#Destroyed Worlds;; Anon

[little-pondhead]

Some fic because I love your au, Fenton is gender brainrot, and little baby dan cracks me up. Full disclosure, my only familiarity with DC is DP crossover fanfic, and a Batman movie I fell asleep during. (If I had a better grasp on the characters I would totally write more :(( i love interactions) also sorry for the weird spacing. Idk why tumblr did that

~~~~~~~~

There was an empty cardboard box on the table of the Justice League’s main conference room. Taped on the top flap, next to a doodle of Fenton’s logo, was a jump drive.

Heaving a sigh, Batman plugged it in and pulled up his screen on the projector. The drive, which was named “little baby dan’s evil playtime”, contained two files; WATCH_ME_FIRST.mp4 and its-a-secreeeet.pdf. He clicked on the video file, and immediately the projector filled with a blurry close-up of Fenton’s goggles.

After a moment of fiddling with the camera, Fenton stepped back, giving a cheery wave. His lab coat and goggles were a pastel pink, which was new. “Heeeeya, Bats! Whoever else is there! If you’re watching this, you probably weren’t there when I dropped the box off, aaand it’s probably empty.”

He clapped his hands together gleefully. “And Connie, if you’re there, this is payback for cussing around my daughter.” Batman was instantly relieved that Constantine wasn’t on base. Hopefully the situation wouldn’t require Constantine’s expertise. (Or any of the Justice League Dark. Fenton seemed determined to drive them all to an early grave with his casual refusal to acknowledge the supernatural air around him.)

“Now, as you’re all heroes, I’m sure you’re all familiar with the whole,” Fenton paused for a moment, as if searching for the proper words. “”You ate a burger on a Tuesday or something equally inane, and it kickstarted a series of events that led to you going insane and evil and murdering 95% of the Earth’s population and now you must fight your evil alternate self, because your time-controlling cryptid Peepaw said so,” shtick, so I’ll skip the backstory. Say hi to Dan!” Fenton grabbed the camera, and Batman quickly jotted down several notes about the concerning number of things the boy had just said.

The camera swiveled around to show Nightingale, holding a strange beast in a manner that reminded Batman of an “elongated cat meme” Nightwing had shown him when he was still a Robin. The creature bared a maw full of razor sharp fangs at the camera. Nightingale adjusted her grip to hold the creature’s paw and make it wave, which evoked a deep growl.

“Haha, he’d kill me if I did that. Dan likes Nightingale much more than he likes me.”

“Because the worst she has ever done is attempt to shoot me.”

The camera had moved, so Batman couldn’t visually confirm that the deep voice had come from the creature, but the voice didn’t match any of Fenton’s previously revealed companions. “Yeah yeah, her aim sucked back then.” Fenton gave the camera a toothy grin that was only slightly less unnerving than the creature’s. “Dan’s not technically me, he’s much more like Dani, actually, but the world would probably end again if we left him with his other... What did you call him?” Fenton glanced offscreen.

“Bane of my accursed existence.”

Fenton chucked. “The other half responsible for his existence.” Batman added more notes to his file. “So, yeah, Clocky left him with us for a bit to help along his rehab. But a certain psychologist-in-training I know says that repressing rage isn’t healthy, and even without a lot of his powers, he can wipe out most of a city in- what, an hour? We tested it. It was around an hour.”

Everyone present shared a look of deep concern. As if able to see their reaction, Fenton quickly held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t worry! Clocky reset it. Approximately zero people have died from Dan in this timeline.”

“Yet.” Came a furious rumble from off-screen.

“Yes, you’re very scary.” They heard Nightingale coo.

Fenton laughed. “Yeah, we need him- and all of you, -out of our hair for a bit while we concoct more evil plans, and you’re all the least likely to die to him, so you get to babysit! Thanks!”

He reached to shut off the camera before pausing and turning away. “Foley! Which of the furries is the one who really likes animals?”

“Man, do you realize how that sounds out of context?” Foley laughed. “I think Tim said it’s the little one. Damian?”

Fenton nodded and turned back to the camera. “Don’t let Damian try to adopt Dan. Or anyone. Dan will bite their hands off. I mean it!” To emphasize his point, he removed one of his hands.

Batman sighed and added “ability to remove limbs” to a list of Fenton’s powers.

