#I'm about to make a little theory post on how things came to be & another possibility

[r0semultiverse]

Okay; so, this was an Ice Prince Finn scarecrow!

[crystalkitty1220]

Man I wonder where the leader of the fear realm could've gone, it's alMOST LIKE NEVIN HAS AN

[cocklessboy]

The biggest male privilege I have so far encountered is going to the doctor.

I lived as a woman for 35 years. I have a lifetime of chronic health issues including chronic pain, chronic fatigue, respiratory issues, and neurodivergence (autistic + ADHD). There's so much wrong with my body and brain that I have never dared to make a single list of it to show a doctor because I was so sure I would be sent directly to a psychologist specializing in hypochondria (sorry, "anxiety") without getting a single test done.

And I was right. Anytime I ever tried to bring up even one of my health issues, every doctor's initial reaction was, at best, to look at me with doubt. A raised eyebrow. A seemingly casual, offhand question about whether I'd ever been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Even female doctors!

We're not talking about super rare symptoms here either. Joint pain. Chronic joint pain since I was about 19 years old. Back pain. Trouble breathing. Allergy-like reactions to things that aren't typically allergens. Headaches. Brain fog. Severe insomnia. Sensitivity to cold and heat.

There's a lot more going on than that, but those were the things I thought I might be able to at least get some acknowledgement of. Some tests, at least. But 90% of the time I was told to go home, rest, take a few days off work, take some benzos (which they'd throw at me without hesitation), just chill out a bit, you'll be fine. Anxiety can cause all kinds of odd symptoms.

Anyone female-presenting reading this is surely nodding along. Yup, that's just how doctors are.

Except...

I started transitioning about 2.5 years ago. At this point I have a beard, male pattern baldness, a deep voice, and a flat chest. All of my doctors know that I'm trans because I still haven't managed to get all the paperwork legally changed, but when they look at me, even if they knew me as female at first, they see a man.

I knew men didn't face the same hurdles when it came to health care, but I had no idea it was this different.

The last time I saw my GP (a man, fairly young, 30s or so), I mentioned chronic pain, and he was concerned to see that it wasn't represented in my file. Previous doctors hadn't even bothered to write it down. He pushed his next appointment back to spend nearly an hour with me going through my entire body while I described every type of chronic pain I had, how long I'd had it, what causes I was aware of. He asked me if I had any theories as to why I had so much pain and looked at me with concerned expectation, hoping I might have a starting point for him. He immediately drew up referrals for pain specialists (a profession I didn't even know existed till that moment) and physical therapy. He said depending on how it goes, he may need to help me get on some degree of disability assistance from the government, since I obviously shouldn't be trying to work full-time under these circumstances.

Never a glimmer of doubt in his eye. Never did he so much as mention the word "anxiety".

There's also my psychiatrist. He diagnosed me with ADHD last year (meeting me as a man from the start, though he knew I was trans). He never doubted my symptoms or medical history. He also took my pain and sleep issues seriously from the start and has been trying to help me find medications to help both those things while I go through the long process of seeing other specialists. I've had bad reactions to almost everything I've tried, because that's what always happens. Sometimes it seems like I'm allergic to the whole world.

And then, just a few days ago, the most shocking thing happened. I'd been wondering for a while if I might have a mast cell condition like MCAS, having read a lot of informative posts by @thebibliosphere which sounded a little too relatable. Another friend suggested it might explain some of my problems, so I decided to mention it to the psychiatrist, fully prepared to laugh it off. Yeah, a friend thinks I might have it, I'm not convinced though.

His response? That's an interesting theory. It would be difficult to test for especially in this country, but that's no reason not to try treatments and see if they are helpful. He adjusted his medication recommendations immediately based on this suggestion. He's researching an elimination diet to diagnose my food sensitivities.

I casually mentioned MCAS, something routinely dismissed by doctors with female patients, and he instantly took the possibility seriously.

That's it. I've reached peak male privilege. There is nothing else that could happen that could be more insane than that.

I literally keep having to hold myself back from apologizing or hedging or trying to frame my theories as someone else's idea lest I be dismissed as a hypochondriac. I told the doctor I'd like to make a big list of every health issue I have, diagnosed and undiagnosed, every theory I've been given or come up with myself, and every medication I've tried and my reactions to it - something I've never done because I knew for a fact no doctor would take me seriously if they saw such a list all at once. He said it was a good idea and could be very helpful.

Female-presenting people are of course not going to be surprised by any of this, but in my experience, male-presenting people often are. When you've never had a doctor scoff at you, laugh at you, literally say "I won't consider that possibility until you've been cleared by a psychologist" for the most mundane of health problems, it might be hard to imagine just how demoralizing it is. How scary it becomes going to the doctor. How you can internalize the idea that you're just imagining things, making a big deal out of nothing.

Now that I'm visibly a man, all of my doctors are suddenly very concerned about the fact that I've been simply living like this for nearly four decades with no help. And I know how many women will have to go their whole lives never getting that help simply because of sexism in the medical field.

If you know a doctor, show them this story. Even if they are female. Even if they consider themselves leftists and feminists and allies. Ask them to really, truly, deep down, consider whether they really treat their male and female patients the same. Suggest that the next time they hear a valid complaint from a male patient, imagine they were a woman and consider whether you'd take it seriously. The next time they hear a frivolous-sounding complaint from a female patient, imagine they were a man and consider whether it would sound more credible.

It's hard to unlearn these biases. But it simply has to be done. I've lived both sides of this issue. And every doctor insists they treat their male and female patients the same. But some of the doctors astonished that I didn't get better care in the past are the same doctors who dismissed me before.

I'm glad I'm getting the care I need, even if it is several decades late. And I'm angry that it took so long. And I'm furious that most female-presenting people will never have this chance.

[blueinsomnia]

Ekko and Jinx's History: A Simple Comment

So I read something the other day talking about how fans are making Ekko and Jinx's relationship romantic and not all male and female characters HAVE to be romantically involved. I agree with this. I'll go so far as to say that this is true for any character of any gender. In my own writing (with my original characters) I rarely have romantic undertones. Mostly just friends being friends. While I get the allure of the romantic chase, of most people we deal with in life we aren't connecting to them romantically. Friends are friends.

That said, this is not the case with Ekko and Jinx. From Ekko's release in 2015 there has always been some romantic undertones with Jinx. Riot has always been a bit mysterious about what his relationship is with Jinx. Ekko even has a line in the game where he says:

The foundation had been laid long before Arcane was released in 2021.

Between 2015 and 2021 (when Arcane was released), a lot of official art and such dropped hints about SOMETHING going on between them. Much like Jinx being Vi's sister. You have to remember that this was originally a secret. It was Ghostcrawler who finally confirmed fan theories, even though he tried to walk it back later. Oops! Ha, ha!

(An image from 2015)

To add to the mystery, on both of their official pages, Ekko is listed as connected to Jinx and Jinx is listed as connected to Ekko. However, at no point does Riot explain how they're connected. Their stories don't mention the other at all. So this means that some things were planned, but they weren't ready to reveal. I'm still of a mind that they were waiting to use Arcane as a vehicle to get into Jinx's history and how that intersected with Ekko and Vi. Before Arcane, we knew very little about Jinx and how she ends up the way she does.

Then, before Arcane came out we got this little nugget in Legends of Runeterra:

Remember, this is 100% from Riot themselves. Not the fans. Riot laid the seeds down and it was the fans who picked up on it and ran. I doubt anyone would have ever thought there was something between Ekko and Jinx without Riot dropping hints. By the time we got to Arcane Season 1, the train was already in motion.

Let's not even forget the insane number of Jinx references in the True Damage video they released in 2020. Generally it wasn't odd to see Ekko and there would be some sort of Jinx reference somewhere. That wasn't true for Jinx until recently.

