#it’s confused me this whole time timeline wise

[luckycheesefoodie321]

That fight had no right to make this emotional on a saturday evening (Whole Cake Island arc)

It’s the fact that, in many ways, it directly contrasted the Usopp-Luffy fight.

Usopp voluntarily left the crew and then challenged Luffy. He was completely and abundantly clear and honest about his intentions. So Luffy had no choice but to meet that determination with a true fight. He didn’t hesitate. He fought him, without regard to their difference in ability or friendship. Or more he fought him BECAUSE of their friendship.

But Sanji came to the fight hiding the truth.

He came to the fight with the intention of deceiving Luffy about his true feelings, his true motivations, and his reasons for fighting.

And Luffy knew that. Sanji was challenging him, and he would never backdown from that. But he wasn’t about to fight his friend knowing he didn’t actually want to fight.

So he can’t fight and he can’t leave. More to the point, leaving would mean he was taking Sanji’s word and abandoning him, when he KNOWS Sanji isn’t telling the truth.

So he stands his ground. He shows Sanji that he’s going to stay there until Sanji tells him the truth. It doesn’t matter how many times he kicks him. He says as much “I know it hurts you more”. He knows that Sanji is in pain with every kick and every blow.

Which is why Sanji is practically begging him to leave. Telling him over and over to go away. So that he can stop hurting his captain, the man who reinvigorated his dream, and the friend (or nakama may have the deeper nuance) whom he believes in absolutely. So he knows at least his crew and captain would be safe from the mess he has to deal with due to his biological family and the threat of a Yonko on his tail.

But he also knows how stubborn Luffy is. If Sanji can’t make him go, then knocking him out so he can leave him behind is the only option left. So he does. He pulls out one of, if not the strongest move in his arsenal and knocks him out.

Add insult to injury, Nami slaps him before he leaves. He couldn’t say a single harsh word to her. Could barely limit his interaction with her to a glare (which I posted about). She slaps him and lays down the only blow dealt in that whole duel, which adds extra impact to his betrayal. He couldn’t say a word in fear of her never ever forgiving him.

But with Luffy, he could get away with it. Putting aside his whole notion of chivalry, on a deeper level, he can say these things with a tiny kernel of subconscious hope within him.

It’s the fact that part of him knows Luffy can sense everything he’s feeling, even if he doesn’t know why, and feels safe enough to say those harsh words to Luffy. His overwhelming trust of Luffy stays strong somewhere deep in his subconscious, so even as he tries desperately to sever ties, he knows Luffy may one day forgive him.

And to confirm that. Luffy calls after him.

“I know you’re lying. I know you didn’t want to do that. I know you’re hurting more than I am. I still need you. You’re my cook. I can’t become Pirate King without you. I won’t leave without you. I won’t eat unless it’s your food! So make sure to come back!”

So, like me, Sanji can’t do anything but cry as they leave Luffy and Nami behind. Even as his conscious brain despairs at having betrayed his captain and crew, it’s extra bitter knowing Luffy still believes in him after all that.

[cloudysarts]

Hi there!!

I want to say that your “Mabel’s muse” Au concept has absolutely called my attention, Bill mentions multiple times (Dipper and Mabel’s guide to mystery and fun and TBOB) how he likes Mabel’s personality and wanted her to be his ally…sooo the idea of an alternative time where he decided to approach her and where she trusts him and considers him as her friend is absolutely full of potential

I just think about how many stuff would change and how bill would be a little more genuine with her as he for once isn’t pretending to be an all-wise being and having to constantly rise the ego of Genius minds…instead he just has to party with a teenager whose idea of fun is quite similar to his…he doesn’t have to be the “supreme being” for once just a silly fella in order to earn Mabel’s trust

Also about how some episodes would have to take a completely different route:

maybe “Mindscapers” wouldn’t even take place…because I doubt that Mabel would trust a Bill if he went inside Stan’s head

Bill possessing her during the “sock opera”episode instead of dipper

Also don’t get me started on “the last Mabelcorn” episode. All the angst and horror that Ford would feel when he finds out about the whole friendship with bill situation reflecting himself on Mabel and probably Dipper being the one who search for the unicorn hair while ford tries to convince her that Bill isn’t trustworthy

I apologize for my rant but I seriously love your idea and sorry if it’s a bit confusing English isn’t my first language

I hope you have a nice day and thank you for reading this silly thing!!

first of all, your english is great!! second of all, i am SO sorry it took me so long to respond to this ask, it just made me so happy that i wanted to take my time to craft a response!!!!!! :DDDD (context: for people who don't know what my 'mabels muse' au is, you can check it out over here!)

you are practically SPOT ON with my ideas for this au!!!!!! but i'm gonna briefly run through all the things you brought up!!

first of all, yes, absolutely!!!! for bill, partner-ing up with mabel was a very nice change of pace. he likes stroking the ego's of genius', just for his own amusement, but he doesnt get the THRILL of just getting to PLAY very often!! he's a very childish being, at the end of the day. he enables mabel's selfishness, while getting to indulge his own, silly passions right alongside her!! and obviously, mabel LOVES being enabled <3 i imagine most of the dreams he gives her would make any normal persons eyes bleed

as for your episode ideas, you're mostly right!!! :) mindscaperers does, in fact, NOT happen in this au. in my head, i imagine gideon trying to summon him, only for an 'I.O.U' to appear where bill should be. he's busy hanging out with his favorite pre-teen!!! so gideon skips straight to his backup plan, aka, gideon rises ^^

for sock opera, i'm still on the fence a little bit. one of the reasons bill is hanging out with her at all in this au is because, unlike in the regular timeline, this bill actively wants stanford to be brought home. the reason mabel is important to him, is because he can see timelines where she presses the button in not what he seems, and keeps him from returning. in his mind, he has the greatest shot of success if mabel doesn't press it. in this au, she doesnt even hesitate to trust stan, because she has another, trustworthy voice in her head, yelling DON'T PRESS THE BUTTON. its 2v1! ANYWAY, the reason any of that matters for sock opera, is because he wouldnt have any need to possess anyone, because he has no interest in smashing the laptop! BUT.....i can see him doing it anyway. i figure, most likely, he gets mabel to (willingly) let him use her body, so that she can work on her sock opera while her body sleeps. i just imagine a bill-possessed mabel up at 3 am, covered in hot glue and googly eyes as he tries to work it out shjdkfhjsdkf. but......honestly, he probably destroys the laptop in the process :) just to fuck with dipper <3 not that dipper ever finds out its her. he has no idea that mabel was ever possessed/has no reason to suspect her, because at this point, he still doesnt think bill is real. that is....until the last mabelcorn.

IN the last mabelcorn, mabel reveals to ford that she does recognize bill, and that he lives in her brain! she says it really excitedly, at the table, while dipper kind of just rolls his eyes about it. to her, its vindicating, because it's the first time anyone has ever acknowledged bills existence. but to ford, its HORRIFYING, because he knows it isn't just a coincidence. he knows he has to do something, but he doesn't know what, right away. this is where our ideas differ a little bit, because i think that mabel still WOULD be the one retrieving the unicorn hair! ford just didnt tell her what the hair was for. ford sends her off, because he wants to brainstorm a way to get him out of her head, preferably without hurting her/her memories. he also plans to bill-proof dippers mind in the process, just in case mabel is too far gone already. the events here happen basically the same (with minor tweaks), but instead of dipper suspecting that ford is evil/bill-possessed, this is where he finally learns that bill is real at all. ford tells him about his backstory, and explains the REAL reason he sent mabel out to get the unicorn hair, etc etc. he loves mabel a lot, but hes not sure how to go about dealing with this situation yet. its not HER fault she trusted bill, but he knew that if he just tries to tell her hes evil, she wont believe him. shes known 'her muse' longer, and as of right now, he's never lead her wrong. just like what happened to him in the past...

i wonder how mabel would feel if she only heard the end of that conversation...

(more of this au here and here!)

[currentfandomkick]

Prompt:

Desiree overhears bruce wish for a do-over with his robins.

Said robins end up aged down and only with those memories of when they first were acknowledged as Robin by Bruce. Anything after? Gone.

Now Dick is 8 ready to destroy these people stealing his mom’s nickname for him. Yes he is deranged and feral. Yes he is assaulting Damian the most, as the kid also attacks him. He’s also certain Damian is mew to the states too and annoyed he cant understand the kid.

Jason is 12 and dealing with a Lot of homeless kid truama and whiplash of rich place and who are these other kids and why is the tiniest one trying to kill the second tiniest? Stop that! (Jason, the most responsible somehow) Damian listens to him best without the use of orders. (Only way to get Damian to listen otherwise) and is working on teaching Damian about how the states and Gotham work. Jason is the Great Culture Teacher, and hoarding food stashes and go bags everywhere. Just in case. Yes he has some for everyone and is only a little upset his peer Tim vanished before he could give him his.

Tim is 12 too, realized Batman had Jason Right There and fucked off back home to see what happened timeline wise. He decided to visit his apparent step-mom, Dana, and gets to meet his apparent(?) boyfriends (deal’s choice, just have there be two for Tim’s confusion as ‘i pulled not one but two hot boys? How?) reasons. Tim is Learning what he did in the last 6 years and is questioning how his older self stopped with a semi-regular sleep schedule and.. had no spleen? Dana, can we get that checked for me that mine’s still there and if i keep it? Yay. Oh, this should last a few months? Okay! He can work from home online and have Lucius handle the meetings—why was he made a teen CEO again?

Stephanie? Is the oldest at 15, and is baffled by the whole situation. She goes to see Oracle and handles patrols under Babs’ eye with a confused Cass. Yes Stephanie is mad at Tim and believes he was cheating on her at this time, but knows the Tim she saw was smaller. And this is in the future from her POV. She’s still mad. Also the least likely to cause problems on patrol atm as she’s already trained and threatened to break out Spoiler if he tries to stop her. Her favorites and Damian (he gets killing should be an option, but needs to work on his selection process) and Jason, who Gets being a poor kid. Dick stops attacking her on sight but is a savage and insults her form. He ranks below Tim due to proximity, and the fact this is a Tim before they dated.

