#complete some sort of identity reformation

[lesbians4jeanpierreleaud]

but truly damian wayne haters are just so lame. like just out right refusing read good versions of the character while peeing their pants if ur uninterested in the 90s comic sludge coated 7 issue mini series where tim drakes penchant for quips really gets fleshed out or teen titans #2546 where dick grayson is insecure about his identity as a seperate hero for the billionth time

[andiv3r]

I'm curious, what is it about stancest that you like?

Ohhg okay, so there's A Lot. Click at your own risk, thoughts on the ship and many reasons I "like" it (find it useful as a narrative tool & fun to play with) under the cut.

I think the main appeal is that there is a formerly strained bond being repaired, and watching them grow close again in their old age is beautiful no matter how you view their relationship¹. I like to explore concepts with stancest that I can't explore with other ships², such as Bill's control and manipulation affecting what could have otherwise been a nice reunion, shared unrevealed feelings being why they both pushed one another away more than necessary in the time right before the portal incident ("for his own good," they both think), or just-through-the-portal Ford meeting a version of mullet Stan while in another dimension (also works for Portaled Stanley AUs meeting another version of Stanford), realising just how bad Stan had it, and (believing there is very little chance of him ever finding his way back home), deciding to take care of this version of his brother where he didn't for the one he knew.

If you're thinking, "Hey... some of those work just fine without making it stancest. You could keep their relationship platonic/familial and still use those concepts," then you're right! I could! Sometimes I even do! But...

I have no reason to restrict the sort of thing I write when the potential for a different dynamic between these characters, as well as being able to explore facets of my own identity through them, appeals to me³. I enjoy looking at the concept of an aromantic alloalterous demisexual and autosexual Ford and playing through how those identities would impact how he sees Stan⁴.

I am also fond of speculating about their time at sea, and what the healing of their relationship would entail. Stan's memory loss (which I think still affects him somewhat, in the form of gaps where certain memories haven't fully reformed or are hazy) would undoubtedly affect things, as would Ford's guilt for "causing" it. There's potential for Stan recovering traumatising memories and Ford both helping him work through that and learning about some of them for the first time - having to learn in the worst possible way that Stan has been through infinitely more than he thought. There is an extremely compelling dynamic here regardless of the nature of their relationship, but I'm a sucker for old queers and lifelong mutual pining that's finally come to a resolution, so putting that era of their life through a stancest filter was inevitable and brings me the most joy.

So, yeah. I dunno, there's just a lot you can do with it and a lot that's already there to build from.

¹Purely familial? Hell yeah, there's lots to work with there and that used to be my favourite way to see them! Romantic? Adds an extra layer to all the ways you could interpret their actions (and therefore all the ways you could add angst), love it lots. Secret third thing? I Am Gnawing At The Bars Of My Enclosure, You Have No Idea How Much I Love Viewing Them As Secret Third Thing. Secret Third Thing can mean so much, there is so much to work with there. It can mean "I love you more than anyone else but it's not romantic but I still feel guilty over how deeply I love you because I'm not supposed to feel like this, you're my brother." It can mean "Whenever I envisioned 'settling down' and 'starting a family' I couldn't make myself see a romantic partner... I could only ever see us out at sea." It can mean "You are my other half. I don't know what we are but I know that you complete me." It can mean so, so much.

²Fiddauthor or portalcule would suffice in some cases, but not all of them... and to be honest, I don't want to settle for something that would just suffice. If it would hit harder emotionally as stancest than it would as fiddauthor, then I'm making it a stancest and not fiddauthor.

³I like to explore ideas of gender/sexuality/romantic orientations as a way to work through how I view my own aromanticism. Stanford is a heavily aromantic-coded character, and Stanley can be viewed through an aromantic lens (which is a headcanon for him that I hold dear).

⁴How would his being autosexual affect the physical aspect of his attraction? How would being demisexual impact him, what with Stan being the person he's closest to and knows best out of anyone in the world? How would his lack of romantic attraction impact that relationship? Would it make him feel more or less guilty for his feelings? Would he even notice they weren't romantic, or would he assume romantic, sexual and alterous attraction were all the same? Would his guilt from his feelings (because god knows he'd have that guilt) stem from some place of societally ingrained morals, or would he, as he so often in canon does, shun society's ideas for how he should act... and in that case only feel guilty for having what he assumes is unwanted and unreciprocated attraction toward someone who would be disgusted at him for it? Or would he maybe ignore the guilt, his attention centred on the fact that this attraction, or these feelings, or this attachment, makes him an anomaly, a freak, just like he was always told he was for his physical differences?

[graementality]

Adding to the AU where Heart gets locked in Apathy and Mind and Soul reform into Whole without him,,

I think Whole would experience a sort of Ego-death (permanent loss of attachment to a separate sense of self/complete loss of subjective self identity).

Ego is essentially your sense of self (which is more Soul than Heart but there is also an emotional relation to it)

I feel like without his emotions/Heart, Whole would be very apathetic (ironically), and almost heartless? As in, without his theoretical heart, he wouldn't be very sympathetic, and would push away the people in his life. Which is not that differant from original cccc Whole (and CJ in The Before especially, which I'm pretending is the same person storyline-wise) but obviously it would be alot more of a detrimental situation for all four of them and effectively spark a major depressive episode.

This would also be factored in: ( @paleduck0000 's thoughts on it)

So not just complete emotionless Whole, just, fucked the hell up and all over the place.

Soul would also be affected, since he's kind of a stripped down version of Whole, I feel like the state of Heart and Mind also effect him. So having Heart locked away, rotting in Apathy for so long- an entire loop most likely- he would get a little funky to say the least.

Plot wise, I feel like it would be really interesting to make Mind the one who eventually releases Heart. At first he would enjoy finally ruling alone with Soul and having his "enemy" officially out if the picture, but it would have its cost. Everything would go to shit eventually; Soul is incapacitated in some sense and the only way to save Whole is to set Heart free. So Mind, whether sincerely or reluctantly, releases Heart of his own accord.

Heart would probably be in almost a worse state than Soul/Whole, depending on the laws of the headspace and how I envision Apathy and its effects (which I have a pretty good idea of based on the other fics I've written). But yeah probably also half dead. Fun for everyone involved!

(I'll also definitely include cane-user Soul if I write this, and other little headcanons I've had over time)

That's all for now, I'll write this one day....eventually....maybe....

[the-autumn-apple-artworks]

౨ৎ. Watch me selfship with myself /J/SILLY

OK GUYS;;; I MIGHT'VE GOTTEN;;; A LITTLE SILLY;;;

This started as a kinsona, and remained as such, HOWEVER it ended up with me using him to selfship with Ivrig, the kin in question,,,

Is this self-love????? I guess????? Yeahhhh whatever here, have a bunch of homosexual cabinets <3333

IN ADDITION !!! LORE !!!! UNDER THE CUT !!!

It's very very long so have a good read I guess </333 I put much passion into the homosexuals /silly

CW: mutilation, murder, transphobia, religious trauma

This is how his document would look like after he's scheduled for hacking:

NAME: Doe Santomassimo SEX: Female, although undergoes a masculine identity AGE: 20 HEIGHT: 170cm WEIGHT: 60kg

"A university student. No other instances of criminal record. Charged with mutilation and public exposition of corpses, and murder, shortly after the incident of a previous reformation target known as Yamamura. Found to be a BUG owner through scanning."

Doe is an Italian deer-folk, that's why I chose Santomassimo (can be translated into "Great Saint") as his surname, I just picked one of the most common surnames in my small town cuz ofc I wouldn't use mine even if I wanted to HJDHSDFJSFH

The reason why there isn't an actual birthname listed like for Ivrig still having "Kosuke" along with his chosen name, is that lore-wise, Doe undergo a legal name change. Ivrig, instead, stood with Kosuke during the legal name change in my personal headcanon of him being actually trans. In fact, in game he is not mad that people use Kosuke for him, he is more uncomfortable when his family insists on referring to him as "Ko-chan" using a feminine and infantilizing suffix. Plus, on the documents, his sex is male, meaning he also undergo some sort of legal sex change on paper at least. That means his family accepts the fact he is trans but don't quite understand how to fully be an ally and still use the "-chan" suffix. I assume that general hatred around the LGBT folks has been greatly reduced thanks to the whole "the soul is a source code, everything is prewritten" so people had gotten more understanding of the "I was born this way" and don't see it as something harmful. Although I can still see the older folks being judgemental and always take the opportunity to assume that any sign of diversity is actually a BUG and therefore personality error

This was the case for Doe's parents. His mother was purely Catholic and strongly believed that God sent the BUGs to punish the sinners. As a consequence, Doe lived in fear that even a minuscule mistake could lead to his death, even living under his true identity