After Arcane, Riot themselves has been dropping hints like crazy. Jinx has been putting Ekko's hourglass symbol on stuff. League Brazil did a huge Twitter AMA with Star Guardian Ekko and Jinx. Jinx goes to the Grammys with Ekko.

Another official Ekko and Jinx moment. Check out her shirt!

And let's not forget this one for the Billboard Music Awards:

They went to the event together!

So...while I see people saying that the fans were to blame for Jinx and Ekko being romantically involved, it should be pointed out that this is all Riot's doing. The best part is that the fans have been largely receptive to their efforts in promoting the couple. Riot has waited a long time to be able to say what they want to say about them.

And if there is any doubt about where they're going with them as a couple, let's just remember this cover for the art book for Arcane:

Another official piece done by Riot and Fortiche themselves.

Sorry for the long post, but I thought it was important to point out that it's not the fans who set this up. It'll be interesting to see where this all goes, but based on their track record so far, it should be clear where the end game is headed.

Thanks for reading!

[joyswonderland1108]

"KEEP GOING". Okay but.. going where, exactly?

You know, i was minding my own business, lying to myself that i had emotionally recovered from "Who", when i remembered that glorious monitor shot of Jungkook's eyes, glowing like the moon itself, and right above him.. the words "KEEP GOING"

I blinked. I sniffled. I screamed internally.

But i let it slide. I said "no Joy, maybe it's just encouragement for life. For growth. For stage presence. For getting up in the morning without dissolving into tears because Park Jimin looked into a screen and saw Jeon Jungkook's face and decided that was the push he needed."

BUT THEN. THEN. THEN.

Came the "Are You Sure?" poster. And guess what's slathered across it again like some poetic whisper from the depths of the Jikook Cinematic Universe?

KEEP. GOING.

Oh. Oh Okay. So we're doing that again?

Because i thought i was hallucinating the first time. I really did. "Who" drops, and suddenly Jimin's staring at a monitor like he's receiving a divine prophecy, and who's on that screen? Jungkook. And what's floating above him like a celestial commandment from Gay God himself? "KEEP GOING".

I looked at it. It looked at me. We looked at each other. And i said "huh. Interesting. Probably just a cute little motivati-" NOPE. Shut up. No. We are not doing that rationalizing thing today.

Because fast forward to "Are You Sure?" and BAM. There it is again. That same cursed phrase. "KEEP GOING". Like a haunting. Like a secret code. Like Jikook's personal tagline for their unauthorized, unwritten, but highly televised romance.

Let me just.. hold on.

Let me put on my my conspiracy theory hat, no, my whole tinfoil bodysuit, and dive in.

(Me with my Jikookies going down that rabbit hole)

Because if we're gonna be told twice, not once, but twice, in big bold letters that we should "keep going", then i'm gonna start asking QUESTIONS.

Like:

Keep going WHERE?

Keep going with WHO?

Keep going.. HOW gay is this road exactly?

Are we talking Seasong 2 of AYS where we finally get a confession on camera, filmed like a K-drama, complete with cherry blossoms and tragic violin music?

Or maybe it's a Jikook subunit called "Keep Going", where every song, or every line, is them soft-singing each other's name while playing acoustic guitar and making eye contact?

A Jikook movie perhaps? A coming-of-age story about two boys who found each other in the chaos of idol life and clung on like they were the only real thing left?

Or, and hear me out, to coming out.. of the closet? Like, "keep going" down that rainbow brick road, boys. We've got flowers. We've got fanfiction. We've got archived live clips of you making heart eyes at each other in 4K. Let's gooooo.

And before someone in the back starts yelling "You're reading too much into it!!!" let me just say, YEAH. I AM. That's LITERALLY THE POINT.

I'm not here for logic. I'm here for pain and chaos and the fact that Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook keep choosing the same exact three words like it's a personal mantra carved into the walls of their heart.

They could've written anything. "Stay strong". "Belive in yourself". "Do laundry" (You and i both know what a Jikook laundry is but we're not gonna there lol) But no. They said "KEEP GOING". And not once. TWICE. Publicly. Boldly. With full chest.

So here i am. I will keep going. Right into madness. Right into emotional bankruptcy. Right into the group chat like "guys i saw another Jikook sign and i need someone to tranquilize me" (@mimiskookie @kkhluvsbts @kanmom51 Just be patient with me lol)

Because maybe, just maybe, the real meaning of "Keep going" was the delulu we made along the way.

And whatever they're doing, wherever they're going, i wanna go too. Even if it's straight to clown camp with no chance of parole.

[And just as i was about to hit "post" i remembered.. the "KEEP GOING" in BT21. Taped to the wall. Behind Chimmy and Cooky. Like the phrase itself is now following them across universes. So actually, it's not even two times anymore. It's three. No, FOUR. Jikook said keep going and i'm about to keep spiraling.]

[madlori]

Sometimes the delulu IS the solulu.

After some thought, and reading a lot of really insightful thoughts here and on Discord, I think I've reached a conclusion.

I'm going full tinhat. Not in an unhinged way, though.

I don't think this is the end.

I'm not going to count on it. I'm barely going to hope for it. But I am going to...keep an eye out for it.

The one common refrain we've heard from each other is that this did not feel like a permanent breakup. It felt so obviously and blatantly like a setup for Buck to fight for the relationship. It was that "one partner freaks out a bit and the other has to show their commitment" relationship hurdle which is so common it's a trope. In fact, most of us assumed that's just what it was...until those interviews

Now, I do not put Tim Minear up on some kind of pedestal of writerly greatness - far from it. And he did not write this episode, but the plotlines all go through him.

BUT.

He has always been very attached to Tommy as a character and to this relationship. He loves it. He loved red string theory so much that he wrote it into this episode. And I'm about halfway convinced he's in love with Lou but that's beside the point. (I mean, we get it, Tim.)

Tommy's what he always said he wanted to get for Buck. Firefighter, integrated into the 118, yadda yadda, we've been over this a lot. Someone he chooses, someone he works to build something with. Someone who shows up for him. He had Buck SAY in this episode that he'd never felt like this since Abby.

The thread of Tommy wanting a found family like Buck's. The intense settled/caregiving vibe of 8x05. It all felt so...purposeful. And yes, I agree that this could have been done just to punch up the angst for Buck when it ends. But that's not the only explanation.

The many, many comments of wanting to move Buck along in his personal life. Oliver wanting to do settled, domestic storylines with him. Giving Tommy the big hero romcom entrance in that hospital.

And what now? Cycle Buck through another love interest? It's hard to imagine recapturing what he had with Tommy with anybody else, or for the GA to embrace it as much as they did. What little we can see of the GA reaction (because the official socials are weirdly quiet and have not posted) is that they're not happy about this. Tim knows this.

I can buy Tim making some dumb writing decisions but he's not stupid. I find it very hard to swallow that he'd voluntarily toss away all this, and this potential, and what they'd already established, and a pairing/character/actor he loves, for what? For nothing.

So I think that it's not for nothing.

I think the plan IS to reunite them...

...they just don't know when, or how.

For some reason he wants to give it a break for awhile. I don't know why. There could be off-camera reasons. But I think it happened recently. Two weeks ago we got interviews talking about hurdles being overcome, relationships deepening, etc etc. It's a great episode for them, came out of Oliver's mouth. Not important, not consequential - great. And hey, what happened to that very important Bobby conversation where he gave Buck important advice? It wasn't there.

I think a change was made in the last two weeks. And yes, I know the loft stills were dated 9/17.

Two weeks is plenty of time to reshoot one scene, between when those interviews came out and last night. The stills could be from the first time it was shot, in September. Put the guys in the same wardrobe, we'd never know the difference, or that those stills weren't from the scene we actually saw.

OR

The scene was always the one we saw, but was always meant to be temporary, and the change was in how they talked about it in the interviews from last night. That is a simpler explanation, as it doesn't involve reshoots, but it doesn't explain those very incongruous interviews we got two weeks ago that do not match the scene we saw. Now, they have always vagued it up, and talked around things in interviews, but this was an entirely new level of misdirection and outright lying that isn't typical.

