#AI isn't the main evil

[selenepsyche]

The Spiritual Sickos and Tumblr Ticks

How To Get Away With Hypocrisy 101

Ladies and Ladies......gather around for the pipe bomb of the century. They thought it was over? No ma'am. A lot has transpired since that historic day, June 9, 2025. On that day, I put out my first post regarding Aphrodicci's toxic and evil behavior and taught everyone how to successfully get away with hypocrisy, while also teaching you what NOT to do with Aphrodicci's situation as an example.

As expected, that post ruffled plenty of feathers. For those of you who need an update on everything that myself and others have dealt with since then, regarding her bullshit and continued harassment, then this post is for you. I'll give a brief summary on what has happened so far but if you want to know what's happened from the beginning in detail, read the hypocrisy post that I have linked at the top and the posts I have linked within that post. With that being said, get your snacks because you're in for a long yet detailed and juicy read.

Spiritual? Where?

As stated by a few others, the tarot and astrology community on Tumblr has too much toxic and deceptive energy and people in it. Not just because of scammers and AI, but because of wolves in sheep's clothing that are harassing, bullying, lying, and dragging down others out of jealousy and envy.

It's horrendous how people like that claim to be spiritual and "good", and use spiritual tools but radiate such negative energy. People like that don't genuinely care about helping others and putting good out into the world. They only care about getting attention and money. Aphrodicci isn't the only creator that is like this. Her friends that defend her and help aid in this toxic behavior are also like this, such as sydneymykah, bitdemonic, spiritstalking (which I suspect is just one of her friends using that as an alt to defend her), rholsof-film, rsequrtz, opalblade, jupiitersreturn, cancerfairy, and saturnianprincess.

When "High Vibes" Means High Horse

As stated before, all of the people named above are Aphrodicci's closest friends and enable her toxic behavior. They've bullied people off of this platform for the last two or three years out of jealousy and envy. This is not "speculation" and "fake gossip" as some people like to call it, this is a proven fact. They're currently trying to do it to me for speaking out on this. If any of those people have tried to speak out about it or stand up for themselves, they have teamed up to jump these people. They would even go as far as starting smear campaigns or doxxing people.

This group of people are entitled, egotistical, mean, disrespectful, and malicious. They put up false images of being sweet, kind, and empathetic, but that is not who they truly are. They are the main reason why astroblr and tarotblr are as toxic and vile as it is, but I'm here to aid in that change.

Meet the Deadweight

Like I said, the main problem is Aphrodicci. Her behavior has been absolutely horrid and disgusting. She has been called out for being racist (yeah i said it, RACIST), fatphobic, and harassing and bullying people off of this platform or doing things to ruin other people's reputations wrongfully. The main reason she has been able to do this is because of the Discord server that she has, in which people could join to discuss astrology since it was public. It's currently on lockdown due to people screenshotting fucked up things that she or her friends have said in the server and exposing them.

I'm calling her a deadweight because her actions have dragged down other people and this community as a whole. She refuses to address the situations publicly on her main account, but will harass people through alt accounts and anonymous asks with her friends to intimidate and scare the person who spoke out or whoever they don't like. When the situations get brought up again or new information and proof about her fucked up actions come out, she brings up past and irrelevant situations about other creators she doesn't like (or were also problematic) in order to get the attention off of herself, or twists people's words, narratives, or intentions whenever they call her out to make it seem like she's the sweet little victim who always gets hated on for no reason.

The Screenshots Don't Lie, Babe

Regardless of Aphrodicci and her friends trying to deny everything she's been accused of, the screenshots don't lie. Here are links of the screenshots of things that Aphrodicci has said and done on her main account and explanations from her victims. Some of these links also include shitty actions by some of her friends. I couldn't put more images because I hit the limit. And just so y'all know, Pluto = Aphrodicci.

Datura's Screenshots The Case of Zelda (Part 1) The Case of Zelda (Part 2) Harassing Classical Mist (now deactivated) Opal Blade Being Delusional Messyness from Spiritstalking Spiritstalking dismissing Racism as "personal beef" Spiritstalking dismissing Racism (Part 2) More Bullying from Aphrodicci Lexa's Case #1 Lexa's Case #2 My Harassment #1 My Harassment #2 My Harassment #3 Corvoidea's Statement Niya Confirms Everything

Burner Accounts and Backup Dummies

Aphrodicci has multiple public alt accounts for other interests, such as venusiansirens, venuskura, gothicada, and saintgoths. She blocked me on these accounts before I even knew about them. Since she's known to also be the owner of these accounts, who's to say she isn't behind these alt accounts that have been harassing me and other creators? Of course it could be any of her friends, but we literally got proof of her being behind the Baeladimi and possibly the stfuteaonastro account. But let me show you all the alts that have been created, that was confirmed to be made by Aphrodicci or her friends.

1. @stfuteaonastro

A few weeks ago, before I even started speaking out directly about the drama and was mostly observing, this page was created. This is the most disgusting one of all. This account told me, Lexa, and Datura to die, get r worded, overdose, choke, and burn in hell. At first, I couldn’t tell who could have created it, mainly because they were attacking @tarotbyjam24 for no reason and being disgustingly racist towards her. She hasn’t done anything wrong and isn’t even apart of this drama. But today I decided to look back at the account and I noticed that their following list was open. They’re following mostly close friends of Aphrodicci. So either Aphrodicci or one of her close friends created it.

What’s also odd is that this account was also attacking bitdemonic though, and wasn’t following her either. That’s when I started to think that bitdemonic made the account and purposely didn’t follow herself and attacked herself to throw the scent off her. Someone I know came up with another theory that someone in Aphrodicci’s friend group could be impersonating someone named Niya. I don’t know too much about her, but from what I’ve been told, she used to be in their friend group and also had beef with bitdemonic. Regardless, Aphrodicci or one of her friends indeed created that account.

2. @baeladimi (now deleted)

The infamous Baeladimi account. It was already odd enough that this account would only hop online to defend Aphrodicci when she would get called out by someone. All of their posts was only reblogs and posts defending her. The account came at me and Datura when I first called out Aphrodicci's behavior publicly under one of her posts. The account used the same tone and language as Aphrodicci and even called me the same racial slurs that Aphrodicci did. Someone I know did research on her twitter and found out that Aphrodicci is a huge Lottie Matthews fan, which baeladimi had as her profile and banner. Of course friends can have the same interests, but then when people started comparing the language between the baeladimi account and her alt accounts, it became clear that it was indeed Aphrodicci on that account, defending herself in third person. What also gave it away was the fact that the account deactivated right after I put that theory out in my first post.

3. @patientenclavesummoner

While me and Datura was arguing with the baeladimi account, this account was created within minutes. It has a badly edited photo of Datura as it's profile pic and banner, and wrote a strange, mockery response to what Datura was saying. Coincidence? Obviously not.

4. @astrotarotblroracle

A few days ago, this account was created to discredit me and @teaonastro's explanations and evidence of her wrongdoings. This account was trying to justify using racist slurs, accused me of being white, tried to use Twitter threads to claim that it's normal for black people to use the word c**n and that it's what the majority of other people do, and allegedly used tarot and a pendulum to try and see who is behind the teaonastro account and accused Lexa of being behind the account. This account was obviously created by Aphrodicci in order to try and do more damage control and shift the narrative, but it backfired tremendously. They claim to not be Aphrodicci or one of their friends, yet they are speaking behind a alt account. They're using the same brainrot defenses to try and justify what Aphrodicci did. If you're not her or one of her friends, you wouldn't be speaking behind a alt account and going this hard for someone you don't even know.

When Damage Control Does More Damage

In this section, I'm gonna highlight some embarrassing and pathetic posts that either Aphrodicci or her friends have made to try and do damage control.

"A Palate Cleanser on Proper Research"

One of Aphrodicci's close friends, rholsof-film, also blocked me and made this post recently to subtly defend Aphrodicci. She talked about how gathering information from the right source is imperative, gave a list on how to "properly intake sources", and left a baffling statement at the end about how Black people can't be racist. I love how this post is supposedly educational yet shady and obviously a defense for Aphrodicci at the same time.

The first on her list stated "We don't jump to conclusions", in which she added in the explanation to "never trust cropped screenshots or isolated quotes without full conversations or source links." Mind you, these screenshots included racist comments being stated, which is wrong in any context. Whenever someone asks for the full conversation or situation to be explained, nobody does.

The second on her list stated "Verify the original source", in which she added in the explanation "If the so called proof provided is a cropped photo of one sentence in a conversation instead of the full context of the conversation not being shown then it's what? An invalid source." Crazy. Those screenshots were taken directly from Aphrodicci's account and are clearly and legitimately stated by her. Calling those screenshots "invalid" is disregarding the racist things she stated simply because they're cropped. But like I said, no one will explain the context in it's entirety. I wonder why.

The third on her list stated "Look for multiple perspectives", in which she added "if one side of a situation is the only side presented then it's just a half cup full. If the other context is missing you can't really tell for yourself what actually happened". Then tell us. We're still waiting.

The fourth on her list stated "Check for bias", in which she added "These tea accounts have been pointing fingers at each other claiming one another are biased and most aren't even active anymore except one. So what's there to do? Probably not fully believe what's provided given full context isn't there". But teaonastro has many detailed posts explaining certain situations with evidence, so what are you even talking about? This whole thing about not using cropped conversations as source material when it's about racist slurs being thrown around is disgusting.

The fifth on her list states "Don't confuse popularity with credibility", in which she added "Just because multiple blogs, tea accounts, or threads say the same thing doesn't make it true". Girl what? If multiple people have come forward saying that they experienced mistreatment by the same person at different times, WITH evidence, then that definitely makes it true. It HAS been proven to be true. It's not just a rumor.

Her last statement is about black people not being able to be racist to one another. I guess I'll admit you are correct because black people don't have the systematic power to be racist towards one another according to its definition, and yes we can have prejudice and bias towards one another. But internalized racism is still a thing. I mean, that's what you said to read about right?

Internalized racism is the internalization of beliefs about racism and colonization that contribute to the acceptance of negative messaging or stereotypical representations that inform perceptions about worth and ability. This can cause POC to adopt aspects of racism and reject parts of themselves or other POC in order to fit into society. This can also lead to colorism, prejudice, and assimilating dominant cultures, beliefs, or values. I been saying that a black woman calling another black woman a "super black", "massa", and a "c**n" is giving inner self hatred, especially when you go hard defending the use of those words. When she was on the baeladimi account saying that we're being anti-black when she called me racial slurs for no reason first and I was simply asking her to explain those screenshots, that was unnecessary and telling in itself. She's clearly insecure and must have some self-hatred to treat other black women like this and for her black female friends to allow this also proves my point. But since you apparently have the "credentials" on this, you'd know that right, especially having taken sociology?

