#not only would i die for them but i would also kill for them

[andromeda-collective]

i have multiple and im going to mention all of them but im starting with THIS FUCKER HERE (blade from honkai star rail) AND I HAVE A VERY STUPID REASON FOR IT

there was an minigame thing with a character named march 7th (dont ask) and there were little events you could encounter throughout it and one of them was that you had to choose between a red and blue pill (or the third option of giving a nonanswer) and since my choice didnt matter at all i went with the red pill because i know that the matrix is a transfem allegory and i also hc march as transfem but then another character made a little comment that blade would ALSO pick the red pill which completely makes sense for his character but since i was still on the transfem allegory mindset i had the thought of "wait does this make blade transfem??" so shes transfem to me now 👍

estrogen would NOT save her. not even REMOTELY. he's a suicidal immortal who physically cannot die because of a ritual his old friend-with-romantic-implications tried who he now wants dead more than anything else. hes basically possessed by evil plants that revive him every time he dies and he goes fucking feral. hes a mass murderer with a bounty of over 8 billion. nothing can save him. but transitioning might make her miserable life slightly more manageable? plus i mean.. throwing your old name away and being a new person? obviously a metaphor for being trans /j

boothill! this is slightly for shipping reasons (turning a het ship wlw for funzies) but mostly projecting my gender-nonconforming transness onto the only southern disabled character i know of. are we different kinds of southern? yes. are we different kinds of disabled? also yes. do i care? absolutely not. (also because butch southern women make the world go round)

also sampo because the idea that this fuck is a cisgender ANYTHING is laughable. this is a nonbinary transfem boymoding for shits and giggles who randomly switches to the girl voice when talking to someone JUST to fuck with them because nobody else would believe them and the person would think theyre losing it. typical masked fool stuff. gaslight gatekeep girlboss.

and then from genshin impact: zhongli. who has CANONICALLY used shapeshifting to become a woman. and has likely done so on more than one occasion. this guy is CANONICALLY GENDERFLUID WHETHER PEOPLE LIKE IT OR NOT. and you can obviously be genderfluid and transfem at the same time so why the hell not :D

most other characters i hc as transfem i dont have much of a reason for, but im gonna list them anyways cause hell yeah

argenti (hsr) - she can have a little estrogen as a treat

dr. ratio (hsr) - no reason i just think it could work

sunday (hsr) - something something religious-trauma-and-giving-into-what-you-once-believed-to-be-sinful

diluc (genshin) - fanfiction on ao3 changed my brain chemistry

kazuha (genshin) - also no reason i just think it fits

sebastian solace (a game on roblox called pressure) - im gonna be honest with you op, i just like putting this fucker in situations. and i would love to see the struggle of medically transitioning when you've been forcibly had your body and dna altered to the point of no longer being human. even ignoring for a few seconds the thought that maybe hrt wouldnt have the same effect (or any effect at all) due to the experiments, how could you will yourself to alter yourself medically in any way after the horrific trauma you've experienced? its between fucking with your already fucked up body or having the dysphoria kill you from the inside out. i am rotating her in my mind even harder now.

p.ai.nter (from same game) on the other hand? a lot simpler. make the ai with guns a girl. also just a funny idea: you know that "put eyelashes on it to make it obvious that its a girl" thing? yeah. painter doing that.

^ TELL ME SHE WOULDNT.

i would apologize for the essay but you did say i was legally required to share so this is your fault /lh

anyways i hope you enjoyed the women

If you see this post you’re legally required to tell me at least one trans woman headcanons you have for a canonically male character, I never get to see transfem headcanons like that, give me them, and for equality of my own please know estrogen could have saved Insector Haga and Dinosaur Ryuzaki I will not elaborate, also Yuya.