“I’ll include a list of “tasks”” Fenton’s disembodied hand made finger quotes, “we gave Dan to keep him occupied. There’s some at the bottom for you guys. They’re mostly just blatant abuse of his powers for the sake of fun and science. I’d appreciate it if you’d let him mark things off the list and add notes on how it goes. Or you can do it. Or I can steal your cameras. Your choice.”

He thought for a second. “I think you’re supposed to leave, like, pizza money or something, but I don’t think you can get pizza delivered to space. Anyway, thanks for letting me blab your ears off while Dan’s probably committing war crimes for twelve minutes. For your sake, I hope he inherited my interest in space. Good luck! Thanks for babysitting!”

Waving with his still detached hand, Fenton ended the video. Batman closed it and opened the PDF as the few other members present murmured amongst themselves. Most of the pages were filled with a curling script Batman didn’t recognize. The fourth page had a huge, bolded header, reading JP TASKS.

The door opened and shut in half a second as the Flash burst in. “Superman!” The speedster wailed. “I can’t get this thing off of me!”

The Flash waved his arm around, sending small droplets of blood flying as he tried to dislodge the creature sinking his teeth into the speedster’s arm. Batman raised an eyebrow beneath his cowl as Superman quickly lent his super strength in attempt to pry the creature’s jaw open. Dan didn’t budge.

Well, he could certainly see the family resemblance been Fenton, Dani, and Dan. Shaking his head, he turned back to the list.

Task 1: Find Dan. He’s probably attacking someone.

He highlighted the text and crossed it out. This was going to be a long shift.

[Anon, this is me crying over the wonderful gift you have given me. You bastard.]

---

"Do you think Fenton's regeneration powers extend to his..." Green Lantern frowned, trying to remember the word the kid had used but coming up blank. "I dunno. But do you think if we cut off little Dan here, he'll heal back up with no problem?" He gestured helplessly to the scene in front of him. Flash was still screeching about the beast on his arm, and now Superman and Wonder Woman were trying to pry him off. Batman was standing to the side, silently bemoaning the lack of quiet. He just wanted one peaceful shift. Just one. Please.

"I'd like to see you try, hero. And I'm not little." Dan spoke, startling all of them. His grip on Flash's arm tightened, making the speedster squeal before releasing the man and spitting out a mouthful of his blood. Batman noticed that his mouth didn't move despite the clearly spoken words. In fact, when Dan closed his mouth, it was like he didn't have one at all.

"So you do speak!" Superman marveled.

"Of course I do. I am not unintelligent, unlike you lot."

Despite his pain, Flash still made sounds of protest that everyone promptly ignored.

Superman flushed. "I just wasn't sure. It was hard to tell in the video."

"Ah, yes. The video that the Fenton menace sent you. Was there a note for me in the flash drive?"

"Uh, no." In one of his less finer moments, Green Lantern stuttered over his words and moved in front of Batman, obviously lying. Dan merely growled and flew through both men, heading straight for the giant monitor. Batman barely suppressed a shiver. Density shifting? Might as well add it to the list. He could see Martian Manhunter, who was in the back of the room, tilt his head at the display.

Dan ignored the room as he used his entire body to manipulate the computer mouse and scrolled back up to the top of the page. Staring intently at the scribbles no one could make out, the heroes could do nothing but shoot each other nervous and confused glances. More than a few of them jumped when Dan chuckled deeply. Honestly, his tiny body was at complete odds with his baritone voice.

"Maybe rehab will be fun if he's letting me do this." Dan sneered, flashing their reflections a sharp fang. No one wanted to ask what exactly he was in rehab for. The little beast turned his gaze to Batman. "You are the one called Batman, who rules the cursed city, correct?" The dark hero nodded, not trusting himself to say anything. "Excellent. You will be my chaperone for now, just as Fenton decreed it. Good luck, mortal man. Pray, I do not destroy your home a second time."

Without any time to unpack that conversation, Dan promptly disappeared from view. Some blinking text caught his attention, and Batman scrolled back down to the English text, glancing at the next few items on the list.

Task 2: Do not let Dan read his portion of this letter until you have a way to track him. There is no containing him.

Task 3: Keep him with a chaperone at all times. (If you can)

Task 4: Do not let Dan back into Gotham unless you're fine with a sudden decrease in the clown population.

Task 5: Take him for a walk in Death Valley. He likes hunting lizards.

Task 6: Make sure he goes down for his 2pm nap every day.