After finally getting into university, and convincing his parents to get him a house to stay in, Doe is met with a completely different mentality, everyone is much more accepting and he slowly gets out of his shell to come out as trans. However, not to his parents, at least until he is met with the opportunity to undergo a legal name change. His parents are obviously furious, but not completely against. Doe can still be a pretty feminine name, however, his parents are much more against the fact that he chose to "discard his heritage" and choose a much more standard, English name rather than his Italian birthname. Tho there was still his surname so no biggie in the end

As stated before, his surname can be translated to "Great Saint" although the heritage of said surname is not really specified to be founded by religious backgrounds, it still recalls it quite a lot

Always afraid of religion, he'd grown distant of it, never sharing such detachment to his family and pretending to still be a believer every time he would come back to his hometown during the holidays

Speaking of hometown, his family is Italian but lives in the same setting of Ivrig's. Doe ends up attending a university in the same big city as Ivrig to study design, and that's how they meet

EDIT: Ignore that I completely forgot to talk about Doe's family LOL but he also has a little sister! His mother was first a musician but had to abandon that due to having children, which made her become a music teacher instead. Doe's mother is, in fact, known for being a really good pianist and everyone expected him to take the same passion for instruments. However, that did not happen and Doe took the same path as his father, which is becoming a designer. Everyone looked down on him because they thought that art would've been just a phase and "that job wouldn't have brought him anywhere if not under a bridge". It did not help that Doe's little sister DID take the music passion and started playing all sorts of instruments. Since the little sister took the musician path that the mother couldn't take, Doe was expected to at least take the teaching path. Of course, that wasn't the case, and Doe insisted heavily to go to university and study design. After a tough battle with his parents, they finally agreed

(Post Mindhack, Doe's family becomes more supportive, realizing that MAYBE they've fucked up lol) BACK ON THE LORE TY SORGY

Doe would always go to a specific square near most of the universities' campuses. He wasn't that good with social interaction and never really made much friends to hangout with, most importantly he wasn't used to the chaotic city life, so a nice, calm space where he could sit on a lone bench and draw whoever caught his interest was his go to activity

One day, Ivrig decides to use said square as a preaching spot: everyday he would settle down there at the same hour and preach loud and proud about LAGOM. Every time, Doe was there. Ivrig's passion and his over-the-top personality caught Doe's eyes, enough to actually lend an ear and listen, signing down information as he constantly imprinted Ivrig's poses on his notebook through doodles

He found himself interested for the first time into something related to religion. It quite resonated with him. Feelings are a hassle, they're complicated, everyone expects something different from him and from the way he chooses to express himself, sometimes people make themselves unreadable and confusing as if they were doing it on purpose! He didn't like doing mental gymnastic every time! How others would hate how he struggled with feeling empathy or feeling anything at all! What if... what if he could be inorganic?

However he didn't really feel like just- going there and ASK, that was too embarrassing! Instead, he sneaked behind Ivrig, and sticked a doodle page he made for him to his metal cabinet using a magnet, running away clumsily as soon as Ivrig turned around. Now, Doe is quite recognisable anyway so, the next day, at the same hour, Ivrig started preaching again but, instead of standing still in the middle of the square, he walked around it until he could locate Doe, stopping right in front of him to ask a rhetorical question and conclude it with "Isn't that right, Notebook?" addressing Doe directly

This is what started it all, Doe couldn't really run away from that anymore and, deep down, it was his plan all along, so this time he would be forced to confront Ivrig and get into the religion

One traumatic family disowning experience later, Doe is now living in the shared households of the LAGOM House, and what do you know, it's the same one where Ivrig also lives in. Doe survives with his scholarship and part-time job money, which is more than enough considering the high sense of community and the other believers helping him out, just like they did for Ivrig. In a way, Doe became Ivrig's disciple, always going to him whenever he was in doubt

Once he reached Ivrig's rank (Shelves and the like) he also chose a cabinet. Most of the believers expected him to pick a library or anything else related to his strong passion for drawing and designing, however, Doe explained his choice saying he based himself off "functionality and affordance" rather than passion and the being easy-to-assemble. Being a student in design, he follows the rules of "affordance", which is "the characteristics or properties of an object that suggest how it can be used. It shows a user that an object can be interacted with.". The main 3 agents that can be interacted with are Buttons, Switches and Sliders/Levers, with the main 3 interactions being Push, Pull, Turn. A good object is functional if designed to be as such, following the rules of affordance. A library is static, it's just a storage. A cabinet is dynamic, it has a door, it can communicate how to use such door and can be designed in many different, artistic and yet functional ways. Moreover, he designs his own cabinet head to be perfectly functionable, removable, and with glasses incorporated. Ivrig is quite jealous of that but he would never admit that out loud HAJHDFJSH

But, most importantly, he is quite the homosexual for Ivrig, but we don't talk about that /SILLY

Just kidding, we're absolutely going to talk about the homos

Doe is absolutely crushing on Ivrig however none of the two are able to read the room, with Doe thinking that his crush on Ivrig is just him blowing his sense of admiration out of proportions, and Ivrig thinking that Doe's obvious romantic hints are just a demonstration of appreciation because he's such a great preacher

It DOESN'T HELP that, while venting/gossiping to each other about their lives, Ivrig mentions the scam incident, where he truly believed to have met the girl of his dreams. Now Doe thinks Ivrig's straight </3

Soon enough, however, Doe can't resit and, while they're alone and Ivrig is sharing some random fact he knows, he removes his cabinet and gently grabs Ivrig's hands to kiss them since- he can't kiss him due to the cabinet being wielded shut from the inside (for now <3)

Doe and Ivrig are now going through this very simple and fluffy relationship where all they do is just,,, being boyfriends and hold hands that's all <333333

THAT,,,, is,,, until Ivrig does what he does,,,,

Doe takes Ivrig's place as a preacher... however that does not last long as he cannot accept that the one he loved and that actually accepted him could've done such things without a reason. So, in order to prove his devotion to Ivrig he goes against LAGOM and recreates the exact same crime. With the difference that Doe exposes the corpses in a whole ass artistic exhibition IN THE SAME SQUARE that Ivrig used to preach in

When Doe is scheduled for hacking, Ivrig had already been dismissed, so imagine seeing your boyfriend on the news before you could have the time to meet him again after getting reformed,,,, augh,,,

Yes cuz, Ivrig DOES remember Doe, all that the BUG erased was LAGOM and his identity connected to It. There might be missing pieces, a LOT of them, but he still remembers that they were in a relationship. However, Doe... doesn't remember much of Ivrig. That is because Doe is a huge people pleaser, he is the kind of guy that is willing to do everything to receive the approval from anyone that even barely shows affection to him. His BUG's outbreak reached its peak due to his denial and desire to receive approval from the one he loved. This resulted into Doe not believing in LAGOM anymore, but also considering Ivrig a charlatan, not remembering much of him in the first place, let alone the fact that he had a relationship with him

Following the headcanon that Captain, Rookie and Unid end up becoming Ivrig's found family, Ivrig doesn't have that many problems going in and out of the HOTFIX building, skipping the security procedures cuz that's their son bitch /silly

So, Ivrig runs to Doe and is immediately struck by the terrifying "Do I know you?" statement </33333

Think that maybe Ivrig went without his cabinet (since I headcanon that after being mindhacked he gets help to remove it and modify it so that he can wear it again and take it off with ease) or left it to Miki or Captain while he waited to be able to visit Doe so he goes back to get the cabinet and wear it again and Doe is like "Ohhh aren't you like-??? That weird ass charlatan?? I followed your preaching and did that bad stuff!!"

Oh well that got worse

So like, Ivrig says "Omg no way I got reformed too I don't follow that god anyway either-!!" and Doe is NOT convinced cuz "Well if you got reformed that's another reason why I shouldn't trust you blindly!"

Ivrig is so heartbroken and asks Captain for advice cuz ofc he would that's his mom now and she's like, immediately in to help and offers to take the guard's shift and watch over Doe instead to talk to him and subtly ask about Ivrig and what he thought about him and if he remembers, which brings in the whole speech about "changing the scenery" (y'know? the same speech she gave to Doctor about change?) cuz yeah Doe is 100% valid for not wanting to listen anyone blindly anymore and become more of his own person instead of being so dependable of other's acceptance, but y'know Ivrig could still care for him nonetheless. They had BOTH changed, that's more than one reason to try again

So they talk again and they figure out that Ivrig doesn't remember shit about his time at the LAGOM House, but Doe DOES and vice versa since, during their time together, they've vented to each other so now they remember facts about the other person but not about their own lives. Even if it's very minimal they share what they remember about the other, tho Ivrig doesn't specify anything about them being together since Doe doesn't seem to remember that at all

So this time, it's IVRIG trying to send hints in the clumsiest way possible and Doe NOT catching them at all <3333

AUUGHHHH I love the gayyssssss

Ty for listening to my homosexual rambling (it will happen again) <3

[lets-try-some-writing]

Hey so I read your Optronix & Orion twin AU where Orion killed his twin and took his place, idk if you have done a Part 2 or not but could you? I really enjoyed it, maybe Orion tells them(The team and probably the Humans too) exactly what he did and why, maybe Megatron also finds too because I really wanna see his reaction.