I'm really tinhatting it up now, but hey, what have I got to lose? I'm not investing anything in this. It's just...a thought.

If you think the network interfered (I don't, at least not for plot-related reasons, see below) or Oliver demanded the relationship be cut (I don't - I know lots of you are mad at him but I'm not), whatever it was...I just get a vibe. It could be as simple as money. It could be a ratings thing. Honestly? It could be that they've found out they're getting cancelled, and were ordered to cut bait on guest stars. They could be kicking the can down the road to goose ratings for spring when they do bring it back. There are lots of reasons I can think of and probably more that I can't.

I read a thoughtful and reasonable post about how it was more or less a mercy killing to post those interviews - most showrunners like to keep viewers guessing and coming back, so for them to say definitely BT was dead meant it's really, really dead (although how definitive they actually were is another question).

They might be right about that. I don't know.

Or they just might not know themselves. Even if the plan IS to reunite them eventually - if they don't have a plan for how or when, the safest course is to shut it down. No guarantees they can make it work, so play it safe. Oliver and Lou might not be looped in on this.

It's pretty thin. They probably would be, although we have ample evidence of actors not knowing stuff until the last minute. The other option is that they are looped in and are intentionally lying but I think that's very unlikely - although Lou has demonstrated a keen skill in keeping his mouth shut when necessary.

I'm not going to get nuts about this and neither should anybody else. I'm not going to be scouring socials or the internet looking for support or clues. I'm not going to be holding my breath waiting for a sign.

The only thing I'll keep an eye on is how they handle any flirtation or dating Buck does in the near future. How they handle it might be telling.

This is ALL very unlikely, let's be real.

I'm still tinhatting, though. Why not? What have we got to lose?

But if I'm right, I expect that red dodgeball in my inbox toot sweet.

(And Buddie still isn't going canon, btw.)

[aliteralsemicolon]

honestly, the whole ai fight or disagreement thing is kinda insane. we’re seeing the same pattern that happened when the first advanced computers and laptops came out. people went on the theory that they’d replace humans, but in the end, they just became tools. the same thing happened in the arts. writing, whether through books or handwritten texts, has survived countless technological revolutions from ancient civilizations to our modern world.

you’re writing and sharing your work through a phone, so being against ai sounds a little hypocritical. you might as well quit technology altogether and go 100 percent analog. it’s a never ending cycle. every time there’s a new tech revolution, people act like we’re living in the terminator movies even though we don’t even have flying cars yet. ai is just ai and it’s crappy. people assume the worst but like everything before it it will probably just end up being another tool because people is now going to believe anything, nowadays.

Okay so...no. It's never that black and white. Otherwise I could argue that you might as well go 100% technological and never touch grass again. Which sounds just as silly. There are many problems with AI and it's more than just 'robots taking over'. It's actually a deeper conversation about equity, ethics, environmentalism, corruption and capitalism. That's an essay I'm not sure a lot of people are willing to read, otherwise they would be doing their own research on this. I'll sum it up the best I can.

DISCLAIMER As usual I am not responsible for my grammar errors, this was written and posted in one go and I did not look back even once. I'm not a professional source. I just want to explain this and put this discussion to rest on my blog. Please do your own research as well.

There's helpful advancement tools and there's harmful advancement tools. I would argue that AI falls into the latter for a few of reasons.

It's not 'just AI', it's a tool weaponised for more harm than good: Obvious examples include deep fakes and scamming, but here's more incase you're interested.

A more common nuisance is that humans now have to prove that they are not AI. More specifically, writers and students are at risk of being accused of using AI when their work reads more advance that basic writing criteria. I dealt with this just last year actually. I had to prove that the essay I dedicated weeks of my time researching, writing and gathering citations for was actually mine.

I have mutuals that have been accused of using AI because their writing seems 'too advanced' or whatever bs. Personally, I feel that an AI accusation is more valid when the words are more hollow and lack feeling (as AI ≠ emotional intelligence), not when a writer 'sounds too smart'.

"You're being biased."

Okay, here is an unbiased article for you. Please don't forget to take note of the fact that the negative is all stuff that can genuinely ruin lives and the positive is stuff that makes tasks more convenient. This is the trend in every article I've read.

Equity, ethics, corruption, environmentalism and capitalism:

Maybe there could be a world where AI is able to improve and truly help humans, but in this capitalistic world I don't see it being a reality. AI is not the actual problem in my eyes, this is. Resources are finite and lacking amongst humans. The wealthy hoard them for personal comfort and selfish innovations leading to more financial gain, instead of sharing them according to need. Capitalism is another topic of its own and I want to keep my focus on AI specifically so here are some sources on this topic. I highly recommend skimming through them at least.

> Artificial Intelligence and the Black Hole of Capitalism: A More-than-Human Political Ethology > Exploiting the margin: How capitalism fuels AI at the expense of minoritized groups > Rethinking of Marxist perspectives on big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and capitalist economic development

I want to circle back to your first paragraph and just dissect it really quick.

"we’re seeing the same pattern that happened when the first advanced computers and laptops came out. people went on the theory that they’d replace humans, but in the end, they just became tools."

One quick google search gives you many articles explaining that and deeming this statement irrelevant to this discussion. I think this was more a case of inexperience with the internet and online data. The generations since are more experienced/familiar with this sort of technology. You may have heard of 'once it's out there it can never be deleted' pertaining to how nothing can be deleted off the internet. I do not think you're stupid anon, I think you understand this and how dangerous it truly is. Especially with the rise in weaponisation of AI. I'm going to link some quora and reddit posts (horrible journalism ik but luckily I'm not a journalist), because taking personal opinions from people who experienced that era feels important.

> Quora | When the internet came out, were people afraid of it to a similar degree that people are afraid of AI? > Reddit | Were people as scared of computers when they were a new thing, as they are about AI now? > Reddit | Was there hysteria surrounding the introduction of computers and potential job losses?

"the same thing happened in the arts. writing, whether through books or handwritten texts, has survived countless technological revolutions from ancient civilizations to our modern world."

I think this is a logical guess based on pattern recognition. I cannot find any sources to back this up. Either that or you mean to say that artists and writers are not being harmed by AI. Which would be a really ignorant statement.

We know about stolen content from creatives (writers, artists, musicians, etc) to train AI. Everybody knows exactly why this is wrong even if they're not willing to admit it to themselves.

Let's use writers for example. The work writers put out there is used without their consent to train AI for improvement. This is stealing. Remember the very recent issue of writer having to state that they do not consent to their work being uploaded or shared anywhere else because of those apps stealing it and putting it behind a paywall?

I shouldn't have to expand further on why this is a problem. Everybody knows exactly why this is wrong even if they're not willing to admit it to themselves. If you're still wanting to argue it's not going to be with me, here are some sources to help you out.

> AI, Inspiration, and Content Stealing > ‘Biggest act of copyright theft in history’: thousands of Australian books allegedly used to train AI model > AI Detectors Get It Wrong. Writers Are Being Fired Anyway

"you’re writing and sharing your work through a phone, so being against ai sounds a little hypocritical. you might as well quit technology altogether and go 100 percent analog."

...

"it’s a never ending cycle. every time there’s a new tech revolution, people act like we’re living in the terminator movies even though we don’t even have flying cars yet."

Yes there is usually a general fear of the unknown. Take covid for example and how people were mass buying toilet paper. The reason this statement cannot be applied here is due to evidence of it being an actual issue. You can see AI's effects every single day. Think about AI generated videos on facebook (from harmless hope core videos to proaganda) that older generations easily fall for. With recent developments, it's actually becoming harder for experienced technology users to differentiate between the real and fake content too. Do I really need to explain why this is a major, major problem?

