exceptionally awful, a fact best evidenced by her own behavior. On Earth, she seems to have existed in a nigh-constant state of dissociation and escapism (206, 214); this has all but ceased by the time Anne encounters her in Newtopia (206). Even more telling, Marcy doesn’t show an ounce of regret or remorse over leaving her parents (220).

By contrast, her outlook on school seems largely positive. She proudly cites her straight-A-except-gym report card (214); she keeps taking classes in Amphibia and is surprised that Anne doesn’t do the same (215.1).

These facts complement each other neatly. School can be, for some, a safe haven from mistreatment suffered at home—a regularly scheduled respite from hell.

Newtopia is thoroughly characterized as a realm of scholarship. The city is first mentioned in the context of Newtopia University, a college good enough to risk leaving the Valley for (117.2, 208.2), and is then formally introduced as “the beating heart of Amphibia—a bustling metropolis full of ancient knowledge, run by the wisest of newts” (201.1). Newts are painted as a race of intelligent scholars even by other newts who don’t fit the stereotype, like Gertie (207.1).

And the city allows Marcy to flourish. Here, her needs and desires are taken seriously. Here, she’s encouraged to cultivate her skills, to challenge herself in new and exciting ways, to apply her intelligence toward practical ends.

By the show’s dream logic, Newtopia represents school—not a literal reflection of Saint James, but Marcy’s idealized fantasy. Her “perfect record” on missions (206) mirrors her perfect report card.

Hence the scattered references to Harry Potter (214, 216.2), a story about a child in a bad home who escapes to a fantastical school.

While engrossed in study for the PSAT (a practice college-entrance exam that Marcy won’t take for at least three years), Marcy gets a text from Sasha reminding her of Anne’s birthday. She then immediately learns about the Calamity Box from Dr. P’s book, with the tagline “Travel to other worlds” (220). The reveal of the Box at this exact moment is telling. It implies that Marcy often fantasizes about the trio moving out of L.A. together: The merest reminder of her friends triggers the appearance of a magical travel brochure.

And Marcy really wants her friend group to stick together, even after high school. She implores Anne and Sasha to stop fighting because “We’re supposed to be friends for life. We don’t split up” (219.1, emphasis Marcy’s), and she views Amphibia as “a place where we’d never have to grow apart, where the three of us could be friends forever together” (220). Given Marcy’s difficulty connecting with people (207.1), it’s quite possible that Anne and Sasha weren’t just her best friends on Earth, but her only friends.

So I’d guess that Newtopia represents not just school in general, but specifically college. While Anne’s view of postsecondary ed is skewed by film (208.2), Marcy’s perception seems more in line with how universities market themselves: bastions of culture and scholarship, where young aspiring minds grow and thrive as they never have before—a fantasy utterly realized by Marcy’s Newtopian adventures.

Middle school might provide Marcy some modest protection, but she’s really anticipating the stage of her life when she can move away forever. And when that happens, she wants Anne and Sasha to stay by her side.

King Andrias is the other side of the coin: the anxiety beneath the fantasy.

He’s big. He’s old (207.2, 220). He makes robots (220)—which are babies, as per Frobo (215.2, 220). He cracks bad jokes (208.1). He dabbles awkwardly in youth culture, from fist bumps (207.2) to slang (220). He is, in a word, dad-coded.

And he has a vendetta against friendship: He deliberately drives a wedge between Marcy and her friends, then tries to kill Sprig just to make a point about how love invites pain (220). This, too, is parent-like behavior in Marcy’s schema: “They were making me move away,” she tells Sasha and Anne. “They were gonna tear us apart!” (220).

Marcy views her dad as a supervillain hell-bent on destroying friendships and ruining her life, so Amphibia presents her with exactly that: King Andrias is a mythic exaggeration of Mr. Wu. And given the over-the-top, almost gleeful malice that Andrias directs at Marcy, I suspect that her dad actively abused her (rather than, say, being passively neglectful).

Even after Marcy escapes her father, the trauma he inflicted doesn’t vanish. It resurfaces at her lowest moment, crashing into her with all the subtlety of a giant flaming sword.

-

Citations are SEE.G, where S is season, EE is episode, and G is segment. 102.1 is Cane Crazy, 202.2 is Anne Hunter.

Thank you very much to @argentconflagration for helping to generate and refine this idea!

[hpdabbles]

I've hit a dry spell in good fanfics. Do you have any recs?

Of course! I have some that I am currently obsessed in no particular order.

8. Simple things by Aate - The first time they met, Newt earnestly thought Percival Graves was a simpleton. Percival, for his part, mistook Newt for a potion addict. (Fandom: Harry Potter. Ship: Newt/Orginal Percival Graves.)

7. I'm not a villain, I swear! by CoyoteFang1987 - Tim wakes up in a world in which Batman doesn't exist. And by consequence, the Robins never became heroes.Dick is a Talon, Jason is Red Hood (a villain), and Damian is a League of Assassins assassin. And Tim apparently is a hero called Draken, who, frankly, sucks at being a hero.And in this weird alternate reality, something big is brewing and Batman isn't here to keep the Justice League from tearing itself apart.Tim is really really done with everything. Dick, Jason, and Damian aren't helping. Tim really really hates magic as well. (Fandom: Youn justice cartoon. Ship: Dick Grayson/ Wally West)

6. The Colors of the World by MaiKusakabe- When Roy Mustang went to retrieve his eyesight from Truth, he wasn’t expecting to end up doing a job in exchange. It couldn’t even be an easy job, of course, because Edward’s assessment of Truth was a pretty accurate one. (Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Harry Potter cross over. Ship: Gen)

5. Snipers solve 99% of all problems by silentwalrus- Ed had thought, after the whole Promised Day, homunculus, entire country harvested for alchemical batteries thing, the batshit quotient of his life would have settled down some. He really ought to have topped out the meter with that one. But no. The bullshit is just getting started.“Are you fucking kidding me,” Ed demands. “The wizards?” (Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Harry Potter crossover. Ship: Gen)

4. throw me a goddamn rope - just enough to hang myself with by mutalune - Shouta’s plan had been ill-defined and desperate from the start, but he figures the important shit boiled down to, “Change as little as possible, make sure Midoriya doesn’t get himself killed, and stock up on lychee jelly pouches because that flavor got discontinued three years from now.” Keeping it simple’s always better, and he’s normally good at improvising. Somewhere along the way, he must’ve fucked up since now he has: A quirkless problem child hanging off of his every word. His best friend going through a sexuality crisis thanks to said problem child’s mom. His other best friend clinging to him like a security blanket. Some two-bit mob boss threatened him with bouquets of daffodils. To wring the number one hero’s fucking neck for not telling him anything useful before sending him decades into the past . All he did was walk Izuku Midoriya home. It wasn’t meant to turn into whatever mess this is. (Fandom: My hero Academia. Ship: Aizawa shouta/Yamada Hizashi, Kayama Nemuri/ Midorya Inko)

3. The sun will shine by badwolfrise - Loki knew he was courting death when he he decided to attempt to stab Thanos, so he lied to Thor about the sun shining on them again. He knew he was going to die. And he died under Thanos’s arms. But what he hadn’t expected was for him to wake up again, certainly not in the body of his younger self a week before Thor’s coronation. Given a second chance in life Loki decides to make a decision unlike his younger self...he runs away and hides in Midgard. With Asgard in chaos with the youngest prince missing, Thor becomes King and finds himself under hot water with lots of things going wrong. With a mission to tackle Thanos and get his revenge, Loki settles in Midgard with a new identity but the butterfly effect spreads as many things start changing, will Loki be able to plan Thanos’s demise? (Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ship: Loki/Tony Stark)

2. My Next Life Trying to be a Best Friend Minor Character, Not a Villain!! by zephyrus_0207 - Klaus Claes was formerly a NEET Otaku, now a student who had an unfortunate meeting with Truck-kun and is now in his favorite otome game, Fortune Lovers! Despite a rough start he resolves to be the best friend character in the game so as to not trigger any death flag, after all, no one cares about the best friend character in a dating sim game…right? (Fandom: My next Life as Villiness. Ship: Katarina Claes/ Everyone. genderbent

1 The Heir of the House of Black by ravenclawblues (ravenclaw_blues) - It was the year 1998 and Wizarding Britain was finally starting to heal from the wounds of the Second Wizarding War. 18-year-old Auror trainee Harry Potter was leading his first field operation when he was struck by a Killing Curse that led to an encounter with Death, who then revealed to Harry that he could turn back time and remedy his deepest regrets... Unbeknownst to Harry, Dark wizarding activities were erupting across Britain and threatening to destroy the fragile society once and for all. But who was the enemy? What were they trying to accomplish? Was it too late to stop them?Perhaps all the answers lie where Harry was headed...This is a journey of family, of friendship, of self-discovery, and, as always with Harry Potter, a healthy dose of world-saving. (Fandom: Harry Potter. Ship: Past-Harry Potter/ Ginny Weasley. Minor Harry Potter/Orginal Character)

[auroralightsthesky]

HBO War Boys and their respective Hogwarts Houses

Dick Winters- Gryffindor, I had a hard time choosing between that and Slytherin but ultimately I think Dick embodies Gryffindor perfectly

Lewis Nixon- Slytherin, Nix would probably be one of those kids who tries to get out of his pure-blooded family by proving himself to be that one who breaks the mold

