#both of them can recognize the others are sentient at least

[magicpiano]

I am obsessed with the idea of a DCxDP demon twins AU within the context of the alternate timeline from the ultimate enemy episode.

In order for Dark Danny to do what he did he must have fought the justice league and won. Which begs the question, how did the batfam handle that?

Maybe they didn't even know about the twin or recognize him. Maybe they thought he was a clone of Damian. But maybe they did know, or at least figured it out when Damian told them.

Did they try to talk him down? Did they just think he was pit mad like Jason was? Do they believe him to be a vengeful spirit? Do they believe the GIW when they say he is not sentient, just leftover emotions, because it is easier to face than the truth? Do they wonder why he never came to them for help?

Do they think he can be saved? What about after he starts killing other heroes, their friends? Can Bruce call Danny his son after he has killed Superman? Wonder Woman? After he has killed his other children?

Does Damian look at Danny and see himself? See what he could have become if he hadn't left the league and changed? Do the rest of Damian's siblings see that too? What are Damian's last thoughts as his brother kills him?

Demon twins AUs are always interesting and a favorite of mine, but they always concentrate on the good/canon timeline. If they bring up Dark Danny, it is only in passing. I wanna know about the doomed timeline, the betrayal, the story with no happy ending. The story that both happened and didn't.

[i3utterflyeffect]

I know we already talked about it the sticks from stick!Alan au got stuck in stick world au, but what about the other way around?

Slugcats and an iterator on the computer

you just know unrivaled curiosity is wondering if that cursor is an edible creature. also imagine how fucking delighted the sticks would be to see these little creatures

meanwhile beckons and alan are just staring at each other because. Huh???????????

[autisminabox]

I’m going to be discussing spoilers from the new update, specifically entailing Eddie. Spoilers are below the cut, so, like. Spoiler alert

One thing that stuck out to me right before Eddie “goes to Toyland” (which is what’s implied to happen) is the anger he felt. To me it felt incredibly out of place. Out of place for what’s supposed to be a children’s show, and out of place for Eddie.

We’ve seen Eddie in situations substantially worse for his staying focused on the job than people not having any mail. We’ve seen people jump at him, get pressured into literally lifting other people (and possibly a fucking house), and was too nervous to speak up for himself. We’ve seen him take a lot of shit from both Howdy and Barnaby in the audios, and he more or less took it on the chin. Julie overwhelmed him with her business game, and instead of getting frustrated, he just kind of… curled up.

So this strikes me as particularly odd. There are two explanations I can think of to explain why it happened. The first is a theory I’ve seen floated around about the puppets slowly deviating from the in-universe writers’ design. We see this contrast between how everyone acts in the books and ads and how they act in the bug audios; Barnaby had a twinge of meanness, Julie had a personality beyond being ADHD incarnate, Frank expressed kindness. It’s not out of the question. The second theory is based off of a few observations from earlier on: Eddie is notably from out of town, and is loosely implied to have moved in last out of the main cast. It wouldn’t be absurd to say that this leads him to being “not with the program”, even if him being the newest addition is only in-universe for the show (as opposed to him being literally constructed and written last)

The second thing that was prominent to me was Home’s response to Eddie entering Toyland. This is quite plainly conspicuous and intentional, but I wanted to bring attention to it because of the interesting implications of it. First off, Home is pretty much confirmed to be sentient now. I’ll be damned if there’s any coherent counterargument that doesn’t boil down to going “nuh-uh”. Second, Home is at minimum recognizing that something is happening to Eddie. It’s not clear whether Home is aware of what specifically is happening to Eddie, or whether or not Home had a hand in setting off the incident, but the fact that home recognized that something was happening to Eddie nearly instantly solidifies how intelligent and aware Home actually is. This isn’t inherently surprising, since we’ve already gotten word-of-God confirmation that Home has repeatedly beaten Frank at chess, however, this is the most pointed and direct example that we’ve seen in the actual project.

Third, the fact that Eddie specifically had The Horrors™️ enacted upon him first specifically (at least, as far as we’re explicitly aware of; It’s unclear whether Wally counts as having experienced The Horrors™️ or if he is the arbitrator of them. More on that later) lends to some very interesting suggestions. Five possible explanations I can think of work as follows: One, he knew too much about either the nature of whatever specifically is weird about Home (town), whether that be Home (house), Wally, another character, the monsters of the night, something else about the night, or he knew too much about his nature as a fictional character. There is some speculative support for this; first, the aforementioned outsider angle that he’s been played with, and second, his parallels to the scrapped character Sunny. Sunny was the most recent to move in within the beta continuity, he was the love interest for Frank, he was smart and likely knew too much, and he disappeared first. Two, his outburst earlier in the day proved to be too out of character and thus a risk and liability to whoever was in control of what happened to him. Aside from my above breakdown of that scene, and from the fact that there’s very prominent examples of Playfellow and Marlo (or perhaps Wally, if for whatever reason Evil Wally ends up being true) blatantly straightwashing characters and possibly suppressing free will of the characters, assuming that’s what we’re meant to take away from the bug audios. Three, Eddie realized the actual absurdity of the Pea On A Plate and “woke up”, lucid dream style. I don’t really like this interpretation, since the fact that it’s in several promotional materials and companion merchandise suggests that it was an absurdist humor bit in-universe, which isn’t farfetched considering how children’s shows tend to be. Four, there’s another reason that’s yet to be revealed as to why Eddie got selected first. To be a total Devil’s advocate, we’re still relatively early in what’s looking to be a very slow-paced story. We’re not gonna have all the details, and red herrings are going to pop up, intentionally or otherwise. Five, Eddie was selected randomly or with no actual reason.

There’s also a few possibilities for who sent Eddie to Toyland, which is interesting to me. First, it could be Home. It wouldn’t be surprising considering its mysterious and noted uncanny nature, and its prominence during that scene. Second, it could be Wally. While I personally don’t find it to be the most reasonable, since something of this magnitude being perpetrated by a character we have a face to would likely involve that character, there’s enough evidence of Wally acting aware and generally odd where it isn’t completely absurd. Additionally, it’s entirely plausible that Wally’s conspicuous absence during the entire arc is indicative of some sort of guilt. Third, the show writers, someone at Playfellow, or another party along those lines somehow caused it, either by technological or supernatural means we don’t know about or by some accidental bout of supernatural fuckery, such as rewriting something and it having bizarre effects on the characters. It’s out there, but not out of the question considering the weird shit they’ve done. On top of that, it’s not impossible that another entity or force somehow caused this that either hasn’t been revealed or explained yet.

As to what Toyland actually entails, I’ve concocted a few theories. One, he literally got up and mentally teleported to a land of giant toys. Two, it’s full Star Trek mode and there’s Horrors™️ so mentally stimulating that the only way it could be perceived by either us or Eddie that that’s all it can be perceived as. Three, Going To Toyland is some sort of initiation, rite of passage, or method of psychologically controlling the cast that everyone else either doesn’t realize is happening or has their memories of it forcibly suppressed. This could be supported by the aforementioned “Eddie is an Outsider” and it’s possibly his first Homewarming since moving to the area. After all, a housewarming is a celebration that welcomes and initiates someone to the neighborhood; would it be that odd that Homewarming is a twisted version of that?

Anyways. Those are my observations and a bunch of interpretations. Part of why I love this project so much is how mysterious and unclear the exact details are, creating excellent suspense and a drive to theorize, and leading up to a truly gobsmacking reveal or conclusion. This update certainly delivered. Whatever the answer is for any of the branching paths I described, it’ll almost definitely reveal how truly fucked up the perpetrator is (or, alternatively, how utterly fucked up the situation is in general, if there ends up not being an instigator) for, y’know, doing that. Clown and Co., you’ve certainly outdone yourselves, and the wait was worth it; this speculative theorycrafting this update has provided is absolutely incredible.