Damian? Back maybe 2 years, to the mindset of ‘if i dont kill my predecessor, i am unworthy of my role by Father’s side.’ Problem: he and Dick are fighting (both initiate) and Alfred and Jason (when did his zombie guard get so small?) are the only ones able to separate them successfully. He is not allowed on Patrol, but Brown is as she’s able to run solo otherwise and Father has recruited her using Robin. Father has explicitly forbade attacking her in the manor, cave or otherwise on property, and forbid killing. Brown is the only one besides him questioning this, even if it’s mostly over comms… and he is absolutely working on learning magic to undo this spell and return to his rightful place damnit!

Bruce has Many Regrets about that wish. And hates magic

Meanwhile Danny is trying to work out which wishes of Desiree’s are safe to undo, as apparently her last spree included taking out Joker, who was well overdue for that, and helping a lot of families reunite. He’s not undoing that. But also she did help gorilla grodd take over a city. He. He’s gonna need help, isn’t he?

[taemcains]

do you think requiem's update was weak?

in general, now that there only final episode left, what are your thoughts on season 2?

what a mess.

not one thing i would've predicted about s2 months back is now true, nor does it even feel like the same story. everything i loved about hsr and what made it distinct and unique — the snowy landscape, a desolate small town crumbling under its own history and sins, how the setting perfectly reflected lane's insides, the mystery of the lis, not knowing who we could trust, if we could trust lane herself, her trying to understand and come to terms with the humanity ripped from her — all of it sacrificed for... what?

nothing is eerie, and with how the most horrific events happen so casually and are brushed over in seconds — the shredder, kira's death — the shock value is starting to wear off, and what's left underneath does not hold up. what i'm confused about is why and how it feels like she's both rushing through and at the same time it's snail paced.

i think she has a few major plot points in mind, and is filling the gaps between them with whatever (which is what the entirety of season two has been) which is fine but 1. she could've spread the events out over a longer timeline 2. she could've used this time to deepen our understanding of lane's psyche and her relationships with the lis instead of fitting in every apocalypse fantasy she can conceive of.

everything is stagnant. lane, the plot. i can't even call the lis stagnant because when have they ever felt vivid? they have a defining trauma and she ran with it — dmitry and pavel, greg and emma, and since anna doesn't have any we have a 'i'm a girl and i like girls?!' situation at their grown age in an apocalypse. she's following the same format as s1 for s2, but in s1 it worked as the equal parts allure and wariness made sense for two people born/made closed off and suspicious yet yearning for connection. but in s2, a time to deepen and split open the past, motivations, to provide a solid ground for the basis of their affection, they're staying afloat on physical attraction and half-assed omg their trauma 🙁

a main character like lane deserves character arcs to be treated with as much importance as plot progression. the mercy/no mercy stat feels like a convenient way to wash her hands off actually showing how lane gets to that point. it's unnatural, and it leaves me frustrated with lane who is still the same girl we saw in s1e1.

what has changed in two seasons, both plot and character wise? if s1 was utilized to set the framework for the rest of the story, such as by giving us glimpses of her childhood, then s2 should've delved into the emotional aspect of it. while the impact of it on her views and relationships is shown, nothing ever seems to challenge it. events pass by without a reverberation in her soul; all her inner monologues are some vague opinions she believes as fact about humanity and its nature and nothing, not the plot, not the lis, ever seem to make her question it. i'd thought the whole point of writing a character like her in a setting with high-risk, deadly, tense situations is to force her out of the shell she confines herself to, and make her look at her own light as well as darkness. what is the point if she's never forced to confront them?

so of course the romance routes are lacking in truth and depth. cain has the excuse of subtext and parallels and soulmateism, but what about the rest? i don't know too much about dmitry, but greg's route is both painful and baffling. on what basis does he dream of domestic bliss when he knows as much about her as any random member of the squad? at the end of s2 (2/3rd into the book!) their romance is still based off 'you're a fantasy, you're my reality.' while cute, is that all she can think of for them? some vague unexplained attraction and lane liking to be desired? greg has nice shoulders and a sister, then what?

she could've shown them seeing an aspect of themself in her (where i assumed dmitry's route was heading), or sympathise with her, but how are they falling for her without knowing her depths? based off an inexplicable attraction alone. more than halfway through. it's so unbalanced. does she even like them? does she even know them? (yan 😴) does it make sense for a mistrustful character like lane to fall for some rando? with cain, she shows affection in her own way but greg's scenes are just pitiful.

no need to speak of anna. i'd argue someone shouldn't be telling you to not be homophobic, but let's set that aside for now and look at writers who have at the very least heeded the fandom's criticism and concerns and took a step towards providing better representation. i don't care what vision she has (which isn't even counting how anna hasn't been given a consistent personality – why would she pull away in disgust when she made it abundantly clear she's into women in s1?) if the people you're attempting to represent tell you it's problematic and uncomfortable, you listen. it reeks of arrogance on her part.

the -2 female characters in this book get such... strange treatment. anna appears to plot dump about the infection, or be lane's walking wardrobe. kira... not to be the friend that's too woke but every single man in the squad sustaining some kind of injury and bouncing back but kira had to be explicitly sobbing and sniveling to lane for a chance to live, and still die, after that whole 'i'm going to move on' epiphany? nick and noah who were kidnapped and held by the cultists for forever, lestor who got eyeballed by an infected, but it was kira who had to die by falling into a pit?

the only defense i hear anymore is of the plot and it's unique, twisted charm and. well! we haven't made headway in an entire season, and keep getting dragged off into useless side plots. as a friend @cainlane 🤍 aptly put it,

i was talking to a mutual today ab how funny the plot looks when the entirety of s2 follows the formula of squad finds out something and goes there -> cult is (and by what means i have no idea) already there -> they fight -> cult goes away (once again by what means idk)

the foreshadowing is ridiculously vague, all required information is somehow conveniently preserved in documents, and it's getting exhausting to read it all over again every update, when we all know how the scintillating potential of s1 could've carried over into s2.

i tried very hard to think of a positive, something that has improved from s1 and nothing comes to mind. oh well. i'm still going to be (tentatively) seated for the rest of the book but know it's with a heavy heart.

also the diamond choices are ridiculously expensive for nothing ❤️ suck my dick

[fyeahnix]

Ok lemme talk about this season of Arcane, the ending, and most importantly, Sevika. If you don't want spoilers, back away now but I'm leaving this open because people have a tendency to not open or read my posts with read more cuts after them 🙃

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First off, I will say that I like Arcane a lot. Like a LOT. I've watched the first season 4 times (rarely do I watch anything more than once) and I think it's a masterclass in adult animation. Fortiche really put everything into this series.

That being said...

While I did like season 2, I don't think it was enough. Animation wise it was phenomenal, writing wise...I think it could have been better. As I've learned through doing research for my Sevika fics, the League of Legends universe, lore, and worldbuilding is fucking MASSIVE and even if I don't give two shits about that community or game, I have to give it props in that department because they really put a ton of work into it to make it feel alive. Maps? Short stories? Timelines? Race and culture? Apex could never...

That ofc is why it's hard for me to say that the writing is amazing. We had far too many characters to keep track of in season 2 with far too many plot threads to finish in two seasons. I think ideally, this series should have been 3 seasons instead of 2. Acts 1 and 2 could have been its own season, and Act 3 could have been its own season. If not that, then at least one more episode per act would have helped a lot. Things just progressed and wrapped up far too quickly for my liking.

Also not a huge fan of how quickly video game related media tends to dip into the whole timeline and multidimensional business. It def works well for some games but here? Idk I guess it was bound to happen given some League character's abilities, but the stakes just elevated far too quickly for me. Not a fan of Viktor becoming one of the main antagonists at all, and DEFINITELY not a fan of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun being sidelined for an "enemy of my enemy is my friend" thing with the war against the Noxians. It makes sense, I just wish "war with the Noxians" came at a later date so we could focus on the twin cities.

And speaking of the generational conflict between Piltover and Zaun, let's talk about Sevika.

As I said before, Sevika is the most qualified person to become the leader of Zaun and I stand by that even after the ending. But first....what about her found family? Isha sacrificed herself and Sevika gets no on-screen reaction? The last two episodes just progressed SOOOO FAST that we and some of the characters didn't even have time to breathe. Did Sevika even get time to mourn for Isha? What about Jinx, who is now gone? Sevika barely even encountered Vander! I would have loved to see some of the aftermath there because I think season 1 did a better job of allowing characters time to process their emotions and grief, even if the pacing was still kinda fast. It was acceptable!

I am sad af she didn't get more lines, but remember, Sevika has always been a side character in this series. An important side character but a side character no less. The promo shot of her now feels like...what was the point? (more on that in a sec) but considering how many characters and plot points and plot threads they had to account for, I am not surprised she didn't get more screen time. Hell, Vi and Caitlyn didn't even get a chance to have a full conversation on eveything that happened and Caitlyn didn't even apologize on screen. The fuck bro.

Now about Sevika's ending....I am very happy she isn't dead. Like dawg, you have no fucking idea how happy I am about it. SHE FUCKING LIVED. But....

I am seeing some people saying they're not happy or they're confused or that her ending doesn't make sense. And I just disagree with those points. Let me explain why.

I posted something earlier today about it, but again, as people don't open my read mores, I'll repost it here:

We absolutely do not know how much time passed between the war and the final few shots of the season. So Sevika joins the council. I DO NOT THINK she would do this unless there's a good reason for it, and that's why I'm guessing she will be Zaun's ambassador on the council. That war probably significantly changed the relationship between Piltover and Zaun and while old wounds will take more than a fucking war to heal, her being on the council now means she directly has a say in Zaun's future. Remember, the council was literally about to hand Zaun their independence before Jinx blew it up, and Mel was in support of it. As I said before, Sevika is respected down there at a bare minimum with all the factions. She would know better than anyone how to lead Zaun at this point. So yeah I get the hesitation, but it makes sense in my eyes. And it makes it likely that Sevika could show up again in a future League animation, if not become a whole champion.

I like her ending. I am sorry but it just makes fucking sense. Sevika is extremely loyal to her home and her people of Zaun. We've seen that time and time again. She was willing to go to war and die for those people not just against Piltover but also the Noxians, so why on fucking earth would anyone believe she's making a bad choice here?

She is now in the best possible position anyone in Zaun could be to advocate for their independence and support their growth. She knows the chem barons and brought them to peace, she gained the respect of the Firelights with Scar leading them in Ekko's absence, and she even got the Jinxers together with them before the Noxian attack on Zaun. Sevika has experience, she has the ear of the people, she knows what it's like down there, she is made to lead and help advocate for them!!!!