Harry Welsh- he and Kitty would both be Gryffindors. Harry would probably be the terror of the Gryffindor Quidditch team

John Basilone- SLYTHERIN!!! This boy just SCREAMS Slytherin!! John wanted to be with the best of the best but he’d do anything to make sure his boys were ok

Andrew “Ack Ack” Haldane- Ravenclaw, don’t tell me this boy doesn’t smell like a Ravenclaw 

Edward “Hillbilly” Jones- Hufflepuff, Eddie’s definitely got the persistent personality of a badger (see Ep. 5 that scene with the tank)

Brad Colbert- Gryffindor Head Boy, Brad doesn’t fuck around to begin with so keeping the rest of the fellow house idiots in line is one of his specialties

Ronald Speirs- Slytherin, he’s the student that appears calm, cool and collected on the outside but would probably willingly go joyriding on the broomsticks with the others

Carwood Lipton- Slytherin, I remember someone had the same thing and I could see why Lip might end up being a Slytherin (big shoutout to whoever it was I’m sorry I can’t remember your name)

Bill Guarnere- my favorite motormouth is a Gryffindor!! Him and Franny would probably be another case of double trouble

Edward “Babe” Heffron- Gryffindor, Babe would probably make an excellent chaser for the Quidditch team

Eugene Roe- Ravenclaw, his best subject would probably be herbology

Robert Leckie- Ravenclaw, everybody calls him Professor Leckie already, due to his advanced knowledge of magic

Chuckler Juregens- Hufflepuff, he’d bring all the weird plants back to the dormitories without any knowledge of where in the hell to put them

Runner Conley- Gryffindor, another chaser on the Quidditch team

Hoosier Smith- Slytherin, am I mistaken that Hoosier could easily charm the pants off of anybody whilst the others cause mischief behind their backs?

Ed Tipper- Ravenclaw, also a beater for the Quidditch team

Shifty Powers- Hufflepuff, he’d probably be another Newt Scammander

Floyd Talbert- Gryffindor’s most infamous ladies man

JP Morgan- Slytherin, like Nix I suspect JP would try and do everything to differentiate himself and the others from the sick, pure-blooded ideology. He’d probably even help train first years for the Quidditch team

Manny Rodriguez- him, John and JP would be the best students Slytherin has ever seen in a long time

Eugene Sledge- Gryffindor, Sledge would fit right in with the others

RV Burgin- Ravenclaw, he’s beauty, he’s grace but on the Quidditch field he’ll hit you in the face

Jay De L’Eau- Hufflepuff and seeker for the team, Jay might be unsuspecting but damn is he fast on a broom

Merriel “Snafu” Shelton- the Slytherin who roams about the castle with a black cat next to him at all times

Chuck Grant-Grant’s a little bit tricky to figure out, but my best guess is Ravenclaw, probably has Luna’s tendancies

Johnny Martin- a hard headed Hufflepuff some say Johnny’s a Slytherin but he’s as hard headed as they come

Bull Randleman- Hufflepuff, his and Johnny’s bunks are right next to each other which isn’t the best seeing as Bull snores

Joe Toye- Gryffindor, probably does really well with fire spells

Joe Liebgott- the Slytherin with a salty attitude

David Webster- the Ravenclaw that has read every known book in the library

Chuck Tatum- my boi is definitely a Ravenclaw!!! Would probably willingly go joyriding with Speirs and wave hello to the police officers as he flew on by

Steve Evanson- Griffyndor, but I’m sure that because he and Chuck are so tight with each other, they’d make Snape’s life a living, utter hell

Frank Perconte- short bean is a Hufflepuff but with Slytherin tendancies

George Luz- Hufflepuff, him and Chuckler would probably have the most fun putting spells on the plants

Donald Malarkey-Gryffindor, this kid’s got some guts in him, that’s for damn sure

Skip Muck- another Gryffindor, him, Luz, Malarkey and Penk would get into soooooo much trouble

Alex Penkala- Gryffindor, once more I sense a Ron/Harry/Hermione thing going on here

Ray Person- another motor-mouthed Gryffindor who does anything and everything on impulse

Walt Hasser- sweet bean is a Ravenclaw!! 

Nate Fick- Hufflepuff Head Boy, I mean hey, somebody’s gotta keep everybody in line right?

[newtgottlieb]

hm 28 and 29 for the asks?

thank you for the ask! :]

28: best fandom meme of the year

okay all the newt "there are many benefits to being a marine biologist" jokes were REALLY fucking funny. i too would become a marine biologist if i got hermann gottlieb as a boyfriend in the process

29: fandom “first” you accomplished this year

this was the year of fanfic for me! ive never actually special interest-ed in a fandom before (apart from warriors, if you want to count that as a part of my cat SpIn from years and years ago?), so fanfiction has honestly not been a very big thing for me until i SpIn-ed on The Adventure Zone at the very very end of 2020. That kind of launched me off the deep end and i've already read way too many words and written more than i thought i ever could! :]

[long-cosmos-overhead]

I have a request for you 😊 it's a bit big so it's totally fine if you don't want to do it, but would you maybe make a preference with Maze Runner Newt, The Leto Joker, the 10th Doctor and Edward Nygma (pre riddler bcs hes a cutiepie) with Reader developing first symtoms of an eating disorder? They feel bad after eating something and get panicked when they gain weight and barely eat anything at some days

Of course if you need someone to talk to I’m here x

(I do not own these characters or their movies/shows/ gif not mine)

⚠️ if you are experiencing or sensitive to the issue of eating disorders please don’t read ⚠️

Newt

He doesn’t notice right away there’s a lot going on in the glade which makes it hard to focus and for the first day he rules it as a one off however he makes a mental note to make sure you’re not getting sick

Newt gets more panicky as you spiral out of control he’s had his own demons and then he got you the most beautiful, sweet woman that made him feel like the luckiest shank on the planet and now he was slowly losing you

Things got so much worse and Newt stayed up so late pleading you to eat just a small bite, he worked your shifts in the garden and told you every breathing minute of the day that you were beautiful and you didn’t need to do this when confronted about your problem by other gladers he’d break down and cry whimpering about how he couldn’t lose you

No matter how tough things got Newt was always there every night he’d hold you close weaving his fingers through your hair and telling you how much you meant to him, long hugs and comforting kisses were given when you really couldn’t manage and Newt went so far as to get all the gladers to be nice and make no mention of your appearance. This boy loved you so much

When you started getting better Newt was over the moon you could see in his eyes he was so proud and happy when you finished an amount of food no matter how small Newt would be all over you kisses, cuddles and praise he remembered seeing you one day, you were still rather thin and washed out but you were better and he cried of happiness he was so proud of you

Joker

He notices immediately. He sits you down and tells you he knows there’s something wrong and wants to hear from you what it is he doesn’t let you leave until he’s heard what he wants to hear but he’s not menacing about it he’s rather gentle yet firm purring instead of growling trying to sweet talk it out of you

He may seem angry once he finds out about your relationship with food but it is now way directed at you he’s rightly pissed at anyone who you ever compared yourself to but mostly he’s mad at himself for not being able to keep you safe from the one thing that took his sanity and no matter how highly he thought of himself he didn’t want you to turn out like him

He fires every female assistant, worker, cleaner you name it she’s gone and trips to the bar or strip clubs are out of question, J even goes as far as to throw out magazines and newspapers he just wants to keep you safe and more importantly happy

This however doesn’t mean he’s going to let you get away with everything he’d downright force you to eat keeping you gripped in his lap or his arms until you ate it isn’t the best but force is the only way he knows. There’s been tears, relapses and fired therapists but his love for you never dwindled he found a one in a billion connection he will not give you up

J acts like an excited puppy when you get better and start to eat as you usually did he gives you deep meaningful rewards: passionate kisses, tight hugs, long cuddles, stolen expensive items. He’s so proud he brags how strong you are to frost and let’s you know you’re stunning beyond compare every day

10th Doctor

He notices quite early on you’re eating habits have changed and you’re becoming rather sickly looking, at first he things you’re ill so he drags you around running a full body test on you only to get very confused when you’re clear of sickness now he’s worried, what’s wrong with you?

