#hes only implied to be sort of sentient later

[wonderful-magician]

Kirby, Adeleine, ribbon and ... Sort of prince fluff designs! For my AU! This is the same AU as pirate Daroach btw. ( Rest under the cut )

Kirby and Adeleine are normal kids that are living in the same town of diamond town. Kirby takes his plush he named prince fluff with him everywhere. Along with his pocket watch he was gifted by his late father. One day while playing in the park with Adeleine after getting in big trouble by his foster mother. He sees a fairy, who calls herself ribbon. And she leads him to a secret entrance. That needs to be unlocked with the warp clock. Once open. All three of them are magically taken to the world of Dreamland.

[daylite-writes]

Ayo ayo!!! I got an angsty idea for ya!!

Imagine this:

The harbingers find out that the reader has a plot to kill them/the Tsaritsa. How does this go? How do they react?

And for even more angst;

Imagine if they were successful

(Songbird anon- New anon)

OKAY OKAY OKAY I LIKE THIS (also hi ur my first named anon!). I won’t be doing “if you succeed in killing them”, since they’re dead and therefore won’t have a reaction lmao. I also won’t be doing every Harbinger here because that’s so many words omg. Probably will have multiple parts if ppl are interested.

Wasn’t sure if the ask was meant to be yandere, but this kinda is lmao. To varying degrees for each. Didn’t go too hard on angst but oh well

HARBINGERS REACT TO READER ATTEMPTING TO KILL THEM OR TSARITSA—AND IF YOU SUCCEED? (Pt 1, ft. Childe, Dottore, Arlecchino, Scaramouche)

cw: yandere, violence, referenced death, implied kidnapping, death of reader (in Arlecchino’s), etc.

Childe - mixed results

If you attempt to kill him? Oh baby. He lives for this shit. If you are strong enough to even get close? Well, his heavy panting, wide eyes, and red cheeks convey his feelings easily. If he wins the interaction, overpowering you and forcing you to the ground, he won’t kill you. He’ll probably let you up, let you try again—come onnn. Don’t tell him you can’t continue. You wanted this, baby. Try again. If you escape unscaved, then by god he’ll be thinking about this for weeks. Blushing, refusing to wrap the scars you give him.

If you attempt to kill the Tsaritsa, Child takes it very, very badly. One thing people forget about this man is he is not loyal to the harbingers, but he is extremely loyal to the Tsaritsa. Sentient abyssal creatures tend to latch onto an idea, a “purpose” of sorts that they will hinge their entire sanity on. Without her guidance he is nothing. He will fight tooth and bone to squash any attempts you make on her life. He takes on his Foul Legacy form to fight you, and in his anger, would end up either maiming or ending you. If you survive, he will make sure it never happens again (Read: mangling you). You just had to ruin a good thing, huh baby?

Succeed in killing the Tsaritsa? He’s either killing you, or dying trying. There is no way you’d both survive.

Dottore - Takes it pretty well

Attempt to kill him? How annoying. If it’s a physical attack, he’ll simply thwart it, pinning you down, tossing you in an observation cell, or sedating you. After, he’ll probably just reduce your privileges—less access to the lab, no longer allowed to go out without him. Be a brat, and he’ll put you on a leash no problem.

But… if you're clever about it? If you're slipping poison into his coffee, or setting up traps around his lab, only to greet him at dinner with only a strained smile when it fails? How fun. He’ll let it continue until he’s bored of it, ignoring your attempts. Honestly; it’s a little cute. He’s blushing a little bit you can’t tell with his mask.

Attempt to kill the Tsaritsa? He’ll stop you. Weirdly enough, he’ll only really punish you if the Harbingers or the Tsaritsa herself noticed. Otherwise, he’ll chastise you, leading you back to his lab with his thin, sharp fingers digging into the back of your neck.

Succeed in killing the Tsaritsa? Well… damn. You gonna eat that? He’s kinda turned on. This isn’t a dealbreaker for him, unless it really messes with his plans, in which case he’ll punish you for it later. An easy way to get out of trouble with him is to just gift him the Tsaritsa’s corpse. So thoughtful! He’s never had the opportunity to play around with the remains of an archon. Hm? What about overthrowing Celestia? He’s the second of the fatui harbingers, on the power level of a god, they’ll figure it out.

Arlecchino - takes it badly

Try and kill her? Her eyes sharpen as she evaluates you, panting heavily and on your knees. You’ve proven yourself a traitor, and a bold one at that. Something so bold, to her, indicates you are not an independently acting force. There are others you work for or with. After a moment, her face softens. “I’m hurt” she says, voice raw, “But I love you. Leave and never return.” You take the chance. You have to.

It’s a trap. Her subordinates—handpicked by her—are trailing you, stalking you. The moment your guard drops and you meet with your associates, she’s got you again.

The last thing you see are her boots, languidly walking towards you. The last thing you hear is her voice, barely cutting through the screams of your co-workers. “I suppose I should kill you. It’d be fair. But I am… selfish. Don’t worry, darling, you won’t go unpunished. This will be a fate worse than death.” The last thing you feel is her claws, carding through your hair.

Try to kill the Tsaritsa? You’re called into her office with little explanation what for. Usually, it’s empty. But there are Fatui by the doors. Scattered over her desk, is the proof of your sins. An attack against the highest of the Fatui. You can’t see it, but her heart is quick, and her throat tight. She opens her mouth to speak, baring her teeth, too white, too sharp. Her voice trembles a bit, almost minutely. “You understand what this means? What the collapse of the Fatui would mean for me? For my children? And still…”

It’s a death sentence. She speaks it once, lifting her hand to signal her children to step forward. She doesn’t do the job herself, leaving the room, letting the heavy wooden slam behind her.

Kill the Tsaritsa? She’s not there at the time. Still in Fontaine while your plan gets carried out in Snezhnaya. When she gets the news, she freezes. Hardly a few weeks ago, she found the will to break character for a moment to press a kiss to your cheek before you set out on the voyage north. She ignites the page as soon as she’s done, storming to her private quarters.

Later, when she collects herself, she’d set her assassins out, correspond with any remaining harbingers, and lay out a plan for the future. For one, painful night though, she mourns.

Scaramouche - Manipulatable

Try kill him? Oh god. The monologue. You almost wished he just killed you in response. The “fourth betrayal, at the hand of his lover, cruelest of them all—” it’s a long tangent, and your body hurts from the binds. Don’t tune it out though, because the moment he notices, a jolt of electricity tears through your body. His face darkens at your scream. How dare you ignore him—he probably won’t kill you, but your leash shortens considerably.

Whether you kill the Tsaritsa, or plan to kill the Tsaritsa it’s roughly the same response. It all depends on how you treat him after. Suck up, apologizing again and again, creeping closer and closer, until you climb on his lap, whispering how you only have eyes for him. You love him. So much. Press a kiss to his cold, doll-like cheek. Say after it was all done, you were going to run away with him—it’s your best shot. He may just stow you away, somewhere where his coworkers can’t get to you. He’d keep you to himself and tell everyone he disposed of you.