[witchofthesouls]

Hi!! I was wondering what Sarah and wills reaction to starscream and his trine would be in seeker fam au. Like individually and as a pair. How would the decepticon seekers react to Annabelle? It would be hilarious if it was just a get off my lawn situation but also I was wondering the deeper context in seeker culture too!

Out of both, Sarah is the more agitated Seeker because she already has Will as a bondmate and sparkling with a not-so-secured nest among mechs that she's trying to make sense of. Will likes the Autobots, she's still trying to come around them.

Sarah acts as an early warning system as she can sense sparks in a wide territory. She's the best alarm the base can get, and her alarm-screeching can wake up the dead. Plus, her own sigma ability is capable of scrambling non-sentient machinery along with Cybertronian signals. The Seeker in her doesn't like the newcomers since they're not flock, and it unconsciously picks up certain behavioral cues as they try to test potentially courting. It doesn't like that. At all. If the Command Trine weren't excellent and agile flyers, then she would literally ram them out of the sky because she wants a large amount of space and they're not listening.

Will is far more wary of them. He's curious because his own frame recognizes other Seeker mechs, but he's freshly bonded to Sarah with a sparkling-Annabelle between them. He recognizes that they're far more experienced flyers, so he'll rely on ambush attacks from his camouflage sigma ability to, at least, break their formation. Plus, the Seeker in him unconsciously understands the behavioral cues that the Decepticon Seekers are trying to challenge something from him, and it's misunderstanding as the right to be the primary sire to any of Sarah's heats. Of course, he's not going to tolerate it.

(Even Optimus is picking up something from the interactions but lacks the cultural context to fully understand it. Starscream is trying to convince the Lennoxes that he's the superior leader.)

It hasn't devolved into full dogfighting because Command Trine is being careful with handling it. Will and Sarah are a bonded pair with no other stable social ties, so killing one would completely destabilize the other and, unfortunately, take Annabelle with their deaths. Not a result they want, especially Sarah being the only healthy Seeker femme in several galaxies at this point.

Since there's a lot of air traffic, Sarah and Will typically combine during Energon expeditions since it's safer for traveling. Will's steadiness cools Sarah's newfound bloodthirst should other aerials get in her space, and Sarah is able to tap into Will's sigma ability to bypass any security measures as she follows the cues to where ever it is.

It takes the pair dozens of times to do it on purpose, but eventually, they get to it. Both consider it the most bizarre experience of their lives. It even tops waking up off the shore of Alaska as a different species.

Bottom line, it really amounts to the Decepticon Seekers trying to snare the healthy pair of new Seekers to their neighborhood, but the Lennoxes are suspicious of the meet up party and want to stay in their own house.

[starpains]

What are your favorite Obi-Wan ships and what do you like about their dynamics? 😊

Oh I like this ask 🤩. Thanks, anon!

Let's start with, I ship Obi-Wan with any man who tried to kill him at least once and is younger than him *snort*. The fact that I can summarize my Kenobi shipping tendencies like that always makes me laugh. And yes, Cody counts, because chip or no chip, he did try to kill Obi-Wan once 😉. And yes, I did, in fact, just use a winking emoji and "kill" in the same sentence.

Out of all these my three favourite ships are Obikin, Obimaul and Codywan. Details under the cut.

Obikin - I mean if I really wanted to go into what I love about their dynamics I'd have to write a thesis about it, negl. I'm gonna focus on what I really like about their dynamics... The age difference, man. It always gets to me for some reason. The fact that they're at different stages of life and yet manage to develop this deep, meaningful, or--as our Obikin God Strover has put it--more-intimate-than-lovers connection is something that is very attractive to me at this almost cellular level. Like, when I read a well-written fic about them I feel it in my bloodcells, I swear. Another thing is how their understanding of life and love differs so completely because of their vastly different life experiences - the idea that with fic we are able to bridge that gap and make them find common ground and change the fate of the galaxy at the same time... *sigh*. Their love story in canon (I'm just quoting Deborah Chow, ok), is so very tragic. I'm a romantic at hear and so I will always crave a good fix-it, or alternate chain of events of a tragic love story. But tragic or not, the differences in their personalities are also amazing for amusement purposes hence why they're my first choice for Modern AUs. They are so 3D and there are so many facets to them that you can basically thrust them into any situation and make it work. And yes, all this is just scraping the tip of the iceberg for me, maybe one day I will write a thesis 😉.

Obimaul - This one is so obvious 😀. It's canon that Maul is absolutely obsessed with Obi-Wan. He lived through being bisected just to get revenge, lol. It's such a good base for fics, is it not? Is it NOT? Seriously though, I have this very specific Obimaul scenario that I love above all others and that's broken man Obi-Wan on Tattooine having lost everything, and Maul still thirsty for revenge finding him and then realizing that, hey a) killing this husk of a man is no longer satisfying, b) we're both kinda broken, c) we both hate Darth Sidious above everything else. I've read so many great fics about Hermitwan and Maul teaming up to either kill Sidious or just somehow make it till the end of their sad lives with just a little bit less of loneliness... I love it. They make for some really great angst. And honestly it's so easy to twist Maul's obsession based in hate into obsession based in love, those two feelings have quite a lot in common after all. Also, I really have to commend fic writers for coming up with creative solutions to Maul's canonic lack of dick. I think Dathomirian Magick Dick was my favourite so far 😆.

Codywan - Again, Codywan is ultimately tragic. The fact that Cody is a clone with a chip in his brain programmed to kill the man he loves... I mean, doesn't get more tragic than that, right? And also, even if they do manage to deal with the chip problem, the aging-twice-as-fast problem still persists. And you know, the fact that the majority of the galaxy doesn't even recognize Cody as a sentient being. This ship is just problem stacked on a problem stacked on yet another problem. You know, the fact that Obi-Wan is Cody's commanding officer is also kind of hard to ignore. Which is why I am so drawn to them! For me if there isn't a problem there isn't a ship 😉. I think what I love about their dynamic is their at first glance similar but after a deeper dive completely different personalities, and the fact that with Codywan it's Cody that gets to be fed up with Obi-Wan's antics for one, and not the other way round (with Obikin it's always the other way round). What I really love about Codywan fics is that authors usually focus on completely different facets of Obi-Wan's personality than they do with all the other ships. Really, it just makes me love Obi-Wan more. I always loved Obi-Wan as a character, but reading a couple of Codywans just really drove it home for me.

I hope this answers your question, anon! Thanks for asking ❤️, I simply loooove talking about my ships.

[alexanderlightweight]

Hi! I feel a little bad prompting two weeks in a row, but if you feel up to it could you maybe do some more stuff with the sentient shadow au? I love it so much, I would love to see the progression of Alec and Magnus’ relationship (maybe through an outside pov, if you want).

I hope you have fun with this and enjoy your Wednesday!

here we go! also no worries, plenty of people prompt every week and there is nothing wrong with that. the prompts are all happy things for me, not burdens. so don't feel bad kay? plus i love starting to recognize names of those who prompt!

i'm greatly enjoying this wednesday and the last ones! i hope you are doing well and having a good day!

hope you enjoy

lumine

-

“I cannot believe you!” Magnus seethes the moment Alec is gone and Ragnor sighs and takes a deep puff of his pipe. “How could you have been hiding such a delectable treasure from me?”

“Magnus, I have a contract and an oath that restrict me.” Which is something of an over exaggeration but Ragnor is tired and he doesn’t want to deal with Magnus’ outrage.