> AI-generated images already fool people. Why experts say they'll only get harder to detect. > Q&A: The increasing difficulty of detecting AI- versus human-generated text > New results in AI research: Humans barely able to recognize AI-generated media

"ai is just ai and it’s crappy. people assume the worst but like everything before it it will probably just end up being another tool because people is now going to believe anything, nowadays."

AI is man-made. It only knows what it has been fed from us. Its intelligence is currently limited to what humans know. And it's definitely not as intelligent as humans because of the lack of emotional intelligence (which is a lot harder to program because it's more than math, repetition and coding). At this stage, I don't think AI is going to replace humans. Truthfully I don't know if it ever can. What I do know is that even if you don’t agree with everything else, you can’t disagree with the environmental factor. We can't really have AI without the resources to help run it.

Which leads us back to: finite number of resources. I'm not sure if you're aware of how much water and energy go into running even generative AI, but I can tell you that it's not sustainable. This is important because we're already in an irrevocable stage of the climate crisis and scientists are unsure if Earth as we know it can last another decade, let alone century. AI does not help in the slightest. It actually adds to the crisis, we're just uncertain to what degree at this point. It's not looking good though.

I am not against AI being used as a tool if it was sustainable. You can refute all my other arguments, but you can't refute this. It's a fact and your denial or lack of care won't change the outcome.

My final and probably the most insignificant reason on this list but it matters to me: It’s contributing to humans becoming dumber and lazier.

It's no secret that humans are declining in intelligence. What makes AI so attractive is its ability to provide quick solutions. It gathers the information we're looking for at record speed and saves us the time of having to do the work ourselves.

And I suppose that is the point of invention, to make human life easier. I am of the belief that too much is of anything is every good, though. Too much hardship is not good but neither is everything being too easy. Problem solving pushes intellectual growth, but it can't happen if we never solver our own problems.

Allowing humans to believe that they can stop learning to do even basic tasks (such as writing an email, learning to cite sources, etc) because 'AI can do it for you' is not helping us. This is really just more of a personal grievance and therefore does not matter. I just wanted to say it.

"What about an argument for instances where AI is more helpful than harmful?"

I would love for you to write about it and show me because unfortunately in all my research on this topic, the statistics do not lean in favour of that question. Of course there's always pros and cons to everything. Including phones, computers, the internet, etc. There are definitely instances of AI being helpful. Just not to the scale or same level of impact of all the negatives. And when the bad outweighs the good it's not something worst keeping around in my opinion.

In a perfect world, AI would take over the boring corporate tasks and stuff so that humans can enjoy life– recreation, art and music– as we were meant to. However in this capitalist world, that is not a possiblility and AI is killing joy and abolish AI and AI users DNI and I will probably not be talking about this anymore and if you want to send hate to my inbox on this don't bother because I'll block your anon and you won't get a response to feed your eristicism and you can never send anything anonymous again💙

[regular-samdragon]

More tfa Reverse au sketches and rambles. Here's the first post for the initial info on all of this

I dont exactly have a plot idea for this au yet, just mostly silly interactions between the characters. I'm still a little lost on what to have the decepticons doing in this. I have some slight ideas though, just might change up some details later

It makes sense for the decepticons to also be humans in this au. The initial idea I had was that Megatron owned the corporation that paved the way for technological developments in the city. Of course, Megs isn't the scientific mastermind behind it all. He just happens to own the company. Starscream and Blitzwing act as the head scientists, and Barricade is head of security. Starscream is constantly trying to think up ways to take over the company himself while the others are content to keep working under Megs. After all, he doesn't restrict them on how ethical their experiments have to be.

Sumdac himself, I haven't quite decided on yet. The lot that Ratchet's and Prowl's establishments are located in definitely has more than one store, so one idea I had was for Sumdac to stay human and own an electronics repair shop. Perhaps he misses Sari's initial landing, but the gang ropes him in when she ends up needing specialized repairs. Or, alternatively, he could be Sari's cybertronian dad, stuck back home and worried over how his daughter's first mission is going. Although he wouldn't be super involved in the au if I went with that idea.

Swindle is the owner of the local pawn shop, also in the same lot. He rarely seems to ever show up to work, leaving the shop closed for several days in a row. Sometimes even for weeks. It's a wonder to everyone how the pawn shop still manages to make a profit when Swindle is constantly on his 'overseas trips'. Bee and Bulk have swapped plenty of theories on what they think Swindle really does for a living, such as being a secret agent, or his store being a front for secret military experiments.

Thinking more of the lot they all work in, I'm calling it the Tower Plaza. Sort of drawing off the idea of Sumdac Tower from the show, and yeah a little inspo from OK KO I have to admit. The Tower Plaza gets it's name from a tall, abandoned clock tower that stands as the icon of the area. The clock hasn't worked for years but no one can afford to own or repair the building. This ends up becoming Sari's main hiding place. Bulk and Bee help her to spruce things up inside, making her a real home away from home. There's even a big basement door she can hide out in when Meg's men start poking their noses around.

Speaking of Megs again, his goal in this au would primarily be to capture Sari and have his scientists reverse engineer her for their own advancements in tech. Pretty much exactly what Sumdac did in the show with Megatron himself. Although while Sumdac had empathy for Megs when he was found to still be alive, Megs in this cares not what happens to Sari in the process. He doesnt see her as a living being (yet), and mainly just wants to advance his company for even higher profits.

And thus comes the conflict between the Tower Plaza gang and uhhh whatever I end up naming Megatron's company as.

Smaller notes:

•Folks on discord helped me out to find the PERFECT alt mode for Sari. That is, a Folland Gnat fighter aircraft. It's small and speedy and just really fits Sari's vibes

•Bee personally takes it on himself to teach Sari as many human curse words as possible. Orion nearly has a heart attack the first time he hears Sari swear

•Bee is also the one who came up with nicknames for everyone. Although Bulk is the one who came up with 'Bee' for him

•Orion was a second lieutenant before he was discharged

•Orion doesn't like to talk to anyone about why he was discharged from the military. Uncle Ratchet knows it involved another lieutenant and an intelligence officer, both friends of Orion. He doesn't know anything past that.

•Cybertron is not at war in this au, meaning the factions of autobots and decepticons don't actually exist. The need to hide the Allspark was more to keep it away from other alien races who would like to steal and misuse it

•Sari is only minimally trained for combat scenarios. With the occasional battle while on Earth, she asks Prowl to teach her some hand to hand combat. After an incident where she nearly took out a building, they now train far out in the woods

[snowthedemonfox]

Okay so we're at it again with me posting another theory, this one I haven't seen anyone else point out yet so I might as well post about it. This might be a bit long, so prepare to do some reading

TL;DR: CAINE'S OFFICE IN EP 4 IS CONNECTED TO THE OFFICE AREA WE SEE IN THE PILOT

I'll explain under the cut because THIS WILL TAKE A BIT:

ONE: Even if Caine was playing the part of upper management this episode, I don't think he made this office area just for the sake of the adventure.

There's heaps of books in the background, ranging from info about Gloinks, a Murder Drones parody, a reference to the Pilot, and a book that's called "MatPat Theory". You can see a small version of the Tent next to his monitor, along with various drawings on his desk and on the pinboard in the background.

I think this is Caine's ACTUAL office, where he goes to work on any upcoming adventures he's making for the cast. I've said in a previous post that after this episode I believe all future (or at least most) adventures will be based on suggestions from the suggestions box. (To make a long story short, Ragatha seems to like baseball, and the season 1 trailer showed us a WIP version of a baseball stadium. Would not surprise me if she's the one who suggested that.)

Yes, we see Caine throw away the box after deciding on the Spudsy's adventure, but Caine logic is Caine logic and it wouldn't surprise me if he just /tp'd that box to this out of bounds office area for him to look through later. His main priority is making sure that EVERYONE likes his adventures, and it makes sense that he would take advantage of the suggestions box (after being reminded it exists), especially after his therapy session with Zooble in episode 3.