Also Big Fan of the Optimus son of Unicron stories, please tag me if you do start the fic.

Glad you like my writing! I will most certainly tag you if/when I start the fic. Although I would like to finish my current fic before I start another one *looking away from the two WIP's that have sat dormant in my Ao3 works*

Anyway, I tried a new format for this little bit, so tell me if you like it I guess.

Truth

The team had always thought that they had been serving under a reformed Optronix, the tyrant that once ravaged Cybertron. Ratchet was still bitter over Optronix's past actions, but the rest of the team loved their leader. Arcee accepted Optimus even with his 'past'. She understood that mecha could change and was just glad that he was a better mecha now that he was the Prime. Bulkhead was in a similar boat in that he did not care much for what Optronix had done in light of all the good and the sacrifices Optimus had made for the Autobots. Bumblebee was not even aware of the horrors of Optronix's reign beyond simple stories of cruelty and the pain others suffered under him. He could never hate his father, especially after Optimus had fought so hard and so valiantly for the Autobots.

The human children had known that Optimus had some sort of dark past based on the snarky remarks Ratchet threw at him every other day. But beyond that they were completely unaware of the truth of the matter or what Optronix did before he became Prime.

Not a spark knew that Optronix was dead or that Orion had taken his place, and that was just the way Optimus liked it. It hurt him to hide the truth from his old friend and to take on the many sins of his brother, but it was for the greater good. He bore the weight with stoic resolve and never faltered even on days where Ratchet threw things at him and would only follow orders if they were given by some other member of the team. He never allowed himself to cry or show weakness, not when his team needed him. He accepted every hit and insult from his old friend without flinching. It was the least he could do after everything Ratchet had suffered.

He was prepared to be assassinated once the war came to an end. In fact he would have gladly allowed Ratchet the final blow once he could be sure his family was safe and that Cybertron was on its way to recovery. He never expected his identity to be revealed until long after his death, if at all. He should have expected it... he should have known.

----

As Optimus sat up, his frame still aching and his processor pounding from the poison despite it having been drained, he gazed at his team with a frown. He reached up to touch his mask only to not find it present, causing his optics to blow wide in fear as he hurried to reach for it where it was placed on the edge of the berth.

However before he could his servo was grasped by the shaky ones of his medic and oldest friend. Looking up he could see Ratchet shaking, his plating flaring and relaxing in short succession in response to his emotional instability. His optics were wide and watery with unsplit coolant and his voice shifted in and and out static as he struggled to speak.

"Orion... its really you. Tell me its really you" The medic pleaded, his voice dipping and cracking as he choked out the words in shattered glyphs. From the corner of his optic, Optimus could see the rest of the team were in similar states of shock and confusion. Arcee and Bulkhead looked lost and conflicted and Bumblebee looked straight up confused. The human children leaned over their balcony railing to watch with interest as the scene played out.

"I am here old friend... I always have been" Optimus at last answered, his tone laced with grief, remorse, and relief all at once. The coolant in Ratchet's optics finally fell and dripped down his face as the medic charged into Optimus's arms, holding him tight.

"I thought you were dead Orion!" Ratchet sobbed against Optimus's chassis, and despite his weakness, Optimus could not find it in himself to pull away. It had been so long since anyone aside from Bumblebee had shown him so much affection. His spark sang at the contact, but the long ingrained instincts that pressured him to put back on his mask and put back up his persona were strong.

"Why?" After several long minutes of crying on Ratchet's part, the question the whole team wanted the answer to was finally uttered by the medic. Optimus considered the question with a sigh. There was no point hiding the truth now...

"Optronix needed to be stopped and the Autobots could not wait any longer for me to find a peaceful way to remove him from power" Optimus took a shuddering vent as he continued, his gaze firmly focused on the far wall of the base so he needn't meet anyone's optics.

"I killed him that cycle in front of Primus's core... after which Primus saw fit to make me the next Prime" Hushed gasps came from the team as Optimus continued. Bumblebee only knew a little of the details in regards to Optimus's rise to Prime, but he knew enough to know that the confession was great.

"It was a rash decision, one I hadn't fully thought through. I just knew he needed to die if we were to survive. But when all was said and done, the reality of my actions hit me and I realized that Optronix, while cruel, was vital to the war" Ratchet's gaze practically bore holes into Optimus with its intensity, but Optimus refused to look at him as he continued, now too far into his explanation to stop.

"If I had come out as Prime, there would have been civil war among the Autobots, and the Decepticons would have annihilated us even with my presence... So I took up Optronix's name and mantle and I did what needed to be done to keep our people unified" Optimus shuttered his optics as he finished, fearful of the response from the team. And as he expected, a harsh slap rang out in the base as Ratchet took a swing at Optimus's face, an act he did not fight against.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME! I WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED YOU!" Ratchet screamed, his relief having made way for grief and anger. The team took a few steps forward as if to stop the medic, but seeing as Optimus did nothing, they hesitated.

"Why Orion?! Did you not trust me?! Did you not believe I had the right to know?!" Ratchet's rant went on as he grabbed Optimus by his chassis plating and forced him to look him in the optics. Coolant ran freely down the medic's face as his frame heated and desperately tried to cool itself in response to Ratchet's emotional outburst.

Optimus could not answer.

"For millennia I believed you dead! I mourned for you! I-I spent countless recharge cycles awake trying to find a way to avenge you!" Optimus kept his expression controlled as Ratchet shook him, leaving dents in his chassis plating.

"I hurt you... and I didn't even know it was you" Exhausted, Ratchet pulled away and leaned on his console for support as he quietly cried. Optimus did not move from his place on the edge of the medical berth and focused on the string of his dented face and chassis plating.

He wished he had done better. He wished they had never found out. Maybe then Ratchet would have been spared such pain.

----

Arcee and Bulkhead did not change their behavior around Optimus much in response to the reveal. He was still their Prime, albeit without the sins they had associated with him previously. If anything they treated him with more respect than before. He had taken on and done everything in his power to rectify the damage his twin had done, and that put him in an even higher place of respect in their optics. Ratchet however locked himself up in his berthroom, drowning in mixed anger at Optimus and self-loathing for all the times he had hurt him over the vorns. Optimus could not bring himself to speak with him. He had forgotten how to.

The children and Bumblebee did not understand what was going on. They did not understand why the reveal was so important or what it entailed. And this in turn led Optimus to sit down with them a few days later once he was fully recovered to explain.

----

"I was forged with a spark-twin named Optronix. He was once a good mech, excellent with words and filled with conviction. We worked together to better Cybertron long before the war" Bumblebee leaned against Optimus's side like a sparkling as Optimus told his tale. The children rested on his shoulder plating and looked to him silently as he spoke.

"But as he began to receive recognition, the power got to his helm and corrupted his spark. He began abusing his authority to do as he wished, eventually selling out mine and Megatronus's revolution in order to make a deal with the council" Optimus gently rested a servo on Bumblebee's helm as he continued his tragic story. The action grounded him, it kept him from spiraling.

"I did everything to bring him back. Even when he hurt me and so many others with the power the council gave him. Even when he threw our planet into war... I still gave my very spark to attempt to show him the light" The children gently touched Optimus's face in a comforting manner as he shuttered his optics for a long moment in an attempt to compose himself. He appreciated the gesture.

"But he was a tyrant, one who regularly hurt me and our people. And eventually there was no other choice but to end him... even if it tore me apart to do so" Bumblebee made a noise of concern as Optimus wiped at his optics, stopping any coolant from leaking before it could even begin to well up in his optics.

"I gave away my name, my identity, and every connection I every had to take on Optronix's sins in order to keep the Autobots united under one banner" Another long pause followed Optimus's words. He had never spoken to anyone about his grievances, not since he took up the mantle. And now that he was finally doing so, it hurt more than he thought.

"You allowed yourself to suffer to fight for the freedom of Cybertron? That must have been very difficult" Rafael piped up after a moment, his expression the embodiment of pity and concern. Optimus didn't want to be pitied, but he did not reject the human child's kind touches.

<You did what you needed to do Optimus. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise> Bumblebee added in binary as he leaned further into Optimus's side and gave him a slightly awkward hug. Miko and Jack made similar comments, but by that point Optimus was hardly listening. He had feared that he would be hated, and it came as a bit of a shock to see that he was instead loved.

He didn't want it to end. He didn't want to be alone again.

----

Bumblebee and the children understood and did not begrudge Optimus anything once he had told them his story. How could they? He had given absolutely everything to the cause. And the longer Bumblebee thought on it, the more he respected his Sire.