There’s a huff and finally Magnus settles for a moment before he adds, “so what is he like?”

“Aren’t you going to want to find out on your little ‘thank you’ dinner?” Ragnor teases and it earns him a cold, sharp eyeroll. “Fine, ducky. Ruin my rare fun. The lad’s incredibly intelligent and calculating, or at least he normally is. It seems you rather turn his thoughts around.”

Magnus almost looks unbearably smug at that, but Magnus wears smug well and so Ragnor sighs and just relights his pipe.

“He’s both incredibly perceptive and incredibly sheltered about certain things.”

“Like?” Magnus demands, summoning himself a glass of whiskey as he gives Ragnor a viciously impatient look.

“Like casual intimacy. Or consider the power of touch, of which he knows little of. Alec lives in relative isolation from other people in the embrace of his powers. They’ve always protected and comforted him, and he relies on them, which mean very few are allowed to approach him.”

“They’re not merely powers.” Magnus muses and Ragnor nods his head, unable to say more due to oaths but wanting to warn Magnus. Alec himself isn’t the only obstacle in this that Magnus will face, Alec’s shadows will be the true obstacle. 

“I’m sure I can woo the entirety of him,” Magnus drawls smugly and he gives Ragnor a curious look. “What do they like?”

“They’re hungry, Magnus. Greedy and powerful and they only care for Alec. They’re incredibly dangerous and not to be underestimated, even by you.”

—

Magnus shows up nearly every day after that for a week, as if he’s hoping Alec will drop by again, which was rare enough the first time.

Finally, after much exasperation, Ragnor has had enough.

“Why not just go to the New York Institute, instead of portaling all the way over here?” Ragnor questions, cross after Magnus has come over and stolen the last of Ragnor’s favorite biscuits. A specific type that are warded by their baker against being summoned.

Ragnor will have to request a new delivery by fire message and he scowls at the additional work. He’d been hoping to avoid that until the next day at least.

“What do you mean the New York Institute?” Magnus drawls, “why would I go over there when I want to see my darling Alexander? Not some boring cannon fodder hunters.”

“Because your darling,” Ragnor says rolling his eyes, “is the Head and Commander of the New York Institute, Magnus. Weren’t you paying attention? I did mention it.”

“It wasn’t as important as getting him to agree to dinner—” Magnus tells him. “And you haven’t mentioned again at any point in this last week because?”

“Frankly, I have better things than just assume that you no longer listen to me at all.” Ragnor retorts and he summons a new cup of tea with a sigh. “I’m far too tired for all this nonsense Magnus, go woo the lad and come back once you have your boy. Perhaps with your influence, I’ll see him more than a handful of times a year.”

“Oh, you’ll be seeing plenty of him.” Magnus promises with a leer and Ragnor flicks him with magic.

“No! I’ve helped raise that lad since he was a wee one, Magnus. I’ll not have you telling me about how you plan to deflower him or anything else. This is one relationship where you will have to rely on Cat alone to pander compliments to your ego. Bring the lad around for tea and know that you’ll be staying clothed in my abode.”

“Deflower?”

Ragnor groans wishing he’s said defile and knowing he’s about to hit every one of Magnus’ possessive, covetous and prideful instincts with his words.

“The lad’s not shy Magnus. He doesn’t blush, he doesn’t stutter, he doesn’t get entranced. This isn’t a normal reaction for him. I’m fairly certain there is a graveyard somewhere dedicated to people who made the mistake of hitting on him. Alec generally considers it a nuisance. I hope you can understand what I mean and treat him well.”

Ragnor doesn’t say anything else, because he’s said enough and while he’ll step in if he feels he needs to, he trusts Magnus enough to let him try first.

“Thank you, Ragnor. Even if you did let me suffer for a week.”

Ragnor rolls his eyes and waves his hand in farewell as Magnus portals away.

[the-lark-ascending69]

I need more android robin whump!! Is robin ever gonna come across one of her previous owners who mistreated her (maybe billy) and have to face them again ??

What would Nancy do if she ended up getting hurt ?

I love this au a lot it's so interesting

!!! Hi anon! I have a few thoughts on this... mostly about the time she finds out Nancy's brother is friends with Billy's younger sister, Max.

Now, she and Max had a complicated relationship. Max never had much interaction with her other than to give her orders (which whe did very rarely, mostly just to tell her to leave her alone). Max didn't know Robin was sentient and she didn't see a point in talking to something that was basically a laptop on esteroids. She didn't care about being nice to her, but she could never really bring herself to be too cruel. It felt like punching a teddy bear - it can't feel anything, but why would you do that? It's just mean.

She always hated how Billy treated her. Neil supposedly got her after his psychiatrist recommended it to treat his violent impulses, plus he thought Billy might be gay, and he liked the idea of having a "hot girl robot" to "change his mind". He really didn't care much about Billy's mental health, and he didn't want to waste the money, but he was being pressured by Billy's school's authorities, by the social worker in their case and by his own wife, Max's mother, who was secretly relieved, because she thought Billy would stop taking his anger out on Max if he had a different target, one who couldn't feel anything. Now, Max knew Billy was a horrible human being, and hearing Robin's cries and begging when Billy beat her was unbearable. Soon, you could never see Max without her headphones. When she found Robin curled up inside a closet, her arm bent in a strange way, looking small and terrified and crying... well, Max wasn't stupid. Brutalizing an unfeeling android was one thing, but illegally implanting tear ducts in her because she didn't look hurt enough... Billy was just cruel, sick and sadistic and she hoped he died.

But she was really more concerned with Billy's evil than with how Robin got hurt. In fact, she was relieved, because Billy mostly left her alone now. She wasn't proud of that, but whenever she heard Robin's desperate cries of "please, don't!" and "wait! It hurts!", all she could think about was... that could be her instead. So she never intervened and never tried to stop it, lest Billy turned his attention back to her.

Robin never expected anything else from her. She didn't blame her. She knew what it looked like, and part of her was relieved, too. At least Max didn't get hurt.

In fact, protecting Max like this was the main reason it took her so long to run away, but when she overheard Billy talking to the technician at the illegal repair shop, and learned that he wanted to basically turn her into an adult toy, she couldn't take it anymore. She left that very same night with only the clothes on her back.

So when Christmas comes around and the whole gang gathers to celebrate at Steve's, she sees a familiar face, and they both freeze. For a moment Max thinks this girl just looks very similar to the old android - or maybe she'd happen to be the inspiration for her design? Was she a model? She certainly couldn't be that odd robot that called herself "Robin", because she had her arm linked with Nancy's and she was smiling and telling jokes and she looked so alive - but then again, the old robot looked alive, too.

But then Robin recognizes her, and she debates between greeting Max or running away. Nancy feels her freeze by her side - and before she can ask what's wrong, Robin makes a decision to say hi. She introduces herself to Max - oh god, it really was the android - and she asks if she remembers her. She asks how Max is doing, and she doesn't dare ask about Billy but she desperately wants to know if he's still around.

Max then looks at Nancy, about to ask why the hell did she bring an android as her date, but it's like Nancy read her mind, and her death glare was enough to shut her up. Everyone else is there, including Hopper and Joyce, who are old and wouldn't understand, and even then, the idea of a sentient android is so outlandish that so far, only Steve and tona lesser degree Dustin and Suzie buy it. Convincing everyone else she's not crazy won't be easy and she does not want to ruin Robin's first Christmas. So Max bites her tongue and goes along with it. It actually makes Robin so happy - she thinks Max finally recognizes her as sentient.

