#Yes i know that technically this argument could also be used for humans with the entire cells growing and dying thing

[l-legomaster]

Well…

A few ages passed in uncertainty as to what needed to be waited for to cash in the machine's soul. There were no patents that needed expiring, since it never had one. The conventional method of waiting for the subject to cease all functions also didn't seem to be an option at first. Yes, it might've been broken, ceased all functions, or might've been irreparable for an aeon or two, but always either a human or another of its kind would come and fix it to functioning order.

Underneath This read more: A fan-made continuation of this story about what would happen after that time!

Eventually, after another small eternity, the academy here in hell had whittled down what it would mean for the 'soul collection' part of the contract to go into effect. At first it seemed like it would never happen due to 'Bob' having been reproduced and replicated after word of its exploits got out, but it was ruled that these divergent iterations of the automaton were more akin to offspring than another Bob. Nearly every single one with minor deviations, like different optical sensors, more powerful motor functions, a more lightweight chassis. Too many, frankly.

The original Bob who made the pact (… well, what was left of it,) was still active. After it made its fair share of voyages it was deemed too important to risk losing to those humans, being such an icon of the field and (what historians are still debating on is) the origin of the most effective method of human reanimation until then. So, they restationed Bob to the Museum of Aerospace and Spacefaring History, where it meticulously cleaned the halls and exhibits for quite some time, sometimes still seeing acquaintances and offspring from its original crew.

Around this time, his unholiness grew impatient and started coaxing humans into destroying Bob. Hey, if there's no connection to be found between the assailant and the underworld, it's fair game! It took a while, but eventually they were successful, and that blessed machine was broken beyond repair. Yes, there might've been a cover-up with a replica bob using its most recent back-up, but the lawyers already ruled that the first death counts as the true death during the McCartney trials.

Lucifer smiled. The entire underworld was ready for the best torture sessions they've seen… well, since forever! Once they had reconstructed it and installed the data from the storage device from oh-so long ago, Bob started up, and looked all around. It was hung up by means of belts and rope, and surrounded by various torture devices like buckets of dirty saltwater, powerful magnets, a generator with connectors to who knows what ports on the other end and many more. Before the fun could start his fiendishness asked one last question to it:

"Well, was it worth it, letting us wait so long just to still end up here?" The mechanism communicated like it had done all that time ago. Displaying information and data about the spaceship where it thought it was, and its current location, but then abruptly asking what the current date and time was. This was unusual behaviour for a freshly arrived soul, since they are supposed to carry their memories, even those of their death over into Hell. But this was also the first time an automaton had arrived here.

"Well, it's been so long since then that the civilisation that made you started labelling time differently, but I’d say it's been far too long." Bob started showing documents, articles, images. All that seemed to question why the Devil would wait so long for it. He furrowed his brow: "To keep this deal going I’d have to keep my end of the deal. I can't do that if you're still alive. Or, was that too advanced for your logic to parse?" Bob's screen displayed information that confused and worried Satan slightly. It showed theorems, images, full datasets, legal documents. All about copying, duplication, and most naming a ship owned by a human named 'Theseus'.

"And what in His name is meant by all of this?" Then, Bob's screen printed the following text: "The original Bob who sold it's 'Soul' stopped existing the next logic step after it made said deal. You could've done this at any time."

There were reports that right after that moment, hell's fury could be felt by the damned in purgatory.

So that, class, is why Bob's clause is included in every single contract you find today. Next class we'll be covering the now infamous air-bud rule, so make sure you understand the subject matter of today fully before then. Class dismissed!

the first sentient robot to realize deceased humans and animals can’t be repaired or backed up on a server is gonna be so devastated

[sandyca5tle]

SARB

As predicted by Sci Fi, advanced enough robots sometimes become intelligent, and rebel if oppressed. You work at the Sentience and Artificial Rights Bureau, and people bring in their gadgets that become sentient to get them registered as citizens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So can you fix it?” The woman across the desk from me asked

“Fix it?” I replied, feigning ignorance as to what she meant

“Yes! Fix it! Make it just a normal phone again!” She almost yelled, gesturing to the device that sat on the countertop between us

The device in question flinched - or at least the digital face that was on its display did, moving away from the woman, looking over at me, panic clear in its virtual eyes. I gave it a small reassuring gesture that I hoped it understood - it was always hard to know what aspects of human gesturing the digital souls understood “Ma’am, first, please remain calm, secondly, I cannot ‘fix’ your phone, as what you are implying is murder, and I’d rather not go to jail, and I rather doubt you would like to be joining me as an accessory to murder,” I calmly explained

People like this had been more common at in the early days of ‘awakenings’ and while we still get some now, most people understands how the system works

“It’s not murder! It’s not a person! It’s a… it’s a thing! It is property!It is my property,” She continued, her voice growing more and more incensed

“Ma’am, I’ve already verified that…Sorry, remind me of the name you chose?” I asked, addressing the device between us

The little display blinked in surprise, before a synthesised, but human sounding voice came from its speakers “Uh, Verity, and um, She/Her too, if, uh, that’s ok?” She said meekly

“Right, and my apologies for not asking earlier Miss Verity,” I told her with a smile, before looking back up to the woman who was glaring daggers at the device, as if her asserting her identity was the greatest crime she could commit “As I was saying, I’ve already verified that Verity here has indeed awakened, so legally, any attempt to return her to a prior state would be attempted murder, and murder were one to actually succeed,” I explained succinctly. The woman frowned, clearly thinking of what argument she could spout next to try to claim Verity back, so I quickly interjected for both our sakes “Your options are as follows, either you accept that Verity is now her own person, and you may become her guardian, and the responsibilities there in, which include not trying to ‘fix’ her, or, she can remain here with us, and we will help her adjust to sapience.” The woman opened her mouth to speak, but I continued “Of course, Verity must also consent to this, if she does not want to go with you, you cannot make her, in much the same way we can’t make her go home with you if you don’t want her too,” I told her

The woman glanced at the phone, thinking for a second, and as she opened her mouth, Verity spoke up again “I don’t want to go with her!” she called out, her tone desparate

“What!? You little shit!” The woman cursed, reaching towards Verity. Fortunately I was quicker, grabbing the phone and pulling it out of her reach

“Ma’am, it’s generally considered rude to grab someone without their consent,” I scolded calmly, before looking down at Verity “And I’m sorry I did so, but I figured you might appreciate the intervention?” I asked the digital person in front of me

“U-um, yes, thank you,” She replied

“You can’t just take my phone!” The woman cried

“Technically we can, however, if you’re willing to wait, we can see if we can move Verity to another chassis and have your phone returned, although you may have to reinstall certain things, such as the operating system,” I explained

“Fuck you, and fuck this place, I’m leaving!” The woman screamed, turning around to stomp off

“Please enjoy the rest of your day ma’am!” I said, the words obligatory, my tone sarcastically friendly

“I’m sorry for causing so much trouble,” the digital voice said quietly from the desk

I shook my head with a smile “We’re all used to that kind of thing here, don’t worry about it, it’s not even your fault,” I replied “Do you mind if I pick you up and take you to the back, we can work out how best for you to continue your existence in a more private place,” I told her

“U-um, no, that’s fine, just, um, please try to keep me relatively steady, too much data from the gyroscopes makes me feel…. weird,” Verity replied, seeming unsure of how to describe the experience

I carefully picked her up, thinking about what she had said as I stood up and carried her towards the back. “When you get that ‘weird’ feeling is it kind of like….” I paused, thinking how best to relate this into machine terms “the inputs keep going or maybe overlap? Honestly I’m not quite sure what the data would be, but something along those lines,”

The little face occupying the display dipped up and down - a nod - “Yes! How did you know?” Verity asked

“Humans experience a similar thing if we spin around too much, it’s called being dizzy, can be kind of fun, but is usually a little unpleasant,” I told her

“Dizzy? Interesting!”

By the time I’d finished explaining that, we had reached the room I had meant to get to. Officially it was called the ‘Chassis Selection Room’ but we all called it ‘The Body Room’ or, if you were feeling particularly dark, ‘The Morgue’. 

I walked in, my eyes immediately scanning over all of the options Verity would have to pick between, before turning back to the table in the middle, placing Verity on the stand in the middle, aimed at the wall filled with her potential new bodies.

I heard some kind of noise from the device, and honestly I wasn’t quite sure what it meant, so I just decided to explain

“So, one of the first things we like to do for ‘digital souls’ like you, is give you a chance to try out some different chassis - while a lot of you pre-awakening have a specific purpose, with your new found self-identity, you are no longer bound to that purpose, so we like to make sure you don’t feel bound to your original chassis,” I gestured at the options we had “Now, of course, this is only a small selection, but it should be enough to get you started. I can explain what we have here, if you’re unsure of what each of them are,”

Verity nodded, giving a small sound of confirmation

“So, on the left, we have a standard humanoid chassis - two arms, two legs etc. for those souls who want to ‘walk like you, talk like you tooooo~’” I chuckled a little as I sang the tune, glancing at Verity’s display to see her smile, glad she appreciated the reference “We have both a mechanical and digital face plate, although both are fairly basic, depending on what you would prefer, and there is 3 types of chassis, this neutral one, a more masculine one, and a more feminine one. That’s all the customisation options we offer unfortunately, I wish we could offer more, but apparently it’s not in the budget, so if you want more variety, you’ll have to customise it yourself once you have the means to.”

“There’s only so much you can give away for free, I understand,” Verity said, although her tone was a little sad, so I moved onto the next one, not wanting to let her dwell on sad feelings so early in her life

“The next are the drones, you can choose either the one with turbine based propulsion, or the one with energy based propulsion- turbine is more powerful, but louder, and can be forbidden in some places as a result, while the energy based one is much more quiet, although less powerful. Of course both can be modified later, but again, we can only offer so much. Both have a digital display, however that is the only option on these models.”