Believe me I get that whole "changing things from the inside" angle doesn't work more often than not, but this doesn't feel like "changing from the inside," it feels like "let me advocate for my people's actual independence so we have a starting point to become self sufficient." Again, Piltover was literally about to let Zaun gain their independence, and while none of the previous council members that agreed to it are there, Mel is/was. Who's to say she didn't help negotiate for Sevika to sit on the council and start (or complete!) the Zaun independence process before she left for Noxus? I can't imagine Sevika would just show up to the table and sit there if she didn't have a damn good reason. Like come on now. This woman has seen first-hand what Piltover is capable of and does not like them nor looks like she wants to be there. But she's seen what Piltover has done to her people first-hand, and after learning from both Vander and Silco, this is how she feels she can best protect her people.

She IS the new leader of Zaun and their ambassador at the council.

And lastly, we've been told that some characters will be returning in future League animations. Mel seems like an absolute given, but what about Sevika? Zaun's story is only just beginning, and yeah they said they'd like to branch out to other regions, that doesn't mean a cameo or maybe another medium can't be used to continue that story (a book, perhaps??).

Anyway yeah those are my thoughts...

[epicfroggz]

While i agree with you that it's very likely the abyssal serpent isn't an outer god and more of an eldrich parasite, you don't see other outer gods being obsessed with consuming and destroying the demigods they cursed. Most of them feel they're just forces of nature like the rot & the frenzied flame etc.. while the Abyssal serpent show some "wickedbess" and hatred towards Messmer it will do anything to destroy him .so you think that they're similar to Radagon/Marika? I think the white blind serpent is messmer while the red one he summoned which has red eyes and multiple eyes on its body is the serpent of the abyss, so they're kinda still different entities? While i think the abyssal serpent being Messmer is confusing but i appreciate your analysis, because it's far more interesting than the serpent being a new outer god.

Hi, thanks for the ask! I will attempt to clear it up!

I do not believe the Abyssal Serpent is attempting to consume or destroy Messmer, at least not intentionally. As is the theme of the DLC, perspective must be considered—the serpent is malevolent, but to who?

(long post under cut!)

The Abyssal Serpent is not stated to be harming Messmer, as far as I can tell. The only potential harm it could be doing is eating away at his kindling, but it is his flame that is the curse: “Messmer despised his own fire. Time and time again he hoped to rid himself of it, but ever did it burn” (Messmer’s Orb). So, it can be said the serpent is eating at the kindling instinctually and/or in an attempt to help snuff it out. Messmer explicitly has tried to get rid of his flame, but has not tried to get rid of the serpent—instead, he accepts it:

“The winged snakes were Messmer's constant companions. They were there when the base serpent was sealed away behind his eye. They were there through his eternity of suffering. They will accompany him yet, in his hideous new form born when he destroyed the grace granted by his mother. They have accepted his fate as much as he.” (Messmer’s Helm)

We’ll get back to the winged serpents in a moment, but note the timeline here: it first states the base serpent was sealed, THEN Messmer went through an eternity of suffering, THEN he removed the seal and was reborn anew. It might be hideous, but it’s his, not something his mother or anyone else has done to him. Thus, the serpent’s malevolence must have been directed at outside forces. Marika does not often directly interfere with something or someone unless it could bring personal harm to her or the Erdtree—such as when she personally slew the Fell God. Yet, she plucked out her own son’s eye and put in place the seal to contain the Abyssal Serpent, despite the consequences this may have for Messmer. The serpent was that much of a threat to her, hence why I believe it is the “traitor to the Erdtree” that was foretold. It was not even the flame part that concerned her, but the serpent’s great powers of Shadow, like I explained in the last posts.

(The whole sealing ordeal has an air of “I’m doing this for your own good” which I’m certain Messmer wholeheartedly believed. Being called an accursed traitor your whole life just for existing must’ve sucked so, yeah, seal away. I’ll go blind for you, Mother; I’ll take the blame for you, Mother; I’ll do anything you ask of me, Mother��and yet, she still didn’t trust him enough to not remove it one day, and left him abandoned in the Land of Shadow. If she had just loved him as he was instead…)

On the subject of the winged serpents—I believe you are confusing them a bit there. The winged serpents are a separate entity from Messmer and the Abyssal Serpent. Messmer himself is a black serpent with red eyes all over its body, while the winged serpents are red with green eyes; Messmer is blind, the winged serpents are not. The winged serpents only appear white in phase 2 because they are shedding, though under the shed texture you can see they are still red.

They are called “wise friends” and “constant companions”, lending to the winged serpents being separate entities from Messmer, and this can also be seen in their design. They don’t grow out of him in a seamless or natural way, instead seeming as though they’re impaled through him, and Messmer and the Abyssal Serpent do not share design traits with the winged serpents like they share traits with each other. The winged serpents are the natural wardens of the Abyssal Serpent, stated to “keep the base serpent at bay and hold its power in check” (Winged Serpent Helm). This says to me they have been performing this task since before the seal, otherwise there would be no need for them. Consider also that for all its malevolence, the Abyssal Serpent did not cause any catastrophes in particular, else we would have heard about it. It was only prophesied to. Between the winged serpents and Messmer’s own compassionate self, the serpent’s lust for destruction was not acted upon (or was channeled to fulfill his mother’s wishes instead). If I may indulge Freud for a moment, Messmer was balanced—the Abyssal Serpent was the instinctual id, the winged serpents the logical superego, and Messmer the mediating ego between them. Something about the winged serpents being specifically “wise” makes me think of that, like they are Messmer’s personal advisors. His equals, and revered as the symbol of his army.

I say all this in efforts to explain that Messmer was whole, and will be whole again. That his serpentine nature was despised was a matter of public opinion, of what was writ in the Golden Order, of what he asked everyone to do—“Direct thy maledictions, thine ire, and thy grief towards me alone” (Messmer’s Set). The serpent within may be a scary and lightless and hideous monster, but he accepts that. He is what he is. When he removes the seal, the only thing that changes is that he has disappointed his mother; he is still just as lucid as he was before. He is still Messmer.

“Embrace thine oblivion, as shall I.”

- Froggo

P.S. I may have downplayed in this post how the Abyssal Serpent is inherently destructive and painful to Messmer, and like, brooding a hundred snakes inside him (more on that later), but what I’m getting at is that this is a natural thing he was born with, while the seal was an unnatural thing that was done to him. The serpent is a disorder that does not wholly define him but is still a part of him, while the seal was an improper cure that only repressed his self. Marika often hides away that which she does not want to deal with—out of sight, out of mind, as they say…

[cardinalcheerio]

I believe that while dick is a horrendous driver; so are the rest of the Batkids

I mean especially the ones who were robin/Batgirl wayyy before they could drive.

Examples:

Dicks driving and we all know he's trash. I mean. I haven't read many of the comics. But I can't imagine someone who grew up riding trains in the circus, then being chauffeured (thats hard to spell) around until hes old enough to move to a different city (I'm not from a city but most people walk right?) Then driving a police car which a guarantee nobody cares how he's driving in it. Ain't no way bro knows road rules/courtesy.

Jason was too poor for cars, then I suppose he knew how they work. But knowing how a car works and knowing how the road works especially in gotham are two very different things. He drives a motorcycle (badass) which has some different rules, and honestly there is no way he knows how to drive timeline wise. He died at 16, so no licence/learning (doubt he learned at 15 in gotham.) Came back as an adult after being in nanda par bat then traveled via motorcycle or roof. There is no time he would've learnt to drive a car.

Tim, honestly. I just think Tim would stare into the road and either cause 6 crashes or not even remember driving. He's very detail oriented, but also crazy busy so I'd see him speeding, thinking he could drift out of the way of a stopped car and realize, "oh shit. Not the batmobile this doesn't stop as well!". Also honestly, who would've taught Tim to drive? YouTube?

Steph, shed hit every curb in history. I have no reason to believe this, because steph is criminally underrepresented and i can't find any in depth stuff bout her. But i just think she'd be blasting music and some idiot would cut her off, she'd get pissed (as any gothamite would), cut him off and get hit. Bruce would be buying her a new car cause whats the point of having a billionaire be your pseudo father if he ain't gonna pay for shit?

Cass, i think she could drive if needed, but just a casual drive to get coffee or something? Road laws in America are confusing as shir cause rhey change everywhere you go. And it's gotham so nobody is gonna follow any, so pretty much anyone but Alfred is fucked. I think she'd be a good high speed driver tho

Damian, bros 12 (in my mind atleast), and has been chauffeured around his whole life. Ain't no way.

Duke, honestly. May be the only hope. Just cause he had a stable family for a bit that prob talked to him a bit about driving. Still wouldn't trust him driving me, though. Plus, Gotham is a city and most people prob walk cause of the traffic.

Could you imagine comming home from somewhere and turning on the radio to see why you're stuck, "we have reports that every road in gotham is shit again because of some second rate villian and batman. Those motherfuckers are the reason we have such high taxes. Just sell your car and move. Probably quicker to leave for metropolis than wait in this traffic.:

[toomuchracket]

thinking of d-word Christmas cabin trip with baby Amy in a snow suit (specifically picturing baby Maggie from the simpsons star snow suit)

p.s this may not work time line wise I do not know when she was born 💔

lyla is d word baby girl but oh my GOD i love this so much the star snow suit in the simpsons makes me weepy fr. and the timeline works!! she'll be 7 months old in december, and the trip to the cabin is her first proper little holiday - matty suggests that the three of you (and mayhem) go the week before christmas, because it's been a busy year (tour/baby being born/you literally helping launch a record label imprint) and christmas with your families is going to be insane with everyone spoiling lyla, so it'll do you all some good to get away. not that you go far, i think actually you end up driving to stay in a lodge in the lake district, because you think the baby is "just a TEENSY bit too little to take to lapland, matty. we want her to remember it, yeah?"; it's lovely, though, the place you end up in, quiet and cosy and beautiful, with lots of space for lyla to practice her crawling (she's so close to getting the hang of it!!). the days are spent slowly, mornings full of baby cuddles and making elaborate breakfasts, taking your time to get ready before going for a long walk in the snow - lyla has an array of adorable snowsuits that you and matty are actually obsessed with, including a replica of maggie's star one from the simpsons that honest to god makes him cry more than the literal baby lmfao, and her little face when she saw snow falling for the first time was the actual funniest thing ever. she liked it, in the end, but there was a LOT of confusion initially; matty got the whole thing on video, her frowning at the white flakes and looking baffled when you showed her how to catch one and watch it melt on her little mittens, and when i tell you it went platinum in the family groupchat AND the band groupchat... yeah. it's also so apparent that your daughter genuinely just stole your whole face, on this trip, because she's always got a little beanie hat on and you can't see healy hair - like, your insta is private, for friends and family only, and when you post a cute pic of you and lyla that matty took the comments are just "oh my god she's YOU" and george being like "i'm high and this is scaring me. why is there a big you and a little you" lmfao. even matty posts a pic of lyla on main feed, actually; not with her face in, of course, but a selfie where she's fast asleep on his chest in another adorable outfit (christmas onesie) and you're asleep snuggled into his neck, captioned "being cutest baby ever and hottest mum ever is exhausting apparently. fit dads are a bit better at staying awake though" lol he's so weird. but yeah, lots of long walks and pub lunches and group hugs watching christmas films and playing fetch with the dog, the perfect quiet getaway before you go to denise's for christmas. lovely <3

[katrina37973]

Thoughts on WOTR Part 1/?

