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lets-try-some-writing · 2 years

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Irrational Fears

Earth is absolutely terrifying, a fact that both Autobots and Decepticons can attest to.

Megatron

Despite being so big and tough, there is one thing about the earth that just scares the scrap out of Megatron.

He does not really fear what lurks within earth's biggest bodies of water, no, he fears the bodies of water themselves.

He never needed to learn to swim since Cybertron didn't exactly have huge bodies of anything resembling liquid near the surface beside the occasional acid pool.

And the safe liquids that existed on Cybertron were far denser than earth's liquids, often being thick enough to almost be a paste, posing little issues for those who got stuck in them besides some sticky residue being left on their armor afterward.

As such arriving on earth and falling into the ocean for the first time was rather traumatizing.

His usual method of handling being in liquid did absolutely nothing for him since water is not nearly as dense as what Megatron is familiar with.

He sank like a rock and was left at the bottom of the fragging ocean in the dark with no clear way to get out besides walking to the surface since transforming or ground bridging out would cause more trouble than it was worth.

He was irritated but fine with it at first, after all, no organic thing in the waters could really do him any harm.

But the ominous noises, the random currents which threw his sensors into overdrive, the extreme water pressure, and the rather freaky things passing by him as he traveled back to land just... traumatized him in a way he couldn't really describe.

The ocean threw Megatron off, and since then he has sworn off going near the Unmaker-cursed liquid pools when possible.

Optimus

Surprisingly Optimus's worst fear that originated on earth was not of natural disasters or anything of the sort, no, his fear is of the roads, or more specifically, the people driving on the roads.

Optimus is a textbook driver and obeys every road law to the letter, as such most human drivers scare him half to death.

American drivers are a melting pot of every form of insanity, with customs from all over the world resulting in the most confusing road culture imaginable.

Poor Optimus can't make heads or tails of it and often finds himself bewildered when other drivers honk or scream obscenities at him for following the rules.

Not only that but Americans are freaking crazy drivers.

Optimus has gotten hit, crashed into, pushed off the road, and forced to swerve to save some poor idiotic soul far more times than he will ever be comfortable admitting.

When it happens he panics. After all, the human vehicles have humans in them, and humans are squishy and easily damaged, unlike Cybertronians.

It isn't much better in other countries.

The Europeans are agonizingly slow drivers and park where ever their car will fit, trying to travel through British towns and cities on their tiny roads is an absolute nightmare.

For a vehicle of Optimus's size Europe, as a general rule, is one of the worst places to drive.

But oh boy, Europe has nothing on the Asian and middle eastern countries.

Driving there induces some of the worst anxiety Optimus has ever had since the war began, and that is saying something.

Random cattle on the roads, junk cars sputtering along looking like they are going to explode at any moment, the absurd amount of potholes, the fearless jaywalkers, and the maze-like structure of most roads make Optimus nearly have a panic attack every time he is forced to go driving in such areas.

He doesn't even want to get started on the state of the roads in Canada or the terrifying scrap he has seen while driving in Australia.

Starscream

Fragging Pigeons, Starscream simultaneously hates and fears them with a passion.

The mixed hatred and fear of the stupid birds began shortly after his arrival on earth when he flew through a flock of them.

The end result left him floundering as found himself covered in feathers, gore, and droppings.

Of course, it didn't end there.

The one time he fell into recharge out in the open he awoke to find himself covered in pigeons.

Even after they flew away his armor was still stained by lots of little gifts from the feathery fraggers.

The birds have also caused him to crash numerous times as he just isn't used to maneuvering around the organic things.

Trying to avoid the birds just causes him to lose his senses and flying through them is just messy.

On Cybertron, he could just fly straight through most small mech animals that had flight capabilities and both parties would be fine.

It is, of course, a completely different story on earth.

The never-ending harassment from the birds has led him to begin fearing them.

Where ever he goes there are pigeons.

America? Pigeons. Asia? More Pigeons. Africa? Yep, Pigeons there too. Europe? You guessed it, Pigeons.

They haunt his existence to the point where anything that remotely looks like a pigeon sends him in the opposite direction lest he gets turned into a perch, a fate almost as bad as death in his book.

Ratchet

Normally Ratchet would not consider himself the squeamish type, his particular line of work does not afford him that luxury.

However when it comes to dealing with the mess that is human anatomy he can't help but be a little hesitant.

Everything about them is just so screwed up.

Cybertronain biology while complex, is orderly and only requires energon to function.

Humans though, they are a whole different mess, one that Ratchet tends to find himself feeling a little dizzy when handling.

Their bodies need so much to work right, and the delicate balance sustaining them is so unnerving to him with the children hanging around.

How can humans teeter on the edge of rolling over and dying from nearly everything at any moment and still live so comfortably?

But their squishiness isn't the most traumatizing part for him, no, its the way human bodies fix themselves.

Blood is the most vital part of a human, but the way it is replaced bothers Ratchet on a spiritual level.

Humans make their blood themselves, all the organics do.

But instead of mining or consuming more when they run low like Cybertronians, they go and consume the matter of other creatures instead.

The whole process is somewhat terrifying when looked at too deeply and now Ratchet can only look at the humans in slight fear when they eat a burger or something similar.

How they can casually consume other creatures is beyond him, on Cybertron such behavior would make one a ghoul, mech animal, or Predacon.

#transformers #transformers prime #optimus prime #ratchet #tfp #megatron #starscream #transformers headcanon #just a little thought experiment #I may or may not continue rolling with this idea #earth if terrifying #and the bots know it

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cooki3face · 4 months

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messages from someone who let go of you

message: I’m so obsessed with my tarot table set up that I couldn’t help but share it with you guys. I felt pulled to do a message from people who may have left you behind or moved on from you. This message is meant for those of you who have somewhat moved on or are somewhat far removed. You may have distant memories or have thoughts of this person still that feel somewhat against you or random due to so much time having passed or your life having changed so much since then. I keep hearing “I’m sad again, don’t tell my boyfriend, it’s not what he’s for made for.” From Billie’s song, I don’t remember what it’s called, “what was I made for?” I was so unprepared to come out here and read tarot that my phone is at 20% but I came out and lit up all my candles anyways and sat down at my table. This will be a channeled message, directly from them to you. Enjoy.

***

"I'm not real sure where I'm going or what's left of me to do now. I feel as though I've done everything I said I would or put myself in the position to receive everything I possibly could, I feel like I've obtained and had everything there is for me to have and yet, there's this emptiness. I'd like to say that I would equate the loss of you to the emptiness I feel but to say the loss of you would not fully encapsulate the responsibility I carry for not being there and leaving you more times than we can count on all ten of our fingers put together. I still like to tell myself and others that it was not a big deal, that the loss of you, of us, was not a big deal. I will find a way to minimize anything and everything that means all of anything to me in order to hide the fact that it is so painfully important and you know this already. I am not ignorant to the reality of the situation, the loss, and my behavior. I know better I just couldn't do better. Since you've been gone, things have not been any less chaotic or trivial. Your absence leaves hard lessons here that I could not foresee while you were here. I keep saying since you've been gone, or since you've left, or in your absence because it feels as though you've left me, I may have left you plenty in spirit, I may have left a void within you so frequently that at some point you did leave.

you left me with no choice but to pick up and leave. I've been forced to carry all my bags and pull all my karma up the hill all by myself now that you're gone and life has thrown at me lesson after lesson. I do not know where life will take me or what's in store for me or what else there is for me to have now that what I would've really wanted has voluntarily bowed out of my life and left only tower moments and lessons. I cannot get over the way that it feels for justice to have finally come for you and served you right after all this time of me not being able to deliver it to you myself. I find myself brought to tears or battling excessive bouts of emotion behind you not being here and I have nobody to cry to and nobody to blame but myself. I am trying to let go, I am trying to release what is no longer a reality for me any longer. You.

I lost such a massive opportunity for my own fulfillment when you walked out the door. I hated to see your back to me I hated to see you go but I understand that you were tired and I understand that all my time I spent fearing your abandonment I manifested such a reality for myself by being afraid. All the pushing I did, all the damage I did, all the hurt and destruction I caused being someone whose shadow eclipsed them because I let it. Now, all I've been doing is trying to heal and trying to do the inner work like you told me so many times, all that time ago. I feel as though my future leads nowhere now truly, I may have felt that way when you were around but even throughout all my hopelessness and hardship, I always thought I'd find my way to you in the end and now that you're not here there lies no reward.

***

ii.

I've learned so much now that I am away, many things make sense to me that didn't before, I see things so much clearer than I had previously. There is so much within this world, on this plane of existence for me, for us, to see and understand. My departure was necessary however sudden or abrupt, everything I've done I've done for love and there is never a lack of purpose behind my actions and I wish so badly that I had the ability to tell you all these things directly, for some reason, unbeknownst to me, my heart aches. I still think of you however far removed I may be, I still think of you no matter what it may seem like, I still think of you despite my wish not to. I am not heartbroken nor am I half of a whole. I am in my power, I am willing and able to reach towards all horizons and create the life I had deserved for myself all along that you could not give me despite all my time spent sitting idle waiting for you. Please do not mistake my willingness to come through and communicate as me being truly unhappy or ungrounded, I am not. I have returned home to myself and wherever I go, whomever I am with, and however much I change I will always reside here.

I have discovered things within this life and within this realm that I thought for many years and even before you that I could not have and now I have them. So I am not unhappy or discontented, but, you are not gone from my heart and from my mind despite how much I've grown and despite how much I've discovered myself to have. I do not love you the way I used to and so at times I do find myself plagued solely with confusion as to why at random moments I find myself thinking of you. I have proved to myself that I could have the whole entire world within the palms of my hands but I carry with me a secret and that is you. I build high walls of my kingdom around the memorial that is your absence in my life. And when things fall away and succumb to time and go back to the earth from which they came, we remember them and we pay careful attention not to disturb them, we let bygones be bygones. Your essence is with me, you are here in spirit but I refuse to trudge up what's passed gone back up again simply because I have the capacity to remember.

because you are not here and because we share the connection that we share or had once what we had, there is a part of me that lies within me that sometimes is confused or or feels clueless about what the rest of my life will look like without you, whether or not I will always remember, whether or not the small memorial you have within my spirit will be given a mural, whether or not even in deep and aligned partnership and connection I will find myself wondering where you are. I store your heart within mine. Sometimes, even if I am not heartbroken or paralyzed with loss I become frustrated or angry because I can't bring myself to understand what lies ahead of me through what I have holding within me now, these memories. But, where I am afraid, or angry, or confused I show myself mercy and grace. I say to myself, "What meant something to us once is not always easily forgotten." Before I left you behind and found the strength within myself to do so, I feared deeply that without you I would find myself alone eternally, I still feel to some extent that that might even be a possibility but the difference is I do not fear it this time. I will be brave, I will not live my life paralyzed by possibility and I will do my darndest to give myself everything I needed and was ever owed.

And I will never be angry that it does not include you if I find that it does not. There is no sentence more immeasurable than a lifetime so I will do only what I can do and make it a good one and leave everything else up to be decided to spirit.

***

iii.

I think of you and the way I walked away frequently. You were a piece of a revealing story. You proved that I was struggling, you proved that I had deeply rooted things I refused to dig through or acknowledge, you proved my actions were detrimental, that my shadow is large and looming. I attempt to run from myself every single day from the second I rise in the morning to the moment my head hits the pillow. To see yourself clearly in the mirror when you've done so much to obstruct the reflection is misery. My spirit yearns for healing and for me to answer to its wailing but I don't like the sound. I have to hear it all the same anyway even If I don't like it, your absence has left my ears ringing, I feel like the truth of my reflection is being pulled out of me in knots. I'm at a loss for words, I find myself feeling as though in my ways, I've cheated myself out of an opportunity that was you. I feel like I have no plan in store for me like I've been stranded on an island with only myself to talk to. I can't see myself having anything fulfilling without you being here, everything I build I knock down, everything I find my grip around slips right through my fingers.