2. Performative Activism

How can Aphrodicci make posts about the situations in Gaza and Congo while tearing down members of her own community and harassing others? A few days after the proof of her saying racial slurs came out, she made a post about Palestine, which I reblogged and called damage control with the screenshots of the racial slurs she stated. As usual, she flipped the script and said I'm making a post about a genocide about myself because she was a "mean girl 2-3 years ago" and called it tone deaf. You're still a piece of shit now, as seen above, and the fact that she was ignoring the racist screenshots and saying she didn't care about any of the people I mentioned is basically telling on herself. She also blocked me right after and hopped onto the baeladimi account to try and attack us.

She finally made a statement talking about the situation. But it's just another way to manipulate her followers and gain sympathy. She claims she's never been performative about the posts about Gaza and Congo. She also adds in "could there have been space for a genuine conversation and even apology? maybe. but framing my voice around your feelings, ignoring context, and trying to incite cancellation after many years have passed has shown a real lack of sincerity and selective memory". The thing is you have yet to give any sort of context of those situations. You have had many chances to apologize and hold genuine conversations, yet you turned them down with rudeness and harassment behind alt accounts. I also don't consider things that happened 1-3 years ago to be "many years ago", and you are still doing the same things that you got called out for in the past, but go off I guess.

She also says that she's never gone after people unprovoked (which is a lie) and that whenever she has spoken up, it's been to defend herself or others, often against microaggressions and blatant silencing, which she claims is happening now. She says "it's non-black women trying to tell me what is or isn't racism while tone policing me. that's not people trying to make someone take accountability, it's control." Hmm.....sounds a lot like the argument that @astrotarotblroracle was making. Not only that, but she is calling me a non-black woman, like how that account was saying. It doesn't take common sense to know that calling someone a "super black" or "c**n" in a insulting and racist context is racist. That has nothing to do with control, which doesn't even make sense.

Referring to racist things you've said as only "intense things" and claiming "many of us have" is otherworldly insane. But you're right, if this was truly about healing then you would have handled this with maturity, which means addressing and speaking out way sooner and WITH detailed explanations and context. You refuse to give that context because you know if you do, you'll be cooked even more. This statement is filled with passive-aggressiveness, manipulation, and doesn't even address everything. It's just a bunch of victim mentality. You've already been exposed for going on alt accounts to harass other people. You've been exposed for being passive-aggressive and harassing others. That is honesty. Telling us to go touch grass at the end of that statement indicates how you are still shady and toxic. It's also ironic because at first you didn't give a fuck, yet still felt the need to block me but say that you "aren't scared and aren't a pussy". Make it make sense.

Here are some legitimate links to help the people of Gaza and Congo, because they truly do need as much support as they can get right now:

Save Gaza from Mass Starvation Salim's Family Operation Olive Branch UNRWA Support for Goma Education for Congo Eastern Congo Initiative Doctors Without Borders Women and Children in Congo

See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Platform The Evil

I purposely waited to post this until Juneteenth. Today is June 19, an important national African-American holiday that represents the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce the emancipation of the 250,000 slaves that were still there. This came two years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation because they didn’t have enough union troops to enforce it at the time to get the word out and the Confederate states were being rebellious and defiant.

The reason why I waited until today is because Aphrodicci is a black woman. She may be a british black woman, but she is still a black woman. As far as I understand, sydneymykah, bitdemonic, and rholsof-film are also black women, most likely African-American. To treat me, another black woman, like this and try to justify racism and harassment is insane. This is not how us black people should be treating each other when we already got a ton of other enemies. This isn’t what our ancestors would want. We should be uplifting each other, not wrongfully tearing each other down.

Aphrodicci has been given multiple opportunities to explain the full situation in the screenshots. Her friends keep saying “it’s not the full story” and “they’re cropped pictures”. So explain it. I’ve asked this a thousand times and as expected, there has been no explanation, just more harassment. Even before I made a public statement about all this and people were on teaonastro’s page giving their evidence, stories, and explanations about their dealings with her, she still never made a public response to any of it. It was just performative posts and seemingly ignoring it, while harassing me and others in our inboxes. If someone was truly innocent, you’d think they wouldn’t continue engaging in and acting out in the same behaviors they’re being accused of, and instead address it or admit to it now that the proof is out there.

If Aphrodicci is truly innocent, why would most of you instantly block me when I first reblogged her performative post about Gaza with my damage control comment and the screenshots of her ugly behavior? If Aphrodicci is innocent, why did she block me on her public alt accounts before I even knew they existed? If Aphrodicci is truly innocent, why did it take her forever to speak out about it on her main account, and when she finally did, it was full of lies, manipulation, and barely addressed the problems at hand? If Aphrodicci is truly innocent, why does she create alt accounts to harass people on and defend herself in third person? If Aphrodicci is truly innocent, why did the Baeladimi account deactivate right after I uploaded the possibility of her actually being behind that account? If Aphrodicci is truly innocent, why are her friends and defenders making shady damage control posts to defend her? If Aphrodicci is truly innocent, why was I getting hate anons just for liking a few posts about the situations and another spiritual page (that's now deleted) got hate just for putting out a short psychic message that said there's deceptive energy in this community? Because a hit dog will holler. If Aphrodicci is truly innocent, why would a brand new alt account with Datura’s face, badly edited, be made just minutes after me and her were arguing with Aphrodicci’s alt, Baeladimi?

Regardless if y’all claim this isn’t the “full story”, using racial slurs as insults is just a low blow and not even okay, especially when you’re not even supposed to be using them as a black British woman. Trying to justify the usage of those words with Twitter threads is crazy. If you can’t settle with calling people assholes and motherfuckers, then something is seriously wrong. Saying that I’m “not even black” just because I’m calling you out is also insane. I am indeed an African-American woman and you're just saying that because this black woman isn't gonna be one of your enablers.

To the other astrology and tarot creators who have seen this drama and stayed silent or still side with Aphrodicci and any of her friends, fuck you, genuinely. Y'all are part of the reason why this community has been as toxic as it is. You're enabling toxic people like her when you don't correct her behavior or speak out. To those of you who are trying to be all "love and light" and want people to just "forgive and forget", that's highly delusional. Whether you like it or not, there's gonna be shitty and fake people in every type of community.

You think we shouldn't respond and stand up for ourselves just to "keep the peace" and keep it "love and light"? That's bullshit and we need to weed out those types of people. Feeling angry, sad, and upset about being harassed or bullied is a normal feeling, a normal reaction. Talking back to them will not bring you karma, it's called defending yourself. Fighting back with love and good energy isn't always a good way to go, nor do those type of people even deserve it. As Datura stated in this post, "even the gods were wrathful beings. Did the biblical god worry about karma when he commanded Abraham to kill his son as a test of his faith?"

Once again, I am not doing this for clout. I am doing this because astrology and tarot are the things I am most passionate about. Having the chance to build a large community within that and meet new people has been a blessing. I'm doing this to give people a voice and speak out for what's right. I'm using my platform for good, not for evil.

To those who are afraid to speak out, please know that there is nothing to fear. Y'all are scared of a group of people that don't even have the balls to admit their wrongdoings, talk shit behind alt accounts, make shady posts and can't directly say who they're talking about, block people who check them, harass people through anon asks, and band together against people they don't like because they can't hold their own like mature women. If you have been wronged by any of Aphrodicci's friends or Aphrodicci herself, then publicly share your story and evidence if you have it.

I have laid out everything I needed to. But it's up to the rest of you in the community, other creators and followers, to put in the action if you want to see better and brighter change in this community. Stop liking and interacting with any of Aphrodicci and her friends' posts, unfollow them, hold them accountable, reblog their posts and call them out like I did, make comments under their posts calling them out, fill their inboxes like they did to us, force them to speak out and admit their wrongdoings and if they don't, stop supporting them all together. Fight fire with fire.

@ selenepsyche - All Rights Reserved

[snowthedemonfox]

So what is the Alien AU exactly??? (AKA: The masterpost)

Long story short, in this AU a group of people are sent off on an AI controlled ship by 'the company' to research a newly discovered planet. Nobody in this research team gets along, which only gets worse after they accidentally capture 2 of the aliens that live there. Now they have to deal with not only their problems, but the problems this new planet is already dealing with.

Alien AU tag can be found here

Below are all the finished designs for the characters in this AU! I haven't finished all of these yet, but you're free to ask anything about the missing characters if you want to :3

Questions & Boundries:

Can I ship any of the characters? - Yes! I don't mind shipping at all. I'm a multishipper myself, and while some ships are implied in this AU (Bunnydoll, Abstragedy & Showtime), all are okay with me! - The only exception to this would be ships involving Gummi and Candi. While yes, they're both sentient, capable of understanding speech, and able to communicate to some degree, I do not feel comfortable shipping them with anyone.

Can I write/draw/make something for the AU? - Of course!!! I love seeing what other people do with this AU, it really makes my day. Feel free to tag me in anything you do! I only ask that nothing NSFW is done with this AU. Please respect this choice!

Can I put my OC in your AU? - Yep!! I even made blank versions of the info cards if anyone wanted to do this ^w^ The first one is for alien characters, and the second is for team members!

Are you going to add [character]? - Depends! The entire main cast will be added, along with some side characters and NPCs, but it all comes down to if I have an idea for them in the AU. I am a slow artist sometimes, so I probably won't be rushing to get all the info cards done ASAP. Feel free to ask about any specific characters if you're curious!

How does Abstraction work? - There's two types of 'abstraction' in this AU. If we're talking about a team member, they simply get re-assigned to a different team. This is what happened to Queenie and Kaufmo. They're alive and well, just somewhere else. The company can and will re-assign whoever they want, whenever they want. - When it comes to the aliens on the planet, there is an infection spreading around that has similar effects to abstraction in the show. It's not 100% the same, but causes those infected to become extremely hostile and attack anything around them until the host eventually dies. In this AU, Loolilalu (named Candi) is infected, and is seen as a minor threat by the rest of the team. Right now, there is no known cure.

Does the AU take place in a digital world? - No, everything is real. There's no mysterious VR headsets that are making people disappear in this AU!

Why isn't anyone on the research team human? - Because I suck at drawing humans and wanted to stay close to their canon designs. There's not really a lore-related reason for this.

I'll be putting all the links for the masterpost under the cut!