If you’re unapologetic, making it clear you didn’t care for him, he’d freak the fuck out. A very dangerous temper tantrum. At the end of it, you’re hardly conscious, laying on soft blankets, body throbbing in pain, you wince when you try to move. A hand, porcelain and cold, drags you down. Stay still, he says. You’ve been an idiot and gotten yourself mangled. By him, yeah. He couldn’t bring himself to kill you though.

~~~

So… much… and i didn’t even get half of themmm aaaaa

Anyways I really enjoyed this ask, but doing something for all of the harbingers is a lot, plus this is a side blog and I’m 6k works deep in a main blog project, bleh.

[yurislilygarden]

hey!! I'm the anon who mentioned self aware vees? I'm here to give my thoughts

I think Val would literally have a mental breakdown. He values control (over his emloyees or otherwise) so he would struggle with that I think

Vox would definitely have negitive feelings towards watcher. I know that for certain. Again, he values control (over different things and different reasons than Val) He would def be irritated

Vel is a bit of an enigma to me as much as I love her but I think she would be pissed off (much less than Vox though.) I don't think she would try tell anyone?

The only thing is, would Vox and his technological side be able to effect Watcher in any way? I'm assuming they're watching this as any viewer would on some kind of device and it is shown in the pilot that Alastor can effect the 'camera' even if he doesn't realise it. How do their respective powers come into play?

-🗡

Hi🗡anon, welcome back :D

Yes, I would say that Vox would have some sort of a mental breakdown after becoming self-aware due to realizing that he doesn't actually have as much control over things as he previously thought, which is the main reason for him being pissed off.

When it comes to feelings about reader, let's just say that if we were to place him on the list of who takes the longest to even get to the neutral zone, never mind the positive one, he would be in the top 3 easily.

We didn't get to see much of Velvette yet so it's a bit hard for me to tell, but I would say that while she would be pissed off a little more than a lot of the other characters, it could pass rather quickly (depending on if she realized her situation when a lot of characters weren't sentient yet and no one knew ANYTHING about you, or later on when she could be told some things soon after becoming self-aware) and be more in the neutral zone up until meeting reader or finding out way more about them.

I've been thinking about their powers actually, and thought that Vox's ability could be the reason why they can even know anything about the little watcher. Reader is implied to be just a viewer of the show (hence why they can't control anything like the characters are thinking or wondering about) so yes, they would be watching it on like a phone or on a computer etc., which is where Vox could come in technically. I think that there could be a chance of Vox managing (after many struggles) to get into whatever device reader is watching on, and while he can't control anything on it itself, he can for example look through the camera, which is how they would find out more about reader without meeting them (and before meeting them in the future, whether its by them going to reader's world or vice-versa).

As for the Alastor camera thing, reader sees everything the same as it plays out in the episodes (unless the characters find a way to break the code (?) and contact reader through the screen somehow, which is an interesting idea now that I think about it), so his ability to affect the camera (even without realizing it) doesn't do anything here.

[gabbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

Dagda Crom Cruach headcanons(REMADE)

HCS BELOW!!

Headcanon Voice: Edgar the Computer (Electric Dreams) (Skip to 9:15)

Age: 152 (76 years old in human years, mentally in his thirties)

Any Prns, he Usually uses he/him, but anything is good

-Dagda is an accidental muse. When Agriculture began to pop off in the 1800s, Dagda Crom Cruach was born as the physical embodiment of the sorrows and fears the average farmer has. Farmers nationwide have reports of experiencing nightmares about a weird scarecrow doing unruly acts at their barnhouses—such as eating and killing crops, and livestock. What’s worse? It’s always déjà rêvé. Implying that Dagda has some sort of connection to the real world as well, being able to simulate damages in both the dream, and real world.

-and by “accidental”…Way back in 1908, when the Astral Circle was still fresh out the oven, Zoth and Chaugnar had a little mishap while attempting to summon a powerful, outer god (at Yan Luo’s order) and ended up summoning. This little jackass scarecrow with little to no idea what’s going on. They couldn’t exile him due to his erratic, and oddly helpful nature. They just gave up, and decided to keep him around, given how they needed a few extra helping hands around the circle.

-Shortest Nightmare of the batch, standing tall at exactly 4’5. (134cm). He weighs around 30-50 ibs, making him slightly heavier than the average Scarecrow.

-Basically the contrary to his human counterpart (Alf); Loud, energetic, cheerful, hyper, insufferable, reckless. And probably a psychopath to put salt on the wound.

-He only ever gets serious when something really bad happens. It’s a considerably worse sight to behold than his usual shenanigans.

-Dagda wields a comically large Scythe as a weapon. He doesn’t carry it around willy nilly, but rather only uses it either during his work as a soul scarecrow, to make himself appear more threatening to the spirits—in the human realm, to “harvest” (steal) crops and livestock from the real world—or for actual combat, which. DAMNNN! The scythe is twice his size, mind you, and is probably heavy as hell…take what you will from that alone.

-When not roaming around and terrorizing farmers in the mortal world, he scares off stray souls that trespass in the Nightmare Realm…It’s not very affective as a job, in comparison to everyone else in the Astral Circle, but it’s something!

-Has only a stick holding him up, and is connected to his body VIA rope. acting as a singular wooden leg that he uses to hop around. The rope used to tie him onto the stick has an extended end, which can move on its own, acting as a tail. It wags when he’s excited.

-He has many pet crows! But they aren’t allowed in the astral circle for…many reasons. Mainly pertaining to incidents regarding said crows, and his colleagues. (Specifically Xezbet, Ishtar, Shub, and Izanami.)

-Speaking of him and Izanami Yomi: Izanami, after moving in (est. 1949) didn’t acknowledge Dagda’s existence until around a week later, during said week, she simply assumed Dagda was a doll of sorts, and would just keep him around with other dolls that she had (i hc her to be a doll collector, outside of her job as a face deformer). Many complaints were filed the day she discovered that her new ‘ragdoll’ was sentient, real nightmare.

-(inspired by @core-bagg‘s hc), Dagda is the “punching bag” or “stress doll” of the Astral Circle, As painful and burdening as it sounds, Dagda really doesn’t care. In fact, he actually enjoys it quite a bit. He has a rather abnormal reaction to Pain, which causes him to crave it rather than the inverse (cough cough masochist cough). Examples are, but not limited to:

Abducius, Barbatos, and Exael will occasionally use him as a sort of “test dummy/target” for their weaponry and such before actually utilizing it in their respective works. They always remember to stitch him back up together afterwards…

In terms of his relationship with the Nightmare Clown, he lost against him in every single one of their games together, and considering what he does to his victims…(minus the eating part obv)…yep. You can tell Dagda likes him a lot.

Izanami CAN AND COULD use Dagda as a sort of mannequin to practice her deforming skills on…but she doesn’t have the guts to, considering his odd resemblance to one of her favorite things. (dolls), she still hasn’t gotten over it.

Same goes for Teutates, but it’s a no-go for both parties. Teutates finds the fact that Dagda’s just rags and stuffing boring, and wants to focus on annihilating more organic things, and Dagda—despite being a sucker for pain—doesn’t want TOO many of his seams torn..

-His body can generate heat, as well as, without any assistance, catch on fire. This headcanon is based on the tradition of setting Scarecrows on fire to banish ill fortune. He’d do this to either garner attention, or scare off even more souls.

-Pertaining to the last headcanon, Dagda is also a Pyromaniac. He nearly made the Astral Circle go skadoosh because he snuck in during a ritual and started fucking around with candles n stuff. This is why Zoth and Chaugnar don’t like him.

-Arsonist behavior and all aside, in terms of his body generating heat, he ignites a medium-sized, non-spreading fire inside of him, specifically in his stomach area, which heats his body up. He does this a lot during the winter/cold days in the Astral Realm. He lets those without heat snuggle up to him. He’s just a doll <3 (this doesn’t burn or damage him in any way)

-Dagda’s innards are a blend between cotton (the type used in plushies specifically), hay/straw (same material used for scarecrows, obviously), and ash.

-His diet consists of raw Vegetables and meat. Specifically fresh, and stolen out from farms. His favorite foods are Candy Apples and Donuts, which he constantly gets told off by other Nightmares for eating. Is stealing these sweets risky? Yes. Does he care? No. Yan Luo does + will probably smack him upside the head for it, but he could give any less of a damn.

-Considering his “diet”, many are left wondering: ‘how does he digest food?’ And it’s simple. With the fact he can set moderate, non-damaging fires off inside of his body, he simply burns everything he ate inside of him, like a little cremation device, until it’s nothing but ash. The remaining ash just stays there until it’s able to be used once more.

-He doesn’t have any vital organs, other than lungs. These aren’t affected by his internal fireplace, and are basically just. There. For some reason. (I needed to make an excuse for the “breathing” in his idle animation)

-Dagda also takes orders/does chores for Yan Luo aside from his assigned duties; such as doing errands, gathering materials and whatnot. He doesn’t get assigned them too much considering how easily he gets distracted, and will probably go fuck off and do something else if he gets bored/sees something else to do.

-May or may not be related to Orcus, possibly a cousin, or long lost brother. Neither parties have realized this, but it’s definitely been the topic of discussion in the Astral Circle.

-Semi-nocturnal + usually goes to sleep @ what would be around 12PM, and usually wakes up at like. 7PM or an hour earlier. When he sleeps, he goes limp, and his eyes basically go hollow, causing him to look like a corpse, or a doll. He’d either sleep slumped over on the floor, or standing up, in Scarecrow position. He’s a deep sleeper.

-Has a strange obsession with Anthropology, and the concept of Mortality, and how the Mortals (Real world people/humans) go on about their day, their lives, motives, their mere existence thrills him, in an almost sick way—Considering his job being to deal with the damned souls of said mortals. He’d sometimes even smuggle in some souls just to interrogate them on their past lives as humans, just for some sick kicks.

-Met his human counterpart, Alf Cappuccin, once in a dream. He Tormented him + made him super late for a court hearing (and probably also made him have an identity crisis). He leaves little signs and objects around for Alf and his wife to see, just to fuck with them a bit from time to time.

-Dagda can communicate with dolls and toys, considering he…technically is one, to some degree… (he has long, extensive, vulgar arguments with the other mfs in Izanami’s doll collection. The Beef goes insane)

-His relationship with a certain Neighbor (Xezbet) Isn’t too good…Considering how his job as a Soul Scarecrow was meant to drive Souls away….and how Xezbet, a Soul Eater, eats souls…it ends up having the Souls get away, and Xezbet to get angry that Dagda let his lunch go to waste…they’ll probably warm up to eachother somehow…probably…

-Dagda has met Henry before. He bit his finger and gave him Formidophobia :[

-An absolute sucker for physical affection. Despite being a Scarecrow—something made to stand around senselessly with no purpose other than to be feared, He longs touch, any kind. Praise? Belittlement? Doesn’t matter. He’s like a lovesick puppy. Mindlessly devoting himself to anything and anyone who even slightly thinks higher (or lower, he doesn’t care) of him.

-The rope slung around his shoulders/neck area can be used for many things, It can…

be adjusted and worn like a tie (formally), he’d probably do this to mock humans and their fashion.

He can take it off and use it as a lasso (rarely) to catch things…he probably learned this from eavesdropping on farmers worldwide, during his time on the mortal realm

he can tighten it up and use it as a harness to hang and spy from above, except whenever he does do this, he looks like a sagging corpse. Not a very pleasant sight.

…a leash. Mhm. I’ll leave you at that.

-Regarding the Tie, Leash and “Harness” parts. Yes, this does suffocate and hurt him. Does he care? No. Does this pain stop him from doing this? Absolutely not. Lil bro does not care, worse has happened to him

[hazel0159]

I Think I Solved The Magnus Protocol Categories

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, in the description of every Magnus Protocol episode, there is a serial code describing the contents of the case. For example:

CAT2RBC4254-04011998-12042024

Architecture (landmark) -/- corruption (entropy)

The first part of that code is the category. Each case can be assigned a category of 1, 2, 3, or any combination of the three. In the example I just gave, CAT2 signifies that this case is classified as category 2. Despite the fact that The Magnus Protocol has aired over twenty episodes so far, there still isn't any consensus as to what the categories actually mean. I had an idea for what they could be a while ago, but didn't really have enough evidence to make a convincing argument. Now, nine episodes later, here is that theory.

