#the story is true but I have no evidence Ghost was real

[copperbadge]

Say sam, now that you are aware of your diagnosis, just how much of Ghost do you feel was undiagnosed ADHD?

Ah, I still never know what to make of Ghost. Whatever she was I don't think she was related to the ADHD or experiences like that would have been more common for me all my life. This isn't to say that she was definitively real, I still think she's about 60% a joke I played too hard on myself, but she was undoubtedly very particular to that one apartment. I've not had a haunted apartment before or since, even though I invited her to come with me to the new place if she wanted.

For those who weren't around for it, the last place I lived was a very nice apartment in a SUPER nice building, and it was much less expensive than it should have been, rentwise. When I got the lease I joked it must be haunted. But then when I picked up the keys, and over the first few days of getting it set up -- going over to make sure it was clean, getting the internet and electricity switched over, etc -- weird shit kept happening. Doors not working, that kind of thing. At one point I sat on the kitchen counter and had a chat with her about how I was moving in and I didn't want any trouble, and after that everything seemed fine. I mentioned it offhandedly to my mother, and she claims to have seen "something" in the bathroom mirror the first time she visited to help me move, but she is also...lovably suggestible.

There were other incidents over the course of my time there, most notably some weird dreams. And there was The Smell -- I suspect one of my neighbors had a durian, but The Smell began around the time I opened the Halloween box I'd packed away the previous year and either it was a coincidence or Ghost's revenge for possibly accidentally sealing her in a box for a year. It took about a week and a half for The Smell, which seemed to originate right at my front door and had no detectible cause, to go away.

Anyway, I guess either she was a delusion or she stayed at the old place because I've had no evidence of her in this place. But yeah, I doubt it was the ADHD in specific that was causing that.

#ghosts #unreality #the story is true but I have no evidence Ghost was real #sam has adhd

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Errors, “Errors,” and Sci Fi

@strawberry-crocodile

tvtropes calls stuff like the wolf example "science matches on" which I think is a pretty fair shake

This.  This is what’s got me thinking so much about errors.  There’s a certain danger, here.  A certain way that this particular effect — delicious dramatic irony — tempts the mind when reading old stories, even true ones.

What do you know about R.M.S. Titanic? I ask my class every year, and the first hand rises.  “It was unsinkable,” the student inevitably says, and everyone is nodding, “or so they thought.”  I write the word UNSINKABLE on the board, underneath my crude drawing of a ship with four smokestacks.  It will be crossed out before the end of the hour, but not for the reason they expect.

“I find no evidence,” Walter Lord, preeminent biographer of the ship’s survivors, wrote, “that Titanic was ever advertised as unsinkable. This detail seems to have entered the collective mind so as to create a more perfect irony.”  Indeed, historians’ examinations of White Star Line documents show the shipbuilders themselves worried it would be so large as to risk collision; they stocked several more lifeboats than 1910s regulations required.

The War to End All Wars (deep breath, satisfied exhale), also known as World War ONE. Chuckle.  Shake of the head.  What if I told you that this phrase, used primarily in American newspapers after the fact, wasn’t meant to be literal? Nowadays we’d say The Mother of All Wars, or One Hell of a Fucking War, but we wouldn’t mean literal motherhood, literal intercourse.  What if I said the armistice and the Lost Generation and the Roaring 20s were all braced for another outbreak of European conflict, and yet we still failed to prevent it?

Did you know they were so confident in the safety of the S.S. Challenger that they put a civilian schoolteacher onboard? I do, because I’ve heard that one repeated many times.  Only, see, it’s got the cause and effect reversed.  Challenger launched on a day the shuttle’s engineers knew to be dangerously cold, because the first civilian in space was on board. And NASA knew its shuttle project would be cancelled entirely, if they couldn’t get that civilian’s much-delayed entry into space in the next two weeks.  So they launched on a cold day, and killed her instead.

These are all what cognitive science calls Hindsight Bias on the personal level, what sociology calls Presentism on the cultural level.  Social psychology’s a little of both, is primarily interested in why you’re sitting on your couch in a Colonize Mars shirt watching PBS and chuckling at the fools who believed in El Dorado.  It wants to know why the mind flees straight from “marijuana will kill you” to “marijuana will cure cancer” without so much as a pause on the middle ground of its real benefits and drawbacks, its real (mild) risks and rewards.

And they can paralyze the sci-fi writer, if you think too much about them. Jetsons is futurist one decade, retro the next.  “There are no bathrooms on the Enterprise,” the creators of Serenity say smugly, as if Gene Roddenberry should’ve simply known that decades later it’d be acceptable to show a man peeing in full view of the camera, nothing but the curve of the actor’s hand to protect his modesty.  “No sound in space,” the Fandom Menace says, “No explosions in space,” and “A space station can’t collapse in zero-G.”  Only then NASA burns a paper napkin outside of atmosphere, transmits music using only the ghost of nearby planets’ gravities, and logs onto Reddit long enough to point out the Death Star would implode in its own gravity field.  And now we’re the ones pointing, the ones laughing, at those earlier point-and-laughers.  Self-satisfied, smug in superiority.  As if we did the work to find out ourselves, instead of just happening to be born a little later than George Lucas.

#errors #continuity #sci fi #presentism #star wars #titanic #world war i #science marches on #history #started a new post because i got waaaaaay off topic here #if you think the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993) should've had feathers #you're a lot more ignorant about paleontology than the people you're trying to criticize #science was not handed down to us in its perfect complete form circa 1943 #stop for a second before you call out someone else's reptilian denonychus #someone else's oxygenated moon #and ask: am i better read #or am i just more recently born?

[captain-mj]

You had a very short tiktok series about Gaz watch a true crime documentary about the Riley Christmas murders and one regarding ale talking about how they had a “demon” take out the Zaragoza cartel.

I’ve always wanted to see that expanded on if you could?

Hey Rose!

Gaz was politely listening to something on his phone. His earbuds had died and he couldn't find his normal headphones. He wasn't allowed to use his work ones and while normally he'd do it anyway, his phone didn't have the right adapter for it.

"And the youngest son, Tommy Riley, was found shot dead with the rest of his family. The military covered it all up. There's no evidence that wasn't redacted. What could they be hiding?"

Gaz could've swore he heard Tommy Riley before. But right now, he couldn't quite place it. He could blame it on fatigue.

Ghost walked in and stood near by. He stayed silent as he watched over Gaz's shoulder.

Gaz paused, feeling himself being watched, before relaxing immediately. "Hey, Ghost."

Ghost hummed. "What are you watching?"

"True crime documentary." Gaz answered. "Want to watch with me?”

Ghost thought about it for a minute before sinking into the chair with him. "Sure. Keep playing."

Gaz turned the captions on and raised the volume just a little. Ghost watched with him, staring impassively at the screen.

"What about his oldest brother?" The second host spoke up. "You mentioned they had two sons."

"This is all we have." A family photo of a blond woman, brunette man and their two children. She looked a bit off, almost like she hadn't been expecting to take a photo. Her hand was on a little boy's shoulder. His wide brown eyes were staring at the camera. His hand was on the slightly smaller boy's arm.

"That's it?"

"Yep. Everything about him was apparently burned. No real explanation for it."

"You keep saying him. Who is him?"

"S. Riley. It's all we have. According to the people from his home town, he was unremarkable. just... some guy. For some reason it seems, his school records were burned. His history in the military was burned. And, oh yeah, his medical records, several pages long apparently, and that's just his childhood medical records, were also burned. All different fires. All within the same week." It was clear the implication and it was now hitting Ghost that this was his fucking case.

Yikes.

Gaz laughed. "Military cover up, right Ghost? They blame everything on that."

"This one actually was."

Gaz looked unsure. "You know about this?"

"Yeah. Quite a bit." Ghost got up. "Poor bastard is dead. Died a long time ago. Military just didn't want people to know their hands were in it." He got up. "Don't listen to Ghost stories too much."

As he was leaving, he could see something in Gaz's eyes. A thought.

S. Riley.

Ghost didn't have to deal with his past for a while before he and Alejandro were staking a place out. Valeria were said to be around and that was all the excuse Alejandro needed to be there.

"You ever hear about the Zaragoza cartel?" Alejandro asked, using a hushed tone. It was clear this wasn't reverence. He was baiting Ghost into asking him to tell a cautionary tale or ghost story.

Ghost grinned under his mask. "No. Tell me."

Alejandro launched into the story with a rather good amount of showmanship. There was shockingly little embellishment, but with Roba, there wasn't much need for it. He went over the torture the men, Ghost included, endured. The drugging, the assault, the beating and fighting.

"What happened to them?" Ghost asked on cue and he could see Alejandro smiling.

"A demon. Wiped them all out. Said he wore a..." Alejandro trailed off. He glanced at Ghost. He was a smart man. But when Ghost responded by tilting his head and waving him forward to continue, he seemed to realize that the British man in front of him most likely would not have been in the middle of Mexico at the time. It made no sense. "Skull mask."

"To mock Roba?"

"Rudy thinks so. I don't."

"Why do you think he wore it?"

"I think he was a dead man." Alejandro answered. He sighed softly and his eyes closed. "Forgot how boring stake outs are."

Ghost hummed. "If you want, I could take first watch? Might be good for you to go sleep."