The Doctor gets very distraught upon hearing you’re struggling with your body he doesn’t understand you’re like a supernova to him what’s to be ashamed of, he doesn’t know how to help but he digs deep and finds all he needs to know about what’s going on and becomes more or less your personal therapist

He puts adventures on hold for a while worried you’re get too sick to go on and he’ll lose you if you keep pushing yourself. Doctor brings back many exotic nutritious foods for you to eat in small chunks and you best believe he turns to cuddly mush around you the sweetest purest declarations of love you’d ever hear were made in the moments you needed it most even if you tried to conceal it

He does get a little overprotective especially if he feels you’re in danger or considerably weak and if you have fainting spells he’s a mess you’ll wake up being cradled by a worried sick doctor he doesn’t care what he’s doing he’ll always catch you and take you straight to bed with him in case you get worse he holds you through relapses, tears, anger the lot rubbing soothing circles on your back and many hugs which involve him lifting you off the floor and clinging to you

He takes you to the most beautiful places he knows as encouragement when you’re down or as a treat after you’ve tried your best he never forces you to eat but he’s strict about getting enough to keep you going, he won’t lose you. Don’t doubt whenever you feel especially down that day that the doctor won’t give an entire lecture on how he loves you the doctor needs you by his side

Edward Nygma

Ed knows something’s wrong long before you really realise it yourself he’s a very perspective man usually a mystery sets him off but with you involved in something like this makes him anxious and skittish he’s confused as to why you feel this way he knows the science behind it but you’re perfect in his eyes he wishes you could feel the same

He’d get more and more anxious as time went on and you gradually got worse you were usually happy and bubbly but now you were tired and weakened seeing you vulnerable made his instincts to protect you kick in and he tried his hardest to shield you from anyone giving you a hard time

He’s be logical on getting you to eat cooking meals himself that were highly nutritious and healthy in small portions so you weren’t daunted by them or he’d pick you up some small snack. Edward would help you eat on days where you felt you really couldn’t patting your back and sitting with you as long as you took to be able to finish a suitable amount

He’ll throw in a few riddles when you ask him what’s for dinner or you’re getting really nervous at the thought of food, it’s a little brain game he designed to distract you from getting too overwhelmed and leading to a panic attack some of his riddles went so far you didn’t even end up thinking of food in the end istead begging him to tell you how he came up with it

Edward is so supportive and kind towards you each mini victory was celebrated with something nice like a lazy day in bed or a cute little thing he devised there’s no limit to how far Ed would go to keep you happy your smile, your body language, the way you begged for the answer to his riddles made him fall head over heels for you and he’d give you the world if it meant you were happy

[sanderssides-springfling]

To Woo A Snake

for @ionlyeatcomfortfood

Synopsis: a DLAMP hogwarts au! Roman, Virgil, Logan, and Patton all find themselves crushing on a certain snake. As they’re already dating each other, they make it their personal mission to see if one more might be added to their relationship.

This was super fun to write, and I’m sorry I’m not the best at Hogwarts au’s but I hope you like this!

This is really fluffy so there’s not really any warnings, besides the mention of cults in general a few times in passing and also my horrific attempt at writing something that resembles flirting.

Logan, Roman, Patton, and Virgil had a problem and it was one they intended to solve. They sat in the quietest corner of the surprisingly busy library, a small bit of privacy created by a wall of books. Logan had control of a large piece of parchment, scribbling down notes with his quill as fast as he could. Between Roman, Virgil, and him the suggestions were rapid fire with only Patton to keep them calm.

“What if we tried using big signs with an accompanied song and dance? We could do a Disney medley!” Roman suggested, waving his arms around to mimic the proposed song and dance. Logan and Virgil looked confused, with Virgil looking almost disgusted. Patton attempted a supportive glance, but Virgil spoke up.

“Ignoring whatever the hell a Disney is, no. Obviously not. We agreed no public humiliation and this is public humiliation to a tee, just imagine the looks! The taunts! We won’t be able to go to the great hall for weeks!” Virgil said, attempting to scribble out Roman’s idea. Roman retaliated by muttering something about purebloods being “uncultured” before Virgil continued his point, “Besides, how does that even solve anything? That’s just an excuse for you to sing, when we should be focusing on the problem!”

The problem in question was called Janus, or Deceit if you were one of their crueler classmates. He was a Slytherin in their year and good friends with all of them. He stood out to most for two things. The first being scales that covered half his face, bleeding into snake-like eyes and -if you were paying close enough attention- an almost-forked tongue. The second was the fact that he wore a bowler hat and long yellow rubber gloves over their uniform robes. Most people found him weird, however those four all found him ridiculously attractive. Not only that, but they decided that, if he agreed, they would want him as a part of their relationship. Now, all there was to do was decide on how to go about asking him.

The worst part is that they barely had any experience to work with. What they had, really, just kind of happened. By the time they were third years it was just universally acknowledged that they loved each other. Without even speaking the words, it was just a fact. It was made official that year, sure, but there was no question of if, only of when. This was different. They didn’t even know if he liked them in that way or not. Trying to figure out how not to get horribly rejected made them start to understand the hordes of people confused about how they managed to pull their four person relationship off. Heck, it made them start to wonder how they did it.

It was completely new territory for the past almost-year. More days than not one of them would end up a blushing and flustered mess over Janus and they’d all end up gushing about him.

Logan spoke up in an attempt to calm down his boyfriends, “Think about this logically, all four of us at once would likely overwhelm him, so it would be better for us to approach him one at a time, possibly doing small tests to see if our attraction is reciprocated.”

“Logan, do you mean flirting? Do you want us to flirt with him?” Virgil laughed, more amused than making fun of.

Logan cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, “Yes, I suppose “flirting” is what I am suggesting we attempt, although I would normally be against a less direct method I believe as we are uncertain of his interest level, running an experiment would make the most logical sense. He may be polyamourous, however making an uneducated assumption could result in the loss of his friendship-something I assume none of use are keen to.”

Patton smiled, more genuine than his earlier false support. Roman and Virgil seemed to look content as well. It was a vague enough compromise, and let Virgil’s worries of “public humiliation” be postponed for another day. There began their attempt to woo a snake.

******

Patton sat impatiently, grinning as he waited for Janus to arrive at Potions class. Yes, he was excited every day for Janus to arrive as they were good friends, however today was special. He was going to let his feelings be known, at least a little bit more. Honestly, he was bad at keeping his adoration hidden, but at least this time it would (hopefully) be more clearly romantic.

He sat behind his cauldron, all the ingredients for that day’s potion layed out in front of him. He tried not to think about this going badly, swinging his feet around under the desk. He took a look at the confusing potion recipe and immediately knew his time would be more spent on Janus than on this.

The teacher didn’t care if he was paying attention or not, having given up on him after his horrible cooking skills seemed to translate to potion making. Not to mention he was a Hufflepuff, who were notorious for having no collective understanding of potions, in a class with Slytherins, the recipients of blatant favoritism. He never stood a chance.

As he was poking the materials, looking for good puns, he felt a familiar presence take the seat next to him. He looked the same as usual. Taller than him, with bright yellow gloves that happened to match Patton’s tie, multicolored eyes. Suddenly, a sense of panic washed over him.

 Oh god. What was he even doing? He was so nice and smart and caring! Patton was just Patton! He was already running his luck with his four amazing boyfriends, he was bound to run out eventually! What could he possibly want with him! aaaaaAAAAA-

“Patton? Are you doing okay?” Janus asked, trying to meet his eyes. Patton probably looked terrified, his internal panic bleeding all over his face. Janus hesitantly put his hand on Patton’s shoulder, and he almost died. No matter how many times it happened, he would never get over the emotional roller-coaster of a crush.

“Yeah, Jay, I’m doing good!” Patton said, trying his best to cover his panic with a smile. Janus looked him over, as if he didn’t buy the quick change from panic to his usual bubbly self.

“Very believable Patton, honestly you should win one of those muggle Oscars,” Janus said, in an over-dramatic tone that called Patton’s bluff. When Patton made no moves to actually explain, Janus got more serious, “Fine. If you don’t want to tell me, I’m not going to make you, but you need to take care of yourself. If there’s something bothering you, please don’t overwork yourself.”

There he went again, making sure Patton wasn’t pushing down his own needs. This was a conversation that happened more often than it probably should have. It may have been a generally platonic gesture, however it did nothing to help the crush brewing in his stomach.

“Yeah! I’m fine, really this time. Promise, kiddo!” Patton said, letting the bubbly feeling override the nerves. He was fine, if not a little nervous. How could he not be fine, with one of the people he loved the most right next to him!

“Patton, I am 6 months older than you.”

“Age is just a number the government pays attention to and also affects our day to day life!”

Janus gave out a light snort and turned back to the potion recipe. He went quickly to the work, letting Patton help more or less whenever he wanted to. Janus was definitely more adept at potion-making than he was so their agreement to let Janus handle most of the work was both unspoken and sturdy.

Suddenly, a small part of Patton wished he had made a plan like Logan and Virgil suggested, though he knew that was never something he was ever going to do. He loved all his boyfriends very much, but he and Roman were most alike when it came to romance. It should be spontaneous! Speaking from the heart!

Sadly, the heart was hard to hear over the rising levels of panic.

Janus made quick work of the first few steps, before handing a piece of wormwood to him. Patton was apparently responsible for the small chopping board. He was ready to slice, dice, and crush whatever they would need! Hopefully not his hand, though.

“Patton, could you cut that up for me?” Janus asked casually, before turning to his dramatic tone, “After all, you are so adept in this class, especially with sharp objects. I totally don’t need you to worry about being careful and am definitely not trying to let you be included. You’re just the best man for the job!”

It fell in between insult and concern, but twisted his heart nonetheless. He chopped up the wormwood as quickly as possible, like on the muggle cooking shows he loved back home. He came very close to losing a few digits, yes, however it was for the most part a success. In the moments he spent trying to slice up the ingredient, he came up with a genius strategy. Puns.

“Here you go Jay! But before that, I have to ask,” Patton said, moving to reveal the completely expertly chopped plant, “worm-would you be mine?”

Janus took the wormwood with his eyes widened and a more-than-subtle blush on his face. For a second, Patton worried that he freaked Jay out. Fortunately, Janus resumed his usual focused, if not smug, expression. The blush didn’t seem to make any effort at leaving, though. It was all the invitation Patton needed to push down his worry and keep going.

“Do newt go breaking my heart!” 

“You’ve flobberworm-ed your way into my heart!”

“You make me weak in the peo-knees!”

Some were better than others, yes, but over the course of the whole class Jay never once spoke out to complain. His face maintained its blush, but it didn’t seem to be in embarrassment. He seemed almost… happy? After every pun he could see a surprised smile cross him for just a moment before resuming his usual expression.