First, I need to define some terms. Something is sentient if it can experience emotions, sensations, and its own perspective. Something is sapient if it has human-level intelligence and self awareness. A dog or cat is sentient, but not sapient. Human beings are both sentient and sapient. 

Which brings us to my theory. Category 1 entities are sapient and sentient. Category 2 entities look sapient, however it's a trick. They aren't actually sapient, and I don't think any of them are even sentient. I'll be calling these entities pseudo-sapient. Category 3 entities aren't sapient and aren't trying to look like they are. They may or may not be sentient.

As for the rationale for why the OIAR would care about the sapience of subjects, I think it's a measure of danger. Compare a situation in which a wolf wants you dead versus one in which a person wants you dead. Yeah, the wolf may be stronger, but the person's sapience gives them a different type of danger. Sapient beings can plan, manipulate, and coordinate in large organizations. Compared to that, a non-sapient wolf is just a set of teeth and claws. Considering the OIAR is a systemic institution, it can only really be threatened by an understanding of human organizational structure.

CAT 1

The biggest question that this theory has to contend with is how we can actually tell the difference between sapient and psuedo-sapient subjects. This is the foundation of the theory, so we need something more objective and falsifiable than just vibes. Fortunately, there is a way to tell the difference. Category 2 entities are machines designed to serve a function (generate fear). Their pseudo-sapience is part of that and any emotions or thoughts they appear to have only exist to serve their purpose. In other words, Category 1 entities have lives, beliefs, and emotions outside of their job. Category 2 entities never display anything that doesn’t work towards their job. So let's see some examples of CAT 1 entities being more than just their job. 

Reanimation (Partial) & Memory (Derelict):

I don't have anything to say about the consultant/Arthur/both? or [ERROR]/Violet's talking corpse beyond the fact that they seem sapient. We just don't know enough about either, frankly.

Mascot (Kids):

I'm on the fence about Bonzo. When Gwen meets him, he acts embarrassed and doesn't want to be seen. This could be a fear of the unknown/unseen thing, but Bonzo’s shtick is much more “unhinged, violent frenzy” than “unknown and uncanny”. I think this is a case of Mr. Bonzo being legitimately embarrassed over what a monstrosity he is, implying that he is self-aware and sapient. 

Hunt (Aristocratic):

Mowbray seems legitimately curious about Celia. She also doesn't try to intimidate Gwen and presumably used to be a normal person.

Transformation (Canine):

The episode is about a dog being granted sapience. CAT 3 being alchemically transformed into CAT 1. This could just be a trick, but considering this episode probably isn't based on fear, there wouldn't be any reason for it to be fake.

Transformation (Snake):

Snake guy clearly has some sort of vendetta against the Magnus Institute. It's never used to generate fear, so he and his anger are real. Also, he probably used to be a normal person.

Injury (Needles), Tattoo (Influencer) & Transformation (Tattoo):

These are easy. Needles’ and Ink5oul’s blatant insecurity actively makes them less scary. They also self-reflect and used to be normal people.

CAT 2 

Dolls (watching) & Tattoo (Corpse):

We don't know anything about the dolls or the Thing In The Water. 

Transformation (Eyes), Infection (Full Body), Disappearance (Undetermined), & Architecture (Liminal):

The CAT 2 refers to 

The forum members harassing RedCanary

Weber’s hallucinations of Maddie

The invitations and the theater’s cashier

The tower’s stewardess and diners

 All of these entities appear sapient, but don't display any evidence that their sapience is real. They only ever act aggressive, uncanny, and comforting in order to lure in their victims. All of these serve a clear purpose in generating fear and these entities don't have any depth beyond it.

Architecture (Landmark):

I know I said I wouldn't go off of vibes, but let's indulge for a moment. What if the withered doppelganger was sapient? Their function is clearly temporary. Once the construction worker dies, they would no longer serve any purpose and would be disposed of. If they're sapient, they must have some level of self awareness. Surely they would know they're temporary, if only subconsciously. And yet they don't seem to care, killing the construction worker and also themself. Why would the fears create an entire being with free will, just for that being to only exist for a minute or so? That seems like both a large risk and waste of effort. Maybe the doppelganger is some kind of shape shifter and just disguised themself as the construction worker at that moment? But that contradicts the psychological feeling of stagnation and constancy that the incident was supernaturally powered by. It feels like you can't make the doppelganger actually sapient without it being a pretty large stretch, implying that the doppelganger is pseudo-sapient out of necessity. These arguments can also apply to some of the previous 4 cases, though to a lesser extent.

Agglomeration (Miscellany):

This is the big one. For the first half of the episode, the charity shop volunteers act like every other CAT 2 subject. They act uncanny to generate fear and that's it. The interesting part begins once the security firm shows up and starts gunning them down because the volunteers just don't react. They keep up the uncanny shtick as if nothing is going wrong. This is absolutely not how any of the CAT 1 entities would react. Imagine putting Needles or Ink5oul in the same situation. They would break down in panic, and do anything to save themselves. Generating fear would be the least of their worries. Bonzo might throw a tantrum or try to hide. Snake guy might get angry and desperate. They'd all do something. Yet, the volunteers just don't react. Furthermore, when Dianne escapes from the burning shop, what convinces the security firm that she's innocent? The fact that she's scared, an emotion that the pseudo-sapient volunteers are incapable of expressing. They're made to act uncanny and that's it. Again, imagine if it had been Needles or Ink5oul in that shop. They would be just as scared as Dianne. In this case, the security firm would have been briefed ahead of time that their assignment was pseudo-sapient and therefore knew anyone expressing true fear must be innocent. Hence, the security firm knows the difference between CAT 1 and CAT 2 entities and utilizes the difference between sapience and pseudo-sapience.

CAT 3

Transformation (Full), Tattoo (Corpse), & Transformation (Canine):

Neither the tattoos nor the crystal fruit are sapient or sentient.

Transformation (Eyes):

This refers to the box that RedCanary stole from the Institute. It doesn't seem sapient and may or may not be sentient.

Collection (Blood), Dice (Bone), & Gambling (Application):

These are the violin, dice, and insectoid/trading app respectively. These three definitely have a sentience and personality to them, but they come off as much more animalistic than sapient. The violin and dice especially seem driven exclusively by hunger and spite when that hunger is denied. Their inability to communicate is also notable, as that's something that almost all the CAT 1 and 2 entities can do. Finally, the fact that they manifest as objects and animals instead of taking a humanoid form obviously can't be ignored.

CAT i

Ok, so I was lying when I said that the only categories are 1, 2, and 3. For some reason, the trailer is categorized as CAT i. Why? Well, we can explain this by adding a new rule. Only supernatural subjects are assigned CAT 1, 2, or 3. Nothing supernatural happened in the trailer, so none of those three are applicable, and it wound up getting assigned CAT i instead. Whatever that means.

This also makes some previous episodes make more sense. Namely, Collection (Blood) and Agglomeration (Miscellany). Neither the merchant nor the security firm seem to be reflected in their respective episodes’ categories. This could be easily explained if neither of them were supernatural.

Doppelganger (Interdimensional):

This case is assigned CAT 2. On first glance, it might seem like this would refer to Alternate Darrien. However, at no point does the episode indicate that Alternate Darrien is supernatural. If anything, the fact that Darrien killed him so easily would be evidence that he's perfectly normal. So the CAT 2 doesn't refer to Alternate Darrien, but to Doctor Dumfries, the therapist. After all, Dumfries is the one who seemingly caused Darrien to hop realities. Darrien repeatedly mentions little things Dumfries does that set him off. Dumfries may also be installing a false sense of security in Darrien, similar to a lot of the other CAT 2s. Finally, Darrien seemingly refers to Dumfries with both male and female pronouns which might be an indication of … something? As for Dumfries’ sapience status, he/she definitely appears sapient. There's not any evidence for or against the idea that he/she is pseudo-sapient.

The Assignment Process 

Let's go on a tangent to talk about DPHWs. More specifically, how the DPHWs are assigned. According to episode 1, the DPHW is a code written next to each section/subsection combination. For example, “dolls comma watching is... 1157”. So the DPHW is determined exclusively by the section and subsection. This is reinforced in episode two where Sam comes up with possible cases, Gwen guesses the applicable sections/subsections, then tries to remember which DPHWs are connected to those sections and subsections. However, this creates a problem. Episode 10 and 12 are both Mascot (Kids) yet have different DPHWs. How do we resolve this contradiction? It's magic. FR3-d1 is magic and FR3-d1’s categorization system is also magic. When a case comes in, the binder rewrites itself so that the DPHW (and category and rank) accurately reflect the case. In episode 2, Gwen was really confident in her inaccurate memory of the DPHWs. This could be overconfidence, or it could be more evidence that the DPHWs change over time. 

What Gets the CAT?

Now we can get into the weeds about which part of the case is referenced in the category. Agglomeration (Miscellany), for example, has both the pseudo-sapient volunteers and non-sentient items. So how is it decided whether the category is 2, 3, or 23? Well first off, it seems like connected entities are only referenced in the category once. So Ink5oul and their tattoos are either CAT 1 or 3, but both would be redundant? On the other hand, in Tattoo (Corpse), the The Thing In The Water isn't part of the tattoo and was just summoned by it, so they each get their own separate CATs. Maybe? Furthermore, lower numbered CATs have priority over higher numbered ones. So in cases with both pseudo-sapient and non-sapient elements, 2 takes priority over 3 and the whole case is CAT 2. If the idea is that sapient entities are more dangerous than non-sapient ones, then there'd be no reason to reference non-sapient entities when there is a more dangerous sapient one present. I think this schema is okay at fitting every case except Transformation (Full).

I think a lot of the weirdness around the sections, subsections, and crosslinks comes from the fact that the authors don't have objective criteria as to how they work, or what each of them individually do, so just make them up on a case by case basis. This is probably what happened for Episode 2 as well. Whoever assigned its category just figured that the tattoo was more important than Ink5oul and arbitrarily gave it CAT 3.

ARG Stuff

There's not much to say about Kl4-u5.xls. The only cases which might cause problems for this theory are the Unhappy Child and Cats, which are CAT 3 and 2 respectively. I guess the child would be sentient and not sapient? Maybe a crying infant based on fears of failing at parenting? And then for some reason there are pseudo-sapient cats. We don't really know anything about the ARG cases, so I'm not losing sleep over either of these.

Conclusion

That's my theory, Sapient/Pseudo-Sapient/Non-Sapient. It's definitely not perfect, but I think it's much better then any other major CAT theory that I've seen (namely Person/Place/Thing, Tria Prima, and Agent/Subject/Catalyst). CAT 2 being pseudo-sapient is definitely the least substantiated of the three. Hopefully Gwen will encounter a CAT 2 External sometime soon, as that would be really helpful in proving the theory. I doubt that would happen before the end of Season 1, though. Anyway, I know this was very long, so thanks for reading it :). If you can think of any points for or against this theory, I’d be more than happy to hear them.

[mischieffoal]

Kugrash; Rat Jesus; Bruce Kugrich; you know him, you love him - is a repressed, closeted, gay man. In this essay I will… tell you why I think that, I actually wrote the essay. (It’s not an essay it’s a long text post, it doesn’t have an introduction or a conclusion or citations don’t come for me)

Anyway, I’ve just finished The Unsleeping City chapters 1 and 2 and Kugrash has infested my brain and wormed his slimy way around my heart. I don’t need to proselytise him, if you’re reading this post you already understand the appeal of a crusty, washed-up rat bastard of a terrible father who’s trying to make up for everything he’s ever done. What I particularly loved about him was that he is gay-coded in such a specific way that it makes the poor little meow meow of it all even worse. Was it on purpose? I doubt it. But it certainly is there. 

(I doubt it was on purpose because the joy of D20 is that all the characters are kind of just pan unless specified otherwise and homophobia is only a thing that villains do in the first five minutes of a character’s introduction. So it’s like, I doubt Murph did this on purpose because he’s probably just being very queer friendly and it comes across this way because of the Kugrash of it all)

Evidence that I remembered to write down is as follows: 

Perry the Pigeon

Kug doesn’t actually want to date Perry, but he doesn't object to going to the wedding with him/sort of leads him on/definitely flirts with him/tries to let him down nicely. 

Murph did just choose the name Perry at random. Could have been a girl pigeon, but no. 