I've been working so hard to dress myself up, to make myself look dazzling and shiny and new just as something I would reach for regardless of it not being gold, but, my old way of doing things is no longer working. There is no void so deep. there is nothing left to do but wade in the marsh that is the consequence of my own actions and I am afraid. I know that you cannot hear me over the sound of your joy and the sound of heavenly support but I wish that you could. The second I could not reach you any longer the fabric I'd sewn made from whatever I told myself at night and whatever I felt I could've had had been ripped from beneath me. I am angry because I feel that what I have reaped is unfair. I have made no progress where true progress lies, I feel disappointed and displeased. Whatever I've found myself having, worldly or in spirit is not enough. Your wrath is hellish and you've not even lifted a finger.

If I were to speak to you in the flesh, I would still find myself lying, seething as if what I've received is unfair, and hiding behind ego because it is all I have to offer at this time. I have not changed, I don't know that I am capable. Please have mercy on me. Please forgive me. I have a tendency to look at you almost religiously, if God lived on earth beside us, he/she would be you. I'm far removed from spirit, I do not know how to pray, I do not hear their messages, I do not know my way, and you, a beacon of light, have left. I'm trying to let go, I'm trying to teach myself to see things differently, I am trying to do or find something. And after all of this, If I were to speak to you, you would show me some grace, you would still wish me well, you would still want the best for me or want me to turn inwards and heal. All I want all the time is your blessing. It has taken everything in me not to turn up on your doorstep as I feel I've been exiled. Every time I've washed up unannounced or without your permission both in the physical and in the astral was a call for help, to let you know that my shadow is looking straight at me and there is nothing I can do about it.

All I have to say now is that you were right about everything and what I have received I am owed and what is fair is fair. I hope that you are free and I hope for my own.

***

Do I even wanna post this?? Please, all I can think is GIRL, WHAT IS THIS??? I know I’m the one who wrote it but when I’m channeling it never feels as though it’s coming directly from me, I’m only a vessel at that point, the only credit I feel I can take in the moment is the fact that it is my fingers who is typing it. If you’re an intuitive or a reader of some sort you know exactly what I’m talking about but these messages are so dramatic. While writing them the part of me that was present was like “oh please! 🙄✋🏾 pack it up!!” But anyways, let me post it before I chicken out.

#self love #self care #self improvement #self discovery #dream girl #self expression #healingjourney #self healing #manifestation #divine feminine #divine masculine #messages from spirit #messages from your person #tarot #pac reading #pac #tarot readings #tarot readers of tumblr

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xsdjkl · 6 months

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Question(s) time, have fun with this one. 🫣 Let’s talk a little more about not just Song’s cyberware, but more so, her “body” in a sense. I gotta say right off the bat, I love the design uncontrollably. She’s mostly metal and whatever her arms/torso are made of. (What’s it called, realskin? I forget.) And her legs, can’t decide if they’re chrome or not as well. But her chest has more of a plastic/gloss look (is there a reason for that?) and she has a random metal piece on her sternum and chin as well. So, how do you think she likes this body? I’m sure she obviously prefers her old one, but she doesn’t seem to be super pained by it. Do you think she’s comfortable with so much chrome exposed on her back and arms? (Alternatively, why do you think these areas aren’t covered? Cooling reasons, cleaning reasons, or something else?) She was shy with V when they met in person for the first time (we all know why, of course 🤫) but do you think she’s this way with everyone? Nervous or embarrassed by her chrome? Or does she not think twice about it usually? Then, I HAVE to ask, do you think she can feel things on any part of her body other than her face? Not just touch, but pain, pressure, and temperature as well. We know it’s not as easy as an authentic body part, but it’s always possible to have specific mimicked neural feedback via sensors in order for her brain to “process” some of these things. So, your thoughts? I need food 👀 (Also, I’m not checking this for grammar issues so if there’s a problem, get over it) 🤣🤣🤣

Since this is gonna be a very long reply, I think it's time for another episode of my favourite TED Talk show

Let's Talk About Songbird's Body

I can only humbly offer my thoughts and try to answer all of your questions, but the truth is - we simply don't know much. Still, hope you'll enjoy it!

To begin with, I was feral about her design since day one. When this scene^ was shown in the trailer I was loosing my mind, not even knowing who she was. I love her design so much, but at the same time recognise the tragedy of it and it makes me feel so many conflicting emotions at the same time.

The cyborg body.

Songbird's entire upper body was replaced during the surgery. It's literally a cybernetic skeleton that happens to have some metal plates slapped on front. The decision to only cover half of her cyborg body is a very interesting one though. I find it quite symbolic that she's literally divided between being human and a machine, representing both of these worlds.

I'd be looking for practical reasons as of why her back remains revealed. If it was purely aesthetic choice, wouldn't So Mi try to hide it since it apparently bothers her? Like you mentioned, it might be kept revealed for cooling or access reasons (in Somewhat Damaged and Phantom Liberty MV her back is being connected to wires) or perhaps whenever Blackwall causes more damage to her she can be easily repaired, without need to take the body apart?

It almost feels like Songbird's design is meant to trick you into thinking of her as a machine pretending to be human rather than a human who's trapped inside a machine.

So Mi's legs seem to be mostly organic to me, though they're definitely implanted with something. After all, her chrome weights quite a lot. I imagine her legs needed extra support to carry all this chrome around without her suffering from any injuries.

The 'plactic' and metal pieces on her chin and sternum are a bit of a mystery to me. I have a theory that it serves similar purpose as an emp threading (which she also has). Maybe it indeed protects her from some kind of electromagnetic interference or radiation? Perhaps the cyberware on her face serves the same purpose? Being constantly exposed to the Net may be causing some long term damage that we're not even aware of (this goes both for both cyberpunk universe and the real world).

Probably not a lot of people realise that such 'plastic' plates on hips/back are extremely uncomfortable (speaking from experience here). It forbids you from bending, forcing to remain in one, straigh position, and it also generates a lot of pressure on your body. Overall, I really don't recommend it. But now keeping this in mind, think that So Mi lived with such uncomfortable thing 7 years now...

I don't think the material of which her upper body is made of is real skin, cause if you take a closer look at it, it seems more like a metal (at least for me) . I suspect it only serves visual purpose, but in reality has very little in common with human flesh.

Last thing I want to mention - does she... y'know... has any internal organs? Because it doesn't seem that way 😬How would they be squeezed in there? How could they even be exposed like this?

It raises my another question - how does she sustain herself? Her body may be mostly chrome, but brain still needs energy, right? She can drink, but how about food? There's a lot of free room for your own interpretation here.

Does So Mi like her body?

As you said, we know she prefers her old body over this one. Based on her interactions with V though, I believe she treats this one a bit like a vessel. Her real personality only ever shines through whenever she talks with V via the Relic - it almost feels as if her true self is buried deep within her metal cage body, kinda like a defense mechanism. (the way she allows Hansen to show her around like a prize?) (also it reminds me a lot of Evelyn).

But even if it's true it is still her body and she certainly tries to feel better in it. She made adjustments in her appearance before in order to feel more comfortable. For example, in a form of a new haircut she hides the fact that she doesn't have ears anymore.

As for meeting V, I think there are several reasons why she was nervous. First of all, how she appeared via the Relic was much different than her real appearance. She couldn't be sure how V would react to such deception. Secondly, no matter if we read this scene as SongV shippers or not, So Mi and V had a very close bond at this point - through their connection, Songbird could not only see and hear everything V did, but also feel. Last but not least, she allowed herself to show V her true self and personality. They almost immediately started getting along and even having banter (and this happens no matter what player wants! These are just two characters who are supposed to get along! The same trick was used with V and Panam in the base game) . Think of it like meeting an online friend for the first time in real life after years of friendship... except they achieved some level of mutual sympathy in mere hours.

Would meeting anyone else cause her to be so nervous? Perhaps. After all, even in the world of cyberpunk, one does not often meet someone chromed to such degree as So Mi. Curious gazes or comments about her appearance would surely put her in an uncomfortable position.

How she react to physical touch is an interesting detail. When V meets her for the first time she seems surprised if they try to touch her. Her cyborg body doesn't seem to offer much opportunities for this simple human interaction that connects us with other people. Let's just take a look at Reed's reaction when he reunites with her.

How does it make her feel when even the one she trusted so much is resistant to touch her?

A little speculation.

Did So Mi know how much of her body would be carved away before the suregery? Did she even have a choice? What if her organic body was failing her because of the Blackwall connections, and the decision to upgrade her was forced on her?

Also, please remember - any cyberware implant instalation is a huge trauma for user's body. In Songbird's case her entire upper body was replaced in only one surgery. We're not talking only about physical trauma here, but also a psychological one. She dozzed of on the operational table, with one of her last words being"Think I might be scared".

How did it feel to wake up with half her body simply gone?

How much can So Mi feel? Can she feel at all?

The golden question. I know where you're going with the face😏, which I suspect is the only part of her body going waist up where she can actually feel someone's touch.

As for the rest of her body, here's my theory: her metal skeleton - including her hands - doesn't seem to have any nervous system receptors. I highly doubt the metal plates would have them either... So, I'll bite and say she can't feel anything at all.

But, here's the thing - our brains are funny things that like tricking us, silly humans, a lot. So Mi might see that someone is touching her and she might believe to feel it. Reminds me of Rubber Hand Illusion. That being said, I wonder if So Mi could experience any signs of a phantom pain as well?

This is all just my speculation, but I thought I should share it^^

This leads me to another thing - assuming So Mi can't feel touch, can she at least feel the pressure of her own body? Let's say she's grabbing someone's shoulder - how can she know her grasp is not too tight? Or what if she wants to grab a mug standing on a table, but drops it to the ground instead?

Can you imagine her trying to adjust to this clumsiness after the surgery? Accidentaly breaking things, because she can't feel them? Things like this would make anyone feel disconnected from other people.

What we know for sure is that Songbird's still capable of feeling pain and she mentions it multiple times.

Temperature is an interesting one though!! I admit the thought haven't crossed my mind before, but I suspect she's overall vurnable to weather. After all, things such as rain, low temperature or sand could possibly damage her chrome - that's why she has to protect it.

I'm sorry, but I have to ask - how does she clean herself? Especially after Firestarter mission she was dirty. Getting all that dust and mud off her must have been... troubling. Even worse if any of it gets under her cables. Is she simply plugging them all off, cleaning herself like an old, dusty PC and connecting everything back? 😭 sorry, had to say it hah

(^^this has such fluff potencial tho, do what you want with it 😊)

Final thoughts

I hope this answered most if not all of your questions. If I missed any topic just bonk me on the head and I'll add it 🤭

Simping for Songbird's exposed back and simultaneously understanding her struggle with her body is the worst combination that could've happened to me, but here I am.

#long post #hope you enjoyed this #universe hates me today and did everything to make writing this difficult 🥰#also i ain't reading any of this again because I'm tired #so if something doesn't make sense it's not my problem #song so mi #songbird #phantom liberty #cyberpunk 2077

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lord-squiggletits · 1 month

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In the last salty asks post I unintentionally went on a tangent in the notes about how JRO wrote religious characters which is like actually something I want to bring up on its own so like

Is it just me or does JRO have some real misses when it comes to writing religious characters? Not like every religious character is badly written or evil, but like... several of the ones that are fall into really bad or unflattering/shallow stereotypes? It's hard to put my finger exactly on why I feel that way bc he does write some actually good religious characters (aka Cyclonus).

For example, characters like the Functionist Council and Star Saber are fine to me because I'm like. Well Functionism being religious in origin makes sense, it's an interesting interplay of how religion influences the state/how the state leverages religion to bend the populace to its own whims. Religious bad guys =/= all religious people bad. Star Saber is just some random zealot that wasn't meant to be that deep at all, and eh the Inquisition-type religious zealot can be cool even if it's just the vibes of it.