I had the joy of watching this in the cinemas with my friend and both of us deeply deeply enjoyed it.

TLDR: Good solid movie with compelling characters and story. Excellent homage to Tolkein. It's not pretending to be anything but an addition to the current Legendarium, an insight to a period of history which has very little actually written about (canonically at least).

Apologies for horrible grammar and spelling in advance. The following's just my thoughts on Helm, Hera, Wulf and Targg.

Spoilers for The War of the Rohirrim. It's a long one.

Helm Hammerhand

Really liked how they depicted his hot-headedness and his love for his children. I jsut adore parent and children bonds, and the weight of his love was so very clear. The whole thing was so very tragic, seeing two of your children killed and the third probably awaiting a worse fate? Tragic, absolutely tragic but so fun to watch. His temper is something that sort of parallels Wulf I think. There's a line there somewhere but I can't really voice it yet, maybe it just needs a little more time to stew.

It was a little unexpected for him to exile Wulf; it felt strange as while it was a rash decision, and while that fits his character, it didn't really make sense? From the brief sense of the culture of Rohan, it seemed family and strong relationships were extremely valued which made him purposefully exiling Wulf strange as a) it basically is an invitation to hate Helm with reason and b) he’s aged and, set up to be, wise in terms of battle and strategy which means surely, surely he would have realised the moment he said it that this would come to bite him back? This points a bit of a nitpick, but I can't help wonder if they went the way of self-exile for Wulf, what that would have changed in terms of storytelling. 

Another thing that sorta applies to other characters too is how they depicted the time passing. Originally when the narrator says ‘seasons past yet no sign of Wulf appeared’ thing, Helm looked exactly the same as he did in the beginning which was his hair. If they made him grey-haired, then it would be easier to show the time passing eg, give white streaks throughout hair; in addition to this, you could have had his entire hair white in Hornburg to emphasise the extent of his grief. Might even help play with the whole wraith arc. 

Speaking of which, the wraith-arc was excellent, I loved how they incorporated that view from ordinary people into it, it really sold the power and influence Helm had on his people and his enemies. The thing I really didn't like/felt negatively about but understood was how he immediately became this tough, muscled fit person especially so soon after being depicted as a gaunt, skeleton, shell of a man due to his grief. It doesn't make sense narratively too as it disrupts the whole thing about being trapped and supplies dwindling low in Hornburg. Unless he stole from Wulf’s army but still, the timeline is a little confusing and his sudden supernatural strength (despite being human) to go toe to toe with a troll broke the immersion a little. 

I'm just a sucker for those story-telling narrations okay? Those implications of this becoming a legend, a myth retold again and again, there's just something about a legacy well left behind that tickles my fancy.

Hera

Loved her whole character arc except, EXCEPT, her fucking hair. I don’t mind her clothes, though her rider outfit, the one that strongly reminds me of Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, was a little too modern aesthetic. 

Starting off good/strong, I love the fact they didn’t change her thoughts on marriage. I was apprehensive for a long time throughout the movie because that’s usually how it goes, that there should be an arc, a start and an end which differs from that start belief but thank all that it didn’t go that through. She feels very ace-coded to me, the whole I'm married to nothing but death? Gorgeous. I might be a little biased here tho. 

I adore how they show her intelligence and strength. The way they subtly used her skill/knowledge with horses to set up Hama’s finale was gold. I would have loved to see more of her with her horse, and the bond they had, like short stories where she travels throughout the land before nad after the events of the movie. Just the whole movie had excellent writing and storytelling. The way they had side characters like Lief and Olwyn, build each other up is such a simple but effective way. It felt very grounded, that they had a lot of history and respect for each other. It didn't feel like any side characters were missing potential/felt out of place.

Her intelligence was not in your face, not arrogant and forced and random long tirades which I adored. As much as I loved BBC Sherlock, the way they depicted his intelligence was iffy and I’m glad they didn't go that route for Hera. I don't think I have any specific scenes in mind, just overall excellent storytelling with her. Minus that one scene where she was captured by General Targg and grunts, lass you had a sword in your belt and you’re beating your hands against the man’s back? I guess shock and adrenaline and all but it felt really weird and slightly out of character. (Unless I’m remembering wrong, I hope that’s the reason)

Now, I know this is done by a Japanese company and thus has strong ties to anime (and thus main character hair syndrome), but really? Really? I can’t get over her hair. Why would you make it red? Sure you can argue her mothers could be red-haired and that her brothers had a different mother, but what does that do but detract from the storytelling? Moments such as her brother's deaths could have been made more moving (not that it wasn't, I teared up during Hama’s scene so much, just the way the music is so mournful and muted compared to previous loud battle scenes and thundering hooves, the bond he has with his old mare, ah that scene was a masterpiece). It not only visually ties her to her family more strongly, but it signals visually the transfer of the line of kings to Frealaf. I just think it was such a missed opportunity. 

Actually, now that I thinking more, I really adore how she knows Wulf so well. Especially in that last battle, the way she purposefully pushes all his buttons, and fighting in a wedding dress? Any other movie I would be thinking distasteful thoughts but here? Beautiful shock but understandable. She’s been shown to fight before, she has access to armour (ill-fitting though they may be) but instead of acting sensible like Wulf probably expects, she trades defensive for psychological warfare and hell yeah, it rocks. The whole wedding dress was pointless and taunting and by Gods it was lovely.

A tiny nitpick but understandable why the producers did this; I like it when shows/movies show grime and tears on clothing to show the journey they went through but I understand animations long and time-consuming and really keeping track of all the rips and tears would be a such a pain.

Wulf

I love his design okay? He’s the typical bad/angsty lad and it's a stereotype that works for a reason. His character stays amazingly consistent, he’s so fixated on Hera and his vengeance and the lengths he goes for it, terrifying in the best way possible. While the inciting incident was his father's death, I think it came through quite strongly that that wasn’t the true reason why he continued on his attack. Someone else probably has already made a detailed explanation and breakdown so I‘ll leave this part be.

Other than that I don't have much strong feeling on him? Its a little strange, I appreciate him as a character but it doesn't really invoke in me anything strong. Good character set up with their childhood flashback where he gets the scar due to his loss of temper, good consistent decision made with reckless abandon.

General Targg

Okay, not gonna lie, this is my favourite character, besides Olwyn and Hera. Like dude’s doing his best and making so very sensible suggestions and he keeps getting ignored. He keeps getting ignored. He’s a strong, experienced veteran who served under Wulf’s father, probably knows Wulf since a young age and he’s doing his damn best to keep Wulf alive and satisfied (I would say happy but I think that’s not quite possible) despite the hilariously stupid decisions Wulf keeps making. I use the word hilarious because it is. Especially from Targg’s POV. This leads to the thing I’m most confused about; why did Targg stay? What is his motive here? In the end he’s killed by Wulf himself, despite him being a reasonable commander who had supported Wulf all this time. While it enforces Wulf’s character, it feels really strange to never see why Targg stays on the same side especially when Wulf makes a whole bunch of strategic blunders. It might be loyalty to father, loyalty to son thing but I dunno, I wish they had a scene or dialogue that just gives us a bit more info. Like, looking back the only reason Wulf is not as banged up as he should be with that personality and temper of his, is that Targg there’s to soothe things over and manage strategic decisions. I’m not saying Wulf’s stupid, he’s is smart and clever but you cannot convince me that Wulf would not antagonise (purposefully or accidentally) would be allies and Targg would have to play diplomat.

Honestly I think he and Olwyn would be those type who would meet in a bar/tavern and trade good stories with good (or shitty) drinks between them, and probably also complain about idiots who get themselves into trouble all the time. They're like the duo who could and absolutely would look at each other in a situation over their fighting charges, have their eyes meet and say get a load of this bullshit. Honestly, Targg didn’t get what he deserved, man really got betrayed while doing nothing but what he did for the entire movie, AKA making reasonable suggestions. 

Side notes, I really liked the depiction of horses in Rohan. Like the bond all Rohans had for horses. There were so many scenes where I was thinking, and getting annoyed, go on kill that horse and kill its rider, like the easiest way to kill a man, get their horse to kill them for you. But then I was like, but this is Rohan. Their crazy about horses (or at least what I know, the little I do of Rohan) so it absolutely would make sense for them to not treat their horses as meat shields. Their whole country/state is (probably) based on horses and travelling place to place so while it would make economic and practical sense to keep as many horses alive as possible, I think its just neat if it’s their culture that influences this decision.

[ilovetheriddler]

A Date With Fear.

(Dark Knight Trilogy) Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane x F!Reader.

Word Count: 969.

(This takes place during the events of Batman Begins timeline wise.)

Contents: A simple Coffe date, a slightly uneasy feeling.

You cautiously made your way to the agreed upon location. The new coffee place that was only about thirty minutes away from your place of work. You were still incredibly nervous and somewhat still confused at the fact that Doctor Crane had actually asked you if you wanted to meet him for coffee.

You were honestly quite a bit flustered over the whole idea. Jonathan Crane was by no means a bad looking man. In fact, you found him to be quite attractive. So, a part of you genuinely was struggling to fully wrap your head around it.

Was this a date...? No, no, it couldn't be. It was simply going to be two colleagues having a nice cup of coffee together... nothing more, nothing less. But nether the less. You were extremely excited. However... in the back of your mind were the rumors. The slight whispers and quiet courtroom chatter about Jonathan and how he truly was.