He's in his office because he's decided to scrap his current list of adventures and instead make adventures based on what the humans seem to want. It'd also make sense that this is the one adventure where he actually decides to use his 'all seeing eyes' to watch the cast throughout the day. He's seeing if they do better on a suggested adventure compared to an adventure HE came up with. That's why he's got all the photos of them throughout the day, and is keeping track of their scores on his computer (An AI having his own computer? A computer within a computer?). And based on the scores he gave them, he doesn't seem to notice that nobody really had the best time on a 'realistic' adventure.

It's hard to make out since the screen is blurry, but I'm pretty sure the spreadsheet has the character's names on it (Kinger, Zooble, Jax, Ragatha, & Pomni) along with their scores in the second column. Hard to read what the last one says though. Maybe it's just for additional notes? Gangle most likely isn't listed yet because Caine's talking to her in this scene. He'll write down her score once she leaves.

(Side note, but Caine probably repurposed his horror adventure for Kinger to have fun with while everyone else was at Spudsy's, which would be why his A+ score doesn't count towards the whole 'checking if the humans prefer suggestted ideas more' thing. Kinger didn't do the horror adventure Caine had planned.)

TWO: If every map has a 'backrooms-like' out of bounds area, wouldn't it make sense for this office area to be the out of bounds area for the Tent?

If you compare the office area to episode 2's out of bounds area, they look pretty similar, like a giant maze. We saw that episode 2's out of bounds area still had little areas of importance, like storing the character models, so why wouldn't the office area also have these small rooms? We have the notable computer we see at the end of the pilot, and now Caine's office.

If this area is still connected to the Tent, then it'd make sense for Gangle to know how to leave. Caine probably has a door he spawned in for them to leave through, similar to the Exit door from the Pilot. If I had to guess, it's probably connected to either one of the various doors on the side of the Tent (where we see Pomni checking looking for him in the Pilot), or to one of the bigger hallway doors we see on every floor (which I talk a bit more about in this theory).

Speaking of that Exit door, though- We know Caine never actually finished making that exit. If he had no idea what to put on the other side, wouldn't he just put a placeholder there instead? Like, I don't know, maybe lead it to the out of bounds area directly connected to the Tent? Where his office is? So he can still keep an eye on it?

It's probably why his wackywatch never picked up on the fact Pomni was there until she ended up in the Void. If Gangle can walk freely through the office area to get back to the Tent, then Caine probably has no reason to be alerted if someone's there.

It's not like they're not supposed to be there EVER, and if they got lost, he could find them anyway! (Referring to Kinger's line in ep 2 when talking to Ragatha about Pomni being lost) Someone just tells him that there's a person missing, he tracks them down, and brings them out of the office area.

THREE: If you compare the two locations, a lot of things seem to match.

The lights on the ceiling look near identical, the only difference being that the Pilot's version has some kind of filter... air conditioner thing? I don't know what those are called but if this is a general employee area, it'd make sense to have that there.

There's the same cabinets and even the exact same plant model. The office area in the Pilot already had a lot of re-used models, so if Caine's office is directly connected to it, it'd make sense if it also had these re-used models.

The only thing that doesn't match exactly are the computers.

The monitor Caine uses has little buttons on the bottom of it, while the Pilot computer doesn't. But you could argue that's because the computer seen in the pilot is much older. So if it's been there for a while (Since I can only assume this entire office area is based on the office the actual computer hosting the game's server is in), then you could argue that whatever office this was, just, never upgraded this computer specifically. All the other computers look much newer and more clean, but it's hard to tell if they also have those buttons on the monitors.

If it weren't for the fact we see the C&A logo in Spudsy's as well I'd argue that's also a thing the Pilot and episode 4 have in common, but since we DO see the logo in Spudsy's, I can't really make that argument.

But it's still worth pointing out that Caine uses a computer with the C&A branding on it, and the Pilot's office area has a giant C&A logo on one of the walls. Again, not the strongest piece of evidence here, but I think it's still a good idea to mention it.

Still have no idea on why Caine started glitching out at the end of the episode, though. Hope he's okay.

[azaharinflames]

I think everyday about that gif set that had Buck talking about engagement with Taylor mark and then to Buck talking about engagement with Tommy and they were so different. Also people keep bringing up Abby but the fundamental difference is that once Buck knew the relationship was over he moved on quickly. And when Abby came back it was always going to be for closure due to the fact that it was end of s3 when she came back and Buck had already moved on.

With Tommy as Buck keeps saying, he dumped him. He knows it’s over but still keeps longing for him. For Tommy to come back now after Buck just put him dumping him in the same vein has Eddie leaving and Maddie missing, that’s a big deal. Yes Tommy could come back for a closure arc but narratively with everything we’ve seen from 08.06 onwards it would make narrative sense. A lot of the beats remind me of Madney tbh but with Lou only being reoccurring, it’s a little harder to portray rather than if you had two main characters. With reoccurring characters there’s only so many episodes they can be in a season.

Hi, Nonnie!

I will always defend the theory that Taylor was a test for a long term relationship/endgame for Buck. Ultimately, it didn't work, be it because they saw they didn't have a lot of support, be it because they ultimately decided Buck and Taylor wouldn't work as a couple long term, be it for something else. But there is a difference between how they were written in 5a, and in 5b. So.

The thing is that Buck's attitude was very different during that relationship. And, sure, he's grown since then, but it is also the show treating Tommy differently from almost get-go. They treat him with a finality almost, in terms of - here. This is it. (forgive my slight clowning for this lol)

And yes, there is a difference with Abby, too! He keeps longing for him in a way we had never seen him with another partner post-breakup. Him putting Tommy dumping him up there with Maddie and Eddie, and making a point that things were as they should be when they were together... a big deal indeed. I know we are being cautious because we've been burned before, but there are signs for us to pick up. Now, we just have to see if the show actually does something about it.

Also, you make a great point with Lou. Adding to that, because he's recurring and not a main, there is a layer of doubt as to what will happen with him, as he's not a character we know we'll keep seeing, anyway (like with Madney).

My inbox is open for ranting, venting, giving your opinion (unpopular or popular, I'm happy to receive and discuss both), and even confessions! Though if you don't want yours posted, please make sure to say :)

Take care <3

[osleeplessflowero]

I figured it's time to bring back Classic Sans for a oneshot. Haven't posted about him since Stargazing! My very first Sans oneshot and Undertale oneshot as a whole. - Reader is Gender Neutral as always! Their SOUL type is up to you. - This is a good way to tie these oneshots to another series of mine :)

It's quiet..before a breeze fills your ears. Your senses are overloaded with sound. Soon you can feel the breeze too, gently hitting your skin as you slowly open your eyes and move your hands over the grass beneath you.

How long had you been asleep? What happened? Did you miss anything? Your head is spinning..

A familiar voice pulls you out of your thoughts softly, calmly. Just like he always does.

"heya. glad to see you're back." He greets you with a smile once you look over, just as he always does. You can't help but smile too. Sitting up, you scoot a bit closer to him and abruptly drop your head on his shoulder, to his surprise. "woah there, what's this all about?" He raises a browbone as he looks down at you, feeling your arm move behind his back so you can awkwardly hug him.

"How long was I asleep?" You ask, getting straight to the point. He looks back up, focusing on the rising sun before the two of you. "not much time has passed here since you fell asleep. or, i guess you could say we fell asleep, huh?" He chuckles. "guessing you've had lots of opportunities to explore. i couldn't imagine doing all that."

"..Yeah." You think about places you've been, your consciousness moving about through different timelines and possibilities. It is only right here, in this space, that you can truly remember things..and where you originally came from. You've certainly seen a lot of interesting figures recently. All of them being different variants of Sans, and even his brother, Papyrus. The same two, just..in various different fonts.