But then there's stuff like... Tyrest being a normal, rational, not particularly religious guy until he gets shot with a bullet that gives him brain damage, causing him to start ranting about Cyberutopia and thinking God is personally talking to him in his brain...? Like, idk, was it really the best idea for an antagonist to go "he is evil because he got brain damaged against his will w/o even knowing what really happened to him and also because he's brain damaged he's now literally delusional and became a religious (and genocidal) maniac." It comes off as really bad taste/not thinking the implications through as far as how it reflects on religious people (bc the whole "religious people are literally delusional and stupid to think that their gods could possibly exist" thing is tired and offensive). Not to mention kind of ableist w/ the whole "oh he became evil bc he got shot in the brain and now there's literally something wrong with his mind."

(Doesn't help that the MTMTE logbooks revealed that the original idea for Tyrest was to have his killswitch be about trying to identify and execute all of the criminals/"guilty people" on Cybertron, basically an extension of his role as Chief Justice which makes so much more sense and is way more interesting and compelling???? Certainly better than (gets brain damaged) "Ah I'm now going to genocide all cold constructs because God told me to")

And then Drift with spectralism which...which... basically the extent of that whole religion is the name of a single festival (the Lost Light festival the eponymous ship was named after), and some stuff about face/body paint and colors having spiritual symbolism, then the Guiding Hand/Primus stuff that's also shared with Primalism. But then you have Drift who's the main representative of this religion basically being written as a phony who doesn't even believe in the shit coming out of his mouth. Or if his beliefs are sincere, the way he acts is basically just "oooooh, I sense unclean vibes and read into the energy of the universe" which is played for laughs or mocked by the other characters most of the time. And Drift's character is written so inconsistently (and the general religious worldbuilding so one-dimensional) that it's hard to tell if Drift is supposed to be read as some kooky fake hippie type or if he's genuinely a representation of Spectralism in general. Like, idk, the best JRO could come up for for building a religion was "they wear certain colors and patterns on them and vaguely talk about sensing energy from the universe?" It literally feels like baby's first fictional religion or like, religion as understood by a non-religious/atheist person who sees religion as nothing more than an aesthetic or some quirky rituals.

I'm not saying the story had to be about religion or have religion be brought up in every conversation, it's just...... the way he wrote/did worldbuilding for it comes off as as very "non-religious person who doesn't have any particular understanding of religion/why people are religious tries to write what they think religion is about" and most of the time it's kinda cringe.

#squiggposting #negativity #discourse #again i'm reiterating that my critique isn't 'all the religious characters are evil/all the evil ppl are religious' bc that's not true #it's more just that the religious characters are in general written as mediocre at best or offensively at worst #also in the case of drift who's (for better or worse) asian coded #his religion doesn't even have a strong resemblance to any traditional japanese beliefs either #like. all religions have spiritually significant colors or garments or symbols #the whole 'energy of the universe' could be similar to daoism maybe but it's never elaborated on besides that #just. mediocre mediocre mediocre religious worldbuilding/character writing

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kaipotato · 1 month

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Announcement regarding my Hermitcraft AU

hello fellas! I am happy to announce the start of the fic writing for my Hermitcraft AU, which is currently dubbed the merger au, but the name is subject to change

there is a public doc with the lore, species, and introductory stuff which can be found here

canon designs will be posted over the coming week(s), starting the day this is posted

i will try to be consistent with chapters and im planning for once every month or sooner if possible

this is also my first ever fic so it WILL have flaws

the fic will contain light shipping with NO nsfw content, possible gore, and horror imagery so if any of that makes you uncomfortable DO NOT INTERACT

all shipping is of the characters, not ccs

and for the people who are new to the au, here is the intro which is also avalible on the public spreadsheet:

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[The fic would follow the pov of Scar but may alternate sometimes. It is set in season 10 and Scar is still suffering the effects of Secret Life.]

Since Scar never died in Secret Life, he was pulled out of the loop manually by the secret keeper and was almost coaxed into becoming one, but he escaped in time before any major damage was done.

Except the secret keeper follows him.

When Scar fled the watchers' realm, he accidentally led the secret keeper to the Hermitcraft S10 world, giving them access to it and every other Hermitcraft world before it. In an attempt to communicate with Scar and bring him back to the watchers,the secret keeper uses this new “tool” to mess with reality and merge the different worlds. Some days, a random building from season 8 might show up in a crater, other days Larry may return because “the snails built him on the cart” (lie), and sometimes this even affects the hermits themselves, causing sudden wardrobe, personality, and motive changes.

Like how Joel randomly grew a Tanooki tail when joining the server.

Many people blamed the servers' already weird aspects in terms of species, but others suspected it was caused by the transition to becoming a “hermit.” Joel himself claimed it was caused by too much time around Etho and that it was because “Etho is so obsessed he used his mind to give me a tail so that we had something in common.” No one believed him.

And we can’t forget Etho somehow getting a glass monopoly, which was also pointed out by some when the permits were handed out, and is also not possible since every hermit only got 6 shopping permits. The keeper seemed to favor Etho in this way.

Maybe it was Magic Mountain’s looming presence and mystic powers, but Scar felt that many things were off this season. From the weird references to past seasons, Etho’s odd luck, Joel’s mutations or…..

…..was it the feeling of not being alone?

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aaand thats all you get for now ;)

all content will be under the hermitcraft merger au tag and any ideas or fanart is welcome! <3

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft merger au #hermitcraft au #hermitshipping #hermitblr #gtwscar #goodtimeswithscar

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alexjcrowley · 1 year

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I am sorry but I need to say a couple of things about Brad Bakshi, even though I haven't finished season 3 yet. I am not attacking anyone's characterization, let your headcanons and interpretations thrive, but I want to share my take because sometimes it's like I watched a different show.

I either find takes that are "Brad is a lovey-dovey tsundere" or "Brad is a fuckboy, no attachment, he doesn't do feelings". And man, I do not agree with either. It's something in the middle for me.

First of all, Brad is way more caring than some people give him credit for and I will prove it.

He may be an asshole, but he is completely self-aware of it. Poppy, Ian, even David think they're good people, even whan they do or say very questionable things, Brad knows he is being a bastard. He never hides it, never tries to put up an "holier than thou" act, never tries to make people believe he is a good guy. He doesn't try hiding that is an asshole because deliberately acts like one. He wants to be seen as an asshole. He goes out of his fucking way to prove it.

Turning himself in at the end of season 2? "Oh, but it gave him street credi-" it's pretty convenient he wanted street credit when going to jail could also be beneficial to Jo. Otherwise he could have straight up done inside trading himself way before Jo put herslef in trouble.

The whole animal thing? The fact that he was a mouse? Let's pretend for a moment he actually filled it randomly, he happened to get mouse by mistake. Why do you care so much people do not associate you to a mouse? If you're an unforgiving asshole, it will show even if a random test (that people will probably soon forget about) gave you mouse. Look, let's say I make Donald Trump fill out this test and he comes out as a mouse. I will not stop thinking he is a piece of shit! If the test was so meaningless he filled it out randomly (or so he says), why does he care so much about Jo's opinion on it?

Brad is a performative asshole. He does his job in the less nice way possible, but he never sabotages others just because. He tries with that whole buscuit thing, but that's the most damage he causes to someone and it's thrashing a piece of biscuit and give an evil speech that just hans there. Rest of the show? He always ends up helping out people, if not out of kindness, out of understanding every cog needs to fuction properly for the whole Mythic Quest machine to work. He doesn't go out of his way to damage other people, the worst he does? Mean comments. It's performative. It's all performative.

And you know how I know that? Breaking Brad. The Kate story tells us one thing: Brad is a naturally caring person. Kate was a pig. Not a dog, not a cat, not a turtle, not even a fish, animals we are used to consider as pets. Kate was a pig, an animal considered dirty, ugly, ungraceful (fat, but I will not talk about Brad's ED here), the word "pig" is even used as an insult, plus the pig is famously known as the animal you can kill and not waste a single part of it.

A pig is the perfect animal to impart a lesson of cruelty. You don't feel sorry for a pig. And what does Brad do, with this wretched creature? He names her. Zack doesn't, Zack tells us he was on board with killing the pig, it's Brad who can't do it. Zack doesn't care and Brad cares too much, even when he knew Kate's fate was doomed from the start. Right there, you have a character who, despite being taught to be cruel, can't help but care.

"Oh, but this happened when Brad was a kid, he hardened as he grew up" okay, then how do you explain him begging Zack? The thing is, I do believe Brad wanted to get more out of Mythic Quest and was angry bis brother tried to destroy it, I am not saying "Brad is caring because he doesn't want to lose his job", that's fairly normal. The point is, Zack asks him to beg for it, and Brad does. I have seen characters in more desperate situations refuse to plea, but Brad does it. With less resistence than I would have imagined. Instead of being like "I would never beg you, I will not submit myself to this humiliation, I'll find another job", he grovels. He puts his pride second for a company which he will leave the moment his friend Jo (and if I say colleague instead of friend it's even crazier!) is in danger.

Quickly compare it to David asking a whole company to walk out when he gets fired.

Brad is a performative asshole. He didn't have it in him, he taught himself to act and speak like an asshole, and he learned the part well, but his heart is not in it. If you watch Succession, it's like Kendall, he is not a killer. He can pretend to be killer, but he is not.

So now it seems like I said people who view Brad a repressed lovey-dovey tsundere are right, but just wait, i haven't finished yet.

The thing about teaching yourself to be someone else is that first, some habits stick, second, what doesn't stick, you try harder to make it so.

What I mean is, precisely because Brad is a caring person, he tries very hard not to seem like it. It means that if someone shows him kindness, Brad will refuse to accept it twice as hard, because he is fighting towards a natural instinct to show kindness in return.

Someone finally lends Brad a helping hand? For the exact reason he feels like he wants to take it, he'll turn it down. It's not that he is not touched by that care, it's that he can't afford to show it. That's the whole point of the performative assholery, repressing his natural responses.

I see a lot of someone pays Brad a compliment and he blushes because he doesn't know how to take it, but to me is like no! He doesn't blush! The whole point of fighting his own instincts is that he doesn't show his feelings. It's not that he doesn't know what kindness is so he reacts to it like a caveman would react to a computer, he knows exactly what kindness, care and affection are and he deliberately avoids them.

To me Brad doesn't do feelings because he doesn't want to. Brad fights his natural instincts because they're very strong (so he is lovey-dovey on the inside), but, at the same time, that fight implies a lot of trained resistance to his nature (Brad doesn't want to do feelings).

Being an asshole doesn't come natural to Brad and that's why it's so difficult for him to act kind: because being an asshole is not a random trait of his personality he may be willing to change, it's a carefully crafted mask he doesn't want to get rid of.

It's the difference between explaining something to someone who doesn't understand it and someome who doesn't want to understand it.

And one last thing (because you kidded yourself if you thought this wasn't about Braddavid).

I get that, especially at first, especially to keep that mask on, even if Brad had feelings for David he would take a long time before admitting it and I can see him reluctant to put a label to the relationship, because that would be admitting that he cares.

But let me take you back to Brad begging his brother to leave Mythic Quest alone. The moment he senses David might slip up from his fingers (for whataver reason: David might have found somebody else more emotionally available, is growing tired/sad of Brad's emotional distance, etc.) Brad is Back On. Brad is putting the effort to verbalize his feelings, is putting a name on the relationship and, one day, he'd even be willing to put a ring on it. He is "Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it" coded and you can argue you with the wall.

(Plus, I feel like, exactly like his performative assholery mainly comes from mean comments, he may not be very affectionate when it comes to words of affirmation, but by his behaviour you can tell he cares. He is all about quality time, acts of service and gifts he diguises as not gifts. He tries to be subtle, but he can't help revealing in someway he cares about people).

If Brad could beg his brother, one the people he hates the most in the world, to let him have Mythic Quest for a while more, he could surely find the courage to tell the person he loves that he loves them. "But his pride-" he flushed his pride down the toilet when it became an obstacle to him. He came back to his old company as a janitor, which sadly many people do not considered to be a valuable job, especially since he used to be the Head of Monetization before. He had none of that "oh my God, this job is not well paid or respected enough for my previous standards" crap. He is way less prideful than a lot of people think. Getting where he wants to go, obtaining what he wants to gain is way more important to him than his pride.