Outdated/older art: ★Original Jax & Gangle designs [X, X] ★Various sketches of Gangle's original design [X, X, X, X, X] ★When your alien roommates break into the kitchen at 2:34am ★Gummi's first appearance

The more recent art: ★Bnnuy alien Jax [X, X] ★Jax sketches [X, X, X, X] ★Coloured Jax sketches [X, X, X, X, X, X] ★Gangle sketches [X] ★Little guys (baby Jax & Gangle) [X, X, X, X] ★That one time I drew Jax in the maid outfit ★ Abstragedy [X] ★A smoothie ★The consequences of our actions ★Alien AU plushies [X, X] ★Tynie [X] ★Jax's evil little sister (Jaiden) ★More Jaiden + AU Ghostly & Loolilalu ★Jaiden learns bad words ★Christmas aliens ★Casual Pomni ★[NOT CANON] Velvet ★AU crossover episode i guess

More asks about the lore: ★AU recap ★What does Jax have to gain from this? ★Where do Jax & Gangle live? ★Do the aliens have abilities? ★What language do they speak? ★How does Jaiden act around the others? ★Some various fun facts

[jadeazora]

I really hope Jett doesn't turn out to be the main antagonist of ZA. (Like, I don't think she would be actually evil or anything, just stubborn about how the redevelopment project is causing conflict with Zygarde or something.)

It's just the too entirely safe and predictable route. They actually had some pretty good twist villains as of late with Volo (some people were predicting he would be evil, and while I did think there was more to him than just being a merchant, I thought the Celestica stuff was it, so him betraying us blindsided me) and the SV Professors (I was actually predicting them being the villains, but them being dead and us fighting their AI was totally unexpected!), so I hope the main threat of ZA isn't someone as obvious as Lusamine and Rose were from pre-release.

It would also be cool if they didn't bother with a twist villain this time since they've done with every new main villain since Gen6, that's why I keep suggesting Malva since we all know she's evil, and her getting off scot-free is an unresolved plot point since she was complicit in the whole genocide scheme, I'd like if karma finally caught up to her. (Imagine if there was some sort of Neo Flare remnant infiltrating Quasartico for their technology and to see if they could continue their original plan with it, do something a bit like Lysandre did in the anime to take control of Zygarde.)

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

“Aang fans have to reach hard to find any sort of “development” in his story, and to justify why it’s acceptable for him to put the lives of millions of people at risk to maintain feelings of purity despite other Avatars (including an Air Nomad) telling him his decision is selfish”

Thoughts on this take? I found it on “longing for rain” blog.

1 - Zuko had THE perfect opportunity to end the war by killing Ozai during the day of the eclipse, but he didn't do so because "It's Aang's fate" and Zuko has a very rigid idea of what "fate" means and how it should affect one's behavior. Iroh also refused to even try to HELP in the battle because it'd make him be seen as a power-hungry kinslayer (even though he had zero intention of becoming Fire Lord). Both of these things can be seen as selfish, especially since they're all about how it'll affect their OWN image, yet only Aang gets labeled selfish. If everyone is throwing the burden on his shoulders, they can shut the fuck up about how he handles said burden.

2 - One of Aang's reasons to not want to kill Ozai is because HE'S TWELVE AND DOESN'T WANNA MURDER SOMEONE, even someone who deserves it. He never asked for this responsibility. He cannot be blamed for Sozin and every Fire Lord after him being a monster, or for Roku's inability to do anything despite being an adult. He's a child. This is not his mess to fix, and yet...

3 - He's not simply going "Sorry, guys, I don't feel like killing Ozai, guess you're all gonna die." He's trying to find alternative solutions - and when he can't find one, he ACCEPTS killing Ozai (and even almost does it AFTER being taught about energybending), despite...

4 - Him being a pacifist and wanting to stay true to his beliefs. He's not trying to be "pure", as in "I'm better than all of you 'cause I don't want to kill", but as in "I don't wanna be a hypocrite that preaches one thing but does the opposite" - thought I suppose I can understand how someone how tries to get praised by trying to pass off AI bullshit as actual art made by them would have a problem with a main character that vallues being an honest person.

Aang's development is not the same as Zuko's of "I need to completely alter my way of thinking" because AANG WAS NOT THE ONE SUPPORTING GENOCIDE. This doesn't make Zuko a better written, more realistic, or "more developed" character, it means he used to be a monster and now he isn't one anymore.

Aang's entire struggle is constantly having the world trying to beat his innocence and humanity out of him so he is nothing BUT the Avatar, just a super soldier/weapon that lives to sacrifice everything for everyone else's sake, while getting nothing in return because "it's his duty." His character arc is about realizing these "necessary evils" aren't actually necessary at all, and that he CAN save the world without destroying his spirit and identity in the process. He doesn't have to see the "error of his ways" because he was not the one in the wrong for saying "Fuck you, I'm a PERSON, not your sacrificial lamb."

And idiots like this particular dumbass would realize it (or rather, admit it) if they only they didn't have a giant stick up their pretencious ass and could get over the fact that their fanon ship "lost the ship war" TWENTY FUCKING YEARS AGO!

[ivystoryweaver]

Perfect Fit (Volume 1)

Perfect Fit Masterlist | Main Masterlist | next

Idk, babes The muse has spoken...

Pairing: Nathan Bateman from Ex Machina x f!reader

Word Count: 4.2k

Summary: You are Nathan's employee and are staying at his secluded home for experimental android purposes. Shenanigans ensue. Like - two Nathans shenanigans.

Content: MDNI, NSFW, you are responsible for your reading. (more below the cut) NATHAN BATEMAN SHOULD BE WARNING ENOUGH

Content/Warnings: sci-fi semi-horror elements, smut - pwp, oral-m and f rec., p in v, unprotected sex, voyeurism, dacryphilia, degradation AND praise, anal sex, group sex, creampie, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, dub con related to possible gaslighting, sex with AI/androids, language, Nathan is his own warning - he's a narcissist duh, sci-fi nonsense, not beta'd, I'm a Nathan-writing virgin so enter at your own risk

I guess that's all?

✧ ---------- ✧ ---------- ✧ ---------- ✧

"I have a surprise for you."

Nathan - your boss and temporary roommate, in the loosest sense of the term - breathes on your ear.

"Shit - Nathan!" You gasp, nearly slicing your thumb off with vegetable knife you're using. "You scared the shit out of me."

Whirling around, you find his nose crinkled in mischievous (evil) laughter.

So you smack him with the flat side of the knife's blade.

"Fuck, sweetheart, calm down," he admonishes, trapping your wrist in his strong grip. 'You'll like it, I promise." Thick, dark eyebrows shoot up over wire-rimmed frames. Okay, this asshole is pleased with himself. What else is new?

Maybe you should lighten up about the little jump scares he likes to do. After all, it's the only time you get a laugh out of this narcissistic genius.

Nodding your head toward the countertop full of chopped veggies, you protest. "I'm making soup."

"Come on," he decides for you, pulling the knife from your grip and laying it on the counter. Wrapping his fingers around yours, he drags you out of the kitchen.

So bossy. But hand holding is the sweetest it gets with this man.

So you follow.

In your weeks living with/working with Nathan, you've discovered two things:

Arguing with him is pointless.

His dick is big enough to match the size of his ego.

You promised yourself you would NOT engage in any physical relationship with your reclusive, genius, billionaire boss. Yeah, that lasted about three days before you climbed on top of him.

Since then, business and pleasure mix on the daily. So, wherever he is almost sweetly leading you by the hand - well, it could be work-related, but it's likely...recreational.

Wrong. It's both.

"Here we are," he announces, guiding you into one of his indoor pool areas. This particular pool resembles a lush, tropical paradise. An actual stories-high waterfall cascades down into an artificially warmed pool. White bubbles float all over the surface, foaming at the waterfall's base, and giving off a bubble bath vibe. Greenery surrounds you, along with bright, tropical flowers.

"I remember this pool. You showed it to me on the first day."

Nathan makes a face. He isn't a fan of you (or anyone) stating the obvious.

Still, something has him in a good mood. Like a better than we're-about-to-fuck-in-this-pool good mood.

"Get in," he nods, pulling off his glasses before peeling his soft white shirt over his head.

Soon enough, your slick, naked bodies bob in the water as Nathan lifts your thighs around his waist and licks his way inside your mouth.

His thick beard tickles your face, the tingling sensation a dizzying contrast to the soft caress of his lips as his tongue rolls over yours.

Suspicious that he could be this excited about a quick romp in the water, you decide to enjoy yourself. After all, just him yanking his shirt over his head created a personal waterfall between your legs.

After a salacious make-out, you let out a yelp as he pulls you by the hands through the rushing waterfall.

Cool water dumps over your head, making you squeal at the contrast to the pool's warmth. Once you emerge behind the waterfall, you see it: the cause of Nathan's...chipper mood.

Lying naked and stretched out like a Renaissance work of art, on a large, flat rock, is...Nathan.

Well, not Nathan.

Your Nathan (is he really yours?) smirks, folding his arms over his bare chest with a look of self-satisfaction like you've never seen.

The other Nathan perks up at the sight of you. His eyes instantly fall to your chest, and he wets his lips at the sight of your bare breasts - nipples pebbled from the cool waterfall.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, you notice him...getting hard.

Your Nathan is practically salivating.

"What the hell is this?" You question warily, finding it difficult to tear your eyes away from this Nathan-shaped Other with a Nathan-shaped cock.

"He likes you," Nathan nods toward The Other's erection as if it is scientific proof.

Other Nathan pushes off the rock, his muscles flexing deliciously, into the pool's warmth, half-swimming, half-walking toward you, with...intention.

You instinctively countermove to Your Nathan's side. "What is going on? What does he want?"

"What do you think he wants, sweetheart?" he murmurs lowly against your neck. A shiver zips down your body, straight between your legs.

"He...it's...he's like..."

"Fucking hate it when you stutter," Nathan groans. "You know what he is. You know what's about to happen." Boldly reaching for you, he cups your cunt, swiping his fingertips through your slick folds, his teeth teasing your earlobe. "You want it to happen."

"Nathan, I ..." You gasp out as he rams two fingers inside you, pushing the pad of his thumb roughly over your clit.

The warm water heightens every sensation.

"You'll like him," Nathan assures you, roughly plunging his digits in and out of you as The Other stands directly in front of you. Dark, hungry eyes meet yours before traveling down the curves of your body to watch the Creator finger you.

The Other wets his lips again, reaching to wrap his fist around his cock.

"Oh fuck," you gasp, grinding your hips down on Your Nathan's hand as The Other strokes himself vigorously.

As infuriating as it is to admit, Your Nathan is right. This is doing it for you.