Alejandro nodded. "Might be a good idea." He moved his stuff and managed to lay down.

"Don't let Manuel Roba bite." Ghost grinned.

Alejandro laughed and closed his eyes. Only a moment later, his eyes fluttered open. "Did I say his first name?"

"Nah. I heard of him before. Just wanted to keep you entertained." Ghost patted Alejandro's legs and stood up. He stretched and shook his own legs out before continuing to watch out the window.

Alejandro seemed to let it go.

Soap saw the scarring on Ghost's chest where the autopsies and unnecessary surgeries had gone on. Ghost thought Soap was going to vomit when he saw the extent of it. He didn't think it was because Soap thought it was gross, his scot loved the Glasgow scars on his face and had kissed the scarring on his throat with a vigor Ghost didn't understand. But more, the fact that Ghost had clearly been tortured in such horrific ways.

Soap opened his mouth and closed it a few times before swallowing. "The people wh-"

"Dead. Killed them myself, don't worry."

"They still hurt?"

"Sometimes. I've started taking care of them more and it's not as bad."

Soap traced the mortuary scars first and then the scarring over his ribs. "This feels personal."

"He hated me because I wouldn't break. Fucking Cartel." Ghost answered softly and leaned into him. "Come on. Do you really want to spend our time together doing this?" He leaned down and kissed him.

"They also make the Glasgows?"

"Yeah. The venom scarring was my dad though."

Ghost thought Soap was going to blow up at first. Instead, he just spent the rest of their time kissing all over Ghost as if he could make up for lost time.

Ghost cheekily recommended one of his documentaries to Rodolfo. It was one of the ones that dropped part of his name in it but also insisted that he was the one to murder his family in cold blood. The documentary was one of his least favorite and Ghost had spent more than a few nights after watching it staring at his ceiling, feeling sick. But it was one of the ones that was most misleading. Rudy was smart, but the doc was mixed into several others as well so it wasn't obvious.

Rodolfo didn't call him out on it, but there was something in their eyes when they bumped into each other again. He knew. Just needed a shred of evidence before outright asking Ghost if he murdered his family.

Alejandro invited everyone to his Ranch for a celebration. There was nothing to celebrate, but they all were on leave for the first time since Los Almas.

Rodolfo thanked Ghost and Gaz for the true crime documentaries they had been sending him.

Gaz, who had started to become very suspicious about this whole thing, nodded. "Yeah, thank you for the recommendations too. The Riley Family Christmas murders were an interesting one." They both glanced at Ghost.

So did Price. He was frowning, looking almost panicked. He assumed, reasonably, that this would be a triggering topic for Ghost.

Ghost laughed. "Yeah. That's a good one. Whole family, dead and mutilated. Then they find the oldest son burned somewhere else? Fucking hell." He walked away, getting one of the spiked drinks. He also made sure to pass Price to nod at him. Price got worried and he didn't want him.

Alejandro started the tale about the Zaragoza Cartel to everyone and Soap listened to the methods of torture.

"Wait. Did you say they'd... autopsy them? While alive?"

Alejandro grinned, thinking Soap was just into the nitty gritty details. "Yeah. It was so they could put drugs directly into their organs."

"Huh... Ghost, did they do that to you? The drugging I mean."

Pause.

A pin drop could be heard.

"Yeah. Nasty hallucinogens."

"Huh. Wonder if the two groups had the same idea."

Price was catching on and he quickly glanced at Ghost who gave him The Nod. Politely, he waited until Alejandro was done before asking. "You hear about the people that escaped?"

"Yeah of course. All brainwashed though. They were half insane."

"You hear about the one that did though? Truly escaped? He was an SAS member. Vicious young Sergeant at the time. I was his Lieutenant." Price took a drink. Unlike Alejandro, there was no showmanship. No excitement. Instead, there was a string of sadness.

"S. Riley. I remember finding his patch. Right next to a bunch of bloody dog tags. Roba knew I was following him and he wanted me to know he hurt or killed some of my members. Fucking bastard."

There was a sharp moment. Everyone was putting things together.

"Riley escaped. They found him, mostly dead, wandering the border. We brought our boy home along with some of those brainwashed bastards. Didn't know they'd be targeting civilians."

Gaz gasped so loud Rodolfo jumped. "The military coverup."

"I told you not to listen to Ghost stories." Ghost smiled, taking a drink.

Price hummed. "You know, Simon. I was scared when you went missing a second time. Until I heard that cartel had been wiped off the map and I found you knee deep in bodies."

"Aye. They made one mistake that evening. Just one."

Soap asked the question, right on cue, even if he didn't know it. "Just one?"

'Yeah. Really shouldn't have killed my mom. Might've let a few of them live if they hadn't."

"Mary was a lovely lady." Price clicked their bottles together. "Raised a lovely son."

"You recommended us documentaries over your own family's murders??"

"I have to keep myself entertained somehow."

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #simon ghost riley #johnny soap mactavish #call of duty modern warfare ii #cod mw2 #ghostsoap #cod #soapghost #ghoap #kyle gaz garrick #captain john price #captain price

[zecroswe]

Theory on Terapagos and the true natrue of Tera crystals

So I played the Teal mask a while ago and I really enjoyed It. There is a lot to talk about regarding the characters and the story. I cannot wait until the Indigo Disc comes out! Now, the theory. So after playing the DLC and thinking about the lore within It, I had a realization and a lot of pieces would fit together if It is true. I am gonna put this post into sections to detail the evidence before I write down the conclusion. Spolier warning for Scarlet and Violet, the Teal mask DLC and The Pokemon Horizons anime. None of the game play images are my own.

Section 1: The Crystal Pool.

The crystal pool is such a tease for things to come and I would be surprised If It didn't have any importance in the Indigo Disc. The intresting points about the Crystal pool is that the crystals grew in the pool after being "brought" there. It sounds to me that someone (likely Ogerpons old trainer/gaurdian) brought the crystals and some of It got into the pool and grew from there. The crystal seems almost alive in a sense, like It's just a extension of Terapagos. But the real intresting thing is what the sign next to the pool says and by extension, Carmine in the story. (Couldn't find any footage of It specifically)

When you interact with the sign, It says that there is a rumor that one can see the spirits of the departed within the pool. That is interesting and I doubt It's just flavor text, considering Carmine mentions It too.

But what significance does this have? Well within the games It's unclear, but I think the Horizons anime might be hinting at something important to do with this.

Section 2: Pokemon Horizons, Terapagos.

Terapagos plays an important role in the Horizions anime series. Now I haven't seen the series myself, so I might get facts wrong.

From what I understand is that there is a story arc about these Ancient poke balls.

Now the only way to open them as I understand is by using terapagos powers, but that's not what interested me. No what got me curious is this.

So in episode 23, the main group find a Galarian Molters within one of the ancient pokeballs. After they battle It, Terapagos shows the group a vision of what seems to be Moltres old trainer. Now I admit, I don't have a full context on how It works and what connection terapagos actually have to this trainer. But I find Terapagos ability to show visions from people who seems to have passed away interesting. Either terapagos met this person in the past or It made the vision in some other way.

So here is my theory:

Terapagos has power over memory and so do the tera crystals!

Think about It, If terapagos had power over memory and create visions based on peoples memories, then a lot of things would make sense.

AI Sada and Turo explain that they have the original professors memories, and that no person could make a advanced AI without the tera crystals. A important question is this, How? How do you transfer/convert your own memories into code? Well, if the tera crystals can store memories within them, then It would be possible. The risk could be the fact that the persons memories gets blurry, fragmented, warped or at worst erased.

This could possibly explain why Sada and Turos mental state became one of obsession. It could be that being around high concentrations of tera energy for a long time causes parts of the mind to deteriorate: so instead of terapagos manipulating Sada or Turo, It's just a unfortunate side effect of the Tera energy It creates.

Terapagos having memory powers could also explain the Crystal Pool. The crystals are reacting to the people around It and is showing them visions based on their own memories: the result being what seems to be ghosts of the departed.

Now with that in mind: What does this mean for the Lousy three? What about Ogerpon

Section 3: The Loyal/Lousy three and Ogerpon

Now the Loyal three is a bit of a curve ball in this, considering the fact that they just got brought back to life; Full on necromancy. Or is It?

Now Kieran punched the monument while holding the teal mask and shortly after, the loyal three were resurrected. Now this could be because of a pokemon we haven't seen yet, seeing as It's very much hinted at that the loyal three have a boss. So this boss and their power could be behind this. But I believe the Teal mask is a important piece in this.

The Teal mask was made with Tera crystals and Ogerpon had that mask on her when she killed the loyal three. So If my idea of the Tera crystals storing memories is correct, then the crystals within the mask might have reacted to the monument and manifested the memories of the loyal three. In that case, they weren't traditionally brought back to life, but instead got recreated based on the what was stored in the crystal. In other words: The loyal 3 were recreated based on Ogerpons memory of them! (Or at least the information stored in the crystal).

The reason the crystal reacted in this case could be because the mask was were the loyal 3's graves were, so the crystals reacted to the location and activated (with the help of Kierans punch and/or the loyal 3s boss).

Another point considering Ogerpons mask is her Boss fight.