Last note, this man in possessive. And I don't necessarily mean in a toxic, abusive way, but you can't deny that he is. He wants to own people, he probably rarely calls in favours from them because he gets high on how long he can own them. The "Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it" comes back into the play, this man is jealous. Again, of course this was about Braddavid, shame on you if you didn't catch it, but I have seen too many "David is too affectionate, Brad is aloof and cool" and I don't buy it.

Brad may not be into PDA, and he may not show it with words, but when he is in a committed relationship he is committed. He may say it's casual, but this is just like Kate. No matter how many times he tells himself he won't get attached to a person and that every relationship ends, at the end of the day, if he truly cares about that person, he won't be able to kill the relationship like it was nothing and go on with his life. I cannot imagine him breaking up with someone because "oh no, I am getting too involved", that's the whole point, he cannot do that, or he'd be a killer, he would have been able to kill Kate and let go of Mythic Quest and let Jo end up in jail. Even if he did break up with this person, it wouldn't come natural to him and he would an absolute wreck, haunted by the memory of this person like he is haunted by the memory of Kate.

It's the duality here! Brad's all about the duality, nature and (self) nurture fighting one against the other. And I have mainly found stuff in which this duality is not shown.

If you made it to this point, thank you for indulging me in overanalysing this character, have a wonderful day.

P.S. I forgot to mention, Brad totally watches those animal predators video for desensitization. Because he couldn't kill Kate so he teaches himself to be insensitive to animal cruelty. The kid who couldn't harm his pig is not watching animal on animal violence for kicks and giggles.

#mythic quest #brad bakshi #david brittlesbee #braddavid #character analysis #meta

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hihelloheyhowdy · 1 year

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Dating Shoto Todoroki Headcanons (including photos and songs)

a/n: reader is a hopeless romantic, some ooc, Todoroki loves Sanrio, gender neutral reader, afab reader for photos (i'll make an amab version of the photos if i get a request)

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Category one; the written

Todoroki is the type to want to try every love language to see what he feels fits him best since he didn't express much love as a child nor did he express it

he then gets really into those diy gifts and small meaningful ones

cute origami paper rings, those cute paper records with spotify codes of love songs stuck to the back, ext.

would buy you random tiny things that made him think of you, like a keychain of your favorite tv show character, or a tiny plushie of your favorite animal, or even just some cute pens he thought you'd like to use

definitely the type to get you flowers and keep one from the bouquet to know when it's time to get you new ones

buys you expensive jewelry for your anniversaries, funded by Endeavor's black card of course

loves when you gift him things back

if you made him bracelets he would wear them every. signal. day.

they will never come off you can't convince him to take them off

the only time he does is to use his quirk so they don't get burned/frozen

other than that he will literally have to die and even then you'll have to unmend them from his decaying corpse

type to get matching jewelry like necklaces (less likely to be damaged by his quirk)

would get matching ear piercings, you guys get matching earrings, and he pisses his father off it's two wins in one.

quality time but he would be way too busy however since you're both students at UA you still get to see each other and hangout after at the dorms

his acts of service are things like helping one another with homework/training, helping with cleaning, making sure you eat, stay hydrated, and get enough rest

definitely the type to try to help you sleep anyway he can if you have sleep issues and need comfort (although it's a little awkward at first cause he doesn't know what to do)

struggled at first with wording when it came to affirmations but has gotten used to randomly whispering sweet nothings or writing them on little notes he'll leave in your dorm/bag

examples "i love you" "you look pretty today" "you did a really good job in training today i'm proud of you" ext.

he also will compliment you from time to time

call him pretty.

PLEASE JUST DO IT.

he will ABSOLUTELY love it, he's so used to people saying things like he's handsome and attractive but he's never heard really heard pretty, and especially likes it when it comes from you

blink and you'll miss the blush the lined his cheeks the first time you called him that

he will literally accept no other form of compliments on his appearance from then on

will literally text you a photo of his outfit followed by a "is this pretty?"

and when you start calling him "pretty boy" specifically "my pretty boy" he will have an internal crisis

yes.

just yes.

he is yours, you think he is pretty, he is your pretty boy

his brain chemistry is suddenly altered and in order to survive he needs you to call him your pretty boy every two business days

he NEEDS to be touching you in some way shape or form if you're next to each other, he is the absolute CLINGIEST but in the cutest way possible

not the biggest fan of pda tho so it's small things

intertwined pinkies before training as a promise to be safe

hand holding when walking together

hand on your knee/thigh or around your waist under tables

rubs your calf if you're seating behind him with you're leg stretched out

head on your shoulder and vice versa

rubs your shoulders when he is standing behind you

if you're alone he'll wrap his hands around your waist

he is also an AMAZING cuddler

will literally cuddle in whatever position he doesn't care, little spoon, big spoon, pretzel, sweethearts cradle, honeymoon hug, chest rest, he doesn't care he likes the comfort

def keeps you warm/cool with the help of his quirk depending on the weather

he just adores holding you as close as possible, he feels safe and loved, and he knows you're safe and with him and he can express his love to you in this way

loves it when you play with his hair while he's sleepy, especially if he has his head on his on your lap like it's so nice

he will literally feed into your pinterest couple fantasies

you think taking couple photos like that is cute? done. he will take as many as you like.

if you're going out for a date then their to places like cat cafes, picnics, aquariums, a new movie you really want to see, or a local cafe

at home dates would be cuddling up in one of your dorms, watching movies, doing skincare

he would actually really like to watch romcoms cause he's never seen any so he wants to know what they're like

his favorite would be Princess Dairies 2; The Royal Engagement

He would also love Studio Ghibli movies

you guys could also bake together especially around the holidays id imagine he looks really cute in a pastel pink apron with heart all over you lent him

everyone in 1-A would know you guys have romantic feelings for each other, you'd probably confirm it when Mina asks

was not shocking news tbh

like all it takes is for someone to notice one look he gives at you and you can tell he's down horribly

would play board/video games as you guys wear face masks

honestly Shoto is type that either doesn't catch feelings or catches them really hard

like he would be down BAD

so honestly he'll do anything you ask

he LOVES kissing, like any form of it

quick pecks as a good morning or a good night

forehead kisses when one of you is sleepy and laying their head on the other person

a cheek kiss you'd give him just cause you felt like it and vice versa

he especially loves slow, love filled, kisses.

his kisses are rarely ever driven by lust, and even if so it's small amounts of it they're always filled with so much love

he could actually just sit there cuddling and kissing you for days

please he is literally so whipped for your physical affection

fucking loves plushies, will cherish them forever

get matching build-a-bears PLEASE PLEASE HE WILL DRAG YOU BY YOUR HAIR WHEN THE SANRIO ONES COME OUT

name them after each other, you just have one named "sho sho"

would literally cuddle it to sleep when you're not sleeping with him

he loves fluffy ones, squishmellows, CAT AND SANRIO PLUSHIES.

if y'all traveled together he would plan EVERYTHING and it would be on Endeavor's card

five star everything only the best for y'all

refused to pack anything but like five first aid kits SPECIFICALLY to have an excuse to spend Endeavor's money

Takes turns driving during road trips, listens to your playlist (he would just listen to all your favorite artists+albums) brings blankets and plushies to make it all comfortable, like a pillow fort in the car

it's a fancy car rented with Endeavor's money

if it's by plane it's a first class ticket, literally sets everything up to make sure you're treated like royalty

literally does whatever you want no matter how expensive, probably gets matching luxury items

at first you feel really bad but then you're like "mmm he's a horrible person and has money might as well spend some of it for Shoto's years of trauma"

Would plan a trip to Las Vegas to go to the famous Hello Kitty hotel (yes he is THE sanrio fan)

then has the ingenious idea to pretend to elope to fuck with his dad.

will literally buy you a tiffany and co engagement ring and gets a whole fancy suit when he asks you will full seriousness then of course buys you a matching dress/tuxedo

like it's a whole a plan of a fancy engagement, rented high end restaurant, gets your nails done, a pianist, a bunch of flowers, ext.

makes you think what his actually engagement plans would be

gets a photographer and takes extravagant photos to send to his dad

literally gets Natsuo and Fuyumi in on it (Natsuo was laughing, Fuyumi was gonna have a heart attack)

takes a nice "honeymoon" to Hawaii (he wanted to buy the special addition Hawaii Sanrio merchandise)

Natsuo sent you a video of Endeavor almost burning his phone at the photos

He would also love Disneyland like would get annual passes to go and you're like "we dont live in California" and he's like "buying a private jet on dads black card"

wants to try all the Disneyland special food and buys one of those books to get signed by all the characters

buys the matching Gucci x Disneynote books just to have an excuse to spend more of his dad's money (he thinks it's ducking hilarious and you can't convince him otherwise)

"we can use them for class" "Shoto Todoroki I'm not using a luxury notebook for class" "Why not?"

This was all durning whatever time of summer break he available to him

So you get back to UA still wearing your engagement ring (he refuses to let you take it off)

Midorya is the one who notices and he freaked out

"Y-YOU GUYS GOT ENGAGED?"

Shoto is completely nonchalant about it he would probably even be like

"technically we got eloped"

a collective "WHAT?" rises through the dorm

"where?" "in America" "why?" "why not."

Bakugo is not having it

"DUMBASS ICY HOT YOU CANT GET ELOPED YOURE NOT LEGAL YET"

"and how would you know?"

"BITCH WHAT DO YOU MEAN"

you're just in the corner with a face of disappointment

"Guys we didn't actually get eloped, or engaged."

everyone calms down, then Momo asks

"why the tiffany's engagement ring?"

"long story, don't ask."

will then on randomly refer to you as his wife.

"Can I get a water and a juice for my wife"

don't even suggest the possibility that you won't actually get married. In his head it's a "you will marry me!" not a "will you marry me?"

when it comes to actually pet names he cringes at "bae" or "babe" but things "honey" or "sweetheart" make you guys sound like a 95 yearold couple so he has settled for "love" and "darling"

"love can you pass me the english notes" "darling did you get the answer to number 12?"

always looking for you in everything, and not just literally. When he is around you his eyes will always find a way to wonder over to you, when he isn't he always finds a way to relate everything back to you.

his thoughts are like "look at this spoon, y/n uses a spoon on our dates, i should text them"

texts using the Japanese keyboard emojis cause he's gotten so used to using them with Fuyumi

you're one of the first people he finds himself wanting to tell about anything good or bad

and he also wants to be there listening and offering advice and comfort when you need it

if you guys are going to a formal event he would literally rent a limbo and everything

he is just down really REALLY bad and wants to create so many memories together

on that note he has a drawer/box full of mementos. various types of tickets, polaroids, cards, notes, receipts, keychains, ext.