Task 7: He'll ask for it, but do not give him any burgers for mealtime. It upsets his stomach.

Task 8: Dan gets ONE(1) sweet after dinner before brushing his teeth. Those green pop rocks Batman always carries will do fine; he likes those. :)

A sudden alarm blared from his wristwatch, making Batman tear his eyes away from the screen, indicating an emergency at Arkham. This time, Batman actually sighed out loud. There was more to the list, but right now, he really needed to find their new charge before he killed the Joker, from the sound of it.

[egophiliac]

On EN server, I cant believe I actually believed you when you said nothing bad happens ever OH MY GOD- QAQ

:)

[silverskye13]

Today some shmuck tried to rob me with a knife but i simply went "no thank you" and broke out running for the fucking hills thinking "damn this is just like. just like that one scene in redstone and skulk" cause that's the london living life 💪 imagine being me sike YOU CANT

Anon how does it feel to be the most badass person on planet earth? Jesus Christ.

I'm imagining Tanguish running beside you cheering you on. Yes! Run! Run faster! Look at the stupid look on their face! But do not stop running!

[gothteddiesdotcom]

oh my god re: your recent post... the 'girl dinner' shit. omfg. idc if it's 'not that deep' you're still reinforcing terrible shit!!! and also the like 'boys when they see a stick/cool rock' and 'girls when they time travel vs boys when they time travel' wojaks. the gender-fication of barbie vs. oppenheimer. why the fuck is the recent internet zeitgeist hyper stereotypical cisnormativity. like. i thought we had collectively outgrown this.

exactly. And that’s all just some parts of it too. People pretend they’re so on top of things but it’s just because they don’t want to seem out of touch and offensive. It’s wild watching people barf out gender binaries with new terms and new ways to categorize trans people as not their gender and new ways to reinforce the same gender roles on ourselves but in “good” ways now. It’s just….really frustrating and pretty terrifying at the same time

[imminent-danger-came]

what did you think of the divine beasts in s5? i know there's time constraints but i think they could have used more grandiose or character building

I liked 'em! I think structurally, they achieved everything they needed to pretty perfect.

The Vermillion Bird first predicates MK's later sacrifice while also being in Nuwa's temple—a location that needed to be established early in order to travel back to it in 5x08. The Black Tortoise forced MK to reconcile with his monkey form, something necessary to tackle before getting into the "MK tries to kill himself" plot, also laying the groundwork for some lovely Sandy characterization. We spend an ep (5x05) with Mei and Pigsy, which was important set up for later this season (Nuwa Dadsy parallels) and next season (with the samadhi fire), giving us only one ep for the Azure Dragon and White Tiger. Their lack of a trial added urgency to the universe fracturing apart, while also giving MK the last two stones (and giving Mei a notable lack of an adventure with her best friend), launching us into the last 4 eps. Plus, the Azure Dragon and White Tiger (of the east and west respectively ahaha) seemed kinda gay to me, dying in each other's embrace and all.

Totally get not subjectively liking or enjoying them, though. I didn't think they were ever going to be fully developed characters, but in regards to not feeling that usual lmk grandure, I think we have the studio change to thank for that (though bless Wildbrains heart, they did so good). Overall, I was pretty happy with 'em—I always enjoy a good MK taunting—but if you didn't that's totally valid.

[fatedroses]

Your Avendurer! Zenos comics are always so good, and I love how you write him. The touch about him being functionally doomed to immortality is the perfect level of extra spice on top, too. Imo it's the perfect motivation for him to genuinely try to better himself as a person.

Thank you! Tbh the concept has had a hold on my brain since the end of Endwalker, and I'm glad you really enjoy it ^-^

It’s the subtle character development he’s gotten over the course of the story and the potential he has that makes me adore writing Adventurer!Zenos and the journey he has in turn of following the WoL's (Meteor, in my cases) footsteps.

Making himself immortal is actually the main inspiration behind it too, it's a consequence that self-sabotaged his original goal. Maybe eventually becoming a wake up for him that Alisaie was absolutely right and that he may still have an opportunity to not doom himself to being alone forever.

It's actually why I also made him a tank too, having him turn away from being "the man who was willing to destroy the world for his own chase of his desires" to him being willing to throw himself in and to help and protect others even at the cost of himself for a time, a thought that has stuck with me since the theory of him saving WoL with the remote crossed my mind.