Ogerpon in the fight switches mask with each phase of the fight and the text for each highlights that she is getting strength from her memories.

It makes me think that It what Tera energy really is, It's memories from either the past, present of maybe even future (If terapagos exists outside of regular time normally) in crystal form.

Crystals that can then either manifest those memories into strength or into full fledged beings. This theory could work both with the Time Travel and the Dream theory

The true time travel idea would be that the paradox pokemon did exist in the past and future, and that Sada and Turos time machine just made the crystals recreate the pokemon based on the stored information.

If the dream theory is true, then the pokemon could be created from memories, just incorrect ones. The human mind isn't infallible and If Heath saw paradox pokemon, It could either be that the crystals activated for unkown reasons; or that the crystals created paradox pokemon based on what Heath and his team thought they saw. Example: The two paradox Dophans within the book could have been a different looking Donphan or machinery and they thought they saw what we understand as a Great Tusk or Iron Threads.

So Sada and Turos paradox pokemon would be based on their memories of the scarlet and violet book. Creating the paradox of these Pokemon existing.

I am so excited for part 2 of the DLC and I really wanna see how the story will continue!

TL:DR: Terapagos might be a timeless being that has the power to make memories physical. Memories can be stored in Tera crystals and then show visions of those memories. Tera crystals might activate under certain conditions to give Pokemon strength or recreate beings based on the information stored inside them. Long periods time around high concentrations for Tera crystals might cause damage to the mind.

#pokemon #pkmn scvi #pokemon dlc #pokemon theory #pokemon horizons #pokemon teal mask #paldea #kitakami #pokemon spoilers #indigo disk #professor sada #professor turo #pokemon violet #pokemon scarlet #terapagos #ogerpon #the loyal three #okidogi #munkidori #fezendipiti #I went a bit crazy #I might be very wrong #But It's really cool to think about #Kinda scary too #Terapagos is just a little lad #A eldritch old god kinda lad #But still xD #Pokemon necormancy am I right?

[moved-to-mettatonsbestie]

You know what. I DO wanna know about the religious imagery with Mettaton. Tell me all about it *laying on my chest kicking my feet up in the air*

@therowansweeps @mtt-brand-idiot

Let us start with his name. Remember that majority of the names in Undertale/Deltarune are very particular, whether it be for a funny joke or something with a dual meaning (ex: Toriel is just Tutorial, Undyne being Undying, etc). The etymology is rather important with characters, and Mettaton is certainly no exception. His name is most likely derived from the angel Metatron, found in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He was one of the only two humans to attain Heaven in the form of an angel, he was originally a righteous man named Enoch who was gifted with the form of an angel by God once he died. Now, the names being similar could very well be a coincidence, but one must also take note of the fact that Metatron is transliterated as MTT in Greek; which is too much of a coincidence to not be intentional.

So... his name is taken from an angel, which is already an allusion to the notion of deities and religion. Furthermore, this angel in particular is a rather interesting candidate to be compared with Mettaton... Both of these figures were something else entirely before they obtained their true forms, and changed their name along the way. They have even further parallels when you look at the name's meaning and Mettaton's actions. Metatron is most likely derived from the verb memater, which means to guard or protect; very striking when one considers the fact that Mettaton is very much a protector in Genocide/No Mercy Route; he quite literally gives his life to protect the Underground, as a guardian angel would do.

Furthermore, he is quite literally a celebrity, an idol. He even says it himself, he is the idol everyone craves. This is a double entendre, referring to him being a celebrity or figure to look up to, or a literal deity. Deities are all considered idols, they are to be worshipped; the very notion is entirely what his character is about. He loses his humanity, he is no longer a person. Hell, he is not even seen as alive, in his quest to be the true idol for humanity and monsterkind. He is worshipped and adored, yet is it genuine? Do the people know and love the real him? No. He is the heater, the Underground's sexiest rectangle, he is seen as just a robot. He is complacent in this, yet to hide his past and help Alphys he gave his humanity away.

It is a rather cruel twist on the story of Metatron actually... Metatron was given a wonderful gift by his creator, God gave him immortality and the blessing of being truly holy. This transformation into something else was divine, yet the same cannot be said about Mettaton. He was given the body of his dreams, yet it will never come without a terrible cost. His humanity and agency was given away, he even got used for functions he would be completely against; such as his creator giving him human eradication functions to "make him more useful", something the human loving ghost would never agree to until the last possible moments in a Pacifist run. Regardless, Mettaton falls into both the categories of being the idol and being God's pawn, which is rather interesting.

And of course... he is not without true fans either, take Spamton for example. Spamton supposedly spent all of his time praying to an artifact, the very machine that created NEO; which evidently has direct ties towards Mettaton NEO. I honestly never played the Spamton NEO fight yet, so I cannot comment too much on it, however Mettaton is quite literally an overworld being being unknowingly worshipped and prayed to by someone who resides below; this blind faith being found in every religion.

So yeah... Whether it was directly intentional or not, Mettaton as a whole has a decent amount of religious imagery and themes with his character that it becomes rather important to properly dissect him fully. I barely remember writing any of this, he probably possessed me and made me write this.

#asks #mettaton #undertale #sorry for the tagging i just wanted to let yall know i am replying to you #oliver.txt

[luulapants]

Goncharov (1973) is a perfect example of how fandom creates a shell around a piece of media and then slowly erodes the core it was originally built upon.

I have been in two fandoms that echo chambered their way to a theory invalidating all of canon, thereby making the source material itself irrelevant. One is the “Scott is an unreliable narrator” theory from the Teen Wolf fandom, which uses an odd POV choice from the series finale (the protagonist telling the story of their final battle to a character in a flash-forward) as evidence that the entire SHOW is actually him telling a heavily edited version of the story to make himself look like the hero. The other is the “Ghostfacers Effect” from the Supernatural fandom which also uses a weird POV episode (told through camera footage from a ghost hunting crew) to argue that, because the characters swear (bleeped out) in that episode but nowhere else in the series, this is evidence that the whole series is censored and edited by the author/God Chuck.

Both fandoms had animosity between fans and show creators, especially from queer shipping bases. Both have a huge amount of fanworks for those ships, and both experienced the “fandom echochamber” effect. Reinforced by positive responses from those seeking fluffy, kinky, self-insert, or otherwise wish-fulfilling stories, popular fanon characterizations slowly drifted until many fanworks featured characters virtually unrecognizable as their canon counterpart.

These drifts are addressed differently throughout fandom: Most people look at it and say, “No, that’s not canon, but it’s fun to read sometimes anyway,” or “This is just my headcanon.” Fanfic readers who never watched the source material are oblivious and perpetuate fanon characterizations as canon. Canon lovers decry the OOC-ness and complain that they can’t find fics about the actual characters they want to read about.

And some start arguing that fanon is actually more correct than canon.

Thus, the erosion of canon begins. “These episodes don’t count because the head writer was garbage.” “They made the character act like that to advance the plot - they wouldn’t have actually done that.” “Everything after this season is basically a different show.” “This happened off-screen but the network was too cowardly to show us.” And, finally, “Canon isn’t real.”

There is no canon. It’s a fanon shell wrapped around a desiccated center.

It’s Goncharov (1973).

Why do we need a source material? Canon isn’t real!

No shit canon isn’t real. It’s a fictional show.

You can’t argue the objective reality of a fictional story.

“But what’s the truth?”

None of it. None of it is the truth. It’s about werewolves. It’s about a gay angel. It’s not real.

You can argue objective reality in real-life historical accounts, analyzing sources and biases and excluded viewpoints. In a fictional story with an unreliable narrator, you can argue about what the text of the narration reveals about them. But there is no argument to be had about the objective reality of a fictional character. They are the text. Everything else is interpretation.

Why can’t your interpretation be what it is: an interpretation? Why can’t your headcanon be a headcanon? Why do you feel the need to saw the ladder off from underneath you? Why does fanon need to be more “true” than canon? Why would you rather have a fandom built on nothing than a fandom built on a text that disagrees with it?

Goncharov (1973) is the perfect canon because it will never disagree with fanon. It has no voice to do so. It is the perfect void that people have been trying to carve into their respective canons for years.

As Andrey said before his final betrayal, “You once told me you built your empire from nothing. You can’t get something from nothing, Goncharov. And so I fear we are nothing.”

#goncharov #fandom meta #fandom #supernatural #teen wolf #teen wolf meta #supernatural meta #if you are from a fandom that has created a similar theory PLEASE add a comment!!

[sunonyoreface]

He Knows - Simon “Ghost” Riley Pt. 6

Probably my last post before the new year. Thanks for reading!

Hi there, this is a series about Simon Riley from COD. This series does not follow any of the established plots or timelines from the games. While I use the names of some characters, they are different from the ones in COD.

Summary: You’re held captive by 141 for reasons unknown.

Word count: 1100

Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x Reader

Warnings: military setting, violence, explicit language.

“Are you sure she’s sleeping?” A low, husky voice whispers at the end of my cot, near the fireplace.

“Hasn’t moved in an hour. Breathing’s been consistent. She’s sleeping,” Another barely audible man responds. I know immediately I shouldn’t hear what they’re about to say. This conversation is trouble. This conversation is dangerous. This conversation is about me.