She talks to Nancy in private, later, while Robin is playing some kind of videogames with Mike and his friends on the console - she tells her that was her brother's old android. She callously tells her everything in detail - the alterations, the beatings, the screaming... Nancy does her best to keep a calm exterior, but her heart breaks with every word. Max just wants to know what was she thinking bringing her to a Christmas party. And it takes some convincing - pretty much all night, and Max does not want to believe it, because that just means she let a helpless girl endure terrible abuse alone when they could have protected each other. But Nancy is so confident and so insistent and so sure of Robin's self-awareness, that Max can't help but accept it. She cries in Nancy's arms, apologizing over and over again. She didn't know. She didn't want to leave her alone. She didn't want to feel relieved when Billy went after Robin and not her. Nancy just holds her, and tells her she was just a child. She can talk to Robin some time. She's sure she'll appreciate it.

Max and Robin eventually become good friends, actually. Almost sisters. Robin learns that Max hasn't heard of Billy in a long time, and that's very reassuring - he's far from them, now. And Max has Lucas and Robin has Nancy and they have each other now, and they're building a new life away from the horrors.

So when she hears a rough knock on the apartament's door at 3 AM, and hears his voice... she thinks she's hallucinating. It happens sometimes, when her circuits are not working well, but it's rare and she's never so awake when it happens. She runs to Nancy's room and shakes her away. Her whole body is trembling as she says "I think there's someone outside."

Might be getting ahead of myself with the Nancy lore, but she still has a gun from her teenage years, when she and Jonathan had to protect themselves. She hasn't forgotten how to use it.

She doesn't recognize the man when she goes out into the hallway, she only knows he smells like beer and piss, but she can guess who he is from the way he calls for a "robot wh*re", and if she's right, then she hates that she has to meet him in the hallway, where everyone would hear if she put a bullet between his eyes (she's killed people before. It wouldn't be hard).

She's not sure how much he understands - he's leering at her when she comes out - but then she presses the barrel of her gun up against his throat, and tells him to never, ever come near Robin or Max again, or it would be the last thing he does.

He calls her a bitch, but he leaves. Nancy has the feeling it won't be the last time they'll have to deal with him.

Robin is nowhere to be seen when Nancy goes back in - her heart is in her throat, pulse picking up - "Robin? Robin, are you okay?" she calls with a trembling voice. She looks for her everywhere - bedrooms, bathroom, under the bed... she finds her curled up inside a closet, knees against her chest, face hidden in her arms, tears trailing down her cheeks. Nancy realizes she's still holding her gun and places it on the nightstand so she can gather this girl into her arms. She brings her to her bed, tucks her in and holds her tight. She could swear her body doesn't stop trembling until sunrise. All Nancy can do is to hug her tight, stroke her hair, rock her back and forth. Tell her she won't let him touch her again. Promising she'll protect her. She's safe now. Nancy promises.

Indeed, that's not the last time they see Billy, but that's something for another dayyyy

Oh and Robin meets Brenner again at one point, but she doesn't remember him 🤭🤭🤫

[hivemuthur]

the Ilithid

Or - diving into the original AD&D lore form Monstrous Arcana by Bruce R. Cordell on types of Ilithids players can encounter.

Colloquially known as "mind flayers", Ilithids universally elicit images of horror and fear in the minds of surface dwellers and underwolrders alike. Ilithids shock and repulse other races due mostly to their practice of cephalophagy (...). This abominable habit has such power to appal that the saying "The 'flayer hasn't eaten yet!" was coined centuries ago to convey hope in the face of near-impossible situations.

So - hot topic, tadpoles! Originally, they come from mind flayer eggs, which Ilithids can produce only twice during their entire life. From those eggs, little, helpless tadpoles hatch after a whole month of extremely well protected incubation. And they remain so for another decade, thus it takes this long for a tadpole to mature and be ceromorphosis-ready. The tadpole survival count is 1:1000 - most of them get consumed by the elder brain which resides in the depths of the briny pool.

The criteria for ceromorphosis are also somewhat difficult, as the only acceptable races would be humans, elves, drow, githzerai and githyanki, grimlocks, gnolls, goblins and orcs. After having a tadpole inserted into one's ear, the magic begins - the process completely replaces the original tissue of the victim with Ilithid tissue, therefore - the original victim is dead. From this an Ilithid is formed - any they come in many shapes and sizes.

Generally, all of this makes Ilithids an extremely rare race to encounter (lucky original characters) and also - an extreme threat. As a society they highly resemble anything produced for Alien saga (especially Prometheus).

Arcane Ilithids Which in the lore are said to not even exist, since they are most likely the wrongly recognized type by those, who are not aware of psionic abilities effects. As per most of handbooks, psionics being different to spells, since the source of this power is science.

Ulitharids Or super-jacked Ilithids. Forming from tadpoles seasoned for not 10, but 20 years, reaching over 7 ft height and 6 tentacles and live for at least 250 years.

Elder Brain A sentient disembodied mind that resides at the bottom of the briny pool and initially is a conglomerate creation of deceased Ilithid brains. That makes it a united consciousness for all Ilithid colony. The elder brain suborns individual egos to the gestalt consciousness that suffuses it's mass of tangled, fibrous tissues. Generally, it reaches a 10-foot diameter in size (it is believed that the rest of the brain mass is shunt directly into a node of Astral Plane and remains unified with the elder brain on the Prime Material Plane).

Alhoons (Illithilichs) Rogue Ilithids! Basically undead magical adepts - strayed away from the collective consciousness and general Ilithid teachings to find their own way (in death, apparently). They "live" in solitude, being frowned upon by orthodox Ilithids.

Ilithid Vampires Exactly what is says on the cover - now eating both brains and blood. Their main area of inhabitancy is Demiplane of Dread. They are insane, not able to pass the curse to their victims and are being hunted down by their original race, since Ilithids absolutely hate them. Thankfully, no plague of vampiric mind flayers is imminent.

Urophions So, sometimes Ilithids experiment and do put the tadpole where they shouldn't. If it works, what they get is a very brain-thirsty but also not very comprehensive or mobile creature that ends up as an Ilithid watch dog. Some of them escape into the Underdark, in search of their true purpose.

Neothelids An insanely cool concept named leviathan slug by the author of the supplement. How does it happen? If someone or something kills the elder brain, the entire Ilithid colony around it dies, which leaves poor tadpoles with no food and care. As they grow hungrier, they, well... eat each other. Until the greatest tadpole survives. And the greatest tadpole still has to lurk around for little creatures' non-sentient brains. But with the right measures it will grow enough to finally eat a mind that thinks and this does the trick. Something called reciprocal sentience is triggered, creating a dragon-size neothelid, whose breath dissolves everything but brains.

[dogwatch05]

Human: The Space Dog Chapter 6

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Very short chapter six as I am getting back into the swing of writing this series. I am working on plotting a few chapters out, but I really don't know where this is going to go so any and all suggestions welcome. Enjoy this snippet of content and I should have some bonus content coming out later today.

Dear Diary,

I just...I can't with this anymore.

I mean come on, why'd she have to startle me like that? She's lucky I don't have a pre-existing heart condition. That could have killed me for God's sake!

Shaking my head I sat down and took a few deep breaths and glared at Momma. She jotted down a few more notes on her pad before walking Sounder and I back to my room. They sat with me for a while longer before both walking out.

I sighed as they exited and watched the door for several minutes before stretching and sprawling out on my bed area.

Frustration bubbled up in my chest as I stared at the ceiling. Everything that had happened up until now seemed to be useless. I never asked to be picked up by tiny cat people. I never asked to be studied or have someone attempt to train me. And I never asked to be stuck in a room, as nice as this room was, only to be taken out just to have tests run on me. And to top it all off, I'm always being ever so slightly underfed no matter how much I show that I need more. I was always hungry but not to the point that I would starve. I imagine that after a while my calorie needs will balance out with what they are giving me but definitely at the expense of my current good condition.