It literally looks like a shrine of stuff and he refuses to let anyone near the drawer until you discovered it one day

one of the very few moments he actually had a deep blush as you ranted about how euphorically heartwarming it felt to know he kept all that stuff

barely used social media himself but when you started using it would post you on his story every week or two

would be down to do couple trends with you

MATCHING SANRIO PFPS

he is just a very much in love boy

Category two; relationship playlist

Money Honey - Lady Gaga

Gorgeous - Taylor Swift

Die For You - The Weekend

Something About You - Eyedress

Lover - Taylor Swift

Daylight - Taylor Swift

pov - Ariana Grande

Paper Rings - Taylor Swift

Call It What You Want - Taylor Swift

Enchanted - Taylor Swift

Willow - Taylor Swift

Apocalypse - Cigarettes After Sex

Daydreamin' - Ariana Grande

Lovers Rock - TV Girl

Let's Get Married - Bleachers

Pretty Boy - The Neighborhood

Lavender Haze - Taylor Swift

Sweet Nothing - Taylor Swift

Sunflower, Vol. 6 - Harry Styles

Tokyo Love Hotel - Rina Sawayama

They Don't Know About Us - One Direction

18 - One Direction

Magic - One Direction

Last First Kiss - One Direction

First Date - Blink-182

I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic Monkeys

505 - Arctic Monkeys

Blushing! - Between Friends

Better Friends - Between Friends

Love Me Like You Do - Little Mix

Voodoo Doll - 5 Seconds of Summer

Kiss Me Kiss Me - 5 Seconds of Summer

Cinema - Harry Styles

Daydreaming - Harry Styles

Touch Tank - Quinnie

Category three; relationship photos

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felixstudios · 3 months

Text

Random Corporate Clash Headcanons, Playing Corporate Clash Edition

Let's ignore how long it's been since I made these, okay? And ignore the massive 4th wall breaking

ALSO special appearance from some mgrs I normally wouldn't write for

Duck Shuffler

🎰He doesn't really know how to strategize, so he picks random stuff and hopes for the best

🎰Absolutely LOVES the trolley

🎰Loves to talk to basically anyone he comes across and try to make friends with them

🎰Often gets indecisive about what to do next, so he spins his slots to decide

Prethinker

🧠Okay, usually his intelligence is laughable and fun to make fun of, but this guy is a professional no life. He knows EVERYTHING about the game

🧠Tries to reach 150 laff as soon as possible and has absolutely ZERO fun with the game

🧠 Doesn't make friends and only talks if he's giving out battle strategies, which is... basically every round of battle even if it's just a 2 story building in Barnacle Boatyard

🧠He's kinda elitist, too

Derrick Man

🛢️Doesn't really play that often since he's not a gamer

🛢️I can't ever imagine him getting much further than The Brrrgh cause he just. DOESN'T PLAY.

🛢️Despite his inexperience and infrequently logging in, he's actually pretty decent at the game

🛢️Collects manager rewards and hoards them. He needs them all

Deep Diver

🫧He's the kind of person to not leave Toontown Central until he's maxed all of his activities, has overpowered gags, and also started a club that's now at level 100 and has like 50 members

🫧Very slow and methodical with her gameplay- she explores every little nook and cranny before moving on. Has all racing, golfing, and fishing trophies kinda thing. Gets all achievements kinda thing

🫧Loves to set up in battles and take his time with them. Yes, he will struggle a lot with Pacesetter

🫧She LOVES fishing, by the way

Rainmaker

⛈️Doesn't really enjoy combat very much and prefers to play Toono and such

⛈️Also really likes the trolley and makes tons of trolley groups

⛈️Wouldn't progress much further than Mezzo Melodyland, probably

⛈️Tries to make friends, but others tend to find her annoying or even rude so she doesn't make very many

Land Acquisition Architect

🚦Tries to get some friends together to play with him

🚦Behind the screen, he is absolutely having a temper tantrum over EVERYTHING. Be it a gag missing or someone doing a less optimal play, he's screaming

🚦But in the game he's like SUPER DUPER NICE and makes no outward show of how angry he actually is

🚦If you befriend him, you're getting constant invites to like everything he does

Gatekeeper

⚔️Tries to max in the most efficient way possible

⚔️Will try to show off all her boss loot, but of course only in stylish ways

⚔️Kind of an elitist, definitely pretty rude

⚔️Likes to sit out of bounds doing nothing. Alternatively, she sits in front of the CFO doors or in DDL doing nothing just to show off her TTR elitist roots

Witch Hunter

🔱He says he wouldn't play such a childish game and says he's just gonna uninstall it

🔱Five minutes later he's in an OCLO. Also, he has 150 laff so clearly it's not too childish for him

🔱He's an elitist

🔱Would 100% quad Toon and try to act like they're not his alts, even going as far as giving them their own "typing quirks" and having fake conversations

Public Relations Representative

🧱Can't really use SpeedChat+ effectively since he glitches around and makes lots of typos

🧱Frequent misclicks and missteps

🧱Will not survive OCLO or Pacesetter very often

🧱Surprisingly loves to play the game and accidentally no lifes to 150 laff

Bellringer

🔔Loves to destroy Cogs with perfect damage whenever possible, for some reason

🔔His estate would be VERY cozy, which is honestly a huge feat considering its current in-game state makes it... very lonely and desolate by nature

🔔Super fashionable Toon, but he's also a little modest with his outfits

🔔He's ALWAYS gossiping in at least 3 people's whispers at any given point in time

Multislacker

🥪Is usually too lazy to push buttons himself, so he watches someone else play his Toon most of the time

🥪He is 100% never doing a Pacesetter himself

🥪Whenever he DOES play, it's usually easier boss fights and things that don't require much user input

🥪Sometimes gets enough motivation to play with his dad

Vice President

💡Started playing the game because he noticed his son really seemed to like it and he wanted to spend time with Cathal

💡At first, he doesn't really see the appeal of the game. But once he finds out there's a lot of strategy involved, he decides it's "like trying to find that perfect sales pitch!" and keeps playing out of personal interest

💡He'd apply to the Clash team to manage their social media accounts

💡He'd try to convince his coworkers to try out the game

Mouthpiece

☎️She doesn't really get the appeal of the game, but she'll play it anyways because her grandchildren wanted her to play with them

☎️Literally just does whatever her grandchildren wanna do

☎️She'll max her Toon... eventually

☎️She doesn't fully grasp battle strategies, but she knows enough to get by

Major Player

🎹Constantly suggesting things to be added to the allowlist so he can say ridiculous stuff {i.e. he was probably the one who wanted skibidi to be added... yes this is actually something you can say in the game}

🎹This guy would be the kind to accidentally time out in battle because he was typing a long message

🎹If you whisper to him, good luck getting him to whisper back. He... will probably forget to respond

🎹Constantly saving his teammates with PREFECTLY timed unites

Chief Financial Officer

💵Plays because Allan convinced him to do it

💵Surprisingly, he finds it enjoyable right off the bat. He especially likes battles

💵He feels a bit alienated since he's the only one who seems to find it weird and creepy that he can fight against himself in the game, so he just doesn't mention it to anyone else

💵He will have like 148 laff and the last 2 laff boosts he'll need will be his Cashbot suit LOL

Firestarter

🔥Mostly only plays because Graham wanted him to

🔥Wants to take his time with everything and try to actually figure out how to strategize, but he's usually too soft spoken to ask questions to anyone but Graham {who gives vague answers because he doesn't really know how to strategize}

🔥But if he makes a friend... TONS of badmouthing others in whispers happens. Much shade will be thrown and more tea will be spilled than was spilled in the Boston Tea Party

🔥Once he finally figures out how to play the game, oh you bet he's gonna use it to secretly make fun of others who don't know how to play. He knows he was once just like them, but he doesn't care

Plutocrat

🌑He makes his satellite investors play with him so he doesn't have to wait for groups

🌑Also bosses them around from what gags they need to bring to what everyone's outfits look like {they all match and they're all in a club together}

🌑Because of all the help, he reaches 150 really fast

🌑Only helps his investors if it benefits him as well and doesn't really play with many other people

Chief Legal Officer

📚Plays because Allan suggested it to her

📚Is SUPER detail-oriented with her gameplay, so she always knows if she's in kill range. Also, she's very good at assessing the best strategy to use

📚Very no nonsense type of Cog, so she doesn't really do anything unless it's to advance in the game somehow

📚Has like 500 of each type of unite, like 7K C&Ds, 3K pink slips....

Treekiller

🪵Genuinely finds it VERY fun to destroy Cogs

🪵He'll convince Chip to play with him

🪵Don't think he'd ever max, but he'd get close. Like... 130-140 laff kind of close

🪵Loves to spam rewards in boss fights

Chainsaw Consultant

🪚Only plays the game because Spruce wanted him to

🪚Although he won't say anything in the game about it, he gets pretty mad when people make bad choices in battle

🪚Usually plays with music turned off and sound effects still on, which many others have told him is very eerie

🪚Doesn't seem to enjoy battles very much, but he won't outwardly admit that

Chief Executive Officer

⛳Plays because Allan suggested it to him

⛳I don't think I'm surprising anyone when I tell you that the first thing he's doing is maxing golf. He'd be scary good at it too, like he'd get a perfect 9 in the hole kit and kaboodle

⛳Doesn't actually get very far in the game since the rest isn't all that interesting to him

⛳He finds it... interesting how C.O.G.S., Inc. is portrayed in the game.

Featherbedder

💤Tends to prefer shorter playing sessions

💤Makes slow progress over the course of years

💤Also hangs out with friends quite often

💤Falls asleep at the keyboard... a lot. Like, a lot. It's just a known thing they do

Pacesetter

👟Tries to basically speedrun the entire game

👟If he goes sad {which will be a lot since he's so under leveled}, he will blame it on anything but his own fault

👟Once he unlocks his own fight, he will spam it over and over. He's... not really sure what to think when he goes sad to himself. Did he win, or did he... lose? Is he awesome, or...? Okay, yeah, thinking about that is stupid and for losers

👟Shows off all his manager loot in a way HE thinks looks good. Whether or not it actually does... I'll leave for you to decide

Chief Operating Officer

📋Seems to genuinely enjoy playing the game

📋Doesn't really have many friends and tends to multitoon so he's "less burdensome" sometimes

📋He'd 100% apply for Clash support team {whether or not he gets in I'll let you decide} because he'd just like the game that much

📋SUPER kind and always willing to help other people out

Scapegoat

🐐He's the one who suggested the entire Litigation Team play it

🐐He's either REALLY pissed off or super calm about battles with no in-between

🐐Tends to make a lot of... less optimal choices in battle or needs to be told what to do. He just struggles a little with strategy sometimes

🐐100% he spams forges in like every fight so he can do more damage with that extra level 8. Oh, he also loves to set up with IOUs and uses a lot of those too

Case Manager

💼You'll think this guy is muted because he won't use SpeedChat+ like, ever. I mean, he doesn't really use SpeedChat either, but he at least USES it.

💼Has gags set up to play more of a supportive role in battle, always tries to pick gags last, and generally has a somewhat more passive play style

💼He does communicate a decent amount with stickers, surprisingly

💼Already has a maxed Toon and is just working on his alt

Stenographer

⌨️She would play on any control scheme EXCEPT a QWERTY keyboard {or even AZERTY, Colemark, Dvorak... basically any common layout}. I feel like she'd be pretty much allergic to it lol. And yes, she does think she's better than you for it. [Author's note: I use Dvorak on my phone and my only advice is don't.]

⌨️She's the kind of person to talk on and on and on and on and... oh my Cog how is she typing this essay so fast anyways?!

⌨️During segments like the final OCLO round, she ABSOLUTELY sweats it with like pixel perfect movements. And if she had a mic, you would hear intense keyboard pressing {or whatever she's using to control her Toon}

⌨️A little rude sometimes, but she's USUALLY pretty nice. Oh, and if you befriend her then she gossips a lot

Litigator

🐊He's an elitist LOL

🐊He would get soooooo mad and start cussing people out over one "mistake" and also be the kinda person to straight up leave a boss fight because of an argument

🐊Sorry, but I genuinely cannot see this guy being fun to play with

🐊Also I feel like he'd have a super old YouTube channel from TTO days of him greening people

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reikunrei · 3 months

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Shadows, Saving, and Simulations

A while back, I made a post (that I can no longer find) about some random bits of a couple episodes of Doctor Who that gave me some Stranger Things vibes with the intent of seeing if my inkling was warranted. Well, I finally watched the episodes again.

They are season 4, episodes 8 and 9, "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead."

The monster of these episodes are called the Vashta Nerada. We never actually see them, but they take the shape of shadows/exist as swarms within the darkness. They were the main reason why I initially thought of these episodes because of their being possible inspiration for the Shadow in Stranger Things, because while the Shadow/Mind Flayer is presented as one (mostly) singular, tangible being, the hive mind aspect of it/the UD is very similar to how the Vashta Nerada operate and communicate amongst each other to hunt.

There are even several characters who become "puppets" of the Vashta Nerada. Though while the don't actually go into the victims, the language is similar in that the Doctor says they become "infected" by the Vashta Nerada. They'll even attach themselves to a victim before consuming them to keep them "fresh" and to infect others. These victims wind up having two shadows: one benign and one infected.