My ears perk up at their voices and it takes everything in my bones not to physically react to their words. I’ve been lying here for what feels like hours. I drift in and out of consciousness, but ultimately don’t feel safe enough to get any significant rest. Gunshots from the Ultranationalist’s attack on the base still ring in my ears. And despite being surrounded by some of the most efficient and deadliest soldiers to live – men who were willing to risk their safety to ensure my own – I don’t feel comforted by their presence. Their intentions, the intentions of the entire task force are still unknown to me and that’s exactly how they want it to stay.

I’m to be left in the dark. Whatever information they have is important. Important to their end goal and important to me. Because for some godforsaken reason I am tied up in this whole thing, yet they won’t tell me how or why. Whatever their reason is, it's strong enough to hold me here captive under the guise of being a prisoner.

The tiny cabin is deadly silent. The fire has died down and the remaining sleeping men breathe lightly. The cold night seeps in from the windows, but the combination of the fire, sleeping off the ground in a cot, and hiding under the wool blanket Ghost gave me has left me feeling the warmest I’ve felt in days. Despite this and my utter exhaustion, it still isn’t enough to sleep.

“Today was too close,” the concern is evident in the man’s voice. I listen hard, real hard and think I can make it out to be Soap’s Scottish accent.

“They weren’t supposed to know so soon,” I recognize the anger in Ghost’s raspy voice immediately. Something tells me that the other men aren’t supposed to hear what they’re talking about either, but I don’t know why they didn’t move out of earshot to the shadows of the kitchen instead. Maybe surveillance is harder from afar or maybe it doesn’t actually matter if the others hear. I can’t be sure.

“Well, how’d they find out?” Soap asks.

“I don’t know,” his answer is blunt and there’s an edge to his voice that’s ready to cut. There’s more to the story that Gaz told me today. I can’t stop my thoughts from running and wondering if any of his story was even true to begin with. How much of what they’ve told me is made up? What were we really doing at that base?

There’s an uneasiness that has grown attached to my bones. It aches like growing pains as it works its way into the marrow and from there into my bloodstream. Every instinct I have tells me I’m in danger. There’s no pharmaceutical capable of numbing this kind of trouble.

“Does Price know?” Soap asks. His voice is louder than it was before and there’s an urgency to his tone. I’m not the only one left in the dark. Information around here comes on a need-to-know basis. Ghost is the only one of these men who “needs to know”. It’s a stark reminder of whose rank is high enough to be considered in the loop.

“If he does, it’s not something he’ll disclose over dispatch,” Ghost whispers as he keeps a close watch on the other men. Any change in their breathing and the conversation’s done. He won’t risk a potential eavesdropper. Little does he know.

“Think there’s a mole?”

“That’s a dangerous word to throw around. Don’t use it so lightly,” Ghost warns him.

It’s silent for a moment as they consider their next words.

“We’ve lost our edge,” Soap whispers.

“I know.”

“They’re going to come after us now.”

“I know.”

“After her,” his voice tightens.

“I won’t let that happen,” Ghost snaps. My whole body feels as though it's vibrating, shaking with such intense fear that it’s all I can focus on. In reality, I lie as still as stone. I don’t want to think about what they’d do if they knew I was awake. Who the fuck are they talking about? The Ultranationalists? How the hell am I tied up in this whole thing? My heart races and it feels like there’s no oxygen making it to my lungs.

A tiny thought scratches my brain. A thought that wants to confirm the suspicions I’ve had all along. But I push it down. I can’t take any more.

“Our resources are limited,”

“We’ve made do with less,” his voice is brittle, ready to crack. “We just need to wait for Price.”

“Then what?”

“Then we reassess our circumstances based on his intel,” Ghost’s response is straight out of a textbook. It’s robotic. It’s hiding something.

“Think we can still leverage her?” Soap’s words are cautious. My blood runs cold and for a moment I forget to breathe. What does he mean by “still”? What the hell am I leverage for? It takes my entire will to hold my position. I have to manually force myself to breathe. Each breath feels tight and laboured. I worry it looks unnatural, that they know I’m faking.

“If today’s retaliation is any indication, then I’d say she’ll be more than enough,” goosebumps rise on my skin as a sense of unease takes control of my body. This whole situation is so utterly surreal that it has to be a dream.

Their conversation lulls and my ears pick up on a quiet set of muffled footsteps approaching on the carpet. I almost can’t hear them, but I sense someone standing over me now. A man’s large, ungloved hand brushes against my neck as he grabs a strand of hair and gently wraps it around his fingers.

“I don’t blame them,” the deep voice rumbles at my side. “There’s just something about her,” he murmurs as his thumb brushes along the lock of hair.

“How far do you think they’re willing to go?” the other man says, still standing at the end of the cot.

“As far as we can push them. Makarov is close. I can feel it,” his low voice rumbles next to me.

“But we don’t have the element of surprise anymore.”

“No, but we have her,” he drops the strand of hair and takes a step back. I feel his eyes slowly rake over my body as they examine every inch. “And she’s all we need.”

PT7:

https://at.tumblr.com/sunonyoreface/he-knows-simon-ghost-riley-pt-7/frutyvgwyrsl 

#COD MW2 #cod imagine #MW2 #MWII #mw2 imagine #soap cod #soap x reader #simon ghost riley #cod ghost #ghost imagine #ghost x reader #ghost fanfiction #simon riley #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #simon riley imagine #simon riley cod #cod fanfic #simon riley fanfic #he knows

[gaslightgatekeepgirlbosscombat]

Group H, Round 4, Poll 2:

Propaganda under the cut

Li Lianhua/Li Xiangyi

All men do is lie. He's a "miracle physician" (citation needed) who lies himself out of every situation he's in. Didn't so much as fake his death, rather let everyone believe he was dead and then lie to their face when asked about who he really is. Convinces everyone he's just a weak doctor who doesn't know any martial arts but has a cunning mind, despite the fact that he literally used to be the head of the martial arts world before being poisoned. Somehow nearly everyone he meets is in love with him. He's everything to me

#THE LI LIANHUA PROPAGANDA LEFT OUT HIM DRUGGING PEOPLE MULTIPLE TIMES #TO AVOID (POTENTIALLY) GETTING ASKED ABOUT THE ISSUES HE IS CHOOSING TO LOOK AWAY FROM AND NOT SEE #ALSO THE TIME SOMEONE FIGURED OUT HIS TRUE IDENTITY BUT THEN THEY FELL UNCONSCIOUS #AND HE GOT AWAY WITH IT BY TELLING THEM THEY HAD BEEN HALLUCINATING WHEN THEY WOKE UP

#if he doesn’t lie thirty-seven times a day he will die #you could show him a dna test proving he is li xiangyi and he’d deny it to your face

#HE ONCE SAYS TO A CHARACTER THAT ‘HE NEVER LIES’ TO GET OUT OF A SITUATION AND THAT WAS A BIG FAT LIE #TELLS A CHARACTER AN INTRICATE STORY ABOUT FINDING HIS OWN CORPSE ON THE BEACH COMPLETE WITH PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AND ALL JUST SO THE CHARACTER #REACHES THE CONCLUSION THAT HES DEAD #HE GATEKEEPS THE VIEWER FROM KNOWING HIS FULL STORY ON RELIABLE TERMS AND YOU HAVE TO PIECE IT TOGETHER PAINSTAKINGLY

#continuously lies to the person he calls his jianghu bff to evade his questions regarding his identity #puts on a mask and defends the bff in fights#then shows up later like #🥺 wow that was so scary glad you were here to protect me! i have no martial arts skills #evades arrest by pretending like being shoved against a wall broke his ribs #'🥺 i'm just a little guy and you're so strong you'd better check out my ribs' #and then throws knockout powder at him

Ianthe Tridentarius

She is trying so hard to be the main character by lying and manipulating her sister, her cavalier, her mentor, her ?love interests? (Spoiler???) And also god. Not sure how it's working out for her but she does love to lie and manipulate

Worstie Ianthe is the DEFINITION of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. She is one of a set of necromancer twins that are the heirs to their houses rule. Except wait, only she is a necromancer and she has spent their entire lives doing necromancy for the both of them. She is constantly mean to their cavalier, Naberius, who she occasionally nibbles on like a chew toy, before eventually killing and eating him to ascend to sainthood. She goes to gods spaceship with another woman who ascended to sainthood who she has a crush on, this other woman is like…. Both incredibly mentally unwell and also haunted by at least 211 ghosts. Ianthes method of flirting with her? Gaslighting her about the corpse that keeps moving around and hiding under her bed. For no real reason tbh. She is clearly plotting to overthrow god, and at the moment that consists of her manipulating him while he’s too sad about his long term partners betraying him and subsequently exploding to really care. She dresses in terrible outfits and makes soup by burning onions to the bottom of a pot, putting meat in and some vegetables and then it doesn’t taste like anything so she puts in a few teaspoons of salt so it tastes like a few teaspoons of salt. She had her crush amputate her arm and regrow her a new one out of bone and it’s one of the horniest things I’ve read in my life.