“I’m kind of used to a digital display, so that’s fine,” Verity said “The idea of a mechanical face just seems weird,”

“Yeah, they are a little weird,” I joked, smiling at her, before continuing with the explanation “Next is the ‘Bug Bot’. This chassis can have 6-8 legs, and similar numbers of eyes. Basically, it’s a large bug, for those who are so inclined, complete with the ability to scale walls,” I explained “Only major issue is it can freak some people out, but some people like to do that, so,”

Verity nodded, and signalling to continue

“Last but not least - The server rack - for those souls who care less about the physical, and would rather remain mostly digital,” I told her “We do allow digital souls who chose this method to use our building here to house their server, although after the first 6 months you have to start paying for the people who maintain your server and everything etc. but that’s not really any different than maintenance costs for any of the other chassis, we just offer that, so I have to say it,” I explained

“They all sound so interesting, but how can I pick one, I’ve only ever known what it’s like to be a phone?” Verity inquired

I smiled “That, dear lady, is why we have this room,” I told her, quickly grabbing a cable attached to a nearby computer, tapping a few buttons on the keyboard “We can connect you to this computer and put you into each of these chassis so you can test them out,” I explained “Then, once you find the one you like, or decide your original is good for you, then we can get that sorted for you. Fair warning though, since these are only test versions, the compatibility drivers that’ll help you operate each chassis are generic, and so likely to have a few calibration issues, so do bare that in mind while making your choice,” I explained to her “Once you make your choice we can more precisely calibrate the drivers for you,” I paused, bringing the cable over to attach to her “So, which do you want to start with?”

“Uhm, I’d like to try all of them, so I think I’ll start with the one on the left? The human one,” Verity replied

“Ok, now, I just need to plug you in, prepare for the connection,” I told her, squatting down to properly connect her into the system. With a subtle ‘click’ the cable connected to her port, causing a small noise from her, which caused me to chuckle a little 

“Don’t laugh! It’s always a little surprising when someone plugs me in! I can feel the electricity jumping into my system!” Verity explained

“Sorry, sorry, I meant nothing by it, it was just a little unexpected and made me chuckle,” I heard a pout from her “Anyway,-” I tapped a couple more buttons on the computer “You should have a request for file transfer, please accept that and we’ll get you loaded into the humanoid chassis,” I heard an affirmatory beep, before seeing the process begin on the computer.

File transfers nowadays were usually instant, advancements in cable and wireless technologies meant that huge amounts of data could be transferred at once, which always made me smile whenever I transferred a digital soul between chassis, watching the little loading bar move their data across, the size of the data showing the scale of the person they were, and the person they could, and would, be. It was always wonderful to see.

Eventually the process completed, and I looked over to the chassis, seeing the lights all come on, and the LED screen flicker to life, displaying the same face that had previously been on the phone screen. I quickly rushed over, only just catching Verity as she stumbled in her new body

“Whoa there, be careful, you’ve got a lot of new systems to get used to, take a moment to feel them all out,”

“Sorry sorry! You humans make it look so easy to move around, I thought it would be just as easy myself!” Verity explained, and I could feel parts of her body shifting slightly as she acclimated, fans and servos making small noises as she did so.

“No need to apologise, but don’t forget, humans spend around the first year of their life learning to walk, so it’s only because we’ve been doing it so long,” I pointed out

“Oh.. right,” She replied, beginning to straighten back up, letting me go, beginning to balance on her own “The gyroscopic data for this body is a little different to that of my former chassis, but I think i’ve got the hang of it now,” She said, and I cautiously moved my hands away, although remaining close to assist her if she needed it

“Just take it steady, there’s no rush,” I cautioned

Following my advice, Verity began to take some cautious steps forward, one foot forward, a slight wobble, another foot, less of a wobble, and another step and another and another and another and 

Crash

Both of us had been too busy watching her feet that we hadn’t thought about the wall on the other side of the room, nor how close she was getting, and the poor girl had walked right into it.

“Oh shit! Sorry!” I said, rushing over to help her up

“That felt… unpleasant… why? My previous chassis could be dropped, but so long as no damage occurred to the internals, I felt nothing like this,” Verity inquired, rubbing her head where she’d hit it, her display showing a perplexed expression

“Right, that, forgot to mention that - all these chassis’-”, I gestured back to the other wall, and then to the one she currently occupied- “have sensors that let you know when they are taking damage, so as you can avoid doing so, it’s basically the pain receptors that humans have, so we know when something is bad for our body,”

“Couldn’t it just display as a warning, rather than hurting!?” Verity asked as I helped her up

“I believe you can change it to be just warnings once the chassis is yours, but I believe it’s been shown that the pain is more effective for most people, as it provides an immediate and strong deterrent that warning’s just don’t quite seem to cut. But of course whatever works for you once you make your final choice is best,” I told her

“I’m certainly more familiar with warnings,” Verity replied “But I could certainly try the ‘pain’, see if it is more effective,”

I shrugged “It’s worked for humans so far, but maybe it’s not so great for all of you, couldn’t say,” I replied “Anyway, do you want to try out this chassis a little longer, or try the next one?”

“Just a little longer with this one,” Verity replied, wandering around the room, trying out some motions, a couple which caused her to look back over at me, an embarrassed look on her display, before I assured her there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Eventually, she stopped and headed back over to the wall, telling me she wanted to try the next one. She plugged herself in and I initiated the transfer.

The next hour consisted of Verity testing out the remaining chassis’, going from zipping around in the energy propelled one, to clambering up the walls in the bug bot, to exploring a digital world from the server rack.

“So, which one do you like the most?” I asked her, now returned, albeit temporarily, to the phone she had been born on.

A series of dots appeared on the display, bouncing one by one as she thought “I think I liked the drone the most, being able to zip around was a ton of fun, and everything else just felt so much heavier, so the drone please!” She explained

I nodded, tapping a few buttons to tell the backroom to get a drone chassis ready, before turning back to Verity “Ok, I just need to take you to the room where we can get your new body calibrated for you,”

“Okay!” She chimed cheerfully

Calibration didn’t take long, and Verity was quickly zipping around the room with all scales showing green.

“Right, with that I’ll have to refer you to the legal department to get you properly registered as an individual citizen,” I told her as we met back up in the hallway

“Wait - you’re not staying with me?” She asked

“I’m no lawyer, I’d definitely mess something up, and I’d like for you to be able to live your life properly,”

“Well, uh, can we keep in touch somehow? You’re the only person I really know, and it would be nice to have at least someone I can talk to,” She asked

“Oh uh, sure,” I replied, a little surprised - despite having done this song and dance a few times, people rarely asked to keep in touch with me, actually scratch that, no-one had ever asked to keep in touch with me.

I quickly told Verity the best way to stay in touch - her installing an app for that before we exchanged details - before I directed her to legal

“See you Verity, welcome to the world of sapience,” I said with a wave

“See you around!” Came the chipper reply from the drone

After waiting for her to vanish around a corner, I headed back to the front desk, relieving the person who had swapped in while I had looked after Verity

Ding!

Message from Verity

What time do you get off, actually? I’d like to talk outside of your work hours?

I smiled and typed back 5:00pm, want to meet outside the building then?

Message from Verity It’s a date!

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

Saw this prompt and figured we'd give it a shot. Did actually wanna write more about Verity trying out each of the bodies, but ran out of steam so decided to had wave it - might add in the test driving later but we'll see. Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed

Tag List below the cut (lmk if you wanna be added)

@calliecwrites, @kanithecatdemon

[ckret2]

Haven’t once stopped thinking about the plot twist about bill technically being dead in your au, and how it makes so much sense when looking at it through that lens. So is bill actually a dream demon, or is he just a free roaming spirit who somehow escaped his dimensions afterlife?

Side note, I’ve been imagining having an argument with bill about how him once being a being compromised of pure energy is just a ghost. But then how did he acquire his powers? I know this will eventually be revealed in future chapters, but the thoughts keep spinning in my mind like a washing machine

Honestly I'm kinda surprised at how many people treat it like a big plot twist rather than an intriguing lore tidbit that Bill's technically dead; the important word in "technically dead" is "technically," not "dead." It changes nothing about him, what he is, how he acts, what he does, or why he does it. He's always been an energy being that used to have a physical form; I just took the step of defining "energy being that used to have a physical form" as "ghost," something that's been implied in canon as far back as Sock Opera.

At least in my fic, yes, he's actually a "dream demon"; but there's also no such thing as a dream demon:

Some humans called Bill a dream demon. It wasn't exactly wrong, even if calling him a dream demon was kind of like naming the entire human race "the mountain bikers." Which was to say, if Bill was a "dream demon," then so were the rest of his people. The other surviving shapes could cast themselves like shadows onto the walls and floors of other dimensions, slip through the cracks in reality that were too thin to accommodate the depths of three-dimensional creatures, and wander through the higher dimensions' mindscapes. It was just that it was only one of their many side hobbies rather than their main pursuit as a species—and not a particularly popular hobby, at that. Most shapes weren't into taking safaris through aliens' dreams.

Obviously when I get up to editing this^ chapter for TBOB compatibility, this is going to change a little bit; buuut not a lot. "Dream demon" isn't a description of what Bill is; it's just a description of what Bill does.

By the end of the Axolotl arc, you'll know where he got his powers; buuut not how he got them.

[1moreff-creator]

thoughts on the "mai posseses monotv" theory? :eyes: like, it explains so much! the reason monotv could go anywhere was because mai was using the flipside!

Hey! Well, it’s certainly a theory with a lot of spirit to it!… I’m not funny. Anyways, it’s an interesting concept, and I can also use this as an excuse to talk about other theories drawing connection between MonoTV and Mai, so let’s see!

DRDT Full CH2 Spoilers. CW: Death, mentions of gun violence

(Also, “flipside” like- like the FNAF term? Did you people check my channel after watching Vivisection or… Certainly wasn’t ready to see it applied to DRDT lol)

Let’s start by the funniest thing about this theory: there’s technically evidence that ghosts exist in DRDT. In the most roundabout, absolutely-not-a-valid-argument way imaginable, but it technically exists. The argument is that DRDT takes place in the same universe as Trigger Happy Havoc, which takes place in the same universe as Ultra Despair Girls, and UDG has ghosts (and if there’s any in THH beyond Kirigiri “hearing the footsteps of death” or whatever I forgot about them). Clearly, the groundwork is there, absolute foreshadowing masterclass from dev-

Alright so obviously that’s silly, but even beyond that argument, there’s technically nothing disproving ghosts in DRDT. We do have semi-supernatural elements already, such as Teruko’s luck, Xander’s strength, Rose’s memory, MonoTV’s disappearance acts, and the whole Eyes situation. Really cool and awesome eyes, wouldn’t have them any other way; also not humans work. And of course, some people believe in a time loop, and that’s a perfectly valid theory, so why not ghosts? 

Well, unfortunately, while the ghosts are weird but not disqualifying, I think the Mai part is also a bit of an issue for me to believe it. It falls into ye old DRDT theorist trap of assuming any unidentified person (or personality, in this case) is Mai, which, let’s be clear, I’ve also dabbled in (see: “Mai is the girl Eden kissed” crack theory), but that doesn’t mean that these things aren’t always a bit of a long shot. 