[erinwantstowrite]

A while ago you liked a comment of mine on TikTok where I said that there should be no second Batman bc having Bruce retire/die means his fight should be over and he should be able to rest properly, (idk if that’s exactly what I said but I think it’s in the ball park) so can I ask what you think about a legacy Batman? And who would you have be the second Batman? Also your art is amazing and I love leap of faith, hope you have a great day

i remember that comment!!!!

i honestly believe that having a "legacy" for every single hero is just,,, boring. the reason this happens is because they are never going to NOT have Batman. how else would they make money??? so they just keep giving us reasons why his mantle has to be there. just like the Joker HAS to always come back, why new characters are always tied in to existing characters somehow, etc.

in a perfect world, we'd get new characters sometimes and overarching storylines that aren't regressed the second we make any headway on character development. we'd have new villains by now that make a name for themselves outside of the original villains, we'd see an impact on our settings and characters, all that jazz. and in this perfect world, we wouldn't have so many legacy mantles

and i mean, like, one of the supers taking up the Superman name? that's cool. they're a family, thematically it works. even with the Flash family, I accept how they do it (though I hardly keep up with their comics)

but Batman?????

STOPPPPP

Every other Batfam member has an arc where they branch away from Bruce and the name, save for Tim and Cass, I think. Tim is... a gray area. I only put him here because he's back to being Robin (because DC can't let go of that money maker!). It's an insult to their characters to put them into the Batman mantle, but in universe, this keeps happening because "Gotham needs Batman."

No! No they do not! They do not need Batman specifically. They need his ideals! His kids do not need to be Batman to have Batman still be around after he's put up the cape or died, because they are that future without the cape! There is no magic tied in to that stupid cowl, they just see it that way because Batman is this larger than life figure. Of course they think their dad is impervious to the world, that the cape that protected them is special, that they need Batman. But that is NOT the case.

Just like with any family, life will move on. The legacy continues through the lessons that the kids learned. In many ways, they are better than Batman because they learned from his mistakes, too. Just like every kid does with their parent.

But they don't want to be Batman. And it's kind of insane to keep putting them in someone else's suit, basically someone else's identity. Dick is a great Batman, but his biggest fear is losing himself in Bruce's shadow. What happened to Jason was because of Batman's failure, and it isn't healthy to put him in the Batman suit. Tim should be allowed to move on from Robin and finally get his own mantle because he has always used someone else's. (Yes I am purposefully forgetting that Drake existed do not remind me.) That and the existence of Gun Batman. Do NOT put him in that suit!!!!!!! Damian is branching out of vigilante life altogether, which is so so so good for him. Him becoming Batman after struggling so much with his identity, purpose, and blood ties, is a spit in the face to character development. I think Duke should get to choose his own name for a hero mantle (because Bruce thought of Signal), and thematically I don't think he fits into the Batman role. He is a shining light the way Robin was, but this time more literal because of his powers. Batman is very human, that's what makes his character. Duke deserves more than being Batman.

The best person for that job is Cass.

Not only does she understand the No Kill Rule in the way that Bruce understands it, she is also his equal or superior in every way. Whether it's her physical abilities, or her intelligence, or her morals, Cass fits the bill. She's one of the strongest members of the Batfam and I think she would be able to take on the burden without crumbling under the pressure or feeling scared of that responsibility. She's fit in to the Batman role before, has mirrored him in many ways, and is also her own character (and man I just really love Cass). She strikes the same amount of fear into people that Batman does, a master of the shadows, the dark, and she has a hope that I think Gotham could need.

But she doesn't need to be Batman to do it. She just has to fill in that role. Sure, she could pick up the name Batman, it won't kill me. But so long as she fills in the space that Bruce left behind, becoming the next leader and mentor, she could be anyone.

I think it's more powerful that way to show that the time has passed. That Bruce's time as a vigilante made an impact. Gotham has changed. His kids have grown up. And the Dark Knight is still there, at home.

[wardensantoineandevka]

what ultimately gets me about learning that there was a way to destroy Predathos with a Luxon beacon is not necessarily that I would have preferred that as a narrative option. it's that learning that the Catatheosis option was chosen in complete ignorance of that option means that we completely missed out on any meaningful significance in which Bells Hells actively chose an option where nobody, not even Predathos, has to die

if Bells Hells knew that they could kill Predathos, just as much as they could kill the gods, but still chose Catatheosis out of empathy for both the gods and Predathos, it would have been a FAR SUPERIOR narrative and would have been the best, most meaningful, and most effective framing of the final narrative outcome.