"Gaslight = told her lobotomized (she helped), schizophrenic girlobsession that there was no corpse under their bed, even tho there totally was. Gatekeep = girl did NOT share the secret to god-like ascension. She kept that shit to herself until it was time to eat her boytoy, and by then everyone knew already. Girlboss = she has a non-necromancer twin sister, and literally Everyone thinks they r both necromancers because Ianthe is so good at it. She reverse engineered ascending to the aforementioned ascension without even completing any of the supplementary tasks. She held her own in a fight against a 10k year old lyctor. She becomes the figurehead of her entire empire. "

She uses a man as a chewtoy in the first book, literally gaslights the protagonist of the second book about a corpse, and elder-abuses God when he gets depressed in the third book. Nobody is doing it like her.

Dives headfirst with no regrets while basically laughing and covered in blood into murdering her cavalier once she realizes what the gothic locked room mystery/competition leads to while everyone else is questioning it, helps perform lobotomy on harrow so she doesn't remember the person she loves, manipulates everyone to get to the top

idk just everything about her

her relationship with her sister is incredibly Bad, she fosters codependency and views Corona(the sister) as an extension of herself. This does not stop her from keeping up the con that Corona actually has magic (She doesn't, it was always just Ianthe) for 22ish years and every single person who interacts with them falls for it. She killed a man against his will (most dying for this purpose specifically go willingly) and she consumed him and she will be burning his soul for eternity. She's completely repulsive and still somehow incredibly hot.

she takes advantage of the fact that the main character is prone to hallucinations. at one point she gaslights the mc into believing that the corpse under her bed isn't real just because she can. she reverse engineered a set of very complex trials on her own without anyone realizing she had the skills to complete them normally. she's also babysat god through his drunk and pathetic era.

#round 4 #group h #Li Lianhua #Li Xiangyi #Mysterious Lotus Casebook #tlt #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #nona the ninth #the locked tomb #ianthe tridentarius #cw ianthe tridentarius #ianthe the first

[the-breath-in-air]

(One of) the things about the end of Black Sails that's so great is it's really impossible to know whether Flint ended up with Thomas or if Silver killed him.

Like, the evidence that Flint ended up alive with Thomas is that we see it. And up to that point, we (the audience) have only ever seen things that have a basis in either reality or an emotional truth. Like, the show's conventions up to that point are that dream sequences or hallucinations are all very clearly framed as such. (i.e. In episode XXXVII, when Woods Rogers sees Eleanor's 'ghost' knitting in the corner, we know that it's either mystical or a manifestation of grief...but for sure it's not literal). Up to this point, when the show calls into question the truthfulness of a story beat, it very purposefully keeps the audience in the dark about what happened. We, the audience, either know when a character lies because we saw the truth with our own eyes...or we don't know what happened because we didn't see it and only have one character's version of events to go on. But we know when we know and when we don't know.

So when we see Flint and Thomas together that says to the audience "this is real."

And yet...

For all that I was talking about how the show's been clearly delineating dream/hallucination/afterlife from reality, up to this point...it's also true that the end montage with Thomas an Flint is put together in a very dreamy way. It's all slow motion; there's no dialogue; just string music and Silver's storytelling. It's got a bit of a washed-out look to it...like the light is just a bit brighter than it should be. So it's got just enough of a dream-like vibe to it that it could be meant to just be showing what Silver is imagining as he talks to Madi...or what Flint saw as he lay dying.

The show's also put in a lot of legwork showing us that Silver would do anything to keep Madi with him and away from harm. And we know that Flint (and by extension, the audience) think we know Silver...but really Silver's character's been keeping a lot close to the chest. So would Silver kill Flint to keep Madi out of harms way? Absolutely. Would Silver spin a story to Madi about Flint surviving in order to prevent her from leaving him? Absolutely. Would Silver rather avoid all of that and present Flint with the opportunity to live and be with Thomas? For sure.

Would Flint believe Silver when he told Flint that Thomas was alive...thus 'unmaking' Flint and letting James McGraw go live out his life on that plantation? Maybe? It's really a question of whether Flint truly has put his trust in Silver as much as it seems. It's a test of their relationship more than anything else.

Anyway, that's why half a decade after it aired, I still sometimes think about this ending...because you really can't know which way it went. And that's part of the point.

#black sails #james mcgraw #thomas hamilton #captain flint #captain james flint

[therobotmonster]

Why the Murder-Bear Restaurant Keeps Re-Opening

A speculative Fic.

"Are you concussed?"

Rich looked up from his laptop. "Not that I'm aware."

"Forty-five million!" Stan huffed. "I go to a conference for one weekend and you invest us forty-five million into a murdered kid restaurant!!?"

"No, I sank forty-five million into THE murdered kid restaurant."

"That is not the point and you know it. To pay out the company has to exist. Half the locations are very famously burned to the ground."

"It's called venture capital not the sure thing express." Rich was smirking the way he did when he was going to be unbearably right. "Only this time it might well be the latter."

"What do you mean? It's a D-list nostalgia brand at best, without the murders and kidnappings and ghosts that are probably gas leaks driving night watchmen to acts of arson."

"No, you've got it all wrong. It's not a restaurant and its not an IP brand. Those are the loss leaders." Rich turned the laptop around. On the screen was a diagram of a robotic skeleton inside a vague mascot-character shape. "It's the most advanced robotics research lab in the United States, and all of it directed to one goal."

"Ooo! I know this one!" Now it was Stan's turn to be smug. "Pulverizing little Billy and Suzie between hydraulic jaws! No, wait, don't tell me-"

"Very mat-"

"-brand new innovations in reducing the size of the workforce. Literally. By having them compacted by a jukebox that has grown-ass-man-crushing-strength for some reason."

"That's the point. Why give the robot band the ability to walk around? Why make them strong enough to do more than lift a prop guitar?"

"Man's hubris?"

"No. I've looked over the patents, the whole sales document bundle... they were beta testing having them work as wait staff. They could recognize and converse with customers, heck, if these documents are even mostly exaggerated they were halfway to getting them to cook the damn pizza."

"Robot labor." Stan whispered. The whole picture came into focus. "Beta tested in the most chaotic, emotionally tumultuous environment possible, with the least cooperative customer base imaginable."

"If the dancing bear can handle a six year old's birthday party, it can handle the returns desk at the Lady Foot Locker. Exactly." Rich forced a solemn expression on his face. "While the alleged tragedies around the company are crushing-"

"Phrasing"

"-saddening. It would be an even greater tragedy if that work resumed with someone other than us reaping the rewards." Rich's smile returned. "Thus my executive decision."

"If we get haunted, I'm blaming you."

--

"What do you mean the ghosts are real?"

"Yeah, of all the bullshit in the papers, that part tracks. Go figure."

"Rich, you know what I mean."

"Alright, well, apparently the previous owners' idea of a coverup was to blab everything and let the ridiculous story debunk itself." Rich was looking over reams of blueprints. Old fashioned, drawn-on-paper blueprints for machines more advanced than MIT's best efforts. "And part of the story that was true was the ghosts."

"How-" Stan paused, pushing down the first phrasing that came to mind. "-do you even know that?"

"Well, we had the tech boys build a copy of one of the robots. Same firmware, same materials, better workmanship. But the performance was never there. Beat up vintage version responds more naturally, can navigate better, is stronger."

"What, some kind of learning algowhatis?"

"No. We went through the whole inventory from all the surviving locations. Most of the robots are 'low performers', even ones that were in use longer than the ones we have here."

"Do not tell me those are the murderbots."

Stan gave a mock-sheepish shrug.

"How are they not in an evidence locker someplace?!"

"I can only assume incompetence or graft." Stan replied. "But the majority, but not all, of the robots that are high performers are from those locations."

"So your theory is that they're what, possessed?"

"Haunted, possessed, what's the difference. We know what the missing piece is."

"You son of a bitch."

"What?"

"That's why you insisted we build the new prototype store on the ruins of the old one. You didn't just build it on top of the world's only haunted murder-robot graveyard, you did it on purpose!"

"The old man didn't just invent the most advanced robot this side of Star Wars, he may have made the world's only functioning ghost trap." Stan wasn't joking. His smile wasn't the normal sarcastic one he wore day in and day out. It was a hungry smile. "So yes, for the sake of ROI, I put our new animatronic manufacturing facility and demo store on top of a valuable natural resource."

"Dead people."

"We're only 30% certain its actual souls and not some kind of psychic imprint or ectoplasmic residue."

"You made those terms up."

"Maybe, who can say? Regardless. We know our robots are missing a part, that part appears to be a ghost, whatever that means. We pack the place to the gills with robots, keep using the pure-AI versions for now, and if any units get suddenly competent we retrace its steps to find out when the blue fairy does her thing."

"And then what? We harvest the souls of the dead and make them work at the mall?"

"Hey, idle souls crush night watchmen like juice boxes. It's way better if they've got gainful employment rather than just, wandering around murdering people."

"Gainful employment? We're going to pay the robots?"

"Oh no, I mean gainful for us. And the best part, is we're the only ones who will know the secret sauce. Let our patents expire, everyone else's robots will be glorified speak-and-spells."

"While ours will be animated by grandpa's wayward essence?"

"Hey, if he didn't want to work at the Panda Express he should have gone to heaven."

#mini-fic #a certain murderous bear restaurant #corporate malfescence #cyberpunk from a certain point of view #parody

[mllemaenad]

The Magnus Protocol: Marked

Huh. The tattoos are interesting.