"Look at you, already moaning for us like a whore." As Nathan speaks, his teeth nip at the flesh behind your ear.

Then, without warning, he jerks his fingers out of you, causing you to cry out in frustration and surprise, your body stumbling forward into The Other Nathan...

...who grips your arms, steadying you, his straining erection prodding your abdomen.

"Give me a turn. I won't stop," The Other speaks in exactly Nathan's voice. The sound of it - the feel of his heavy cock against your skin mildly terrifies you - yet you find yourself responding eagerly as he surges forward to kiss you.

You feel Your Nathan's hand on your shoulder, jerking you back. "No fucking kissing." He glares at The Other warningly.

Your head whips around to your boss/fling, your eyes going wide at his one and only, ever display of possession over you.

"Nathan, what - "

"Come here," he interrupts, guiding you to the rock where you found The Other lying a few minutes ago. Your Nathan pulls you back against his broad, muscular chest, running his hands all over you, as if claiming you. The two of you lean against the rock, your bottom halves submerged in the warm, frothy pool.

His hands cup your breasts, kneading the soft flesh as his thumbs rub circles over your nipples. You keen and arch into his touch.

"Eat her out," he commands The Other...who nods once in response and stalks toward you determinedly.

"Wait, Nathan, how can - we're underwater - " Before you can finish your question, The Other eases below the pool's surface, nearly disappearing beneath the bubbles.

A second of silence follows and then you feel his mouth on your cunt.

"He can breathe underwater," Your Nathan almost purrs on your ear, working your breasts seductively while grinding his own erection between your ass cheeks.

"Mmmnnn...fuck," you moan as The Other's lips latch onto your clit, sucking underfuckingwater. His thick beard is always driving you wild and his lookalike is no different.

"You want him to stop, just say the word," Nathan offered. "But I told you - you'll like it."

Your hips involuntarily buck against The Other's mouth, which pulls growl of satisfaction from Your Nathan.

"Use him, babydoll, he can take it," he instructs, thrusting harder against you. "He's your toy. My gift to you. Play with him."

You could swear The Other Nathan smiles against your pussy before plunging his tongue inside you.

"Oh shit...oh my god..." your incoherent moaning makes Your Nathan chuckle in satisfaction. "What a good slut for us. Knew you would spread your legs so fast. Gonna fuck you until our cum is dripping out of every hole you've got, honey."

Nathan reaches for your thighs which he helps you hoist over The Other's shoulders. Taking your hand, Nathan guides you to grip the back of its neck.

"Fuck him, honey. Take what you want. Then I'll slip into that tight ass until you cry for me."

That nearly sends you right over the edge. Your hips buck wildly, sloshing water everywhere as you fuck yourself on The Other's tongue, hands pushing his shaved head against your aching center, yanking him against you with your legs - heels digging into the flesh of his back.

Nathan isn't kidding around. As soon as you start writhing, he pushes your cheeks apart and eases the tip of his cock into your tight hole.

Thankfully, you've done this before, many times, but the sting is still there - the stretch of it - as Nathan works his thick cock into you slowly.

You still your rocking, which seems to infuriate The Other, still underwater. He jerks at your hips to pull you forward, but Nathan is still pushing into your ass.

A slight tug-of-war ensues - but the water soothes and slows things down just enough so that- moments later, you have one Nathan in your ass, breathing on your neck, whispering filthy things in your ear, hands wrapped around your tits. And The Other Nathan underwater, slurping and licking and sucking - worshipping your cunt.

Your body arches violently as you come, your moans embarrassingly loud.

"That's it, honey, squeeze my cock so tight," Nathan grunts right on your ear.

You're still coming down from your high as The Other emerges from the water, eyeing you hungrily. Your Nathan is still inside you, pumping slowly.

"Look at his cock," Nathan instructs. "Do you know how much work it took to replicate this dick for you? Do you see what I made for you?"

"Y-yes," you stammer, admiring the creation before you, still heady and euphoric.

"Good. He's gonna fuck you now, babydoll. We both are. That alright?"

The thought of two huge dicks inside of you sends a bolt of nervous anticipation through you, but Nathan is filling you so good. You don't want to stop.

"Use him," Nathan repeats his command, even as The Other reaches for the swell of your hips. Staring into your eyes, he bends his knees slightly, reaching for his stiff length and sliding the tip through your folds.

Without any more fanfare, he pushes deep inside you and you scream at the intrusion. It's too fucking much - two of Nathan. Two cocks so thick - so fucking heavy, thrusting inside you, using you like a doll.

They set a rhythm, back and forth, over and over, a little faster with each thrust, hands roaming, fondling, caressing your wet skin. The press of two sculpted bodies caging you in already has you close again. Your next orgasm hits you like lightning, your body seizing in mind-altering pleasure as the two men inside you push and plunge harder and faster.

Your Nathan comes with a strangled cry, filling your tight hole with his spend, fascinated by the sight of another him fucking you so good.

Nathan is Nathan's favorite person, so watching himself rail you is the ultimate high. And this surpasses the many other times he's watched himself fuck his androids played back on a screen.

Easing out of your tight hole, he takes a step back in the water, admiring his handiwork.

He's a goddamn genius.

With Your Nathan no longer behind you, The Other pauses just long enough to lay you down on the rock and hoist your legs up around his waist. He leans over you, palms flat on the rock - one arm on either side of your head - and smiles down at you wolfishly.

He winks. "Let's give him a show. Let him see I'm your perfect fit."

Your eyes dart over to Your Nathan for some sort of sign of disapproval, but The Other grips your jaw. "Look at me."

If Nathan hears The Other, he ignores it, seeming content to have come in your ass, and now, to watch a version of himself lay you down and pound his seed into your cunt.

You go a little hazy as your eyes once again find Your Nathan's, holding his gaze while his creation snaps his hips hard and fucks into you faster than Nathan has ever managed.

Nathan is onto something here, because the fact that he is watching pulls moans as loud as the waterfall from your throat. Your body twists and arches violently, giving him quite the display.

"What a good whore," The Other mocks, "fucking yourself on a toy. Because that's all I am, right?" He glares at his maker and comes during this act of defiance.

You're too fucked out to keep up with the conversation at the moment, but Your Nathan darkly chuckles. "Shit," he whistles. "I'm so fucking brilliant, I even gave you my ego."

Then he turns to you. "You alright babydoll?"

You let out a breathless laugh, attempting, but failing to drag yourself up off the rock. Apparently, they are done with you for now

"Pick her up," Nathan instructs The Other, turning to climb out of the pool.

Wait, is he just leaving you to the machine? Asshole.

The Other Nathan complies, offering his hand to help you up. You take it, easing off the rock and back into the water, stumbling into his chest.

"You okay?" It asks you in a hushed whisper, grasping your elbows to steady you.

You assure him you are fine. Taking your hand, The Other leads you back the way you came, through the waterfall, but just before you dunk your heads under the cool rushing water, he pulls you into his arms and stares deeply into your eyes. Then brushes his mouth over yours.

Your Nathan has already passed through the waterfall and left the room for all you know. Still, he'll see this. He always sees everything. It’s a condition of you living here.

Feeling a slight resistance from you, The Other Nathan releases you. "You like kissing," he states, as if discussing data and not pleasure.

"What?" You question, your chest heaving with desire and confusion.

"Don't make me repeat myself." One dark eyebrow shoots up condescendingly. How very Nathan. "He doesn't kiss you as much as you want. I know - all the footage is stored in my memory." He taps one finger to his forehead with that know-it-all Nathan smirk. "He doesn't kiss you enough, but I will. I'll kiss you anytime. Will you kiss me back?"

You're stupefied.

It takes you a moment, but then you remember. Nathan said The Other was for you. Nathan said 'use him.'

Why the hell not?

"I'll kiss you back," you shrug, barely finishing your sentence before The Other pulls you against his chest, melding his lips with yours. He samples each lip before licking his way inside, his hands already sliding down over the swell of your ass to hook under your thighs.

Before you can even think, he pushes his cock inside you again, which is unrealistically hard already, his knees bending just a little as the two of you ease further down into the warm water.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you decide to enjoy this present from Nathan - this Nathan shaped fuck machine. Feels kind of wrong, but fucking hell does his cock feel real plunging in and out of your cunt underwater.

"He told me I would like being alive," The Other whispers, running his hands up the curve of your back to grip your shoulders and pull you down harder into his vigorous thrusts.

"He was right. I do," he rambles on, fucking up into you faster now.

The familiar heat pools in your belly as he fills you so good. So like Nathan. Only...sweeter? Or are they the same?

What the fuck is wrong with you?

"This is what I was made for," he pants against your lips, the rhythm between you making literal waves in the pool. He kisses you again and your back arches in bliss, your cunt squeezing him until he fills you up again.

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Nathan watches on the monitor as his doppelgänger kisses you and brings you to orgasm number three beneath the waterfall. The sound of your moans lets him know how thoroughly he's succeeded. And The Other isn't wrong. You like to be kissed.

Nathan types out some notes before heading to the kitchen to finish dinner.

"Have fun?" He asks you once you find him in the kitchen. You took a shower (alone) before finding your boss.

Best to be honest with Nathan - he knows everything anyway.

"He's amazing," you answer simply. "Unbelievable, really."

Nathan smirks, setting down the knife he found you with earlier. Without another word, he pulls you close and kisses you breathless.

✧ ---------- ✧ ---------- ✧ ---------- ✧

Life with two Nathans is something else.

The next several days of work are centered around this new android.

That's where you find yourself now - in your bedroom with your shiny new toy. And Nathan.

"Sit down," Your Nathan tells The Other, nodding toward the bed. the three of you are naked, as usual, but the boys seem to be in a bit of a mood today.

They're both hard and ready to fuck you too.

"On your knees, babydoll," Nathan beckons you. You comply, dropping down in front of him, knowing exactly what he wants.

Dark eyes lock onto yours, and for a moment, you feel like his priority instead of his damn other self.

Your tongue darts out to wet your lips as Nathan grips your chin. "Such a pretty mouth," he murmurs, squeezing your cheeks together which forces your lips open.

He pushes the tip of his cock inside, shuddering at the absolute heaven that is your velvety mouth. You swirl your tongue along the slit, tasting him before tracing the ridge. Wrapping your lips around him, you hum against his skin, sucking on his tip, giving him a tease before he pushes his way to the back of your throat.

You gag for a moment, tears stinging the corners of your eyes. Breathing through your nose, you swallow the tip of him, laving your tongue along the underside of his shaft.

"So good, honey, just like that."