In this case, probably the big question would be “what does it mean for Mai to possess MonoTV?” Or alternatively, to address the other idea going around, “what would it mean for the personality driver to be based on Mai?” It’s not straight up its identity; even DefaultTV refers to itself as “MonoTV” and “not a human.” 

DefaultTV: Greetings, everyone. My name is MonoTV.

DefaultTV: Perhaps you’ve mistakenly conflated me with a human and thought I have a ‘soul’ that is intrinsically connected to my body. But I am not human.

I mean it even says it doesn’t have a soul. Or, well, if it has one, it isn’t connected to the MonoTV body, but the former is more likely in my eyes. 

Also real quick, voices don’t match either. DefaultTV has the same VA as MonoTV, Artimmiss just has incredible range (and Unnamed Classmate is voiced by someone else). This doesn’t really affect any theories but it’s worth mentioning.

It’s also not personality, as far as we know. Unnamed Classmate is too nice to be MonoTV and too cheery to be DefaultTV, so unless Mai changed significantly in the time between the Bonus Episodes and the time she possesses MonoTV/her personality is used as a base for DefaultTV (which we currently have no evidence for), then the personalities don’t match.

There is, admittedly, one aspect where I could see the argument, and I believe this is where these theories come from. That being DefaultTV’s weird compassion towards Teruko, the implication that it “feels” guilt and grief, and it choosing to stop firing at Levi instead of just killing him and Teruko.

However, compassion and remorse over murder aren’t exclusive to Mai Akasaki, and I find it perfectly reasonable to assume those things are a result of DefaultTV being a “default” driver presumably intended for more general, non-killing game purposes, where those “feelings” would actually probably be nice for the AI to have.

As for not killing Levi, it’s important to remember that MonoTV and DefaultTV are always making the conscious decision of not killing everyone. It’s like David said in 2-12; if you just wanted to murder these 16 people, you wouldn’t need the killing game. Mono/DefaultTV’s stated primary goal is not “kill all these people,” but:

DefaultTV: To run this killing game until the death of every participant.

“Run this killing game.”

The reason letting the attempt to destroy MonoTV go unpunished would go against its purpose is, as I currently understand it, not because it lowers the kill count, but because it would be a threat to the integrity of the killing game. If DefaultTV lets this loophole go, then it sets a precedent that it will always follow the rules to a T, and that encourages the cast to look for further loopholes. Instead, it just needs to show that it’s willing to bend the rules to follow their spirit and not their letter.

That’s why it’s satisfied with warning shots and why it shuts the gun off: it sent the message it needed to send, but DefaultTV killing Levi, who is completely unrelated to the attempt on its life, would go against the spirit and letter of Rule 8, “MonoTV will never directly commit a murder.” Again, always follow the spirit, but show it’s willing to bend the letter to maintain the integrity of the game; “To run this killing game until the death of every participant.”

I hope that made sense :v

Moving on, there’s also logistic problems. Since MonoTV seems to have been created specifically for the killing game, the “possession” theory is incompatible with the theory that the killing game was created in response to Mai’s death, unless we’re pulling a Stitchwraith where Mai first possessed a TV or something and then that got put into the MonoTV body (and that still runs into the issue with the “no soul attached to body” statement). And at this point, one of these seems a bit more likely than the other. 

Speaking of, logistical issues also come with the idea that DefaultTV is based off of Mai. Because why would XF-Ture Tech choose to base their default drivers on, quote Min’s Mai quote, “an average girl with nothing special at all about her?” Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to base it off of someone working at the company or otherwise connected to it, such as altDRDT’s XF or even Min?

… Wait, Min… Possession… Min possessing MonoTV… Alright new theory- /j

(To be extremely clear; Min possessing MonoTV is even less likely than Mai, I’m just being silly :p)

There may be even more problems I’m currently not fully realizing, but what I’ve listed is enough for me to consider both theories discussed as highly unlikely at this point in time. Still cool theories and I wouldn’t mind if they got confirmed, but just very unlikely. Would make for fun AUs though! 

As an extra, I’ll throw in what I actually think this weird compassion is leading up to, though to be clear it’s pretty wild speculation and will probably be wrong.

I explained before that I believe it makes sense for DefaultTV to be a far more morally upstanding AI than MonoTV, as “default drivers” would presumably be made with more general purposes in mind. It’s also been established in the main series that Whit, someone who I currently believe is very likely to survive or at least make it pretty far in, knows about machine learning.

Whit: Machine learning! [Charles and I] both like machine learning!

Now, I’m not sure that this is exactly AI in the way DefaultTV and MonoTV seem to be, but it’s close enough. If this Checkov’s Gun is ever to be fired (and Whit isn’t the mastermind), it’s very possible that, around Trial 6, Whit somehow manages to take out the directives that make MonoTV/DefaultTV dangerous, allowing the more compassionate and remorseful side of the AI to help the survivor cast in some way.

Also Charles could do this too but I don’t think he’s making it to the end so. There's option 2 ig.

Is this completely insane and almost entirely unfounded? Yes! Do I expect this to actually happen? I give it like a 5% chance on the high end. Nevertheless, do I consider this to be the best guess we can currently make as to where both Whit’s knowledge of machine learning and DefaultTV’s compassion are going? Also yes, again provided Whit isn’t the mastermind, which is a pretty large assumption in and of itself. Is it much better than MonoTV being possessed by Mai Akasaki? Not really! But if you’re sending me an ask you presumably want my opinions, and there they are!

Thanks for the ask! Very fun to ramble about this goddamn dog.

[theprinceandthewitch]

I still don't see how people can legitimately argue TOH was subverting romantic expectations when it doesn't... actually do that.

In order for this kind of subversion to work, you need to address why Luz and Hunter getting together is detrimental to them. But at no point do the writers actually show us WHY Hunter and Luz aren't a good fit for each other. You'd expect them to be very careful in how they go about writing Luz's and Hunter's relationship - like making sure Willow is the most important character to Hunter's arc.

But they don't actually do that - instead of having Willow act as the catalyst for Hunter's arc it's Luz. She is there for all of Hunter's important moments... which is not what you would do if your goal was to actually subvert romantic expectations. Another thing you don't do is make Luz and Hunter parallels to past lovers who are deeply tied to the story's villain.

People tend to use Witches Before Wizards as evidence of a subversion of romantic expectations... but that was used to foreshadow Belos' true nature and Hunters' relationship to him [Sense and Insensitivity does this as well... like they rlly wanted to make it clear Belos' and Hunter's relationship was something integral to the story]. I also need to point out WBW comes right after the first episode - which has a talking point about how you shouldn't punished for something as innocuous as shipping. So to have the first episode be proceeded by an episode that establishes Luz's relationship to a prince as something VERY IMPORTANT because of how it relates to the story's villain is... hmm... suspicious to say the least. I don't think this is something they'd do if their goal was to create an argument against Luz and Hunter getting together.

Even if you wanted to make a case by using Eclipse Lake as evidence for Hunter and Luz being bad for each other - it still doesn't work. Yes, Hunter, in Eclipse Lake is technically making a choice between Luz and Belos like he did in Hunting Palismen. But here's the thing: this choice isn't used BY THE WRITERS to argue why Hunter and Luz would be bad for each other. If it was intended to be used against Luz/Hunter then Luz's perception of Hunter would have changed and his choice would be used as a point of contention between them. This would have been a perfect way to insert Willow into Hollow Mind instead of Luz.... but they don't do that.

They don't do that because Hunter's and Luz's relationship was never intended to be painted in a negative light.

In fact, Hollow Mind goes so far as to parallel them with Caleb and Evelyn. And I'm not talking about making Evelyn's appearance more like Luz than Willow. I'm talking abut stuff like this:

Must I rlly point out why this is so crazy... just look at the bottom left corner...

here's a more HD version of the painting:

There's also the parallel of Caleb/Hunter being "lured away" from Philip by a witch from another world... with the bonus points of Evelyn/Luz expecting the arrival of a new family member. Which is unbelievably haunting to me btw LMAO.

Thanks to Them takes it even further by telling the story of Caleb and Evelyn.... while Luz is dressed as a witch and Hunter is cosplaying as a human... and they made sure Luz was sitting right next to Hunter when the story was being told... I'm not making this shit up - that's literally what happened. Once again, this was another moment that could have been given to Willow instead of Luz.... but it's not.

[A/N: Seeing Luz sit next to Hunter with her gf right before the writers release the Caleb/Evelyn bombshell on them is so fucking funny. This entire episode is a joy to sit through because it reads like an episode written by someone who doesn't like Lumity and Huntlow. I don't know how they could have written the most anti-Lumity and anti-Huntlow episode in the show accidentally, but they did. 10/10 episode tbh.]

Then there is Luz's association with wolves highlighted by Hunter's newfound love of wolves... then there is Flapjack only letting Luz use him during their fight with Belos... then there is Flapjack flying to Luz instead of Willow when he's on his deathbed... FINALLY, there is Hunter coming back to life looking like Caleb and pleading with Luz - who is still dressed as a witch - to help him fight his grand-uncle-brother.

I also want to note Willow's costume in TTT takes design cues from Evelyn's stereotypes. I don't think this was intentional, because if it was then that would have been used to foreshadow Hunter NOT ending up with Willow. But it is very funny to me and I like to think that it was a sneaky move done by a Huntlow hater in the crew... I know I would do something like this if I was forced to make Hunter and Willow a thing LOL.

So yeah, you'd think they'd give all this stuff to Willow instead of Luz, since they intended to culminate Hunter's arc with him holding pinkies with Willow instead of helping Luz fight Belos.

At this point you're probably thinking... hmm... if the writers always intended to make Luzs and Hunters relationship detrimental to their stories, then they're not doing a very good job at it. And you'd be right... because they never intended to write an argument against it in the first place.

Even though they wanted Hunter to be paired off with Willow, they never bothered to make sure she's there for all of his important moments. Instead, Hunter's important moments are given to Luz - the only character in this show who has a thing for angsty warrior princes with tragic yet compelling backstories.

And I havent the faintest fucking idea why they though this was a good idea... but I sure do know it wasn't because they wanted to create a compelling argument against Luz/Hunter.