That there was something.... Off about him, that most people couldn't quite pinpoint. Of course, you thought those rumors were preposterous. Yeah, sure, Doctor Crane was a tad bit strange at times. But he's a respected and fantastic psychologist. So perhaps his odd behavior was simply a result of his chosen profession? At least, that's what you chose to believe.

You finally walk into the Cafe, it's surprising fairly empty at the moment, so spotting Doctor Crane wasn't exactly difficult, thankfully. You walked over and sat down across from him. Clearing your throat nervously before speaking.

"Dr. Crane! Um.. Good afternoon. Have you been waiting long?"

"Please, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Jonathan, I insist. And no, I just got here shortly before you did, my dear."

He adjusted his glasses slightly as he took a sip from the cup of coffee he had already ordered before you showed up. You ordered a simple coffee as well. You could feel yourself sweating, you were a nervous wreck, and you weren't even sure why! It's just two people getting coffee together for Pete's sake!

"You're awfully quiet. Is something wrong, my dear?"

"Oh.. um, it's nothing, Jonathan. I'm um... I'm not sure why I'm so nervous..."

Jonathan chuckled at this slightly, taking another sip from his coffee. You sigh to yourself and try to calm your nerves some. It's fine, everything is fine. Jonathan Crane is well-respected in his field of work. It's not like he's some type of monster that'll tear you limb from limb, so honestly, this type of worry and.... Slight fear even? Is entirely ridiculous. You reassure yourself.

He tilts his head slightly as he stares at you silently, almost like he's observing you like some lab experiment. It makes you feel slightly uneasy, and you can't quite pinpoint why.

"Tell me something, my dear. How's college going? If I recall correctly... aren't you studying to become a lawyer just like your older brother?"

The sudden mention of your ongoing education slightly took you off guard for a moment, along with the mention of your brother. You regain your composer and smile brightly at him.

"Oh! ... it's going well. The assignments can be a bit much at times, but I'm really enjoying it so far..."

"That's good to hear, I'm sure you'll make a fine lawyer, my dear. Oh, and you have my deepest sympathies for what happened to your brother. I heard that he was hospitalized?"

"Thank you... Yeah, he was on his way home from work, and he just... vanished for a few hours. When the police found him wandering down by the docks, he was terrified and paranoid. Rambling about a Scarecrow for some reason.... I'm really worried about him..."

He gets this... Strange look on his face as you talk about your brother and his current state. Almost like a slightly amused look? No, that's ridiculous. You must be imagining things. Why would Jonathan be amused by your brother's current state? It just wouldn't make sense.

"A Scarecrow, you say? That's very fascinating... tell me, would you ever consider having him transferred to Arkham? Just briefly so I could give him an assessment and try to help him?"

"A..arkham? You want me to... send my brother to arkham? ... I don't know...."

He reaches over the table and gently grasps your hand in his. A comforting smile crosses his face.

"I assure you, my dear. It would only be for a short time.... and I promise you that I'd find a way to cure your brother's paranoia and.... Fear...."

You shift awkwardly in your seat. How on earth did a simple meet-up for coffee turn into an attempt to get your brother transferred to Arkham? And why did the look currently present in Jonathan's eyes... make you so uneasy right now..? After being silent for a moment in contemplation, you sigh.

"... Alright. If you're positive that it'll help him... then I'll agree to transfer him there."

"That's good to hear... don't worry, I will oversee his treatment personally. And before you know it. Those paranoid and fear induced delusions of a Scarecrow attacking him by the courthouse will be a thing of the past... ah! Look at the time. I must be going. I really enjoyed this and had an extremely pleasant time today, my dear. Until the next time we meet."

He stands up and lays the money for both his and your drinks, down on the table. As he walks out of the coffee shop, you can't help but feel slightly flustered. Despite the turn that the conversation took, you greatly enjoyed his company. But then, something dawns on you that causes your face to Pale and your eyes to go wide....

You never mentioned that your brother said that he was attracted outside of the courthouse.

[myuminji]

I don't have much to ramble about but having 4 reincarnation aus on the go is so real, trimax -> tristamp reincarnation au drives me insane on the daily. begging to hear about the other reincarnation aus pretty pls

(also your art is so charming and lovely!! I love your comics hehe)

UOHOHOHO I SEE WE THINK ALIKE ANON 🤝 reincarnation AU ALWAYS drives me insane too!!! Trigun especially is giving me too much power for me not to waste em yknow?😩😩

(heads up: there's LOTS of rambles, and they're all VW-centric)

Timeloop/Reincarnation AU where Vash reverses the time every time he fails to save Wolfwood, despite having the guilt of knowing Wolfwood will have to go through everything again had Vash chosen to loop the timeline again...

Shouldn't he let him finally get his peace? Isn't it cruel to make him suffer yet again through this horrid nightmare?

(Have you ever imagined if his "I can see it in his eyes" or "all I see is a man forcing himself to play the devil while his heart cries out" is because Vash knows he's actually not like that? That the man he knows has been kind, kind to him. But will also fear what will happen to him if he pushes his belief upon Wolfwood... Would he rather see the Wolfwood he'd known from his past? Or would he let him kill; a cold murderer, befitting of his title as 'The Punisher' in favour of his survival? But could you still call him the same Wolfwood he's known from before? Should he even try to reverse the time again? Hadn't he suffered enough?)

Reincarnation AU trimax VW but focusing on reincarnated! Wolfwood instead, chasing after Vash at every cycle of his life so he can protect, and ultimately, save him from his misery.

(He fails, quite a lot of times. But Vash doesn't need to know how many times.)

Everything was all white. And before he knew it, it was dark. Wolfwood wakes up again in a different place than he used to live in. But more than that, a different body (It was confusing at first, but he's quick to connect the dots when he finds a familiar face he could not mistake for others, now in a wanted poster, spanning across the walls of the buildings: "Vash The Stampede" it says. Wolfwood remembers: it was the man who greets him every time he enters the shop; him donning an apron as he serves other customers and he in his working outfit, back from a job he can remember no longer...)

Star-crossed Lovers where Wolfwood eventually realised he only dies because he tries tp save Vash. He could've lived a long, normal life, even stop his loop! But he didn't. Wolfwood who'd rather live short lives and die countless times just to save him... and the closest he's been with him relationship-wise is where his death is mourned the most...

(whether he thinks it's shit or not, Wolfwood still doesn't know. But had he known it'd be the last time he sees him, he'd have at least pulled him into a kiss. Say sweetheart, how about a thank you kiss?)

Reincarnation AU (trimax->tristamp) but this time both of them have bits of recollections of the past they never told each other they know.

Vash being more deadset on stopping Nai and now EOM as his main objectives, passively avoiding visiting orphanages at all costs in his travels,

Wolfwood as a kid who knew what will become of him when he's selected by the EOM but still joins and persists through his experiments with the thought "This could help the spikey his memories seem so keen on remembering" or an "I could only meet him this way, protect him this way"

Imagine the panic that settles when the timeline doesn't line up with their previous life, "what do you mean I met the gang before the July incident, and who is this old man??" Wolfwood

Eriks going missing for 2 years as written, thinking he should really, really avoid Wolfwood for good before he gets dragged any deeper, maybe he should run away from everything this time?

And Wolfwood desperately searching for him for the whole 2 years, even though he knows he'll find him again, fearing how he gets closer to the time because "what if something is different this time and I can't meet him?" or "What if I'm not supposed to be by his side this time?"

The last one is the one I talked on prev post! Reincarnation AU (trimax->tristamp) but it's only Wolfwood who remembers, and it's mostly a "trying to move on but failing miserably because you can never say no to your (reincarnated) partner"

Wolfwood reminiscing how similar yet so different this life is... thinks how "the ticket to the future is blank, and it led me back to you"

[merlatealeaf72]

Hello, here is another FNAF The Musical theory.

I've always been confused whether the animatronics in this series are possessed, and if so by who. There's five missing kids, but at least 3 times more animatronics that are all sentient. Things just weren't really adding up for me. So watch me suffer as I attempt to theorise about who each animatronic is possessed by.

Trash and The Gang work timeline wise to be possessed by the missing children. In Monster in your Head and most of Ground Zero, they aren't sentient. But at the end of Ground Zero, Pan Stan kills Mike. I think that this was the first child Phone Guy killed possessing Pan Stan. Between Ground Zero and Web of Lies, he kills the rest of the children who possess the rest of Trash and the Gang. They then start working with Glitchtrap to get revenge on Phone Guy/ all humans. However, the children couldn't really be stuffed into a bunch of Trash like they could in an animatronic suit.

Puppet seems really likely to be possessed by Michael (go watch the Lexusinsannus video). I'm going to discuss who I think Baby is possessed by in a separate theory, so she's covered.

I think that BB may just be an AI or something. He does mainly communicate to Elizabeth through her computer, and Nate can access him through his laptop.

The rest of the animatronics are where the problems lie. First of all, why on earth are they only active at night? They say they power down at 6am, but isn't that when they need to be active. Also, at least for Freddy and friends, they don't power down like Baby does, they just go to sleep. And wait, they don't power down during the day, since Mike salvaged Chica and Springtrap during the day and they're active. THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!!

Anyway, we know that the animatronics are sentient from at least as early as Ground Zero. They are active while Mike is assessing them. My view on the timeline is that Phone Guy killed one kid, then Mike died, then Phone Guy killed the other kid in 1987 and the rest in 1988. But all of the animatronics were active before then. There's also too many of them to be possessed by the missing kids (there's 8 animatronics (Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Springtrap, Orville, Percy(?), The Beard) to 5 (known) missing kids). And they're not just like this, since when Nate said “You talk?” Freddy responds “Am I not supposed to?”.

I originally thought that maybe they were brought to life by the love from the children, but there's several things that disprove this. First, it's stated several times that kids find the animatronics “too scary”.

Secondly, Mark brings up that the animatronics are “children that were stuffed into animal suits”. Being stuffed into an animatronic suit is a decently common threat in this series: Phone Guy says it to Alexandra, Mark fears the animatronics will do it to him, and strangest of all, Springtrap tries to stuff Foxy into a Freddy Fazbear suit. I thought that this might just be something Mark thinks, but the animatronics kinda confirm this. Bonnie says that “blood and mucus” is their “natural scent” and while Nate is on the phone to Purple Guy, Chica says “the souls of the undead children keep talking to you”. While the second case could just be poking fun at FNAF as a whole, the first one is harder to write off. Nate also refers to them as “haunted animatronics”.