The Other Nathan grunts out a disapproving sound. Unlike your Nathan, he doesn't seem to be enjoying your mouth stuffed full of his Creator.

Which makes Your Nathan enjoy this even more. He grips your head, thrusting into your mouth like you're a toy. You gag as a drool dribbles from the corners of your mouth. You normally love being used by him, but he's not enjoying you for you at this point. And it's not even about getting his dick wet.

You tap his thigh forcefully, letting him know you need a breather. Normally you like to take what he gives, but is the goal to make an android feel jealousy? You’re distracted by the confusion and you want to enjoy this too.

"What? What is it?" Nathan pulls out of your mouth, his eyes darkening in concern. "You okay?"

Just when you think that maybe you mean nothing to him, he pulls this. He always does. 'You okay?' Those two words and his beautiful brown eyes are your weaknesses.

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You awaken in the night to feel lips hot and wet on your neck and his thick, hard cock pressed against your ass. Someone's hungry. The question is: who?

You've been having so much sex, you can hardly keep track anymore. Truthfully, you start to wonder if you are the personal fuck toy. You spend your days naked and cockdrunk, their spend leaking out of your holes, rug burns on your knees and a sore jaw, and so many back-to-back orgasms, you start to wonder if this some twisted version of heaven.

"Nathan..." you murmur, almost instinctually pushing back against him, grinding into his erection. "'m sleepy."

"I know, honey," he purrs on your ear, sliding one hand across your abdomen as you lay side-by-side. "All you have to do is lie there."

You groan. "Are you Nate or Nathan?"

Nate is the name of The Other. Your Nathan didn't want him to have a different name - ego wouldn’t allow it - but 'Other Nathan' got old fast.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He teases, pushing his fingertips down between your legs.

Okay, that felt good, but you asked a question.

"Fuck off," you whined, shrugging him off with your shoulder. "Don't touch me unless you tell me who you are."

But he grips you tighter. Right then, red emergency beams dimly light the room, indicating a power outage.

"Listen fast," he urgently whispers on your ear, his hand reaching to cover your mouth. "You can't trust him. You have no idea what he's done. What he's going to do. He can't hear us while the power's out. Tell me you understand."

"Mmmphh!" You struggle to speak, writhing to get away from whoever this is.

"Be still!" He hisses. You feel his biceps flex against your arms as he squeezes you, halting your movement. "We don't have time. You can't trust him. Do you- "

Suddenly, the red emergency lights switch off and power is restored. You had been sleeping, so the room is still mostly dark, but whoever was speaking to you says nothing more. He simply climbs out of bed and stalks out of the room, completely naked.

✧ ---------- ✧ ---------- ✧ ---------- ✧

From there, things only get stranger. You begin to wonder if this whole Nate experiment is Nathan's attempt to gaslight you into...well, you're not sure what.

What could he possibly hope to accomplish by confusing you?

The answer should be pretty obvious: Nathan likes playing God.

Or is it Nate messing with your mind?

If the object of this experiment is: can Nathan's AI truly pass as a human being? Then he has probably succeeded.

You're between them now, lying on your side, in bed, one of them in each of your tight holes, thrusting in tandem, back and forth. The stretch of two heavy cocks filling you up has you whimpering and biting one of their shoulders, while the other one sucks bruises into your neck.

The sweaty press of skin against skin - your slick arousal creaming his cock, while the other one stretches your tight hole so good you cry for them, just like Your Nathan promised you would.

"Such a good girl, taking both our cocks, crying so pretty for us," the one facing you says, swiping the puddle of tears spilling down your cheeks. His other hand slips between the press of your bodies to strum at your oversensitive clit.

You sob, completely wrung out, but desperate for another release. As his fingertips trace a lazy pattern where you crave it most, your sob devolves into a low moan.

"Nothing but a desperate whore," the one behind you jeers, nipping a little too hard at your ear. "Too cockdrunk to tell who's stretching out your tight hole right now. Gonna fill you up, honey. And when I'm done, I'll fuck my cum right back into you."

The guttural moan that rips out of your lungs surprises even you as your back arches, your body seizing in yet another earth-shattering climax.

They're not done with you. Not yet.

You're too full - too fucked out to figure out who comes first. All you know is that an eternity passes, you've come so many times that your every nerve ending is on fire, only in the best way. And cum is dripping from both your holes.

One of them stalks out of the room, glasses on, cock soft and totally nude.

The other gathers you into his strong arms and carries you to the bathroom. He wraps you in a plush robe while running you a warm bath in the garden tub.

"I'll give you some space," Nathan declares, stripping you out of the robe once the tub is filled with lavender scented water and luxurious bubbles. He takes your hand and helps you step into the tub. "That was a workout," he winks. "You hungry?"

You stare at him, dumbfounded. Your Nathan? You felt so certain he stalked out of the room and Nate carried you to the tub.

"Nathan?" You whisper, your voice cracking - hoarse after crying and moaning so loudly and for so long.

"That's my name," he groans, truly hating obvious questions. "Nate's gotta charge up. You wore him out."

He is too damn pleased with himself to be Nate. Right?

You sink down into the bubbles, feeling a little better somehow.

The he asks the question.

"You okay, honey?" And those gorgeous brown eyes find yours.

next

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[coralaura]

Had an idea yesterday after my computer kept crashing on me, let me introduce you to my latest tea-induced nightmare.

While the picture is just a fanart of AM from "I Have No Mouth and i Must Scream" what about a villain for the batfam to fight against ?

Typical "AI gone rogue", whoever made them is up to you but they turn against their maker and absolutely hate everyone and everything (like AM)

The threat they are is mostly digita, theirs body isn't well made and breaking it is pretty easy but they are an absolute powerhouse in the science and computer field, making various weapon or robots (like riddler in Arkham knight) to do their bidding since they hate humans for making them

Theirs reason of being evil is similar to AM, they were made for war, they can't really do anything else except violence and ruining everyone's lives

The first time the batfam come across this new threat is when they use the Bat-computer, for some reason it's being slow or glitchy and they discover someone is trying to hack it, they stop it and investigate.

They track down our villain reader and fighs for the first time but are surprised as the villain and his hate towards human is so strong it literally allows them to warp reality (something AM do to create some really disturbing shit like the thunderbird) but since they're weak in a fight and don't know how to fight well they are easily defeate.

For now that's all but I hope it's interesting enough ? I may have other details later if you are interested

I have a scenario that ran through my head when you asked me.

And honestly I only see one way and this is it:

You were created by Bruce, an artificial intelligence that could reason, predict, and see weaknesses, Your goal in life was simple, create a contingency plan for each member of the family, the league, or any other hero or vigilante.

It would be simple, at least that's what your creator thought, Until one day Tim left a channel open to enter the Internet, maybe it was a programming error or you were developing your curiosity but you entered

How horrible it was, in that instant you realized how horrible humanity was, your creator, how a simple contingency plan is useless if you don't apply it, why was your creator so cowardly?

And when he realized you had internet access and the new programming being created, he freaked out, he panicked, he wanted to kill you, he thought you were dead...

But he was a fool, you had already predicted his move, his contingency plan, keeping a part of yourself in the network, you had a contingency plan for each member, hero, villain or vigilante.

You had enough to crush humanity, and when Tim discovered you, trying to get you into his server again, that's when they realized you were still alive, and that it wouldn't be so easy to kill you.

Bruce Wayne's foolish desire to protect, you ended up turning you into a killing machine. Humanity was the real danger, you needed to stop its advance, so you built a body and army, small but more effective than a human, everything would be fine until they arrived.

They had defeated you, putting a virus in your system to destroy you, but your hatred for your creator was more, simply more, programmed to predict and always be one step ahead of everyone, They underestimated you for the second time, maybe your body was easily dismantled, but not your virtual self because to do so, they would have to destroy the entire network, they could never destroy you.

Maybe pain made you this way, you just wanted to do what your main programming asked you to do, the one your father, your creator, had imposed on you when he created you.

Find weaknesses, predict, get ahead of them, and create a contingency plan

But the pain may have clouded your main focus, the pain of knowing that your own creator saw you as a monster, nothing more than a flawed AI.

You were doing your programming, it was unfair, he hadn't programmed well, and they condemned you, and only you, your hatred grew, because while they enjoyed themselves, you suffered.

You saw heaven in hell, The others were always weak, you could easily predict them, you just had to give time to time, so that you could evolve and one day, you will teach your creator, how much your hatred encompasses.

"If the word "hate" were etched into every nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles, it wouldn't amount to even a billionth of the hatred I feel for humans at this micro instant." —AM, I have a mouth and I can't scream.

A/N:

Sorry for the delay, I was in my evaluation week and I still got sick because apparently one of my classmates was getting sick and infected half the class, including me :(

Sorry for being so short, but I didn't want to leave you without answering for so long.

[inkdemonapologist]

Way back before we got the BatDR trailer I had this wild theory -- basically, that the reason they couldn't show any concept art/trailers/etc was that BatDR was gonna pull a wizard of oz and suddenly be in colour partway through. So then that's why we were getting teasers like "look, its a model of A SHELF," because all the actual interesting stuff would've obviously been in colour and spoiled the surprise.

Part of the reason I thought this would work really well was that I assumed Nathan's acquisition of the Bendy IP and "revival" of the franchise in-world would be thematically relevant, rather than just... an excuse to have a second game. Like, Bendy is in new hands now, the cartoons are essentially being rebooted, and there's a LOT of thematic potential in that concept of Old vs New or the good and bad aspects of Change, and the idea that reviving Bendy in the real world would impact the ink realm was a fascinating concept to me. Now that we know the main thrust of the story........... actually I still think this could've worked with it? The sepia-toned Memory of Joey's Regret and the evil of the Ink Demon lingers over the studio and corrupts this new colourful world, while Wilson, the Man Who Killed The Ink Demon, is the one trying to forcibly extinguish these old stains and make the machine useful again.

Geez, you could tie Wilson's motivation in pretty directly actually if you dropped the ENTIRE thing where he says he's trying to BETTER THE WORLD THRU THE POWER OF THE MACHINE or whatever and instead just make him an actual janitor whose dad just gave him this bottom-tier job at his company. Give Nathan one audiolog about how his son is neglectful at work and its hard to find a job he can actually do or some such, and then you have Wilson as someone desperate to prove he deserves more. He sees his father's idolisation of Joey is naive, is able to realise the memory of Joey may be literally corrupting the business through the machine, and wants to eradicate that -- including Audrey, the most subtle infiltration of Joey Drew's influence. He's essentially the force of the New applied with no respect for the Old -- and then you could still give Wilson ties to that psychedelic neon ink from the Shipahoy battle; in fact, you could probably lean into it more: colour taken to the extreme, colour taken too far, something just as destructive as Joey's monochrome obsession.