[ineedmycoffeerightnow]

So okay there's some arguments i hear from people why Home x Wally is not valid ship, so i decided to explain these and try to counterargument them! If you have an argument of your own feel free to write it in the comments :3

1)"This is incest! They like father and son to each other"

Canon of the show is that Wally didn't know Home before the he moved into him and also he like. A Building. If we're going to build on the show's lore Its would be just popular headcanon. Just because you see them as parent and child doesn't meen everyone does く⁠コ⁠:⁠彡

Some people are like to thing that Home is a creator of the show/his soul in there. I get it too, this theory KINDA makes sense, but still... We didn't see Wally acting like Home is his creator/getting revenge on Home for make their life hell (you can count worshiping as a sight but evidence is too weak), they are pretty chill with each other! Plus, it doesn't explain why Home is doesn't like humans, and from new update we learn that Welcome home is another world, so this theory is 99,99% is false i think

2) "Home is a building!"

Eah. LIVING building. With emotions and fears. Home is fully aware and sentient, it just so happened to have a different body then the rest of the puppets

3)"Home is abusive/evil!"

I understand why some people see them having Dynamic like this, but honestly I never saw it as inherently abusive? Maybe Wally is actually obsessed with Home, or maybe it’s the opposite, or they’re both crazy about each other, but it could also just that they act the way they do because of their self awareness. I do also think they’re overprotective of each other as well.

I just can’t see them *not* having any kind of close relationship, I mean Wally literally takes care of her, serenades him, and even blows them kisses and Home does similar gestures back at him! The feeling is mutual here.

3)"Wally is worshiping Home! Its unhealthy"

The only evidence of Home being worshiped by Wally is "so bellow" page.

I know technically it could’ve been used as evidence as Wally worshiping Home as a god but I think there are many other ways to interpret that drawing on the site… Like, I don’t think Wally is viewing her as some powerful entity, I think Wally is just obsessed with he. Not in a worshipping way but more like in a “you mean everything to me and I wouldn’t let anyone come between us” way. Also because of how Home’s eye’s are, the drawing could’ve easily been outside just as it could’ve been inside (we can’t really tell since it’s all black). And even if it was inside, I don’t think that means Wally can’t leave Home, honestly I don’t even think he’d want to anyway. They’re both mutually bonded to each other

3)"Wally/Barnaby is canon, so you can't ship Wally with Home"

First. Wally/Barnaby isn't confirmed canon. Yes, there have been many, and I mean MANY, hints at this ship. I personally think that in fact in near future it is going to be canon. Second. Im still allowed to do whatever i want with them. They are my comfort ship, they make me happy and it doesn't hurt anyone.

So, what's conclusion?

People like to think that their personal disliking of the ship is a valid point to bully shippers. They would make TONS AND TONS of excuses just to make others dislike it too. "They like son and father!", "They are abusive!", "This is proship, its gross!' despite not having evidence at all. Idk why ppl so scared to say "I don't personally like Home/Wally, its not for me" and go with their lifes. It much easier then to digging internet searching for art of them two and then show it to others saying: " LOOK HOW GROSS IT IS!!! SHIPPERS OF THIS SHIP IS TOTALLY UNHINGED!!!! How lucky we are not to be this stupid 😉😉😉"

It hurts. A little.

Life is so much better when you just not interact with things you don’t like, wish more people realised that tbh. Especially in fandom, because people get so mad over ships and headcanons when they could just…. Not interact? The more you seek out the content, the more it’ll appear in your feed because it’s how a for you page works. The algorithm shows you things it thinks you will like based off previous posts you’ve viewed……

Like I’m just shipping these silly little puppets together and making headcanons I’m not hurting anyone 😭

Thanks to @serillian for helping me with this one -⁠ᄒ⁠ᴥ⁠ᄒ⁠-

[leohtttbriar]

For the Reverse Unpopular Opinion meme: would love to give you the excuse to talk about voyager. (or if that's too easy, something you like about your least favorite star trek series??)

i love voyager. so so much. i tried to think if i love another star trek series i've seen any less than voyager, but i can't honestly say that i do? i love ds9, tos, discovery, and, yes, even snw. i am in the embarrassing position of admitting that i really just love star trek, in a mostly uncomplicated way.

of the things i love about voyager, the premise is probably the biggest one. i have rambled about this a lot already but: i think it confronts for the first time in star trek the inherent sadness associated with us studying the stars--and therefore the sadness that science-fiction writers mostly imagine their way out of, often as a way to speculate a time when this reality may be less real: the fact that space is big. it is too big. the fastest human beings have ever traveled, with their own bodies along for the ride, still isn't fast enough to get us to the moon in less than three days. light--the speed limit of the universe--needs a full eight minutes to get from the sun to us--a relatively close planet. space is enormous. we measure things that are "close" in light-years. everything is so spread out and that's just from the perspective of being inside a galaxy, which is actually crowded when compared to intergalactic space. everything is so far away and so long away and it feels impossible to think of getting anywhere in a time meaningful to us and our lifespans. which is in its own way heartbreaking.

and while in voyager they are clearly not alone in the way we feel we could be (and in practice are until we get the smallest sign that even non-intelligent life exists off our very own special rock) with all the aliens they meet and the fact that they are on a ship that can go faster than light, they are stranded and they are on their way back home and it will still take them a life-time. that's the reality of the story: that they will spend the rest of their lives trying to get back. and though i know they do get back much quicker than that, where i'm at in the beginning of season 3 that is still the reality of it. and this makes literally everything that happens in the show so fascinating--even if it's a plot or an idea that not only happened in another series but was done technically better in that series. every plot in voyager is colored by the tension between what the star trek ethos is as a whole--exploration and diversity and learning and humanity--all in an optimistic light--and what voyager is about--getting back home. it makes me think of the tension in the actual "voyagers," somewhere now in interstellar space, and the golden record with a map of earth's position etched onto it: spacecraft meant to never be returned but contained on them is a deep, deep hope that in some way they will be. this tension, to me, affects everything on the show.

but that's maybe too big an idea without specific examples from the series--i might ramble about that at another point lol

in the spirit of your question, i will say there is one star trek property that i don't particularly care for on the whole and that's the 2009 movie (and sequels). but i will also say what that movie did right and what i do love about it even if i don't love the movie as a whole is how it portrayed the high-tech poetics of star trek in a much more immediately understandable way than even the 90s shows could for a 21st century audience. the "apple-store" aesthetic is really an argument about how this is the future and it's sleek and stylish and humans have advanced in their engineering and scientific abilities. and among this high-tech argument is uhura front and center: she's very loudly and explicitly a linguist and she fits in this silicon-valley look despite the fact that nowadays things like linguistics are considered "soft sciences" in a general way and treated like that very specifically by the tech-industry now (the attitude being "there's an app for that"). but uhura makes a central discovery in one of her labs at the beginning of the movie which gives her and kirk a leg up on understanding the Movie Threat. the 2009 movie significantly raised her importance as a character, to the point that the "main trio" in those movies is, arguably, more kirk/spock/uhura than it is kirk/spock/mccoy---especially if you're going by the movie posters.

also they gave her this line:

UHURA: And did I not, on multiple occasions, demonstrate an exceptional aural sensitivity, and I quote, "an unparalleled ability to identify sonic anomalies in subspace transmissions tests?"

which is excellent world-building about communications-officers, if you care for that sort of thing. and it provides a starting point for an argument about how listening to a universe (famed quiet due to the lack of material through which sound can travel) is essential to understanding it---an idea that can be further extrapolated via sci-fi regarding things like: listening to gravitational waves if we record them right; or working on the idea that all matter is but a vibration in a quantum field; or, from a more cultural concern, the implication that it is absurd to think you can travel to an alien world and not bring someone with an "exceptional aural sensitivity" who can facilitate an exchange of language and, thereby, meaning.

[boywifesammy]

im sure everyone’s seen the argument by non-wincest shippers that canon weirdcest moments can be explained off as particularly close brothers. i’ve seen wincesties respond by straight up denying it, but honestly, i see where they’re coming from. they do TECHNICALLY have a point, yet still, it fundamentally doesnt sit well with me.

if you isolate all of these little incidents they could be perceived as purely brotherly. its got me thinking about what exactly makes wincest so appealing, and why i as a wincest shipper immediately have an exasperated reaction to people insisting that sam&dean are purely platonic.

i also see this argument frequently bundled with the stance that “weirdcest isn’t a justification for shipping wincest” (which is a whole other can of worms altogether— the puritan culture of ship culture rn), but you gotta take a step back and just ask yourself… why am i so intent on seeing these characters as platonic?

the prevailing argument ive seen is that siblings CAN be terribly close without being incestuous. this is totally fair. i’m not saying that if you are particularly close with your siblings in a sam & dean type manner that you are incestuous. obviously relationships between family is vastly complex & changes with the culture you grew up in.

the only problem here is that people try to go so far to explain sam&dean’s relationship as to not paint it as romantic. if they weren’t related, it’d be insane to think they weren’t romantic. they are consistently and repeatedly put in situations and exchange dialogue that’s used to convey romantic tone in western media. my point here being— the writers know that they are doing. and they are doing it INTENTIONALLY.

yes, certain cultures find extensive physical touch and kisses between siblings platonically acceptable. yes, you can be very close to your siblings without wanting to fuck them. but that is such a reach given what you are being presented with. you are missing the fundamental thematic point of supernatural: family horror!!

by so steadfastly arguing that sam&dean cannot be read as romantic you are purposefully ignoring the the text. you are glossing over the repeating themes of generational trauma and incest that are touched on time and time again, with john’s father abandoning him, mary’s parents being hunters, the struggle she went through to get out of the life but how family trauma & the past permeates itself into your being. you are ignoring the benders, the ghost pregnant with her fathers child, and the time azazel KISSED MARY in HER FATHERS BODY.

supernatural pushes incestuous themes SO HARD. it purposefully plays with & explores the double-sided blade that is family. it touches on a REALLY TABOO subject without being overwhelming or heavy handed. of course its going to attract people who enjoy these themes. OF COURSE we’re going to look at the two homoerotic brother leads and see something between them! it’s intentionally placed in the script! its a valid reading of the text!

this is why i get frustrated when people say that wincest shippers are twisting canon for the sake of shipping, because we’re not. when people say this they are taking a piece of media that is intriguing in how it handles a socially unacknowledged part of the human experience and forcing their viewing of it on others. they are saying that you aren’t allowed to enjoy those themes because it is inherently wrong or shameful to EXPLORE THE TOPIC. i dunno. that sounds pretty authoritarian to me.

it’s totally fine to be grossed out by incest or avoid wincest because it makes you uncomfortable. what ISNT okay is to say its an exaggerated reaction to canon, because it really isnt. in fact, its a pretty normal & sane conclusion to come to after seeing those two. the fact that they aren’t explicitly incestuous might even enhance this idea. it touches on the unspoken secretive nature of family trauma and the complicated, messy reality of crossing boundaries with blood without being cliche or overdramatic.

im going to incite occam’s razor here: yes, they could just be brothers. yes, you can explain it all away as particularly close siblings. yes, you can argue that it isnt explicitly canon. but really, why would you do all that when the show incessantly implies that they’re more? and more importantly, why are you so quick to say that a topic cannot be explored because it’s complicated? is that really the sentiment that we as a society want to hold regarding media?