I guess my only real conclusion from all this is that these animatronics must also be possessed by dead kids. I can't really find anything else that proves otherwise. I don't think they're possessed by the missing kids though, that just doesn't make sense to me timeline wise. So Phone Guy probably killed a bunch of kids before Ground Zero, or maybe it was even William Afton.

I guess the TLDR of this theory is that Trash and the Gang are possessed by the missing kids, the Puppet is very likely possessed by Mike, Baby will be discussed another time, BB is just a robot/AI and the other animatronics are possessed by another group of dead kids.

(Also please let me know if I missed anything. I haven't really been keeping up with the codes in the RE insta/community tab posts, so it's very likely that I could be missing something important.)

[titsthedamnseason]

omg yes! i read the final empire a couple years ago now i loved it so much i cried a lot and then told everyone about it and my brother actually bought me a hardcover anniversary edition of the trilogy i barely own any physical copies of any media so that was such a nice birthday present but then last year and this year just the whole process of getting a job and studying beside it has taken a toll and i've barely been reading but hopefully by spring i'm done with that stress and then i can actually take the time to start reading again!

when *that* happened at the end of the final empire like i had a feeling for it the whole time and i was dreading it all the way but really dreading vin's reaction to it and i read it in bed at like 5 am so you know i cried A LOT but i kind of know kelsier is back but idk how physically or if it's just a haunting the narrative kind of thing but i know sanderson suprise dropped a novella from his pov after the mistborn trilogy called the secret history so cosmere wise i'm definitely reading the mistborn trilogy but i don't think i wanna go straight into stormlight i think i wanna read some of his standalones like warbreaker and definitely yumi and the nightmare painter! and you really like elantris so i think i'm gonna go for that because apparently it was his debut standalone but he is planning to make it a series?

then i need to research timeline wise how to read the second mistborn trilogy and if the kelsier novella comes before or after (tbh i think publication order will help with that) but i do feel i will leave stormlight to last from his work because i know they're massive books but also he's having a break from it now because it's supposed to be like a 10 book series but he's half way through and wants to write the third mistborn trilogy before he delves into the second part of stormlight i think. i remember reading about mistborn and finding out he wants it to be a trilogy of trilogies in that world set in different time periods which is pretty cool

i can't wait to talk about it with you and now i've written this in your inbox i guess you can hold me accountable for my plan next year lol

i’m so so sorry i totally missed this! the mistborn series is so special and INSTANTLY pulls you into the cosmere and brandon’s writing. that is such a thoughtful gift from your brother too wow 🥺

we can hold each other accountable because this year my goal is to read warbreaker and then finally start making some progress with stormlight. the kelsier novella i believe should be read before era 2 because after doing extensive research i have already read it lolllll. but actually i think we are talking about different novellas bc i totally read one about kelsier but i don’t think it was the secret history because that is way far down on my list to read (i have it placed after the first two era 2 books but before the third)

i am by no means an expert on the timeline stuff (considering i’ve only read 4 of the books and 2 novellas lol) and i only JUST learned how extensively brandon intends to continue the cosmere but yeah. there is lots to come and it’s insaneeeee. i’m not planning on waiting to read stormlight but i DID do a lot of research into different orders that people suggest reading the cosmere and i have a list im using to keep track of it if you’re interested

i’m super intense about reading things in the “right” order for maximum impact of everything so i watched and read so much stuff about it and there are a LOT of people like you that prefer to push stormlight to the end or break it up between other books so i would look into some tiktoks / youtube videos / web articles of recommended orders and there will be plenty to help you figure out the best way to read it in the order you want without confusion or spoilers. i basically got out my pen and paper (and notes app) and wrote down all the orders i thought i would enjoy the most based on why people liked them and then compiled them into one mega list for myself since most are pretty similar it wasn’t too difficult to frankenstein them together into one master list (although i DO think taking notes is essential or else you WILL forget)

i’ve been thinking SO MUCH about how elantris is super underrated and it genuinely hurt my heart after i finished it and saw people shitting on it so much. the story touched my heart and i haven’t stopped thinking about it maybe even more than i thought about the mistborn trilogy after i finished it. you HAVE to read it! it’s an awesome book that is incredibly well crafted and im so excited that it’s going to (eventually) continue. especially knowing that it was brandon’s debut novel and the story that started it all i don’t understand why people are so harsh on it i truly adore it so much

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Six

Upon arriving at the True Lab, Dust released Papyrus's arm, and he ran to the elevator, footsteps expertly silent behind him, likely leaving Papyrus confused as to what was going on. Dust closed the elevator doors once he got inside of it, pushing the button to go up. Killer appeared in his vision a moment later, leaning against the left side of the elevator, fidgeting with a knife.

'so, it's about time this happened. i've been waiting for it.' Killer mentioned, and Dust could feel his sight on him despite the void-like eye sockets. It was strange to feel like you're being watched by a hallucination that shared your point of view perception wise. 'it is pretty weird. just means i always have access to a mirror.'

"is there something you want?" Dust asked him in irritation.

'just wanted to say i'm cheering you on while you kill the brat.' Killer said, grinning at him, narrowing his eye sockets.

"i'm not." Dust replied.

'what?' Killer asked in confusion, eye sockets going wide and grin vanishing, and Sans appeared on the right side of the elevator, 'why not?'

"why do you think? this whole situation gets worse each time the timeline is rewound. saves don't do anything because the timeline still flows forward, reloads and resets on the other hand, those aren't that simple. now, since this seems like a genocide route, our best bet is to hide in the true lab, saving who we can and protecting them on the off chance something goes wrong. i don't know about you, but i don't feel like making the situation much worse than it needs to be, especially not by making them keep reloading after being killed." Dust explained.

'good point. it's way too dangerous and risky.' Sans agreed.

'yeah. good thinking, dustbunny.' Killer complimented, prompting Dust to roll his eyelights before noticing the pun.

"dustbunny?" Dust asked, fighting back a smirk at the pun, and Killer snickered at the reaction.

'eh, why not?' Killer asked, shrugging a bit with a slight grin on his face. Dust sighed, lowering his skull and gaze down to the floor, a mix of annoyance and irritation. 'come on, you can't even appreciate my humor in this?'

"not right now, this is a serious situation, killer." Dust sighed, closing his eye sockets for a moment as he exhaled, "not that you can even comprehend that."

'ouch. for your information, mr. emo dustball-' "i hate you." '-i am capable of being serious. don't tell me you forgot how to use humor in serious situations.'

"i don't like using humor as much anymore. too many insane moments, i don't want to prompt one." Dust said.

'that's when lv is involved. you've been calm so far. rational.' Killer pointed out.

". . . why are you right?" Dust asked.

'because i'm me.' Killer smirked, and Dust scoffed, 'look, you need to relax, dust. you're so serious, and yes, this is a serious situation, but everyone else is used to 'sans the skeleton; the pun guy; the one to keep everyone level headed and calm even when crap's hitting the fan. if you show them something's wrong, they'll panic and be freaked out.'

". . . i am getting really damn fed up with you being right..." Dust seethed, fists clenching.

'you'll get used to it. he's like us-' Dust cut Sans off.

"he's not like me." Dust glared, and Sans raised his hands.

'- in the fact that he's intelligent. he's not dumb, dust.' Sans finished.

". . . thank you for having a point instead of him saying something smart again." Dust said.

'you're welcome?' Sans replied.

'heh. you two think i'm smart~' Killer snickered.

"shut up before you make me forget the fact that i said i'd try getting along with you." Dust glared.

'fine... working with you will be such a blast~' Killer smirked, Dust rolling his eyelights.

The elevator doors opened, Dust walking over to Alphys's computers, typing in the password he'd memorized from his timeline and pushing some buttons, initiating the evacuation protocol. It would bring everyone to the True Lab, and all Dust had to do was buy time and save the stragglers. This was later in the timeline than he'd ever done it in his, but Dust was up for the challenge. He'd missed doing this.

"S-Sans?" Alphys asked in surprise, approaching him, "What's wrong? Why did you a-activate the ev-evacuation pr-protocol?"

"there's a human killing monsters in the underground, and i'm trying to save as many monsters as possible." Dust explained, and Alphys's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my god! Thank you for ac-activating it! Y-You're saving a-a lot of lives!" Alphys thanked him.

"i'm not done yet." Dust said, teleporting out, probably confusing Alphys as he did. 

Dust arrived at Snowdin, putting up bone barricades over the usual paths the human took, helping monsters get out of Snowdin and into Waterfall, though he was noticing some were already missing. When asked what was going on, Dust simply told them it was a drill, and it was important to be as fast as possible. Dust put up a bone wall barricade behind everyone, and he teleported again to the entrance of Waterfall. 

Dust was spreading the news as he went, telling everyone to go to Hotland and to The Lab. He was moving faster than he had in the past, which was probably due to his LV; he could feel it was at 20, and the increased stats were helping him out right now. He was checking through the smaller, more isolated areas of Waterfall, and he heard the ground crack open, and he saw Flowey pop out of the ground.

"Whatcha up to, Smiley Trashbag?" Flowey asked, and Dust sighed. 

'i never realized it, but you act like flowey sometimes, killer.' Sans snickered, and Dust fought to keep any humor off of his expression; Sans was right.

'wh-what?! take that back!' Killer snapped, and Sans laughed.

"none of your business, weed." Dust replied, narrowing his eye sockets at him in a glare; he didn't have time for this.

"You seem different." Flowey observed, "What gives? You've been acting weird these last few Resets, and I wanna know why." 

"it's none of your business." Dust glared.

"Well, I'm making it my business. Last Reset when you fought Mettaton, what even was that stuff coming out of your eye sockets anyways, and what the hell was up with the wardrobe change?" Flowey asked.

'dustyyy~ please, please let me talk with him~ pretty please with a cherry on top~' Killer asked as he appeared behind Flowey, giving Dust puppy eyes. Dust just looked away, unphased. 'killjoy.'

"as i said, it's none of your business." Dust repeated.

"Fine, then at least answer this: Why are you evacuating everyone? You're actually involved in this." Flowey asked, tilting his head.

"because i don't want everyone dying." Dust answered.