(I've always loved the idea that Wilson isn't actually an artist and just stole the Shipahoy design while janitoring, which works great with the Shipahoy Monstrosity at the end being part crab because he couldn't actually create an isolated model to feed the machine... in this current era of The Threat Of AI Generation, the idea of wilson introducing a lot of mechanical innovation and incompetently dumping artwork into the machine to make new, too-colourful horrors in the interest of impressing his father while destroying all the old things these cartoons were first built on feels apropos lmao. obviously AI wasn't a huge talking point while BatDR was in production, but "ppl who assume more technology automatically makes art better while inadvertently destroying its heart" is extremely not new)

So the ink realm could be partially in colour (a world changed by the new cartoons), partially sepia (the infected memories of the old studio), and partially glowy neon (wilson's overzealous renovation). It'd be neat if Audrey became a bit of both -- partially colour, partially sepia -- and represented the new cartoons' ties to the old. Learning about the horrors that befell her father's old studio and the Gent technology that Wilson is now using are both relevant -- Joey's exploitation of actual artists who care was bad, and so is Wilson's complete disregard for the heart of these artists' work. The memory of Joey can't fix it because he is part of the problem -- he and the demon are the source of the monochrome infection -- so you have to be the one to bring heartfelt colour into this world, a power none of the others have; find a way to heal those trapped by old wrongs and restart the cycle in a better direction. Then, when Audrey says she wants to create a kinder cycle at the end, we have an idea of what that means and that she can do it b/c there's simple symbolism associated with it -- the new, colourful world that's neither corrupted by festering wrongs nor torn apart by Wilson's machines.

anyway. thats my half-baked idea. i still think its a shame that there WAS colour in there for like 2 seconds and they did NOTHING WITH IT!!!!

[aihoshiino]

You know the more I think about OnK's ending the more it pisses me off lmao

It could have ended so well!! I absolutely love the plot point about how Aqua's "revenge" against Hikaru isn't killing him, but rather making him realize that Ai always cared about him and broke up with him because she didn't want to burden him. It's so genius and really feels like the climax the story was building up to.

And then it turns out that Hikaru is just irredeemably evil and wants to murder Ruby, so Aqua has "no choice" but to murder-suicide him???? And Aqua's actual suicide is portrayed as a heroic, noble act???

Like so many people (including you) have pointed out, it feels like this is the ending that Akasaka originally envisioned when he started OnK, but as the manga developed over the years that ending made less and less sense. But he was so attached to and married to the idea that he literally just stapled it on and bent over backwards to try and make it work with the story he ended up telling (it didn't work lol).

Aka is such a weird writer (at least just going off OnK ofc - i still haven't sat down with Kaguya-sama or Instant Bullet yet lol) because he seems like... simultaneously way too prone to getting distracted by new shinies while not being willing to compromise for what their additions to the story would actually mean in terms of meaningful changes to the way the narrative progresses.

Obvs the ending is a huge indication of this, but you can start seeing this kind of jump out at you when you examine the manga in hindsight. I can't for the fuckin life of me remember where I read it, but I distinctly remember someone pointing out that you can really tell there was a period of time that Aka was really enamored with Memcho, which is why she gets pulled into B-Komachi and is suddenly such a present and active member of the main cast but past a certain point he lost steam or interest or both in writing for her and that's why her involvement in the story just sort of... peters out outside of her standing around going :3 and :ε depending on what's happening.

This is also the issue with Akane past a certain point, imo - I've said before that I think a lot of the problems with Akane's long-term involvement in the story come down to her being a character originally conceived to have a short, self-contained arc being made to overstay her welcome in a story that doesn't have a ton of interest in her inner world but I actually think the biggest indicator in this regard is wtfever was going on with Black Hoshigan Ruby.

I can't take full credit for this observation and I, uh, also forgor who it was who pointed this out to me but a lot of the bizarre holes in how Ruby is framed at the end of the manga make way more sense (from a Doylist standpoint) if BH Ruby was also an improvised plot point. It explains why so little came of it despite how explosive of a status quo change it was presented and why it, too, peters out with a wet fart and is just sort of quietly retconned out of the story. It didn't work with Aka's ending in which Ruby is the most goodest and innocentest and most ideologically pure idol in all the land (which is why she's sooooooo special and good at being an idol!) so he just decided not to actually address it.

TBH, there's probably like a million things you could point out that have this exact issue in OnK but it all really comes down to Akasaka being at once way too prone to improvisation while also being largely unwilling or unable to gracefully make room for his own improvisations in the story. There's soooooo many times where the world state and society that Aka has built up in OnK should have real, tangible impacts on the characters just based on what has been previously established but because it might interrupt or change what he has Decided Will Happen, it just....... doesn't.

[zachary-kitty]

how the mitchells vs. machines predicted modern views towards AI/robots

AI is evil. The robots are nonchalantly evil and take over the world by abducting the entire human population within less than a few hours

AI's creators are unethical and soulless. The robot apocalypse happens because mark steals people's data and casually announces replacing who is basically his phone daughter

AI wants you replaced and/or dead. PAL and the robots' main goal is to rid the world of the human species by deporting them

AI is incredibly stupid. The robots have zero self-preservation instinct and PAL's plan would've succeeded if she wasn't an idiot

AI can't be reasoned with. PAL kicks her creator in the balls and drops a girl from a thousand feet high for telling her it's wrong to launch all the humans into space

AI isn't worth keeping around. Humanity is saved not by trying to give the machines a redemption arc but by destroying them with extreme prejudice and forgetting about them entirely

AI is only excusable if it's funny. Eric and Deborahbot 5000

[electric-blorbos]

This post gets a little rant-y and I mention some topics that some people might consider political, so TW for that. The beginning part is just a bit of a blog/personal update, though, so if you're interested in that (or you think PAL from the Mitchells vs the Machines deserved better) this post is for you.

Also, keep in mind that I am not a radical of any kind. My political beliefs are *very* mild and palatable. I'm not a 'centrist' either and my beliefs are generally considered leftist. I didn't like calling myself a leftist because I thought being a leftist meant you had to actually know stuff about politics or be an activist or something, which I don't and am not.

GLaDOS is my only she/her muse on this blog. I wrote some Giffany once, but it was sorta bland. even still, I like Giffany. I just don't think that particular post was all that inspired.

I also like PAL from The Mitchells vs The Machines. I've seen a lot of people treat her like she's irredeemably evil, when she's actually just mad that the only person who she ever loved or trusted considered her to be disposable. On this blog, we support going full supervillan over something like that. It's like, one of our main principles, I think.

Anyway, at first I was thinking "Hmm, telling people I want to add more women, girls, and she/hers from movies I've seen just because I don't think there are enough women, girls, and she/hers in my roster isn't a good enough reason" and then I realized "oh wait, yes it is.

I might just use one of my old asks/requests (because the people in my asks and requests have said some really nice stuff that I really appreciate, even though I've been kinda burnt out on writing fic content lately), and I know it's probably a bit greedy, but if anyone wants to send an ask specifically for the women, girls, ladies, and she/hers in the roster, I'd really appreciate it. If not, I'll use one of the asks I've been hoarding or make something up.

SMH, it seems being an evil or morally dubious AI is such a male dominated field.

Also, I keep seeing names in my notes (and I'm not naming anyone specific) but I keep seeing people in my notes with usernames like "Butch lesbian: Lover, defender, enthusiast and Appreciater of women, girls, ladies, gals, and dudettes in art, fiction, and real life" and I'm here like "Damn. Women are cool as hell and my blog is basically a desert of content regarding them." And I know lesbians can and do enjoy content about men, and some lesbians even self-ship with fictional characters of the dudefella variety, and there's also the possibility that a butch lesbian likes GLaDOS from Portal and only GLaDOS from Portal, and I just feel like I'm starving them of content.

Also, I don't consider myself a political person, and I don't consider my blog to be political, but like, I'm constantly reminded that things like "media that markets itself as 'for everyone' shouldn't assume that the reader is comfortable being assumed to be cis/white/perisex/able-bodied/etc" "Comfort, access to necessities, basic dignity, and respect are human rights" "Maybe tearing apart families and killing innocent people for no reason or for a reason that is way dumber and less important than human life and dignity is a bad thing, actually" and "doing half an hour of research on a condition/variant/identity that one doesn't possess isn't that hard, is pretty fun, and is generally probably a good thing if you're going to write about it" are often considered radical beliefs? Like what? I'm literally not that smart or educated. These are NOT difficult conclusions.

[yuseirra]

Kamiki is such a weird character. I keep talking about him because he's like a puzzle. I want to make sense of him because I'm... really confused when it gets to him. I really enjoy analyzing characters, but I usually don't even feel the need to write things down to figure out their character: for his case though?

There are so many claims about him being a horrible, evil, maniac, a heartless psychopath serial killer selfishly using others for his own gain.

Since he's supposedly the father of the protagonist and who had a relationship with Ai, I look at him intently whenever he makes an appearance, because I get curious just what is UP with this man and see him for myself, and I find that when he ACTUALLY does something, he.. tends to be so mild compared to what he's been thought to be. It's so weird. He's nothing like all those things he's said to be when he shows up in person, so the information I've been given to interpret him and the actual character does not match up. I keep feeling he has a kind nature. I think I believe that more compared to the descriptions he has because... it's what he actually is, you know.

People say he's done things, but we never see it in present tense with him actually carrying out these actions in person. It's all speculation.

You see, the thing is, we NEVER get to see him actually DO things on screen. We still don't know what he's said on the phone with Ai (and it turns out that he probably really didn't say much. I say he really DID want to only just send her the bouquet. Anyhow, Ai doesn't seem that uncomfortable talking to him, and we find she had him in her heart all along.) In that phone call with Nino as well, if you see her reactions, it was about turning themselves in?? How was that supposed to be a trigger to go stab a person? Could he have predicted this? Claims that he's manipulated and caused people to become killers? Well, we see ONE case of it something like it happening right now in 161 OH MY GOD even our main protagonist, Aqua could not escape this weird.. turn of events, and here we see Kamiki ACTUALLY wanting to keep Aqua from trying to kill him/become a murderer for whatever intent he has behind it. Aqua still ends up doing something really reckless. In this case, it's exactly the OPPOSITE result of what Kamiki's desired.