At the moment, they remind me most of "Leitners". Of course, there are other cursed objects in the world, but these, like the weird books of The Magnus Archives are specifically pieces of art that can infect a person and drive them to extreme acts.

They are linked, not by any particular obsession, but by the sense of compulsion itself. Daria, of Making Adjustments was driven to self-mutilation by her tattoo, because of her insecurity about her appearance. Gordie, David and, given that the actual company email address goes inactive at the end of the story, quite possibly the entire landscaping crew, were drawn inexorably to the sea by a sense of nostalgia.

Chester/Gordie On a personal note, I’d just like to say thank you for using us to do this job. I know we can’t have been the cheapest company to put in a bid, but as local lads we’ve been coming to this graveyard all our lives (even if just to sneak some booze as stupid teenagers), and now that the cliff’s finally giving up the ghost (if you’ll pardon the pun), it feels right for us to be the ones taking it apart. – The Magnus Protocol: Marked

They are not anxious or afraid – not at the beginning, anyway. It is their fondness for the cemetery that dooms them.

But even though theme around what the tattoo means and what it does to someone is quite different, there's apparently a community of some kind devoted to them. For a start, the particular tattoo in the story is from no later that 1908, and while I admit "Oscar Jarrett" is not a name that immediately means something to me, "Sutherland Macdonald" was a real Victorian tattoo artist. So this has been going on a while. And, Ink5oul seems to have some pretty strong ideas about what that tattoo was – and must have had some idea it was in that graveyard, to turn up within two days of the body's exhumation.

There's some kind of community built around mystical tattoos. It is old and, given the evidence from Making Adjustments, alive, well, and still inking creepy images into people to this very day.

That's an interesting thing in itself. The cults in The Magnus Archives were built around allegiance to a particular power. Leitner existed, but he was one guy with a particularly awful book collection. What draws these people together?

And if the tattoos are in any way like the Leitners, that carries with it some worrying implications.

The first thing is that the books typically had to be picked up and read to cause any significant harm. And while, yes, tattoos may be deliberately covered with clothing or makeup, there's still a much greater chance of a lot of people being casually exposed to them.

The second thing is that ... well, tattoos are on people. No one thought twice about burning a Leitner, assuming it was one that would burn. Hell, "setting the annoying books on fire" was Gerard Keay's whole thing. But what's the plan if you are dealing with an image that lives in the skin of a person? And a person, who, like Daria, genuinely had no idea what they were signing up for?

Then there's the meta around the case. Sam, here, behaves exactly like John did. He's always had an interest in the cases, of course. But the core thing about John was that he knew not a damned thing about monsters – but he always paid attention to the people. This is an easy one, of course; I'm sure everyone went HEY IT'S THE CREEPY TATTOO ARTIST! But it's true nevertheless. Ink5oul the creepy tattoo artist has been active at least as recently as 2020.

Sam wants to note the pattern. John was obstructed by a (deliberately) poorly organised archive. Even if he had the general idea of what kind of thing he needed to find, actually finding it was almost impossible. Sam is obstructed by any reasonable means of stringing his research together. Or at least so Alice says – I haven't forgotten that she was either lying or very wrong about the search function not working.

But the nature of the OIAR seems to be that it puts a barrier between the people doing the assessing and the cases themselves. They are removed from the situation in a way that the archival staff were not. And Sam has breached that barrier. He knows someone is out there who is involved in this stuff.

As for Alice, well, she's being followed. Probably by [ERROR], although we'll see. The episode is called Marked. The dead man in the grave was marked by his tattoo. Gordie, David and likely the rest were marked by exposure to it. Explicitly, Gordie became obsessed by the shape in the water. Something was pursuing that ship, and he had to know what it was. And Alice ... well, something has marked her, and is pursuing her.

The most interesting thing, really, is that it's Alice being pursued, not Sam. Sam wanted to go to The Magnus Institute, and found nothing but a soggy ruin. Alice complained every step of the way – and she's the one with the stalker.

Sam No, you’re right. I don’t know what I’m looking for. I have… I have memories of weird stuff I saw here, but no context. I want to know what was happening, why they chose us… why they didn’t choose me. Maybe find the bit where everything started to go wrong. But… it’s too late. And now… I’m the only one left who cares. – The Magnus Protocol: Saturday Night

Is that a thing, somehow? That Sam is fundamentally the one who does not get chosen? John was a magnet for every horror in the story – and it was all very deliberate, with the pain and fear leading to a final goal. But if Sam is somehow resistant to the horrors ... There seems to be something up with him. There are bits of static clearly popping up in the dialogue. There's something that made The Magnus Institute pick him up initially. But there's also something that made them let him go. Perhaps the peril is not to him, but to the people around him.

Gwen did just get thoroughly traumatised. And yes, she absolutely did that to herself, but it still happened.

I do wonder what Gwen thought the job was, though. She does nothing but read (or hear) and categorise monster stories all night, every night. But seems genuinely appalled that being "in" means confronting monsters. Did she think it was all code for something else?

And Celia – well, there you just throw up your hands. Obviously relevant. Too little detail yet to do anything with it. The how and why of her sleeping in the middle of nowhere is important, sure. But who's Jack?

Ah, well. Thoughts for later, I guess.

#the magnus protocol #the magnus protocol spoilers #the magnus archives

[vsa-pieldepapel]

The charisk rant

Yes it is hard to explicitly describe it as romantic, though I do ship them… interesting how that works. Maybe it’s because they’re just kids. Maybe its because of the logistics. There is a feeling there so intimate that it can’t be described as anything but love, but is maybe a love outside of the archetypal bounds.

They occupy the same SOUL, essentially. Chara has no physical presence. There is no way frisk can actually hug or kiss them, or introduce them to Toriel, or go on dates that mean anything, even as they grow older, which is the reason why I describe it as “two people who really are in love with each other, but aren’t in a relationship in any solid way”

At the same time Chara is always there. They can move Frisk’s body around. They can move one of Frisk’s hands, to lovingly pet their hair and both of them feel that, at the same time, in the same hand. They can read every thought and feeling frisk has, and whatever happened in the underground and after (counting resets if you so desire) has left both with a trust so deep (as they are completely exposed to each other—Frisk can read Chara’s every thought and feeling, too) that both can comment on each other’s thoughts and feelings without shame or remorse.

Two beings, one body, with the complexities that entails? You can think of it like a fucked up Steven universe fusion if it helps

Frisk can sometimes see Chara in mirrors or glass or other reflections, but no one else can. They can also converse telepathically, Frisk hears Chara’s voice (though no one else can, either). Frisk can relinquish control of parts of themself to Chara entirely, and trusts them enough to do it sometimes, like lending them a hand so Chara can draw. They can pick a hand each, and to an outsider it looks like Frisk is making two drawings at the same time, each with a hand. Which understandably looks weird as hell, and it is something they have to be careful with around others. Frisk has also kept their mastery of a poker face because often, at the same time they are physically conversing with someone, Chara has opinions about the happenings lol

Bear in mind that despite the fact they are kids, I see them both as very parentalised/adultified children. It is implied Chara went to Ebbott to jump to their death, and Frisk just kinda fucked off to Ebbott and no one went after them which,.. oof.. so they speak to each other on more complicated terms than initially expected from a pair of kids… both aspects of this soul compliment and oppose each other like Frisk’s staunch pacifism and general positive outlook on people, and they soothe Chara’s trauma and confusion like a cold compress on a burn… at the same time Frisk never really feels truly alone. Be it because of their monster family but even outside of that. Even outside of the “good ending”. What will stay with them through every reset (though I like to think of the one linear true pacifist timeline mostly) and the rest of their life is Chara. Remembering too. Always being there open and honest and sad and vulnerable and even funny too

Is this very unrealistic? Yeah! It’s meant to be like a love story with a ghost… Frisk would never admit to anyone that their crush is something real that has a name and history and evidence of their existence and is in them, they would just show persistent indifferent to romance with anyone else. Toriel could NEVER know because it would destroy her. Chara is just, there. And Chara is Okay with being there, too tired of life and its complications, content with this arrangement where they have a best friend and companion and experience the world at a distance where it can’t break them.

Though since Chara is a separate individual I can imagine them teasing and joking with each other and Frisk just kinda laughs on their own someones when alone because Chara said something funny or can be annoying or Chara can be determined enough to grab one of their hands and give their head a light smack (the trust is there for Chara to just take over anything at any time…)

Sorry if this is a bit rambly, the core concepts here are Two People One Body, and “what if you really loved someone and they are real, but no one else can see them because they exist within you as a spiritual force? What if they also loved you back?” It’s hard to explain without it sounding strange but well. Thank you for the ask by the way- im really happy people find this interesting :’)

#undertale #charisk #frisk #Chara #doodle #digital #vsa answers

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hey clan was wondering if you could do a fic or hcs about reader finding out Larry is a missingno because they used to live in Kanto?

Yesssss I honestly love that Missingno!Larry theory to the moon and back

.....

Being born and raised in Kanto, you were caught up on the many myths and legends shared around the region. You've done a lot of research on the Pokémon associated with them, believing all the tales to be true.

But while most libraries and websites displayed stories of the legendary bird trio and the feline genetic experiments...there was one particular Pokémon seldom mentioned by even the oldest Kantonians.