the narrative we do have does not actually weigh handling Predathos with an eye as to what is just or fair for Predathos because, at the moment of the decision, the narrative and characters imagine that "destroy it" and "continue to contain it" are impossibilities. the idea that Predathos is hungry or that it's lonely or that it doesn't necessarily choose to behave this way end up non-factors in weighing the dilemma because it's believed that Predathos is going to be free in all cases. it actually takes any focus or weight on empathy or compassion for it AWAY because the characters and narrative don't believe there is any way to meaningfully act against Predathos. therefore, they don't need to weigh whether they are acting fairly to it. they simply believe they cannot meaningfully act unfairly against it because it's only a matter of time before it gets what it wants: freedom and a bite to eat. so, the dilemma is weighed entirely on what to do about the gods, and ultimately whether it is just or compassionate to allow them to be eaten or to chase them away or to find a way for their survival.

the fact that "there is a way to destroy Predathos" is never introduced in the narrative actually WEAKENS any idea that Bells Hells is choosing a radical and broad compassion and empathy for all life. they aren't choosing NOT to kill Predathos, they aren't choosing for Predathos to ALSO live. they simply don't know that the contrary is an option. you can't choose what you aren't aware of is on the table. so, we will never know if they would have still chosen Catatheosis if they'd have known that they could've destroyed Predathos this entire time.

it brings up a wild paradox for me in that, knowing that destroying Predathos was a real possibility and fully available if the right levers were pulled does not actually impart on the narrative as performed any meaningful thematic implications of mercy and compassion while simultaneously that knowledge weakens the narrative in my estimation because I am suddenly aware of how much that element would've vastly improved and added to the thematic arc, even if the outcomes remained the same and Bells Hells still chose Catatheosis, and given greater and more significant weight to the choice to pursue Catatheosis because it would've imbued it with a sense of active choosing to uphold particular values or ideals — but not enough work was done on Matt's end to ensure that it was part of the narrative, the available options, and its thematic fabric.

so, we don't get any of that. we just get a narrative outcome that is billed to us as, not out of any pursuit of ideological ideals (no matter what anyone else says), "Well, we didn't have any other choice, and I don't really want the gods to get eaten."

[demon-at-peace]

hi, so i generally don't like demon twins, like it's fanfiction, but relationships don't work like that, they aren't brothers. Even if they separated at age 6, 7 or even 8.

because you don't remember stuff. You remember a teacher making you cry, the friends you have. With the terrible dynamic portrayed in most of the fics, both of them would likely only hold on to the bad memories. I'm also between 16-18 and it's like that for me.

I was thinking about it, and why don't they have a terrible relationship in these? it makes more sense then suddenly being brothers. Often we see a cruel Damian, with a neglected Danny in flashbacks. And even more common is Danny and Damian dueling to the death to decide and heir.

Logically then the hate would be one sided, Danny would hate Damian, but Damian wouldn't hate Danny. And Damian (after apologies and treating Danny better) he would expect to be forgiven. He was just a kid, he didn't understand surely Danny can see that.

Danny would see someone who tried to kill him, who betrayed him, who left him to die, and of course he'd hate Damian. but a even cooler response would be fear, he was a kid and trauma exists.And normally these start like that, before they smooth it out in a chapter or 2.

but that's not how it works. I think Danny would avoid Damian he'd snap at him, and on principle he'd dislike the bats, I can see him heading to crime alley because they don't patrol there only to meet Jason and panic.

And Damian would chase him, it's his brother, he has a second chance, and the bats would too. And it would end up terribly. Danny runs and hates them so much and avoids them. they also might remind him of Maddie and Jack or Skuller and lead to panic attacks.

So Danny runs for a year, and the Bats regret their actions. they were rash. They lost a brother, they still search, sifting through reports, looking into people, checking data bases for fake ID's.

Danny is paranoid, he's still quips, still a hero, but he has a mask, he changes his speech patterns, he changes his name entirely. He changes his style to be more like Sams, he looks almost unrecognizable. And he's still scared, and on rare instances he still wakes up with dreams from when Damain stabbed him.

of course to make it worse he could become an established part of the JL a couple years or so after he leaves Gotham. so he's finally settling down finally has friends, and he avoids the Bats. No one in the JL know why Danny hates them, why he's skittish, why he looks at them with so much fear.

Oh misunderstandings! please, have them think Bruce hurt Danny, but he's the worst around Robin. Have Jon try to convince Danny that Robin is nice and all Danny can see when he offers to spar is the duel!