"it's kinda weird, when i think about it." You turn to look at him. "how there's so many other mes just..hangin' around in other timelines. that even the smallest decision can make an entirely new form, a new me. up to the point where..it's like i'm a whole other person. they're sorta..physical "what if"s. aaand prove that the timeline theory is real..so..that's complicated. i guess i can see why you like to go see them all. curiosity."

"..Yeah..it's..like a new adventure each time." You earn a nod from him, before you sit up and move so you're in front of him, placing your hands at the sides of his legs. "But..just so we're clear, that doesn't mean I want to see you any less, Sans. You're still you, the original you, that..that I fell for in the beginning." Heat rises to your cheeks, burning even warmer as you watch a shade of blue make its way onto the skeleton's cheekbones to match.

"i mean, i understand if you prefer some variations of me more. i'm not gonna take it personally-" You cut him off, placing your hand on his left cheekbone. He freezes like a deer in the headlights, his eyesockets relaxing a little as he leans into your touch almost instinctively.

"Just because I like to see other outcomes it doesn't mean I'll love you any less. I refuse to leave you behind. I won't leave Paps behind either. I promise."

"seems like a pretty big promise. sure you can keep it?" "I'm absolutely sure." You lean forward, pressing your forehead against his own. "No matter what..you'll always remain in my heart, Sans. The true you, I mean." "why settle for me when you can have so many other mes?" He raises a browbone, a soft smile on his face. "At the end of the day it was the two of you that my heart belonged to first. Nothing will change that." His face is now a prettier, brighter shade of blue..you can't help but smile, seeing him like this.

"You're not making puns." "it's not the time for that." He averts his eyelights, earning a chuckle from you. You lightly tap his cheek. "C'mon..look at me." "i dunno.." "Please?" "what if i fall for you all over again?" You smile. "I'd be alright with that."

He turns his eyelights to you, unable to look away the moment he does. You can hear his breath hitch, the lights shifting into little heart shapes the moment he blinks. "..Can I?..Or would that be too forward?-" You mutter, your face heating up again at the thought. "just get over here, you." He puts his arms around your waist, pulling you a little closer so you can make contact yourself.

You lean forwards, pressing your lips against his teeth..feeling yourself becoming lost in the moment. Your heart pounds in your ears, your faces both madly flushed as you embrace each other's company. Eventually you have to break the kiss for air, softly regaining your breath as he stares at you with admiring eyes. He reaches up his hands, placing them on the sides of your face now. The cool feeling both calms your nerves and makes you even more flushed. "you alright being stuck with me? with us, even?" "Always. Don't ever question that." You smile, earning a grin from him in return as you hear footsteps approaching in the distance.

"There You Two Are! I've Been Looking Everywhere For You!" Papyrus comes to a stop before you, pressing his hands on his hips with his all-too-familiar grin. A few seconds pass before he takes in your states, a smug look crossing his face. "Am I Interrupting Something?"

"nah, you got here just in time. right?" Sans lightly nudges you, earning rapid nods from you in return. If you let him hear your voice tremble or crack you would quite literally die inside.

"so, what's up? something going on?" He asks, putting an arm around you. "I Thought You Might Want To See Our New Neighbors! They Are Quite The Interesting Bunch. And..Oddly Familiar Looking.."

You and Sans give each other a knowing look. "You don't think?.." "awfully convenient timing, universe." "Might as well make a good first impression, huh?"

[then-be-a-warrior]

LEGO MONKIE KID

Okay FINE I made a one-shot

From this theory/post I made a little while ago.

-------------------------------------------------------

"I admit. It IS kinda fun being on this side of things. Maybe this is why..."

Macaque could barely hear the rest of what MK had to say because of the ringing in his ears. Getting thrown into a mountain will do that to you. But as someone who fought along side The Monkey King himself, Macaque easily recovered and took a fighting stance once again.

"Kid, listen to me."

"No. I'm tired of listening. I'm tired of listening to everyone and everything around me. Gods like Nuwa telling me to give up my life. Immortals like Monkey King telling me my life is worth more than that. Who is HE to say I'm 'SPECIAL'?!......So no-" Mk walked through the rubble towards Macaque. Eyes golden with three tails swaying behind him. "From now on, I'm doing what I have the power to do. Which is whatever I want."

Macaque knew he wouldn't get through to him (from firsthand experience). Not alone anyway. In fact...

"Some help would be greatly appreciated!"

Mk quirked an eyebrow, wondering who Macaque was talking to until another, more irritated voice was heard from where they were fighting just moments ago.

"I'M COMING, YOU BEARDED RAT! I can't exactly keep up with you celestial primates, you know!"

Mk watched as Redson, out-of-breath and just as angry as usual, came into the picture. He smiled as Redson walked closer to Macaque's side; clearly indicating how this is now a 2-vs-1 fight. Hilarious.

"Him!? Y-you brought him?" Mk couldn't help but laugh. Doubling over and holding his sides, MK's laughter almost sounded innocent enough to make you forget the destruction he's been causing the world for weeks.

Redson was about to blow a fuse until MK continued.

"Calm down, Redson, I'm not laughing AT you." Which sounded like a lie considering he was still chuckling. "I know you're strong. You used to cause me a lot of trouble when I first got the staff. Used to. I'm laughing at the irony."

Both Macaque and Redson were surprised at the fact that MK was talking this much during a fight. Recently, he's just been going on a rampage. No reasoning with him and no talking to him. Macaque and Redson were sent together to take him on. To distract him. And it looks like Mk just figured out the reason it had to be them...

"Two of my greatest enemies. Redeemed by yours truely to help save the world from the one who saved them. You can't tell me that's not the greatest thing ever. But I just have one question..."

Macaque and Redson suddenly felt the air get heavy. Like an invisible force was weighing down on their backs and their legs were jelly. Macaque couldn't help but think if this is what Wukong felt when he was trapped under the mountain. He looked up at Mk and his deranged smile was gone. Replaced with a calm fury that would've made him RUN if he could've.

"If neither of you are strong enough to scratch Sun Wukong, how the hell are you going to fight someone who's stronger than him?"

-------------------------------------------------------

If anyone wants to continue this, feel free (moot or not). Just give me credit. Maybe someday I'll write my first fanfic...just not today😂

It's mostly MK dialogue because I love writing insanity😍

@alilcherrysramblings @madmandude @autism-autobot @marokra @captainnemis @electricpirateduck @sweetsugarcoffee @imjusthereforthecake @doggodonut12 @galacticspud23 @will-of-the-wisps @ayrza

[thefandomenchantress]

Chapter 2 Episode 15 Spoilers below!

Since Ace being the culprit has brought about so much pain to ace lovers, including me, I figured I'd make a list of all the good things that him being the culprit brings to us. Even though Ace will (probably) be executed next episode, that doesn't mean that nothing good came out of this, right?

-Ace's backstory may be revealed much sooner than expected! Before we would've had to wait for chapter 3 or chapter 4 and so on, but since Ace will be gone soon, almost everything not revealed next episode will get told to us in a bonus episode! (I think every dead person gets one of those? Idk if that's officially confirmed). I doubt Teruko's gonna find, like, Ace's diary in chapter three detailing his life story, so if we're ever getting the Taylor Lore™, it'll be in a bonus episode! Plus, a bonus episode would come out a lot faster than the whole of chapter three, so more Ace content sooner no matter what happens in it! And there's always the chance he gets picked for an FTE, since dead people are on the list of options.

-Ace canonically has neat, fancy handwriting. Begone rumors of Ace having illegible, traditionally boy-ish handwriting, he actually writes like a 19th century scholar and I find this very funny. More evidence for my 'Ace likes reading and writing and wanted to become a romance author' crack theory, since he also reenforced his particularness about vocabulary in chapter 2 part 2. (Our only remaining question: Does Ace actually have terrible spelling ('responsibel'), or did he just think Eden would?)