"What else can I do to show you that I am intelligent??" I growled at the blinking red light in the corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He's intelligent all right. I mean who could doubt that. That Beast Master is more of a beast than Frantal. He recognized himself in a mirror. That's pretty telling that he's at least sentient. Not that that was in any doubt. Not only did he recognize himself, his reflection seemed to trigger a response to groom himself. A sense of self is really telling for what level of intelligence we are dealing with here.

He easily figured out how to use a tool to get food out of a hard to reach place, although it appears he's already done this exercise or a similar exercise before based on how quickly and easily he completed the task, so this test probably does not showcase his natural abilities.

He recognized that the treat was moved from the red box and didn't try to open the red box again simply because it was there the last time. In hind sight, probably not the best test to run but I was running out of ideas. At least we know he can recognize that the pattern of putting it in the red was broken.

And lastly he can recognize fear expressions and follow a pointing appendage. He's empathetic at least to a point. He spun around to face whatever had scared me. Probably just to face it so he wasn't taken from behind, but from what I could tell, his body language was defensive so he was probably preparing to fight."

Montressa leaned back in her chair and looked at F'rangel across her desk.

"Makes me wonder what world he grew up on to develop these traits. And his eyes. You can see something going on behind them. Almost like you can see the intelligence he has through his eyes. Sometimes I look over my shoulder and see him staring at me. Something else is in his eyes in those moments. Something beyond intelligence. Bah, I'm probably just anthropomorphizing him. Anyway, look." Montressa leaned forward and turned her monitor toward F'rangel. A live feed of Frantal was displayed. "He's got manufactured textile clothing on. Maybe he was a pet of some sort. The probability of a mammal being sapient is almost 0. Every lifeform that has been sapient so far has been reptilian, avian, or some other egg laying creature. The only reason that the Tori are sapient is because we uplifted them and you can see how that went. Monsters with no moral compass that perform tests in horrible ways on innocent wildlife and dispose of them when they are done with them by killing them in mass executions. Hopefully the Council doesn't make that mistake again.

Anyway, maybe his master taught him these behaviors and clothed him. The environment may have been too cold for his furless body or maybe there's some sort of ceremonial or traditional value to the clothing."

F'rangel sat still and watched her talk animatedly about Frantal. He shook his head in amusement and chuckled.

"What?" Montressa questioned, trying to decide if he was laughing at her or at their situation.

"Oh, nothing." F'rangel responded nonchalantly. "It's just that you seem to like this creature so much. Don't get me wrong, you have my leave to like this creature. You've taken a liking to far worse creatures before. Do you think this Frantal has the potential to be socialized? To be trained?"

Montressa glared at him before thinking. "Yes. I believe he does."

F'rangel stood up and walked around to the other side of Montressa's desk. Pecking her lightly on the cheek, he whispered into her ear "Well, I guess you've got your hands full with his training then."

To be continued...

[starrybluenightz]

Nightmare Filled Home

|Chapter one|

There's two worlds.

He knows there is. He's been to both. He's lived in both. He's made friends in both… or at least one friend in one and more in the other.

But, he is also aware one isn't real.. After all, his reality is dark and twisted. He struggled to survive everyday, there's always a horror around the corner, waiting to swallow him whole.. He stuck living his life on repeat in a constant cycle of pain and cruelty..

The fake world? It's full of joy, pure happiness even. It's colorful, cheerful. There's no twisted adults meaning to harm him or others. He's surrounded by unconditional love and care. The days aren't repeating, there's always something new happening. He doesn't have to fight for survival, because there's nothing dangerous in the fake world..

He can only go to the fake world in his dreams. Oh, he's tried so hard to go there when he is awake. But, no matter how much he's tried, he can't..

Those dreams are rare. Most of the time his sleep is filled with terror filled nightmares, them increasing to horror of his life all the time..

He's nicknamed the fake world his 'dream world’, because that's essentially what it was. It was.. Kinda like a safe space for him. He was protected and safe there..

It was always jarring when he woke up from that pleasant world. The contrast between the two was large, colorful safety to dark danger. He was always dazed after waking up because of it.

And when fell asleep only to wake up from his reality, even then he was dazed. He always felt fear beat his heart quickly, but he was slowly soothed by his Home's comfort. Surprisingly, the Home he has grown to know, even with it being alive, has never spooked him. Never once did it make him feel afraid. That he was grateful for..

Speaking of, Home was using some kind of invisible power to gently nudge him to get him up for the day.

He honestly wanted to stay in his bed for longer. It was comfortable, the blankets always soft and warm to the touch. The real world never had warmth, it only being warm when the oven in that hospital was set ablaze. And comfort also wasn't something you could get in the other world either.

They also smelled like apples, which was something he's quickly learned that he loves. He's pretty sure Home specifically makes them smell that way for him. It was honestly quite sweet of the sentient house.

Home continued its gentle prodding, the noises that make up its words cooing him into a more awake state. He responded with grumbles, him nuzzling his pillow and thus hiding his face.

There was a brief shaking of the building that he had by now recognized as Home’s laughter. The sentient building always happened to find the way he acted in the morning amusing, but it was never in a mean way like he had once thought it was.

It took a while, but he was eventually able to tell that his friend and living space was extremely fond of him and never meant him harm. Home always was gentle to Wally, always showing extreme care for and to him that ,before he found this strange dream world, he'd never even thought was possible. It made him feel all warm on the inside, and once he realized that Home wouldn't stop showing him that care and truly meant it he ended up bawling and crying.

He had never cried before in the real world, but this dream world somehow managed to get him to. It was like a weight off his chest, and he actually felt safe in this place.

Eventually Home’s prodding succeeded as the small puppet groaned, him rolling to lay on his back and pushed up his face mask to glare up at the ceiling with a pout. He spoke softly, his voice a sleepy monotone,” Home… do i have to get up…?”

The house responded with a few knocks and creaks, and the blue haired puppet instantly understood that yes, he did have to get up.

Wally normally never talked, especially in the Real world. But, there was no sign language variant in this dream world for four fingers, at least not that he had found anyways. Maybe there was… He'd have to ask Barnaby, his best and dearest friend. Barnaby was always happy to answer his questions, and usually he'd make a joke to get a laugh out of the smaller puppet.

Wally didn't really know how to laugh.. not the way his friends did. It wasn't something that came to him easily… a lot of things weren't to be honest. He personally thinks it's because of the real world.

The only laughter there was from cruel adults.. He shivered at the memory of his reality, him quickly pushing his memories of the other world away. He wasn't there right now. He was at Home. The small neighborhood that has shown him nothing but kindness since he first woke up in it.

He breathes in deeply, and the smell of apples brought him back to where he was as well as calming him. After a moment, he sat up. The long messy curls of sapphire that makes up his hair fell into his face and briefly blinded him. He let out a hum, him quickly moving his hair out of his face as a small yawn left him.

He rubs the sleep out of his eyes as he did, and he could hear things being moved around. When Home first did that, Wally had panicked and had been on edge, afraid that something will jump out of the shadows and attack him. But, this world never had shadows except at night, and he slowly stopped reacting badly to the stuff being moved around when he had his guard down.

He lowered his hands, his eyes immediately finding out what Home had moved. A small smile formed on his face once he spotted the items that were usually used in his morning routine in this dream world.

Home always did his hair. He personally had no idea how to, so it was always nice to have help from his friend.

The small puppet swung his legs over the side of the bed, him taking off the facemask fully and hanging it on the bedpost. He then stretched, a satisfied hum leaving him at the pops that sounded out from it.

