#mirror world archie

[diltonsstrangescience]

Guys help I think I’ve been transported to a parallel universe. The ponytail is on the wrong color hair.

Archie is blond now.

This is surreal.

[browsethestacks]

Remember When.. Mirrors Were Fun?

[heres-to-all-that-is-mine]

Last one, I promise

2

That’s a question for sure! Feel free to ask more though, I don’t mind.

Five favourites…

Okay I couldn’t pick just five. Art is my favourite thing!! I like some things I’ve made less than others, but in general, I’m pretty proud of my work ya know! So here’s two more than asked for just because I wanna show off again :]

I do have thousands of images and my art saved, so, I don’t really remember everything. These are just the ones I found that I still like!

[alexanderwales]

Castle Solutions was the only time travel company in the world. They had a giant corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago, which was the only place in the entire world with a time machine, at least as far as anyone knew. They were worth hundreds of billions, and the only reason they weren't worth more seemed to be that they didn't care all that much about money. The time machines were used for everything: reporting, media, market corrections, the surveillance state, and industry. Castle Solutions was the lynchpin of the modern world.

Daniel had thought the waiting room would be nicer.

He sat in a blue-gray chair that would have been at home in any waiting room anywhere else in Chicago. Slightly tinny music played over speakers from the ceiling. A fake potted plant sat in one corner, failing to look lively. There were no windows, because the waiting room was deep in the heart of the building, close to the machine itself.

Daniel was the only one in the waiting room. He'd come half an hour early, lugging all his gear, and now the only thing left was for the clock to run down. A bored-looking woman had come in to tell him that it might be awhile, that they were running behind schedule — the time travel company, running behind schedule. So there had been more waiting than expected.

A man in a charcoal gray suit with a simple blue backpack came in. He slung the backpack down onto the ground with a sigh and rubbed his face. He had stubble there, but an artful amount of it, like he'd spent some time in the mirror making sure that it was the right amount of scruff to offset his expensive suit.

Daniel looked straight ahead, trying not to look, keeping his face blank, like he was passing by a homeless person who might ask him for money he didn't have.

"Wow, you've got a lot of stuff," said the man. "Is that a sword?"

"It's a katana," said Daniel. He didn't match the eye contact the man was giving him.

"Oh, cool," said the man. "You're going to ... katana times?"

"Edo Japan, yeah," said Daniel.

Daniel was trying his best not to engage, to get this conversation over as quickly as possible. He wasn't making eye contact.

The man picked up his backpack and moved across the waiting room to be closer to Daniel.

"You speak Japanese?" the man asked.

"Hai, watashi wa nihongo o hanashimasu," replied Daniel. He wished that he were more fluent, that the words had come out less rote.

"Cool," said the man. He had apparently also come closer to get a look at all of Daniel's stuff. His eyes moved over the duffel bags. There wasn't much to see, everything had been carefully packed away. "Wow, you sure are prepared, huh?"

"It's a different time and place," said Daniel with a shrug. It represented five years of planning, five years of training, learning, honing himself.

"Personally, I'm going to 1946," said the man, though Daniel hadn't asked. He held out his hand. "Archie Vedder."

Daniel reluctantly took the hand. "Daniel Strom." He had never really gotten the hang of shaking hands. He worried that his hands were too clammy, a worry that proved founded when Archie wiped his hand on that expensive charcoal suit.

"I went with the kit," said Archie, pointing to his backpack. "I've got papers, I've got a computer with a backup, I've got a projector, a media library, a science library, the whole works, plus some forged bonds and a stack of cash. I got a sweet deal on it, they're overstocked now."

Retreating into the past had seen its heyday. Now most of the people who had been most enthusiastic were gone, and there were only the dissenters left. Everyone agreed with using the machine for the mundane stuff, but simply leaving, never to return, rubbed people the wrong way.

"I guess they don't sell kits for Edo," Archie ventured.

"They do," said Daniel. "They're trash."

"Ah," said Archie.

"This is all custom," said Daniel. "Higher quality, field tested, everything I'll need to set myself up there." Only some of it was stock. He had two computers, three smartphones, chargers and plugs, solar panels, replacement batteries, and redundant media libraries and science libraries.

Archie raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean, field tested? Because people don't come back. You're there for good, right?"

What it actually meant was that Daniel had gone out into a field and tested it, made sure that it worked under various conditions, set himself up like he might be explaining all this to a carefully chosen daimyo. There was only so much that camping in the woods and taking dry run vacations could tell him though.

"Some of it is theory," said Daniel. "Research."

"Yeah, see, that's why I went with 1946," said Archie. "It's really well-trod. You know, I was reading an article the other day that maybe the Baby Boom was a little overstated? Like, we're obviously living in the wake of time travelers, but that's the prime time to come back, anywhere from 1946 to 1960. The economy is doing well, tech is advancing, it's familiar enough. The culture is so close you can sell some stuff from a media library, it's brilliant. You're five steps away from becoming a multimillionaire in a time when that meant something."

"Sure," said Daniel.

"Any reason you're doing hard mode?" asked Archie. "I mean, samurai and ninjas are cool, sure, but —"

"It's not about that," said Daniel.

"Alright, sure," shrugged Archie.

Daniel looked over at the waiting room's lone clock. You would think that a waiting room for a time travel company would have better clocks, but it was a cheap utilitarian design, thin plastic and wobbly hands.

"What's it about then?" asked Archie.

"I was going to go with a friend," said Daniel. "We had practiced together, trained together. Then he got cancer."

"Ah, shit," said Archie.

"He lived," said Daniel. "He's fine. But he's on medications now, and will be for the rest of his life, and he can't go anymore."

"Huh," said Archie. "So there's a friend who you're leaving behind?"

"No," said Daniel. "I mean ... this was what we did together. We talked about it a lot. We read history books and practiced crafts and skills. At the start, I didn't really take it that seriously, it was just a hobby, but I got invested, and I guess I kept seeing it as — I don't know."

"I mean for me, it's a way out," said Archie. "Most people feel that way, yeah? My wife filed for divorce, I got fired from my job, so hey, time to start over in 1946, pretend I'm part of the Greatest Generation, ride the waves I know are coming. Exploit it."

Daniel grimaced. The Vietnam War, segregation, the Red Scare? People had a rosy view of that time. He'd never felt particularly aligned with people like Archie who were just looking to make a quick buck.

"Oh come on," said Archie. "You think you're better than me? You're a, you know, what's the word. Colonizer."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "No."

"What, just 'no', it's not, you know, what we did to the Native Americans?" asked Archie. "The whole 'conquer the past' thing?"

"I'm a single person," said Daniel. "I'm bringing back things that will change their culture forever, but I'm not an agent of my country, and even if I were, I think those people who want to be a god king are morons. And sorry, I'm not spending my last minutes in the present on badly rehashing a debate I've had a thousand times already."