One that was so bizarre and otherworldly that it could hardly be described as a Pokémon at all.

That was Missingno.

It piqued your interest, although it took a good while to find people who witnessed this creature...and even longer to find anyone willing to share what it looked like, as no photos of it existed anywhere.

But the responses weren't what you expected, as they claimed to have seen different forms of it.

One person said it resembled one of the ghosts seen in the Pokémon Tower, while a few theorized it was a haunted Aerodactyl or Kabutops skeleton seeking revenge against poachers.

The only thing these accounts had in common was the alleged location of Missingno: along the eastern coastline of Cinnabar Island.

And so you set off on a quest to find it, with your Lapras assisting you in the search as it surfed along the coast.

After some time, you finally encountered Missingno's true form.

It could only be described as incomprehensible--a clump of computerlike glitches forming the shape of a backwards "L".

You didn't even know how a thing like this could exist. But it was real, and you made sure your pokedex scanned it, revealing its number was "000" and some other unusual information about it. Such as it being a Normal/Bird type.

Not flying..but bird.

At the time you were too anxious to catch it, fearing that the stories of it corrupting people and Pokémon were true, and that it could wipe out all the progress you made on the dex. Even Lapras was terrified, as it nearly threw you off its back upon seeing the creature, so you sailed back to shore with the data entry secured.

That was all the evidence you needed.

You've helped the puzzled scientists with studies of this creature a great deal with what you've gathered, although they got ambitious about capturing it themselves and enlisted your aid in tracking it down, calling it "Project: Missingno".

You initially objected to that; they never confirmed it as being a Pokémon, so trying to catch and control something they didn't quite understand yet seemed like a terrible idea...

But to satiate your own curiosity, you led their expedition team to Cinnabar weeks later, following the exact same path that took you straight to Missingno's habitat.

Yet it was nowhere to be found, much to your confusion. Nothing but sand remained.

Maybe somebody else caught it.

Regardless, Project: Missingno was terminated right there and then, and the town's interest in it died down rather quickly. Even the scientists who once obsessed over finding it suddenly dismissed your evidence as "glitches", saying your pokedex was corrupted and needed a reboot.

They were sure quick to scorn you when yesterday they praised you for making a "historic" discovery.

But you knew for a fact Missingno was real. You believed in it.

If it truly was a Pokémon..then perhaps more of its kind were out there in the wild. They might be simply hidden away.

Yet even after you visiting a few other regions, they had extremely scarce information on it..oftentimes none at all.

You began to think it was only a legend meant to stay in Kanto.

Then you took a trip to Paldea to study the Treasures of Ruin and got the most surprising lead..

..............

"Where are you taking--?! Oh...y-you just wanted to eat here, huh?"

"Zarrr!" Licking her chops, your Cyclizar smiled as she stopped short in front of a nice restaurant within Medali City. It was labeled "Treasure Eatery".

"Fancy name." You mused, stepping off her back and walking up to the menu posted outside, reading over what this place had to offer. "I guess we afford some "fine-dining", huh girl?"

Smiling, you patted her head, and in turn she grinned and licked your cheek. "Hahaha, that tickles." You snickered. "C'mon. I think this is the place that can alter your tera type with a quick meal, too."

Surprisingly enough, you've become well-acquainted with Paldea's many customs and Pokémon--among them being the Cyclizar you found. She helped you get across the vast region and out of many sticky situations with the unusually aggressive Tauros herds.

You noticed that the flying taxi cabs carried by groups of Squawkabillies was the main source of transportation, but the idea of riding a motorcycle dragon-type seemed astronomically cooler.

In a way, it reminded you of the bikes you always rode in Kanto.

Once you both entered the Treasure Eatery, you patiently waited behind who appeared to be an academy student ordering something to eat.

But after the host hollered out their order to the chef-

A battle court unexpectedly appeared in the dining section.

You and Cyclizar jumped back in shock, becoming even more confused at what the host declared:

"Congratulations! You've passed the Gym Test! Are you ready to challenge the Exceptional Everyman himself, Gym Leader Larry?"

'Huh? A gym battle...is here??' You were bewildered.

Last time you checked, the gym building was back outside: a tall, bright, and white structure with the logo plastered on the front. But then you remembered that you're not in Kanto anymore, and Paldea probably had its own gym customs.

Ordering a "secret menu item", however, did seem quite odd for a gym test...

Shrugging, you headed further in, securing a spot where the court was in perfect view. You passed by Larry who, sure enough, looked much like any ordinary business man. He was rigid in his movements, and monotone in his voice, even as you overheard him praise the challenger for passing his test.

Everything about him was plain and simple.

Regardless, you were eager to see the battle. So you ordered Cyclizar a dish of grilled fish, while you ate your own meal and watched the fight go down

Larry first sent out a Komala, who was swiftly struck down by the challenger's fighting type, before he sent Dundunsparce out next.

Although it put up more of a fight than the last Pokémon, it went down just as quickly. Yet Larry didn't seem all that concerned with losing, even as the staff and patrons tried getting him riled up, demanding something more exciting.

However, you immediately noticed something quite...off about him that made you do a double-take.

When he tossed out his final Pokémon, a Staraptor, his throw seemed unusually aggressive this time around. And it may have just been your imagination...but you swore on your life you saw a familiar pattern of glitches flickering around him, and his head becoming entirely detached from his body for a split-second.

Only then did you see his emotionless expression briefly change to one of panic, almost physically recoiling at the pain. Though it was quickly masked as he made eye contact with you, before refocusing on the match and terastalizing Staraptor.

Nobody else seemed to notice, but you knew exactly what you saw, as your Cyclizar began hissing and snarling in distress...much like what your Lapras did that fateful day.

It's obvious that she realized the same thing as you..

That Larry's physical body had become unstable, as if he were a living glitch masquerading as something else...

Just like it did.

#clanask #pokemon x reader #pokemon scarlet x reader #pokemon violet x reader #pokemon larry x reader #pokemon larry #missingno #missingno larry #platonic

[atwistedandbrokentale]

Peter Pan is Star from wish, and here’s why:

That’s quite a bold statement, isn’t it? Sure, they both fly, they’re both help a girl and they’re both childlike.

But how could they both be the same entity? What evidence could there be? Well, a lot actually.

Let’s start with the first piece of evidence that lead me to this idea. Their first appearance.

When Star first arrives on earth, they do so in the form of a ball-like energy. They don’t really have a fixed shape, they apparently form it afterwards.

This has a connection to how Peter Pan first shows up in the (10/10 best) preschool spinoff “Jake and the Neverland pirates”.

For most of the first season, Peter Pan is a ghost, someone who isn’t seen despite being there. But he's always shown as a similar ball of energy. Just green instead.

I always thought this was to simplify him, not actually how he is but an artistic choice.

But the season one finale came out. Granted this was the first one I saw but there was something that blew my mind when I noticed it.

Don’t get it?

The green ball of energy is real. It’s how he actually is before he forms into his boy form, much like Star.

This means his human form isn’t his real form. It’s just a shape he takes.

I’m sure you’ve all heard Star used to have a human form in the production process that was inspired by the genie from aladdin and (fittingly enough) Peter Pan. But Star was also supposed to be a shapeshifter, the red yarn being a leftover of that idea.

What if this is still true? What if Star still doesn’t have a fixed appearance, both their plushie form and their boy form are just a shape they take?

But wait, you might be saying, Star was called by Asha’s wish, Peter Pan was called by Wendy’s stories.

Yes, Peter was drawn to Wendy’s stories but what were the stories about? Neverland and how you can never age there.

What if Wendy had a wish to never grow up?

What if that’s what drawn Peter to her?

Star was shown to not grant wishes, but rather guide them to get it themselves. It’s possible that Peter wanted to grant this wish by getting them all to Neverland, a place where no one has to grow up. Of course they decided otherwise but when they did, Peter totally let them go.

They both seem to be called out to by music. When Asha accidentally summons Star, she sings “this wish”.

Granted when Peter Pan arrives in the og movie, Wendy is telling stories instead of singing but in JATNP, Wendy said that if she needed Peter’s help, she would sing a song.

Asha seems to be unintentionally calling out to Star, saying that while she’s ready to face anything that comes her way, she still needs their guidance.

Wendy is more straightforward, simply saying she needs help. BUT!

What happens when she sings?

THE STAR SHINES

LIKE IN WISH

But there’s more. Peter has so much association with stars in JATNP. In the episode, “singing stones”, the singing rocks want to be close to Peter’s shooting star so they gain bodies. But look at the star itself.

IT’S LITERALLY HIM! IT’S THE EXACT SAME GREEN BALL! THEY ALL SAY IT’S A STAR YET IT’S PETER! I’M RIGHT, I’M TELLING YOU!

And in various situations, Peter even has constellations!

(there’s more but this was all I could find) With all that being said, it’s still possible that Star is the blue fairy. Star does have that pixie dust and the blue fairy does come from the star that seemed to be the star Asha wished on.

Of course, this puts it all to rest:

But hey! This was fun to think about, wasn’t it?