"You mean you don't want Papyrus dying, and the others are just for extra credit?~" Flowey asked, and Dust glared off to the side, "I see I'm right. Alright, now we're getting somewhere."

"you're wrong. are you really just here to piss me off?" Dust questioned.

"No, but it's definitely a plus!" Flowey replied, laughing a bit, "I just wanted to see what was up with you. You're acting really weird, and I wanna know why. Besides, I figured I could get a front row seat to this new turn of events!"

'..... he's totally Killer.' Sans said.

'i am not! i'm way better than that stupid dandelion!' Killer disagreed, and Sans gave him a flat look, appearing to his right.

'aww, don't talk bad about your own reflection, kills.' Sans snickered, dropping the flat expression, and Killer pointed a knife at Sans, his target soul shining brightly. 

'don't make me regret helping you out with your episodes.' Killer glared, the amusement gone from Sans's face

'guys, can i deal with this without you two pissing each other off?' Dust asked; he'd ask about those 'episodes' later.

'no.' Sans and Killer replied at the same time, and Dust sighed out loud.

"look, flowey, i'm really busy right now, can't we do this another time?" Dust asked as Sans and Killer surprisingly quieted down.

"Nope! Answers, Trashbag, or I'll go tell Papyrus it's safe to come out of the hole you put him in and see what happens when the kid sees him~" Flowey threatened.

"don't even think about it." Dust glared, eyelights turning red and cyan from anger, a few purple sparks coming from his left eyelight.

"That's new." Flowey observed with a slight chuckle.

"do that, and i promise you that i will make your life a living hell." Dust threatened with a dangerous glare.

Flowey grinned at him, "Then tell me what's going on. Things are changing around here, and you seem to be at the center of it. What gives?"

"i don't know, and i don't care." Dust replied, crossing his arms. He was aware, but he wasn't telling Flowey what was going on.

'i know! i know!' Killer piped up, holding his right arm up and jumping up and down in the air. Dust ignored him.

"Well, how's about we find out?" Flowey asked.

"i don't have time for this, so no. now if you'll excuse me, asriel, i have things to do." Dust said, turning around and started walking, leaving Flowey sputtering.

Flowey grabbed Dust's ankle with a vine a moment later, pulling him into the air upside-down as Flowey's face contorted so it looked like a Jack-O-Lantern's, and he asked, "H o w  d o  y o u  k n o w  m y  n a m e?"

"i know lots of things, and if you want answers, you won't do anything to papyrus. if you do, i won't tell you anything out of pure spite." Dust responded, and Flowey dropped him. Dust flipped around in the air and landed on his feet.

'and i thought i was the athletic one, heh.' Killer snickered. 

"Fine, but answer one question and I'll leave you alone for now, as you're not very entertaining: How do you know who I am?" Flowey asked.

"i mean it's not hard to do some digging and find out." Dust shrugged. 

"And you didn't reveal you knew this until just now?" Flowey asked, receiving a nod, "Interesting... I'm looking forward to the next Reset, Sans, I think we have a lot to discuss."

Flowey went back into the ground, and Dust rolled his eyelights, them turning white again as he started walking, and he continued evacuating everyone. He got to Hotland in record time, and he teleported to the bunker in The True Lab, Alphys jumping at his sudden appearance. He looked around and saw everyone else there, thankfully still including....

"BROTHER!" Papyrus greeted, waving, "I HEARD THERE WAS A DRILL! I HEARD IT WAS ALSO A RACE! THANKS TO YOU, I GOT FIRST PLACE GETTING HERE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Killer sighed a bit at the behavior, and he snapped his fingers, going into their subconscious, where Dust spent his time the last Reset. Sans still didn't understand that about Killer. 

"What's this about, Sans?" Undyne asked, walking over, "Alphys told me you triggered the drill."

"it's.... undyne, can we talk in private?" Dust asked. 

"Why?" Undyne asked.

"it's..." Dust glanced at Papyrus, a silent gesture.

"Serious? Got it." Undyne nodded, walking off.

"I WANT TO COME!" Papyrus piped up.

"sorry, bro, it's uh... it's a surprise thing, so umm..." Dust trailed off.

"NYEH? A SURPRISE? FOR WHAT PURPOSE?" Papyrus asked.

"it's for gryftmas, we're talking about a present for you." Dust lied, and he followed after Undyne, looking down. He didn't miss Alphys's sympathetic and sad look from the corner of his vision. 

Once they got enough distance from the others, Undyne turned to look at Dust, "So, what's really going on here, punk?"

"there's a human slaughtering whoever they can find in the underground for the exp, so i evacuated everyone. that way they can't become too powerful to defeat asgore, so he can kill them and take their soul himself to break the barrier." Dust explained, though he was lying through his teeth at the end.

There was no escaping this place, but he wouldn't break that news to the others. Sans appeared leaning against a wall behind Undyne, watching the interaction silently.

Undyne looked rightfully angry that someone was doing that, and asked, her eye narrowed, "How many casualties?"

"everyone in the ruins by the looks of it, and some snowdin residents. i got everyone out past that." Dust answered.

"Damnit..." Undyne clenched her fists in anger, before saying, "Good work. And here I thought you were just some lazy sentry who only joined for your brother... Didn't think you had it in you." 

"thanks. everyone here from the rest of hotland?" Dust asked.

"I think so, except for Muffet. Alphys doesn't wanna lock down the Underground without her in here." Undyne answered.

"...... i'll be right back." Dust told her, and he teleported out, reappearing in front of the door to where Muffet was.

Killer appeared next to him, and Sans was standing by the door.

'can i do it? please?~' Killer requested, 'i've been craving some action, and you've been doing a bunch of boring pacifist bullcrap the whole timeline. i wanna have some fun this timeline!' 

'i trust you less than i trust dust, and i don't think he trusts you either.' Sans said.

'why? why don't you trust little old me?~' Killer asked, grinning, right eye socket half closed.

'because you're a complete and utter psycho.' Sans deadpanned.

'he's got a point.' Dust agreed, 'besides, i don't trust you not to do something stupid.'

'.... what if i didn't hurt her that bad? a few scuffs and that's it.' Killer offered, 'you saw me fight mettaton, i didn't kill him. i know self restraint, and i can help. we can work together here, dust. let me help. i'm going to die of boredom.'

'you won't be missed.' Dust told him, Killer frowning a bit and Sans snorting.

'maybe not, but i do want in on this. sooooo...?~'

Dust sighed after a bit of contemplation, and he nodded, causing Killer to grin. 

'thanks, dusty!' Killer grinned at him as he tackled Dust in a hug, subsequently pushing Dust out of control of Sans's body and putting himself in the figurative driver's seat, pulling his hood down, which Dust immediately missed.

Killer made sure his soul was hidden, and he walked over to the door, kicking the door open easily. He walked in, steps silent as he looked around, seeing spiders skittering around, and he tiptoed around the spider webs, avoiding getting ensnared in them. The grin was gone, replaced with a small smirk instead, and he looked over at Muffet as he approached her, his hands in his pockets. 

"Oh! Hello, deary!" Muffet greeted, pouring herself some tea.

"hey. heard you weren't coming for the drill?" Killer asked, tilting his skull a bit and closing his right eye socket slightly.

"Hmm? Oh, no! Why, there's this child who stole from me, and I intend to... make them pay." Muffet told him, "By the way, you seem different..."

"a good different, i hope... with that said, the drill's mandatory, sooo...." Killer trailed off, pointing at the door behind him with his thumb.

"And yet they sent you to come get me." Muffet mused, condescending. 

"i sent myself. now come on; the brat can wait." Killer ordered. 

"I'd rather not." Muffet denied, sipping some of her tea.

"that wasn't a request." Killer glared, hands no longer in his pocket as he crossed his arms.

"Was that a threat?" Muffet asked, her eyes narrowing at him as her theme started up.

"what do you think it was?" Killer retorted, his own eye sockets narrowing in an antagonistic glare, a smirk on his face.

Muffet shot webs at him, Killer teleporting out of the way to avoid them. Her song switched into his, Occisor playing like it had with Mettaton. Muffet wasn't the boss monster here; Killer was. The choir of deceased souls he had singing for him in his theme was proof enough of that. 

Muffet blinked in confusion from his dodge and the song change before she received a flying kick to the face, Killer's slipper leaving a mark on her cheek. The spiders around them all lunged at Killer, and he dodged, running out of the way, teleporting above Muffet, and when she went to use her webs on him, he teleported out of the way. Upon landing, several webs shot at him, and he backflipped over them, jumping to a wall as more shot where he landed. He leapt off the wall as spiders flew at him, and he skidded to a stop on the floor, using a bone shield to block more webs, teleporting away as more came at him from behind.

Muffet's pet emerged from the depths of the room, charging at him, biting and roaring. Killer dodged each attempt the monstrous cupcake with legs made to bite him, making it crash into walls by evading it. He pierced it with a few sharp bones before pinning it to a wall with more bones before finally bringing up a wall of bones around it, ensuring it would stay there and couldn't cause any further complications. It roared at him in rage, breaking free from the wall but it couldn't escape the bones.

He used the impact of an attack to propel himself up to a ledge, jumping off of it and onto a wall. Killer used a sharp bone to cut long webs off at the top, and he grabbed the strands in bunches. From there, he jumped down next to Muffet, and he quickly ran around her. He was alternating between teleportation and running to increase his speed, sliding and jumping under and over attacks that came at him. He pulled the strings taut upon reaching the end of the strands, and Muffet fell to the ground, struggling. He'd trapped her in her own webs.

"How dare you?! Do you realize who you're-?!" Killer stuffed a spider donut in her mouth, and all that could be heard was furious muffled words, likely cursing him out. He grabbed some of the web, grinning in satisfaction as he took his time to drag her back to the True Lab, and Dust appeared in front of him.

'. . . not bad.' Dust admitted.

'thanks.' Killer smirked.

'all you're doing is just pissing her off.' Sans pointed out, appearing next to Dust after a blink.

Killer just grinned at them, that being his point, and they both sighed in exasperation. The walk back wasn't too long, and Dust got control back at the door to The Lab, and he pulled the body's hood back up, Killer once again watching everything like a first person movie.