Perry is serious about Kugrash. Like, “still mourning him” serious. 

Perry isn’t only into Kug, he is an established gay pigeon who later marries another man (/rabbit)

2. The Kugriches

When the other PCs tell Wally there’s a pigeon with a crush on his dad, Wally immediately asks “What’s his name?”

Wally and David’s mum is out of the picture. David said that Bruce abandoned them when Wally really needed him, which I think implies she’s been gone since before Kugrash was cursed. Why? Who knows, Bruce was a bastard in many ways - but if his sexuality was so obvious that their son can only imagine his dad dating a male pigeon, it was probably obvious to Bruce’s ex. 

3. Lowell Masters

Kingston: finds out Lowell can Identify things by sticking them up his ass Kingston, two seconds later, pointing at his good friend Kugrash: “This man, what is this man?" Lowell: gives Kugrash an ass jacket Kugrash: “Yeah, yeah, sure thanks, appreciate it.”  Kugrash: “I smell like lube now instead of trash.” Kugrash: “We’ll link up at some point”

4. The totems

All men. When the Intrepid Heroes came up with what their totem animals would be in an Adventuring Party, they weren’t particularly gendered, but weren’t sentient either, so who knows what that’s worth

Perry (see Point 1)

The campest unicorn you’ve ever seen or heard in your life

5. Best friends with a hairdresser

6. “You goddamn beautiful boy, you fucker, you absolute arsehole.” I get it, Kug. Ricky does it to us all. 

To me, all of this implies Kugrash is gay, but quietly. He’s certainly not out-and-proud like Pete is, but his children know. Did he tell them or was it obvious? I don’t think Kugrash knows. I think he’s closeted to no-one but himself. A business man in the 1980s isn’t the most likely guy to have searched his soul for any sexual deviancy, and since then he’s been very busy being depressed/ashamed/a literal rat in the sewers. Misty and Kingston do a lot of work to pull him out of the underground and actually talk to human beings again. They know he’s gay, from the things they say about him (see in particular Point 3: Lowell Masters). I don’t think Kugrash would have ever had a “gay awakening” or a “gay panic” if he’d stayed on the mortal plane, I doubt his sexuality would be that shocking or confusing - I just don’t think he’s noticed. 

Being cursed into a ratman gives you the space to learn all sorts of things about yourself, and if that doesn’t quite work, you can always eat an everything bagel and become omniscient, when you can finally realise that Bruce Kugrich was in fact gay the whole time.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

[aerkame]

Welcome Home Finfolk AU Headcanons Part 1

Just some headcanons on the characters so I can come back to this later for writing/reference. And a bit of a tease for some people eager for Finfolk/selkie stuff. Warnings: Implied kidnapping. It's kind of a given considering that in Orkney folklore finfolk often kidnap people they like/love.

Original post:

(I guess this takes place in a puppet world? Like humans are just humanoid puppets so it's not as confusing to make Welcome Home characters complete puppets but finfolk versions.)

Eddie Dear:

A complete sweetheart of a captain that's a bit clumsy. While Wally can steer the waters himself, he'd much rather have Eddie be the captain on most of their ships, having found that the much larger man knows the waters better than himself and Home.

Eddie is so sweet that most don't even notice the unusual way his felt skin slightly changes colors when it rains, the small finned ears tucked under his captain's hat, or the tiny teal scales that grow under his arms when he's stressed. Maybe he's a lot more clever than people realize. Using that sweetness of his to distract others from what's happening...nah, he's just a clumsy sweet guy, right?

Instead of having shipments in, it's usually Eddie that helps bring in most of what the island has when it comes to strange items. They're still a bit stuck in the 70s so sometimes Eddie brings back boatloads of lost shipments with up to date everyday items.

Wally Darling:

Wally Darling is a true finman at heart. He keeps all those he is close with very close on this island he made so long ago with his and Home's own magic. He may or may not have helped kidnap a few of the neighbors with Home and others, bringing them here.

Sometimes Wally will find himself in looser fitting clothing on warmer days. But usually he keeps a suit worn with his pompadour being well-kept. Everything at Home must be perfect.

Unlike most finmen, his powers have gone far beyond what is normal. While most can control the ocean waters through waves and small rain showers, Wally has little to no trouble making storms, hurricanes, giant whirlpools, and changing the very currents of the ocean to his favor.

Making Home was probably his greatest feat yet. Creating an island wasn't uncommon for his kind. But creating a giant, living, sentient island hidden within a vale of sorts in the middle of the ocean that not even other finmen could reach was something otherworldly. It's like he's creating a whole new world.

He will sometimes crash planes and ships far out in the ocean if they so much as get too close to the world they reside in. Of course he ensures that Eddie, Howdy, or Barnaby goes over to the crash sites to wipe away any memory of where the passengers have been, just in case...and maybe he should start up a rough storm or two in that area for good measure. You can never be too sure.

Of course Wally never expects anyone to actually make it to the shores of Home, but if someone ever did, well...that would be quite the impressive feat! You'd have to not only get past the others sensing your presence in their waters (coupled with oncoming storms), but also get past the vale their world resides in.

Truly, Wally just wants everyone in Home to be able to live happy and free here. He often creates more and more islands and small peninsulas along with the others just to explore and have fun. And they do have fun and joy, almost everyday! Though he needs to slow down on the island-making, he often gets lost on his own creations sometimes.

Barnaby B.Beagle:

At first glance he's just a big ol' fluffy dog with a big personality, but when it rains or when water is doused on the guy? He really tends to grow in size.

Unlike the others, Barnaby tends to have a completely different form when he lets loose. Instead of scales, he grows smooth and cool skin, and instead of pointy fin ears he grows side gills and one large triangular fin on his lower back. (Poppy often needs to help fix his clothes for this reason.) All this topped with giant rows of sharp teeth. Very shark-like indeed.

Due to his size and sharp features, it's no wonder that Barnaby often accompanies Eddie or Howdy when taking care of people that are getting too close to Home, or when someone on the mainland is getting a liiiittle too close to pinpointing where Home's vale is. You could say he's a bit like a giant guard (shark?)dog.

Sometimes Frank wonders if Barnaby is even a finman like the others or if he's some kind of hybrid...or possibly a subspecies?

This big guy is friendly and loves cracking jokes, but he isn't dumb, and he definitely isn't letting anyone hurt his family.

Wally and Barnaby go way back to when he was just a pup (get it?), having been washed up ashore on what was a lonely Home at the time. Wally was the first person to ever treat him so kindly and not judge him for how he looked in his original form. Most finmen hated it.

Barnaby so far has been the only one to ever make it to Home on his very own. Maybe it takes something special to get here. Or maybe it was Home who invited him that time and not Wally's invitation.

Frank Frankly:

Quite frankly the most nerdiest guy at Home. Not only is Frank's house neatly organized with specimens of insects everywhere, but that has evolved to specimens of fish and many books on mythical sea creatures, something that started all thanks to Eddie and Home.

Frank remembers his first time here clear as day. He was so skeptical that finfolk were real or that any mythical creature was real. It took a lot of convincing and quite a few magic tricks to finally get him to open up his eyes about that.

The man has been obsessed with the life that resides in the ocean since he first learned about finfolk. You could ask him about any, and I mean ANY sea creature and he'd probably know everything about it.

One of his keen interests is that of finfolk and selkies. They had similar traits but were vastly different in many ways. Finfolk he could research on however long he wanted considering he was living with them. But unlike finfolk, selkies weren't seen as much anymore. Stars, selkies were even considered on the verge of going extinct according to other finfolk and sea creatures, something about selkies getting their coats stolen too often? Frank would shake his head at that thought. Some people were just too cruel.

Sometimes Frank will feel a pang of loneliness when studying on his own, but usually Eddie is there to cheer him up, or Julie, even if she was a bit too much.

Both Julie and himself are the only residents at Home that are not finfolk, just some ordinary people that found their way here, though they don't remember how or when...

You(Suprise short fic! Hahahaha-):

There was something off about this part of the ocean. You have never ventured this far out before, always staying close to coasts and peninsulas, but it was like you were just drawn to a force here.

You perched yourself onto the small deck of the tiny sailboat you owned and crossed another spot out on the map. There was nothing here either, just like the past few miles you checked. No islands or signs of land in sight...and yet you could sense that something was indeed there. Call it an instinct, but your body was refusing to leave you alone until you satisfied your curiosity.

Looking down into the deep waters, you debated on going back down there to take a second look...nah. You were still soaked and the fur would take forever to dry off again. That, and the skies continued to darken as if it would rain any second now. Actually, a nice swim and a quick look seemed like a good idea.

The fur hood slipped over your head as you buckled the inside of your jacket to keep everything secured, the last thing you needed was a current to take away your seal jacket, you put too much time and effort into making your seal fur a real set of clothes.

You jumped in as soon as thunder roared right behind you, feeling the tingling feeling of bristles and fur wrapping around your felt skin. There wasn't supposed to be a storm yet...

The currents began to change, almost pulling you towards the place of interest from earlier, it was far too strong for you to swim against even as your flippers swished back and forth as hard as they could. Before you could turn your back to face another direction, rough waters ripped your body from left to right, up, and down, until everything felt too dizzy to gather your surroundings. Your vision was such a blur that you did not notice the sailboat you were once on begin to sink down towards you. A long metal object suddenly made contact with your head and everything went black.

I had this finfolk-selkie hybrid OC for the longest time and every time I looked at selkie OCs no one seemed to make it into normal-ish clothing. Like imagine being a selkie in the modern world. Having a seal coat turned into the softest hoodie or jacket would be the best thing ever. You could take it anywhere with you in plain sight and no one would even know.

[nemo-draco]

Bendy: Secrets of the Machine Thoughts

Putting them under a spoiler cut for readability

So far, there is a lot of intrigue regarding GENT and their role, as well as the potential return of the Nightmare Run characters.

GENT's involvement so far as been more on the sidelines in the games. It's implied they have similar issues with the supernatural, and they are running experiments with the ink the Machine produces, the books also backing this up with the reappearance of Archie Carter. However, with the new character. Riley Wells, introduced, it creates a more interesting layer to this, in that it is implied that she was recruited by GENT shortly following her dismissal from JDS. Now, if she is a villain or a victim is up for debate. It could be that they hired her as a test subject similar to Archie Carter and her metamorphosis was just far more severe as a result of the traumatic experience in her childhood, or perhaps she provided the specs that ended up producing a real-life version of "Bloodwheel", the more monster-y version of Gaskette that even gets a whole song in Riley's flashback.

Riley's story is also interesting in that it provides a canon explanation for why the Nightmare Run toons are more monstrous, though it really only does so for Gaskette. She's never shown drawing any of the other bosses, just him. Which makes me wonder if maybe she was part of the character design for only him, and the others are all going to get their own stories later on in the game. I really do hope they go this route, mostly because it would be a nice callback to the no longer available Nightmare Run, and you could have some real fun with the bosses 'backstories', depending on how involved you want to be.

Can think of a few things immediately off the bat: Chester being another example of a childhood fear turned into a debilitating trauma, except involving someone who has thalassophobia strong enough to rival H.P. Lovecraft. Kind of paves the way for a lot of spooky imagery involving the ocean, ocean life, and ink.

Dewey at first seemed a little comical to think about in this context, after all, a fear of librarians seems extreme, though thinking more on it my thought is that he's the product of a different type of emotional stuckage. Instead of a fearful person, perhaps Dewey was created by a very angry person, someone who had a lot of trouble controlling their temper and would frequently blow up at seemingly minor issues. After all, Dewey's main character trait seems to be his temper, as we remember from his character card that he has a disproportionate reaction to Bendy knocking over some books. Granted, between the fact that the exact quantity of books is never mentioned, and a cartoon being a cartoon, it makes me wonder if Bendy might not have knocked over a few books, but more likely a few stacks or even whole shelves worth. I mean, what's funnier, a few books coming down or the library getting a spontaneous remodeling job thanks to a careless patron?