"Why not?" asked Archie. "See, I think having arguments right before you go is great. You can leave on a high note. I've spent the last few days saying whatever the hell I wanted to people. It's great. I went to my dad and said 'hey, you were a terrible father, I never liked you, and it's sad that you thought I needed your approval'. And then you know what's hilarious? I get to just walk away and never be seen again. How's that for a power move? How's that for a mic drop?"

"Seems immature," said Daniel.

"Well, see, I'm actually fine being immature," said Archie with a little laugh. "And when this conversation is done, one or both of us is going into the past, never to be seen nor heard from again, and isn't that great? You don't like me, I don't like you, and then we're strangers again."

Daniel had been looking straight ahead, but he turned to Archie after that. "You don't like me?" he asked. "You don't know me."

"I know your type," said Archie. He leaned back. "You spent what, three years cooking up a plan, making this trip back in time your entire personality, and now you think you're better than me, better than everyone, like you've got it all figured out. You talked yourself into throwing away everything you've got going on here. You got dreams of a future in the past. It's quitter talk, is what it is."

"Fuck off," said Daniel. In his normal life he'd have never said it, but he was on the precipice.

"You think going into the past is going to transform you?" asked Archie. "That another world, a second chance, you'll somehow become the man you think you were supposed to be? Well let me tell you, if you were a loser here, you'll be a loser there."

Daniel stood up and drew his sword. He'd practiced the draw a thousand times. The sword gleamed, even under the ugly fluorescent lighting of the waiting room. "Fuck off, or you'll be going back to the 50s missing a hand."

"Bah," said Archie. "Fine." He stood up and took a seat further away, the same one he'd taken when he first came in. He was bouncing his leg and reading something on his phone.

Daniel was putting his sword back in its sheath when the receptionist came into the room.

"Daniel?" she asked, glancing only briefly at the sword. "They're ready for you."

"Finally," Daniel thought but didn't say, because even though he wasn't going to be around anymore, he believed in basic politeness.