Patton decided to consider that a successful “experiment trial”, as Logan would call it. Maybe their efforts wouldn’t be disastrous after all.

****

Roman was, for all intents and purposes, hyped about the quidditch game he would be playing in less than ten minutes. He was jogging around the pitch in anticipation, doubling it as extended warm ups. He would need it, his future courtship might hinge on the success of this game.

Okay, so maybe Roman didn’t have a “plan”. Whatever. What would he need a plan for when he had pure unadulterated romance? He already knew the only two things he needed to know: 1) It was going to be awesome 2) refer to thing one. So what if Virgil said that it might be a bad idea? His boyfriend was an absolute cynic and this would be great.

He finished his jogging, which could have been seen as pointless considering that quidditch was a sport played in the air, and mounted his broom. The team captain gave a little speech, the same one she gave before every game. Blah blah blah, Ravenclaw would be hard to beat, they needed teamwork blah blah blah. She knew they all knew this stuff but claimed it was good for morale, so they listened anyways. By the time she finished, he was more than ready to begin his position as Gryffindor Seeker Extraordinaire.

Step one, besides getting in position and staring down the opposing seeker (who of course just HAD to be his brother, Remus), was locating Janus. This wasn’t hard.

 Janus, while thoroughly disgusted with the incredibly dangerous and injury-riddled sport that was quidditch, he had no problem voicing these disgusts to the whole school. He had been the commentator ever since first year, when he refused to get on a broom during flying class. He claimed it wasn’t out of fear, although Roman could remember the look in his eyes suggesting otherwise. Either way, he agreed to be the commentator in exchange for never so much as looking at a quaffle or a snitch ever again.

He could barely see Janus, but his voice rang out loud and clear throughout the stadium, his slightly amused commentary voice preparing the crowd for the match. Speaking of the crowd, his boyfriends were there to support him like always. They weren’t hard to spot, sitting in the same seats as always.

Patton had a hyper level of support as per usual, face painted in red and gold despite being a Hufflepuff. Logan was holding a small “Go Ravenclaw!” flag and waved it a little as he caught Roman’s eye. Sure he talked big talk about being completely rational and logical, but he was just as petty and contrarian as Roman was. He loved it. Virgil looked very supportive, and gave a soft smile as Roman looked over at him. This quickly transformed into a look of “Please, Roman, don’t cause a scene this time”. It was a look he was well acquainted with. He waved over at them, grinning wide. He even threw in a wink to Virgil, letting him know that he would be sorely disappointed.

He regained his focus and the whistle blew, signaling the start of the match. The snitch zipped to the edge of the pitch at the speed of light as Roman chased after it. It moved like a scared rabbit, twitchy and fast as lightning. He raced Remus around, neck in neck every second of the way. He paid attention to Janus as he raced, using his words to pay attention to the surrounding pitch. Turns out Gryffindor managed to score two points in the first five minutes. Ravenclaw scored four, but that’s besides the point.

All of a sudden, an object came hurtling from the corner of his eye. He did a downwards corkscrew maneuver, spinning with a small nosedive. The sound of swishing air went over his head, before the crack of a beater’s bat sounded the offending bludger flying in the opposite direction. As soon as he got back upright, Janus noted his return. Taking a brief pause, he moved one hand from the broom and blew Janus a kiss. Janus’ voice seemed to take a brief stutter, catching on his next words. Roman hoped he was the cause.

The chase began again as Roman looked for the snitch. Luckily Remus seemed just as lost as he was, because he was not losing his big moment to his gremlin of a younger twin brother. Another bludger flew right at Roman, making him scramble to dodge. Seriously, he was starting to think they were aiming for him. This time, as he regained balance, he threw an exaggerated wink at Janus. His voice seemed to catch again, letting Roman know that he had to be the cause. It couldn’t be that much of a coincidence.

The rest of the match seemed to follow suit. He would desperately chase after the snitch, occasionally swerving to dodge bludgers and even his own teammates when he was at his most focused. Every time he had a moment to pause, he’d give Janus a wink or a smile or blow a kiss. This included the time that Janus, slightly reluctantly, complemented Roman’s seeking skills and Roman mimed out being struck by cupid’s bow. Nothing too outrageous, nothing that would cause Virgil and Logan to be baffled by his utter lack of self preservation when it came to public humiliation. 

Roman and Remus were on each other’s tails, like they had been the majority of the hour they had been playing. The downfall of having twin seekers was that they almost seemed to move in sync sometimes. Every push forward was met with the other striking back just as hard. They were in a scrambled chase as the golden snitch pulled them from place to place, changing pace and direction at a whim.

The snitch dove down, twenty or so feet from where they were both flying. Janus restated the scores, voice bored and bitter but still attentive, and Roman saw his chance. If he caught it now, they’d win. He dove down a little bit deeper than the snitch did, hoping to guess where it was going. He guessed wrong, and the snitch flew away from his hands, leaving him grasping at air. He could hear Janus laugh just a little bit, not maliciously but amused.

It was Remus’ turn to attempt at the snitch while Roman momentarily turned around. Fortunately the snitch blazed right past him, and they both went zooming. Pressing forward as fast as they could, it was like Remus realized that Roman intended to end the match then and there. Maybe twins really did have a psychic connection.

They went faster and faster, getting as close as they could, reaching out desperately for the cold metal. They were so close he could practically reach out and touch Remus’ hand. He reached out as the snitch came to an abrupt stop. It happened in the blink of an eye, but he was ever so slightly faster. He grabbed the snitch and grasped it firmly in his fist, refusing to let it go. He did it. They won.

Catching the snitch made Roman want to do something impulsive. Fortunately, Roman had very poor impulse control skills, so this was easy. He took the small metal ball out of his tight grip and took it tenderly between his fingers. The rest of the team was starting to wonder what on earth he was doing, but there was no stopping him. He, as carefully as he could, stepped on top of his broom. Yes, any wrong move would send him plummeting to many many broken bones and possibly certain doom, but this was the awesome thing he was waiting for.

He held up the snitch, letting it reflect against the sun as he stared right through it and at Janus. His hand outstretched, he began to speak.

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks! ‘Tis the east, and Janus is the sun. Arise, fair sun and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou, her knave, art more fair than she!” Roman recited, suddenly wishing Hogwarts had a theater club. Every person there was staring holes into him, including his team and boyfriends. No one knew what exactly just happened, including Roman.

Janus hadn’t quite turned off the microphone, so he heard a second of sputtering before going silent. He got back on his broom and flew down, handing over the snitch to a confused Coach. The exhilaration and the exercise had his face still flushed by the time he walked off the quidditch pitch, to be approached by his boyfriends.

“Dude. Woah,” Virgil said, and he couldn’t quite tell if he was impressed, shocked, confused, or all three. Before anyone else could get a word in, the four enveloped themselves in a group hug.

“You did so good Ro!” Patton complimented, almost vibrating in excitement. Patton possibly loved quidditch even more than Roman did, although he was still a beginner. Roman offered to teach him, but Patton swore he felt best behind in the crowd.

“I have to agree with Patton, Roman your performance was indeed exemplary,” Logan said, tone even and objective. The legitimate pride and love did of course seep through. 

“Yeah, Princey, I forget how good you are at that,” Virgil said, thoroughly impressed. “Though we have to discuss the elephant in the room here: How are you not dying of embarrassment? I was practically shaking just looking at you.”

“It’s about the gusto! The romance of it all!” Roman said, lifting out his hands in a flourish, “No need to shake, my chemical romance, because I think that went unbelievably well!”

Logan nodded along as if that made sense enough, Virgil snorted, and Patton smiled.

“Ro, if it is any consolation you definitely would have woo’d my socks right off!” Patton said, moving to press a quick kiss to Roman’s cheek.

Roman left with his boyfriends, absolutely confident about his flirting mastery, even after Logan questioned why he chose a quote from “the muggle play with the excessive amounts of death”. Roman then spent the next hour explaining Romeo and Juliet to Logan, with Virgil attempting to undermine him at every step, despite having no real knowledge of muggle literature. *****

Transfiguration was where Virgil and Logan decided they’d proceed with their experiment. Based on the results of Roman and Patton, it seemed like they would probably be at least semi-successful, however they didn’t want to leave room for error. Hence, doing it at the same time. They would likely work more confidently together, and the other person would be able to gauge the reaction more accurately.

They read some of Roman’s muggle romance novels for inspiration the previous nights. They obviously couldn’t go into it unprepared and admittedly neither of them were romantic experts. Virgil didn’t mind them too much, besides the clearly disturbing elements of certain stories that were being passed off as romantic. Did muggles think stalkers were attractive? Logan on the other hand flat out didn’t understand half the stories. How anyone could behave so illogically towards a near stranger, he would never comprehend.

The two of them sat at their desks, staring at the assignment in front of them. It was mostly instructions on how to turn the dead beetles in front of them into buttons and, as always, Virgil was near convinced it was impossible. Ok, he knew it wasn’t impossible- his two magical parents made a big deal of trying to teach him this sort of stuff from as long as he could remember. They wanted him to be their magical genius trophy kid. He was not their magical genius trophy kid.

Due to his magical abilities being really mediocre and transfiguration being really hard, Virgil just stared at his wand and his bugs and sighed. Doubt and worry snuck in, about all of it. He was almost certain he couldn’t do it, any of it, and that it would be a huge disaster. The weight of the anxiety he had been trying to ignore pressed down on him like his own personal gravity.