[randomnameless]

The "i don't want to kill Edelgard" dialogue the game forces you to pick for Byleth in Verdant Wind is still one the funniest things in the game when you think about what that means in-universe; Byleth has had no issues killing people to get what they want all route-long, but the second Claude brings up killing the girl who started the war and is most at fault for everyone that died because of it, including her own soldiers, they say they don't want to, presumably just because they had such a deep bond with her during their time at Garreg Mach (even though it's perfectly possible to have Byleth spend all their time there never interacting with Edelgard once).

It's shit like that that makes me understand where the same-crest attraction people come from; that forced dialogue choice is at least understandable in Silver Snow, where Byleth is forced to teach Edelgard for a while and would have logicaly formed a bond with her because of that, but the only way that line makes any sense in VW is to assume that their crests made them feel a deeply-heightened and accelerated sense of attraction to each other, to the point that the few short and irrelevant interactions they had in their short time together at GM was enough for them to form a deep bond.

Anon,

If same crust attraction was a thing, do you really thing Billy would angst about Supreme Leader in VW, when Nemesis himself pops up at the end of the route???

I mean, between Supreme Leader and Nemesis, who are you going to simp for if you never talked to any of them, and both are leading a faction to destroy you and your allies?

Supreme Leader, or Nemesis??

All jokes aside,

There's, sadly, no Watsonian explanation for the very Doylist "but she lufs u!!! feel sad about her!!!" approach the devs wanted to hamfist in their game : Billy will feel bad for killing Supreme Leader, even if it doesn't make any sense for them to do so because that is why the devs designed FE16 to be : a story where the player will feel bad about killing the red emperor.

(or at least the player avatar, because damn if this completely missed the mark regarding some players lol)

Just like you feel super BaD for icing Randolph and Ferdie who still works with the Empire, fighting side by side with a Demonic Beast - when the game doesn't expect you to feel a thing when you kill the poor sod who was turned into a monster because the Imperial Army needs War Assets.

that's why some people really felt a bit disturbed by all this Supreme Pandering coming out of nowhere - same with Rhea in VW since her supports are optional, so if Billy is really a player avatar, why should they care about Rhea?

(granted, I'd say even if you only do the strict minimum, Billy still wants to help Rhea in the cinematic before falling in a ravine, so at least there's this sign that Billy cares about her - sure, Billy protected and saved Supreme Leader against Kostas, but after the Flamey reveal, we don't have anything to even remotely indicate Billy still cares specially about Supreme Leader : Billy's avatar status is the reason why they're written to care about Supreme Leader, and yet, Billy's character status explain why they care about Rhea - again, another example of the devs wanting to have their cake and eat it too!)

[ultimateplaylistmaker]

Okay, if all your AU Kokichi's met eachother, what sorta terrific/terrible chaos would happen?

Okay we're going to separate this into tiers

Mostly okay with this

Harbinger, he's basically just canon kokichi but he is looking for information and gets really awkward if anyone mentions miu

SCP kokichi has definitely seen weirder

Log Horizon Kokichi is just glad to be in the real world again for a bit

DR Lore Kokichi is just like "This might as well be happening"

Dnd Kokichi thinks its weird to see himself as human but also thinks its really neat

Robo Dictator Kokichi is just glad to have the chance to stretch his legs

Shuichi Enoshima Kokichi is once again just another Kokichi

Stans Kokichi is glad to get away from all That Drama

Hope's Peak Destruction Kokichi is recruiting them all for further crimes and pestering them for information

Pokemon Kokichi is showing off his Salandit by holding him up like Simba

Homestuck Kokichi has faded into the shadows and just watching

Spiral Alien Kokichi has challenged someone to a panta chugging competition

Digimon Kokichi is saying that his dracmon is better then the salandit

Dice Haxs is again a normal Kokichi

Both the Alicorn Kichi's are gossiping and annoyed that all the Kokichi's want to pet them and poke them

Swap Kokichi is teaching Kokichi's to bend themselves weirdly

Oumelette Kokichi is SWEATING and wondering if she should do something about the fact none of them seem to have realized they're girls

Paronpasight is glad to have a break from the death murder shenanigans

Unsettled but vibing

Serial Kokichi is more paranoid then a normal kokichi so he's definitely at least a bit on edge

Slay Kokichi doesnt exactly have the greatest experiences with being in a room of a dozen other versions of yourself but also hes got nothing better to do