...It's probably not so fun for the librarian, but you get my point. So, potentially, we have someone who has a temper problem creating this character as a way to offset their issues. It might just be less helpful and creating a bit of a feedback loop, where they're constantly ruminating over their problems rather than addressing and moving on from them.

Canoodle was another one that eluded me a bit, though there are two potential driving forces that could have fueled his creation. On one front, junkyards aren't exactly friendly places sometimes, and it would be easy for some sort of accident to happen that could produce some sort of negative association, though there is also the fact that a sentient can being in a junkyard creates this almost weird mental image. You'd think that'd be a dangerous place for him, and this is somewhat proven true if you beat him in Nightmare Run, as he's promptly crushed and disposed of. So, perhaps a preoccupation with death, or a person who is constantly cheating bad or dangerous circumstances? It's something, and it could definitely be interesting played out if that's the direction they're planning on going with this.

There are also plenty of other fun moments and little easter eggs for fans, so either way, we do get something fun. I would honestly be over the moon if they did something for all of the Nightmare Run toons though. Gaskette is a good nod, and Riley's backstory intrigues me given the circumstances, and especially the apparent involvement with GENT. Kinda makes me wonder if they're, in a sense, keeping tabs on people who were associated with JDS, people who maybe would have some stronger ties to the art being produced there and potentially have a bigger reaction when the ink is used on them.

It's something to think about, for sure. If anything, I'll enjoy using these puzzle pieces in my own work.

[wildglitch]

A long Side tangent for the WIZ!Spidey x DCU AU

A longish post on what I think happened to the other dimension travelers. This is gonna be semi canon with the other heros! Timeline I sometimes mention. This means some of what I say is canon, some might be subject to change, while others I have decided to write total bs for.

And YK what the best part is? You get to figure out which one is which :D

Since this is gonna be focusing on a lot of other characters that aren't Peter, this is gonna be a bit longer so the characters can get at least one paragraph to them.

This is mostly gonna be off the top of my head since I only know what happens to Loki, T'challa and Bruce. The others I'm gonna figure out as we go, so we are doing this together

Anyways- let's start.

-Ok so lets break this into sections

Main canon: the one every post is talking about unless I say otherwise. Yk, the main au

Other Heros: the au where I add characters that didn't show up in the show, but canonically they do exist in the main MCU timeline so theoretically they could also survive. Yk, the Daredevil au I wrote a bit about where everyone dies, this is if they live

Absolut BS: Is there gonna be bs in the other sections? Yes. Is there gonna be anything serious in this one? Absolutely not. This is for those sweet non canon MCU characters. I try to stick to canon as much as possible, but sometimes I get an idea so good I wanna add it, but refuses cause I gotta lay in the bed I made for myself (it's fine lol). This is for stuff we know aren't canon or are very heavily implied not to be in the MCU. Yk, for funsies, (and cause team red is missing its degenerate, yes Im weak Im sorry! Deadpool you still aint canon to this until your movie comes out! You too Logan!)

With those out of the way, lets start of with the

Main Canon

-So, starting off simple are the people on the ship. T'achalla in my opinion, looking at the movies, is weaker than Peter. And since Peter dies in most of his crashes if there is no interference, the answer is clear to see. After all, the black guy always dies first :^

...MOVING ON-

No, uhh, to not just leave it like that cause, yes, it's sad- I like to think that if he dies then his ancestors and powers let him transcend a bit to the point of minor godhood. Meaning that if there were ever a godly meeting the avatars had to attend to, Peter would be in for a big surprise

-Scott, wtf happened to you bro-

He survives due to the fact he had the cloak of levitation, he has no clue what happened and due to his lower weight, gets blown away by the wind, never to be seen again. So sad

...anyways he ended up in a box-

No clue how he got there. He just knows that one minute he was disoriented as hell in the sky, the next he's stuck in some crate in some magic labyrinth with no hope of rescue. Long story short, he's stuck there for many, many months.

Scott: How Am I Still Alive!?

-Bruce is the Hulk when he gets chucked into the DCU, he's also at an old abandoned military base...why are there people here?

Ya so, apparently the abandoned base he was Hulking out at against a bunch of Zombies, wasn't so abandoned in the DCU. In Fact it's one of, if not the most top secret base there is in the U.S military. So imagine with me, this X foot tall green beast appears out of nowhere and is in some sort of rampage at this super secure military base. You're welcome, I just put Bruce on the Villains list. I can see a few JL members or maybe some YJ kids showing up and dealing with him. And since we know that Hulk is sentient enough to make friends and enemies, Hulk is sent to some top of the line prison while Bruce is unconscious in the back seat. The JL try to interrogate him, but they only get vage half formed sentences about being weak (not a good look) people (Valkyrie, his best bro, is very much missed) and a mission (protect spider...Batman filed that one away for later)

-Bucky...Ha! No

I've proven to myself that I like his character enough to make him important to Peter's Character and the Plot (since when is there plot-) so Ima save him for another post.

-Thor (+Rocket and Groot)

These 3 didn't get split up, Surprisingly. They end up traveling through Africa (yes, the whole thing) trying to find their way back. Thor in his depressive state, keeps fighting and trying to find a way to his brother, since he could tell that whatever happened to them, it happened because of Loki.

Rocket and Groot are just there, since they're aliens who have never been to Earth before, they are just treating it like that. Though they do know something happened and they aren't really in the same place as before, they aren't struggling as much as the Earth natives. Thor is also having an easier time, but he keeps forgetting he isn't well known here. It's actually a bit refreshing.

Think of it like a road trip DnD adventure as they travel through Africa then Europe then Asia, trying to find his brother but having no clue where to go. Saving people and gaining a sort of reputation as “That nice aussie that saves people'' alongside “The raccoon and Groot” (Everyone loves Groot)

Rocket Is a good dad and is just there protecting Groot and scamming people. And Groot discovers the internet. They continue to save people because that's what they did with their family, so they will continue to do that even if they can tell it's just the two of them again.

-Loki, my God…you sneaky shit-

When I tell you, Loki dropped in the middle of a league meeting. Im telling you, he dropped in the MIDDLE OF A LEAGUE MEETING! JL Light, JL Dark, YJ, the Titans, literally everyone was there! Why? 1. The league has a yearly meeting where they try to get every superhero team and hero esc people in the room so they can touch base. 2. Loki's magic…scared the hell out of them. The meeting was really soon and all of a sudden they get a really strong magic signature tearing reality apart? Yeah, they are gonna move the meeting up by a week to see what the heck is going on. Only for this British fuck to drop onto the table just ozzing out the energy they where Looking for. Yeah, you can bet all hell broke loose. 

Loki gets locked in a cell on the tower as they try to figure out who he is, but they have absolutely no experience with his realitys magic so they can't get anything off of him. Some of the more godly inclined (Captain Marvel) can tell that he's a god from another universe, but comes to the conclusion that it's best to just let things play out. 

Loki:...

CM:...

Loki: you’re quite the interesting child

CM: nOPE! You’re on your own. Good luck with that.

The hero's try interrogating him, trying to find out what he wants, and Loki is just like “nuh uh” and is just enjoying his time in his cell like the chaos god he is. Obviously he's playing all of them and getting info off of every single one of them, figuring out slowly where the other people could be and sending Peter to investigate the leads. Could he escape? Absolutely, he has walked to the kitchen more times than he cares to mention. Will he leave? No, he is in the most strategically useful place at the moment so he will stay there screwing with Batman until the League get bored of interrogating him. There are moments where they think he means no harm, and while that is true, it also means they might kick him from the tower, and he can't have that. Besides, scaring the Flash in front of everyone to keep his danger status is just so much fun.

And that everyone that should be in the Main Canon, onto

Canon Divergents: Other Heros.

Ok, so I like to think, personally, that everyone on this list died a horrible gruesome death before the episode started. But I can tell that some people like to keep them alive, and what is this if not just us having fun right? So this is a little “what if '' of the “what if ''. I don't know why they weren't in the episode, maybe they left, maybe they thought they were dead, maybe they were on another mission, who knows, you choose. But like I said, this is for fun so I’ll let you lil’ brains figure it out.

Lets start of with

-Kamala Khan. Ok so with this, Ima play with the timeline again. We never get confirmation if she blipped or not, but I don't think so(correct me if I'm wrong). So looking at her age I’d say she's around 16? In the year 2024 (holy shit thats this year-) so in 2018 when the blip/ the episode happened she would have been 10-11

You see my vision? Little 10 year old Kamala was possibly one of the youngest kids of the group, so her getting chucked into the DCU can only land her in one place. Foster care. You can make the argument that months of zombies made her jaded and able to survive the apocalypse and thus the streets considering I gave her the bangles. But I honestly think she was found right away and protected by everyone because of her age no matter the fact she has the bangle. She’s so small, it doesn't even fit her right. I think she's still a sweet, excitable little girl that is traumatized, but spent most of her time at the base being protected and cheering the others up.

 So, her being this excitable and happy gets placed into many foster homes. But she also has trauma and issues so the family realizing she's not an “easy” kid sends her back, moving her around a lot. I can totally see Peter actually finding her but the only thing keeping him from getting to her is the constant address changes and his lack of funds. 

-Darcy Lewis is truly in her 2 broke girls era as she takes the Identity of “Max” and starts working at a shitty Cafe.

-Moon Knight system

Remember how I said that only Jake was present for the Zombie Apocalypse? Well-

M: 8 MONTHS!?

S: Where are we!

M: 8 months!

S: What happened?

M: 8. Months.

S: Why weren't we here! Wait as second we- who are you 2?!

M: 8. Months…

S: Ahhhhhhhhh

J: *end me now* ( o_o)

Ya so instead of them trying to find the others, the 3 of them are actually trying to learn how to live with each other. The multiple Identities and accents are throwing Peter off

-Barton children

Ok Ima rapid fire this

Lila: somehow ends up with the arrows and being her fathers daughter, shows them up. Artimist likes her a lot

Cooper: He ends up in (you decide) city, and being his mothers son, starts doing some spy shit trying to find the others.

Nathen: lil’ baby somehow showed up at the Kents farm instead of his, and they sort of just …*adopt*. He's good friends with Jon.

Bonus points: Pizza dog is found as a Puppy by the kid and adopted as “emotional support” and “I must protect this poor dog, he doesn't have an eye for pete's sake!”

(These can not all happen, you gotta pick one kid for your hc cause I refuse to let all of the kids live no matter the au. The angst potential is the best part people)

-Last but not least Matt

He was found by a Church, the church sent him to the hospital, the hospital called him insane and sent by a psych ward, the psych ward said nope and sent him to arkham. He's pissed about it but like the reasonable guy he is, understands. Lots of the guys in there call him a “wanna be batman”.

He has no clue who that is but he is deeply offended.

I can totally see Peter finding him within a few days of looking and just going to visit him under the guise that he's his son. 

Peter:...

Matt: …

Peter: *glare*

Matt: soooo, how have you been?

Peter: I Thought You Were Dead!

Peter cant get Matt out cause Matt keeps beating the other rouges up. Peter is so done with his shit and Matt regrets nothing. That 2 face piece of shit had it coming.

Bonus point for the Batfam finding out Peter’s “Father” is in arkham. Just Bruce and Matt having the most awkward silent meeting. Neither talk for like 15 minutes at first. It's glorious.

+Miles morales. Oh you thought I was done? Tf I am! He's canon to the MCU so I’m rolling with it. Timeline wise, I’d say he's about 6-8 years old give or take. He can either A: get the spider powers and survives just like Peter until they find him, and Peter taking him under his wing, or B: im being the only person Peter could save because…idk, maybe he was having a confrontation with Aaron at his apartment and it turns out Miles was there cause he wanted to go trick or treating with him and is wearing a spiderman custom, awww, and kinda awkward for the two (mostly Aaron). Zombies come in, and Aaron sends Miles with Peter because yk, good Uncle. Yeah that works-