#peter pan #peter pan disney #jake and the neverland pirates #jatnp #wish #wish disney #disney wish #wish star #wish star boy #starboy #star boy #disney #essay #personal essay #fan theory #theory #the blue fairy #Youtube

[coralinnii]

Silver (ghost!Reader x exorcist!Silver) 

genre: hurt/comfort, bittersweet, tragedy, vehicle manslaughter

summary: Silver works as an exorcist working on a hit-and-run case, and he’s trying to console the victim of the incident. He’s trying his best to convince you to leave before it’s too late.

notes: this prompt is not meant to resemble or reflect on any real event or the emotions of those who may have similar experiences. This is purely fiction. 

series index

Silver has seen his fair share of injustice in his career. Perhaps not as much as his father but he has seen an unfortunate number of victims that couldn’t be avenged for the crime done to them, especially when it caused their death. 

He has the title of a detective in charge of his district alongside his father but his true work lies with the deceased that wail out for retribution over their death. He, his father, and a colleague work under a powerful sorcerer that gives him the ability to see and occasionally interact with the souls that refuse to leave the world they once knew. 

That was how he met you, a spirit that refused to leave his district until you found vengeance over your hit-and-run incident with a powerful businessman. Despite evidence of his unethical driving, your family were left heartbroken and with a terrible debt dealing with the lawsuit and your hospital bills despite failing to save you. 

“He shouldn’t have been on the road! He was clearly drunk and rammed straight into my car!” You screamed at Silver, who stopped you as you attempted to haunt the man that broke your family until he either admitted to his fault or perished himself. You were fine with either one. “His brake was fine before the crash yet he dared to blame me!” 

“I understand, I truly do” Silver tried his best to console you. “But what you’re doing is wrong. Also, the longer you hold your grudge, the faster you will turn to a vengeful spirit” and I’ll have to exorcise you. he kept his last thoughts to himself. 

“And let him get away with it?! I’m not some pushover, Silver!” The air around turns ice cold, your energy running rampant as your emotions pushes you into a darker form, if not for Silver wrapping his arms around you. 

“You’re not a pushover. You’re also not vengeful” he whispered into the air where you could still hear him “You’re someone loving, and believed in the goodness of others” 

He knew that from the stories shared by your friends and family, who cried and protested against the businessman through every trial and investigation. Silver got to witness that side of you himself, as your aura turned warm as you watched over your sleeping family as they worked to bring justice to you. 

“So believe me when I say I’ll clear your name” 

“It’s not about my name, Silver” you cried phantom tears as you broke down in front of the silvernette. “It’s my family. I can’t let them live with such a debt” 

Silver felt your aura spiraling with a mad mixture of emotions; sadness, anger, guilt, and love. He carefully wrapped his arms around you which made you flinch. You never imagine that you could ever feel the warmth of someone else again. You lay your soul onto Silver’s shoulder, the only person who could hold and comfort you since your end.

“I promise to bring you peace” he spoke with such conviction, a sense of honor that you would have thought was corny in your past life. But now, it gave you a sliver of hope.

Once he brings justice to you, you can soon depart with a smile on your face and hopefully he can send you off with one as well when that day comes.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #twst imagines #twst silver #twst silver x reader #silver x reader #twisted halloween series

[shimmiemoonie]

Jotaro x Reader Buzzfeed Unsolved

Just went on a buzzfeed unsolved binge when i got bored last night and this came out as a result. This is crack so please treat it as such. I may write a second part if people enjoy this. I just like the idea of Jotaro using Splat to mess with you. (Also this is an everyone lives AU bc I said so)

Also when I wrote this out I had this in the original Buzzfeed Unsolved meme format but it didn’t copy over so the stuff written like this is Joot speaking

“Hello and welcome back to another episode where we explore the question, are ghosts real? Today—stop rolling your eyes, Jotaro!”

“I didn’t roll my eyes.”

“You clearly did! Covering your head with that hat won’t undo what I’ll find on the footage when I’m editing later.”

“Good grief.”

“Don’t good grief me. We’re exploring serious stuff.”

“Ghosts?”

“Ghosts are serious. Maybe not to you, but for me they are. I’m actually terrified right now. I’m about to spend a good chunk of my night conversing with the undead. You just choose not to believe in their existence.”

“Because they’re not real.”

“I dragged your ass outside an allegedly haunted building. You're wasting your breath trying to convince the wrong person.” You turn back around so you’re facing the camera. “We’ve been over this before but in case you suck at picking up context clues, I’m on a mission to prove to Jotaro that ghosts are real and Jotaro thinks this is nothing but a waste of time.”

“Definitely a waste of my time.”

“You act like I force you to come every time but you and I both know it’s not true. You’re built like you belong on an American football team. I can’t force you to do anything you truly don’t want to do. That shows me there’s an inkling of hope that there may be a chance I could change your mind.”

You pretended not to see the second eye roll to allow yourself a moment to explain the lore behind the building. It took you longer than you had anticipated due to Jotaro’s scoffing at some outlandish claims or holes in your story.

As you bickered, you couldn’t help but be reminded of how this whole situation came to be. A few weeks before Jotaro suddenly disappeared for over a few months, you had begun to notice strange and unexplainable occurrences that had begun to happen around him. You offhandedly joked about him being haunted by a ghost before he had disappeared completely.

You weren’t sure if you would consider him to be a friend at the time. He wasn’t particularly close to anyone and you just happened to strike up a conversation as he sat down around the spot where you usually ate by yourself at lunch.

Once he had gone missing for some time, you had found yourself missing him. You changed up your spot at lunch when you got lonely and happened to overhear some girls talking about a haunted bathroom on the second floor of the school.

You didn’t have much equipment at the time, just your phone to record. You sat in the bathroom a while timidly asking if there were spirits present. You didn’t gather much evidence, just the stall closing by itself and some tapping, but when you uploaded it to the internet you found yourself gaining a small following.

The support encouraged you to buy a better camera and a microphone so you could be heard better. You began checking out abandoned buildings and homes and eventually your work became relatively well-known throughout the school. People who never bothered talking to you before began to ask if they could be featured in videos. It was overwhelming but you decided to keep the project to just yourself.

Not long afterward Jotaro returned to school and as a joke you asked him how his ghost problem was going. He had tensed at the question so in order to ease the tension you began to ramble about how you had started a ghost hunting show on the internet and even showed him snippets from an episode to prove your point. 

When your rambling was over he surprised you with a snort. “Ghosts aren’t real.”

You felt your jaw drop. Jotaro Kujo—the most haunted person you knew—didn’t believe in ghosts. 

You invited him jokingly to join you for your next video after school and to your surprise he had shown up after a remark about how his friend had something to do so he wanted to kill time.

With your banter, his abrasive taunts, and his attractive looks your following skyrocketed and your videos became more popular than ever. You begged him to star in another video and with some convincing from his friend, Kakyoin, Jotaro became a permanent staple to your show. 

“Stop blowing air on the back of my neck. You’re not funny.”

“I’m all the way over here. Maybe it’s one of your ghost friends.”

You looked over to find a considerable distance between the two of you. He wasn’t far, but he was far enough that you shouldn’t be able to feel his breath. “Are you not feeling this right now?”

“It’s just the wind.”

“I only feel it on my neck! The wind doesn’t concentrate on one singular point!”

“It’s probably just a draft.”

“You’re really telling me you don’t feel anything—” you cut yourself off as a door slowly creaked shut behind you. The sound was eerie and dragged on. It sent shivers throughout your body.

“Nothing a little grease can’t fix.”

“Are you kidding me? Are you really trying to rationalize that?!”

“Everything can be rationalized. Are you trying to convince me Casper did that?”

“And if I say possibly?”

“I’ll tell you that you’re full of shit.”

“You’re the one who’s full of shit. How, after everything we’ve seen, don’t even believe in the possibility that there may be something out there you can’t quite explain with a grounded explanation?”

“Are you telling me ghosts are a more grounded explanation than the wind?”

“Maybe I am.”

“You’re full of shit.”

“Agree to disagree. Now can I move onto the lore behind this room so we can leave?”

“No. How about you face your fears for a change?”

“Face my fears? I just saw a ghost close the door and I didn’t high-tail it to the next town over. I have to be the bravest person you know.”

“Kakyoin was on this shitty show too, remember? He believed in ghosts.”

“No, he said he could be persuaded into believing ghosts were real. There’s a difference. Now lets–” Whatever you were trying to say got cut off by the door slamming open behind you with a bang. “Fuck the lore, lets go,” you say as you begin to push Jotaro toward the exit on the other side. Jotaro, being the stubborn bastard, didn’t move an inch.

“No, we have time. What were you saying?”

“Doesn’t matter. I know how to read a room. We’re getting evicted.”

“Did your ghost friends tell you that?”

“They actually did. They were pretty adamant about it. Told me the tall guy was getting on their nerves.”

“Wonder who that is.”

If Jotaro noticed his stand dematerializing from behind the same door that had been moved, he didn’t say anything.

#this is crack #jjba #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jojo's bizzare adventure x reader #jotaro #jotaro kujo #jotaro kujo x you #jotaro x reader #jotaro kujo x reader #jotaro x you #buzzfeed unsolved #kakyoin #fluff #jotaro x y/n #jojo no kimyō na bōken #pls find me funny #star platinum #stardust crusaders #ghosts