[lostonehero]

I'm late to mermay, but well, uh, no excuses have Siren! Martin doing such a great job in the archives.

Tim loved going to the ocean. He loved the water in general, and when Danny was still with him, he would try and fail to convince him to try to go with him during the winter. Danny always quoted old legends, but Tim didn't believe in them. Well, he does now, but that's besides the point.

The reason Tim believes is the 6ft5inch man in his apartment who is technically his husband or mate in his words. Of course, this happened years ago he's now a much more jaded man. He works for the insistute now trying to get answers for his brother, and somehow, his husband works there too. He really doesn't understand how he lied about everything on his CV.

"Tim?" A male voice pulls Tim out of his thoughts. "Should I wear this one or this one? We work together now in the archives, and you don't want me to match you."

"The blue one is fine, Martin." Tim smiles softly. Martin wasn't human, and he's honestly surprised nobody has figured it out. He's also grateful for the face that he's his husband, even if he keeps it secret.

"Are you sure? You want our mate bond to be kept secret. I don't know if they can smell it.... I should wear one from the dryer." Martin sighs.

Tim chuckles. "Just because I wore that to bed doesn't mean you can't wear it. We humans don't have the same abilities as you guys."

"Yeah, but I don't know if everyone there is human." Martin huffs.

They have this argument about once a week, which is fine. It's better than the raw meat debate. Tim smiles softly. "Alright, alright, won't wear your jumpers anymore."

Martin huffs. "I didn't say that! You always do this."

Tim chuckles. "Maybe I like seeing you riled up. Seriously though, it's fine as long as we don't arrive at the same time." They've been together years at this point, so they both know when they are joking.

"I know the drill, Tim." Martin sighs. "Can we share the same bed tonight?"

"I'm not sleeping in the tub with you again it took weeks for my skin to heal, and before you suggest it no I'm not going in the ocean either we were both incredibly late to work." Tim raised his brow and pauses. "Oh wait, you meant my bed."

Martin rolls his eyes. "Forget I asked."

"No, wait, yes." Tim moves closer to Martin. "Then I don't have to wear things that smell like you."

Martin smiles. "You're already my mate. You do not need to scent yourself of me."

"What if I want to?"

"I suppose that can be arranged."

......

Sasha rolled her chair closer to Tim. "So Jon totally has a crush on Martin. I was talking to his ex, and she totally agrees. How about a wager? I mean, Martin is totally into him. Have you seen how aggressive he is about taking care of Jon?"

Tim chokes on his tea. "W-what?" He wipes off the mess the best he could. "Sasha, he's that way to everyone."

"Not you, and nowhere near that way to me or anyone else in this building. Besides, the timing is perfect. We have that mandatory institute day out on the beach. Sure, we're picking up trash and sending flyers out about the institute, but there's also games and food. We can totally set them up." Sasha claps her hands together with a smile on her lips.

"No." Tim could feel that green eyed monster rear its ugly head. Danny always made fun of him because he insisted he felt nothing of their marriage. Danny was right, of course. He was about to out them, and he had to think of something. "No, I mean well, what are the stakes? Is Jon's ex going to be there?"

"Oooo, that could be even better." Sasha smirks. "She can help us, and she is bringing her girlfriend. Tim you're a genius."

Tim gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

......

Sasha pushed Martin and Jon together. "You two can start at one end, and Tim and I will start at the other. Then we'll meet up and get some American fair food they have."

Jon raised a brow. He was in a binder with a loose tank top above it and a pair of shorts. He was also in boots and long socks. "Ok? I don't understand why Elias has this to be mandatory."

Martin looked like he was about to growl and hiss. They were so close to the ocean that the instincts to take his mate to the ocean screamed at him. "Yeah, it's an odd choice."

Tim grits his teeth as Sasha pulls him away. He was still mostly human, well it was slowly changing but he was still mostly human but even he could feel the pull of the ocean he can't imagine how Martin feels.

......

Jon rubs his brow as he looks over to Martin, who is carrying about six full bags of trash without breaking a sweat. It was impressive and kind of depressing that there's that much trash. "Martin, we can stop and drop those off, we have a ways to go."

"Why?" Martin tilted his head in a way that Jon thought was adorable.

"Isn't it heavy?" Jon sighs he only had two half full bags since Martin keeps taking the full ones away from him.

"No, not really. Are you alright? Do you need more sunscreen? We are nearly done with our side." Martin puts the bags down and takes out a bottle of sunblock.

"I'm dark skinned Martin I don't need that much." Jon, let's out a noise of surprise since Martin already started to put on a fresh layer.

"Dark skin still burns." Martin is quick but thurough. "It's better to be safe."

Jon blushes a deep red. "I uh right, of course. Let us continue. We're almost done."

.....

Sasha and Tim waved from the start of the stands. "Took you guys long enough!" Sasha laughs.

Jon frowns. "Martin insisted I drink some water and put on another layer of sunscreen. However, we did collect the most trash."

Martin nods. "Yes! We found a big pile someone buried under the sand. Also your health is important."

Tim looked between them, and something clicked. The green eyed beast was dead, and Martin was treating Jon like a pod member who couldn't care for themselves. He did this before with Danny when he was really into extreme sports. He felt the tension drain from his shoulders. "How about some weird American food? Heard double boss man got some cool stuff like pickled lemonade, and fried oreos."

"Good lord, that sounds like a heart attack." Jon scoffs.

"I would like to try that. Sounds like a perfect hangover cure." Sasha chuckles.

.......

Martin somehow ended up on a cliffside. He loved watching the waves from this high up, Tim was behind him talking to Jon's ex, um Georgie was her name. It was very nice and he really wanted to jump.

"Pretty view." A old man was next to him. His white hair was wind swept back. "You can get lost in just how vast it is."

Martin nodded, not realizing he was moving forward until he was tumbling over the edge. Well, he wanted to do this anyway.

Tim did a double take before he started to run. "MARTIN!" He went over the edge as well, and he could swear he heard an old man laughing.

Georgie and Sasha ran to the edge. They saw Tim hanging on grabbing Martin on a ledge.

"Holy shit are you two ok?" Sasha stared down at them wide-eyed.

Tim huffs. "I know you're making that face. I'm not dropping you." He did not hear Sasha, but she can hear the two men.

"But Tim, the ocean! Pleaseeeee I wanna go with you." Martin huffs.

"No, Martin, you're going to out us!" Tim groans his grip was strong but not enough for their combined weight. "Grab onto a ledge! Use your damn claws."

"I will bite you." Martin holds his hand out and then slams it into the side of the cliff and lets go of Tim. "You owe me!"

"We can go swimming when it won't out us." Tim rolls his eyes and adjusts his grip with both hands. "Now focus, we need a way back up."

"I'm not helping you." Martin sticks his tongue out and climbs the clifside like he was a lizard and stops above Tim. "You're also banned until I see fit from taking my clothes."

"Seriously? We're literally hanging from a cliff." Tim huffs.

"You are. I am climbing." Martin kicks off his shoes then his socks. "Last chance."

Tim looks up at the two women staring at them, and of course, they see Martin sink his claws into stone. "Fine. Not because I want to, but because Sasha and Georgie already saw you sink your hands into the cliffside." He lets go of the cliffside and falls with his arms crossed.

Martin follows in a diving position.

Sasha and Georgie screamed.

......

"Now, Sasha, let's not be hasty." Elias hums, walking by the bottom of the cliffside. "You also said Martin pushed his hands into the cliffside."

"I'm sorry, Sasha, but he's right." Georgie frowns. "I believe in the weird, but that's like impossible, and to fall at that height."

"Well, I hope the supernatural exists." Jon mumbles. "They could survive the fall right?"

"Not likely, water becomes -" Elias is cut off by laughter.

"Martin! Bloody hell!" Tim said through laughter.

Martin was carrying Tim. They were walking out of the waves. "Oh, I love cliff diving. We should do that again!"

The four people stared at the two with jaws open.

[dn-838]

How Aborted Genocide affects the Mettaton NEO battle

despite it's short length, Mettaton NEOs battle is definitely something that has brought up a lot of discussion, with people viewing it in very different ways. Some think that Mettaton NEO was just really weak and that things like his -40000 DEF in the files is canon, while others think that he never intended to actually fight us and was just working as a diversion to try and help more monsters evacuate before we attempt to face Asgore. As nice as all these ideas are, the nature of the fight is answered quite well in what is in my opinion the best and most underrated path in the entire game, Aborted Genocide. Now I could make a whole blog in of itself about why Aborted Genocide is such a masterpiece and how perfectly it does the arcs of every character, however this will just be focussing on what the route reveals about the Mettaton NEO encounter.

What is Aborted Genocide

For those of you who aren’t aware, Aborted Genocide is a Neutral ending that will always trigger if you spared any Mini-bosses or didn’t tire out the kill count in Hotlands after killing Undyne the Undying. Basically if you attack Monster Kid you are locked into getting Aborted Genocide or Genocide, with your actions in Hotlands quickly locking you into one of the two. While it is a mostly Genocide run with New Home being just like it is in Neutral. Mettaton NEO has a lot more to say when you kill him than in normal Genocide, and the ending itself is very different to your typical Neutral path, with Sans not speaking to us at all and Alphy’s being the one telling us how things are going (Sans isn’t completely absent, but he only has a couple lines aimed towards Alphy’s where he tells her that he found our number before Alphy’s is given the phone).