The Vashta Nerada can strip flesh from bone in a fraction of a second, so the victims are dead in an instant and the swarm inhabits the suit they're wearing and manipulates that into moving. It starts off clunky and slow, but as the episode progresses, they get better at moving the suits to keep up with the others.

We even get a fun "strangling the person who's trying to help" moment. Hi, Joyce!

We're also introduced to a concept called "Data Ghosting." The members of the expedition party, the ones in the white suits, are each equipped with a communication device which, upon death of the wearer, hangs on to a copy of their consciousness anywhere from a few seconds to several hours afterward. These "ghosts" can continue to speak to the living until they deteriorate, often repeating a final word or phrase as their consciousness officially leaves.

At one point, the Doctor tries speaking to the Vashta Nerada, encouraging them to use the the lingering "data ghost" of one of the victims to manipulate their speech into telling the Doctor what they want. This occurs later as well when another victim is infected. Though, as the Doctor said earlier, "they're learning."

Anita, a member of the expedition, ultimately finds she has a second shadow, and in an attempt to trick the Vashta Nerada into believing they've already gotten inside her suit, they tint the visor. However, this proves futile, but nobody notices that she's been killed for a good long while, and she even continues talking, keeping pace as they run, and carrying herself like a normal person until the Doctor makes it clear he spotted that she's back down to one shadow.

I had completely forgotten about the "Data Ghosting" aspect of these episodes, so while I went into it thinking "ah, yes, a living shadow that puppets dead people in an attempt to kill others" was a pretty fun little similarity to the Mind Flayer, I didn't expect to then have "the shadow is trying to mimic the infected person in order to cause more damage."

Obviously, this isn't exactly like what's happening with, say, the flayed victims in ST who are still themselves but heightened to a certain degree rather than being wholly replaced (ie. Billy being angrier than usual). However, it specifically makes me think of this theory by @aemiron-main that, for example, "Henry" isn't Henry in TFS, and perhaps certain characters have been replaced with shapeshifters or doppelganger-type monsters. The Vashta Nerada are even feeding off of the remaining "data ghosts" in order to communicate, much like how a doppelganger would have to feed off of/consume their victim in order to pass as that person.

Now, with all that out of the way, let's get to the fun bit: NINA parallels.

These episodes take place on a planet-sized library which was constructed for the consciousness of a little girl to live in for eternity. The little girl, Charlotte, was dying of an incurable disease, so her grandfather created The Library for her to enjoy every book ever written, meanwhile also giving her an imaginary world to exist in as a "real girl," which leads her to believe that The Library is her imagination rather than the reverse reality.

However, as the Doctor, his companion Donna, and the expedition team fall under threat of the Vashta Nerada, Charlotte's psychologist, Dr. Moon, reveals to her the truth.

Yes, he even calls them nightmares!! Just like Henry calls his visions in TFS!!

Throughout the episode, we see Charlotte in her imaginary "real world" interacting with the library.

When the Doctor and Donna first "meet" her, what they actually come across is a hovering, sphere-shaped security camera that shuts off when Charlotte opens her eyes in her "real world." Then, when the Doctor tries to turn the security camera back on using his Sonic Screwdriver (a multi-purpose tool he carries with him), we see Charlotte reacting to the sound it emits/feeling the Doctor forcing the security camera back on, but her father and Dr. Moon don't hear the sound at all.

There are several other instances where Charlotte will hear something that's caused by commotion in the library, but her father in the "real world" can't hear it. At one point, the expedition team are trying to crack into the security protocols for the library in an attempt to find a way out/figure out what's going on, but they hit a wall and trigger an alarm. The alarm manifests as a phone ringing in Charlotte's living room, but when she asks her dad if he's going to pick it up, he says the phone isn't ringing.

Then, in an attempt to break through the security protocols even further, the Doctor winds up transmitting himself onto her TV and they speak briefly to each other. At this point, the Doctor & Co. have yet to know what Charlotte's relation is to the library, but she recognizes him as the man she saw "in my library." Before the Doctor can question her on that, the connection is lost.

Throughout the rest of the episode, we then see Charlotte "watching" what's happening in the library on her TV. She's basically watching the Doctor Who episodes within the Doctor Who episodes, and when she flips through channels, she switches to new scenes/shots. They even have a musical score that is very clearly coming from her TV. Her dad is unaware of this as well, and when she makes comments about the library being "on TV now," he chuckles and reminds her that the library is in her imagination.

Obviously, a lot of this reminded me of El talking to Brenner when she's in NINA in ST4, as well as the several times the grandfather clock chimes in TFS despite its otherwise glaring absence throughout the whole show. There's even that one moment before the attic sequence with Patty where Henry gets interrupted by the clock chime, but Patty doesn't seem to react to it at all, she only reacts to Henry reacting.

Not to mention the Vecna visions in ST4 and seeing/hearing the grandfather clock/other aspects of the vision when no one else can, El's running in and out of the Rainbow Room/shouting eliciting little to no reaction from the other kids, and Henry's weird half-real/half-not visions throughout all of TFS.

Let's talk more about Charlotte's "real world."

At the end of the first episode, Donna, while being transported to the TARDIS to be kept safe, gets mysteriously grabbed "by" the library. While Charlotte is watching The Library on her TV, she flips to a channel that is not in the library. We see Donna pulled out of an ambulance on a gurney and taken inside a care facility, where we then see Dr. Moon enter her room. However, she doesn't know who he is or where she is until he "reminds" her.

Peep the two years...

He gently feeds her information that gets her to believe one "reality" over another. And while it's not exactly the same, it reminded me very much of Brenner urging El to "remember" in order to proceed through NINA, and it reminded me of all the times Henry or other characters pushed the "it's a dream/nightmare" sentiment in order to change the outcome of something.

Throughout the rest of their interactions, Dr. Moon says "and then you remembered" and "and then you forgot" very frequently. His motives may seem wishy-washy at this point, since he was telling Charlotte that the "real world" is just her imagination, but here he is telling Donna that the "real world" is real and her memories of the Doctor are just "dreams." From what I can gather, it's mostly just to keep Charlotte/the simulation stable.

In these moments when Dr. Moon "reminds" Donna of what she remembered/forgot, she often will then behave like Dr. Moon has just arrived, greeting him again and seeming surprised, like she forgot he was there/like they hadn't just had a conversation with each other.

The way time progresses within this world really stuck out to me. It's played off like Donna has memory issues, but in reality, whenever something is suggested to her/she thinks of doing something else/going somewhere, it simply... happens. For example, in that scene with Dr. Moon asking her about her "dreams," when he suggests they go for a walk, they're simply suddenly outside taking a walk. She asks him how they got outside, because, from her point of view, there was just a snap transition from her room to outside. He talks her through how they walked out of the building and she laughs it off like she simply forgot again.

This phenomenon is finally explained to her by another character who was in The Library with her, Miss Evangelista, who's sentient of the fact that this "real world" is all a simulation.

Miss Evangelista was the first victim of the Vashta Nerada. She hides her face in a black veil because she was copied into the simulation when she died, resulting in her getting scrambled physically and mentally. In the library, she was a pretty ditz, but in the simulation, she's a photo-booth-swirl-filter-looking genius.

And like... do I even need to say it?

At this point, I guess I should just out and say what's really going on here. Charlotte, full name Charlotte Abigail Lux, or CAL, is the hard drive for The Library.

Her consciousness was essentially made into the computer that runs the whole planet, and 100 years prior to the Doctor and Donna arriving, the Vashta Nerada hatched, alerting the security system that the library was under attack, and in an attempt to rescue the 4,022 people who were physically in The Library that day, the library tried to transport them all out of harm's way. However, with nowhere to send them, CAL saved all of the people to the hard drive in this imaginary "real world."

They spend a lot of time equating this imagined "real world" to a dream. Alongside Dr. Moon initially telling Charlotte that her visions of The Library are "nightmares," the Doctor, attempting to wake up the computer to save the data core before it self-destructs (Charlotte had a meltdown of sorts once Miss Evangelista made Donna realize that her world, her husband, her children, are all just a figment of her imagination/an idealized world/a dream. While overwhelmed, she deleted her dad and Dr. Moon by pressing buttons on her TV remote, and this resulted in The Library going into self-destruct mode. This was also partially because Dr. Moon is a personification of the computer's "doctor moon," a fake moon placed into The Library to act as a virus checker) equates its state to that of someone who's dreaming, and that's when the "child hooked up to a mainframe" situation is revealed, because she is dreaming.

Which leads me into my next detail of import in these episodes: names and identity.

As we've already explored, Charlotte's true identity/purpose remained a mystery for most of the run time. We're aware that she has some sort of influence on/ownership over The Library, and in that early scene with Dr. Moon we're told that her "imagination"/"nightmares" (read: The Library) are the real world. However, it's not until well into the second episode that we're officially told that Charlotte is CAL, and only once they understand that fact are they able to figure out what to do to save the library and everyone inside of it.

We're also introduced to the (future) recurring character River Song. From the first moment we meet her, we're aware that she knows the Doctor. However, the Doctor makes it clear that he doesn't know her. Ultimately, we learn that this is the first time he's ever met her, and it's the last time she's ever going to see him. Because of this, she has years of experience with him to make her trust him unequivocally, but he is very distrustful of her, seeing as she's a total stranger to him.

However, there is one thing she says to him, something that she whispers in his ear so no one, not even the audience, can hear what she says. And that one whisper has him instantly putting all of his trust in her. And what did she say?

Spoilers: later in the show, River and the Doctor get married. That's why she knows his true name, not just his "Doctor" moniker.

Obviously, all of this name and identity stuff has me staring at the Henry slash Vecna slash One nonsense, the existence of Edward Creel, and the general "which character actually is this" of the whole kit and caboodle.

In a similar vein, we get multiple instances of language like this from River:

And while this is clearly just a "you're not the man I know yet" type of sentiment, which is something she specifies, there was no way I could ignore the implications of that kind of dialogue being put into ST. Especially in regard to this post made by James @henrysglock and the general idea that the same person can exist simultaneously/interact with themselves/be both themselves and "someone else." This also happens a lot in DW, and different iterations of the Doctor will meet each other occasionally, and each Doctor is different enough from the other + any later regeneration's additional life experience will allow them to help in different ways.

Just something about the "future you" being the "real you" because that's the "most accurate" you, and all the "past" yous are half-baked, incomplete, and not quite you just yet.

Actually, before I continue, in a similar vein to James's post I linked above, I should explain that we even get a moment of the future Doctor helping the past (present) Doctor within these two episodes.

In order to save all of the people in the hard drive, they need to "restore" them. However, CAL, overwhelmed, doesn't have enough memory in order for it to work smoothly. The Doctor suggests he hook himself up to the mainframe in order to assist, but River offers herself up instead, saying that it'll kill him if he does it and she can't let that happen. Ultimately, she knocks him out, handcuffs him away from her, and takes his place, killing herself in order to restore all of the people in the hard drive.

Earlier in the episodes, we learn that River also has a Sonic Screwdriver, that fancy multi-tool I mentioned a while back. However, that's not something the Doctor just gives away to people. Just before he and Donna are to leave the library, he sets the screwdriver atop her diary, which he was planning to leave in the library along with all of the other books. But then... it clicks.

Why would he give her his Sonic Screwdriver? Why would he do that, knowing he (his future self) would never see her again after this?

He cracks the device open only to see a piece of hardware exactly like the communication device that enabled the "data ghosts" from earlier. He's able to rush back to the hard drive, Sonic in hand (he does have to go fast, she's dwindling), and deposits her into the mainframe for her to exist in the imagined reality of Charlotte with her friends who had been killed by the Vashta Nerada.

His future self, knowing she was going to die on this trip to The Library, planned ahead, knowing his past self would be smart enough to figure it out and save her.

Anyway, where was I? Cripes, this post is all over the place!!

Stranger Things, at the present moment, is a bit of a mess in terms of identity and who's-who. We're told one thing, but when you peel back the layers, you find about a dozen other deviating routes that point in an entirely different direction. As I mentioned earlier, we even get extra characters like Edward Creel, who add another entirely new series of layers to help further muddy the waters.