“Great, can’t wait to not only ruin the whole flirting thing for the rest of you, but also completely tank this assignment. Fantastic,” Virgil said, burying his face in his hands, dreading even picking up the wand. Logan turned to him, a comforting smile on his face, and pulled Virgil’s hands from his face.

“Virgil, you’re going to be fine. As far as this class goes you are doing just fine and if you begin to struggle, I’m here to help you. As far as Janus goes, however he reacts isn’t up to you. You cannot assume anything. I do know, from experience, that you are an amazing individual and he would be lucky to have you. Objectively,” Logan adjusted his glasses as he said the last word. He always did get uncomfortable with his emotions. It made Virgil chuckle just a little, the weight lifting just a little.

As their conversation drifted to other things, such as which teachers were most likely to start a cult, Janus walked in and took the seat next to Logan. They made sure not to pay too much attention to him as he walked in, something from Roman’s books about “playing hard to get”. Still, a wave of nervousness went through Virgil, as if their trial had finally begun.

“Anyways, I think you could honestly make the argument that care of magical creatures is already a cult, if an inhuman one,” Logan argued as Janus looked at their assignment for the day, already turning over to be let into the conversation, “Janus, you’re finally here. What professor would lead the best cult?”

Janus pretended to think it over, before giving a fake earnest look, “Magical History, easily. The professor’s boring, long yarns really adds to the charisma. The way he puts people to sleep really has the command of a real leader.”

Virgil snorted, shaking his head, “You’re both so wrong, it’s easily the coach. You’ve seen the quidditch teams- they’re already halfway to cult status.”

“Coach does not count as a real professor, but fine,” Logan said, turning his attention to their actual classwork. The teacher wasn’t going to actually try and teach them anything, seeing as Ravenclaws had a fifty percent chance of blowing it off and a fifty percent chance of doing it faster than he could teach, Slytherins would very loudly race each other to do it the fastest and the best, and both together created a very uniquely bad teaching environment.

The assignment went by fairly quickly and painlessly. Despite frustratingly worded instructions, they got through it easily enough. Virgil did eventually have a difficult time trying to get the transformation right, but with Janus and Logan’s attempts at teaching him, he got through it with time to spare. They then did what they did most days, had in depth conversations about subjects that didn’t particularly matter all that much. Logan decided this was the perfect place to try flirting.

“Hey Janus,” Logan said, diverting the conversation from Janus, who had experience with muggle culture, quizzing Virgil, who had no experience with muggle culture, about what exactly he thought Pokemon was, “are you, in any capacity, attracted to me?”

Janus blushed and choked on air while Virgil looked somewhere between shock and disbelief. Logan saw nothing inherently wrong with what he said, it was direct and to the point, something many of Roman’s protagonists could benefit from. It would hopefully avoid any “hijinks” built on miscommunication.

Janus cleared his throat, forcing the look of panic down. He put on his most performative smile, using the dramatic gestures he usually donned while lying, “Of course Logan, why- can’t you tell? I’m completely in love with you!” He even batted his eyelashes a few times for good measure. Despite all of the obvious signs, Logan could tell this wasn’t quite a lie. Exaggerated and dramatized, but not completely wrong.

Virgil seemed to pick up on this too, however he did not look any less baffled by the situation as a whole. Virgil chose to stay silent for now, figuring he didn’t want to make a weird situation even weirder. Then, Logan decided to speak up.

“Okay. Would you say you have a willingness and/or a want to be in a relationship with multiple people? Including myself and Virgil?” Logan somehow managed to say this in the same flat tone he always spoke, as if this were some commonplace obvious question.

Janus dropped his act, becoming momentarily serious, “Logan if this is some roundabout way of asking if I’m polyamorous, I already told you I was a few weeks ago, and yes, I would be open to a relationship right now, potentially with you and Virgil.”

Virgil, in his nervous bafflement, carefully reached towards Janus, gently placing his hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure?” he asked, less sure of whether or not this was just another, more discreet, act.

“No, Virgil. In fact, I’ve been playing the long con with you. My name is Jacob, I’m straight and am getting engaged to my long-time girlfriend Kayleigh,” Janus said, tone becoming performative once again. The obvious lie lightened the conversation and made the incessant drumming of Virgil’s heartbeat chill out momentarily.

The three of them tried to take the awkward conversation in stride, moving on to topics like how useful was divination, really and which muggle philosophers were totally secret muggleborns. It was surprisingly easy getting back into their normal conversations, but once class was over Logan and Virgil both felt some level of relief.

“Did that actually work? Like, was that a fever dream or did that happen?” Virgil said as they walked out of the classroom.

“I’ve always told you: the best way to do everything is to be direct and leave no room for guessing,” Logan said simply, as if he, too wasn’t internally freaking out.

“I think Roman might disagree with you on that one, but I am too amazed to care, oh my god.”

The two walked away, to reconvene with their boyfriends and tell them about the amazingly weird conversation they just had.

****

Janus also had a problem, but his was more recent in nature. See, he happened to have a crush on not one, but four boys. Who were all in a relationship- with each other. He had known for months that it was never going to happen, trying to crush any hope of even one of them returning his affections. Them being poly like him helped his odds, but not by much. Their relationship was something he respected and accepted that being a part of it just wasn’t going to be an option. Being friends was something he was perfectly fine with too, something he genuinely enjoyed. He was okay with his situation the way it was.

But then the weirdest thing happened.

Over the past few days, the four of them seemed to be doing… something. He didn’t really know what was going on, at first. One day in Potions, Patton just started making romantically-themed puns at him while they were supposed to be working. It affected him more than he would like to admit, but it also just confused him. He didn’t bring it up any other time. Then, a few days later, when he almost forgot the incident in Potions, Roman started winking at him and blowing kisses during the quidditch match. The behavior, while very effective at flustering him, wasn’t all that uncommon. Roman was just one of those people who could be like that sometimes. It didn’t mean anything. Until, however, the match ended and his stupidly brave self stood up on his broom and recited Romeo and Juliet to him. It was confusingly romantic.

He was really truly baffled, because it seemed like the weird type of flirting those two would actually use, but he had to be the one who was wrong. That simply could not be the case, he was just reading too much into some totally normal friendship things, right?

He was bordering the line between “convincing himself” and “lying to himself” when he finally got some sense of what was going on. Virgil and Logan acted normally during their Transfiguration class the Monday after the game, until right in the middle of an engaging conversation where he lied to Virgil about what Pokemon were. Logan asked, in the most Logan-y possible way, if he was attracted to him.

Janus obviously tried to deflect, taking his real feelings and making them as dramatic as possible. He hoped they would assume he was joking. He hoped wrong. He seemed to forget that he was dealing with Logan, who takes everything literally, as Logan seemed to take it at face value. Despite the complete embarrassment of it all, it did let Janus know that, yes, they were probably trying to flirt with him. It was awkward and unpracticed, but that seemed to be what their goal was.

Still, he didn’t know for sure. He didn’t have confirmation, which he was slightly desperate to get as soon as possible.

He waited till they had a break in classes to try and find them all together. It shouldn’t have been hard, considering they were practically attached at the hip at all times. Wandering around, he ran into Remus, one of his best friends and Roman’s twin. He was dubiously trustworthy at best, but it was worth a shot.

“Remus, do you know where Roman is? I need to talk with him and his boyfriends,” Janus asked, watching Remus shake around a jar full of half-formed beetle-buttons. Remus thought for a moment, although whether or not it was actually about his question was a different matter altogether.

“Finally shooting your shot Jay-Jay?” Remus asked, wiggling his eyebrows, dyed highlighter pink, “Well I haven’t seen my dear darling brother in a long time, but I’m pretty sure he’s in the library. He hangs out with a bunch of nerds, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”

He decided to leave instead of furthering the conversation, lest he find out what Remus was planning on doing with those beetles. It couldn’t be anything good and he wanted at least plausible deniability.

It didn’t take him long to find them in the library, in some corner poorly guarded by bookshelves. Janus could have sworn they were in a meeting by the way they were seated, even with a pad of paper in front of Logan, who was taking a few notes. He could hear them talking, but he didn’t quite understand it.

“Okay, so maybe your method was “most effective” and “got results” but where was the flair? The panache? It’s about the drama of it all, Logan-” Roman said, heavily using air quotes. Janus tried to get just a little bit closer, but because Hogwarts was an ancient building, the floorboard he stepped on creaked loud enough to alert half the school. All four of them turned to look at him with varying degrees of embarrassment when they registered who it was.

Janus quietly entered the little nook, standing at the end of the table where they were seated. They were all staring at him, waiting for him to say something.

“Hello everyone, I just figured I’d pop by, see how you were doing,” he said, trying to smooth out his tone, “also to perhaps inquire if and why you all seemed to be flirting with me.”

This did not make anyone any less nervous, including and especially Patton and Virgil, who both looked on the verge of hyperventilation. Logan however still seemed to be less fazed by all of it.

“Janus, you’re here, good. Yes, we were “flirting” with you to gauge your romantic interest. I assume based on our results, you are in fact romantically interested in us?” Logan said, casual as ever. Janus didn’t expect the bluntness and as it seemed, neither did Patton, Virgil, and Roman.