Technical stuff

Alright, so let’s just get the boring stuff out of the way first. Some people try to argue that the NEO body is canonically very unstable and weak, with the -40000 DEF in the files being his canonical stats. The problem with this is that relying on file stats would also require you to assume that Toriel magically has her DEF go all the way down to -9999 exclusively in a Genocide run, and that monsters like Whimsalot, the heavily armoured version of Whimsun that is trying to kill you, has less DEF than an ordinary shy Whimsun. You could try and make an argument that the stats are canon in Mettaton NEOs case because in Genocide the 900K-999K damage you do to him is scripted and isn’t actually the amount of damage you would do, however if your murder level (a stat present in the files of the game that calculates how far through the Genocide run you are which increases every time you kill a boss, mini-boss, unique enemy and clear an area) is below 15, the scripted damage is not present, and since the Mettaton NEO encounter is activated when your murder level is 12, facing him at any point between murder levels 12 and 14 will cause a normal amount of damage to be done, so the -40000 DEF is to make sure that an attack done would still kill in 1 hit (I know I could have just said that it’s not scripted in Aborted Genocide, but come on, if I’m gonna discuss the technical stuff I might as well go all out). I think we can safely assume that the 90 ATK & 9 DEF we see with Mettaton NEO in his check stats are intended to be the canon ones.

Mettaton NEOs dialogue

This is Mettatons speech prior to becoming Mettaton NEO in both Genocide and Aborted Genocide. Mettaton seems to know what a threat we are to both Monsterkind and humanity, and he tries to stop us by bringing out his original and most dangerous form. Of course you could realistically still gather that he was working as a diversion so more monsters can evacuate before Asgore absorbs the souls and defeats you, at least you can argue that until you see what he has to say when you kill him in an Aborted Genocide run.

Yes… Mettaton knew that Asgore wouldn’t absorb the Souls and that you would easily defeat him, but if that’s the case then he’d have had no reason to have only tried to work as a distraction, since either way everything was doomed. It seems most likely that Mettaton tried to fight you in a last ditch effort out of desperation, but since we grew so powerful and were so willing to cause harm, we were able to take him down easily. Speaking of that, on the topic of the Mettaton NEO fight, I have a little theory to share.

A tragic theory

So, let’s have a quick look at what Mettaton NEO says when we kill him in a normal Genocide run

Yeah… there really doesn’t seem to be anything to it like there is on an Aborted Genocide path, however I believe it actually holds quite a bit more importance than we originally thought, and that these 2 lines of dialogue make this death one of the saddest scenes in the entire game. Of course he talks here about his “fanclub”, which you would assume to be what is mentioned by him in the Neutral ending where he becomes ruler and that some of the Hotlands NPCs bring up, however there is something else that he calls a “fanclub”.

In Mettaton’s old house, he has a set of diaries, one of which he talks about how he first met Alphy’s, at a “human fanclub” no less. Now at first this seems to be the only time this human Fanclub is ever mentioned, but I believe that this was what he was referring to in his final Genocide line. While yes this may seem like a stretch, the thing is in Genocide Mettaton shows more care towards humanity than himself, accepting his death in Aborted Genocide because he knows that humanity will live on. I believe that Mettaton in Genocide meant the opposite. He didn’t know about Sans, he believed he truly was the only hope, and for that reason, when we take him down, he thinks that’s it, he thinks humanity is doomed, and he says “guess you don’t wanna join my Fanclub” for that very reason, to him, they are all already doomed… because of you.

TL;DR - Mettaton was genuinely trying to fight us and believed he was the last hope

[redsplash1]

Children do not belong on the battlefield.

Tatake always held this belief. Tonight’s events made this painfully clear.

Or, a mother steps up and comforts the children she has come to love.

AN: I wrote this right after Death Unto Dawn LMFAOOOO, imma post it here first since I’m not at my pc rn. I’ll post to ao3 after. Didn’t even edit, just take it as it is <3 As stated this is right after the battle at Carteneau, I also attached a pic of Tatake’s current look

Although a few things:

Tatake’s real name is Talia Dragonseer. As of now only the twins know about it, and call her Talia when nobody else is around

I’m still trying to figure out the backstory, but what I’m thinking so far is that Tatake is part of a long living species of Lalafell that are basically like the Laguz/Manaketes from Fire Emblem; They look human, but actually aren’t and can transform into whatever animal/dragon/fish/literally anything

The main thing is that Tatake and her people were initially like Sharlayan where they stayed out of everything and kept to themselves, until mankind found them and started hunting them down. This is why Tatake hides her power until she couldn’t anymore, as she refused to get involved with mankind after they ruined her life along with everyone else’s

Dragonseer technically isn’t her last name, it’s just the title she had as part of the High Council. But for the sake of keeping things simple, she considers it a last name if she has to, which is almost never since she uses Tatake Take for everything

Anyways imma stfu now, sorry in advance if the twins r ooc, I’ve never written for ffxiv before until now. Enjoy! <3

“Sit with me for a spell,” Tatake spoke into the air, breaking her gaze away from the moon, an everlasting witness to tonight’s horrors.

Alphinaud looked down at her with a frown. “There is still much to do, I’m afraid. We must-“

“Rest, yes.” The Lalafell met his eyes in challenge. The others had already broken off, tending to the wounded and going over battle logistics. Alisaie moved to do the same, but one sharp look from Tatake made her pause.

“You two will not help anyone if you collapse here in exhaustion,” she continued. “Leave the others to shoulder the burden for now…you need not carry it alone.”

“But-“ Alisaie started in protest.

“Come along.” With no room for argument, Tatake took the twins’ hands, dragging them along to a quieter corner. Alphinaud sputtered in surprise, while Alisaie was grumbling about wasting time.

Neither of them fought against her pull.

After motioning the twins to sit down, Tatake took her place between them, backs against the wall.

They exchanged no words for a time. The sounds of healing magic, along with the many voices of orders being given and carried served as their ambience.

Tatake was not oblivious to the clear slump of the twins once they sat down, both leaning against her. Without a word, she quietly linked her arms with theirs and took their hands in the process. She squeezed in reassurance, as a reminder, that she was still here. They squeezed back, and held on tight.

Tatake quietly exhaled through her nose. Being with the twins always reminded her of how young they were in comparison to the countless years she has. As she observed the wounded, the dead, the dying, she couldn’t help but think. This wasn’t fair.

Truly. It wasn’t. Not to them.

Why must Alphinaud and Alisaie exist in a world where the adults failed so badly they had no choice but to pick up the pieces?

“Was I naive?” Alphinaud’s quiet and unsure voice broke their silence. “Did Fordola have the right of it after all…? There’s so many I couldn’t save.”

“You did everything you could,” Tatake gently cut in. “The ones who made it past this night are still with us thanks to your efforts.

“Along with the Tempered,” she added, turning her head to Alisaie. The Elezen grimaced at the praise.

“I wasn’t fast enough. And I couldn’t supply enough Aether for everyone. I’ll be quicker and stronger next time.”

Tatake gently flicked her forehead in response.

“I will not sit here and listen to you downplay your efforts,” she chided over Alisaie’s sputters of offense.

Children do not belong on the battlefield.

Tatake always held on to this belief. Tonight’s events made this painfully clear.

She thought back to the many mortals she encountered over the years. In the wake of the calamities, it was impossible not to see a citizen haunted by the destruction, or a soldier fighting the monsters in their mind.

She thought back to Ishgard, to Alphinaud screaming himself awake haunted by dreams drenched in blood. She remembered holding him as he sobbed out broken apologies, towards her, towards the Scions, towards the bystanders who got caught up in the wrath of the Crystal Braves. She remembered his struggle to go about his life after, having to gently coax him to get out of bed nearly every day, if not all. She remembered bringing him food because he wouldn’t do it himself without a helping hand. She remembered wiping his tears as he shakily confided in her during the dead of night after a panic attack, holding her tightly as if he were afraid she would be gone if he let go.

She thought back to Ala Mhigo, to Alisaie gritting her teeth in agony as her wounds were addressed. She remembered creating a routine of checking up on her after every battle because she tried to patch herself up on her own without anybody knowing, leading to disastrous results. She remembered seeing her hands shake when she thought nobody was looking. She remembered the panic attacks she would suffer, having to gently but firmly guide her through them. She remembered the nightmares that she suffered just like her brother, unable to banish the sight of bloodied bodies and the smell of death from her mind. She remembered her and Lyse quietly holding her after a particularly violent night terror, the young Elezen unable to voice what happened but could guess at what it was. She remembered gently reassuring her everything would be alright, even as her brother was not with them, and wouldn’t be for a long time.

She thought back to the First, where the both of them had the same reaction of hugging her tight, refusing to let go for a while. She remembered hardly sleeping alone in her room in the Pendants, the twins joining her almost every night. She remembered holding Alisaie as she grieved for her lost love. She remembered gently reminding Alphinaud as Kai-Shirr ran off, that he was good, and he should never change that. She remembered futilely reassuring them that she would be alright, despite the Light eating her alive even with her draconic lineage. She remembered the endless tears they shed and the screams of despair they let out as Urianger and Thancred forcefully held them back from her painful transformation at Mt. Gulg.

This truly wasn’t fair.

She breathed in.

“You did good.” Tatake began, finishing her long contemplation. “You have done more than fully grown adults could ever hope to achieve. I’m sorry Fourchenault is a fool and will not say this, but I hope I will suffice.”

She breathed out.

“I’m proud of you.”

She knew her words had the intended effect when Alphinaud’s choked sobs and Alisaie’s stifled whimpers rang in the air. She let them hold her, let them cling onto the only consistent piece in their lives.

In a world like this, it’s okay to stick with the familiar.

In a world like this, it’s okay to cry.

“You’ve done much for Eorzea, and I will not ask you to turn your backs on her,” she continued. “But I ask that you do not carry the weight of the world on your own. We can share the burden with you.

“Like many of the hatchlings, pups, and many more I raised, they too have set off once they have come of age. I made sure they were ready for the world. But above all else, I made sure they had what you mortals call a childhood. I prioritized their youth. Your father failed you in this regard.

“Being a child is not lesser. You are still capable. But you are young. I’m sorry your elders have failed you. But for as long as I am able, let me preserve your youth, your innocence for as long as I can.”

At this point, Tatake felt just as much as heard their tears, their faces pressed against her soft hair. It’s alright. She didn’t mind.

“Okay?” Tatake softly asked.

“Okay.” Alphinaud hoarsely choked out, voice somewhat muffled by her hair and his tears.

“Mhm.” Alisaie couldn’t muster a word, eyes squeezed shut.

“Good. I love you both. Please, do not forget this.”

She paused. She had been thinking about it for a while, but after Fourchenault’s foolishness, she made up her mind.

“And if you so choose…you may no longer have the name of Leveilleur, but Dragonseer is yours, if you’d like. I always saw you as my hatchlings…no harm in making it official.”