He gathered his things and left the waiting room, ready to leave.

~~~~

Archie sat outside Castle Solutions, in their little courtyard, vaping.

It wasn't long before the receptionist, Lydia, came to sit next to him.

"It didn't really seem like you wanted to convince that one," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry."

She shrugged and pulled out a vape pen of her own. "Sometimes you just want to yell at someone. I get that. But you're risking us getting caught. And if we get caught in the future, we probably get caught in the present."

"Yup," he said. "Won't happen again."

"Give it a few days before you come back," she said. "Three, let's say. He didn't file a complaint, so there's nothing in the system."

"Mmm," said Archie. He made a long, slow drag of the pen. They sat there vaping together for a while. It had often occurred to him that vaping was impossibly lame, but it felt less lame when done with someone else. He watched as the vapor left her mouth in a thin, concentrated stream. "You wanna go out sometime?"

"On a date?" she asked. She gave the tip of her vape pen a casual look. "No, not really."

"Alright," said Archie.

"I don't really know what your deal is," she said. "Why this is important to you. Why you want to talk people back from the brink, or yell at them."

"Mmm," said Archie. "You want to tragic backstory?"

"Meh," Lydia replied. "I'm not going on a date with someone who has a tragic backstory. That's all. Sorry. I've got my own tragic backstory, thanks very much."

"Fair," said Archie. "It was my kid brother, that's the short version. He up and left one day, left us a note that read like ... well, you know." He drew a finger across his neck.

"Where'd he go?" asked Lydia.

"England, 16th century," said Archie. "He thought he was going to take Shakespeare's place." He shook his head. "Only eighteen, you know? Unconscionable that they let kids that young through. He had his whole life ahead of him and he just ... disappeared."

Lydia sighed. "Yeah."

She turned off her vape pen, then mimed stubbing it out on the bench like a cigarette before slipping it into her purse. He felt a surge of attraction for her.

"Alright, I'll go on the date," said Lydia. "But if we're going to be dating, you've gotta stop this."

"Vaping?" asked Archie.

"You know what I mean," said Lydia. "You going in there trying to convince them to back out, that's one thing. It's noble, almost. But if it's going to be fighting, if it's you trying to work through some shit, then I'm not sticking my neck out for you. Doubly so if you want to get together. You process your trauma some other way, or repress it like the rest of us, alright?"

Archie thought about that for a moment. "Alright. Sure."

"I've got to get back to work," said Lydia as she rose from the bench. "You have my number."

Archie nodded, and after she had left, he stayed, looking out at the courtyard.

He wondered how Daniel was doing out there, in that other timeline, but he supposed that he would never know.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Harry’s Birthday Weekend PR

Don’t mind me, I’m just making a list here…

Before we get into it, the Emmys are tomorrow so any exclusive attention Harry or Meghan might get will be quickly pushed out of the news cycle by the red carpet. (If you're not familiar, the Emmys are the E in EGOT and recognize accomplishment in television. This year's ceremony is hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy and will mark the 25th anniversary of one of my favorite shows of all-time, The West Wing.)

Anyway, let's see how the fauxyals are celebrating this weekend. No links today because I'm already a bit queasy from painting.

September 10--

How Prince Harry plans to spend his 40th birthday - with help from Meghan Markle (Page Six exclusive)

September 12–

Bryony Gordon: What my friends Harry and Meghan are really like (Daily Mail exclusive)

Who's who in Prince Harry's 40th party posse? And will he let his hair down? (Daily Mail exclusive)

Prince Harry: I was anxious about 30, I'm excited about 40 (BBC exclusive statement)

Prince Harry shares the best gift he's ever received ahead of 40th birthday (Page Six)

September 13–

Pap photos of Meghan and Archie in California. Archie is cropped out of the photos. (Apparently the photos were a People exclusive from September 4th)

Prince Harry's thoughts on turning 40 and how Duke plans to celebrate with family and inner circle (Daily Mail)

Prince Harry tells of his excitement at turning 40 ahead of his birthday celebrations this weekend (Daily Mail)

The problem with Harry in royal circles? He's left behind feelings of disgust, is accused of wreaking Biblical vengeance...and some vow never to speak to him again (Daily Mail exclusive)

Prince Harry reveals the 'best gift' he's ever received as he prepares to celebrate his 40th birthday at home in California with 'close friends' (Daily Mail)

Prince Harry on turning 40: My mission is to do good in the world (Telegraph)

How the Queen Mother spent her fortune - and the millions Prince Harry is set to inherit from her (Telegraph)

Prince Harry's troubling admission amid Meghan Markle's 'absence' on trip (Mirror)

Prince Harry 'could never have envisaged his life as it is now' when he turned 30 (Mirror exclusive)

Prince William 'sent last-minute text to Prince Harry in olive branch move' (Mirror; remember, olive branch is a Sussex PR phrase)

Prince Harry hit with warning before 40th birthday as he 'wants one thing so badly' (Mirror)

Prince Harry's sweet Archie and Lilibet update could be painful for King Charles (Mirror)

Prince Harry's cryptic statement on 'fresh perspective' as painful feud rumbles on (Mirror)

Prince Harry issues surprise message about 'his mission' to mark his 40th birthdhay (Mirror)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'invited to UK for Christmas' by forgotten family (Mirror)

Prince Harry facing up to 'saddest part of exile,' says royal expert (Mirror)

'Sad reason Prince Harry is determined to give Archie and Lili perfect childhood' - expert (Mirror)

Prince William's devastating text to Prince Harry that left him at a loss over next steps (Mirror)

Meghan Markle's UK return date 'revealed' amid Prince Harry Christmas royal reunion rumors (Mirror)

'Here's the real reason Prince Harry has grumpy look in photos', royal expert claims (Mirror; royal expert is Ingrid Seward and she says the grumpy look is because Harry doesn't want to be photographed)

Prince Harry's special tribute to Princess Diana in his Montecito home (Express)

Prince Harry's heartbreaking last moments with late Queen revealed (Express)

Prince Harry says he's 'excited' to turn 40 in birthday message: 'A fresh perspective on life' (People)

September 14–

Meghan is dubbed 'Duchess Difficult' by 'terrified' US staff as source claims she throws 'tantrums' and 'makes grown men cry' - while 'enabler' Harry is increasingly isolated with his closest friend his bodyguard-for-hire (Daily Mail)

King Charles 'will reach out to Prince Harry on his 40th birthday' (Daily Mail)

How conflict over fashion industry contacts sparked tension in Meghan and Kate's relationship (Daily Mail; remember, any article that lists Meghan first is Meghan PR)

Prince Harry's 'best friend': The security guard who has royal's back for more than a decade (Daily Mail)

When Prince Harry was the cheekiest member of the Royal Family (Daily Mail)

Harry at 40: Prince will be worried about 'financing' next decade says royal biographer (Mirror)

Prince Harry to receive olive branch from King Charles with huge gesture on his birthday (Mirror; olive branch is a Sussex PR phrase)

Prince Harry 'relegated from royal heir to Meghan Markle's sidekick' ahead of milestone birthday (Mirror)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's neighbors in California are 'fed up' with couple (Mirror)

Truth behind Prince Harry's final birthday present from Diana weeks after tragic death (Mirror; Spare recap)

'Cheeky' Prince Harry's daring escape from palace prompted frantic search (Mirror)

Princess Diana's nickname for Prince Harry resurfaces as fans all say same thing (Mirror; the nickname is "my little Spencer")

Royals won't 'trust' Prince Harry again amid 'fractured' relationship, expert claims (Mirror; the expert is Chris Ship)

Meghan Markle question that meant Prince Harry 'lost a friend' (Mirror)

Princess Diana's brother's 'warning' to Prince Harry over Meghan Markle (Mirror)

Harry thought he could 'step in' during Royal crisis but William 'drew a line in the sand' (Mirror)

Hidden reason Prince William 'cut ties' with Prince Harry revealed by expert (Mirror exclusive)

Prince William won't make birthday call to Prince Harry as key reason revealed - 'don't even speak' (Mirror exclusive)

Prince Harry's pal's 5-word verdit on his life in US with Meghan (Express)

King Charles extends olive branch to Prince Harry (Express)

Meghan Markle preparing to 'take off the gloves' in plans for tell-all memoir (Express)

Prince Harr's pal 'refuses to speak to him' after private remark about Royal Family (Express)

Rare boost for Prince Harry who's 'more popular than King Charles' in US before birthday (Express)

Prince Harry and Prince William could take years to speak again (Express)

Prince Harry insists he will 'always love' the UK despite unpopularity with Brits (Express)

Prince Harry takes key steps to give 'trauma-free childhood' to Archie and Lilibet (Express)

Prince Harry is unhappy in California and filled with regret (Express)

Prince William will 'not call' brother Harry on his 40th birthday as pair no longer speak (Express)

Prince Harry snubbed by 2 celebrity pals for his birthday (Express)

Prince Harry's birthday woes as deeply unpopular in UK (Express; or something like that - the Express's website has a ton of phishing ads on it)

Prince Harry's one skewed 'belief' over UK security pleas and King Charles's position (Express)

Prince Harry reveals biggest regret about his mum Diana as milestone birthday approaches (Express)

POLL: Should the Royal Family wish Prince Harry a happy 40th birthday? (Express)

Prince Harry's heartbreaking 11-word remark about late Queen as he reveals 'real problem' (Express)

Meghan Markle is a 'dictator' who 'terrifies' staff, has 'reduced grown men to tears', bombshell Hollywood Reporter expose claims (New York Post)

[kinopioa]

I dont think we need to take Ken penders words for anything, the man is hated for reasons beyond his bad writing. He threw ofher writers he worked with under the buss all the time. Back in the early 2000s he would get anoyyed if someone complimented another writer besides him. He once said, he did his own thing because 'Sega didn't give him much to work with" and would imply his writing made the Sonic characters deeper then in the games. Jon Gray even stated, fhe entire reason why Ken left because he couldn't do what he wanted since his unused plans would break several rules with Sonic's character, especially regarding Shadow. He's now pretending to still care about Sonic's brand because Sonic fans are the only one giving him any attention nowadays.

He is 100% a grifter, idiot, glory hog, has daddy issues, probably misses the 90s when regulation was lax as fuck

But he is unironically right regarding Flynn's parasocial involvement with the fandom. That's the only thing I care about. Given my own research on Ian, Pender's 100% right. Ian already was doing interviews 4 years before he got on Archie, and then generated more interest with the bumbleking forums, and later paid questionaire podcasts. No other writer is this directly in view of fandom opinions, and as seen in his writing, appeals directly to fan bias pretty often

The entire reason he killed Tommy, treated Cream like shit, and fucked with a stupid 5 year "There's a traitor!" with Silver is directly cuz he was mirrored fandom ire. They hated Tommy being dead weight, they hated Cream for "kiddifying the franchise", they hated Silver for being a naive guy from a bad game