He paused for a moment, practically forgetting to breathe. This wasn’t how he imagined this going, and he imagined it a lot. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for an answer and he was thoroughly tongue-tied. He swallowed his nerves and tried to speak, “Yes, I- yes. I like you all. Romantically, that is. A lot.”

The four of them seemed to calm down just a bit after hearing that, the tension clearing ever so slightly. It was then Roman’s turn to speak, getting up from the table and approaching Janus.

“This isn’t quite the spectacle I was hoping for,” Roman said, side-eyeing Logan, “but I guess if the time is right, would you go out with us?”

“Please!” added Patton, still sitting down. They all looked so unbelievably hopeful, Janus could barely believe it. He paused, not because he was hesitant but to make sure it was real. That this wouldn’t disappear if he blinked.

“Yes, of course yes. I would love to go out with all of you. Maybe, if I’m allowed, I’d even be your boyfriend,” He said, the words practically falling out of his mouth.

Virgil spoke up next, hesitantly, “Really? You would really want that?”

“Yes Virgil, really. I really want to date all of you.”

“Sounds fake but… okay.”

Patton sprung up out of his seat, rushing to hug Janus. It was a comfortable weight, one he was used to, but now the meaning was slightly different. It was… nice. Roman then joined Patton in hugging Janus, squeezing slightly tighter. Virgil walked up too, wrapping his arms around them all and relaxing his head against them. Logan was the last to join their group hug, but although stiff, his hug carried just as much care. 

They stayed like that for a minute or two, perfectly comfortable. In that moment, they were happy, and they knew they would be happy for many more moments to come, truly feeling happier together.

[thelastpilot]

Piiiiiiloooooooooot!!!! You're making me sad! I've been waiting to hear you talk about your story since you got on your plane and said you'd write something big up later XD

haha yes! Okay I’m sorry i totally forgot about that when the world exploded, and then i sat on this ask for a while longer to consider the question. I’d like to say that i have so much all fleshed out but I really don’t, so I think I’ll just highlight some story ideas that I have in general as I grapple my inability to write stuff, or rather the hesitation revolving around STARTING (ironic since that was one of the things I gave the most advice about, and looking back on it, I have followed none of it which is my problem) 

So if you don’t mind a really long post, I’m just going to post summaries and stuff about my original ideas. 

The Boy with the Bite

The story follows a boy named Caleb Fisher from the town of Tremont, where terrible things never happen, yet sometimes still do. In the shadows of the wood Caleb is the victim of a mauling with stretching consequences, and finds an unexpected ally in a talking black cat named Jack Bennett. This cat warns the boy as best he can about the dangers of the full moon but understands grimly that there are no real explanations to make it any better, not really. Now, Caleb is left with nothing as he is forced to leave his family behind and go in search of answers to new questions with strange new companions,and redefine for himself what a ‘monster’ really is.

---

((that was from an old post lol. this is the book idea I am the most serious about, the secondary contender being the same main character Caleb, but instead of involving any other characters, his companions consist entirely of dogs.

So a young, recently bitten werewolf fleeing home with no answers realizes that he’s an animal. He gains an understanding of the speech of dogs, limited though it is sometimes, and in his disorientation is arrested for trespassing. Consumed with fear over realizing these well meaning officers intend to send him home where he could potentially bring harm to his family, Caleb desperately appeals the the old police dog guarding the office. The old dog listens as the odd boy begs and cries, and stops to ask the boy if his suspicions had been correct. Were the police officers really intending on retiring him. When Caleb confirms this to be the truth, the old dog shakes himself and decides he has had no true heroics in his career, and helps the young werewolf escape. With McKinley (Captain McKinley as the old Shepard insists) at his side Caleb escapes into the world, gaining his own pack of earnest, misplaced dogs as he goes. But as supernatural threats begin to draw near, lured by the presence of another predator like themselves, Caleb must embrace the parts of himself he fears the most in order to preserve the family he has created. 

(really fond of this one but feel like it has been done maybe. that doesnt mean i SHOULDNT write it, i just consider it)

---

the third one, which i believe is the one you originally asked about is a nameless universe in which i am primarily generating OC’s along a certain set of rules.

Essentially it is a magic universe where non magic folk and magic users live together in various realms with varying levels of magic concentration. The really highly magical concentrated realm is where a lot of magic schools and buisnesses were founded and primarily where they operate, but magic users can be born to any of the realms and magic to known to everyone, even if its less prominent where they live. the main stay in the universe is the production and selling of magic items/enchatments to both magic users and non magic folk alike, forming an entire type of economic flow. thats mostly unimportant but just showcases how they co-exist

creatures and spirits that are magical in nature exist in all the realms as do animals, but it skews from mostly animals with some magical creatures, to mostly magical creatures with a few animals on a gradient of sorts. most people live right in that middle sweet spot with a little bit of everything. 

the story with my OC’s is in a magical school which mostly functions like a trade school, its considered a type of higher education you can enter right after highschool or test into halfway through highschool to finish your general ed while also taking trade classes alongside it. There you can learn the practical trades of enchantments, familiar summoning, creation and refinement of magical objects, preparing of magical components, practical spells, charms, potions, etc. Upon graduation you receive a certificate of your chosen field of study and hopefully an internship in your field. Functions like a boarding school/dorm situation/ trade school dealio 

In it we got this gang

Flint Mason- a wizard with an interest in crystals and their various magical uses, has a familiar that is a crystal lined iguana that can split apart into three little newts

Laguna Poole- a water witch who grew up in the most intensely magic area possible. Has a little trouble with average human objects as a result but loves fashion, and primarily studies water familiars and potion making. Has a frog that can also turn into an otter, i call it a frotter, its name is pud

Lucio (insert last name here cause i forgot)- a bit of a quiet lad who studies pretty intricate enchantment lines and anything ancient. Has a Church Grim who exudes creepy warnings and is totally invisible except his eyes in the dark

Ayah (insert last name here cause I forgot)- a witch who is a fantastic summoner, so much so that she accidently summoned like so many djinn, and now has five djinn who follow her in the form of pure black cats that live in her shadow and act as her familiars. 

there is one other good boy who is not done being developed yet, but i do have his familiar

The Kettle Crab

[alchemic-elric]

Mun Questions || Accepting 

Anonymous said: 🖊️😘

😘 - Is there a blog or a muse you think deserves more attention?

Hi I advertise my friends all the time. 

I think @citrinexdreams​ is amazing and everyone should love Kay’s Ling. I’m bias though, I admit that. 

 @valiant-noble-soul​  is my  forever brother, and I really wish people would write with Al as much as they write with Ed. 

@mangataonegdaj​  - Feli is a beautifully written OC, and Newt is a wonderful person and I will support their brand for forever. 

@forsakenflora​  - Crystal is absolutely fabulous and her Rose, and her writing blows my mind. Everything she writes is gold. 

that’s it for now. 

🖊️ - What does your muses handwriting look like?

Like absolute hell. I talked about it here before.  But he’s right hand dominate but holding a pen with his automail is next to impossible. He’ll press too hard and snap the pen.  Ink all over the paper so that work is lost.  He spent a long time trying to re-learn how to write with his left hand and it’s not great looking now. 

His hand shakes when he writes and the faster he writes the worst it shakes. He’s been known to drag his hand when he writes and since writing left handed is pushing the pen across the page (VS right handed, dragging then pen with the ink trailing behind) when he drags his hand, it drags through his writing and smudges the ink. 

He’s gotten into fights with Mustang about it more than once. He’s watched more than one report be sat aflame in anger. 

His letters are too big, unevenly spaced,  everything is shaky, sometimes the pen’s ink skips and misses letter entirely so he has to go rewrite them- it’s just a mess. It’s not horrible, if he actually slows down and takes his time but he next to never does that. 

*visual reference see this tag. 

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Ever-Changing Disney & Pixar Slates From 2008 to about 2016...

I'll have this here for reference as well...

Preface: DreamWorks' next film is something we know next to nothing about, and the only films on their slate are a TROLLS threequel and KUNG FU PANDA 4. A movie called MEET THE GILLMANS, per a few reports and other clues, is supposed to open before TROLLS BAND TOGETHER does... The rest of DreamWorks' slate is sparse, despite the studio reportedly having a big plan in place... So why the skittishness to say what's coming out?

I think I know why...

Anything can happen with an animated movie... Even if it's *this* close to completion. The animated adaptation of Nate Stevenson's NIMONA got shut down - alongside the studio it was being made at, Blue Sky - in February 2021 despite being 75% complete, but luckily it was revived at another studio (Annapurna) and will be completed and released this year. Henry Selick's THE SHADOW KING was maybe halfway done when Disney pulled the plug on it in mid-2012. DreamWorks halted in-production movies like ME AND MY SHADOW (shadows have bad luck in animation picture business, don't they?) and LARRIKINS. Disney threw out a 2D/CG picture with a lot of working titles, one of which was A FEW GOOD GHOSTS, despite the amount of work done on it.

The list is even longer, so I wanted to re-chronicle a weird history of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar on here... In an age where long-term slates being laid down is commonplace.

We'll start at April of 2008...

I remember seeing this slate back in the day and thinking, "Wow, this is massive." This predated Marvel releasing gargantuan half-decade plans for interconnected movies... This was a long-term plan spanning four years from both Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. This was a little after The Walt Disney Company's historic acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, and the subsequent installation of Pixar stalwarts John Lasseter and Ed Catmull as heads of a revitalized WDAS. Perhaps after the release of MEET THE ROBINSONS and RATATOUILLE in 2007, there was a newfound confidence in both studios.