So while I personally don't enjoy this in general this is a concept I would read avidly, though this principle would likely be a heart wrenching angst fic now that I think about it. Anyhow thanks for reading my rant.

i'm sure there is overlap on this idea out there, and I had zero intention to plagiarize anything, please let me know too.

edit: apparently there is a fic like this, and all credits go to the author, thanks to the commenter who told me or I wouldn’t have known,

it’s called Broken Bonds https://archiveofourown.org/works/54372952/chapters/137720050

hi found another by stroke of luck

it's called counting constellations

thanks :)

[dcxdpdabbles]

So, I have another prompt for you. Valerie Gray is Jason Todd reincarnated, there are some parallels that could work. You can take this in whatever direction you want, but here’s a bit I wrote to get it started. If you want to make it more interesting, you can also hint at having another dp character be a reincarnation of a batfamily member. Here’s some ideas I had for that but you can choose differently or just do Valerie:

Danny = Tim or Steph

Dani = Duke

Jazz = Dick

Paulina = Damian

Maddie = Bruce or Selina

Prompt:

Valerie loved her dad, she didn’t need a mom to be happy in life. (Jason had two mothers and both of them broke something deep inside of him. One of them betrayed and killed him, the other let him love her while he watched her deteriorate and die from addiction until he was left completely alone. His fathers abused him, with beatings and abandonment, lack of care, a batarang to the neck... Valerie was lucky to have someone who loved her.) The day Axion Labs is destroyed by Phantom and his dog, when Valerie’s family is ruined all she can think about is revenge. She’s overcome with a soul deep anger, remnants of a rage that never died in a past life overcoming her. Valerie seethes and plots, she takes the armor from the suspicious billionaire if only because it finally gives her the tools she needs to avenge her dad and herself (Like training with and getting gear from the League of Assassins to be able to accomplish his goals). It almost seems familiar somehow, getting supplies from a suspicious billionaire for a mission of vigilantism. Valerie will use the armor and weapons to eliminate the threat to her town with prejudice, a real hero unlike the false heroics of Phantom. (A hero she thought she could trust, her town hero, his father didn’t care enough to actually bring about Justice. Valerie would make her own justice, make Amity Park as safe as it should be so no one else has to die suffer like this from a supposed “hero”). The echoes of green vengeance fuel the Red Huntress on her mission to hunt down the Phantom, murmurs of rage tempting her like a siren’s song to be more brutal with the threats. Any sympathy Valerie had towards ghosts died when everything fell to pieces for her (Brutal policies to control the crime in the Alley, now drugs will be regulated, Crime Alley will be safer, and vigilantes won’t neglect their duties in the poorer parts of Gotham any longer. He would be the vigilante Crime Alley needs, the one the rich billionaire never truly worked to save, the one he needed as a kid when he was suffering on the streets. Hope isn’t enough. Violence and regulation has to be the answer, or else what did he do all of this for?). Now Valerie had to work overtime in order to stay afloat because her dad couldn’t find any work that would take him that paid enough to support the both of them (growing up too fast with a single parent that couldn’t support them leading to Jason Valerie having to work hard and be exposed to more than a child should ever have to—) Curse that Phantom…

This is fascinating, and I don't know what to add to it. I like the idea that she has deep, hidden memories of the Pit Madness.

You should add more!

[heshemejoshi]

i feel like if you look at my octopath tag for a bit it might be obvious which ships i’m drawn to AHAHAHAH so i would rather talk about a rarepair ship that’s technically not even possible in canon because one of them is already dead and the other is killed. but it kept me making up situations for a while and it was fun!

brace yourselves, it’s yusufa x gareth YURI. i imagine this happens in a timeline where, somehow, primrose managed to get yusufa help for her wounds and leaves her in the care of zeph in clearbrook. she leaves her because, as the ending in canon states, she wants her to be free. and by leaving her she’s giving her the freedom she never had. i imagine yusufa grieves this breakup of sorts for a while, but she comes to understand why primrose took that decision while her body recovers and she gets to talk to a man who doesn’t ask Anything of her, who doesn’t want her in the way she’s been used to.

i imagine she also goes on a trip across the continent, which is where meeting gareth comes into place. idk why, i always thought it was cute if she became an apothecary apprentice with a role akin to alfyn (healing people in need just for the sake of it) and in those travels she meets a wounded gareth left to die in a cave. they stay on that one town close to where that happens during his recovery which reminds yusufa of “home” but the environment is now significantly different to her. it doesn’t want to eat her alive.