I've also noticed Flynn indirectly thrived on surrounding drama of the greater fandom. 06's reception + Archie writers dropping is the only reason he got hired. Yardley's less shit art is why writing got leeway. The 2013 lawsuit causing the reboot gave him a by for "not using expanded chars" along with getting Archie noticed by the games fandom, and Lost World/Forces failing for reception led to people to look more into spinoffs

I see people randomly gas up Archie Sonic as a powerhouse or peak entirely cuz they see this scene out of context

Even though this literally happens right after. He doesn't even beat him legitimately later, he was beaten cuz suddenly his mech is ineffective to most of the FF and Ray. Fucking Ray

People further cementing "skip to issue 160" and accrediting all good writing to Ian is also grounds for creating another Penders. Sadly I think it worked

So I don't give a shit about Pender's ramblings of his "great writing" given how miniscule his impact is nowadays. The only thing of impact to the games he did was bury the idea of a Chronicles sequel, an already noncanon game. I DO care if someone effectively hired by nepotism still shows his bias and misconception for this franchise. This stance in 2008 I don't think changed given how he's been trying to sneak in Archie refs still

If not Ian, it'd be another "fan" on Twitter doing similar disregard of the games

The term "a broken clock right twice a day" is what I'd say applies to Penders for his notes on Ian. Otherwise, outside Spiderman 4 dev, he is to be ignored mostly

Well that and him dunking Krash, that was just...wow. Rare W

[bestsonicshowdown]

FINAL ROUND

Shadow the hedgehog was created to be the ultimate life-form, born out of the love Gerald had for his granddaughter, and named with love by Maria, his name refers to the shadow that points and guides towards the light away from the darkness.

Allegedly modeled after a depiction of Super Sonic (the possible true ultimate life form); he is a direct descendant of Black Doom, Shadow holds a soul similar to Maria's and his creation was made to find a cure to Maria's illness. Tragically Maria is assassinated inside the space station ARK, for she's shot right in front of Shadow, before dying Maria places Shadow in an escape pod and sends him to earth asking him to promise to allow humans to have a chance to be happy.

Shadow's whole life has revolved around love and tragedy, he has lost everything, from those he loved, to his very memory. But he still chooses to fight for the world and for himself, he doesn't let his past blind him and he continues on.

Metal Sonic, however, is born from hatred, and is one of the few emotions he has ever known, Metal is created to be an exact copy of Sonic, he was made to believe he was the real Sonic, and probably even envies Sonic's freedom to some degree.

Metal's life is based on hatred, on tragedy without any light at the end of a trail of darkness. Eggman may love him but he has to earn even the slightest ounce of that love, every time he has to face Sonic in any way he has at least one type of identity crisis, due of being coded to be Sonic and yet knowing that he'll never be Sonic. While Shadow is a perfect parallel to Sonic, Metal is a dark mirror of Sonic, a Sonic who can't love and a Sonic who isn't free.

No matter what, Metal Sonic will always be in Sonic's Shadow, he will always be known as the fake Sonic, the evil Sonic, and this fact most likely not only makes him hate sonic further but also breaks him from the insides. Could You imagine being on his shoes? Being made to be yourself and yet only being known as your own evil clone that will never be anything else?

Metal and Shadow both are worthy opponents, and they have faced several times in IDW and Archie. and have even been on the same side in the games, both creatures born to be modeled after Sonic, both born respectively from Love and Hate, One who has chosen who he is, and what he is; the other who has no option.

Today, they face to see who will be crowned as the One True Sonic, the Ultimate Sonic.

So who will it be?

[crab-boy-blues]

I cannot express the amount of home that this show has given me.

As a queer, transmasc person, I have never felt very comfortable with labels. I thought I was lesbian, then non-binary and bisexual, and then just a gay trans guy. Although I'm fairly sure I'm only attracted to masculine aligned people and that I am masculine aligned myself, I only felt the need for those labels because it's just so much easier to be binary. To have solid answers to who you are, to fit nicely into one category, to be easy to explain. But I have never been a polar or binary person in any sense, I have always been fluid. From my gender identity to expression, my ADHD fixation cycle of constantly moving on to new things, to my tendency to mirror people and morph a bit into different situations.

But nothing about our world just lets you live free and fluid like that. This is not conducive with our society of cishet being the default, and anything else needing to be clearly stated. Because you can't just be different and go unexplained, you have to justify your very existence. It is exhausting to live as a fluid person in many aspects, and constantly having to pinpoint myself on arbitrary scales that were set up by other people, to help them understand. I don't owe anyone coordinates to the exact degree of my transness. You don't owe anyone an explanation.

Our flag means death is such a beautiful depiction of a way of being that just lets people be. At almost no point is straight the expectation. The words queer and gay don't come up a single time throughout the show (correct me on that if I'm wrong), because it's just not relevant. The point of the show is that they're in love, and the fact that they're both men has almost no bearing on the situation whatsoever. Because it doesn't change anything. Jim is never acknowledged as trans, there isn't a coming out, Jim is just Jim, and it's not questioned. Olu, Zheng, Jim, and Archie's relationship is never clarified. Because we don't need to know if they're two couples or one quadruple, it just. Doesn't. Matter.

This stupid fucking beautiful show let's these wonderful characters be who they are, no presets to their selfness. To hell with historical accuracy, to hell with realism. Because this pocket of celebration of self, of queer joy, of love, it isn't about that. It's not about the details, or the timeline, or the exactness. It just is. It's fluid and free and fucking beautiful. And it's a home for people like me.

"it's about belonging to something"

[olreid]

riverdale is.. schrodinger's show? ??

lol re tags on this post i assume? this is actually alfie @hypokeimena's phrase #alfiepilled and literally just means that he does not watch the show but does watch us watch the show and so always at any time any plot point or series of events is possible because riverdale exists in a state of totipotency right up until the moment of viewing the footage to see what actually happened which again he crucially never does.

HOWEVER i have adopted this phrase into my own riverdale lexicon because i think it helps to get at something which is usually kind of difficult to articulate about riverdale's method. riverdale, more than your typical tv program, IS a show where anything can happen, and that quality has not changed or diminished over the course of its run. typically, in tv, as you build out the world and the characters, you become better able to predict what will happen next; the window of probable events grows smaller, even if only slightly. people pair off, foreclosing other relationships; they pick a career, choosing one life over other possible lives they might have lived. even shocking plot twists are operating under a set of basic rules that govern how the setting and the genre operate such that the overarching parameters of what is possible in the world don't change. but not so in riverdale! it's not committed to the sanctity of its own canon, which frees the team up to create a show that reminds me more of a collage; different narrative pieces get swapped around to see what kinds of meanings they might produce with very little preciousness about continuity or canonicity compared to other programs. different storylines are repeated by filtering them through new genres to see what emerges. season 7's premise is a perfect example of this!

the other thing about riverdale that makes it schrodinger's show to me is that it is always operating on multiple registers of reality simultaneously, so that any number of things might be happening at once depending on how you're reading it. for example, in the season 3 g&g plot, many episodes are framed by games of g&g that precisely mirror real-world events going on concurrently in town, e.g. jughead accurately describing archie's prison break as it's happening even though he's not physically there. maybe this is just an extradiegetic narrative device; maybe particular characters are omniscient or psychic in some way; maybe the game itself has powers that allow it to shape the world or the story; maybe riverdale itself only has a certain number of pre-set stories that it can tell. the list could go on. the point is that all of these are equally likely; riverdale does not privilege realism or groundedness, really the opposite, but neither does it often confirm for certain that something supernatural is happening. rather, the viewer is left to interpret for themselves; to choose between these options if they want, or perhaps instead to hold them all simultaneously. indeed, riverdale never forces you to pick, to narrow it down; in riverdale, more than any other show i've ever watched, you can have everything you want, and you can have it all at once, because there is no definitive reality, which means everything is pretty much equally (un)real. the cw is pioneering quantum television and we're here to witness it! what a time to be alive!!!

[xx-psych0-rabbit-xx]

if you had control over the kirby franchise . what are your plans

-taranza dating simulator where he gets rejected by the girls in worse ways every route

-sectonia dress up flash game in the official website where you send taranza to kill ppl for you n bring their body parts back

-paint sisters game :) w a sad ending :(

-finally that godamn mirror world lore game weve been waiting 20 years for.it works like the anti world worked in sonic archies bc i think thats peak evil universe

-canonize escargoon in the games

-kill off morpho knight n introduce yet another winged borb n continue this trend every new game

-that mobile game from the late 10s where you kept torturing a dummy in worse ways everytime but its magolor

-yk what i actually want.a version of team clash thats actually thought out well to be the one canonized in the end of rtdldx, w a proper story for that universe n that doesnt just use the mirror as an evil boss spawner.that being said still keep the jamba cult existing the same n being there unexplainably w no way of fitting any timeline.thats funny

-create star allies 2 n id ban anyone from forgotten land to ever appear in the series again just to annoy ppl who insist KSA is the worst thing ever.plot is just everyone messing around idk i just rly like all the star allies n i wanna see another game featuring all of them again they picked the characters so well :)

-magolor version of kick the dummy rerelease w new hyness mode

-ban prince fluff from ever being referenced

-kill off meta knight for a marketing stunt to cover that up

-finally give everyone plushies :3

[diltonsstrangescience]

Outfit appreciation post (girls edition) part 4

[leggerefiore]

You and your now retired villainous team leader lover go to Alola on vacation. There, you encounter someone who looks just like them. Well, mostly.

cw: fluff, boyfriend Maxie and Archie are ORAS while their counterparts are their RSE designs

pairings: Lysandre/Reader, Cyrus/Reader, Maxie/Reader, Archie/Reader