Danganronpa/b/o Kokichi is being jealous they dont have presentations and also weirded out by the lack of smells

Overlord Ouma misses Gonta and feels really weird about seeing his old body

Minecraft Kokichi is being weirded out by the physics of this world

Trying to leave

Schrodingers Kokichi does NOT need this existential crisis

Pokedice Kokichi does not trust being a room with so many humans

You Destroy My World Kokichi is really confused and kinda freaked out

Warriors Kokichi is trying to follow Pokedice out of here, animal who doesn't want to be around so many humans club

Trying to fight

Mastermind Kokichi is such an insult to all the other kokichi's that it keeps causing fights and he's having a BLAST

EVERYONE ELSE is trying to get away from

Talent Infection for obvious reason

Fae Kokichi is having A BLAST and wants to kidnap them all

[guardian-angle22]

TK persuading Nancy to call the hospital was funny and makes me wonder if he often use this “please🥺” tactic on the other 126 members and then slightly smirking on the inside whenever it works 😏 (me thinks he used it on Owen/Gwyn/Enzo too)

It has same energy as him turning his head and giving ~that~ teary look to Carlos when being asked what’s wrong (except that wasn’t a case of him trying to persuade Carlos to do something but yes I think Carlos would have adopted 100 stray lizards for him if he asked at that moment with that look)

Idk but he’s kinda good at this puppy eyes thing? 😂

TK is so good at the puppy eyes. I loved that little 'I can't nag him but you can nag for meee!' moment in the firehouse. Always love the sibling/family dynamics happening. TK has such strong little brother energy and it's hilarious given he was an only child for so long. But only child TK absolutely learned to turn those eyes on for his parents to get what he wanted - 100%

To be fair to everyone, especially Carlos, if these big, beautiful, expressive eyes gave me a puppy eyes look:

...I'd be done for. whatever he wants. you want more lizards? okay, our home is now a lizard sanctuary.

[citrus-blade]

27

Little Girls (From the Annie [2014] Original Movie Soundtrack) - Cameron Diaz

I found this through TikTok cause so many people use it there lol

AU:

Nightmare was probably the best known Hero in the city, working for the official Hero's headquaters. And he wasn't just the best known, but also the best in general, which meant a lot of work for him. Nightmare - or Dream as his real name was - always worked. The hero association barely gave him a break, his friends always told him they'd work him to death.

But who else was fit to fight against the Blood God, making sure him and his syndicate wouldn't destroy the city. It was on his shoulder to make sure they wouldn't get any data about The End Portal. The portal that would lead you somewhere unknown, a place that is supposed to give you great power.

No one alive ever went through and came back, but they had old books and letters, notes of people who apparently went through and talked about a dragon like beast. They told of cities unreachable and a dark and evil energy.

The heros had to make sure the villains wouldn't ever get there and steal said power. It was to protect everyone and therefore Dream was fine with working himself to death.

Until the day the syndicate had managed to get into the archievs. Not even Dream was allowed into the deeper, more secret part. So when he got there he was shocked to see what the villains had found. Blue prints of a prison to hold villains and heroes?! One known to weaken them and steal their powers and there was a cell for everyone.

There was one for Dream, the most secure one. Blood God had shown him, told him that those heroes were the real monsters who were after the dark power. He had told him to join them, to help them reach their goal. But Dream declined, he was naive enough to believe that there must be an explanation.

Blood God had stared at him in silence before they all fled with the notes. Dream didn't care. When Quackity and Sam came up to him to yell at him he had questioned them. They weren't happy about it, said Dream shouldn't worry. But he did, cause there were cells for not only him but his friends, even for the youngest who had just started training!

Apparently too many questions were ask and Sam - The Warden - started attacking him. They made explosives go off, framing Dream for letting the Syndicate in and attacking the association. Every hero got ordered to hunt him down, to get them to the prison alive.

Dream fled, he had to fight against people he had called his friends, people he had trained and people he had fought side by side. Now they were against him. Heavily injured Dream was able to escape in a storm, using the chaos.

He had knowledge of where the syndicate usually was found, rumors of where to find them when you needed them to do something for you. So Dream went there, bleeding, in pain from the wounds and the betrayal. In a back alley he fell to his knees, wondering if he had gotten wrong information.