gareth’s character is an obvious foil to therion who also went through darius’ brutal discarding. in canon he has to die in order for the plot to advance and he is the Only person therion has to kill across his 4 chapters. i think in canon he also is trapped in a cycle of violence because it’s clear by how he’s played as a pawn that darius also mistreats him but he has nowhere else to go to. while therion at this point in the plot has the other 7 travelers (or.. the ravuses if you choose a loner playthrough, but i think they’re narratively much much weaker than considering the other protagonists) backing him up, gareth has no one but darius. like therion before the fall.

in a sense both gareth and yusufa have been failed by the world they live on through sheer bad luck. though we know nothing about gareth’s backstory he is with darius for a reason and he is actively crushed by him. and yusufa was sold to helgenish as a child, leaving her with no other choice than to stay with him. when yusufa meets gareth in my timeline, i think they both recognize each others as survivors, and yusufa helps guide her through her newfound unexpected freedom as gareth also shows her new paths in hers. i also imagine gareth at first struggles with not returning to darius because in a twisted way her body still feels like she has to go back, miroring yusufa's grieving and letting primrose go in the beginning.

now ONTO THE YURI PART OKAY because gareth is canonically a man. i like to think there’s transgender things happening in my games you see. i honestly have not much explanation or justification for this other than i think that gareth stands at odds with existence itself and yet she chooses to live (extremely trans coded) even if she knows she’s only good at her thievery. i believe that both of their freedom is eventually expressed through breaking gender, as well. and through gareth, yusufa can also get a new meaning of womanhood, because she’s been sexualized for it for her entire life, but gareth helps her gain a new understanding that being a woman doesn’t have to mean she’s purely valuable as an object of sexual desire.

does this make sense? probably not. i’m admitting my secrets here ok. they’ve been hiding for YEARS i never talk about them but i have based some ocs around these concepts since they resonate so much. octopath helped me fuel my creativity as i developed as a teen (and also helped me find community at a time where i needed it) and i’ll always have a soft spot for that inevitably <3

I miss octopath yapping with people so uh yknow what! We’re gonna play a game!!

Explain in the notes what y’all’s favorite ships are and why you like them!!!

Only rules are

1) do not explain why everyone should think your ship is canon, as that is not the point of this post 2) do not put any other ships down bc that is also not the point of this post 3) ALL games are included (yes including cotc) 4) ANY SHIPS ARE ALLOWED!!! GO NUTS!!!!

[weepingtalecowboy]

Names have power some names destiny can’t let turn into myths

I am in a mood so legend gets it again

Fanfic prompt :

We have no idea where cadence of Hyrule fits in timeline wise as it potentially can be whatever

But since link is a toon in that one I kinda want him to be a lil teen still when it happened

So I had this very horrifying thought

Since link can die literally endlessly

What if he can’t truly age as well like every few decades he will come back being a lil guy and it will literally not stop

Any death brings him back to being a lil teen a few years short of his age during linked universe

Be it a quick death or a very slow one

Even dying from old age won’t be his end

But that gets even more horrifying when we consider that the theory of which link is in link between worlds

Because the Zelda from the original games canonically has a different appearance

But the Zelda in link between worlds also looks different initially which made many people wonder what timeline this games belong in

So what if link to the past along with oracle of seasons and link between worlds have literal decades between eachother

Because that way the Zelda kidnappings will not even be ridiculous

Like link to the past was one Zelda

The final oracle game Zelda was a descendant of the other who was kidnapped much later

and link between worlds was the descendant of the descendant

And fable is actually the great granddaughter of the first Zelda that legend met

(If we go with the legend is related to Zelda theory it gets even worse because that is his great grand niece.. the angst)

And he is centuries old and Ravio had no clue that he moved in with a centuries old being

Because that would be hilarious if Ravio is like 20 at most while legend barely remembers the joy of being just twenty

A romance between them would literally be both the worst most painful thing because legend knows Ravio will leave as well one day

And they will never truly grow old together and he will just be alone again after a few decades

And the most bitter sweet thing in existence

As legend cherishes every moment he has with the people he still has left knowing that hylia will never let him leave this earth

He once wished to end his life because after Marin he thought he deserved to join the women he killed

Only to realize living on without this closure was the punishment he so desperately sought for

To live on and on knowing that he will never get to explain himself to all the people he lost

His uncle he will never get to tell how he felt

Marin he could never hope to explain why he killed her or even apologize to her for that

Zelda and her little girl are long gone he cannot tell them how much he loves their little girl how much he wants to protect the newest Zelda just as he protected all the others before her

Din and her troupe , Nayru , Ralph , styla and his fellow heroes from hytopia are long dead and….