He remembered many times when he was young when Optimus would spit up poison or calmly walk to the medical bay holding an injury after attempted assassinations. He recalled countless times when Optimus was called all sorts of slurs and thrown an infinite number of insults the moment his back was turned. Bumblebee remembered all this and how when he was young, he never understood why his Sire was hated by so many. But now he knew and he respected his Sire all the more for taking the abuse with silent grace and humility despite the sins not belonging to him.

He could only think that it took a special kind of spark to endure such torment for so long, especially when it came from old friends and comrades.

Of course with the truth out, Optimus struggled with himself. Once Ratchet came out of his solitude, he begged for forgiveness for his cruelty, something Optimus freely gave. From that point onward he did everything in his power to fix the mental wounds which Optimus kept so deeply buried. And that started by taking away his mask and having Optimus move around base and on the field without it.

This in turn meant that eventually the Decepticons figured things out as well.

----

"What foul trick is this Optronix?!" Megatron reared back in anger as Optimus met his last attack, his face on full display. The warlord was fuming, his plating flared and his optics blazing in fury. Optimus did not answer, he couldn't find it in himself to.

"You kill my brother and now you wear his face like a prize! I should tear your helm from your shoulders!" Megatron roared in outrage, his attacks becoming more erratic as he rage bubbled to the surface and overtook any logic or reason that he might have had. Optimus held his ground and met each attack with one of his own. He hated fighting against the mech he once saw as a brother. He hated this slagging war. But he had grown used to it.

"DIE FALSE PRIME!" Megatron launched one final attack before Optimus called the retreat, ordering his Autobots back in time to escape from the raging warlord.

----

Megatron raised hell on the nemesis and the battlefield for weeks afterwards, refusing to believe what he had seen. Others like Soundwave were unsure what to think, but without more information, they continued running on the assumption that it was a cruel trick on the Autobots part.

[tildeathiwillwrite]

The Elf Under the Ice, Part 3

Fandom: Original Work

WIP: The Hunter, the Myth and the Cure (Tales from Valaria)

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Words: 700

Tag List: @fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @mr-orion @scaewolf

@the-ellia-west

CW: transformation, referenced death

A/N: last little bit of the chapter. Not much happens but of course Draven can't just take Octavian's word that he's a skinwalker.

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Making a snap decision, Draven rose to his feet, sliding one of his small knives from his sleeve. He held it out towards Octavian hilt-first. “Hey.”

The elf froze mid-step at his approach, eying the proffered knife. He still appeared half-crazed with an emotion Draven couldn’t place, but he exhaled slowly, and the emotion became neutral, almost calculating. “What are you doing?”

“I have a… proposition.”

Octavian raised an eyebrow.

“I assume you know your way around this part of the Fells. I propose a deal. You help me track down my mark and I split the payment. You get time to process… whatever the depths you seem to be processing and some funds. I get a hand in my job and… you answer some of my questions. You have no weapons, but I assume you prefer knives, so you can borrow one of mine.”

Octavian stared at him.

“Plus,” Draven added, shrugging, “you kinda owe me for saving your life.”

The elf regarded him and the knife, eyes darting to the mouth of the cave and his stuff near the fire, almost dry by now. He slowly reached out, slender fingers wrapping around the knife.

Draven didn’t let go. Not yet. “First question: what are you?”

“Are you sure you really want to know?” The answer was quiet, devoid of emotion, and yet somehow thick with it.

Draven hesitated, noting the look in the elf’s eyes. “Yes. I’ve met elves before.” Like two in passing. “You’re different. Somehow.”

“Perceptive.”

“I try.”

Octavian exhaled slowly, thinking. “How familiar are you with the myth of the skinwalkers?”

Draven shrugged. “Familiar enough. Not too different from lycanthropes, the way I understand it. Two forms, a humanoid and a creature of some sort. But they can change whenever they want.”

“Yes.”

“You’re one of them?”

“Yes.”

“Prove it.”

Octavian narrowed his eyes, but Draven let go of the knife’s blade and stepped back, so he slowly tucked it away into one of the empty sheathes and cocked his head, as if he were listening intently to a far-off sound. He frowned slightly, staring into space, a low growl rumbling in his throat.

The transformation was so swift Draven almost missed it. Octavian’s body seemed to melt and mold itself into an entirely different being, flesh twisting and bones breaking and reforming, fur appearing from nothing, his clothes disappearing into thin air. It was strangely graceful and grotesque, within seconds he had changed completely from an elf into a massive silver wolf.

It was as long as Octavian was tall, coming about to Draven’s waist at the shoulder. Its fur was the same color as the elf’s hair, and it watched him with eyes identical to its humanoid form, the same wariness and apprehension apparent.

He’d been correct in his initial estimation. It was similar to a lycanthrope’s transformation under the full moon. It was similar, but so different it was unfair to compare them at all. A lycanthrope changed unwillingly, their body and mind wracked with agony and terror throughout the process. No control, no choice, only pain and the beast. He’d watched it unfold many times, had been forced to kill the beasts who moments before were people he’d considered friends.

Octavian’s shift, however… it was something else entirely. He’d summoned it, brought the transformation on by his own choice, at Draven’s urging. And while it had been slightly sickening to witness, the change had caused him no suffering. Was the consciousness the same, too? Or would that have shifted too, compensating for the senses and instincts of a predator while still maintaining sentience?

“Wow…” Draven breathed. 

The wolf regarded him for a long moment before standing on its hind legs and melting back into the form of Octavian, who wore an expression of mild self-satisfaction. “We call ourselves devar.” He hesitated before continuing, “this might sound strange to you, but I’ve never heard of these ‘lycanthropes’. They sound close, in concept, but we are not the same.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Draven agreed, “not anymore. But it still doesn’t explain how you ended up under the ice—?”

Octavian held up a hand and crossed the cave, kneeling and picking up his tunic. “First, we find your lycanthrope. Then I answer that.”

Draven sighed but turned away and began gathering up his own stuff. “Fair enough, elf. Fair enough.”

[hindahoney]

Tbh even at my synagogue there's so much anti orthodox sentiment and it makes me really sad. We're liberal/progressive which of course means we generally don't always agree with typical orthodox values, we would go to an Orthodox synagogue instead of this one if we did, but I hear a lot of talk among our community that I find really disrespectful of Orthodox Jews! Things like blanket accusations of homophobia and sexism which just...isn't true if you even glance in the direction of all the queer Orthodox Jews that exist. I swear people just like to say "Orthodox is bad to gay people!!!!" and all the gay Orthodox Jews are like "uh no it's not, we're actually a huge influential part of the Orthodox community, you can't just ignore that we're here, and youre choosing to ignore all the work that queer Orthodox Jews have put in to make our spaces safe and accessible" and then others still go "it's so sad how no queers can thrive in Orthodox spaces :(( sometimes it's like I can still hear their voices"

It's very much not the same thing but for the sake of analogy, it reminds me of American queers who say shit like "The southern states are so homophobic there's nothing there for us this is so sad <\3" while completely ignoring that the south is actually full of queer people, some will live their whole lives in those places and aren't any less queer or influential there than elsewhere, and it's super homophobic to make statements like that. Like sure just go ahead and assume gay people in the south are all completely trapped and powerless and tragic and nonexistent instead of acknowledging that there are thousands of fully realised queer human beings there whose experiences shouldn't be swept under the rug to accommodate the popular narrative that South Bad.

Im not saying Orthodox communities never have issues with things like racism, homophobia, sexism etc, but like?? So do Reform and Liberal communities??? Stop pretending we're absolutely perfect while being so grossly antisemitic *to other Jews*. I've had encounters with transphobic Jews at my synagogue and while I was able to sort it out and get them to a place of understanding my upset and showing remorse and changed behaviour, it feels like people just want to ignore that this shit can still happen in progressive spaces, because it doesn't fit their narrative of Reform Good Orthodox Bad.

I considered going down a conversion route to become Orthodox a few years ago and didn't go through with it, but I did get to engage with my.local Orthodox rabbi and hoooooly shit it's been so saddening and eye opening the way every Orthodox Jew I've spoken to has, very early on, gone "don't worry I'm not sexist I promise!!" because they KNOW people are going to make horrible assumptions about them just based on their culture. Like fuck it tells a sad story about the way people including other Jews must treat them. Straight up antisemitic

I promise not all Liberal, Reform, progressive etc Jews feel negatively about Orthodoxy, it's just irritatingly common and I really heavily sympathise with all the shit you must have to go through. You aren't without allies but I don't blame you for feeling alone when this is how you're often treated.

(ik this isn't my blog but @ goyim: comment on this and i will bite your head off, this is a threat.)

Thank you for sharing your story. I by no means am saying I don't have my own qualms with orthodoxy, and things that I disagree with my community about. But that's okay, it's encouraged to disagree.It depends on who you ask whether they would call me orthodox or not, certainly more liberal Jews would view me this way. But out of respect for the orthodox community, I don't feel comfortable taking on that identity yet, but ultimately that's the goal. For right now I feel comfortable calling myself "frum."