~~~~~~~~~~

🔥Lysandre🍷

☕️ Lysandre had sought to have a vacation from his work after hearing about some world ending event attempted in another region. It seemed he had not yet been able to forgive himself for the horrible mistake he had nearly made himself still. It was little wonder how he avoided jail time. Certainly, a heavily connected family and enough money to make most people cry couldn't have played a part. You could only shake your head and be happy he learnt to, at least, not try to kill everyone to solve his philosophical debates. Alola was an obvious destination, too. He naturally booked the most expensive place he could.

☕️ The vacation was going relatively well. Lysandre truthfully was not that interested in going around exploring nature in his stressed state, but he found himself relaxing and enjoying the offerings of the Hano Grand Resort. You found yourself at ease, too. There was a level of romance in most things done with the Pyroar-esque man. You admit there was a lot of time spent locked up in your resort room together. Not that there was a lot of complaining on your end. If Lysandre was one thing besides a fool, it was an attentive and caring lover.

☕️ Of course, when you manage to get him away from the resort to actually see a bit of Alola proper, you lost him. And of all places to lose a giant, Kalosian man, you lost him in the Aether Paradise. He had mentioned knowing the head of the Aether Foundation and wished to exchange pleasantries with her before joining you to look around. It was wrecking your nerves a bit as the sterile and artificial feeling of the building was growing quickly overbearing. Gazing around, you spied the familiar giant gazing out in the conservation area. You called out to him softly, not wanting to draw too much attention to you both. He turned around instantly at the sound of your voice. You nearly jumped back at his attire and surprised expression. Easily, Lysandre began to make his way over to you, his face shifting to something more lovely.

☕️ You felt shocked by him wearing the heavy suit he has been so fond of, especially during his time of leading Team Flare. Even more so as you were certain that it was not what he was wearing when you had parted from him just recently. He had been wearing lighter clothing since Alola's temperature was quite warm. Then, from your left, a strong voice called your name with some concern. Turning your head, you saw another Lysandre, but this time wearing the clothing you recalled him in. He marched right to you, clearly having been searching for you as you had him.

☕️ Once he reached your side, he turned to where you had your gazed affixed and felt ill. Lysandre only hoped this was some sleight of the eye as he stared into what almost felt like a mirror. The other Lysandre froze, too. Both seemed to exchange harsh looks after regaining themselves. The one still clad in heavy black and orange sighed. “… Tell me,” he spoke to your Lysandre, “Can you accept this foolish world still? Do you not desire to fix it for them?” Your Lysandre stood stupefied by the question, completely unprepared for such a thing to be brought up to him.

☕️ When no response came, the other Lysandre shook his head and marched off from you both. Your hand was tightly grasped by the Lysandre you knew as he let out a sharp breath. Closing his eyes, one could only wonder what was running through his mind. The situation seemed impossible, truthfully. Could that have been some tormentor seeking to punish Lysandre for what he had attempted to do? It made no sense. You softly embraced the Kalosian and felt his arms come around you tightly, too. It was not long after you both departed back to the resort, unsure of what to take away from the encounter.

☕️ Lysandre found himself speaking of the situation later to Sycamore, who was simply baffled by it, too. At first, Lysandre had come to the conclusion that it must have been some cruel attack on him, yet the more he considered how the look-alike had gazed at him, the more he felt it had truly been some other version of himself. One that had somehow succeeded where he had failed. That thought haunted him worse than any tormentor could have ever done. The man felt truly lucky he had been stopped. That world he envisioned… It was not something he wished to curse you to exist in, not anymore.

🌌Cyrus🛰

☄️ Alola was supposed to be a good change of pace for Cyrus since everything that had happened. He only avoided a lengthy prison sentence due to yours and Cynthia's pledging to keep him in line. Cyrus certainly threatened to keep trying to make his ideal world, yet nothing had truly come to fruition after everything. Team Galactic even falling apart without his leadership in place. Much to your relief, he seemed to retire himself to his hobby of mechanical work. His fascination for machinery was something he obviously felt dedicated to. You'd suggested the vacation more so on a whim when you saw him seemingly overwhelmed by something.