But then a shadow fell down on him and in front of him stood the Blood God, pig skull staring down at him. In that moment Dream realized how little his life was worth, that he had given it to the hero association and now he had nothing left, he was a nobody.

With tears in his eyes he started to beg, to plead his greatest enemy to end his life. He didn't want to live in a world where the people he had fought for all his life to be the evil ones. How could he? What was left to live for?

But instead of a sword at his throat, Dream felt a big cloak wrap around him, sheltering him from the rain. In front of him knelt Blood God, his red eyes visible through the holes in the skull. He told him that instead of giving up he should use this desperation - this rage - to help the syndicate.

Dream was asked to join them, a gloved hand held out for him. With only a bit of hesitation Dream accepted, holding the hand that pulled him up back on his feet. Blood God - or Technoblade how Dream would learn in the future - helped the injured man walk.

And just like that the greatest Hero and the greatest Villain joined forces to bring down the real evil.

[pcktknife]

can't say i see corrupting the entire world and undoing all your crush's work objectively making life worse for everyone as very romantic, whether it was motivated by love or not. like it was in character but it's a little weird to describe it as something to be appreciated when it was something undeniably terrible that she did. that's not objective fact or anything just extremely confusing to me. /nm

hm i dont think what she did was meant to be appreciated (sayaka and madoka both make it known they are upset with what she's done) but i dont think it was undeniably terrible either.

[sketching-shark]

Free my man zhu bajie. He doesn’t deserve lmk fandom maltreatment (this doesn’t include zhu da chu. I can make another post about him but this is specifically for zhu bajie from the hit classic:journey to the west.

I dont vibe w the switched up the lmk fandom has to zhu bajie bc of s4. Like oh yall hated bc “he was lazy and make mess” but one good interaction w tang and now fandom is like “tang new bf!!” The audacity to reduce him like that

Being a zhu bajie stan is rough out here. Most dont gets him right in the western fandom esp the lmk fandom.

If you’re going to argue with me about Zhu Bajie aka Zhu Wuneng aka marshal Tianpeng of the heavenly reeds’ character, you better have actual sounds reason and evidence or else im discounting your arguments. Do not make baseless assumptions and make it a whole reason why this character suck. Dont be like this.

Be better. Zhu bajie did not work hard to be renounced like this. Be a zhu bajie fan. BE LIKE ZHU BAJIE. HE KNOWS WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE OVERWORKED AND WANTING BREAKS. The journey would be too serious and short if it weren’t for everyone unapologetic for being him: zhu bajie.

Give this man his flowers.

Monkie Kid spoilers & complaining below so usual drill don't like don't read

Huh tbh anon I wasn't actually aware of the Monkie Kid fandom saying anything particularly bad about Zhu Bajie mainly because he seemed to be one of those characters that's mostly ignored on account of being A) almost entirely absent in the cartoon itself and B) all but confirmed dead asfgerrwf. Also in all honestly it actually can be pretty easy to develop a negative opinion about the og pilgrims when you're dealing with simplified portrayals of who they are and why they act the way they do; as is it takes them +1400 pages to reach enlightenment in the og classic, and a LOT of that is dedicated to exploring different sides of them and presenting their backstories, and given that Monkie Kid's episodes are like 10 minutes each and largely concerned with other characters well that's just not something it's had time or interest in showing, even with short references to Zhu Bajie working hard to become a better person. That said, I do have some memory of people writing about about Zhu Bajie being bad on account of the times he convinced Tang Sanzang that Sun Wukong was in the wrong and got the monkey a session of headband torture times which so far Monkie Kid hasn't shown but only hinted at happening, buuuuuuut then again given the extent to which Flying Bark has made the Monkey King a destructive bumbling clown even back during his journey & warlord days chances seem good that he actually was in the wrong for whatever thing he did that got him a brain squeeze even if the headband was a vicious overreaction, & given the amount of fanart out there of lego show SWK getting punched and yelled at for justified reasons I've stumbled across while not even looking I have a feeling a good chunk of the fandom implicitly agrees (X_X). But yeah, full agree anon that shit's rough out there in the western jttw-adjacent fandom for the og pilgrims :(

[pocket-gems]

given the complexity of homeworld tech i would not be surprised if there are multiple super tiny gems stationed inside walls and stuff to keep everything working(cogs in the machine after alll) i do wish they explained what was up with all the sentient architecture gems they are so weird.