He soon dropped his hands to where they rested at his sides, him hopping off the big bed and onto the floor. He slipped his feet into his slippers, and headed over to his mirror to begin his morning routine.

After he had swapped his PJs for his usual colorful attire and his hair was done up into its pompadour, him looking in the mirror to check his appearance.

Before this dream world, he never really focused on it. After all he didn't have a reason to if he could die at any point. But now… now he prided himself in it. It was nice. He was never covered in grime, or dirt, or ash here.

He readjusted his ascot, him contemplating if he should tie it in a bow or leave it tied the way it was. In the end he decided to leave it. He can tie it like a bow next time.

He smiled, making sure his smile was the same cat-like soft one it should be. It was by pure luck he was able to smile at all. It was one of the first things he learned how to do in this world.

Once he was sure it was perfect, it has to be perfect, him gave himself a nod and looked up at the ceiling,” Thank you very much for your help this morning, Home..”

He felt something pat his head, but he couldn't see it. Even then though, he absolutely knew it was his friend that cared for him so much. He closed his eyes happily,” You're just the most, friend..”

The sentient building responded in kind, and Wally knew the other was just as happy as he was.

After that he headed downstairs, eager to see what today brings. Will Julie have a new game to play? Will Barnaby bring Wally along and the two can visit Howdy? Will Eddie give him another letter? Will Frank take him bug hunting? Will Sally host a new play? Will he help Poppy with knitting or baking? Or will today be a ‘stay inside with Home and paint’ day?

He had no idea, but that's what the most exciting to find out…

([ AO3 link now added ])

[marvelstars]

The Republic, the Jedi Order and Slavery

So I have seen some discussions on the matter of the Jedi, Slavery and the Republic that I think would be interesting to explore from a legal point of view just to get a little bit outside the blame game going on in the fandom.

First off I think what we need to remember is that slavery, while being banned in the republic it is tolerated on worlds associated with it but that are too distant for the core to bother to enforce their own laws there, like Tatooine. The Republic tacitly recognizes the Hutt and others Empires who support slavery even if it isn´t official or legal. So right there we have a big plot hole into Repblican legislation and law enforcement.

This means that on Tatooine is completely legal to own, blown up, buy or sell people as property and it´s a practice so widespread there are actual space pirates who dedicate themselves to capture and sell people for this same end, this was the case of Shmi Skywalker who was born a free person but who was captured and sold to Gardulla´s the Hutt and her Son, Anakin, who was born a slave.

But this isn´t the case inside the Republic, much less on Coruscant, at least in the bare bones of their laws, so what happened to the Clone Army? Why no one, not even the principled Senators like Padme, Bail Organa or Mon Mothma were calling them a slave army? I believe the problem comes from the fact the clones, just like the droids, are not fully recognized as individuals with rights acording to Republican laws, when a member of a respected organization like the Jedi Order, Master sifo Dias, can use Republic credits to buy an army for a war that didn´t even exist until Dooku created the Separatist faction and no one raises an eyebrow, it means the Republic recognizes their purchase as legal within the law, which means they aren not recognized as sentient beings and the Clone Army are not citizens of the Republic but a property bought by Republican Credits with the Jedi Order acting as an intermediary.

This is my pet peeve when it comes to the Jedi Order in the Prequels, because they are not being actively evil, they didn´t order or buy the clone army, all of this was part of Palpatine´s and Dooku´s plans but by accepting the clone army they legally became the owners of the Clone Troopers.

In this instance it doesn´t matter much if they like them or treat them well, I love the fact Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Plo Kloon have an awesome relationship with their troopers in general but the deeper issues stays the same, they are not recognized citizens of the republic by law and they are owned by the Republic and the Jedi Order, to give an example of this problem: Watto also liked Shmi and Anakin and actually asisted Shmi´s marriage with Cliegg Lars after he freed her in legends canon, that didn´t mean he didn´t have the legal right to blown both of them up if he thought it was neccesary as their slave owner and that´s exactly the same problem the Jedi have, they are legally the owners of the clone army.

My other pet peeve was that instead of talking about this very serious issue or making a formal investigation because this was looking too suspicious, the Jedi Council, including Obi-Wan and Yoda, were more concerned about them losing their place as peace keepers by becoming members of the Republican army than by becoming owners of hundreds of people from one day to another and I could actually think this was just a plot hole in Lucas narrative but the problem is that this is actually talked as an issue by the Clones in the Clone War series, even more, Lucas originally thought to skip the use of the chip and have the Clone Army voluntarily attack the Jedi in Order 66 because their loyalty was to the Republic not to the Jedi Order, which says a lot about issues between them.

So the Jedi didn´t just renounce their right to have a political voice inside the Senate, they also skip over or just plain never talked about their responsibility as owners of sentient beings, yes, this was part of Palpatine´s trap for them, they were done for the moment they accepted the army because they were left vulnerable to an attack like Order 66 but they were still an semi independent institution within the Republic who certainly had the means to discover the truth, they just choose to let it lie until they could win the war and that moment never came.

Now another interesting discussion is that some fans make a relation between the Clone Army being a slave army and the Jedi being obliterated by the Republican army and I think this take is forgetting the canon reason why Palpatine could legally give the Order 66.

The Jedi Order being attacked with Order 66 didn´t have anything to do with them being owners of the clone army but Order 66 was legal within the Republican law post clone wars, why? because they became virtual members of the army when they became generals, this means they were subject to the Republic as members of their army and once they attacked the Chancellor of the Republic they officially became a Rogue army that needed to be put under control. The Jedi were no longer seen as civilians or diplomats or a religious order but a rogue military that was a menace for the Republic, this was the reason most of the corrupted Senate supported this action and not even Padme´s and Bail´s group could stop this because it was a "legal action" within the Republican laws as they stood post Clone Wars. Consider that even the founders of the rebel alliance were doubtful about the Jedi´s support to tackle Palpatine´s political power beyond those they knew personally, like Obi-Wan or Anakin and that Master Windu didn´t even consider to contact trusted members of the Senate because he considered them too corrupt to truly tackle Palpatine, that´s how distant the Jedi Order had become from non- force sensitive people, even members of the senate.

So I agree with the sector of the fans that are of the oppinion the Jedi´s problem was that they didn´t involve themselves enough in politics and that was the main reason why Palpatine could take over their entire organization so easily once he had enough support of the Senate because yes, he was attacked by the Council of Jedi Masters and Yes it was because he was a Sith but also yes, that´s a coup d'etat which was ilegal and punished within Republican law and Master Windu felt there was no other option because yes, the Jedi didn´t involve themselves in politics and that made sure the Senate had virtual control over all of them even in the case of naming them rogue.

Now a curious thing that happens with laws is that they just won´t go away when they became part of the legislation until there´s a change in legislation and in the comics Darth Vader as the last member of the Jedi, member of the Sith Order and part of the military of the Empire is also subjected to the previous Jedi Order´s check and balances, anytime the Emperor considers he´s become rogue, he has the right to pursue him with all the power of the Empire and the army can be used to stop him including the stromtroopers even those who are loyal to Vader.

I think this is interesting because Vader has both the power of the second in command of the Empire, he´s the "Emperor´s voice" but also one of the most precarious positions within it´s power structure and I don´t think Palpatine did this just to be a dick to his apprentice, which he can be for shit and giggles but because Vader´s position allows him to be a serious contender for the throne if an admiral or grand moff ever considered to make an alliance with him, this way he assures himself his position as Emperor, Vader is virtually isolated from the admirals and stromtroopers even if Vader truly is loyal to the Emperor and the admirals/grand moffs/etc get the message that if the Emperor is ready to do this to Vader who´s almost fanatically loyal to Palpatine, to his second in command, his literal voice, who has access to all high levels meetings, "his favorite" then what hope do they have to try something like that? It´s better to keep being close to the Emperor and follow his rules.