☄️ It had been going as well as a semi-forced vacation with Cyrus could go. He was not a fan of beaches and almost seemed aghast at the thought of going to one. You supposed it made sense. He had, after all, avoided Sunnyshore with a passion back home. Still, you found things apart from that to entertain yourself in the beautiful, peaceful region. Cyrus found himself a strange admirer in the form of one of the Trial Captains on Ula'Ula Island. You could tell he was slightly embarrassed by it all.

☄️ You somehow had managed to get separated from him in Malie, having planned to go visit the garden there and share a meal at the Sushi High Roller. You stood in mild distress as you dug around your bag for your phone. Before you could find it, however, you spied a familiar spiky style of hair. Rushing after him, you froze. Cyrus, as you had seen him earlier, had been wearing a short-sleeved button down and jeans. Now, distressingly, you saw familiar grey clothing that you never hoped to see again. His head turned to you and confirmed your horrible suspicions. Cyrus stared at you with wide eyes. Many words wished to leave your mouth, but you found them stuck as he walked toward you.

☄️ Everything had been going so well with him. You couldn't understand why he would go back to his old ways. Had you been too hopeful in him changing? A voice calling out your name broke your worrying ponderings. There, at the restaurant you were supposed to meet at, stood another Cyrus. This one in the clothing you recalled. Confusion ate at your brain. The Galactic uniformed Cyrus was still walking toward you. You motioned the casually dressed Cyrus over.

☄️ He begrudgingly came, obviously a bit annoyed. When he took to your side, you could only watch as his doppelgänger stopped dead in his tracks. Your Cyrus narrowed his eyes. Something was obviously wrong here. “I see,” the Galactic uniformed Cyrus spoke with obvious displeasure, “I must have failed to acquire my ideal world here. How unfortunate.” Your Cyrus was stricken by his counterpart's words.

☄️ With little time to react, the other Cyrus vanished into a crowd and left you both bewildered. You decided to still go to the restaurant to try to figure out whatever that was. Your theory of him having an evil clone was struck down, but he did seem to ruminate on it quite hard. Something about the words from the look-alike left Cyrus in a certain rut of madness. There was little more to discuss about on the topic, however.

☄️ What you did not know was Cyrus's internal consideration. He knew that you both had certainly encountered another him somehow. A version of himself that had somehow been successful in obtaining the power of the legendary he had sought, only for the ideal world to still be null. Everything he had done was truly for naught. In the end, he supposed, it at least gave him some unexpected closure. He would truly just have to deal with this world as it was.

☀️Maxie🌋

🪨 Why drag your beloved wannabe geologist out to another tropical paradise when you technically already lived in one? Well, for one, to have a change of pace. Maxie had essentially somehow got out of all charges of ecoterrorism due to Wallace and Steven acknowledging he wasn't ever going to anything like that again after nearly killing all life on earth with his plans. Instead, he decided to dedicate himself to focusing on his obvious love of the earth and restructuring Team Magma. Still, you could tell he was struggling to settle into a relaxed life in Hoenn, despite his love for his home. Which led to a suggestion of visiting Alola to clear his head.

🪨 The normal beach appeal may have not been for him, but you could easily tell he enjoyed himself in exploring the Haina Desert, volcanic regions, and the different sands varied across the region. His enjoyment of the tour of the Aether Paradise. He quite enjoyed the idea of pokemon conservation, naturally. He would easily find himself engaged in conversations with other scientific minds around the region or glaring at a certain type of beach-going men.

🪨 Somehow, on your way up to Wela Volcano Park, you found yourself separated from Maxie. You even stood a bit amazed, looking around at the dried grass and steaming volcanic pits for any sight of him. He wasn't exactly someone who blended in easily. One more look at a certain cliff side led to you noticing a familiar redhead. Calling out his name while running over to him, you felt yourself freeze when he turned around. His clothing was a strange form of something clearly related to Team Magma, and his hair was styled differently. His eyes went wide upon seeing you. He quickly began to trail over to you.

🪨 He looked like your lover, certainly, but there was more wrong than the outfit he wore. Maxie had been wearing shorts and a mock neck top, not the attire the man before you wore. Before you could tangle your thought process into a knotted mess, a voice then called out your name. Turning around, you spied Maxie as you remembered him. His brimmed glasses and displeased expression, something you could never mistake anywhere. He seemingly caught on to something being wrong from your face as he rushed over to you, despite his distaste for running.

🪨 Maxie stood at your side soon enough. His look-alike stopped in his descent from his higher position as he gazed at the newcomer carefully. The grimaces that fell upon both their faces were almost alike, yet the other Maxie's looked more intimidating. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I see… I suppose I was mistaken, then,” his voice rang with a level of irritation, “A failure, how disappointing. What strange attire, too.” Maxie nearly stumbled back at the oddness of his words.

🪨 Before either you could question the doppelgänger, he wandered off into the brush. The two of you stood there in complete shock at what you had each witnessed. A failure? What could he have meant? Maxie seemed distressed by the obvious and recognisable insignia that Not-Maxie wore, and quickly pulled out his phone to contact Courtney and Tabitha about the encounter. Neither of them knew anything about it either, however. The eerie feeling of it had you both leave the route before seeing the volcano to find some peace of mind.

🪨 The poor Magma Leader found himself scrambling over the words for the entire evening that followed. A failure… The glint in his eyes. The attire. He couldn't help but feel recollection of that Zinnia's insistence of a world just like theirs without Mega-Evolution. The thought disturbed him. He had failed, thankfully for all life on this planet, but what of that possible other him? Did he harness Groudon's power? He could only shudder and be grateful he had been stopped in this timeline.

🌧Archie🌊

💧 Archie had truthfully been the one to insist on a vacation to Alola. He narrowly avoided a lengthy prison sentence by showing complete remorse for the near annihilation he had almost wrought upon the entire world and agreeing to work protecting Hoenn's waters from pollution and other issues. Team Aqua had been reorganised in the end, too. Archie, having really gathered a gaggle of people who adored him. He still felt awful for what he had done and decided that he needed a change of pace, which brought you both to Alola.

💧 You swore he had not left the water since you arrived, besides when he needed to sleep or eat. His Sharpedo and Mightyena were constantly out and playing with him in the water, too. It was honestly great to see him so revitalised after everything. You had joined him, too, naturally, but simply lacked the endurance to remain in the water as much as he did. Everything had been feeling a little too beach-oriented, ultimately. It was a bit expected with a boyfriend like Archie, however.

💧 You had managed to drag him out to see other sights, somehow. A trip to Seafolk Village had proven quite thrilling, and the pirate easily found himself at home there. You had not, it seemed, as you had become separated from him. You gazed around the pier curiously, wondering if he had gone aboard one of the ships. The sight of a familiar blue headband relieved you instantly. Calling out his name, you watched the man turn around. It was then you realised you had it wrong, as this man was decidedly not Archie at all. He had been in his swimming trunks and a tank top this morning, and this man certainly was not wearing that. His grin did widen at the sight of you, dark eyes clearly recognising you, and he began to approach you.