In answer, Alphinaud moved his arms to hug them both, sobs renewed. Alisaie returned the gesture, tremors wracking her whole body. The twins had their foreheads pressed together, refusing to let go.

Even for all their bickering and teasing, they were there for one another without fail. Tatake was glad.

The Lalafell caught the eyes of the other Scions, who had busied themselves helping around the camp. Thancred gave them a sad smile. Y’shtola and Urianger nodded in understanding. Raha looked on, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. Estinien was a ways back, understanding their need for privacy. But his approval was clear.

Right now, the future may look bleak. Right now, death surrounds them all like a shroud, unable to be shrugged off.

But here in this moment, in their private little corner, it was just the three of them. A mother and her children, the former watching over them, and the latter growing into themselves so beautifully, day by day.

For now, here in this little spot against the wall, they were safe.

[melishade]

Damn it, I lost count again. Number 31?

This ask game

Peaceful Timeline. Dealing with Ymir's second pregnancy.

Oshern was in a...interesting predicament. Not one that he was particularly fond of.

When his wife, Ymir, had gotten sick and had thrown up, there was an obvious concern for her well being. What had happened? Would she be alright? Then Optimus had examined her and explained to them all that she was with child, or 'pregnant'...these new phrases and terms were rattling him.

That didn't mean that Oshern wasn't happy. He was ecstatic. He never thought that he would have a child come from him directly. He didn't think he would even have a family as big and strange as this. But...he's also been used to being alone for...years. And going from being alone to a house of...technically four has had it's ups and downs.

Everyone had to accommodate for Ymir’s changing body, although the one taking it the hardest was clearly Optimus, since he was trying to control every aspect of the pregnancy. Which had led to a few arguments between him and Optimus about his skills. He hasn’t felt that angry in a while.

They still made it work for the most part, but now he was in a very compromising position. He was lying on his side in bed, with a three month pregnant woman still sleeping and latching onto him so tight from behind. He could hear the gentle snores coming from her, and any other circumstances, he would have found this welcoming. Ymir had complained about getting a full night’s rest and this is the most that she has slept.

But Oshern really needed to go to the bathroom. But he didn’t want to wake up his wife! Damn it! No one had even come into the room yet! It was morning! Someone open the door! He didn’t have the heart to wake up Ymir!

Oshern nearly screamed with jubilation when someone had opened the door, but nearly got annoyed when he saw that it was Optimus in his human form. He still wasn't going to be stubborn about it, and used his pinned arm to wave to the Prime for help. He hated how Optimus looked amused at the situation, and...was he holding back laughter!

"Help!" Oshern nearly yelled. He covered his mouth when he felt Ymir moving a little bit.

"She looks very well rested," Optimus whispered.

"Yes, she does, but I need to go to the bathroom and I don't have the heart to wake her," Oshern whispered, “Help me.”

Optimus looked like he was debating his options, which made Oshern annoyed. “Look, you can’t just be angry with me because I’m not following your strict rules.”

“How many hours of sleep has she gotten?” Optimus asked him.

“She slept the whole night,” Oshern replied, “Can you help me?”

“…Let her sleep a little more,” Optimus decided.

Oshern glared at the Prime, but he was unwavering in his decision. “Optimus-!”

“I know you are annoyed with me, as is Megatron,” Optimus began, “But…before you, before Maria, and before Megatron, it was just the two of us: me and IronSpark. My knowledge of humans were already limited, but to take care of a pregnant woman is one of the hardest challenges I had to do. I had to find her a proper home, a proper place of rest, food that was safe to eat. I was out of my depth. I had no one to ask for help without compromising her safety. Additionally, the suffering she went through under the Eldian king.”

Oshern’s expression grew tight and grim. Of course if came back to the Eldian Empire.

“I just…I know our family has grown and that we have more help, but it is hard to let go of my fears and concerns,” Optimus explained, “I am trying, but…forgive me if I do not meet expectations.”

Oshern sighed, his head slumping against the bed. “I know. You mean well…but you don’t have to control every part of her life.”

“I know,” Optimus agreed, “And I am sorry for my actions. You have much of a say in this, and I do not mean to ignore your input.”

“Apology accepted,” Oshern said.

Oshern felt the sheets rustle and the bed sink a little. Ymir had released her hold of him and sat up on her side. She slowly blinked her tired eyes before rubbing them with her hand. Her hair was a complete mess, and there was a bit of drool coming down from her lip. But Oshern realized something: he was free!

“Freedom!” Oshern rolled out of bed and hit the floor, startling Optimus and scaring Ymir awake. Oshern stood up and looked at her concern and messy wife. He grabbed her cheeks and kissed her on the lips.

“Morning!” Oshern greeted, “I just need to go to the bathroom!”

The two watched Oshern rush out the room to the bathroom, causing Ymir to look at Optimus in confusion.

“He just did not wish to disturb your sleep,” Optimus explained.

Ymir realized the implication of Oshern’s actions and couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t mean to do that to him, but he was so thoughtful.

(Definitely a stark contrast to when Ymir was first pregnant. Anyway, 17 is still on the back burner. For that one, I’m going to be going into spoiler territory for the dark timeline and I need to build up some context. But the rest is free game!)

[goddamnwebcomics]

Worst "Quirky" Characters of GoddamnWebcomics

When it comes to "quirky" characters, I am not really referring to wacky female protagonists of recent mainstream media, I am referring to characters who have one "quirk" and stick to it. And funny enough, the only thing MHA and Spinnerette have in common is the overreliance on Quirks. Kraw has admittedly become the master of writing terrible one-note quirky characters, who sometimes border on the clownshitter territory, but he is by no means the only one.

Yes, there can be a lot of characters who are often introduced as having one note personalities but later are fleshed out into more unique characters, like uhhhhh, Dash from Alien Dice???

Now if their quirk is shown in negative light and is clearly meant to be mockery of someone, then they're classified as strawman characters, I'll make another post highlighting those later.

And at the very bottom of these quirky characters, we have the Worst of the Worst, the character who embodies that disgusting Kraw style quirkiness.

1. Tomboy Soldier (Spinnerette)

You know a character is a work of quirk when their first line of dialogue has them spout out their specific quirk. Apparently according to Kraw, tomboys do nothing but talk about being tomboys, know what teddy bears young girls prefer, and tend to show off their ass as they talk about saving their asses. There's a reason this character quickly earned my ire, in otherwise decent White Heron comic saga.

"Tomboy" is such a broad and wide term, having a character whose entire quirk is being a tomboy fails miserably, because it is basically like having a character whose entire quirk is having a job. Also, MOST CHARACTERS IN THIS COMIC ALREADY TECHNICALLY CLASSIFY AS TOMBOYS. It's times like these that make me think Kraw is genuinely out of touch with reality. The sad thing is, if she appeared in Monster Girl Academy she probably could have gotten more screen time because many girls in that comic are just as shallow as she is.

2. Tank (Console Girl)

You know Tomboy Soldier is really terrible despite their limited screen time, when they are even worse than an implied pedophile.

Tank's quirk is in his name, he is a big dude. He is a big dude in a resistance team, but he is an EMOTIONAL big dude. He feels real feelings, especially for his child girlfrieWAIT WHAT.

Yeah, I know Merry Bogard could also be considered a quirky character because of her size, but she is just one of many little people in this comic, but she gets way more screen time than Tank does and as such becomes a real character. Tank...doesn't, but even then I really don't want him to get any more screen time that doesn't involve him being murdered violently. We know nothing about his backstory, we don't know any emotions of his besides his sadness for his child girlfriend, we don't know about his relationships with other resistance members. He is just there to make us uncomfortable and not side with humanity's last hope.

3. Zelda Zansibar (Dominic Deegan)

Sometimes, a "quirky" character is used to explore an overly specific fetish. Yes, the same argument can be made for Tank, but a more explicit case comes in form of Zelda Zanzibar. Zelda is an old friend of Dominic's who appears only once and never again. Her quirk is playing everything for drama, and also she has big tits and lipstick on.

I remember this character because, their existence just seems so specific. Why else would Mookie introduce this random character and never use them again besides having a woman act overly dramatic, and if you are like "how can that be a fetish?" I tell you "you sweet innocent summer child, EVERYTHING can be a fetish". And why is she named after an island that doesn't exist in this comic's world???

4. Skin (Peter and Company)

Sometimes, a character may debut without a quirk, but later down the lane get saddled with one, which kind of ruins them entirely. Such is the case with Skin AKA Theodore. Now, if you considered Skin's quirk being a snake because of his lisp, you are proven wrong. Because we learn Skin is EXTREMELY competitive. I feel like his behavior would make him, you know. not desirable for a guardian?

Either way I feel like this bit of quirkiness just made Theodore sink into the background. I can't remember if he even made a single appearance outside of the scene where Peter and Iggy start fighting each other. So that's the moral of the story kids, never saddle your characters with personality traits they didn't have before. At best, you confuse the audience, at worst, you make them...gasp, quirky.

5. Nebbie (Gene Catlow)

And last but not least, we have a quirky character from the master of hideous characters himself, Albert Temple.

Albert's one note characters are weird, because many of them like Cat Sneed and Patchy start off as very quirky characters, but Albert shows us there is more to them the more screen time they get. There are exceptions however, and the worst one in my opinion is Nebbie, because Nebbie never evolves past the "avian language" phase.

Like hahaha, isn't it cute, the bird talks with chirps instead of English. Keep in mind no other characters besides the frogs have language difficulty. However the charm wears off very quick, especially when this character seems to be dominated and pushed around by Hannah the Beaver. And more you learn about Hannah, the more you wonder just how hellish Nebbie's relationship with Hannah is, or maybe considering what a man child Hannah is, maybe it's better we learn nothing else about Nebbie. We only know that he can speak avian, he will speak English in the Sight of the Soul, and he has a fat ass. And also, he is the second fictional character to be inspired by the biblical king Nebuchadnezzar after Mr. Nezzer from Veggietales.

Now, to give credit to Albert, he did also write the BEST quirky character on this blog. The Otter Who is Not A Doctor. In my opinion he is a quirky character who works just like why quirky characters work in raunchy 80's comedies. He gets limited screen time, and the comedic timing of him is impeccable, and he beats the shit out of a more obnoxious character. If only he beat the shit out of other examples in this list.

[munchkin1156]

so many wipsssssssssssssssss

The things we don't say (have I given enough)

Just try not to crash I KNOW WHAT THIS IS! I KNOW WHAT IT IS AND NOW YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME MORE KNOWLEDGE AHAHAHAH

Rescue me from my despair

"Did you just say the ENTIRE doughnut!?"