Miles' face is planted right in the center of brooklyn and like the good boy he is, waits for someone he knows to find him, (if lost, wait at the spot you are until they find you). He tells people his guardian is Peter Parker, but since Peter is going under a different allies, they can't find him. But Miles is determined and decides that he needs to stay In Queens so that Peter can find him, he knows he will.

And that wraps up that part which leads us to

Total Bull Shit

Yep, this is for those sweet non MCU canon characters. (No other fandom ones though, I haven't fallen that far from grace) (with this au at leasts)

These are just for the sillies and won't be canon unless they somehow become canon to the MCU (*stares intensely at Deadpool and Wolverine* sooooon)

-Wade Wilson

We all have seen the trailers ok, I see him, he's coming, we have all waited for this. And not only is he coming to the MCU but his reasoning works really well with this fic. He's crossing dimensions to fix the timeline and shit and he somehow gets chucked into this storyline as he's doing it. With his awesome fourth wall breaks, I can just see him showing up in Gotham for a bit, causing shit, and breaking Matt out of Arkham because he wants to do the Team Red thing. I can totally see him being super excited about meeting his first spidey lol. And Peter and Matt are just in a constant state of “wtf” as they deal with this guy that is apparently from the same multiverse and Universe(?) as them. Also, apparently it shouldn't even be possible for them to be in this universe, so that's fun

They warm up to each other and end up having a bit of fun I swear. He wont stay for long cause I can see this as being like a quick side plot in both the AU and the movie as he tries to get back to whatever he's doing.

-Logan. He's there for like a Minute, he gets there trying to get wade back to whatever they are doing, and ends up getting stuck too. Peter and Matt help them get back to whatever they were doing and when they offer a way back to their home, they say no for a number of reasons. Logan still ends up giving them a dimension hopping thing just in case.

-Andrew!Spidey from the main timeline NWH. Techincally hes canon, but hes also kinda owned by Sony so ima let this slide. Hes there for like just a minunte ok- he gets pulled into Deadpools And Wolverings Shit and decides “Fuck it, we ball” and helps the out. He sees little WIZ!Peter and thinks, “Holy shit, I just saw you!” and tells Peter about the weird shit he just went through with the other version of him and Peter is just amazed. Like “wow, a world where my friends are alive, a world where no Zombies came and destroyed the lives of the people I love. A world where I got to have more time with aunt May….must be nice”

Sorry-

Also- *has flashbacks to Andrew Garfield and Ryan Renolds kissing and the canonical list of people Deadpool is allowed to cheat with. ( o_o)

DP: heya hot stuff

A!S: No.

DP: yes

Wiz!P: Wtf is happening

DD: Look away kid

*Deadpool and Spidey comic dynamic of full display*

-Harry Osborn.

Peter: Hey Harry, who are those guys?

Harry: idk, my dad is working with these biochemists for a company from Russia. I think the name was some Greek monster? I don't really care. 

Peter: Oh ok, I'm gonna say hi to them

Harry: Sure, but be mindful of the creatures they’re working on

Peter: Got it!

Boom there’s your origin story. Peter just wanted to say hi to the nice looking Hydra agent and Harry let him.

Could we have him be hobgoblin alongside Peter when they are in gotham? Sure. Have it be like a nice spider that does no harm and his mean goblin bodyguard. Except it's the spider who can truly kick your ass. Also, just the absolut drama these 2 can have with each other is just *chefs kiss*

-Gwen Stacy

Just- just Gwen dude. Maybe she's from the DCU and they have a meet cute at a coffee shop. Maybe Peter Meets this super cute girl hiding out in a lab in the middle of the apocalypse. Maybe she's dead. Idk, idc, I love Gwen’s and Peter’s dynamic in TASM movies and I can see a traumatized dark humor version with these 2. Just give Peter his Girlfriend pls 

-Johnny Storm is one of Peter's best superhero friends in the comics. Spidey's first appearance is also in a FF comic, so it just feels right. Just integrate that into the story and you're golden. I can see them having inside jokes and stuff no one will ever get cause “you had to be there”.

-Nova, because I'm pulling from my experience with the 2012 show. No, I bring him in because I think it could add not only to Peter's character but also rockets and groots, considering they just heard the Xandar was destroyed, and all of a sudden they find this kid with an old bucket. They’re gonna get some feels, small as they might be.

Also, the ultimate 2012 team may have treated Peter like shite, but with better writing and stuff, these 2 could have been good friends. Sadly that doesn't really translate that well in the show imo.

Uhhhhh, anyone else for this monster of a post? No. Ok cool-

Idk when I'm gonna post the next part of the main lore stuff, but I'm gonna post this and some DC p.o.v's to flesh out some stuff. I might also post a bit of art and another fic in between the posts.

This is too long- have fun with this while I go pass out for a bit lol

[novafire-is-thinking]

^ little inconveniences—like this title not fitting :/

Before I begin: This post is not written for the purpose of passing moral judgement. It’s meant to be an analysis of Optimus’ ethical reasoning.

Beyond Six Lasers

Individuals know what is best for them! Who but I know what I need? Who but you may decide what is best for you?

I would like to go to Six Lasers, thought Orion Pax.

But if anyone walked up to Six Lasers and demanded to get in whenever the desire struck, the park would be overwhelmed. Structure was necessary. And individuals would never impose Structure on themselves. Would they?

Surely not. Sentient beings banded together and made decisions for the collective good. Not all of those decisions would benefit every individual. (CoP)

The paragraph before this part of Exodus is, I believe, the most controversial moment in any of the Aligned novels. Orion gets upset about being unable to go to an amusement park, and fans have had a field day with it.

However, there are two things I’ve never seen discussed:

How Orion’s questioning is just a small glimpse of the age-old, bigger picture conflict between “Ethical Egoism” and “Utilitarianism” in ethical philosophy

How Orion responds to this conflict

Ethical Philosophy 101 - Ethical Egoism vs. Utilitarianism:

Ethical Egoism operates on the premise that because only individuals know what’s best for themselves, they have a moral responsibility to act on their own interests first and foremost, in order to achieve the greatest amount of good outcomes for the greatest number of individuals.

Utilitarianism operates on the premise that even though individuals may know what’s best for themselves, they have a moral responsibility to act on the interests of the greater good first and foremost, in order to achieve the greatest amount of good outcomes for the greatest number of individuals.

In both cases, the rightness or wrongness of an action falls on the consequences or results, and both have the same goal: to maximize pleasure.

In reality, this is far from being black-and-white, with people sitting on any and all points across the spectrum between these two philosophies.

Even so, there’s no question that Optimus sits closer to the Utilitarian side of the spectrum, as I will cover later.

He was tangled up, uncertain what he should be thinking or feeling.

What I need, thought Orion Pax, is a conversation that doesn’t happen inside my own head. (CoP)

It’s implied that Optimus analyzed both sides on his own, and that after he considered the dilemma long enough, he gave up trying to figure out for himself which view was correct. He doubted his ability to come to a conclusion on his own and sought out the counsel of another in order to help him find clarity.

At that point, Optimus did not operate on any sort of personal, “gut instinct” way of determining what was morally or ethically correct. Instead, he relied heavily on a mix of internal intellectual analysis and the input of others.

How Inconvenient…

Wreck-Gar no doubt would have Makeshift rendered to his basic elements, thought Optimus Prime, so of course they could not do that. At times it was mightily inconvenient to believe in a code of ethics and individual rights. (Exiles)

Optimus, Jazz, and Prowl managed to catch Makeshift after finding out he’d been masquerading as Hound and acting as a double agent for the Decepticons.

They were unable to agree on what to do with the shapeshifter. Prowl and Jazz wanted to wash their hands of Makeshift. They thought that, tactically and legally, it would be best to turn him over to Wreck-Gar and Junkion jurisdiction. After all, Makeshift murdered one of the Junkions earlier in the story.

However, knowing Wreck-Gar was eager to execute the shapeshifter using methods bordering on torture, Optimus refused to even consider handing Makeshift over because of his adherence to his code of ethics.

Whether this code of ethics was the Autobot Code, his own, or both is never specified, but it’s highly likely that the Autobot Code was heavily inspired by Optimus’ own morals.

And even though it would have been far more convenient for him and the entire Autobot cause if he’d handed Makeshift over, Optimus refused to compromise.

Fairness > Effectiveness

Optimus Prime left the room, bringing Jazz and Prowl out with him to wait for Wreck-Gar, who was standing by to remove Makeshift and the entire stasis field apparatus to the closest thing Junkion had to a jail. It was, in an irony all the Autobots could appreciate, the abandoned fuel reservoir of an ancient spacegoing vessel, five times as large as the Ark’s reservoir and with only one opening. Junkions bundled Makeshift into it and welded it shut.

“Where should we put this junk?” Wreck-Gar asked. “Space is the place, you ask me! Break him down!”

“No, we’re not going to do that,” Optimus Prime said. “Keep it here and turn off the stasis field as soon as you’ve got it sealed up.”

“Prime, you can’t be serious,” Prowl said.

“It’s the fair thing to do,” Optimus Prime said. (Exiles)

Optimus has always cared about fairness over effectiveness, even in war when things are often the exact opposite of fair.

In an earlier scene, Makeshift revealed that, as a shapeshifter, he’d die if he stayed in one form too long. The stasis field the Autobots had locked him in would eventually kill him if they didn’t turn it off.

Junkion didn’t have a “jail” that could hold Makeshift indefinitely, so Optimus opted to have him and the stasis field apparatus placed in something that would hold him temporarily. Optimus knew Makeshift would eventually find a way out of his “jail,” yet he still ordered that the stasis field be turned off.

Knowing the danger Makeshift posed to the Junkions and the Autobots, Optimus still chose to let him go.

Where Prowl saw letting Makeshift die at the hands of the Junkions as the safest, most effective option for the majority of those involved (Autobots and Junkions), Optimus saw how that would go against all he believed in.

Ethical Philosophy 101 - Act vs. Rule Utilitarianism:

Act Utilitarianism evaluates things on a case-by-case basis, with an emphasis on the specific consequences and utility of individual actions.

Rule Utilitarianism evaluates things in terms of general moral rules, with an emphasis on the broader consequences and utility of a general rule.

As with Ethical Egoism and Utilitarianism, Act and Rule Utilitarianism exist on a spectrum, with both having advantages and disadvantages.

Generally, Optimus leans toward Rule Utilitarianism, as evidenced by his adherence to the general rule of the Autobot Code and his unwillingness to go with what Prowl sees as the safer, more effective option in this particular case with Makeshift.

Inconvenient, but Imperative

How much easier it would be, Optimus Prime thought again, if his ethics were a little more like Megatron’s. . .or even Wreck-Gar’s. Then he could just dispose of transgressing bots without a second thought. The simplicity!

But that was not the Autobot way, and that would never be the way of the one the Matrix of Leadership chose to be Prime.

Not as long as he was Prime. (Exiles)

Optimus believed that the Autobot way (Rule) would lead to the greatest amount of benefit for the greatest number of individuals. (Utilitarianism)

Over the course of the war, he remained fully aware that his rule-based Utilitarian code of ethics was inconvenient, and there were even times when he compromised.

But overall, it was extremely important to Optimus that he do his best to stick to his code of ethics, even when facing immense pressure.

✧ ✧ ✧

series master post

[axel-the-goat-guy-and-gal]

Okay Lore Time

So Al is constantly on the run.... Well, kind of....

So Al is from an alternate dimension and moves himself and his equipment (such as his circus) into different dimensions at the drop of a hat. He does this with a device he got from some sort of ancient structure somewhere in his original dimension. When he picks up this device it pops out "Shadow." (Thats not it's name, I just still havent thought of a name yet... In the meantime I'm using "Shadow" as a placeholder name.) And this "Shadow" character is only visible to Al and is a corrupted part of one of the unnamed-dimensional-travel-device's functions. Shortly after Al gets the device, it immediately starts and takes Al- as well as some nearby debris- into a new dimension.... He then proceeds to talk with "Shadow" and try and figure out what the hell just happened but then the device glitches again. Oh yeah also with each new dimension he's dropped into he's immediately called either a freak or abomination of some kind or just attacked outright. That's because more often than not a dimension wont have a sentient species that looks similar to Al. Or if it does it's usually seen as "bad" in some way. So as Al gets jumps the first time, he is immediately spotted by some travelers, he approaches seeking help and they run and scream.... A few hours later he gets jumped by some militia of some kind and thrown in a cage. He spends about a week in the cage with no-one interacting and given a small portion of food and something to drink, all the while chatting with "Shadow" and getting some ✨Exposition✨... After a while the device fires again, this time sending him into another new area... this time not as hostile, but people are still very cautious. He goes and finds a bar, before realizing he doesnt have the proper currency for this dimension and is subsequently kicked out. He finds a box and gets under it as it begins to rain.... He wakes up to a strange rat-creature poking at him, curious. Al freaks out, lands on the device and he jumps again. He jumps from place to place over and over again, never staying more than a day. Until finally the device just seemingly breaks altogether. Shadow dissapears, and Al is left in a dimension with flying ships and massive spinning cogs and wheels, wings and whistles dotting the landscape... Al was plopped right into a steampunk world lol. Its here where he luckily finds someone thats not only nice, but able and willing to help! He asks this new friend of his to help fix his dimensional-device... He does so, on one condition! Al promises he will return and maybe have a drink or two with his new friend. Al gladly accepts. Al spends the next fw months at character-which-I-also-need-to-name's house, helping out with various tasks and chores in exchange for free housing and the help with the device.