Palpatine as Emperor is still playing the same politics and the only way to change this was by making legislation changes, which could be done in the Republic by a Jedi Order associated with the Senate and with the imperial Senate before the Emperor disolved it.

If Star Wars was a political thriller like the Cassian Andor and to a less extend the clone wars series it would be interesting to explore the story from this pov but given the narrative is looked more like a mythical story, most of those issues are hinted but not developed much beyond what serves the narrative.

I think it´s worth discussing those issues and what they said about the society pictured in the prequels because Lucas definitely didn´t write them as a perfect society that existed protected by the Jedi Order before the evil Emperor took over, this version is mostly Obi-Wan being romantic with the past he misses, Lucas very much added a lot of issues to explain how a society like the Republic, Jedi Order included, became a dictatorship and it doesn´t need to begin with a big bad evil wizard but mostly that same society ethical issues, especially those it refuses to recognize.

[hydrasaura]

now that i think abt it, looking back, srmthfg did a lot of stuff that i liked so much, let’s say regarding the main character. I find Chiro’s case so interesting because despite the fact that he is never given any backstory whatsoever, he becomes meaningful through his actions and becomes established and distinguished through his interactions with others. I think he is such a likeable character but not in the way that he’s perfect, he has his flaws and fears that he overcomes or struggles with. He is shown multiple times being kind towards others, even towards hideous creatures or animals (i mean it would be ironic for him to hate animals given that he lives with monkeys) which at the time was like such a breath of fresh air for me. Also the way characters constantly belittle/make fun of him for hanging out with animals and he just pretty much tells all of them to f off which is great. The majority of times the villains aren’t even naturally evil but corrupted by the evil force and the main characters recognize that and try to help as much as they can. Another thing that i like abt Chiro is that he’s supposed to be ‘’the chosen one’’ but he isn’t overpowered, he has several established moves which he uses throughout the show or improves and that’s it. and he loses, A LOT. Like there’s this great accent placed on the fact that they are a team and on how they are constantly saving each other.

AND GOD let me tell you, i dislike mechs, among all animals primates and monkeys are my least favorite and yet this show has somehow managed to make me love BOTH. The way they made me care so deeply abt each freaking technicolor monkey, about this pink mary-sue-ish robot-girl, and about that plain-ass looking super robot is INSANE. The writer somehow managed to give them so much personality. When Antauri [redacted] I was literally not okay for several weeks. I related to Gibson so much and his beef with Sprx was so fun and his relationship with Otto so nice. Nova was badass and funny and i loved the big sister kind of relationship she had with Chiro. I can’t even chose a fave out of the monkeys because they complemented each other so well. Jinmay seemed sorta boring at first but the fact that she was a robot made everything so much more interesting, i absolutely loved all the times when they would pit her against the heroes. I also loved that she was established from the beginning and kept being a recurring character even becoming a member of the team but not in the way that it would break the team’s mojo. The super-robot was so plain but the way they constantly showed us it was sentient was so eerie. AND god the villains where compelling, terrifying and idk felt like a constant looming threat. Idk maybe it’s nostalgia speaking but this show had so much shit that somehow newer shows/anime constantly miss and it makes me sad when i remember how it ended and how it has been literally forgotten by everyone. Sometimes i think it’s a fever dream because nobody ever mentions it, not even when they are talking abt ‘‘forgotten shows’‘ :’)))

[hrodvitnon]

Got a couple new 'Abraxas' questions, on a shared topic. ;)

(1) Considering how intelligent and sentient the Titans are in Abraxasverse, what do you imagine Hokmuto and Femuto were thinking when they went on their natural order-threatening rampage to hook up and reproduce just after hatching into their adult forms? Did they know what they were doing? Were they okay with it or were they slave to their instincts? Did they care either way? Did they understand the damage that their species breeding would do?

(2) How do Godzilla and Barb feel about each-other?

Ohohoho! Well, the first answer's a big one...

Considering both halves of the couple had only recently hatched, it's unlikely they really understood the state of the world or had anyone to teach them what they should or shouldn't do. I'm tempted to say that Hokmuto and Femuto were the equivalent of teenagers who were kicked out of their houses through circumstances outside their control and forced to deal with the world alone, with no advice or help from anyone. A rather daunting idea.

Teenagers can be impulsive and often imagine themselves invincible if only because the world has yet to humble them; Hokmuto might very well be riding on the high of surviving the Honolulu encounter with Godzilla, who he might only instinctively recognize as a threat and/or potential food, but otherwise doesn't know him from Adam (heh). Teenagers also get horny, and I think it's a common occurrence for one to do daring if incredibly stupid things on the off-chance that someone they find attractive may notice (unless of course sexuality circumstances dictate otherwise).

They weren't stupid, though - if they'd met when the world was more densely populated with Titans and they were naturally taught the ways of the world, Hokmuto and Femuto would've made pretty good parents. They had chemistry, they knew how to work together, they put up an excellent fight against Godzilla, and if not for a certain lucky-as-hell lieutenant blowing their nest sky-high, might've won the day and doomed us all. Unfortunately, they wouldn't realize the gravity of their actions until it was too late. How would they? No one else of their kind was around to teach them. They only had each other. Things might've been different if they had experienced adults like the MUTO Prime or even Barb around, but they didn't. Either way, they weren't stupid; they just didn't know any better.

Speaking of Barb! Tensions between her and Godzilla were certainly high, especially early on. But neither of them were keen on starting a fight that could result in serious injury or worse; it's simply easier to leave each other alone and go about their day. They at least have an accord: Don't start shit and you won't get hit. Plus, Barb is much older and wiser than Hokmuto or Femuto, fully aware of what could happen if she were to mate and start a clutch of eggs. The world in its current state can't handle such an infestation (loathe as she is to refer to hypothetical offspring as such).

Sadly, this knowledge also brings loneliness with it. Suddenly Godzilla has offspring of his own in Ladon and Shin, and Barb remains alone. There could be a surge of resentment. Why does he get to be a father again? Why can't she be a mother? Oh, but she knows full well why. Barb envies Godzilla having a family, but she doesn't take out her emotions on others because that wouldn't help her species-wide reputation as a parasite. Naturally, she develops a melancholic disposition. At times her depression is palpable enough for humans to pick up on it.

It takes time for Godzilla and Barb to be near each other without the instinctive, ancient grudge between their species getting in the way of things. They still don't really like each other, and some days "tolerate" can be a tall order, but the accord still stands. She'll still run to his aid if he calls for it. Privately, Godzilla might actually feel bad for Barb. It wasn't that long ago when he was the last of his kind just like her, after all.

[nicki0kaye]

Star Wars Sentinel Guide nonsense

To make things easier for everyone, I've decided to just lay out how my Sentinel/Guide au works. Please feel free to rip me off entirely and apply these ideas to any blorbo you choose.

I've done a few pics for Pre-Empire bonded Kalluzeb, and started a fic for Post-Empire, Pre-Fall of Lasan Kalluzeb, but there's a bunch of other AUs that branch off of this main premise, and the fic especially drops the audience into the deep end re: how shit works, so lets just go ahead and spell shit out plainly.

First and foremost, yes, the Force is involved and the Jedi do know about these sub-categories of Force-sensitive ppl. Typically, the cultures they exist inside already have accommodations for 'Sentinels' and 'Guides', and these two sub-sets have very limited access to the Force itself, so it doesn't really benefit anyone for them to be picked up by the Jedi, as they lack the access to the Force required for full-on Jedi training, and the Jedi don't really specialize in their care. Only in very extreme cases would a Jedi want to adopt a 'Sentinel' or 'Guide'; ie when they are utterly alone and lack all outside support.