Dust stepped inside, Killer still snickering in the depths of their subconscious, and he dragged Muffet to the elevator, going down it and heading to the bunker. Dust rolled his eyelights at the laughter, irritated with Killer but still impressed with his skills; Killer was a good fighter, and he'd kept his word, Dust would give him that... Everyone looked over at Dust when the door opened, all visibly surprised. Dust dropped Muffet by Undyne after the door closed, and he teleported to a couch, taking a much needed break. Dust laid down on the cushions, arms folded behind his skull, looking up at the ceiling with a yawn trying to pull itself from his mouth.

'you ok?' Sans asked.

'yeah, killer just drained this body's stamina.' Dust replied, and Killer snickered darkly, appearing crouched in a frog-like position on the back of the couch, looking down at Dust.

'might wanna rephrase that, dustbunny~' Killer snickered, and Dust glared daggers at him as Sans bit back a laugh, appearing behind the couch, hand over his mouth and shoulders shaking.

'. . . i hate you.' Dust informed.

'it's a love/hate relationship then, i see how it is~' Killer smirked.

'i'm going to stab you.' Dust threatened. He didn't know how, but he'd find a way.

'he's probably a masochist, that won't do much.' Sans sighed. 

'dammit...' Dust cursed.

Killer chuckled, appearing on the arm of the couch, turning around to bend his back at an unnatural degree, holding himself up with an arm on the back of the couch. Killer grinned at Dust, face upside down.

'you're going to fall.' Dust warned with absolutely no concern.

'only for you~' Killer grinned wider somehow, and Dust looked completely done with everything. 

'stop doing that.' Dust glared. 

'nah, i'm good~' Killer replied.

'you're bored, aren't you?' Sans asked, walking to stand next to the couch, leaning against the back of it and looking at Killer.

'yup!' Killer replied, and in the blink of an eye, he was back to crouching on the back of the couch, grinning at them, 'what do you guys wanna do?'

'i want to take a break and enjoy some peace and quiet,' Dust replied.

'boooooriiiiing!' Killer said, 'come on, can't we do something fun?' 

'sleep?' Dust asked.

'come on, killer, let him sleep. you just got to fight muffet. he's done a lot and he's earned some rest.' Sans said.

Killer sighed, shoulders sagging, 'killjoys.'

Killer disappeared a moment later, and Sans sighed. 'he's usually more tolerable.'

'oh i bet.' Dust rolled his eyelights, 'makes sense that i can get out of one hell only to be trapped in another one.'

Sans sighed, and Dust closed his eye sockets, hearing the usual occasional whispers and faint screams of the ones he'd killed, and luckily from so much magic usage, Dust was able to fall asleep for a while. He was sleeping peacefully when he was suddenly woken up a bit later, Alphys shaking his shoulder. His eye sockets opened, looking over at her to see what was wrong, and she looked guilty, be it from waking him up or something else. He was still tired, so this had better be important... "S-Sans?" Alphys asked.

"what is it?" Dust questioned.

"I... um... Papyrus..." Dust was instantly fully awake, "He.... he o-overheard me telling Undyne more about the human... He... he went out to go 'help by br-bringing them to Asgore'..." Alphys explained.

No... NO!

'no!'

'can't say i didn't see that coming...' Killer muttered.

'shut up, killer!!' Sans and Dust both snapped.

Dust bolted up, eyelights cyan and red from his panic, the purple flame bursting to life in his left eye socket, and he almost missed the fear on her face. Almost. That wasn't important right now, though, not when Papyrus could die again... 

"what?! when did he leave?!" Dust asked urgently.

"A... A f-few m-minutes ago..." Alphys stuttered, and Dust bolted to the camera system set up in the bunker, flipping through the cameras, shaking as he looked for any signs of Papyrus.

Sans appeared next to him, looking worried as well, and Dust could feel shivers going down his spine, and not from his sins. Dust, for the first time in a very long time, felt afraid, and he still didn't like it. 

"S-Sans, please! Calm down!" Alphys begged of him.

Dust briefly glared daggers into her soul before going back to searching, and he snapped, "i don't want to hear it. you could be getting my little brother killed, and it'd be on your head!"

'ouch.'

The words were harsh, but Dust wasn't focused on controlling his temper not right now, not when Papyrus's life was at stake. Dust could see her ashamed face in the reflection of the computer, along with his true reflection, and Dust felt a bit guilty for snapping at her, but he would apologize later. Dust saw a flash of Papyrus's scarf from one of the cameras, seeing he was near the entrance to Hotland, and Dust immediately teleported to the location. His brother was nowhere in sight upon Dust's arrival, and he broke out in a run, trying to get to Papyrus as fast as he could.

He ran as fast as he could, Determined to get there, to save him.... but he was too late. Dust arrived just in time to see the human walking past his dust. How had they dealt so much damage to him so fast?! With their low LV, it shouldn't be possible, not unless they had a high desire to kill... He'd seen Undyne get killed with one hit before, when he'd watched the kid do Genocide Runs in his timeline. That had probably happened this time too... and it pissed Dust the hell off.

'we were too late...'

"NO!!" Dust shouted, and in his rage, summoned a Gaster Blaster, it's size rivaling the size of Killer's.

It looked like his old Gaster Blasters, but the eyelights matched Dust's current ones, and the edges were sharper, showing it was more dangerous. Dust fired it at the human, killing them in one explosive purple attack.

RELOAD

Dust's eye sockets snapped open when Alphys woke him up, and he immediately teleported to the entrance to Hotland. Dust didn't even hesitate to get hit by the blow that would've killed Papyrus, feeling the slash attack rip into his ribcage like it had so many times before. The human looked at him in shock, and Dust felt Determination leaking from the wound and out of his mouth.

'holy crap...' Killer muttered.

Dust flung the murderous human back into a wall, and he grabbed Papyrus's arm, teleporting them back to the bunker. Dust was shaking on his feet as he looked back at Papyrus, making sure he was still alive, and he was. Dust felt that his HP was dangerously low, but it wouldn't kill him. He had just enough HP to spare... The adrenaline was wearing off, though, and he was exhausted; the room spinning a little from his fatigue. 

"BROTHER?" Papyrus asked, voice full of concern.

"you ok?..." Dust questioned.

"I.... I AM OK, YES." Papyrus replied, still processing.

"good.." Dust breathed out, sighing in relief.

"S-Sans?.." Alphys asked, looking at him with horror, and he saw several others looking at him with similar expressions.

'dusty? you alright, buddy?'

'dust?'

Dust's vision started spotting, fading to black, and he vaguely heard Alphys running over to him, yelling something, and Papyrus catching. Everything went black a moment later.

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[misc-obeyme]

something i haven't understood in obey me so far playing is what year it's set in? did I miss the amount of years stated somewhere?

like we have the D.D.D. which is like a cell phone. But then we get sent back in Nightbringer and we still have D.D.D. And anime. And heavy metal, probably. What year is it again?

No way it's been like centuries, which is how they make it sound. I'm not even sure it's been a whole decade into the past. How long does it take to get a school up and running, Diavolo?

-a confused player

Dear A Confused Player,

Don't worry. You are all of us.

You didn't miss anything about what the years are because they've never stated anything about that.

They kinda explain everything away with the "time soup" but even that isn't really an explanation at all. They mostly just don't talk about it.

It's generally accepted that the Devildom is behind the human world technology-wise. There's proof of this in season three of the OG where the brothers don't know how to use some pretty basic kitchen appliances. The idea is that in the Devildom, they have magic to supplement their tech needs, so they don't need as much tech. This is pretty standard for fantasy worldbuilding. It's the idea that magic essentially does a lot of the stuff we use technology for.

But then yeah, Nightbringer happened. And that's supposedly thousands (millions? they don't state specifics) of years in the past. So presumably, the technology wouldn't be as advanced as it is in OG. Which would mean we wouldn't have things like D.D.D.s and there was also the wasted potential of old school outfits.

Since things seem to be about the same in Nightbringer tech-wise, the question becomes why?

Either Nightbringer is set in a timeline that's so drastically different that this tech was developed a lot earlier than in the OG timeline OR it's always been that way and the OG timeline was actually taking place far into the future for us. Another possibility is that the Devildom actually developed all their tech before the human world developed theirs, but at some point their development just stagnated. Meaning it stayed at about the same level from Nightbringer to OG.

And then there's the RAD founding discrepancy. In OG, they make it sound like RAD has been around since way before Lucifer & co fell, but this was mostly portrayed through old Devilgrams. So they just straight up retconned that. I think RAD's development has only been happening for a few years in Nightbringer and then it's established before MC leaves.

All of this is to say, the time is wonky and makes no sense. You can speculate about it for hours and still come up with ??? because any of these options could work. Due to them fucking around with time travel, timelines, and "time soup," anything goes at this point.

Time travel is a risky thing to include in a story for many reasons. And this right here is one of them.

We might've been able to suspend our disbelief on the time frame of the OG, but now that they've tossed in this time travel to the supposedly distant past, it's a lot harder to just go well, it's a fantasy story so I'm not gonna worry about it!

Just one of my many complaints about the writing of this game lol.

Anyway, that's the best I can do, I'm afraid. I might have gotten some details wrong because I forget things sometimes, but this is how I've always interpreted things. I hope that helps a little, but in the end it's kinda up to you to headcanon whatever you like!

[bilightningwhumper]

As I type up "Meet Minna" (which I'll be putting up at 5pm EST on Saturday, for anyone interested), I'm also still working on "Meet Kyrie". But the format for the latter is a little weird at the moment. It works for me, though others may find it confusing.

Basically, I have it set for different moments from 5 months [Edit: changing the timeline to a 1-year period*] before Minna's father's funeral (one from each month) and for the present day. However it's currently playing out as: 1 month before, 5 before, 3, 4, 2, Present Day. Rather than the actual sequential order. Basically balancing moments of whump with moments of angst the way I have it currently. [*Edit cont. : It'll still be in the 1, 5, 3, etc. pattern, just longer time put between; ie, 1 month, 1 year, 6 months, etc; more time for whumping and conditioning this way]

Now, I personally enjoy reading stuff out of order in this manor as it makes it intriguing when done well (which I hope is what I'm doing) but I know others would find it confusing. So hey, why not make another poll about it because that seems to be the only way I've gotten consistent feedback so far.

I didn't get as much progress done on things yesterday as I wanted, writing-wise. Work got insane because of a miscommunication that had to involve a whole lot of people and it was just ridiculous. Whole thing ended up triggering a migraine for me, so that was fun.

But hey, feeling better, if a little tired, so I'm going to get "Meet Minna" typed up and queued for Saturday.