💧 You felt frantic, as he was almost certainly wearing your boyfriend's bandana. He resembled him to an eerie extent, but his skin tone was certainly not the same. You were about to apologise and explain you were looking for someone else when arms wrapped around your waist and someone excitedly called out your name. Archie's smell of the sea was easy to recognise. Softly, you tugged him to your side to look at his odd near doppelgänger.

💧 Archie easily followed, leaving an arm around you as he gazed at the man in all black. The minute their eyes made contact, you could almost see something strange occur in both their minds. You felt Archie squeeze you closer into his side while the other man stopped in his path to you. The not-Archie stuck his hand in his pocket and let out an audible sigh. “What a strange world, I thought I found my Luvdisc,” his voice sounded identical to Archie's own, inflection and all. He had even used a common pet name Archie had for you. “'Seems I was wrong. The ocean is normal here, and I decided to wear an anchor.” Archie shifted at his words.

💧 Before the pirate could snap, the strange man called out a Sharpedo and surfed away from you both. You held Archie back from chasing after him, holding odd feelings about the encounter. He seemed to recognise you and called you a pet name that only Archie used. They were freakishly similar despite their obvious differences. He also had a bandana that you certainly only thought Archie would wear. You looked at him and he at you. He then let out one of his laughs and shook his head. It seemed whatever that was would be better off forgotten, so you headed to the boat restaurant Archie had discovered to eat.

💧 Except, Archie only wanted you to forget the odd encounter with his not-quite twin. He could feel a certain determination when he looked into his eyes. It was one that had long since passed him. Zinnia's odd ramblings about an alternate timeline without Mega-Evolution hit him hard. The remark about deciding to wear an anchor really sunk it in. Some mad version of himself out there had really managed to flood the earth, hadn't he? Archie suddenly felt relieved that scamp had snapped him out of it here.

[wallbeatjournal]

Keggie or Regchie?

i mean, kevin/reggie is inherently disadvantaged here as a supporting character ship. they have less going on, and what they do have going on is often a mirror of what's happening to the main characters. THAT SAID i do love kevin. and i think there's so much that's interesting about their dynamic especially in season 6/percival plot times...

but cmon. archie/reggie, man. main character/rival-foil if you're looking at s1-6?? boy best friend/boy best friend if you're looking at s7?? come onnnn that's irresistible. ARCHIE MADE REGGIE WEEP FOR THE WARM JOY OF BEING SUPPORTED AND CARED FOR DOES THAT NOT MAKE YOU FEEL CRAZY KIND OF?? DOES THAT NOT MAKE YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AND HEALING AND THE FUNDAMENTAL GOODNESS OF HUMAN NATURE A LITTLE BIT??

sorry to shout i just. it all kind of bubbles up unexpectedly when i think about archie and reggie in what-if-adults-protected-us-sometimes-so-we-could-form-age-appropriate-attachments world.

and s1-6 archiereggie...fuck outta here. there's soooo much baggage to unpack we could sit here and do that FOREVER. archiereggie s5-6 especially would be so fucked up for reggie but maybe they could figure it out if they confronted it. maybe. given 80k words or so...just saying...if someone wants to write it...

[squimbusfrommypolls]

The bracket has been completed! Polls will start being posted Wednesday, March 29th, at 2pm cst!

The right half of the bracket will be posted Thursday, March 30th, at 2pm cst!

Each available poll is linked below along with the matchups!

The left side consists of

Randy Jade (Dialtown) vs Shuu Iwamine (Hatoful Boyfriend)

Ticket Jerry (Dialtown) vs Sawyer (Boyfriend Dungeon)

The Eastridge Demon (Dreams of an Insomniac) vs SCP-6059 (SCP Foundation)

Sen (Shoulder a Coffin Kuro) vs Sirius Gibson (Witch’s Heart)

Goobleck (Just Roll With It) vs Shinji Hibiki (UTAU)

Gin Ibushi (Your Turn To Die) vs Alastor (Viewtiful Joe)

Felix White (The Henry Stickmin Collection) vs Lightbulb (Inanimate Insanity)

Denizen Hardwick (Knights of the Borrowed Dark) vs Tomix Danao (Dragonfable)

Goo (Inanimate Insanity) vs Survivor (Rain world)

Pleading Child (Sky: Children of Light) vs Sydney Sargent (Camp Here and There)

Dj Yellow (Rhythm Heaven Ds) vs Biddybud (Super Mario)

Victim (Animation vs Animator) vs WX-78 (Don’t Starve)

Stomp Farmer (Rhythm Heaven Ds) vs Zonic the Zone Cop (Sonic Archie Comics)

2BDamned (Madness Combat) vs Purple (Animation vs Minecraft)

Elliot Schafer (In Other Lands) vs Goldia die Heilige (Pocket Mirror)

Jeff (Clarence) vs The Shapes (Mr Maker)

The right side consists of

Usaida Yoshihito (Gakkuen Babysitters) vs Fuu Hououji (Magic Knights Rayeart)

Gal (Ordem Paranormal) vs Michelle (HaSodot (The Secrets))

Lumi (Cats are Liquid) vs Jack Kennedy (Dayshift at Freddy’s)

Fitz Vacker (Keeper of the Lost Cities) vs Holly Short (Artemis Fowl)

David St Hubbins (This is Spinal Tap) vs Oedipus (The Mechanisms Ulysses)

Gordon Porlock (Red Valley) vs David Ward (I Am In Eskew)

Joe “Mama” Besser (This is Spinal Tap) vs Blogbot (The Mechanisms)

Citron (A3!) vs Caspar (Midnight Burger)

Rosemaster (Cucumber Quest) vs Daemon (Reboot!)

Oliver (Purrgatory) vs Trouble0 (REDACTED Smp)

Vespa Illkay (The Penumbra Podcast) vs Jamiejoan (Dominion Smp)

Lily (Lilys Well) vs Cavum (Moleman Arg)

Kanatsune Ame (Entropic Float) vs Peter Kennedy (Dayshift at Freddy’s)

Crawford Tillinghast (From Beyond) vs Alfred Montbank (Death Gate Cycle)

William Murderface (Metalocalypse) vs Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries)

Asuka Toyama (Bang Dream Girls Band Party) vs Reinhard von Lohengramm (Legend of the Galactic Heroes)

[number-one-shadisper-shipper]

The Sonic franchise did not have to go so hard exploring dynamics and types of alternate/evil versions of characters BUT THEY DID

Like some media will give you an evil version of a character and be like, "Yeah he's from a mirror dimension so he's evil *le gasp*" and that's fun and all, but there's no depth or intrigue.

And then we have Sonic.