Honestly I think that some happen to be naturally/accidentally created by just being near a Diamond extraction chamber. But then

Then there's The Harvest. I remember Peridot mentioning it when she first saw all the bubbled gems but we never heard more of it. And like. Why would gems be harvested? Well walls need to be made of something, buildings needs to be made of something. Materials need to be collected for all of the tech. And I would not be surprised if any rebel gemstone would be used and "repurposed" to enhance and power up since The Cluster is literally a thing.

I mean, Lapis Lazuli was literally stuck to a mirror. Where would be all the "defective" gems on Era 1, before Era 2 decided to give them tech, if they even did?

[heliinx]

How would the skaven feel about foods like instant ramen?

It would be revolutionary. Fast, easy to prepare, easy to mass produce? A boon for the skaven, doom for the rest of the world.

[imminent-danger-came]

Hi there! Anon sent reeling by S1E6 again! And I would just like to say that your response to my ask made me So Normal. Especially you bringing up S2E6, which is why I’m currently setting up a lawn chair here on the brink of insanity, because apparently I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. 

Because yes, you’re completely right about S2E6 demonstrating this cycle of pushing others away while pushing themselves towards greatness and accidentally leaving pain in their wake that MK and SWK have managed to stick themselves in, but ALSO now I can’t stop thinking about how we get Shadow Play IMMEDIATELY afterwards. 

Like… how much do you think Macaque had seen? Obviously he could see MK getting too caught up in his own head (*cough* and trauma *cough*) and shutting out his friends, but… how much had he seen seen, you know?

And now I also can’t stop thinking about how immediately after Shadow Play, we get To Catch a Leaf. Which is obviously an incredible episode in its own right, but it’s also the first episode since Minor Scale where MK is surrounded by his friends and he lets them help him. Because in S2E6, Mei and Sandy are with him, but he’s not really with them. He’s focused on getting stronger, to the point where he ignores them telling him exactly how to do so. And in the beginning of Shadow Play, we learn that he’s been further isolating himself off screen and blowing off activities with them so that he could focus on ‘[being] ready’. 

But then To Catch a Leaf happens. And it starts off with MK surrounded by the others, having recently done something fun (curses aside) with Mei, and it’s not a big deal. He’s not stressing about getting stronger or being ready, he’s just… there with them. Present and in the moment, at least as much as he can be, and it’s fine. He’s fine, and more importantly he seems to be letting them in and being a bit more open with them. 

And this carries on into 72 Transformations! Because obviously he still hasn’t told them The Thing, but he does go from ignoring/avoiding them while trying to get more powerful to calling them all up so that he can involve them. Figure at least some things out, together. And it drives me insane because he was getting better! He may very well have worked his way up to telling the others about LBD! But then she came a-knocking with more trauma, and it blasts him two steps back and it’s just… AHHH! He was SO CLOSE!!!

Also, side note: Do you think MK believes he has a body count? And I don’t even mean the nebulous potential casualties from all the recent disasters that MK blames himself for, I’m talking about Spider Queen specifically. Because MK isn’t an idiot. If he didn’t know she was dead (or whatever getting sucked into the furnace counts as) immediately after the sewers, he would have put two and two together after Destiny Fulfilled. And considering this is the guy who blames himself for DBK getting out despite knowing that SWK was right next to him in bird form the entire time, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he probably thinks it’s his fault. So… do you think it’s possible he sees himself as a murderer? Or, like, murderer adjacent? And if he does, how much more layered and messed up do you think that’d make the potential ‘Wukong reveals he killed Macaque’ moment?

Sorry for the long ask, the monkey show has changed me for better and worse. I will never be the same. *reclines on my lawn chair, gazing out over the precipice of madness with a thousand yard stare*

One: never apologize for a long ask, especially when it has so much good stuff in it! Two: I KNOW RIGHT. The monkey show really does change you for the better or for the worst. I'm still reeling from s4 and it's been 4 months, and then the s4 special came in and permanently altered my brain chemistry once again. I have a house next to this abyss.

ANYWAYS.

The back and forth of MK's character is one of my favorite things about lmk (of which I have many)! He takes 2 steps forward and then 4 steps back, and I think that's a testament to what getting better can look like—it's not linear. Sometimes, it's not even moving forward, and that's hard.

I think a great example of this "2 steps forward and then 4 steps back" phenomenon is MK's growth in Revenge of the Spider Queen:

MK starts believing in himself, smiling at that face in the mirror. It's not a strong belief, not yet, but it's a start. You can even see him making this attempt to improve in 2x01:

(this got a little long so everything else under the cut!)