It's incredibly painful when I see Jews throwing other Jews under the bus, because I take the term "tribe" seriously. When Cain asks HaShem "Am I my brother's keeper?" the Torah, and as consequence, the Jews, answered unequivocally yes. A Jew across the world that I've never met is, in my eyes and my entire soul, my family. So when I see my family fighting with each other over complete misunderstandings that could be solved if we just listened more, it hurts.

I feel like when people see me they assume I'm socially backward, as if there's no way I can square my religious beliefs with acceptance of LGBT+ people (as if I myself don't/can't identify as queer), or with women having a more involved role in services. They just assume we are a monolith, as if we're a group of worker ants that all operate and think the same exact way.

There are queer orthodox Jews who have made their space in orthodoxy. There are women who feel like they thrive in orthodoxy, who are NOT "ruled over" by their husbands, and are not forced to dress modestly, but choose it for themselves because they feel more comfortable that way.

[collapsedsquid]

Over the course of the Biden presidency, Kennedy’s views have morphed into a bizarre amalgamation with no natural constituency in American politics. Just a quick look at his campaign website shows a contradictory mess of positions that match up to none of America’s clearly delineated political identities. In one moment, he declares support for police reform; in the next, he proposes border policies straight out of a Stephen Miller white paper. He backs liberal policies on the minimum wage and labor rights while also centering his campaign around right-wing rhetoric on “cancel culture.” He speaks out for massive reductions in military spending and overseas interventions while supporting anti-trans legislation. He declares his support for a federal abortion ban and then says he opposes it. Perhaps if you squint really hard, you might be able to make out some coherent ideology here: a sort of socially conservative, economically liberal “populism,” at least how a 70-year-old weirdo would imagine it. But Americans don’t think in terms of ideologies laid out on a chart. They view things through the perspective of the partisan identities they have adopted and hold dear to themselves. These identities come with a certain list of policies that each member is supposed to support. So, by crafting a platform including positions from both sides of the partisan divide, all Kennedy has done is give both Republicans and Democrats ample reasons to dismiss him. Conservatives can write him off because of his liberal positions on economic issues and because he’s a Kennedy. Liberals can write him off over his socially conservative stances, insane beliefs on public health, and virulent opposition to the Biden administration. While he may imagine himself to be reaching across a partisan divide, in reality, he’s just leaving himself completely boxed out from both sides.

I feel like the idea that this idea set has no natural constituency is just plain not true. There are reasons (I don't fully understand but have some ideas) why this group sucks at getting what they want but there are a lot of people like this.

[psi-king]

How psychic 7 feel about fact that Bob's and Helmut's daughter dates son of guy who ruined Lucy's life?

(Also, Dove is great, im just really curious)

Oh, joy! This question is gonna be so fun to answer >w<! Sorry in advance for the long paragraphs! Some of this is related to your question, some of it is backstory filler since this question lets me get it out cleanly. The answer to your question is in bold and italics if you don't wanna sit through reading the other!

Everyone was pretty iffy on the whole situation, as no one could really tell if Gristol was using Dove or not ( he never did once during the whole time ) to progress his plan further. Helmut was probably the only one who was most understanding as it's in his blood to be forgiving.

Dove and Gristol's relationship acutally didn't start after Gristol was discovered. She and Griss were close-knitted friends as children ( without Gzar Theodore knowing of course ) and Helmut got used to seeing the bratty prince around then. Fast forward to when Gristol was hiding behind his Nick identity, that's when the two ended up rekindling relations, and even started dating. The most important part of that is Gristol was pretty much his old self around her, as he found no need to keep up the Nick persona ( though he did continue to lie about his past and name so his identity wasn't told to the whole motherlobe as Dove is a chatterbox ) When Gristol was finally discovered, Dove was pretty upset and the two broke up for a few weeks but that doesn't really throttle the two much at all cause they end up seeing each other once again while he is in the Psychoisolation Chamber.

This is where everyone started getting very worried about the two being in a relationship again, as most assumed Gristol was just using the third head to get back to his tricks, though due to the heavy about of reformation tactics and methods Dove started using she was able to get Gristol to once and for all put away his evil plans. Though the first time he was let out of the chamber he was met with a lot of judging eyes, especially from the heads. It took a lot of apologies and buttering up for him to even be ALLOWED in the Green Needle Gulch where Dove's house is.

Due to Dove and Ford's agreement on rules, Gristol is not allowed around Lucy. The only time he was taken to see her is to apologize and that's it. No one wants him to screw up and break Lucy again.

Since Helmut was kinda accepting to begin with, time for the other psychic seven. Bob was the second one to warm up to having Gristol around. He managed to get the royal-minded prince to take a small interest in gardening, even though Grissy was and still is rather fussy about the dirt and grim that came with it.

The third to warm up would have been Compton. I've had a headcanon for a while that Gristol has always been interested in cooking, so he learned quite a lot from Compton, however, Boole's anxiety constantly put him on a heavy edge with the prince as it took him a while to properly trust him.

The fourth is both Cassie and Otto, as the two basically just followed the others trust in the prince. Cassie though is a bit different of a case. She was like a mother figure to Dove, so she still carries a bit of judgment about Gristol. This is mainly cause of her past where there was a lot of snakes in her life, so she fears Gristol might turn out as one as well. Otto on the other hand just has neutral feelings about everything, like " Oh ok I guess this is fine. " energy.

Ford and Lucy have not warmed up to having the prince around. Ford sort of understands, but with how much he and Lucy went through due to Gristol's father the two are not taking any chances.

Though I just want to add here that Gristol hated his father a lot. The two always butted heads throughout the entire time Theodore was alive. Thedore was always very neglectful and cared more about being a king than he ever did about Rokel and Gristol. Rokel is completely different than Theodore, she was constantly shamed by Theo for her wants for a better kingdom. She knew about Dove and Gristol's friendship when the two were kids, and tended to put a lot of care into making sure Theodore never found out cause she feared what would happen to Dove. Rokel is still alive and has put down her royalty status to enjoy life more, though she still is pretty nitpicky, just like Gristol, cause its hard to just throw away the life of living fancy.

And a bit more about Theodore and Dove's connection;

Due to Dove's mediumship powers she HAS seen the ghost of Theodore and has to put up with his judgment of her. Theodore under no circumstances likes Dove, and is pretty aggravated at Gristol for taking the path of kindness he did.

Also thank you for taking an interest! Dove means a lot to me so it's fun to ramble on about 'er!!

[kharonion]

Character Songs Tag

Thank you for tagging me @jaymber! 💚 I'll tag: @bluepriestess @kyngsnake @genocidalfetus @arczism — no pressure! Game Rules: Choose one of your characters and list song(s) that fit them.

The top five Vikt vibes (in no particular order; links direct to Youtube):

» HIGH HORSE — Wage War

rip the flesh from the bone of the hand that feeds / you wanna see a war? / I'm here to settle scores / sic the hounds, cut you down from your high horse

A main inspiration for Vikt after he's booted from Arasaka, and especially once he starts on the warpath to raiding the Tower. He's a man possessed by vengeance, mowing down anyone trying to stop him and hellbent to make the corpo pay.

» LURKER — Artificial Construct

truth be told, I can feel it coming and my fear begins to wane / and you don’t know that I am one and the same

This song was basically on repeat while I created Vikt, and it's cemented itself as a crux of his vibe. It has that foreboding, dark feel that he permeates.

» MAJOR CRIMES — HEALTH; Window Weather

life's short / why does it take so long?

As he travels his self-paved warpath, Vikt's mental state begins to deteriorate, both physically and emotionally. This is illustrated especially by his moment on the rooftop, where he struggles to choose anything other than 'the easy way out', and this song really captures that sort of inner monologue that occurs.

» WHITE RABBIT — Jefferson Airplane

and if you go chasing rabbits / and you know you're going to fall

In some instances, Vikt feels like his body isn't his own—a consequence of having to reform his identity numerous times—and this song exemplifies that feeling, in a way. That furtive chase.

» JAMBI — TOOL

the devil and his had me down / in love with the dark side I'd found / dabblin' all the way down / up to my neck, soon to drown / but you changed that all for me / lifted me up, turned me round

This song is very much Vikt after the events of Mikoshi. A lot of introspection happens as he veers away from that abyssal pit he'd been buried in, as he realizes that he does have things (i.e. Kerry) that he wants to live for. It's a complete 180 from his mental state not long beforehand.

[aaronymous999]

Oh my god time to do this. The tough one is deciding what OC to do this with but you all know I’m choosing Aaron because he’s also sorta my sona?