The Sonic franchise has alternate versions of Sonic, Shadow, and other characters. We have freaking SONIC PRIME who's whole premise is exploring alternate versions of characters (beyond just Sonic) and it is absolutely AMAZING. I'm not going to go into Prime right now cuz that's another post or twenty, and I just wanna focus on how each alternate version of Sonic has their own dynamic, personality, and relationship with Sonic. I've never seen another franchise that does THIS MUCH with alternate versions.

(Long ramble and some spoilers under the cut)

To start with, we have the big one, Metal Sonic. Made by Eggman to be able to defeat Sonic. They could've just gone with a basic, "Oh look a robot version of the Main Character now they fight" and not given him any depth, but he hits HARD (without even having a voice box or mouth to show emotions or anything). The fact that he's programed TO SEE HIMSELF AS THE REAL SONIC and has to deal with that, him slowly discovering that he's not, but not being able to break free from his programming so he can create his own destiny, his father/son dynamic with Eggman but also being nothing more than a weapon to him is just MMMMMM YEESSSSSS. And the whole "Strange, isn't it?" and "There is only one Sonic" thing from the OVA is INSANE!!!!

And there's Mecha Sonic, whose backstory I don't really know a lot about, but his arc in the Scrapnik Island miniseries is EPIC and he's showing the potential arc that Metal Sonic could have. After getting thrown away by Eggman, he finally has the chance to start over and has an epic moment that parallels the OVA lava scene.

And then there's Shadow. He's not actually an "alternate" Sonic, he came first and has no actual connection to him. But the fact that when he shows up the first thing Sonic does is call him a faker, and his identity issues won't let him let that go. Because he has to prove he's not a fake, but is he? His memories are real, aren't they? But he remembers "dying" and he sees his own robot versions and a god of darkness taking his form and Infinite creating a fake army of hims, and he can't be a fake himself, right? He has to be the real Shadow. Cuz that name, that identity is all he has. But what is that identity? Ultimately, he is all of him. But even with all of that he still wrestles with who he is and he has to keep calling Sonic "faker" because no matter what the world still sees him as "the edgy version of Sonic," but he's not, he's so much more than that. He has his own arcs and growth and potential.

And there's Scourge, who's the typical "evil Sonic from another dimension", who I know absolutely nothing about since I haven't really read the Archie comics yet, but I saw this panel:

And like I don't care if he has zero other depth besides that because that IS INSANE. Sonic having to wrestle with his own potential for evil, but at the same time, Scourge's potential for good, and and it's literally just the matter of a few choices. This is the battle we all have to face within ourselves every day, even if we don't realize it.

And speaking of Sonic's potential for evil, DARK SONIC??? THE OPPOSITE OF SUPER SONIC? WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LET THE CHAOS ENERGY FEED ON YOUR DARKNESS RATHER THAN YOUR LIGHT??? and I know it's only one scene but oh my goodness!!! Cuz yes, your best traits can become your greatest weakness, and loving your friends can turn into doing unspeakable horrors if someone hurts them, and maybe the person that has to bring you back to yourself is your arch-enemy, because they of all people know who you really are and that if you fighting from righteous motives is undefeatable, you fighting from RAGE is noting short of terrifying.

And Surge from IDW, whose arc is literally called IMPOSTER SYNDROME??? Again, created to be the Anti-Sonic, to be the one who can finally take him down. And she knows she's not the real Sonic and doesn't want to be, and she knows the only reason she hates Sonic is because her abuser gaslit and hypnotized her into hating him, but she can't escape that programming any more than Metal can. And maybe she doesn't have a reason to hate Sonic but she'll create one because she literally has to have a reason, and maybe she's not the real Sonic but he's the only reason she exists, and he's the only reason she went through all the suffering she went through. And no I can't reach for your hand pulling me to safety because that would be admitting that I don't really have a reason hate you, that I can't escape without your help, that your philosophy of giving villains a second chance is valid.

Anyways that was a lot of rambling but UGH it all just so good and intense and the depth and effort in this franchise is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

[yellowhollyhock]

okay so. I think tnm and coots turtles have pretty different personalities and also look different however a fun thought

anyway there's this scene in the staff of bu-ki after Raph loses a spar to Venus. Splinter's telling him about how his master played the flute and he always wanted to play like him, but he learned to make his own music (ie Raph doesn't have to master Venus's techniques he should master his own)

And it kind of reminded me of the Skipping Stones song coots Splinter sings and how he cites Raph coming home upset from the park one day as, kind of the start? Of teaching them to use music as a way to cope/help others? (I need to rewatch and fact check but first I need to get this thought out there before I sleep on it and think better of it akdjakdja)

And it wasn't a super strong association until I realized that coots Donatello wears the yin-yang symbol which is Venus's symbol

(^it's also a thing in archie and Donatello has.. idk some type of experience with it? I really don't know how to describe but that's another post anyway)

So Raph and Splinter bonding over music + yin yang symbol being part of someone's costume = these universes are connected and I'm making an au where they're the same

I'm thinking that instead of being kept secret from each other, Splinter and Chung I met each other dream-walking when turtles were pre-teens, but by then it was hard for either of them to uproot completely, but they did want the siblings to get to meet each other, and the easiest way was by dream-walking so teaching that is a high priority

They all learn and are okay at it but Venus and Leo are a lot better so they get to visit a lot and the others are jealous; they start exchanging letters a lot more. Leo and Venus still dream-walk but it's not the main way they communicate

Music is one of the things Master Splinter teaches them to help them get better at it

After meeting Shredder they're focused on dealing with that and lose touch with their interest in music as well as largely losing the ability to dream-walk (now only Leo can do it and it's much harder for him than it used to be)

Venus wants to go to New York to help her brothers because between the letters and lack of dream-walking they are clearly not doing okay

But that's when the Dragon Lord breaks out of the mirror dimension

Raph worried about Venus and Chung I and can't reach to help, frustrated that everything's happening at once, arguing with Leo over how to best defeat the Shredder. Some kind of fight in the park, coming home upset, combo of Splinter's 'playing the flute' convo from TNM and his 'skipping stones' analogy in COOTS

Something something defeating the Dragon Lord together through the power of song and almost doing the same with the Shredder but Stockman invents some kind of Power of Song Blocker

Now they're a band and accidentally touring in Japan ajdhaksks

They want Venus to join but she's still Chung I's student and she doesn't want to travel the world and she isn't too sure about being onstage (language barriers will be a thing in this fic)

Donnie's wearing the yin-yang symbol as sort of a way to bring her onstage with them, especially since they're not gonna see her a lot. They will still have their magic vs science rivalry/jealousy and it will thus be very sweet that he's the one doing this (they can argue about whether music is magic or science lajhksjak)

And eventually Venus will join, don't know what she plays yet