-Ace is very good at being sneaky and often overhears things he shouldn't. I can't wait for this to be used as a plot device in numerous fics ("XANDER YOU'LL NEVER GUESS THE SHIT I JUST HEARD DAVID SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN HE THOUGHT HE WAS ALONE").

-Ace will have to be included in the dead (formerly a) trio posts forevermore. Get ready for Xander-Min-Arei-Ace shenanigans.

-Now that the cast has been forced to acknowledge that being dumb and angry aren't Ace's only traits and that he's just as human as the rest of them, Ace is much less likely to be seen as just those two things by the average viewer. Ace's popularity, or at least the amount of dislike towards him, seems to have shifted since the last episode, and I'm happy more people are able to enjoy what his character has to offer now. He's a cool little guy. I've literally NEVER seen the Ace Markey tag this busy before.

-We got so many cool Ace CGs guys. SO MANY. Including one where he's hanging upside down on the swing set and looks weirdly cute for someone in the middle of a murder plan.

-Also new sprites! The DRDTdev gave Ace a redesign knowing full-well that it would only get a singular chapter of use, and I massively respect that. We already got some new sprites in part 2 of chapter 2 so far, and I'm guessing next episode he'll probably have at least one more breakdown sprite before he dies.

-For someone who no one in the cast liked, he's definitely going to leave an impact. He's finally made at least some of the cast realize what happens when they ignore the issues right in front of them. Ace shouts about how everyone hates him and sees him as an insufferable idiot? Eh, probably nothing, we don't have to worry about that. Sure, multiple people told him he's gonna die next in here, and he almost got murdered, but that won't amount to anything. What's he gonna do, murder someone--WAIT SHIT Ace step away from the Arei I repeat step away from the Arei-- (plus Teruko parallels). I'll probably go more in-depth about this sort of thing in a different post.

-WE NEVER GOT TO SEE WHAT'S UNDER HIS GLOVES. Kyoko and Mukuro both had hand-related secrets that connected them to the plot later on, does that mean Ace will have some sort of relevance to the mastermind or overall lore later on? Like a Mai tattoo situation? (Or maybe it's another thing that may be alluded to or discussed in the bonus episode)(Or left to interpretation but I hope not because I have so many theories).

If you have any more suggestions for other good Ace-related things the culprit reveal brought us, let me know and I can add them to the list! We need as many good things as we can think of right now...

[blessedgirthma]

Joker Needs To Die

Back again with another DC-centric post! This time we'll be continuing my rambling about the Joker and Batman.

Spoilers are down below for a number of Batman stories, including the first issue of Hush 2.

So, I was reading the first issue of Hush 2 and watched as the Joker was taken by the Silence to Thomas Elliot and tortured.

I am sure this was very cathartic for you Jason Todd and Barbara Gordon fans. Even I have to admit that there's a little bit of sweetness in the Joker getting a little bit of torture for all the stuff he's done. Regardless, Hush ends up torturing him until Batman shows back up and finds him.

So the choice is simple. Whether it'd be Joker or Hush, personally, I'm leaning toward Joker since he seems to be the one speaking in the recording, but at the end of the day, Batman is given the chance to let his nemesis die. He doesn't have to bloody his hands; Hush has already done all the dirty work, and now all he has to do is let the Joker die.

Some believe that the Joker is already dead here, but given the cover of the next issue,

And the synopsis: "H2SH WITH JEPH LOEB AND JIM LEE CONTINUES! After the shocking events of the last issue, Batman must make the hardest decision of his life! Guest-starring Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood!"

I think the Joker is definitely still alive here.

For me, I have the theory that both Joker and Hush orchestrated all of this, with Hush using the Silence to incapacitate the Joker so he doesn't pull any wild card moves, all for this little test to push Batman since we all know he's going to save the Joker. But given the cover of the next issue, I also believe that Jason will show up and he and Batman will have a conflict where the ex-Robin will try to stop his old mentor and father figure from saving the clown prince of crime since by all means, this seems to be as good a chance as any to finally finish things.

They can finally wash their hands of the freak. They don't even have to do anything, and the Joker will die all on his own. But with Batman being Batman, he still tries to save the clown since even though the Caped Crusader probably hates the clown prince of crime more than anyone else, to him, leaving Joker to die is still murder. They'll probably fight, with Batman agonizing over the chance to finally let Joker die, which is one of the reasons why I believe the Joker himself is a part of this whole plan. But eventually, the time will come where we'll be able to finally see if the clown bites it.

Now, let's get to the point of this post, where I believe that,

THE JOKER SHOULD DIE!!!!

Over the past few decades, I feel like we've been going nowhere with the relationship between Batman and the Joker. Heck, I even made a separate post about it. But to go into further detail, I want to ask the question of what was the most significant thing Joker has done in the past 20 or so years of comic history.

In 1988, we got the Killing Joke, where the Joker was at his absolute worst. Paralyzing Barbara and traumatizing Jim, he was an utter monster. I do want to make a separate post about the story and how we finally got a glimpse at the man behind the clown makeup and saw an actual calm interaction between him and the Bat.

Funnily enough, 1988 was also the year the Death in the Family story came out with Joker killing Jason. It's probably one of the most important Batman stories to come out, right alongside the Killing Joke. But to ask another question, when's the last time we've gotten a story like that?

Now, I might not be as big of a Joker fan as I think I am because there could be stories like those out there that are just as extreme as those, but from what I've seen, only those two are the real stand-out stories, right alongside Knightfall.

Sure, we've had stories like Death of the Family, where the Joker cuts his face off. But that time around, he more or less targeted the Bat-family rather than Batman directly and instead damages his relationships with the rest of the family. After that, we had Endgame, where both Batman and Joker die in their 'final' battle.

From there, the most notable Joker story after that was Joker War, where he takes all of Batman's money and uses it against him. In the end, this left the Caped Crusader broke and without a lot of his resources. After that, we then have the two Joker comics, which were fun, especially the first, where we see Jim Gordon finally manage to find some peace with his experiences with the Joker.

The second Joker story was also fun, but it was pretty confusing with the whole 2 Joker's angle. But at the end, when the Joker emerges from the water and he's asked which one he is between the two, I love how he simply said that he was the Joker. That it didn't matter who he was, only that he kept the people of Gotham smiling at the end of the day.

Dark Prisons then came and went, and we got a taste of the Joker's first year after falling into the vat of acid. I'm personally conflicted about the story, but I think it was fine, and it was also pretty fun to see the Joker finally come into his own as the clown prince of crime.

Now, here we are, Hush 2 and Joker has to be saved by Batman. Whether or not he does it is still up in the air. But I'm personally leaning toward him surviving. I could be wrong, however.

But throughout all of these stories, prior to Hush 2 and after the Killing Joke and Death in the Family fiasco, what impact has Joker really made in that time?

Sure, he hurt the relationship between Batman and his family and even took all his money. But the thing about comics is that it all has to return to the status quo at the end of the day. Batman reformed his relationships with his family, something he had to do a couple of times, thanks to people like Bane, Thomas Wayne Batman, and Zur-En-Arrh, and now more recently, he's gotten his money back and is back to living in a mansion.

All in all, besides Alfred being gone, which was something that was due to Bane and Thomas Wayne Batman, nothing has changed since the 1980s when Death in the Family and Killing Joke came out. Sure, Jason might be back now, but Under the Red Hood was more or less his story rather than the Joker's.

All of this to say that the Joker hasn't really done anything all that noteworthy in that time besides a few instances where he does some messed up or funny stuff. This leads me to my final point in how the Joker should die for his relationship with Batman to progress.

For those who are in the know about the deeper parts of the relationship between Batman and Joker, you know that the obsession the Joker has with the Caped Crusader goes both ways. There's a cover for Death of the Family that fits this perfectly.

Joker is on Batman's mind as much as Batman is on Joker's. The relationship between the two of them is equal parts hate, love, and obsession.