MK: "Ah! Ugh, come on MK you can do this! Self-confidence! That's Monkey King 101!"

"Wait! I am worthy! Definitely worthy!" I'm Monkie Kid! Basically the new Monkey King—might have heard of me? You know, the next chapter? I'm totally worthy!"

(2x01 Sleep Bug)

-

MK's even trying to mimic Monkey King here, the person he thinks he should be:

But then, as you've mentioned, LBD and 2x05 comes along.

And it's funny, because now we know MK did become more like Monkey King, just like he wanted, but it's in all the wrong ways.

((Kind of a side note: We also know that Monkey King couldn't have "picked the wrong successor", because there honestly wasn't another option for a successor to begin with. MK grappling with like, 3 levels of Wukong lies is what makes s2 so delicious to watch))

And then we have 2x06, and THEN 2x07, and I'm sure that's exactly why Macaque stepped in! He saw MK going down the same path Wukong did. The drive to become stronger, pushing his friends away—Macaque in Shadow Play knows exactly what he's talking about:

Macaque: "Well, with ol' Monkey King not around I thought someone should teach you a lesson! Ah MK, you really are dense, aren’t you. Haha, you saw a story about a hero who got handed everything, who didn’t have to work for anything, and you thought you were the other guy? The second the hero got real power, he couldn’t care less about his friends. That’s you bud." (2x07 Shadow Play)

("Everything I did was for us!" "You did it for yourself!" *head in my hands .png*)

Wukong leaves. That's what he does, and that's what he did to MK in both Revenge of the Spider Queen (leaving MK to fight Spider Queen and her mech alone) and 2x01.

And honestly, MK in s2 is simply doing his best to pick up the pieces, to be Monkie Kid alone, without SWK or even his friends. But it doesn't really work—hiding LBD's return from his friends didn't save them in 2x10, and it didn't stop the Lady Bone Demon, just like Wukong hiding LBD's return from MK didn't protect MK from any of it.

This pattern, of walking in Wukong's footsteps and making the same mistakes, keeps repeating itself.

MK's 2x08 parallel to Wukong in 3x10 is another good example of that.

MK's terrifying of hurting the people he cares about, so he leaves. He runs off, and this only hurts his friends further. ("Can't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" and "I can’t risk hurting the people I care about—the one’s I have left.".)

And so, tying this all back to the s4 special, we're starting to see MK take 2 steps forward again:

MK: "You ever wish things will just stay like this, like they are right now?" Sun Wukong: "Pssshhkk, where's the fun in that?" Tang: "Uh um, Monkey King, we need to have a serious conversation about your idea of fun."

Mei: "At least we fixed something for a change, instead of destroying it!" MK: "Yeah! So long as we leave the world in better shape than we found it, then it's all good right?"

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

-

And I'm waiting for the eventual 4 steps back.

Because well..."At least we fixed something for a change, instead of destroying it"...it's not that they didn't fix anything, but plenty was broken:

Flower fruit mountain was destroyed. Azure died. Whoever orchestrated all of this is still out there.

So, MK's current answer to "doing what you think is right" leading "to pain" might just not hold up. Because well, MK can try, that's for sure, but all that effort might still not make it a net positive, you know?

I think MK will blame himself for Azure's death, for SURE tough. He might have residual guilt about Spider Queen and everyone else harmed along the way, but Azure is the one I'm certain on. MK feeling like he's a "murder adjacent" and that compounding with the "Wukong Murdered Macaque" reveal and being "just like Wukong"...OH BABY. IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER.

Like,

MK: "I just- I just want to be me. To be MK!" Curse MK: "Yeah well...we all know exactly where that leads." LBD Voice Over: "To pain."

(4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

-

Identity and destiny are very much intertwined in this show, and MK doing what he thinks is right and being himself leads to pain. That's exactly what happened to Azure—he took the Jade Emperor's throne to try and make the world a better place, but all he managed to do was barely fix what he himself had broken.

MK: "Yeah well...I'm kinda always the one getting the world in trouble to begin with so..."

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

-

All it's going to take is one antagonist speech towards MK that hits a little too close to home, and everything else is going to come crashing down.

I am very much getting geared up for my s5 lego tragedy, thank you very much!

[elegyofthemoon]

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