1. Aaron has a whole stuffed animal collection, although he only sleeps with a few of them because well. They’d overflow the bed and some of their fabrics are uncomfortable to sleep with so he only sleeps with the fluffy or pillow like ones he owns. Although it’s on the nose his main pillow plush is bootleg Spider-Man merch he found someone made, just a round blob with Spider-Man features. Aaron bought it and it’s now SO FLAT. Because he sleeps on it every night. He also sleeps with his baby plushie, he’s had it since he was 5 years old and it was made by his brother Mark in an Elementary School class. It’s ugly, lopsided, strangely big for what it is, and its been through the wringer and is covered in patches and visible stitches used to repair it over the years. The plushie itself is some sort of mix between a cat and a dog, although Mark intended it to be like their childhood dog who passed before Aaron could remember, it ended up as a weird just. Animal creature. Aaron cuddles it every night, and after the end of the first arc started carrying it around with him everywhere…

2. Aaron can at bare minimum take care of cacti and succulents, plants that he can leave on his window sill and water once a month. Aaron would not at all be able to take care of high maintenance pets, or very expensive creatures, like seahorses or fancy fish tanks. But he’s totally able to handle playing with the family cat, and filling her food bowl. And occasionally spending too much money on stupid gifts for her. But he could not handle remembering to buy food and scheduling vet visits, which is why his parents do most of that. And lastly a child… while he’d be a “fun dad” he wouldn’t be a good one and he’s self aware of that. His forgetfulness and his secret identity would make it impossible. And he couldn’t live with himself neglecting a child like his parents do :(

3. “Love interest..? I like, um. A girl with eyes, maybe- a nose or something. Clothes wearing. Someone more like a friend than a girlfriend… haha…” *Trying to stay in the aromantic closet so bad*

4. Yup! It’s the only color besides black and white on his suit. Casually he’s usually wearing green but he appreciates a red flannel every once in a while! Which looks pretty nice because he has red undertones for his skin.

5. Aaron gives impulsive speeches as Spider-Man like. A lot. When he’s coming off of adrenaline from a fight he’s actually very good at it, but when caught off guard he tries not to make speeches because he’s awful at it. The only other types of speeches he generally makes is for school. Which he’s pretty average, yet stiff at.

6. No matter what Aaron will always take advice from fellow older heroes he looks up to. Also Mary Jane Watson just because she just has good takes on things. Generally Peter has pretty good advice as well but generally Peter gives Aaron fighting advice and Aaron gives Peter life advice. On the other hand, although Aaron respects Cindy Moon, they are very completely different people. Cindy has a more vengeful mindset, although she’s not entirely stoic and mean all the time, she’s not exactly the forgiving jokester that Aaron is. Aaron generally also doesn’t take advice from villains who aren’t reformed because, y’know. Norman Osborn isn’t known for being trustworthy. Also heroes he doesn’t respect. Common Tony Stark L, weird queer kid from the Twin Cities WILL NOT listen to you Ironman you freak!!!

7. Silly gentle giant. “Weird Spider Freak.”

8. Although Aaron is my sona he is not like me in this way. I don’t like super complex puzzles but I like working my brain occasionally. On the other hand Aaron fucking hates all puzzles. Chess? His brain hurts. Sudoku? HOWW!!! Rubix Cube? Witchcraft. It hurts his brain and it does not mesh well with his autism. He’s much more of an english, history, creative wired person than a math and science and puzzles

9. Sometimes? Mainly plants or sentimental objects. But things like random lamps, not really. But if he accidentally rips the plushie Mark gave him he’ll apologize to it while he’s sewing it back together.

10. Aaron desperately wants to return to middle school. Weird I know… but he wishes he could be friends with Harry again, and be getting closer with Peter. He wasn’t the happiest in his transition at the time but his friends and supportive family made it fine. Especially if he could go back with all his memories and knowledge. He doesn’t see Spidey as much of a burden either so going forward in time wouldnt be that bad either? But he would prefer to be friends with Harry again.

11. Aaron would freak out and ask Peter what to do. Peter would probably make a whole budgeting plan which would end up with Aaron changing his identity cutting ties with everyone and putting most of it into savings and living humbly. Aaron would be confused, and just end up saving most of it besides upgrading his suit.

12. Aaron doesn’t really like romance. ( unlike me despite us both being aro ) Although he would describe himself as romance indifferent honestly it fluctuates between that and romance repulsed. Sometimes he’ll drop things if the romance is too much of a main plot.

Will come back with more after dinner-

oc asks that reveal more than you think

Do they sleep with a stuffed animal? If they have multiple, who’s the favorite?

Can they take care of a plant? What about a pet? What about a child?

Ask them to describe their love interest.

Do they look good in red?

Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech! Will they give one, and what about?

Who will they take advice from, no matter what it is? Who won’t they take advice from, no matter what it is?

Describe them in three words. Now let them describe themself in three words.

Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

Do they empathize with non-sentient things (dolls, plants, books…)?

What age do they most want to be right now?

They’ve won the lottery. Spend, or save?

Do they like romance in the books they read (or in the book they’re in)?

Name one thing their parents taught them.

Would they agree with the term ‘guilty pleasure’? Do they have any?

What would they consider a waste of time– other than school or work?

If money wasn’t a limit, what would they wear?

Do they like children?

Kissing: tongue or no tongue?

Do they study before tests? Practice before job interviews?

What do they like that nobody else does?

What would it take for them to break up with someone? What would be the last straw?

Do they like being called pet names? Do they call other people pet names? What’s their go-to?

Stability or novelty?

Honesty or charity?

Safety or possibility?

Talent or effort?

Forgiveness or vengeance (or…)?

Would they date a fixer-upper?

What recurring dreams do they have?

What would they do if they knew it would be forgiven?

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[iteratedextras]

[ @captain-acab ]

So, hear me out. What do we think about radicalizing (or, I guess, de-radicalizing?) police-state-loving right-wing youtubers by swatting them?

Worst case scenario, they get murdered by a pig, which is the pig's fault. Best case scenario, they become vocally anti-pig.

How many times do you think this could be done before all those white conservative men whine and cry enough about it that something is actually done to reduce swatting at a policy level? In other words:

1 - Reduce the number of vocally pro-cop right-wingers (and possibly make some of them start leaning left) 2 - Decrease popular support of police in the general public 3 - Possibly produce some actual police reform (at least by reducing drop-of-a-hat SWAT calls, which would make everyone safer)

Love to hear everyone's thoughts about this completely-hypothetical proposal!

Well it depends a lot on what you're trying to accomplish.

If your goal is to convince Republican voters that they can't rely on the police to lower the rise in crime that followed the 2020 riots and they should switch to lynch mobs of angry Hispanics, saving huge amounts of money on procedural costs like "state-appointed defense attorneys" or "keeping people alive in prisons instead of just extrajudicially executing them on the spot" or "maintaining a chain of evidence instead of just going by what some asshole said on Twitter,"

Then this is a great plan. It will be absolutely awful for race relations and hate crime statistics, but if you think literally nothing has changed in the country since 1850 and that isn't just cynical bullshit rhetoric to convince low-information voters to support the latest plan to nationalize the health insurance system, then you think the situation couldn't possibly get any worse.

If your goal is to convince right-wing streamers that Communists want to kill them all and that they need to support whoever will kill the Communists first... well they already believe that in a sort of distant, general, abstract sense due to all those times Communists killed large numbers of people in the past. But you could convince them that Communists want to kill them immediately, right now, instead of some abstract distant hypothetical. A broad campaign to do this to lots of streamers would be effective here.

If your goal is convincing the government to finally cryptographically secure the phone system so that all callers can be reliably identified and sued, this might also have some effect on that. Republicans might even pass a law that sends SWATters to federal prison for 10 years.

As a positive side effect, the phone network would become usable again due to the reduction in spam calls.

If your goal is to convince right-wingers that it's a good idea, and that they are morally required to, permit crazy people with a dozen prior convictions whose lack of impulse control causes them to push women in front of subway trains, to roam freely among the rest of society out of some dipshit view that all human beings are perfectly identical and that such a guy is, like, a victim of Society, maaan...

It won't work for that.

"You morally have to accept getting a brain concussion from some lunatic because we've deemed him more marginalized than you" just leads to "fuck your morality," which is usually written "Based."

[kyleemclauren]

My answers:

0. All of these problems apply to cash specifically, not payments for saturatable needs in the form of things like food stamps, heating assistance, etc. One could conceptualize a "personal items" card similar to food stamps that could pay for things like hobby supplies which controls these things a bit, but when cash is involved Magister Discoursedrome does have a point, and so this list is simply aimed at minimizing it.

1. From independence, or age 16. $100\month is $2400 for the remainder of their time as juveniles, which im the worst case is not an incredible amount to simply eat as the government, and small enough that it doesn't offset the costs of adding an additional child to the family. Parental control of assets sufficient to seize them is part of a broader failure to guard children's rights, which I consider a separate problem - Until that is addressed this problem will exist.