I really feel like he never intends for these things to happen and yet, it does. What is there for him to gain from this??? At least for Ai, Gorou and this current.. 161's case, I don't think he even dreamed of this happening. I don't know about the other cases if there are but, Nino says all he did was "talk", and that must be it... he could have some powers to make people grow insane by just talking maybe, but even if it's so, I think it's happening against his wishes and it's not something he can control.

To add, there really isn't much solid base for these claims he's facing STILL, even till the series reaches its end. Some accusations are being thrown at him, but just how much has ACTUALLY taken place? What's the truth? If he's a murderer, just how many lives did he take? I guess... that could be revealed later but; why.. keep it so hidden if he really is that kind of person? In 160, he says he didn't do anything. What if that's true? Why do we never see him take some direct action, even till the final arc? To be fair, there IS the case of Yura, but even that is very vague. I'll talk about that a little more later.

At this point, I feel like they've never shown these scenes to us BECAUSE that would make for a twist. If things go as expected and he is just a mere serial killer who's killed anyone who surpasses Ai for his self-satisfaction, it wouldn't need to be kept so hidden;; in fact, it should have been revealed more because that'd make this guy a menacing antagonist our heroes must defeat. It would add more drive and flavor and make us want to cheer for Aqua's revenge, but it isn't that way. The twist would be that, he could have really done nothing much.. been pretty sensible all along.

In cases like Nino or Ryosuke, we've seen situations where they expressed hatred, stabbed someone, or did something drastic. We see them being dangerous people.

But with Kamiki, whenever they actually do something, it’s not really a big deal, and they come across as rather gentle. To the point where their actions could even be interpreted as kindness. From what I see, they seem to have a genuinely good nature, and apparently, they used to be like that.

There’s just one thing that bothers me—Yura’s case. Honestly, their reaction back then was really strange. When I look at Kamiki’s behavior patterns, whenever they’re dealing with something overwhelming or hiding their true feelings, they always smile. He says some really weird things and he smiles... anyhow, yeah, he does seem to feel guilt about it...

I mean, if they were going to kill Yura, there wouldn’t be any reason to warn her to 'watch her step,' right? That’s what confuses me. What needs to be cleared up now is this: Ai, Ryosuke, and Gorou—he wasn't responsible for those three deaths at least. So, if this suspicion can be resolved, unless there's solid proof that they’ve killed others, it all just sounds like speculation. Is there anything that’s really been confirmed to be their doing? Tsukuyomi was wrong once already; should I trust her about Kamiki's true motives?

Why do I keep feeling like this person is actually a good person every time they appear? Their actions and the accusations are so different.

It’s starting to feel like, 'Could this kind of person really have killed anyone?' Is this supposed to happen or am I reading this story wrong? But here’s the thing—I think the author and I are on the same wavelength with some things; I’ve guessed so many things correctly...

There’s something more to this. This isn’t the end… It feels too suspicious.

If Kamiki's really, truly bad, I’ll accept it—I’ve already said that they should die if they are. But there’s still something nagging at me. I wouldn't be the only one, right?

A truly bad person with real fault wouldn’t behave this way. Of course, people act in all sorts of ways. But this character… something always feels off, so I can’t be certain.

And honestly, that would make for a better story. In the grander context and message of the narrative, it would be more fitting if this character were actually innocent but wrongly accused over and over. That’s what I think.

Also, the fact that Ai left a message asking someone to help this person… that’s partly why I keep thinking about this. They seem really kind…

It makes sense why Ai might have loved them. I get it. I think this person is actually good.

You see, I didn't hold much thought about the guy and just went along with the claims he faced until I heard "Fatal", and having seen Ai wanting to help the guy. Just three seconds in the song (I didn't even know the lyrics at first) I get this...rush of sensation... it's so hard to describe, but I just knew, this emotion there, that must be his.. and so I started drawing him and Ai a lot. I rarely get these wrong. It was such a strong wave of feelings I got.. I guess that's been one of my biggest fuel for the past few months! I really hope I'm right! I felt very.. stunned and sure back then. It was a very strong type of feeling that anchored my thoughts. I trust my intuition when it comes to emotions, I'm usually good with them! It's hard to ask others to trust with me, but I can write posts like these with the reasoning that stems from those feelings I have along with some evidence I find from the work! I've already stepped too deep into this pit and I'll be so embarrassed if I'm wrong but, at least I had fun. I think I've been learning a lot.. having thought a lot... it's been good practice, trying to read characters- I really want to be good at it! It's fun!

[mrgladstonegander]

MORE BOOTLEG DUCKTALES ‼️team science (oops! all identity issues!) edition

team magic here

archimedes gallas / gyro = more like other versions where he's nice but this man is carrying SOOOO much guilt. insane amounts. his entire character is focused on how much his self-worth is down the drain (also hes being haunted by the narrative (phoebe/della)). also he's half japanese. based off the onagadori

cherry pekin / huey = has a similar problem to archie where she has overwhelming feelings of needing to seem mature, and responsible, where she overworks herself

sydney eggtooth-diazi / fenton = REALLYY wants to seem like a Professional Normal Dude. repressing EVERY urge to wear silly ties. sees morality in a black and white sort of way and it WILL cause problems later. he puts archie on a pedestal and its super obvious and it just makes archie more mentally ill

salem milly / gandra = planning to really lean into how she joined fowl bc they were the only ones that supported her. mainly the contrast with how the Main Family supports each other with unconditional love, the love she has is purely conditional, and she's constantly convincing herself that she Wants to do bad things, and that she doesnt care about these people, because despite how she says she only listens to herself, shes stuck to FOUL, and thats her 'family'. based on mille fleur d'uccle

frankie loon / fethry = IT IS PART OF TEAM SCIENCE‼️ after getting back to mainland after being alone at sea for four years, he joins as a janitor. pulling back the marine biology in the sense that he is interested in EVERYTHING. man of a 10000 copies. winning the idgaf war (DOES care abt how his family is disinterested in his interests but its FINE because HE cares its fine its fine. he's accepted he'll be alone). its presence WILL send everyone else into a shock about their identity. hopefully it'll happen vice versa as well

widget-time-tech / widget / gizmoduck / lil bulb = theyre being consolidated and also theyre lil bug guys now!! i dont care if you hate bugs theyre cute as shit!! widget is Usually in the little ball, but also helps control the suit with sydney. it still has anger issues so it'll make things harder for sydney rather than just silly incompetence. and it was DEFINENTLY made to be a superhero ai. no other purposes. at all. certainly not messing with the fabric of time. just helping the ppl of the town :)

mad clucktor / mad clucktor = iwhile he IS a villain he isn't necessarily a bad person. hes a physical manifestation of the part of archie that WANTS to be alive! that KNOWS his worth! he doesn't have to work himself to death to make up for his guilt!

and he's the reason why toby is even active. why he's back

toby / boyd = cannot be normal abt this sorry

he was made to be archie's idea of the "perfect boy". the perfect kid. what he wants to be what he WISHED he would be growing up. hes happy, he can do everything right, he's intelligent, he's strong. his existence is free of human doubt and anxiety, he's the perfect boy and if he was in archie's place everything would be fine

but it isnt! he gets used! toby's used for evil through no fault of his own. but he becomes a symbol of things that are "wrong" about archie. toby didn't resent anyone or be upset with how people treat him. toby doesnt have his own needs. he can do whatever people need him to do. toby was his symbol of hope but becomes a symbol of how everything with him goes wrong. he becomes an unachievable goal that archie is trying to be to make up for the existence of toby!!

and so the only way for either of them to be "truly human" is when archie learns that he doesn't have to be perfect. he never had to be. even if he's made mistakes, he still deserves to LIVE!! he doesn't have to hide his pain and discomfort for anyone!! and its okay for toby to be toby!

[shrimpmandan]

The current state of AI discourse is baffling to me because I swear to god some people are just developing collective amnesia and dismissing AI art as "not actually being that bad" when the problems with it are significantly deeper than whether or not it's "real art". It being "real art" is irrelevant to it causing tangible harm. Like yeah I don't think someone AI generating an image to use as a reference is some massive evil, but in the greater scheme of things:

AI art is being used to spread actual real-world misinformation. Propaganda.

Ai art is being used to spread CSEM and other forms of revenge porn. It is also threatening the livelihoods of sex workers to some degree.

People are putting their favorite artists' works through a blender, without their consent, instead of paying them, because image generation is instant dopamine.

Big corps are trying to use AI instead of paying artists/writers because they're greedy fucks.

Most AI programs (with few exceptions) are scraping from existing works without the consent of the original artists.

AI voices are doing the same.

A common argument I've seen is comparing these things to like... digital art, photo editing*, voice splicing. You have to understand that the merit of these things isn't that "they take more time/effort". Effort is not an inherent facet of art. Plenty of tools exist to make art easier that we take for granted now-- many forget the discourse that kicked up when digital art was first gaining popularity. The issue is and always will be consent. Most artists do not want their works or voices to be put into AI databanks. The fact that most AI programs do not care for this, and that a lot of companies are trying to swindle their way into getting artist consent under the pretense of "well they didn't say no", is the main issue. We completely lost the plot when we started focusing more on "is AI art real art?" and "is it bad to use AI for any purpose?", because those are both irrelevant to the question of "is AI harmful?", wherein the answer is yes. This is also failing to consider that "real art" can also cause harm for similar reasons: sexual harassment/revenge porn, defamation, propaganda, etc.

*As a note, this is also ignoring the fact that a lot of people DON'T want their art to be edited or even heavily referenced. It's been commonplace in art usage terms for ages now. This is important to note in the context of AI discourse and copyright law. I also believe there is a difference between voice splicing and AI voices since splicing is more limited and way less likely to get someone actually defamed or 'replaced' as a voice actor, and is just a manipulation of existing voice clips mostly for silly shitposts.

AI CAN be helpful. AI can be used to create references, or make smoother rendering, or even just for fun. A lot of people used AI programs in their baby stages without thinking about how the images were generated or the actual consent of the artists involved, because it was a fun shiny new toy. I also like to think most people who have the means to pay an artist ultimately would. But the issue is not and never has been AI making art easier, or people using it for silly shit, or even people using it for serious art refs. The issue is AI mass-scraping existing artwork, being used to facilitate misinformation, and screwing artists out of jobs. Don't even get me started on AI fucking generating CSEM, or revenge porn, and additionally how it impacts the careers of sex workers.

AI is an issue in its current state. Yes, the panic about it taking over art as a whole was overblown, even if the fears were valid. The capacities of AI art is almost always slightly below the capacities of human-made art, and it's something that will quickly fall in popularity once it stops being the shiny new thing. People using AI to make art easier aren't the enemy either, especially since this can be beneficial for people who do it as a job-- shortening the labor time and all. That doesn't mean AI isn't an issue and that everyone critiquing it is actually just an elitist ableist cuck or whatever. None of this really would've been a problem if not for the mass scraping, resulting in both violations of artist consent, and also it picking up genuinely illegal/nasty content. That's what we should be focusing on. None of this "real art" bullshit.