WDAS had gone through a rough period in the early 2000s, where films either lost money due to various circumstances (THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE) or didn't get great critical reception (BROTHER BEAR)... Sometimes both. (ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, HOME ON THE RANGE) MEET THE ROBINSONS got mixed-to-positive reception at best, and did flop at the box office. The film had cost around $100m to make, and failed to double that worldwide. It was indeed dumped by the marketing department and heads, for it was perceived as more of a band-aid ripping than the first in a line of new-fangled WDAS movies sure to win back the critical acclaim and box office glory they once possessed in the early '90s. No, that distinction would go to BOLT, as it's often pointed to as the first of the "Revival" features, or at least the first of the Lasseter/Catmull pictures.

Anyways, that same year, RATATOUILLE became another Pixar blockbuster and seemed to prove that that Emeryville studio really could do no wrong. People doubted many of their films, each new Pixar movie seemed like their first flop. Michael Eisner infamously predicted FINDING NEMO would be a flop when he had seen a rough cut of the film around a year before its eventual release and subsequent record-breaking run at the box office. By the time you got to RATATOUILLE, people jeered that this movie starring a rat (gross! disgusting!) that wants to cook would be their first dud... But it wasn't, it defied the odds and it took home the Oscar on top of that.

So you could imagine that Disney was quite confident in their animation slate going forward, from both Pixar and WDAS... And so, they laid out a slate, in addition to the films already on the release boards... (Pixar highlighted in blue, WDAS in green)

WALL-E - 6/27/2008

BOLT - 11/26/2008

UP - 5/29/2009

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG - Christmas 2009

TOY STORY 3 - 6/18/2010

RAPUNZEL - Christmas 2010

NEWT - Summer 2011

THE BEAR AND THE BOW - Christmas 2011

CARS 2 - Summer 2012

KING OF THE ELVES - Christmas 2012

Wow... Back in 2008, that seemed like *a lot* of movies... And Pixar releasing *two films* in a calendar year? What is this sorcery??

For anyone not entirely in the loop here, THE BEAR AND THE BOW is the movie that eventually got re-named to BRAVE. KING OF THE ELVES was to be an adaptation of the Phillip K. Dick story, from BROTHER BEAR directors Aaron Blaise and the late Robert Walker.

Now, a slight adjustment was made to this slate by fall of 2008... CARS 2 had curiously traded places with NEWT, and was now opening a year earlier than expected.

Some time passes by, by mid-2009, THE BEAR AND THE BOW is now BRAVE...

A new project based on Winnie the Pooh fires up. The company has a very short-lived desire to do a full-on reboot of the franchise and get it up to speed, as it had been kinda lost in Pooh Corner for quite some time. Pigeonholed as a preschooler property more so than something to be enjoyed by the whole family... This very brief push for a brand new Winnie the Pooh results in a hand-drawn animated feature, landed in the lap of Disney Animation. It is hastily greenlit and fast-tracked for a 2011 release. WDAS now has a movie to release that year.

Then we get to the end of 2009... THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG is not the blockbuster it should've been. The first hand-drawn feature from the studio since 2004, this performance causes a very weird blowback to fairy tales within the company, in an era where they were very concerned about one single demographic... The 6-to-12 year-old boy. Keep in mind, this is the year Disney launched the channel Disney XD (replacing Toon Disney), a channel tailored to that group. Marvel was also purchased that year, too, meaning Disney-released Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that would appeal to those. Their verdict was that the movie having "Princess" in the title was what killed it, as it scared away that boy audience... Though if you ask me, PRINCESS AND THE FROG had far more outside problems going on that affected the movie than some random little Timmy not wanting to see a "girly movie".

So now, by early 2010, the mandate was... No more fairy tales, those are passe. And 2D was pretty much not coming back, either. WINNIE THE POOH was in production, yes, but it was dead on arrival. An adaptation of THE SNOW QUEEN was... Forgive the pun, *on ice*...

However, there was one movie that stood in the way... It was the next movie, too... RAPUNZEL... The movie was hastily re-titled to TANGLED, in an attempt to make it seem less "girly". I love that movie, but I always hated that title... But it's the one they went with for the domestic and UK releases. Many countries retained the RAPUNZEL title, albeit in other languages. (For example, in French, it's RAIPONCE.) TANGLED couldn't be cancelled, it was far too deep into production to have that happen to it... It was still on track for Thanksgiving of 2010. Elsewhere in the "Hat Building", KING OF THE ELVES is but dead, with Blaise and Walker having moved on to other things. WINNIE THE POOH was moved to the day the final HARRY POTTER movie was supposed to open, instead of a much more ideal early spring slot. (It was an April release in the UK and much of Europe.) Conspicuously, Pixar does not pull the plug on BRAVE, which itself is a fairy tale-inspired fantasy story with a princess in it...

Now around this time, a project called REBOOT RALPH was starting to make the rounds, and eventually it secured a release date of March 22, 2013. Why not fall 2012, where KING OF THE ELVES used to be? Well, that's because Pixar - out of nowhere - had announced that a MONSTERS, INC. 2 was in the works for a fall 2012 release... And that NEWT was outright cancelled, leaving the summer of 2012 to BRAVE. By the time TOY STORY 3 came to theaters, the slate now looked like this...

TANGLED - 11/24/2010

CARS 2 - 6/24/2011

WINNIE THE POOH - 7/15/2011

BRAVE - 6/22/2012

MONSTERS, INC. 2 - 11/2/2012 (or possibly the 16th)

REBOOT RALPH - 3/22/2013

We can see the "two Pixars a year, WDAS settles for the year after" pattern starting to take shape here...

Now we get to early 2011... MONSTERS, INC. 2 turns out to be a prequel titled MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, and REBOOT RALPH is retitled to WRECK-IT RALPH... RALPH is now a fall 2012 release, and MONSTERS U moves to summer 2013. No "two Pixars" in 2012...

TANGLED does well at the box office, proving that fairy tales aren't passe at all. At Disney Animation, THE SNOW QUEEN is put back in development, and according to the defunct insider blog Blue Sky Disney, it was put in a "production race" of sorts with KING OF THE ELVES, now under BOLT director Chris Williams. Both are competing to be the next WDAS film after the release of WRECK-IT RALPH because right around that time? There wasn't anything really else on the horizon that was in shape to go forward... Early work was being done on what would eventually become BIG HERO 6, pitches for movies that later became ZOOTOPIA and MOANA were just taking shape around this time. So it was either SNOW QUEEN or ELVES...

In August, at the inaugural D23 fan expo, Pixar announces two original movies with no titles... They are announced as THE UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE ABOUT DINOSAURS and THE UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE THAT TAKES YOU INSIDE THE MIND...

They are later slated for 11/27/2013 and 5/30/2014 respectively...

That is, until THE SNOW QUEEN - now baring the TANGLED-esque adjective title FROZEN - took the dinosaur movie's slot... So by the end of 2011, things looked a bit like this...

BRAVE - 6/22/2012

WRECK-IT RALPH - 11/2/2012

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY - 6/21/2013

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE ABOUT DINOSAURS - TBD

UNTITLED PIXAR / INSIDE THE MIND - TBD

Come CinemaCon, April 2012, things are cleared up about the dinosaur and mind movies... They have titles, aaaaand release dates...

BRAVE - 6/22/2012

WRECK-IT RALPH - 11/2/2012

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY - 6/21/2013

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 5/30/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

Later in the year, two adjustments are made to this slate...

BRAVE - 6/22/2012

WRECK-IT RALPH - 11/2/2012

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY - 6/21/2013

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 5/30/2014

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/7/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

UNTITLED PIXAR - 11/25/2015

Once again, Pixar trying to have two a year...

In April 2013, a FINDING NEMO sequel called FINDING DORY is officially confirmed to exist, and it takes the Thanksgiving 2015 slot... Also right around this time, Disney Animation confirms that their Marvel comic adaptation BIG HERO 6 is on the boards for fall 2014...

May 2013 is where things get big... This, I believe, is in response to how well WRECK-IT RALPH does for Disney Animation. The film manages to be the studio's second big hit after TANGLED, and that they were in good standing. With that, many more dates were locked for WDAS films in addition to Pixar films...

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY - 6/21/2013

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 5/30/2014

BIG HERO 6 - 11/7/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

FINDING DORY - 11/25/2015

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 3/4/2016

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/17/2016

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/23/2016

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/16/2017

UNTITLED PIXAR - 11/22/2017

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 3/9/2018

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/15/2018

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/21/2018

Talk about "eatin' good"... That was *five* whole years of new animated features to look forward to, and only folks who were in the trenches knew what was possibly coming out on those dates...

The next D23 Expo takes place, where ZOOTOPIA is revealed to the public for the first time. Later, Disney confirms that it'll be WDAS' March 2016 release. However, a little after an odd presentation... It is revealed that Pixar's THE GOOD DINOSAUR has hit a snag... The director was removed, and a month later, Pixar up and delayed the movie. THE GOOD DINOSAUR migrated to Thanksgiving 2015, kicking FINDING DORY to summer 2016... 2014 is the first year to be without a Pixar feature since 2005...

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

BIG HERO 6 - 11/7/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 11/25/2015

ZOOTOPIA - 3/4/2016

FINDING DORY - 6/17/2016

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/23/2016

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/16/2017

UNTITLED PIXAR - 11/22/2017

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 3/9/2018

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/15/2018

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/21/2018

All is quiet for a little while... FROZEN erupts into a blockbuster phenomenon, but Disney remains mum on what's on the horizon beyond the spring 2016 release of ZOOTOPIA. Wisely so.