2. Assuming they are able to identify themselves *at all*, the government issues a card, they may use the physical card. This requires no additional access to infrastructure, although I would love to see some form of post office banking that gives citizens an automatic account & PO Box number. An address and a bank account are really fairly fundamental requirements for existing in modern society, and a unconditional form of both strikes me as good policy. (Or *mostly* unconditional, anyway, I don't want to get into the fraud analysis for full fledged banking accounts as they aren't the core point here.) If they're completely unable to provide any identification, then it's difficult to do absolutely anything, but under this system there should be no one who lives that precariously. They will have access to housing, it's part of the UBI. If they're *still* living that precariously, they're into the realm of problems that look a whole lot like running\self-sabotaging away from the system entirely, and there's a good chance they don't want it.

3. If you have a social security number (or equivalent designation; the concept of a social security number really does need reform for it's *own* vulnerabilities to identity theft)

4. Again, social security number. The process for immigrants to obtain one is a problem for immigration reforms.

5. It is difficult to accidentally generate a valid social security number with your name.

6 I would suggest limiting the pile to a year's worth of value. The purpose of UBI is to make sure that your immediate needs are taken care of, there's no need for it to collect for an indefinite, or even particularly long, period of time. Claiming the remaining balance by relatives can be thought of as a support\inheritance payout from the deceased, giving (someone) a bit of cash after the death of a relative makes sense as social policy to help them cope with the change. Claiming the pile will require retiring a number, and how many numbers can you legitimately get access to? This could be tied to surrendering the card itself, to prevent digital identity theft, a lost card is lost cash for the inheritors.

7. Spiritually, no, this money categorically belongs to the recipient. But, whether or not it can be used (for example) as an asset under contract is the sort of thing that gets resolved by political lobbying. The citizens will have opinions, some will want it and some will not, and I'm not going to speak for them. My vote is no. If it is banned, putting it as a clause in a contract is resolved through the standard processes of contract law, treating it simply as an invalid clause.

8. Manipulation of data by officials is a form of fraud I almost consider outside the scope of the question, as it affects all organizations with any kind of real power. There should be standard anti-abuse processes in place at all federal agencies, and the cost of administering them should be considered part of the baseline cost of the organization. Answering the question, I don't know, but I assume all modern banks have a robust set of procedures for this process, and they could be asked.

9. There is a dedicated personal account, and it cannot be transferred. Again this could, in an ideal world, tie into some form of post-office banking. I suspect in practice the identification system would be developed by the private sector; the IRS uses id.me.

10. Call my accountants and investigate, this question is unanswerable without a root cause. In this system, it possibly indicates a wide scale compromise of the social security number system itself, which would be a government-wide issue. This justification would help deflect blame, as your department would not specifically be at fault. I have difficulty imagining a plausible way that payments *could* be over by 5% in this scenario, other than a widespread computer security vulnerability (or similar).

My goal with these answers is to outline a system where the problems of fraud are limited mostly to problems of the form "make sure only one object like this exists", rather than needing extensive personal vetting. A simple process to say "my card got stolen, please deactivate it and send me a new one" solves a lot of issues.

If the impersonal system has the ability to throw you off welfare, you live in danger.

If the personal friend group has the ability to throw you off welfare, you live in danger.

I think the only solution here is UBI.

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A Brief History of The Great Giana Sisters

Developed in 1987 for the Commodore 64 by Germen game creator Armin Gessert and published by Rainbow Arts, The Great Giana Sisters was very much a Super Mario Brothers clone, featuring a pair of sisters (Giana and Maria) in a Wonderland-inspired landscape collecting gems with similar enemy archetypes and powerups. It was wildly popular in the C64 gaming scene and there are reports of threatened legal action from Nintendo. Now, while I didn't actually own this growing up, I was aware of it from the C64 mags and books my folks had lying around the house, so it was a bit of a holy grail of video game entertainment for one who only had access to a Commodore 64 and an Atari 2600 until sometime after the N64 came out haha.

Due to aforementioned legal threats, Rainbow Arts sort of backed off the formula in various ways, first one of their later ports to the C16, titled simply Giana Sister, a different type of game, when Giana must go room by room avoiding traps and getting through simple puzzle-scapes to collect each room's single gem, collecting all of them to complete the game. Another example was Rainbow's planned Giana Sisters 2, set in a futuristic scifi world and being a bit more shooter oriented, being reskinned as Hard'n'Heavy with Giana & Maria being reskinned as androids Heavy & Metal.

Perhaps due to the ambiguous legal standing, Rainbow Arts took no action against other publishers publishing their own homegrown sequels, such as I Want More Diamonds for the C64 in 1991, which ran with Hard'n'Heavy's scifi setting and incorporated many horror & scifi film homages throughout and introduced the concept of Giana owning a rocket ship for some reason, or 1998's Giana Family, which echoed the first game's aesthetics but had a large multiplayer focus and a map builder, with ability for users to share their custom stages and versus arenas.

Sometime in the early 2000s, Armin Gessert's self-founded studio Spellbound Entertainment acquired the rights to the Giana Sisters IP and started producing their own games with others of the original development team. The first of these was Armin Gessert's Giana Sisters a j2me phone port of the original Great Giana Sisters with some enhancements, such as the story actually being in the game, but with added mention of Giana's rocket from I Want More Diamonds, oddly enough. The second was Armin Gessert's Giana Sisters II, which much like The Lost Levels was basically just the first game again but with remixed levels and a higher level of difficulty. Both of these were put out in 2006.

A few years later in 2009, Giana Sisters DS marked the first time the sisters had graced a Nintendo platform in an official capacity, and marked the starting point of the a new era for the series, serving as a bit of a reboot and rebranding and beginning to explore giving the series more of a solidified identity, leaning into the "Punk Alice in Wonderland" theming from the original's advertising. Unfortunately Gessert passed away a few months after Giana Sisters DS was released.

It was around this time that Giana's Return, a fan game that had been in development since 2003, was released for free on the internet, and whose professional level of polish and presentation netted it coverage in several European PC & Retro Gaming magazines.

In the wake of Gessert's passing, Spellbound dissolved and reformed as Black Forest Games, retaining the Giana Sisters IP rights and continuing on with the rebrand of the series into something more than just a Mario Bros clone. To this end they tested out a social Bomberman style game, Giana Sisters Young Generation, which unfortunately didn't really get off the ground, and shifted focus to their main project, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams in 2012.

Twisted Dreams strove to develop a unique gameplay identity for the series, leaning harder into the punk wonderland aesthetic and experimenting with shifting between gameplay movesets & level environments at the press of a button, adjusting Giana's movement & attack options as she switches back and forth between "cute" and "punk" styles, as well as shifting the landscape & level obstacles as well.

The following year, a standalone expansion, Rise of the Owlverlord, was released, containing an entirely new set of levels, bosses, and story scenes.

A couple years later in 2015, Black Forest put out Giana Sisters: Dream Runners, a competitive platformer where you race against other players or pc-controlled opponents to the end of the stage. It's… not as good as Twisted Dreams and Owlverlord, but at least Black Forest was still making entries.

In 2016, Black Forest showed off a prototype for a 3D platformer tentatively titled Giana Sisters 2, but the studio was soon after absorbed into THQ Nordic, and by extension, Embracer Group, and no mention has been made of the project in the meantime. Since the buyout they've mostly worked on other THQ properties, with the closest thing to a Giana title in gameplay & aesthetics being the controversially received Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back from late 2017.

And yeah, unfortunately the last we've seen of the series was that Giana Sisters 2 prototype in 2016 and a Switch port of both Twister Dreams and Owlverlord in one package in 2018. But the series remains popular in various circles and I have no doubt we'll see another game come out eventually.

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Beware Of Massive Nightgowns, Part II: Lucille and Comparison

Part 1

So, I've already done a bit of analysis on Lucille's robe and nightgown vis a vis the Aesthetic Dress/Artistic Reform movement of the 1890s-early 1900s. Here is that post for background. But in summary: her robe in particular reflects a niche trend at the time for loose, unstructured tea gowns that drew inspiration from elements of Italian Renaissance clothing.

(Lucille's robe and nightgown. Finding good full-length still shots of this costume is HARD. But I think this one gives a decent impression of what's going on.)

(Tea gown c. 1890. Kerry Taylor Auctions. I wanted to pick an image I hadn't shared before, and the split sleeves seemed very Murder Robe-esque. This one doesn't have the watteau back, but the ones I shared in the previous post did.)

Once again, there's very little resemblance to anything really worn for sleeping or lounging in the actual eras of her adulthood. Or her mother's, for that matter. Like Edith's nightgown, it seems to be a blending of historical trends from different types of clothing to best help convey things about the character in those moments. Which...yeah, that's exactly what costuming period film is. And if done correctly, you end up with something lush and artistic that's still grounded in historical reality.

I just. I really love these costumes, guys.

Interestingly, I've found some Victwardian nightgowns that do look a bit more sheer and/or low-cut:

(Nightgown, c. 1905. Met Museum.)