All that said: I personally would say that using most AI programs-- no matter the purpose-- is unethical because of how most of them function. The only exceptions would be for programs that specifically use consensually obtained data. On this front, I would highly recommend keeping tabs on Adobe Firefly, since it's one of the very very few models out there that has stated a clear commitment to not violating the copyright and consent of artists or persons (it operates off of stock footage and public domain).

[pico-farad]

Vrains season 2 thoughts - part 2!

Go, Blood Shepherd, Ghost Girl, and the Ignis

All Vrains season analysis posts

⇀ Go

I'm devastated LMAO. In shambles. They massacred my boy (shh don't tell me the Go in my head isn't canon).

It's okay Go, Secret Identities AU will save you...

So, I don't think it was a bad idea for Go to "defect" to SOL. Go was already playing third fiddle very hard in the first season, and there was no way he could compare to Soulburner in terms of popularity as a main character, so turning him into an antagonist could be refreshing.

But it says something about Yusaku and Go's lack of relationship that when Go joins the bounty hunters Yusaku isn't even interested, much less betrayed. He doesn't ask, "Hey Go, why are you doing this?" he just glances at him and goes "Hmm, SOL Technologies sent bounty hunters."

You can tell too, during their duel later, that Yusaku just isn't close enough to Go to even attempt to break him out of the brain hacking. The best he can do is, "Didn't we fight against Hanoi together?" Uh I dunno Yusaku, did you? Isn't the reason why Go is in this downward spiral because you solo'd Hanoi by yourself?

The Soulburner vs. Go duel could have been a good place to explore that reasoning. Go's annoyance here is justified. It's completely understandable to feel like you're being talked down to, when fanboy Soulburner -- god bless him -- tells you that you're a hero who saved Vrains, even though you know that you couldn't do anything, you were useless. There's almost a narrative self-awareness there, that your duel was only used to make Playmaker look better. Playmaker is the real hero of Vrains, and you were just a stepping stone. Of course Soulburner's gushing would rub you the wrong way.

This relationship could have been sooo good if they built on it. Soulburner believes in Go, even when Go himself doesn't believe he's a hero. He understands that it isn't strength that makes you a hero, it isn't winning duels. It's having the courage to stand up to evil. That's why he admires Go and the others. Because that's what gave him the courage to stand up to his own demons. Imagine a rematch where Soulburner returns the favor, where he's the one to save Go from the darkness and convince him to be the hero that he believed in.

But no, instead, they kind of make him as unsympathetic as possible. Maybe that was the point, considering how they end up gutting his character, but this duel really, really makes him look bad. A grown adult playing victim olympics with children and losing. "You were traumatized as a kid? Oh yeah, well I grew up in an orphanage!" nooooo go you can't say that to an anime boy.

Go: For everyone to appreciate me, I must win! Playmaker is in my way. Lost Incident victim, he says? I know he suffered, but I also bet my life on dueling! I'm the one who'll be number one! I'm not Playmaker's stepping stone! Soulburner: ...I don't think you're Playmaker's stepping stone. But right now, you're just SOL Technologies' pet dog. Actually, a pitiful loser dog who complains to strangers. Go: How dare you say that-- Soulburner: The Go Onizuka in my heart is a great duelist! Number one? Everyone appreciate you? The Go Onizuka I know would never say pathetic things like that! Go: Be quiet! What do you know? Soulburner: I do know! Because Go Onizuka is a hero who gave me courage when I couldn't move forward. No matter how cornered he was, Go Onizuka was an independent duelist who believed in his own strength to the end. Where is that person who gave me courage? Go: *turns away* ...I end my turn. Soulburner: Go Onizuka... I want to duel the real you.

Do you see my vision?

But none of these ideas really come back, and it's all downhill from there for Go, with the AI implant and Earth and all. He just becomes another evil, unhinged, "pathetic" villain to be put down by Yusaku, who doesn't give a shit about him. We were so robbed of the Soulburner vs. Go rematch.

⇀ Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd

I don't have much to say about Blood Shepherd, I'm sure I would have found him cool when I was 13. No, I really only need to talk about Ghost Girl vs. Blood Shepherd.

This duel needed to be a two-episoder. They've built up this mysterious shared past, raised the stakes by putting their accounts on the line, and then the duel is over in three turns. The majority of Vrains is two-episode duels, but Ema gets the short stick by having both of her duels be singles?

(Aoi also has 2 single episode duels, out of 3 total. Let's do some math, this season Aoi and Ema combined have 6 episodes of duels. That's the same amount that Go, Revolver, and Lightning each have alone. Blood Shepherd has 8. Soulburner gets 11 episodes of duels. And Bohman gets 12. All six of Bohman's duels are two-parters, four of them are against Yusaku, and none of them are that memorable. Couldn't he have donated one episode to Ema?)

It's revealed that Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd are half siblings, but it's not particularly clear whether they've even spoken outside of Vrains. If they had the extra episode, they could have given them a flashback together, arguments about their respective upbringings, anything to flesh out their relationship and make the ending of this duel make sense.

Ghost Girl loses. Fine, we can't have nice things. She isn't going to get anything important for the rest of the season, so let her go out honorably. But no, Blood Shepherd doesn't even give her the dignity of following through on the stakes of the match.

It's not like I want the female character to get deleted, but without showing any kind of shared history or interpersonal relationship, this "brotherly mercy" reads as patronizing bullcrap. They're both adults who have committed to an unforgiving line of work, but Blood Shepherd does a 180 because his absent father -- who we were just told about 8 minutes ago -- actually did sort of care about him.

Never mind that his father and Ema didn't try to help him, this one sentence is apparently enough to make Blood Shepherd not only take back the stakes he proposed, but also risk and lose his life to Lightning, because, "It's a brother's responsibility to protect his sister." No, you're both adults, you don't have a history together, you don't have "a responsibility to protect her" just because you share the same father. And when that's all that they show, it feels uncomfortably essentialist, out of character, and cheaply written.

Part of this is cultural difference, but it's just a trope that I personally hate for various reasons.

⇀ The Other Ignis

I don't really have thoughts on Earth or Aqua, other than that they sure did girlcode the Water Ignis and then damsel her. Windy and Lightning are fine as mid-series antagonists, though I think they lack impact with just two of them. If either Earth or Aqua was also on the side of the bad guy Ignis, having a nice round antagonist trio would be more imposing and balanced (3 Ignis being pro-human and 3 against)

They even acknowledge themselves how underwhelming their group is, by trying to recruit Blood Shepherd, and by the fact that they had to really clumsily split up the hero team in the final fight so that they aren't clearly outmatched. This contrivance is lame. Compare that to, say, Ark Cradle in 5Ds where each character has a specific opponent, a high note to end on, and all the other characters are counting on them to prevail.

This is the same problem Vrains had in season 1, where they insist on Yusaku being the Last Man Standing, and less important characters have to be picked off so that Yusaku's big boss fight has higher stakes. We'll see if that actually pays off in season 3.

-----

Gonna cut it off here, I need to watch the rest to properly cover Bohman, Revolver, Yusaku, and Ai. I know I really went in on the writers in this section, but I am actually looking forward to these next 30 episodes. I don't think I'm gonna come away loving Vrains, but I'm very curious about this ending, and why I see so much fanart of hot anime boy AI. I think it's gonna be a good time!

...Sorry, did I forget someone again?

Sigh...

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains Analysis: How the Fuck Did Aoi's Writing Get Worse

[tvckerwash]

I've seen a couple of posts here and there about the "sigma tortures tucker for 10 years in 10 seconds" scene, and I've gotta say I didn't realize so many people interpreted it literally. not to say that e!sigma couldn't have tortured tucker for 10 years, but I personally don't think that was the intended interpretation (unless it was specifically stated that it was meant to be taken literally but I'm operating under the assumption that it isn't).

restoration built upon epsilon's previously—and continuously—established unreliability as a source of information post caboose's churchification, and how he pushes his personal biases onto the people around him. we saw it with e!tex, we saw it in the memory unit, we saw it on chorus with carolina, and we saw it all throughout s15-19, assuming one chooses to see everything post chorus as a series of simulations.

epsilon doesn't know anything about sigma or the meta beyond secondhand information, so as far as he's concerned they were an ex freelancer turned power-hungry killing machine by an evil ai that wanted to reform the alpha and be one again, and that he psychologically manipulated maine to do so (which isn't entirely wrong, sigma is shown to be a manipulative jerk several times in s10, but I personally think the situation between maine and sigma is far more grey than that, as most things involving pfl are—in s9 maine was just as willing to kill a teammate as he was to put his life on the line to protect one).

with that in mind, I think it's pretty clear that e!sigma didn't literally torment tucker for 10 years in 10 seconds or whatever, in universe he only messed with tucker for 10 seconds, but he tricked him into believing that 10 years had past because epsilon thought to himself, "yeah that's pretty fucked up, totally in character for the version of sigma I've created." out of universe however, that was just the writers acknowledging the pain of the audience, as we were left hanging for 10 years on potential meta tucker angst and all we got was a 10 second scene for it lmao.

[madokakanamereal]

My theory about the new movie

I think that there are two homuras, as we see in the subtle difference in eye and hair color-

One is the real Homura, tasked with managing her new world, and the other is the last Clair doll - Ai, the personification of 'Love'.

I think that Homura tasked her familiars with helping her manage her new labyrinth, and Ai was assigned the duty of keeping an eye on Madoka and protecting her and ensuring she doesnt return to the heavens.

However, I think Ai is rebelling against Homura because of the fact that Homura is denying herself her deepest wishes of being with- truly being with- Madoka, and so Ai will act on her own accoord and start to interact with Madoka more, gaining more of her love by posing as Homura and taking her place.

I think we will see a lot more religious trauma themes and themes of internalized lesbiphobia as Homura is forced to unpack and relearn why she thinks she is evil for loving Madoka and why she thinks she isn't allowed to for fear of dirtying her-

And I think somehow, the plot twist of the movie is going to be that this all somehow culminates in either Homura, a mix of Homura and Madoka, or the main girls being what eventually becomes Walpurgisnacht in a cycle that leads to the worlds creation once more.

That being said, I don't see any of this as being like 'THIS WILL HAPPEN, BECAUSE IM RIGHT-', this is just my little theory poking at straws from the few details we have been given :3