What even are Sentinels and Guides? In the broadest terms, they are specialized Force-users with complimentary adaptations, meant to work as a unit.

Sentinels have enhanced senses, mental capacity, memory recall, strength and speed, but can struggle to regulate their own nervous systems and risk being locked in vivid flash-backs due to their near-perfect recall.

Guides are empaths capable of influencing the minds and bodies of those around them, typically only within their line of sight, although with practice they can widen their range of influence. They are very sensitive to the pain of others, and can become overwhelmed by second-hand emotions without proper training.

Both Sentinels and Guides can sense the Force to a degree, though it's mostly limited to the 'souls' or 'auras' of other sentients, meaning no tapping into nature or inanimate objects (excluding kyber crystals. that shit they can in fact sense.) Guides can interact directly with other's 'auras', that's kind of their Whole Deal, but Sentinels have an acute awareness of their own 'aura', especially when interfacing with another's. This allows Sentinels and Guides to recognize one another, though a Sentinel may inaccurately contribute their awareness of a Guide to another sense, such as 'seeing' their aura or 'hearing' their soul.

A Guide's aura must interact with a Sentinel's aura to properly regulate a Sentinel's nervous system. This can be a temporary arrangement, after which one or both could disconnect their aura and suffer no ill effects. However, it's possible to form a 'bond' after prolonged interaction, especially if the two are 'compatible'. Compatibility between Sentinels and Guides is not a hard science, it's more a vibe that these two get on really well, and it works on a spectrum. The more compatible the pair, the stronger the bond; the stronger the bond, the more painful it is to sever. While super not recommended, you can sever a bond by force--outside Guide/Force-user interference--or by distance. No matter the method, a severed bond is traumatic for both parties, but at least with other Guides around, some of that trauma can be tended to immediately.

Separately, Sentinels and Guides have a few obvious niches they can gravitate to; Sentinels can excel at most any activity they set their mind to, especially physical ones such a sports or warfare, while Guides make talented healers and diplomats. They of course work best as a unit, something recognized and often revered in every culture they appear in.

Sentinels and Guides are most commonly found in non-human species, including but not limited to the Wookiees, Bothan, Cathar, Chiss and Lasat.

[vonkarma2]

on the oc asks from like three days ago, 🖤 for rocio, ❤️ for Gloria, 💚 for angel, and 🐉for whoever?

❤️ RED HEART — what are three of your oc's positive traits?

She genuinely does not have any, unless you count “being hot” as a positive trait. She’s not even skilled at self-preservation :(

🖤 BLACK HEART — has your oc killed or seriously wounded anyone before? have they broken someone's heart and/or broken someone's trust?

Has Rocio fucking murdered anybody.. Yes <3 by the end of the story she has killed Gabriel, the Suns, and the wolf demon. She would care at all about the Suns, even without knowing their backstory, but as far as she knew the wolf demon was forced/mind controlled into trying to assassinate Angel, so I think it would really weigh on her, at least until she has 1 conversation with Victor lol. But she would be really upset about Gabriel, especially since they were both so similar in that moment. Watching an innocent man die when she could do nothing to save him, and it felt like seeing the only possible end to her life at the same time.

Rocio has broken people’s hearts many times. This probably doesn’t count but Yiming having to watch her repeatedly waste away and almost die, continuing with her plan even when Cirillo repeatedly tried to convince her not to, leaving Angel to get captured and potentially die, snapping at Gloria and trying to push her away. Some of these aren’t entirely her fault, but it does make her feel like anyone close to her will inevitably cause her + themselves more pain

💚 GREEN HEART — does your oc prefer being inside or outside? 

Outside. It’s not that he dislikes hanging around indoors, but he is the type to get bored and want to move on to something else very frequently, and an outdoor environment is much more conducive to that. You can make people walk around a city or outdoors, or split up the group if you want, but if you’re at home, you’re basically stuck there until everyone decides to leave. If you invited him to dinner, he’d get bored and go outside to watch leafcutter ants in a line or some shit. Might be the type of guy to bring a book around with him so he can read it when things slow down. Absolutely fried attention span. RIP angel castillo you would have loved adderall

🐉 DRAGON — what is your oc's favorite mythical creature?

This is a great question because there actually are mythical/magical creatures in this setting, but I have put literally zero effort into coming up with them so far. Just because I forgot to, and creature design is difficult T_T so in this world it’s generally less like “there is a species of magical creatures that does xyz” it's more like specific mythical beasts, like you only get one of each, so their concept of them is a little different. They are also sapient, though it’s in a way completely unrecognizable to humans– more so the same way magic is recognized as a sentient force that in some ways shifts in response to changes in the natural world.

I got sidetracked. Rocio’s favorite mythical creature is a Qilin (first magical creature she interacted with), Yiming’s is a feathered serpent (same reason), Angel’s is a manticore (he thinks it’s cool + kind of scary), and most of the other characters don’t really have a go-to lol

[practically-an-x-man]

your OCs encounter a large, green tiger snarling and trying to claw off some sort of electronic collar to no avail (it's Gabi and the collar is preventing her from shifting) what do they do?

Oooh, very interesting... thank you!!

Rae: Starts out by trying to wedge an energy disc under the collar to break it - she doesn't want to get too close, even with her shields. But if that doesn't work, she'll try a more hands-on approach, with energy shields over her arms and chest to protect her from being mauled.

Robin: Tries to find someone at the mansion who can help - either someone who's telekinetic to remove the collar from afar, or someone who can communicate with animals since she doesn't realize Gabi can comprehend English.

Madison: Approaches with her multitool in hand, speaking in a clear, calm voice and moving steadily (like she would if she were approaching any other animal). A smarter woman probably wouldn't approach at all, but... she wants to help, she's got a pet wolfdog so she thinks she's a little more well-versed in dealing with large predators, and the green means this definitely isn't a normal tiger. She'll try to pry the panel off the collar with her multitool and shut it down, assuming Gabi will let her try.

Ophelia: Puts on her actuator vest and has them take care of it - she doesn't have to get close, and the collar is off in less than five minutes.

Jasper: If the green itself wasn't a tip-off, the fact that they can sense Gabi's emotions certainly is; normally they can sense some emotions from animals, but nothing as clear as what they're getting from Gabi. Satisfied that this tiger has to be at least partially sentient, they try to explain the situation and that they're trying to help before removing the collar with a screwdriver

Kestrel: Also turns into a tiger, both to communicate and to show that they're also a shapeshifter. Once they've got the situation explained, they can shift back to human to have the opposable thumbs to take the collar off.

Katherine: Calls on Sekhmet - there's no tiger god, the lion goddess will have to be close enough - and her magic is enough to overwhelm the collar and let Gabi shift from a tiger to a housecat. Once she can slip out of the collar, she can transform into anything she wants

Quinn: There's no magic in her world, so she just assumes it's a tiger painted green, and probably ends up calling some kind of zoo or wildlife services to take care of the situation. She may be reckless, but not the kind of reckless that gets within arm's reach of an angry tiger

Eris: Honestly, just dives right in. They don't know if the tiger can understand English, so why waste breath to explain when they're reasonably sure they can get the collar off before they get completely mauled? If nothing else, it's a bit of a challenge

Nikoletta: First step is to ask the tiger, directly, if they're a metahuman. She's been in Belle Reve long enough to recognize a meta when she sees one. Once Gabi nods, and seems to have calmed down slightly, Nik will grab a screwdriver or something to remove the panel.