Also Shadow out of nowhere calls Al gay a little while after the device fixed, making Al spit out his drink in front of Steampunk-Guy. Al waves it off saying "went down the wrong pipe" and gives a look to Shadow that implies "We'll discuss this later"

Also also Al finds Juno losing a street fight in an alley, and comes in and lends a hand. Al buys the feline a drink at a nearby bar and they get acquaintd. Also Juno follows Al and freaks the both of them out when he is brought with Al in the dimensional jump. This is basically how Al gets a sort of team together. Al creates a gang of rag-tag group of misfit friends. A sort of interdimensional "freakshow" if you will... (I had to tie it in to a circus theme SOMEHOW x3)

But yeah thats all I got for right now.

Due note that this is the shortened version. If I do end up doing more with this I'm gonna extend all this and make it more fleshed out. Add more depth.

This would essentially be just the first chapter of the hypothetical book.

[doomed-era]

Sentient Monsters/Enemies in Zelda

People seemed to enjoy my last list so I'm going to touch on probably one of my favorite topics in LOZ! I'm mostly focusing on monsters and enemies that are shown to be not completely affiliated with any sort of Big Bad or are demonstrably capable of speech or independent thought but I'll also be including other enemies and monsters. I'm not going to really include bosses unless I find it necessary (hence the lack of Maz Koshia, Gohdan, Byrne, Bellumbeck, etc) As usual, I may touch headcanon territory a little, and I'll happily take any corrections/suggestions and reblog them!

...Actually I might just edit the post, not sure.

This contains gameplay spoilers for...a lot of Zelda games, so please proceed with caution!

Ache

Batlike enemies from The Adventure of Link. They are usually hostile, and will disguise themselves as villagers, revealing their disguise if spoken to. There is a friendly Ache that can be found in the Town of Nabooru that Link can speak to.

Batreaux

A reformed demon from Skyward Sword who has a secret house on Skyloft. He expresses a desire to become human, and requests that Link bring Gratitude Crystals to him so he can become one.

Bulblin

Namely King Bulblin, but I personally think this applies to regular Bublins as well. Throughout Twilight Princess you fight King Bulblin in various boss fights, but he always retreats before Link can kill him. In your final battle with him, he finally speaks, claiming that he "always follows the strongest side," before leaving and dropping a key to the inside of Hyrule Castle. Bulblins in general are shown to be fairly intelligent, riding on large boars called Bulbos and Twilit Kargaroks, creating structures, and cooking food.

Dark World Creatures

Many of inhabitants of the Dark World in A Link to the Past are heavily implied to be people who sought after the Triforce but were trapped upon entering the Dark World and transformed into monsters according to their true nature. These creatures can be aggressive at the start, seem initially friendly and attack you later, like Blind the thief, or can be completely passive.

Deku Scrub

These are plantlike creatures that spit out seeds to attack. In Ocarina of Time, Deku Scrubs seem to have made an allegiance with the first boss, Gohma. When attacked, they will surrender and either give you information or sell you items. In Majora's Mask, not only can Link transform into a Deku Scrub, but there is a Deku Scrub palace to be explored. Like in Ocarina of Time, Deku Scrubs are hostile to outsiders, and will refuse to let Link into the palace if he is not in Deku Scrub form. In Minish Cap, a sick Deku Scrub blocks the way by sneezing out seeds at Link and Zelda.

Garo

The Garo from Majora's Mask are a tribe of undead, ninja-like hooded creatures. They reside in the Kingdom of Ikana, though they're not originally from there, and will only appear to Link if he is wearing the Garo Mask. At some time in the past, the Garo came to Ikana Valley as assassins, but like most Ikana residents they were killed and their ghosts linger around the area.

Goriya

A slightly more obscure enemy from the original Legend of Zelda, Zelda II, Link's Awakening, and the Oracle Games. Goriya are moblin-like creatures that attack with a boomerang. In the original Legend of Zelda, a hungry Goriya blocks a door in a dungeon. In Link's Awakening, there is a hidden friendly Goriya that can only be seen using the Magnifying Glass, similar to the friendly River Zora.

Iron Knuckle

Armored enemies in Zelda II and Ocarina of Time, serving as minibosses of the Spirit Temple in the latter. In the last room of the Spirit Temple, the Twinrova control Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit, and force her to fight Link as an Iron Knuckle. Looking closely at the ordinary Iron Knuckle model reveals a Gerudo face inside, so many people believe that the other Iron Knuckles Link fights are also possessed or evil Gerudo.

Mad Batter/Li'l Devil

A batlike creature from A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening that lives in an underground cavern. Link can disturb him by tossing Magic Powder at a statue, where he will become angry and "curse" Link by giving him a magic upgrade.

Moblin

Featured in the original Legend of Zelda, Moblins are one of the quintessential enemies in the Zelda series. They have been shown multiple times to be capable of speech and seem to be able to defect from Ganon's horde in some instances. The original game also contains the first instance of a friendly monster in Zelda, the famous "it's a secret to everyone" Moblin. In the Wind Waker, a girl named Maggie has fallen in love with one of the Moblins in Forsaken Fortress, and sends a letter to him. Moe the Moblin sends a letter back, proving that Moblins are not only capable of speech, but probably writing.

Phantom

Guardians of the Tower of Spirits in Spirit Tracks and invaders of the Temple of the Ocean King in Phantom Hourglass. Phantoms are highly intelligent enemies that will chase Link down, and are capable of speech. In Spirit Tracks, Phantom Zelda can converse with them to distract them while Link makes his way through the Tower of Spirits.

River Zora

River Zora are featured in the original Legend of Zelda, a Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, A Link Between Worlds, Oracle of Ages, and Phantom Hourglass. River Zora are highly territorial creatures that inhabit bodies of water in most of the games they are featured in. They will usually shoot fireballs at Link and dive under the water if confronted. However, in many games, there are several Zora who will not attack you and may give you helpful items. In A Link to the Past, Link can speak to King Zora to get the Zora Flippers. In Link's Awakening, there is a secret friendly Zora that can be seen after Link has obtained the Magnifying Glass. In A Link Between Worlds, the Zora Queen Oren will give you the Zora Flippers.

Soldier

Hylian Soldiers have a long history of either getting possessed, turning evil, or being extremely incompetent in the Zelda series, and A Link to the Past is probably what started it. Soldiers are the primary enemy fought in the Light World, and are friendly to Link at the beginning of the game, telling Link to go home to bed on such a rainy night. One soldier mentions that they have noticed something strange about the other soldiers, and expects that they will soon succumb to whatever is possessing them. This is of course Agahnim, an evil magician and Ganon in disguise.

Stalchildren/Stalfos

Featured in almost every game in the series, Stalfos are undead skeleton-like enemies. Stalchildren are weaker, more common enemies that are featured in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Ordinarily Stalchildren will attack you in Majora's Mask, however if you wear the Captain's Hat—the hat of their leader, Skull Keeta—they will talk to you, and give you access to secret underground areas each night. Stalchildren, like the Garo, are also one of the undead races from Ikana Valley, and their king can be fought there.

Yiga

(they get a shoutout cause I love them. mwah)

Featured in Breath of the Wild, the Yiga Clan are an offshoot of the Sheikah Tribe that separated ten thousand years before the events of Breath of the Wild. After Calamity Ganon emerged for the first time and was destroyed with the help of Ancient Sheikah technology, the Royal Family turned their backs on the people who helped them, forcing them to abandon their work. The Sheikah went into hiding, but some of them fought back. This group became known as the Yiga Clan, and they are well known for their affinity to Calamity Ganon and their murderous tendencies. Dorian was originally a member of the Yiga Clan, and served as an informant to them for some time.

[lenioxoxo]

what do you think abt the way spectra was redeemed?

loving the fanfic btw

Thank you! And ooo I have a lot of thoughts on this

TLDR; I think on paper, his redemption arc was fine, in execution— not so much. The process was okay, but the turnaround was too quick and dramatic to really feel earned and I think he just need the slightest smidge of more time to get it ironed out.

The thing you have to keep in mind about New Vestroia is that it moves an incredibly brisk pace. If you watch very closely then you’ll see that there are a lot of plot points that were raised and either quickly resolved to get it out of the way, or forgotten altogether. Spectra’s redemption is the former, while Ace’s character arc is the latter. So when we enter discussion about how something would theoretically be fixed, you can’t plausibly give an elaborate idea because there just wouldn’t be time for that and retaining everything else that happens in the allotted runtime of the show.

The most obvious explanation for his redemption given via the show is that he came to the realization that he just simply wasn’t strong enough to overcome Zenoheld and Dan, no matter what he did to Helios, and realized that Zenoheld is the bigger threat and therefore it’s better for everyone if he joins up with Dan. We see this in small increments before he joins up with them officially and I think that was a good choice because it eases us into the idea that he might not really be a bad guy later on if he can work with us. So okay, this is fine. But my problem with this is that it doesn’t really force him to re-examine the bad that he did while he was a villain. Had he just bullied a few kids I wouldn’t care, but he was actively torturing (and in the JP dub was implied to have killed) sentient creatures for his own goals. As it is, it seems like he didn’t really care about reforming as much as he just wanted to be on the winning side of things. It would be one thing if he was very open about the fact that he’s only in this for himself, but once he switches sides he acts like he’s a completely changed man and I just don’t buy that with this scenario.

It feels like he gains too much too quickly and doesn’t have that “come to Jesus” moment to warrant it. I feel like there needed to be at least one scene where he sort of unpacks everything he did, maybe one with Drago since he tortured him, and he understands the repercussions of his actions. He wasn’t just being mean to children, he actively ruined (and maybe ended) lives, this is just sort of swept aside.

Now I want to address that him feeling like he has to win this war isn’t the sole factor in him switching sides. While the feeling of powerlessness started this transition, I think the (subtler but maybe more important) nail in the coffin was losing Gus. There are a few wide shots of him alone that really stresses his loneliness, and this does make the sudden shift of him and Mira being best siblings ever make more sense because he would have been desperate for that relationship again. But I do think that everyone being willing to trust and be friends with him is just way too soon. The episode him losing to Dan ends, and then in the first two minutes of the next one, everyone is best friends with him. IIRC (and if I’m not then ignore this) there’s maybe one or two lines by some characters along the lines of “are we sure we want to trust him”, but those fears are really quickly assuaged by him being cooperative and nice, and I’m just needing more of that distrust.

If I was writing this arc, I would make very minimal changes to the lead up and aftermath of him switching. I would have one tiny scene before Gus vanishes of him contemplating how far he’s pushed Helios and he can’t go any further safely, because this plants a “fuck I ruined him too much” seed of doubt and gives leeway to reflection later. Then, instead of him being immediately hopeful after losing to Dan and taking off his mask, I’d show him being a little more apprehensive of his uncertain future. He doesn’t have to say anything, his face just needs to look a little uneasy. And then the last thing I would change is giving him a moment of reflection (whether it be by talking to Drago or Helios) that in his quest to be powerful, he might have been doing the wrong thing the whole time— because he’s now more powerful by having secure alliances/friendships and no one had to be hurt to do it. Maybe replace a couple of the “Omg guys Keith is so nice” lines from the cast with more discernible concern or distrust for good measure. I don’t think anything else would need to be changed. It would still be a little too quick, but I think it would feel more rewarding for him if very minimal adjustments were made to compensate him. If the show had all the time in the world then I’d have a thousand more suggestions, but if we’re keeping this arc as brief as possible to stick closely within the runtime of the show and not step on anything else happening in the plot, then I think this is a decent way to go about it.