Blame is something central to the story of Stranger Things. Specifically, where it is wrongly placed.

It was already apparent to me (as to most people) that one of the keys to "beating Vecna" in the end will have to be figuring out who he really is. Given that they think they know his identity, and yet they still managed to not beat him, is clear evidence that they don't have the full picture yet. And, much like how the Doctor wasn't able to figure out how to save The Library until he knew who and what CAL was, our gaggle of teenagers and errant adults won't be able to save Vecna until they know who and what he is.

However, my big takeaway after watching these Doctor Who episodes was... is anything in NINA even real at all?

I personally think that it has to come from some kind of truth, and, at least in the case of El in NINA, I think some of those moments really are her memories. With TFS, I'm a little more willing to look at it and go "yeah all of this is entirely a simulation." Given how many facts are misaligned with on-film canon, the insistent way we're told "Henry" is Henry by Henry (and other characters).

And the number of times Henry says, "This isn't real." Sure, those were in moments of distress when he was experiencing effects of the Shadow, but it still makes me go... okay, "Henry," if that even is your real name... how much of this isn't real?

Donna, once faced with the reality of her world being a simulation/dream, finds herself hard-pressed to keep up the image of it. She starts becoming more aware of the weird way in which time passes, she realizes that every other child in the world is an exact copy of her own, and she finds it difficult to reassure her children of their existence when they confess that they feel like they're not real sometimes. And, after they tell her this, they vanish into thin air.

This, obviously, is where things diverge in terms of how this applies to ST. Obviously, the point of NINA was for El to be aware of the fact that they're memories and to collect them again in order to get her powers back/find the source of her strength. But that leads me again into: if she doesn't remember them, how does she know that they're her own? This has been talked about extensively by folks like Em and James, so I won't touch on it more than that, but I think it's a likely possibility that has to be considered going into ST5.

This is a bit easier to apply to "Henry" in TFS. While I agree that some of it has to be taken from reality in order to construct the world he's in, as I said prior, the inconsistencies and timelines not matching up (again, spoken about a lot by James and Em, especially stuff like the newspaper dates being wrong) makes it stink of something especially wrong.

In these Doctor Who episodes, all of the people that exist in that world are, in fact, also real people! I think the only exception are the children, as they were fully fabricated by Donna's "settle down and start a family" dream. At the end of the second episode, she even goes searching through library records to see if the man she "married" was one of the 4,022 people who'd been saved.

However, in the end, he was real. We see him trying to call out to her as she walks away with the Doctor, but he gets teleported out of the library before he can get her attention.

Not only did this remind me of idea that Patty might not be real, but it sort of put me further in the camp of "Patty in TFS isn't real, but Patty is a real person." Like, I genuinely don't think that she's a fully fabricated being, but rather she's taken from some other reality and molded to fit the current situation.

Which also reminds me of, in these Doctor Who episodes, there are statues throughout The Library which offer information to guests, and they have real human faces on them. Donna talks to one early on in the first episode and it gives some spiel about how it "chose" a face she would "like" from their data bank. The Doctor says it's "like donating an organ." This idea has been talked about irt Patty in TFS being so similar to Henry in terms of likes and desires (they're both comic/superhero nerds and they both want to get away from their abusive households) (I know either Em or James have posted about that but I cannot for the life of me find the posts lol). Not to mention that Patty winds up filling a sort of maternal role for Henry, who is without a proper maternal figure in his life, which Em talks about in posts like this one irt Patty also looking for a paternal figure in her life/rebelling against the one she has.

So, they're both looking for something specific of these relationships, and, at least from Henry's side, he gets given someone who shares his interests and experiences and is willing to give him love and affection when the "proper" person isn't willing to (even if it does go awry in the end, but, y'know).

I got a bit sidetracked there, but looping back to what I said just a little ways above about the purpose of El's NINA simulation being to be aware of the fact that they're memories and try to follow them "the right way"... it's, again, interesting to me that the only time we see "Henry" insisting something isn't real is when he's in a "bad vision," and it makes me wonder what would have happened if he'd been able to question reality outside of that as well. Other characters tell him it's a dream/nightmare/not real (whether that's actually Patty or a friend in disguise, like James suggests in one of the posts of his I linked earlier, is to be confirmed) and that helps to snap him out of it/ground himself... but what if we got more of that? Would all of it fall apart? Much like how, once Charlotte became fully aware of what was going on and the "reality" was questioned, she sent the library into self-destruct?

And looping back again to the "Patty isn't real" stuff and Em's doppelganger theory, if Henry was allowed to question himself, would we potentially learn that "Henry" really isn't Henry? Like Donna said, he "could have had a different name out [there]."

Okay I... think I need to stop myself from going any further, so here's some closing thoughts!!

In short, none of these ideas are new. James and Em have spoken extensively about NINA/TFS being fake, or interspersed with lies at the very least; they've spoken about there being missing information/scenes during/prior to the 1979 HNL massacre; and aaaall that other stuff I already linked. Stav @heroesbyler was also the first to talk about Brenner's Doctor/Time Lord coding, which is something I also talk more about in this post.

Ultimately, the fact that there were so many things that jumped out at me in these DW episodes that aligned with ideas presented not only in these theories about ST, but within ST itself, makes me think that those theories really aren't far off the mark.

And while none of this gave me any answers, it reinforced a lot of questions (and added some new ones) that make me eager to see how everything culminates in this upcoming final season.

What's real and what isn't? Who's real and who isn't? Which are memories and which are fabrications? Whose memories/dreams belong to themselves and which ones belong to someone else? Are they twisted/swapped to get a specific outcome someone else wants? Is anything idealized to make it more alluring? Who can we actually trust throughout this whole damn series?

#i say things #stranger things #st the first shadow #st dw #another mess of a post but let's gooooooooo none of this makes seeeeeense

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nyaagolor · 11 months

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I am definitely thinking about this too hard but the more I look at the Team Star plot the more logistical questions I have. All of these can easily be answered with “because it needs to be this way for the plot to work” but I’m still gonna overthink it anyway

- If Penny’s parents are as clingy and overprotective as she implies and she really was bullied bad enough to become a recluse for multiple years, why would they send her back to the Academy? Did they even know she was bullied? It’s super possible the previous director / staff didn’t give a reason behind her suspension so her parents wouldn’t freak out on them / sue them (can you sue in the pokemon world???) but did her parents not ask her about it? I feel like if my kid got sent home for a mandatory year and a half I would have a LOT of questions

- I can understand why Arven and Nemona wouldn’t know about the bullying seeing as Arven is chronically absent from school and Nemona has the social awareness of a rock, but it’s absolutely wild to me that there was a scandal so big it caused a turnover of the entire staff and yet no one on the new staff knows why. The academy teachers would DEFINITELY tell Clavell / help Team Star if they knew the truth, so somehow they all managed to go a year and a half without questioning why they were hired at the same time or why there’s a random middle schooler street gang. Did the previous director do some sorta NDA where they made sure the teachers couldn’t ask about the circumstances behind their hiring? Do the teachers just not care about the strange circumstances??? Did none of the students care enough to mention this to anyone?

- Where was Geeta during all this? She implies she’s been in her position for longer than a year and a half (that library clearly took longer than a year of construction) so she had to have been around during the staff turnover, but says absolutely nothing about it. I know she’s involved in a different plot line and the nonlinearity of it means she can’t say much about other plot lines like Starfall Street, but it’s wild to me that the head of the academy board watched her entire staff resign and was like hm. that’s normal. This isn’t something I need to investigate. It’s especially weird if she’s involved in the hiring process? Letting things like that go unquestioned seems so out of character for Little Miss Micromanagement, but being part of the coverup is also out of character for someone who believes so strongly in ~Paldea’s shining light~ and future and whatnot

- Why would the previous director not tell people about Team Star? He says they “resigned because they felt they had failed the students” and whatnot, but then make zero effort to fix their mistakes and don’t tell the new staff about the truth of it all? Were they just trying to save face? Was the whole staff fired? Did they resign before they could GET fired?? If they really felt bad why did they allow the truth to be buried and ignore the damage they caused?? Mister Harrington sir I believe ur lying about ur intentions / actual level of regret here

Overall the Starfall Street plotline relies so heavily on people not paying attention to or questioning things they Really Should Care About that it’s almost comical and it really makes me wonder what the hell anyone was doing during this whole thing. if there’s canon answers to these question or I’m screwing up the timeline here lmk also bc I am thoroughly stumped

#mod vex #pokemon sv

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scarfacemarston · 6 months

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Abigail Roberts A-Z Alphabet Fluff Prompt

Rest of letters here. T: Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, and gifts?)

We see in the epilogue that Abigail definitely tries to make things special for John sometimes. She'll buy him a new shirt, she'll make his favorite food, she seems to decorate the place extra nice and genuinely just wants to spend time with him. For Jack, she wants each birthday to be as special as possible since she feels she can't give him much. She'll make cinnamon rolls or French toast in the morning. She always saves money to buy him a new book or takes him to the bookstore, bakes a cake, and gives him the few gifts she and John could buy or make him. She'll try to buy something affordable from the catalog, with John giving suggestions on what he THINKS Jack might like……..it doesn't always work, but he tries. In the modern au, she'll take him to an arcade with his friends. (YES, THEY EXIST STILL.) That, or the movies and some restaurant.

Needless to say, she puts a lot of time and effort into dates, anniversaries, and gifts.

U: Ugly (What would be a bad habit of theirs?)She worries and paces so much I bet she could make a mark on a wooden floor. I'd also say maybe checking in on people too much. Some people like Jack and John think it's bossy and nosy, but she's trying to help for the most part. If it's Jack or John………or Uncle, she's trying to make sure they're behaving.. On a lesser scale, she either seems to have great posture or really bad posture, no in between, it seems. Finally, her squinting at the sun really damages her eyes, causing her pain.

V: Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

She knows she's beautiful, but she doesn't bother putting much effort into her looks. In Canon, she wears the same outfit for years. She also wears a simple bun and a braid at night. She could be curling her hair or wearing it up like the other ladies, but she doesn't. I thought she wore the lightest makeup, but I don't believe it at the end of the day, and she wouldn't waste the little money she had on it. Modern Au is just as beautiful but doesn't spend a lot of time on her looks, either. She wears her hair naturally. Mostly in a bun or braid, but she is more likely to wear it down here. She wears light makeup. Eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick and foundation. She goes for a more natural look, but red lipstick looks stunning. She doesn't bother with beauty trends, just what she feels comfortable with. She is also less fashionable than Molly. She cares about being comfortable and "age-appropriate." Meaning she doesn't dress like a "mom," but she's not wild either.

W: Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Abigail learned this lesson after all the hell she was put through with John. Her heart felt incomplete, but she never would admit it, even when L.H. Arthur would point it out. She resigned herself to being alone. She felt no one would ever love a single mother, especially one with her past. She had given up on love. Could she be pulled out of that mindset? Yes, but it would take someone very special. IMHO, a woman would have better luck with this. (Granted, women can be super judgmental.) Xtra (A random headcanon for them) This was posted in a seperate link because the HC I picked needed some explaining. Y - There was not a Y for the list.

Z: Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Abigail hates sleeping on her back anymore. Sleeping outside on the ground for so many years has really messed with her back. She's a side sleeper now, but she sometimes rolls onto her back anyway.

#rdr 2 #abigail roberts #abigail marston #van der linde gang #sadigail #sadiegail #abigail roberts x reader #abigail marston x reader #john marston x abigail roberts #jack marston

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newtafterdark · 8 months

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Please release the black mold theory

I'll do my very best to keep this as short and as coheerend as possible - which will be a feat because Dan & I came up with the details of it throughout hours of going through the "Welcome Home" site.

The "Black Mold Theory" focuses on the black-ish growth that is both visible and referenced in one way or the other on several main- and hidden pages... and how it is a harmful entity towards everyone in the Restoration Project, the puppets & everyone who is interacting with "Welcome Home" in-universe, even just the smallest amount.