During an investor's call in March, CARS 3 and INCREDIBLES 2 are confirmed to exist, but are not given release dates.

In October, during another investor's call, TOY STORY 4 is revealed and has a release date: June 16, 2017.

On the Disney Animation front that same month, MOANA is confirmed to be the studio's fall 2016 release.

BIG HERO 6 - 11/7/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 11/25/2015

ZOOTOPIA - 3/4/2016

FINDING DORY - 6/17/2016

MOANA - 11/23/2016

TOY STORY 4 - 6/16/2017

UNTITLED PIXAR - 11/22/2017

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 3/9/2018

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/15/2018

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/21/2018

2015 means a new D23 Expo, and possibly a lot more information on what's coming from both studios...

But first, in March of 2015, Disney announces FROZEN II is happening. No date is set or implied.

At D23, COCO is revealed to be the Pixar's fall 2017 release. GIGANTIC, from Disney Animation, is announced but no release date is given. It is implied to be a spring 2018 release.

Then shortly thereafter, The Walt Disney Company announces a massive film slate encompassing all pictures - animated and live-action, Marvel and Lucasfilm...

CARS 3 is dated, taking TOY STORY 4's 6/16/2017 slot, TOY STORY 4 takes 6/15/2018. INCREDIBLES 2 is dated 6/21/2019, a WDAS film is slated for 11/27/2019... GIGANTIC is confirmed for spring 2018. Three 2020 animation releases are added, too. Wow! Two Pixars, one for 3/13/2020 and the other for 6/19/2020, and one WDAS, 11/25/2020...

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 11/25/2015

ZOOTOPIA - 3/4/2016

FINDING DORY - 6/17/2016

MOANA - 11/23/2016

CARS 3 - 6/16/2017

COCO - 11/22/2017

GIGANTIC - 3/9/2018

TOY STORY 4 - 6/15/2018

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/21/2018

INCREDIBLES 2 - 6/21/2019

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/27/2019

UNTITLED PIXAR - 3/13/2020

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/19/2020

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/25/2020

2016 comes about with a few updates...

A WRECK-IT RALPH sequel is confirmed to exist, and is slated for 3/9/2018. It pushes GIGANTIC to fall 2018.

TOY STORY 4 and INCREDIBLES 2 trade places...

By fall 2016, things are looking like this...

MOANA - 11/23/2016

CARS 3 - 6/16/2017

COCO - 11/22/2017

WRECK-IT RALPH 2 - 3/9/2018

INCREDIBLES 2 - 6/15/2018

GIGANTIC - 11/21/2018

TOY STORY 4 - 6/21/2019

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/27/2019

UNTITLED PIXAR - 3/13/2020

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/19/2020

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/25/2020

One last development I'll bring up is the cancellation of GIGANTIC in fall 2017, leaving March 2018 vacant. WRECK-IT RALPH sequel, titled RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK-IT RALPH 2 (the subtitle was removed right before its release), takes the fall 2018 slot.

Other than that, very little changed... The slate played out the way it was supposed to. INCREDIBLES 2 came out summer 2018, with RALPH 2 following in the fall. TOY STORY 4 was summer 2019, FROZEN II was fall 2019. ONWARD was spring 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some adjustments were made to the slate... But it otherwise resembles what it looked like circa late 2017. SOUL went from summer 2020 Pixar release to Christmas Day streaming release. Fall 2020 WDAS title RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON had to move to March 2021 because of that, but then the slate remained the same... Pixar's LUCA was a summer 2021 release, with WDAS' ENCANTO following in the fall. 2022, this past year, two Pixars as planned: TURNING RED in the spring, LIGHTYEAR in the summer, and one WDAS in the fall, that was STRANGE WORLD.

Their slate now?

ELEMENTAL - 6/16/2023

WISH - 11/22/2023

ELIO - 3/1/2024

INSIDE OUT 2 - 6/14/2024

Only covers this year and next year... One WDAS movie, three Pixars... And a ton of Marvel movies laid out til 2026 and AVATAR sequels into 2028... Disney's taking it easy with announcing what's on the horizon with animation... DreamWorks is doing the same... Heck, Universal's animation slate alone goes up to about mid-2024 with Illumination's DESPICABLE ME 4. A Swiss Universal slate document has various animated films slated for fall 2025 and fall 2026, but no word on those dates here in the states...

Maybe there is a reason they, and specifically Disney, don't announce long-term slates anymore... NEWT and GIGANTIC alone tell one why...

Maybe next time, I'll do DreamWorks, though that's a major-league cluster-cuss of its own. Till next time, fellas!

[olivermorre]

⌠ ROBIN MINGÉ, 20, CISMALE, HE/HIM ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, OLIVER MORRE ! according to their records, they’re a FIRST year, specializing in DRIVER'S ED + AWARENESS TRAINING, BREATH CONTROL, HAND TO HAND COMBAT ; and they DID go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (bike rides through twisting forrest paths, converse squeaking on old wood, baking cookies at three am, fresh bread and cheese for your meal, sneaking out to go newt hunting). when it’s the (libra)’s birthday on 10/20/99, they always request their DUTCH APPLE CAKE from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation. ⌿ rosie, 21, est. 

oooooh, hello. I’m Rosie. This is Oliver, Olive, Morre, Nevermore, other fun nicknames. He is a new baby for me so I’ve spit some stuff about him below the cut. 

Oliver grew up in a small town in England where his family had held the estate for generations. The big house covered in different knick nacks and things his granny loved and all the other people before her. Think the house from knives out.

It was nice being a little kid and not having to think of anything to do really. He would take long bike rides, go looking for newts, playing pretend etc. His family noticed how easily he took on new tasks and adventures, the little curious boy sucking up all information like a sponge. 

his family had for generations been interwoven into secret politics with options gallor. While the newer generations took this as a way for their children to have security, Oliver’s path was laid out before him. He would behave as a normal child, loving embrace of parents and grand parents at home, but with more and more odd activities that his parents thought of as ways to test his natural ability. When he was about 12 they let him in on everything, asking for him to choose if he wanted to continue learning all these skills and go to a prep school for high school, or choose a different path for himself. He chose prep school.

school was hard for him. the training was no longer fun weekend adventures but a constant chance for the boys to one up themselves. Oliver was in the deep end, but soon learned how to swim.

He is what you would call the messenger. He realized that offense wasn’t his gig, but defence was. He is the guy you call when you need to get something to someone without detection. That could be actual messages, objects, or a person, he can get you in and out in no time flat. Catch him on his bike trundling through the swiss alps like its WWII because the safest way to deliver a message is through Oliver with morse code. 

He took a break from school because he was fucking terrified of the idea of going to Blackthorne. He felt in a school that hard, his soft and defensive style would get him ripped to shreds. Luckily his name trickled on over to Gallagher and an offer letter wasn’t too far away.

Uhhhhh soft gay baby. So good, so sweet, little bit of dumb bitch energy because he wants to get back to having fun like when he was a kid. 

Loves to read and cook when he isn’t in class. Feels a little bit like a black sheep in his program because he isn’t the strongest. Makes him want to try even harder to discover new ways to make fighting work for him. 

he needs love, he needs friends, he needs to let loose and just live for once. 

[magicalhideoutengineer]

What I love about your audition stories is that you're a successful actor. We don't read them and feel bad wondering when you're going to catch a break. 

Right. [Laughs.] And I had a story with this film. But I was cast without an audition for this film…

Well, that's great.

Well, it is great. But if you're neurotic and you've heard the frickin' stories of people that are fired after the table read? So what happened is we came over here to audition the other actors, to try different groups in the quartet.

Right, but you won an Oscar. Can't you look at that and go, "I think I can handle this"?

No. But here's what happens: So you then go, okay, this is who I think Newt is, but I know that now it's going to be the first time that [director] David Yates and [producer] David Heyman hear me speak as Newt and see what I'm doing. So in theory, I'm not being auditioned, but you're always kind of being auditioned. It's too big a deal for Warner Bros., if they go, "Oh. It's like that?" So I talked to Katherine Waterston about it. I was super nervous when I was there and I did the whole first day as Newt, how I thought Newt was – and kind of secretly hoping David Yates and David Heyman would be like, "It's great!" You know, and I got nothing. I arrived the next morning having had no sleep, thinking, it's going disastrously. Even though it was not about me, it was about, in theory, the other actors.

So David Yates and David Heyman probably just feel they are set with you and don't have to worry about it.

Yeah, well, in theory. And then I arrived and I remember David Yates and David Heyman coming up to me and being like, "You know, Ed, it was really interesting yesterday. You're just beginning to play with Newt. I mean, once you've been to the gym and everything, I mean he's got to be much more stronger and he's got to be more hero-like, isn't he?" And I was like, "Yeah, absolutely!" And the next day in auditions, I was like, [with a puffed up chest and deep voice] "HEY! I'M NEWT SCAMANDER. HI!”

And it was only months later when we started doing rehearsals, David Yates was like, "So we watched the auditions back and we kind of love the introverted Newt." I was like, "Oh, thank God!" Because I had no idea how! I'd been going to the gym, trying to sort of turn into sort of Superman Newt. But so, it's true, those things. You feel like… yeah.