He is the only one still there all alone

And that way all the Zelda re designs would make a tragic amount of sense like all of them being different people reminding him of his sister

Fable knowing that her great grand uncle has been hanging around since her birth and therefore relying on him despite not truly knowing him because he keeps a distance she tries to break so much

Ravio who has such happy memories who knows that his life with link is very very short, knowing that one day he will die as well yet link will never follow he will wait for all eternity but his husband will never come join him

The chain who eventually became more people legend loves so dearly who legend grew to love he knows that some he will never see because they are in different timelines.

Yet he has his very vast memories of all those people

Remembering fighting time and Wild for the title old man (he unfortunately didn’t win)

Remembering teasing twilight , skyand warriors (and totally losing half the time)

Remembering when wind wanted to sail with him claiming they were pirates together

Remembering so much fun and excitement

hoping that he will meet hyrule some day if he just keeps living on (knowing he has no real choice)

That there is one thing worth looking out for when he already lost so much over and over…

Yet hyrule never fell like rulie said it will instead of it falling down , somehow it persisted

And he met a new descendant the granddaughter of fable's

For all his hope of meeting hyrule ,he met echo instead

And a new adventure began for him once again

But for all his hopes where crushed he at least know that at least in this timeline another boy wouldn’t have to fight his battle

For as often as he fell in battle

Hylia brought him back to keep fighting them

His battles will not fall on another child this time

For he was the hero of legends

And legends never die

[anghraine]

Can't lie, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the representation of Kirk in The Wrath of Khan (yes, a great movie in many ways, and internally to the film it's a compelling arc, but—). The film persistently presents Kirk as a man who has refused to truly face death throughout his life thus far, but instead evaded and tricked and outmaneuvered his obstacles in such a way that he only accepts victory and has never had to really contend with death and serious loss.

It's interesting as a character concept and executed well within the film, but the more I think about it, the more absolutely baffled I am by it as an interpretation of James T. Kirk specifically. As a refresher, these are some highlights (by no means exhaustive) from Kirk's life in TOS:

The obvious one: at age 13, Kirk survived starvation and genocide in the colony he lived in to become one of only nine surviving eyewitnesses. He remained markedly grim into young adulthood (Kirk as a very young man is described as severe and somber across multiple episodes). He discovers in the first season that someone has been methodically killing the other survivors of the genocide. Early in the relevant episode, he has already become the eldest of only two remaining eyewitnesses, and spends the whole episode carrying the weight of stopping the murders and remembering enough to finally see justice done (and perhaps avenge the dead).

In S1, he gets stranded in 1930 and falls deeply in love with a principled pacifist/social activist who loves the stars as much as him. He has a very sweet, romantic courtship with her, only to discover that she has to die young to prevent a Nazi hellscape future (it makes sense in context). Kirk desperately hopes they can find another way, but in the end, he faces reality and helps Spock prevent McCoy from saving her life. He ends the episode obviously devastated.

In literally the next episode, he finds the dead body of his brother Sam (his only sibling; Sam, his wife Aurelan, and their young sons were all present to support Kirk when he formally received command of the Enterprise, and he seems quite close to them). Kirk tries to save his sister-in-law and nephews from the same excruciating death that Sam suffered, but they aren't fast enough to save Aurelan and, like her husband, she dies in anguish.

In S2, a fellow starship commander and friend of Kirk's who is grief-stricken after the deaths of his entire crew launches a suicide run at a largely invincible, planet-destroying monstrosity. Kirk begs him, "Matt. Matt, listen to me. You can't throw your life away like this" but fails to convince him.

Also in S2, there's a whole episode about Kirk's intense guilt over an attack he survived at age 23 that killed 200 fellow crewmen and a captain he was devoted to. Kirk has spent the last 11 years believing all of this was the result of a two-second hesitation on his part (records of the time indicate he's wrong, as does the evidence within the episode, but he's so haunted by surviving yet another slaughter that for much of the episode he can't really accept the reality that nothing he could have done would have made a difference).