So I like the ideas presented by the show, but it needed just a little more time to feel worth it.

[eldritch-elrics]

actually i lied. i'm not going to sleep i'm going to talk about plasm wraith.

why does it want olimar so badly? here's a couple thoughts i had.

first of all, it's got a hole in its face. i wonder if that could symbolize some sort of incompleteness. (a la fecto forgo/elfilis from kirby...!) it wants olimar because it's decided that he will make it whole, maybe? bit of a stretch, but olimar does call attention to that hole so i'm wondering why it could be there.

regardless, i bet it's lonely. all the other enemies in that area turn into goop when you kill them, so it seems like it's created this whole ecosystem by itself... perhaps to keep it company? to keep olimar company? i'd say it's implied that plasm wraith is in some way sentient, so... man. that would be so sad!

the low-hanging fruit is the interpretation that plasm wraith's fixation on olimar is romantic/sexual. i think that's kind of boring. it's this weird inhuman monster; idk if it has a concept of "romance"! and i love monsterfucking & trying to make weird ships work out as much as the next guy, but eh, this relationship just seems too one-sidedly toxic. it's more interesting to choose different avenues of interpretation here imo. (though it's very very funny to make jokes about "yandere slimegirl," as me and my friends have been doing..)

personally - and i've only just started thinking about this so my thoughts may evolve later - i think it makes a lot of sense to view the plasm wraith's feelings as a twisted version of the pikmin's. the pikmin view olimar as something akin to a parent - perhaps the wraith views olimar as something akin to a child? it's very gentle with him, it "hugs" him, it forms itself into a protective shell around him... and it seems like it keeps forcibly activating his suit's sleep mode, perhaps to keep him calm or docile, or perhaps because it assumes he needs more sleep, like a baby...

"protection" is really the big theme i'm thinking about. it's not hard to read olimar's story in pik3 in contrast with his story in pik4. he crash lands on a planet, is in a sort of desperate state, comes across a weird creature, and the weird creature gets very attached to him and in a way keeps him away from others visiting the planet. though this time olimar's suit wasn't damaged, i wonder if the plasm wraith's instinct was to keep him in the oak (where there are no real monsters, only plasm clones) in order to protect him from the outside world.

(or maybe his suit WAS a bit damaged, and that's why it keeps activating sleep mode?)

as in that post i just reblogged - there's for sure a running theme of olimar's fate being intertwined with pnf404 and the creatures there. they love him so much, and sometimes it's wonderful and sometimes it's terrifying because it's a love that can't be understood in human terms. they want to keep him, because he completes them somehow.

finally, i'm wondering if louie met plasm wraith before olimar did (that's how he knows what it tastes like...) and that's why he warned him away from the oak. if so, what did the plasm wraith think of louie, i wonder?

[digitalgate02]

Y’know, one of the things this fandom seemed to be divided into two parts is about Frontier and Takuya’s “Dark Evolution” in the story. Some pointed it was “Vritramon rampaging phase” in the story, and some would consider “Takuya reverting into Flamon” as the dark evolution of this series.

First, what are the characteristics of Dark Evolution, according to the older three series + Savers? Mixing strong negative emotions and forcing your digimon to evolve. All cases of Dark Evolution before and after Frontier were like this. (I know, the OG Taichi was mostly by being a reckless idiot, but i like to think the novel version explained something a little more about this event)

Character has strong negative feelings and then forces their or someone else’s digimon to dark evolve into a mindless beast. – That’s how things worked in Adv’99, 02, Tamers and Savers.

(you may notice that instead of Daisuke dark evolving his partner, it’s Ken who forces a dark evolution on Taichi’s partner. Which implies yeah anyone could do that. Funny enough, Ken also fits the criteria established in those series: He is a self-absorbed and arrogant kid, so those emotions are mixed in the mix and this is why he evolves Agumon into SkullGreymon first. He only manages to get MetalGreymon virus after he cheats with his Evil/Dark Spiral. Meanwhile Daisuke lacks malice, lacks negative feelings. So he’s just a dumbass in ep 22 getting into trouble in the process.)

However, Ghost Game brought a new view of this concept by introducing GulusGammamon. As you can see, Gulus is a dark evolution (somehow) and it differs from every mindless-beast-on-rampage case we watched until now. But before going into GG take on it, I’d like to talk about the peculiar case in Adventure’s reboot series (aka Psi, or Adv:2020) first:

So, one of the things we saw in the episode from the reboot is that Taichi was getting consumed by the dark miasma around the place. We never had something like this before as well – this series was trying to “corrupt” Taichi too. The last time we saw a “tamer” corruption was on a Drama CD which was more a very weird and for fun story (this was done before the Drama CDs for digimon started to get serious stories) than something to take seriously. Anyway, the reboot was trying to corrupt Taichi first. Second is… Taichi dies for a moment which triggers Agumon’s dark evolution based on Agumon’s strong feelings (and the dark miasma, probably). This is going to be reused in Ghost Game, actually.

Now, back to Ghost Game!! Fun facts for you: Gulus is the only Gamma-form to not have a ring on his wrist/paw. Also, Gulus does not need Hiro to evolve either! But it was triggered by Gammamon’s strong feelings at first – when Bokomon died in front of him. Other cases were probably for survival in a life-or-death scenario for him or any of the trio. Gulus’ has another speech pattern from the other Gammamon forms, and the most important detail is he’s totally sentient. Gulus is more like another personality to Gammamon than being a feral beast in rampage.

But what can Ghost Game help us to decide which “dark evolution” scenario counts for Takuya/Frontier?

First of all, if we ignore Takuya for a moment, Frontier already has a “dark evolution” character – Kimura Kouichi. Duskmon and Velgmon are evil forms, and they’re purified into Loweemon and KaiserLeomon later. And heck, Kouichi himself is the “Warrior of Darkness” c’mon guys!!

BUT, Kouichi’s role is most suitable for the “redeemed villain” category. So yeah, which of Takuya’s cases suit the dark evolution criteria?

I’d like to reveal that, maybe, Frontier was ahead of its time. Because now that we got Ghost Game to break the norm and show us a new approach from this concept, it can help us here to notice Flamon was sort of a dark evolution for Takuya.

Frontier already makes clear that the Beast spirit forms cannot be controlled that easily, and I’ll shamelessly plug Shiha’s meta about everyone’s cases here in case we start the discussion about Izumi again.

So if we consider Vritramon the “dark evolution case”, you could say most of the kids in Frontier had it too. Which is odd, right?

But, if you consider Flamon an unusual dark evolution case, one like Gulus is now, it makes some sense. Dark evolution in the Digimon franchise is sort of “punishment” for not raising your digimon correctly – It’s a challenge, and you have to beat this obstacle to gain the new power/form to proceed. Dark evolution does not always mean “evil form” as well, just, as Gennai puts it in the end of Adventure, “a form not suitable for certain occasions” – So this concludes my thesis that Frontier started the unusual dark evolution forms instead.

Thank y’all for reading~

[drifloonz]

PLEASE CONTINUE RAMBLING ABT MISSINGNO I WANNA HEAR MORE OF UR THOUGHTSSS

basically, the missingno ramble came about bc i always thought that initially, pokemon were always supposed to be able to be turned into data and shit. eg, how pokeballs even work, how the pc works, how trading works, etc.

this is kind of long ( not really but a few paragraphs ( nevermind i made it longer. ) ) so im gunna put it under a readmore just so i dont irritate ppl in whatever tags i put this in

idk if theres evidence for this, it just feels like pokemon implied that more and has been recently backtracking and going "oh no theyre not actually like DATA lol." and kind of retconning it. but maybe im pulling all of this out my ass but idk it felt early gen pokemon was much more in that sort of direction. there were a lot of different directions in early gen pokemon in general, i feel

ANYWAYS given that i subscribe to that more than whatever theyre doing with the canon explanations for shit now ( also not helped by my general fascination with technology, ai, and glitches esp in fiction and how interesting they are if written well ), i think missingno is just . a glitched pokemon. which obviously. but. Like. it used to be a pokemon. they can be made easily if something fucks up in the data transfer from physical to pokeball or pc or during trading or something like that.

well, maybe not easily- i imagine missingnos are only made from particularly bad cases of this. complete malfunctions and breaks, probably. which would also be why missingno and glitch pokemon like the bad egg, M', female symbol, ? symbol, whatever other ones you can think of were much more prominent early gen and pittered out more in later games ( not entirely obviously, but yknow ) - technology advanced more and became more secure so these types of things happened less often.

and i think in terms of possible mew clone, they are clones of mew that could not turn into ditto because an error happened technologically. instead of biologically/physically, which is how ditto wouldve been made. why are they in the shore? who knows. maybe theyre kind of thoughtless and just somehow get physically dumped into the cinnabar shore. god knows why its kind of hard to integrate game glitch to actual story/lore but by god im doing it.

anyways. because of this in strangled red, i think missingno isnt an all powerful entity. i think its just something that fills miki's corpse with garbage data and puppets her around like a zombie. which would be oddly fitting for a pokemon that i think could be caused by a trading fiasco or other technological malfunctions that happen to pokemon in those sorts of things.

miki just got the worse of it physically, not glitch-wise. she just died. which, at least she got to go out and not be in eternal limbo. until, well, steven stepped in, but who knows if shes even sentient enough or if her soul is even in missingno-ified miki at all. i think its slightly there, just a fragment of it- but its mostly a husk.

when the trading incident happened, i imagine that if there's an error the failsafe in whatever trading mech you use immediately sends the pokemon back to the original trainers, but something screwed up in the wiring so she likely turned physical at the wrong time while still in the trading tube, which then ended up with the wires being wrapped around her neck, or maybe even stabbing into it.

i like to think in the strangled red universe it's a not very common thing that maybe even was the first or only reported incident. steven and mike just got extremely unlucky.

... which probably did not help stevens rage about the incident, losing his prized unique charizard who could evolve faster than any charmander ever has, and tank supereffective damage easily amongst other things and to the fact that it probably only happened to him. or at minimum a few other people ever.

why does steven know about missingno? likely tales when he was in cinnabar during his original journey about it. strangled red is a year or so before the canon story but i doubt the mewtwo thing happened exactly a year before reds story, so missingno still being there. yknow. makes sense if you think it exists like how ditto does. ( failed mew clone ) .

the only reason missingno has power is because it is a glitch, it is corruption, physicalized - in a way it was not meant to be even further than how a glitch is. pokemon can turn into data. you can see how that'd work. anything that can be digitized in the pokemon world, it has power over. i imagine something thats meant to be there like a normal pokemon or human would get corrupted by it if it touched or remained in an area too long, or if it were commanded to attack. which is why missingnos in universe have insane levels, odd or stolen cries ( along with the fact some of them just used to be a normal pokemon likely ), and are physically just a jumble of data or taking images from random pokemons appearances, and even the skeletons or ghosts of them.

ironically they are like miki, but if miki after the incident corrupted digitally and physically, and went into a state of limbo instead of outright just dying due to technical malfunctions. they probably barely remember their former lives or what they were supposed to be and become very mindless.

i also think this has interesting implications for the trade incident if it ever happened again with pokemon with trade evolutions. i don't think they'd die, i think they'd become corrupted in a similar but different way to missingno - like an unintentional and glitchy evolution akin to porygon-z.

anyways.

steven is desperate for anything and everything to bring her back, and maybe tried multiple methods beforehand if you think he was that desperate, but hey. missingno worked. even if miki's just a puppeted corpse being controlled by a mindless thing that used to be a pokemon. who is ironically, controlling a corpse of a pokemon.