(Nightgown c. 1900. FIT Museum. Elle.com says this was part of a bridal trousseau, and that was a common context for more revealing nightwear. I'm not sure I trust their research standards, but that does fit with my theory that the Murder Nightgown is Lucille's sexy lingerie if it's true. Warrants further investigation.)

Which goes along with the idea that the robe/nightgown set is the most "modern" outfit we ever see Lucille in. All the historical callbacks are from the 1890s-early 1900s, decades after her usual Natural Form day gowns. And yet, as I said before, they're revival styles from those eras. Simultaneously the newest looks we've seen on the character, and the oldest clothing influences in the entire movie.

As the costumer said repeatedly, this outfit represents the gloves- or rather, corset -coming off for Lucille. She's not holding anything back, and the full depth of her...Whole Deal is on display. It also reflects the Gothic Revival architecture of the house even more completely than her daywear. There's very little of the 19th or early 20th century left in her visually at this point- she IS the house, and they are both creatures of the past. If Edith's nightgown represents her leaving her familiar world behind, Lucille's shows that she's completely in her element.

I also feel like Edith's nightgown makes her look younger and more vulnerable, while Lucille's doesn't really have that effect. Kate Hawley mentioned that they had multiple versions of Edith's nightgown with different sleeve sizes, to make her look smaller and more overwhelmed as the plot takes its toll on her.

(Probably helped by the fact that you see her wear an almost identical nightgown as a child, and then a much more subdued one as an adult in Buffalo.)

Lucille, on the other hand, has all the volume lower down on her sleeves and the hems of her nightgown and robe, which to me makes her look even more imposing. They're also relatively sleek-looking garments, especially when they're not in motion- streamlined volume to Edith's huge puffed sleeves and ruffles.

(GIF by @anneboleyns. Seriously, stills of this ensemble full-view are impossible to find.)

Also note that her hair, while more Down than we've ever seen it before, is still at least braided in these scenes while Edith's is completely unbound. Which I feel sort of adds to the visual of her as predator and Edith as prey.

Tangent: This movie uses women's hairstyles for storytelling in a really effective way- note that Edith's hair is even up during the sex scene, underscoring that as a moment of confidence, maturity, and control for her. You can do cool things like that when you're not allergic to hairpins, Hollywood! WHAT A CONCEPT.

In conclusion, both nightgowns are fascinating to explore vis a vis actual history, and do a wonderful job of combining period reality with artistic storytelling. But that's true of basically all the costumes in this movie, so. Yeah.

Which one do you like better? They're both gorgeous, but I'd love to hear how many people are Team Butterfly vs. Team Murder Sleeves!

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

You made me imagine Shigaraki trying to explain his family to like, Spinner or something.

"This is Hana, she's my big sister. I accidentally stole her hands when I got my quirk so she's technically the only person allowed to mess with me."

"This is Himiko, she's...I guess my little sister? I think we might've tried to kill each other when we first met. She's cool."

"This is Eri. We only have custody of her every other weekend because the heroes keep finding our hideouts. I'm pretty sure she's our baby sister, but Dabi is convinced she's either my kid or Hana's."

OKAY BUT BUT BUT ANON, THIS GIVE ME AN IDEA FOR AN AU. HERE ME OUT:

In this au, AFO doesn't exists (what a blessing) and Shirakumo Oboro is still alive.

The night Tenko's quirk manifest, Hana prevents him from doing anything using her quirk: if someone touches her skin recently, she can freeze that person's movements for a short amount of time.

Some years later, Shirakumo saves them both from their abusive family. Kotaro goes to jail, Nao goes to a mental institution to recover from the trauma and Oboro adopts the kids.

Welcome to the Cloud Family.

Shirakumo, a sort of vigilante now, keeps saving and adopting people that were forgotten by society.

Around that time he meets a girl maybe two years older than Hana. Her name is Magne and she ran away from her home because they didn't wanted her for being trans. She ask Shirakumo is she can stay with him, helping him raise the kids. He allows it, thankful.

Magne immediately becomes Hana's best friend. Both girls are an amazing duo and they help Tenko learn how to manage his quirk.

While Hana and Tenko study and Shirakumo works, Magne stays with the home duties, goes out with friends, lives her normal life being who she truly is.

She's cleaning the kitchen one morning and when Shirakumo breaks in through the window, holding a little girl in his arms. The girl looks younger than Tenko and it's covered in mud and blood. She's smiling big, fascinated with Shirakumo's quirk, like she's just taking a ride.

Shirakumo found her playing inside a trash can in the street. She was looking for something to eat. Her parents, some rich bastards, had abandoned her aftering finding out their kid liked to bite living animals and drink their blood. They kicked her out of the house and faked her death.

To cover up his vigilante identity, Shirakumo opens a bar. It's small, comfortable, perfect to hide from heroes and villians. He has a contact named Giran, who redirects to him all those people who need a hero but can't trust in the law.

Magne is the one managing the bar with Shirakumo, whevener he's not working. Hana, Tenko and Toga go to school.

Let's take a minute to imagine Hana and Touya being classmates. Imagine Hana and Touya arguing and even fistfighting. They become rivals. Which is pretty funny because you have Fuyumi trying to stop hee brother from insulting her best friend.

Little Hana hating Endeavor. Preach.

Natsuo and Tenko study together. They bond over trains and having idiotic parents.

PLEASE TOGA AND SHOTO BEING CHILDHOOD FRIENDS.

I mean, I've always headcanoned that Shoto and Toga are both neurodivergent so imagine then bonding over that.

Toga is considered a weird kid but Shoto likes being around her because she doesn't look like him like he's unreachable. Toga is always telling how his fire is so pretty, nothing like Endeavor's fire. Also Shoto, who's always bleeding thanks to his training, doesn't understand why it's a big deal that Toga asks him for some. He just gives her and they pretend to be twins when she uses her quirk.

The day Touya goes to Sekoto peak, Hana is looking for him because Shirakumo insists that she should invite him to have dinner with them. She goes with Shirakumo to Endeavor's house and from there they go look for him at the peak.

When the fire begins, Oboro flies over and rescues Touya. However, they both get pretty burned. Shirakumo scapes with the kid and arrives at the bar. Magne contacts an illegal doctor to cure them both.

Hana tells Fuyumi that Touya is alive but she refuses to tell her where he is. She will only tell her if Fuyumi tells her about Endeavor. Hana knows she's being cruel but she also knows them, and she knows something bad is going on with them.

Hana takes Fuyumi to where they keep Touya once she admits Endeavor's abuse.

But Touya refuses to go back. He's barely healing, slowly, and he hates his dad. He is full with hatred and anger and hurt. Shirakumo fears for his life, but he can't simply fight Endeavor.

Fuyumi returns home, troubled. Finally she talks with Rei and the woman visits Shirakumo in secret. She visits her son.

They reach an agreement: For the world, Touya Todoroki would be dead. Only his siblings and his mother would know the truth, along with the Cloud Family. Dabi would be just a kid without a family, someone who grew up in Shirakumo's bar.

And so they did. The Todorokis would visit him regularly with the excuse of the todosiblings being friends with the cloud kids.

When Hana and Fuyumi started college, Dabi stayed behind with Toga and Tenko. They started training together, and before anyone could notice, they were already a team.

The final adoption of the cloud family happened when a woman gave a little girl to Shirakumo one rainy night. She was terrified of the child. In the hurry, she told him to take the kid to a mafia boss and left, but Shirakumo couldn't do it.

Shirakumo already had experience raising little girls and raising children with problematic quirks, so she fit perfectly in their family of weirdos.

The yakuza never knew about this.

Eri grew up glued to Tenko, because they look a like a lot, so people didn't doubt them being siblings.

Shirakumo turns into a reformed pro-hero just to start teaching at UA along with his old besties, Aizawa and Yamada. He's in charge of teaching the kids about how the villians think and work.

Hana ends up studying to be a lawyer, but only to cover up her family whereabouts.

Toga and Shoto starts studying at UA together (or the AU where Toga replaces Mineta at class 1-A). Toga calls Aizawa "uncle Eraser".

Magne keeps the bar with the help of Tenko aka Tomura and Dabi. Which is just a lie because Tomura and Dabi follow the vigilante path together, creating the Anti-hero League. Bonus point because Natsuo has to constantly use his medical skills on his older sibling and his best friend, since they are both reckless idiots with self-destructive quirks.

Fuyumi works with Eri on learning how to control her quirk. Turns out Fuyumi is an amazing teacher and Eri completely adores her.

Rei is responsible for Shoto's scar but this time is totally an accident. She still goes to the hospital BUT Dabi exposes Endeavor and together they all sent him to jail.

Compress, Spinner, Twice, Mustard, Giran.. They all find their way to the Anti-hero League and most important, to the Cloud Family. Shirakumo is proud as fuck because his son is just like him.

Which takes us to Tomura having to explain he has four sisters to Spinner.

And this is the story Tomura told him and the reason why Spinner keeps losing his mind every time he sees them all on the family reunions.

The end.