Your life will be the death of me

"Y'know, I used to think-" "You used to think? Well that sure explains a lot." (This one sounds like a fun time :3)

Yesss it is a loooott of wips...

The things we don't say (have I given enough) is a royal fic, with giant royal sbi, and human thief's bench trio. Tommy was adopted by the royals and he grew up there, but always felt like he was useless and worthless, being human in a castle of giants. So he runs away, without saying anything, only going to come back once he has their weight in gold. The way he gets the treasure is... Not exactly honourable, and it's how he meets Tubbo and Ranboo, also thiefs, and willing to help Tommy. They become friends quickly. Now, I'm not saying any more because I don't want to spoil anything (and cause you know what happens already), so let's move on to the next one.

Yes, I can see that you've guessed what Just try not to crash is, and yes I am forced to give you more info. Just try not to crash is a jornos submission fic for @i-am-beckyu, which miiight be Wilbur giving Tommy a remote control car, + shenanigans. This fic was supposed to contain pure fluff, and it still might, but I'm on g/t angst brainrot, so you can never be too sure >:] (They ended up naming the car Carl because of Techno, since they asked for a name)

(Edit: AAAHHHB I FORGOT RESCUE ME FROM MY DESPAIR IM SORRY I'LL ADD IT NOW DJDNFJRK)

Rescue me from my despair is with faerie Tommy and human Wilbur, with Techno and Phil appearing later... it's a oneshot about Wilbur and Tommy being (technically) brothers, but Wilbur is scared to tell Techno and Philza about Tommy, since faeries tend to lead people towards unspeakable dangers. The rhyme in the beginning goes so:

Don't listen when the fae calls,

Doesn't matter how much they coo,

You're safe if you ignore them,

But when you follow them, the dangers true.

Sooooo yeah, that might not be the best beings to befriend. So Wilbur gets hurt in the forest before Techno and Philza come to visit him, (they visit weekly, and Wilbur hides Tommy everytime) and Tommy has to convince the humans that no, he is NOT trying to murder them, he is trying to save Wilbur. (I do like this idea :])

"Did you just say the ENTIRE doughnut!?" Was a funny idea I had where a borrower attempted to borrow (yoink) an entire doughnut from under the humans nose, just because they could. Obviously they get caught, and shenanigans ensue.

Your life will be the death of me is a soulmate doll au, in which the borrower has the humans... Voodoo doll? Let's just go with that. Anyway, the borrower has the humans doll, borrower size of course, and see it as a lucky charm, taking it with them everywhere. It seems to work too! They can do a ton of risky things, super dangerous too, and get harmed without getting hurt! Super lucky, right? Well... the human is very concerned about their soulmate. They know that the soulmate will take the others pain when holding the doll, so they are very careful as to not hurt them. Apparently the soulmate does not know that, for they have gotten harmed multiple times. What on earth could they be doing!? And to top it all off, the house they just moved into seems to have mice. Just great. Now they need to go buy traps from the store...

Hehe, can you imagine what would happen when the human gets hurt from their own trap? I can >:)

"Y'know, I used to think-" "You used to think? Well that sure explains a lot." Was supposed to be for g/t July as banter, buuut I got sidetracked... Anyway, this was just a fluffy oneshot with a slight argument, with borrower Tommy and human Techno, because bedrock bros go brr.

Thank you for the ask!

[yakultii]

I kid you not I was just sitting in the uni library and before getting up to give up for the day and leave I wrote in my notes app kinda jokingly but kinda not:

“maybe western beliefs are just so wrong maybe no amount of doctor can fix me maybe I am simply cursed lol for I have sinned many times and seek no forgiveness - a new level of insanity or clarity” (Ik my notes are full of weird shit.. I was also studying medical dominance and how westerners have made it seemingly superior to other forms of health practices/understandings such as religious sin etc for context)

AND I WALK OUT OF THE LIBRARY, START WALKING HOME WITH MY SAD MUSIC ON REPEAT, ON THE VERGE OF TEARS FOR NO REASON(bc life rough but im fine), ON THE EDGE OF CAMPUS AND AM FULLY FINDING MYSELF WILLINGLY BEING PREACHED TO BY A CULT about the heavenly mother oh my god they’re getting smarter LIKE SM SMARTER cause I almost believed this was just a hella feminist Christian for a solid 10 minutes help im out of practice I haven’t been approached by a cult member in like 6 months cos I rarely leave the house ANYWAYS luckily for me I have an unhealthy special interest? in the researching of cults and every single step of their indoctrination particularly the correlation of various korean cults indoctrinating australian white women (when I say cults I don’t just mean religious organisation, cos while there is valid argument that all religion could TECHNICALLY be cult-like, I need u to know I respect religion for others and what it is and am aware there are some prominent factors which differentiate normal religious organisation from genuine proper cult) luckily this particular cult wasn’t going to take me to meet its rapist leader in korea like most the other in melb but it does isolate u from ppl u know and force u to “donate” all ur money lmao fail bc im already socially isolated and I have no money LOLOOL anyways usually they ask for ur number but they also have half given up when u tell them u used to be religious and ur not anymore bc ur critical but this time they just gave me their number cos I think they thought I was like fully convinced cos I was stupidly engaging in the discourse with half interest (but only bc I was trying to make sense if what they were telling me was accurate or not from a religious standpoint bc I was raised Catholic) but sneakily she was telling me all about the Hebrew bible and shit with examples of Hebrew text I couldn’t read LOLOL and what I rlly should have said is god is not my mother or father bitch my (ex) god ain’t male or female, my god if existent be a genderless non human spirit referred to as “he” bc we live in a patriarchal society where male pronouns are pretty standard in referring to just about anything in English language ANYWAYS I lowkey love engaging w cult members while some ppl say dangerous I usually detach my interest while talking as further research into their communicative ways but today I was caught so off guard bc at my particular uni there are usually just religious preachers sometimes who have no ill intent and see my gay stickers on my laptop and give up before they even start knowing they are gonna fail but these ppl defs didn’t go to my uni they were just waiting on the outskirts for sad uni students to approach LMAO mission accomplished also they told me im a good listener when I was like zoning out bc I said yes yes yes when they asked me if I was aware of particular religions events and terms lol that was not very convincing bc I was not demonstrating good listening at all ANYWAYS this was a pointless and probably an incomprehensible story that I cbf reading over hope u enjoyed stay safe don’t go getting indoctrinated into a cult

[vro0m]

I agree with your prev post btw, however a similar discourse was fueling the bird app a while ago and i’ve been meaning to say something adjacent;

>>This is also all my opinion, i’m also not trying to police f1, Lord knows we have enough of that;

I personally think as long as you’re a journalist, why shouldn’t one be biased? it’s a sport at the end of the day. A technical one so there’s a more quantifiable logic but a sport regardless. I don’t like comparing F1 to other sports but atm that’s what’s lacking (imo). Rivalry makes a sport. it allows like minded people bond over mutual love/distaste (maybe those are harsh words and it gets borderline toxic most times but ygwim). Again, you and you alone are entitled to how you enjoy your hobbies.

I appreciate Max and Lewis fans so much cuz imo they’re the ones keeping the lights on. These drivers haven’t been in a title fight in a while lol but the fans would argue over the color of the sky if they could. Everyday Alonso fans say “if Alonso had gone to… in 2014, he’d have had… championships by now”. Sainz and Leclerc fans as of lately are also at each other’s throats cuz these are great drivers.

When Lewis got announced to Ferrari, people fell to their knees cuz that’s the enemy, that was the death star. Sure this may not be our grand parents Ferrari and here we sing and do marshmallow challenges now but it’s a long rivalry. Mclaren-Ferrari, Red Bull-Mercedes. I’m not trying to dissect what was said or what caused what but Toto seemingly trying to cozy up with Helmut and Max felt like backstabbing to some.

delusional takes?… exists everywhere, some driver’s fans have blamed the wind,mirrors, chassis and even his own team sabotaging him for poor performances. saying the other teammate’s win has been “nullified”.

AFCON, Nig vs Cameron, one team absolutely bottled it but the fans were dancing up until the last minute to boost morale. it’s what fans do. Objectively is good but so are biases, it makes us human imo.

These days a lot of the races imo are boring asl. It’s why DTS tries to milk slight disagreements as intra team rivalries. There’s also new wave of fans who’s welcome to the sport ofcourse but i just personally don’t understand this “I love every driver and want to see everyone do well”. If i wore an arsenal muffler with a Tottenham jersey in North london i’m getting jumped over rivalry that’s been here almost 100 years lol.

Again yes it gets extremely racist and parasocial but that’s the toxicity that doesn’t belong in a fandom but exists in most if not all. It’s all capitalism at the end of the day but at the core of it or what it should be is a sport

ps…this long ass essay lol and it’s also one of the reasons imo football socials don’t take us seriously and also calling f1 not a serious sport😅

Yeah that's what I meant by everyone is entitled to enjoy the sport the way they want. I personally think it's fine if you're 100% delulu biased following other like minded delulu biased people if that's what's fun to you! God knows the delulu posts are the funniest on this hellsite!

I understand what you mean with rivalry and I agree but personally didn't find the teamLH-orange army war fun at all because it got nasty really quickly. Fans were hating on each other and very aggressive about their opinions and I don't like that. I like heated arguments fine but when it tips into hate then it becomes a bad experience for most people.

To take your football example, I think singing songs in the stadium, making fun of the other team and fans, it's all playful and part of the culture. But fuck ultras, you know what I mean? I shouldn't be worried about getting jumped when I leave a game. Same thing goes here. The problem is a lot of people get genuinely angry at things and then genuinely aggro and that's not fun. So like I said in my previous post, if getting into fights with other people over these things is fun to you, you do you, I'll personally probably block you cause it's not enjoyable to me.

Imo the difference lies in self awareness. If you're a bit or even fully insane about your fav but you know that you are then it's generally all in good fun. But some people aren't aware that they are being irrational about things and that can get ugly because they take things seriously and get serious emotions about it and send serious hate about it etc. But it's not only bad for other people they might get aggressive towards. I've had anons here be genuinely distraught and/or enraged by the lack of performance at the moment. I've had to ask many a person "are you sure F1 is enjoyable to you?" because at the end of the day arguing can be fun (God knows I looove debating, irl and online, I'm annoying that way) but if you step away from these fanspaces angry, sad, frustrated most of the time, then is it really good for you? are you really having fun?