Now, why do I call it "black mold" specifically? Well, it looks, behaves and causes harm similarly to black mold in real life.

But with a conscious entity behind it.

The current events start with the WHRP crew receiving items that were part of the production of "Welcome Home" - with the first person to handle them remarking that everything "feels wet".

This continues as more people get brought in to help restore or simply file away art, photos, writing, merch, vinyl records... with now even a proper rule being put in place to "not touch any item with bare hands".

While that is a common rule for handling any old and damaged thing you're trying to restore... it is worrysome that the WHRP are very instant on that rule, as it is something the restoration folks would do so anyway.

Then... look at how the exibition looks like on the "Staff Only" page.

(Please go look through it yourself, it is so well-made! https://www.clownillustration.com/staff-only)

The walls are overgrown with a dark substance, looking either red or blue but mostly black, with clear hand prints on the walls and splatters of it on items & WHRP folks' notes-

It's on so many things, even seemingly pouring out of the safe from the inside. A safe that is seemingly holding old production items that were supposed to be given out as random prizes to the exhibition visiors.

And then there's the entity on the ceiling. You know, the blue-ish black mass clinging to the pipes and more notes by the crew, its fuzzy tendrils reaching out to hold itself in place on said pipes.

To observe? To watch as visitors touch the items that looked so prestine in the daylight, only to be shown to be contaminated with something when the lights are off? To now know that people are carrying parts of it our into the real world and into their own homes through having had hands-on contact with all the items present?

That is horrible enough for the people who touched it in real life - but... what if I told you that we have seen this thing in Home as well? Or more like... under Home?

When the "Welcome Home" site first went online, the mass on the Characters Page below Home looked like this. Something in the depths barely aware of the attention on it as we look into the dark abyss it's in.

Now, after the most recent update? Oh, the abyss is looking right back at us. And the black mass around it is growing as well.

The mold is actively spreading from under Wally's house, leaving him to deal with the brunt of its influence on the world he lives in.

Just how it is in the Real World, it is in the World of Welcome Home. As above... so below. Like the spiral imagery both Wally and the WHRP crew keep sketching on little notes.

Now... here is the part where I explain in detail why I call this thing "black mold" -

I've had to deal with the influence of black mold on the human body personally... and too much of this haunting entity reminds me of it.

The way black mold grows out in webs and clusters... how it thrives in wet and dark places - something that 100% happened to the items that the WHRP crew got their hands on, because old things rarely get stored in a way that keeps them from receiving lasting damage, especially water damage-

-and what it does to the human brain. Auditory halucinations (the phone ringing to one of the WHRP folks), visual halucinations & nightmares (perhaps the same member recalling a nightmare (?) of them seeing Wally sit at the end of their bed with a phone that kept ringing), sneezing (it's what the moldy bolders of the "Staff Only" page are named too), coughing, nausea, migraines, troubles with breathing, flat-out fainting... and heavy memory issues.

Everything we have seen the WHRP crew deal with... or, at least the person who is writing the newsletter, who also seems to be the person who opened the parcel that started all this - is not just happening in the Real World either. It is happening in Home too.

Memory issues are something Wally himself is dealing with as well, as we can see from the Guest Book sketches he left us so far. He can't seem to remember his past with everyone else in Home, but at least he still remembers that he loves all of his friends dearly & thinks about them a lot, even if he can't reach them right now.

We can hear the difference in Wally's voice recordings as well. To me, there is such a noticable difference to how he sounds in the actual show recordings (when things were still okay™) compared to the soundbits we have gotten through the bugs.

In those, he sounds like breathing is hard for him and like his focus isn't entirely there. Which is something that can happen if you're spending too much time in an area with high humidity, even without mold. It's exhausting to deal with and I feel so sorry for Wally, because he can't physically leave Home right now.

... now, we could leave the horror at that. This is already a dire situation for everyone in-universe.

But... what if this has happened before? What if the mold has spread so far throughout the country (or even other parts of the world) by speading itself through merchandise? And, remember - handling just a bit of something infected with it makes you forget so much already... would forgetting the entire show existed be so out of place now?

It got so much attention and so much of itself out there in the few years so much merch was produced by the Marlow company...

And look at what we're doing now. The WHRP is powered by people with their hands stained with the mold... and we keep spreading it further and further.

With every sticker we get told on the homepage to put on our own homepages, with every fanart, with every type of creative project related that we share online in so many places...

Meanwhile, Wally and his friend have no control over any of it. What can a being made of fabric, locked away in a dark moldy place do? There is no sunshine to dry the mold out. All they can do is yearn to be let out into the light as they try living and surving as the mold is trying to fully taking hold of them.

(It also is interesting how the Sally's house in Home is the only one with lights still on inside too, while everyone else's is dark. Is symbolism of light enough to keep the mold away at least in the world of Welcome Home?)

In my & Dan's opinion, the black mold is using Wally and the others like the puppets they are, Wally especially, because he is the face of the whole project after all.

Perhaps it is even taking advantage of now unfortunately ongoing thing with "mascot horror" on the internet, by focusing so much on him, but that is admittedly a reach on my part.

A last fun thing (genuinely, I'm having so much fun with these horror theories) to think about in combination with this theory that it is mold that wants to spread through merchendise-

Well, the new Makeship plush would be quite the addition to the storytelling of this, wouldn't you think? :)

This is the best way I can explain Dan's and my theory, though I am sure I might've forgotten smaller bits that lead to us crafting this theory. I don't think I will talk more about it because I rather observe than make up things for "Welcome Home", but theorizing with friends is always fun!

Again, this theory is based only on a few things we have gotten shown through the site so far, there is still so much Clown and their team want to show us, so please do not take this theory too seriously!

I for one will be genuinely excited if I have to throw this theory out the window after the next update! I am simply here to enjoy a beautiful and haunting story made by so many skilled folks! :>

#cw black mold poisioning descriptions #newt's ramblings #danstillcreates #welcome home #welcome home spoilers #(just in case folks have not seen the “Staff Only” page)#The Black Mold Theory #long post (past the read more)#again please don't take this as “we're solving WH!!!”#this is just two friends having fun with theories

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blood-and-pizza · 2 months

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OKay, so I really wanna include The Mimic in Fazbear Estate... but I'm gonna warn you all, his story isn't the happiest one.

See, in this AU, Edwin Murray created the Mimic Endo prototype using the AI that Henry developed. At the time, Mimic was a companion for Edwin's son, David... who did, in fact, die tragically. William Afton, who was CEO of Fazbear Entertainment at the time, made it a point to personally pay Edwin a visit after the funeral, Henry accompanying him "just in case".

They arrived at Edwin's doorstep just seconds after he'd finished beating Mimic with a pipe for mimicking David. Edwin almost didn't let the two men inside... but he was quickly realizing what he'd just done and no longer cared what happened to him as a result. William and Henry saw the mangled Mimic on the floor. Henry was horrified, recognizing immediately how much pain Mimic was in. William angrily demanded Edwin to explain what the hell was going on.

Edwin was calm at first as he explained to William and Henry who Mimic was, why he created him, and what he had just done to him out of rage and grief over David. By the time he'd finished, Henry had carefully picked up Mimic in his arms, whispering to the endoskeleton soothingly, like a father comforting a child. William heavily chastised Edwin for "causing untold trauma to an instance of Henry's AI program, thus corrupting it, possibly permanently". He also called Edwin a fool for "not recognizing [his] other son", and "barbaric" for physically lashing out at him.

William then told Edwin the only way he could keep his job at Fazbear Entertainment was by allowing William and Henry to take custody of Mimic in order to repair and rehabilitate him. Edwin sadly agreed.

William and Henry took Mimic back home and did their best to repair him, even providing him with new limbs. They even gave him a new tiger plushie to hold. Occasionally, Mimic tried to hit William, Henry, or any one of their kids with a makeshift weapon. He couldn't hit very hard, thankfully, but it was still alarming, and actively discouraged. For years, William and Henry basically raised Mimic together, kind of like one of their kids, trying to undo the damage Edwin had done.

To make an already long story short, Mimic is currently living with William and Henry in their old age. He has only ever spoken to Edwin Murray once since leaving his care. Edwin had apologized profusely to Mimic for hurting him. Mimic has accepted his apology, but is having a hard time actually forgiving him.

Mimic is currently trying to figure out his identity after spending his whole life copying other people and animatronics. With William and Henry's help, even in their old age, he has multiple suits and casings to wear over his endoskeleton body, each one a different character. Each character has their own personality and sets of pronouns. William loves how much of a brilliant actor Mimic is, but Henry kind of wishes Mimic would just worry about being himself instead of a character.

Mimic is genderfluid, altering his pronouns depending on which character he is that day, though he primarily responds to he/him. He is also asexual and aromantic, but he loves interacting with people. His violent tendencies from his "childhood" have thankfully been ironed out thanks to William and Henry's efforts. He also has his adoptive siblings - Michael, Elizabeth, Evan, Vanessa, Charlie, and Sammy - to thank for treating him like one of them.

Oh, about Vanessa! Originally, she was some random Fazbear Entertainment worker, but... I've changed this, obviously. She's William Afton's biological daughter, his youngest child. How can that be, you might be wondering, if William is in his 80's and Vanessa is in her 20's? Because William was experiencing empty nest syndrome in his late 50's and, after discussing it with a bewildered Henry ("We're too old to raise another one, Will, but okay!") they found an egg donor and hired a surrogate. Vanessa was born shortly after William's 60th birthday. The nature of her birth and William's advanced age caused quite a stir in the community.

Vanessa is currently 23, the same age she's depicted as in canon at this time. She's the baby sister of both the Aftons and the Morgons (Henry's family). She has met her egg donor, Samantha Shelly, whom she's grown close to. William is very jealous of that and doesn't even try to hide it. Henry tells William to hush and is super-supportive of Vanessa. Vanessa loves both of her dads, but is particularly keen on making William happy since... well, he's a bit hard to please.

Vanessa and Mimic have a much healthier relationship in this AU than in canon, even if it is admittedly very odd. Mimic is basically her older sibling, and they are quite close. Vanessa developed a passion for robotics and animatronics because of her dads, so she considers herself very lucky to have a robotic sibling with advanced AI. The idea for Vanny came from Vanessa designing a fursona for herself (she's a furry like her dads!) and Mimic loving it so much he wanted to make his own version of the character. Basically, he took the original design for Vanny, and gave it a horror edge that was more to his tastes.

One last thing: Mimic LOVES Five Nights at Freddy's while Vanessa... doesn't. Mimic loves the lore, and the characters, and infodumping about all of it. Meanwhile, Vanessa likes to pretend the franchise doesn't exist because of how Fazbear Entertainment, and select part of the FNAF fandom, has treated her character.

Mimic and Vanessa are Gregory's pibling and aunt respectively. Gregory and Mimic are quite close, much in the same way Mimic was close to his late brother, David. This time, however, it's a much healthier and far less possessive relationship than in canon. Mimic does, however, have a hatred for Glamrock Freddy. He's jealous of how close he and Gregory are, and cannot conceive the idea of Gregory having more than one robotic best friend.

Vanessa has a crush on Glamrock Freddy and is not entirely pleased that his polyamorous ass is looking at everyone else EXCEPT her. She thinks the way he gets along with Gregory is super adorable, and even attractive. Vanessa has tried flirting with Glamrock Freddy before, but every time she does, Freddy just assumes she's being friendly and doesn't realize he's being flirted with. So when Vanessa first sees how flirty Glamrock Freddy gets with Melissa Pomene, she is understandably frustrated.

... This all being said. This new info has potential for drama. This will remain a murder-free AU but Fazbear Estate is as much of a soap opera as ever.

#fnaf #fnaf au #fazbear estate au #long post is long #fnaf vanessa #fnaf mimic #fnaf gregory #glamrock freddy #fnaf oc #self ship #self insert #edwin murray #david murray #william afton #fnaf henry #LISTEN IF I WROTE ANYTHING QUESTIONABLE HERE PLEASE TELL ME AND I WILL AMEND IT IMMEDIATELY #i kinda went off the rails explaining all this LOL

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