So, having the Joker kick the bucket is to remove a relationship that has been a part of Batman's life since he first put on the cowl. Some might say he wouldn't care, but with the obsene amount of times he's gone out of his way to save the Joker's life whether it'd be throwing him into the Lazerus pit to bring him back to life, or deciding to help him while he was bleeding out instead of chasing a criminal it's clear that no matter what he might try to believe, Batman cares to an extent for the Joker.

This would then give Batman the chance to feel something different about his role as Gotham's protector. Sure, people like Bane or the Penguin might be bad, but the Joker is supposed to be the worst out of all of them. He has to be the one to push Batman to his absolute limits, whether it'd be copywriting fish or beating one of his sidekicks to death. The Joker's unpredictability is what made him such a fearsome foe for the level-headed and strategic-minded person that Batman is.

This is a relationship that has been 80+ years in the making, and there hasn't been any real change between the two of them beyond the Joker doing something and Batman having to come and stop him. And sure, there's something to that. Having this eternal relationship where it'll continue for more decades to come.

But I think now more than ever we need a flagpole moment, similar to the Killing Joke and Death in the Family. And I think the best we could get is for Joker to finally die and just let Batman and the rest of the DC world sit on that.

Imagine Harley Quinn feeling a mix of relief and sadness. Relief that the Joker was now gone, but still having that part of herself that loves him even after everything he did to her grieve after his death. Or maybe Jason realized that even after the Joker's death, he's still angry and bitter, and that fire inside him isn't something necessarily attached to the Joker, and he has to work through it some other way.

But I think the most important effect would be on Batman himself. He'd have to change a few things about how he went after crime since the worst of the worst in the form of the Joker is finally gone. Of course, he won't stay gone forever.

The Joker is still one of DC's main cash cows, and I feel like they wouldn't want to keep him shelved for too long. But when he does come back, Batman will once again have to change along with the Joker since they've finally seen what happens when he dies and the peace and change that comes from such a thing.

Perhaps Batman will kill the Joker again to keep the peace of mind he once had when he was gone. Or maybe the Joker will be more vicious and violent than ever before since he's gotten a taste for death and is no longer afraid of it, if he ever was. In any case, the Joker dying would undoubtedly shift the dynamic between him and Batman into new directions that could really spark some new life and excitement between the two of them.

That's why I'm excited to see this new Joker in the Absolute universe and watch how their relationship grows just as close as it is in the main DC universe. But for what we're getting now in the main continuity, it's always just been the same stuff. I think the Joker himself put it best when he said in the Batman Arkham Knight DLC A Matter of Family when he's getting ready to fire a rocket at Batgirl and Robin,

"Oh, see. It used to be simple. I blow things up. He shows up. Start all over again."

But for the relationship between Batman and Joker to continue surviving for as long as it has and stand the test of time, there needs to be a change to that dynamic. We've had the age of Batman stopping the Joker; now, we need something new.

[mellifiedberries]

Okay, talking on the cutscene from today, I think one of two things could have happened,

Long post incoming, keep in mind I'm a tr!ros main!

Either A: Stultus came and visited her in a dream, asking her these questions and seeing of she has the traits to become their next entertainer, considering the fact that tr!owen didn't want to come back, and the question 'are you willing to sacrifice everything for others suffering?'

Or B: tr!Ros was genuinely dreaming and Stultus was a manifestation of her darkest thoughts. Who questioned her motivations and encouraging her to fall to darkness, and follow through with the thoughts she pushes away, ie killing everyone and tormenting those she hates. They're a manifestation of all the hurt, rage, and paranoia that she's gained over the server. If this theory is true, the reason it takes the form of a keeper is to remind her of this darkness, and 'force her hand' to do things. Her saying things like 'Because of you, I don't have anything to lose' and 'Do I really think that?' and all of her other responses make it sound like it's not another person, it's a part of herself saying this

Dissecting these quotes, first, 'Because of you, I have little left to lose' the delivery of this line is interesting, the slight hesitance before she finishes 'I have. little left to lose' makes it sound like she's unsure, that maybe a part of her knows she has more to lose then she says. Also the way she says 'because of you' to stultus, a keeper we know little about besides from !owen, who was brief, can either be a generalization towards the keepers, the higher beings in control, or if it's B, a dig at herself, for pushing away those she cares for.

In the second piece of dialogue, they say to 'Take accountability and pride in your actions' which is interesting because she has issues with this, she can't see the flaws in her actions, and talks so much about doing more malicious things, but never does.

The slight softness in her question, the way her voice wavers in her delivery, 'Do I really think that?' do *I* is the important thing here, she's not talking about what they think, she's talking about herself, she's finally scraping at her darkest thoughts and processing them.

The next line 'Is this the person I'm supposed to be?' is interesting as well, not what she wants, what she's supposed to be. She always has issues of people telling what to say and how to act and who to be, so the use of supposed to is kind of heartbreaking to hear, because it's not what SHE wants, it's what they want. Who "they" is I'm not quite sure, it could be Stultus, her enemies, or maybe a higher force at play. But it's not up to her.

She gets no reply, and the cutscene ends with a fade to black, leaving her answerless.

[exhaustedsasha]

I keep getting signs to something big, something I have manifested. I don't entirely know what it is, although my gut feeling is absolutely that it has to do with shifting.

But not just shifting.

Y'all don't know me that much, and I am excruciatingly new to the community. So I guess I can tell you a little bit about myself. I don't have the know-how to make my posts pretty and aesthetic...so you get text. Maybe I'll change the colors up from white.

Ever since I was a teenager, I have struggled to find a place where I "belonged." Yeah, Yeah, I know, typical sob story. Blah blah.

But even in comparison to other loners, i struggled like hell to make any name for myself, even online. I used to want to be a content creator, but I'm turning 26 this month, and....I realized that ship set sail years ago. Not because I'm too old, but because the digital landscape has gone to hell in a handbasket.

I did a lot of dumb shit as a teenager on the internet and put myself into danger a lot. For the sake of not being too TMI about it, I'll leave that vague, but... You can fill in the blanks.

I'm sure photos and videos are saved of teenage me somewhere on some creep's hard drive that could absolutely ruin me if I even tried to cultivate a following on any sort of video platform and attempted to show my face.

Not that I haven't tried showing my face, of course, but algorithms bury me so deep due to my physical appearance (I have a prominent overbite. I do have photos of myself on this blog, Tumblr is pretty dead nowadays, I doubt I have any worry of things coming back to haunt me here.)

I am Autistic and ADHD. I am not formally diagnosed. But it is pretty well accepted by the doctors I see that I am special needs, no matter the lack of documentation of them. I rock in my chair, refuse to make direct eye contact, verbal stim, and generally just wiggle around like a can of jumping beans in an earth quake.

And I ramble. Obviously. Get to the point, Sasha.

Before I found shifting, I already believed heavily in the multiverse/alternate reality theories from the beginning. Do you mean to tell me that we can create beautiful worlds in our heads? That we can share with others? And it doesn't exist?

Bullshit.

If we can think it, it exists. Pure and simple. Humans aren't exactly known for having "original" ideas. Someone came up with it before we did, even if they didn't have the means to create it, even if it was a guy 3 million years ago....There was probably a fleeting thought in that person's mind...Or, they created it, but no one was there to experience or witness it....

Or gods forbid another guy saw it and went "Hey! COOL IDEA!" Then he started using the other guy's idea, and HE got famous for it. (Happens incessantly throughout history)

Sasha. Rambling. Again.

Sorry.

I think my main point is that I'm excited to find something beyond myself, something beautiful, something I always knew was a part of me. I just didn't know HOW. But now I do.

I know many of the individuals in the shifting community are younger, and I'm so happy to see so many people being able to find their path early. I can't wait to join in and share my own experiences and adventures with y'all.

I dunno, I think life has finally turned around for me. It just took me getting up off my sorry ass and ceasing my "woe is me" crap to realize I am the creator of my reality.

Always have been. Always will be.