In another episode, the entire crew of the Enterprise shows up just in time to witness, but not prevent, the deaths of 400 Vulcans. Later, Kirk fully believes Spock has died heroically, and in the midst of disaster, takes care to leave a record of the highest commendation to Spock in case he himself dies.

There's another episode where intergalactic conquerors start transforming Kirk's crew into cubes of salt and they straight up destroy the cube "containing" a dutiful yeoman simply to punish Kirk. His log of the incident concludes: "I can't forget the picture of Yeoman Thompson crushed to a handful of dust."

In one of the various Kirk vs. AI episodes (and in my opinion, the best one), the AI forcibly installed on the Enterprise takes control and through a programming error, ends up wiping out another Starfleet ship with hundreds of people on it. Kirk is horrified and angry, and sets about trying to find some way to keep the AI-supercharged Enterprise from killing the thousand or so other Starfleet crew still out there, even if it means the deaths of many members of his own crew. They have so little power after regaining control that he can't communicate with the other Starfleet vessels, and takes the massive risk to his and his crew's lives of lowering all of the Enterprise's shields to signal peaceful intent.

It's honestly hard to overstate the degree of repeated horrific losses that mark his entire life. The show was designed to not require knowledge from any other episode to watch a current one, so it rarely references specific events in other episodes, and continuity instead tends to come from persistent character traits or development. And for Kirk, one of his most persistent TOS traits is white-knuckling through horrific losses he cannot prevent (and sometimes has to enable) over and over and over again.

J and I talked about it a little, and about ways to try and make some sense out of this characterization ... like, J pointed out that Kirk has endured many horrific losses, but his relationship with Spock specifically is a unique kind of sanctuary in his life and that's something he couldn't face losing. And that's true enough, but it's not really my feeling that this is what WOK is saying at all; this is not presented IMO as a quality of his relationship with Spock individually, but as a major element of his character. He refuses to accept the possibility of losing in general, he says he was always able to trick or maneuver his way out of confronting death and loss (?????????????), etc. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes to me beyond an interpretation of a kind of pop culture-inflected idea of Kirk rather than anything he experienced in TOS.

[respectthepetty]

The Heart Killers' Colors? - Ep. 11

I saved over 100 images for episode eleven of The Heart Killers’ so writing “I’m in my feels” in an understatement, and this episode beginning with this beautiful shot of the boys at descending heights, Style being the highest in pink, and the lovers reuniting at the center really emphasize this is a love story.

Style's shirt even says "love" and I need the GMMTV wardrobe department to get a raise!

However, I’m still pissed that the boys did not kill this man!

Liliana, I thought you raised them better!

But now that Black Brooder Fadel and Red Rascal Bison have found love, they are done killing (even if they should still take the shot).

And Style, the biggest lover of them all, makes perfect sense because I, too, would be acting a whole damn fool for this beautiful man and begging him to give up the hitman life since Style knows it doesn’t actually make Fadel happy.

So even though I’m already thinking about how good Joong and Dunk are going to look in Dare You To Death since this will be their aesthetic, I’m also very pissed that this white man is about to break up the these partners (in crime) since he doesn’t understand this Black Brooder and Red Rascal are in a LOVE STORY (with two possible Blue Boys, but I'm not here for those lies)!

Thankfully, Style’s dad understands what genre his son is in because even if I’m not sure about Style’s color, we all know he is deeply in love with his Black Brooder (who is wearing the hell out of that tank *bites bottom lip*), so it’s time he puts a ring on it, and makes Style Mr. Hitman’s Husband.

Even Kant understands this! I don’t think he even knows his color, but he knows he is in love with a quick-tempered and aggressive Red Rascal, so an exhibit about a volcano killing everyone is the perfect place to propose a proposal to him.

It’s also the perfect place to have these adorable inflatable suits with red (and blue . . . Kant, what is your color, bro!) on them.

But we all know the only reason for the suits was so the show could introduce this line into the mix. Kant and Bison have said the freakiest stuff in this show, and I appreciate First and Khaotung getting an opportunity to be play characters who are weird about each other.

Fadel can’t allow that though. He must out-weird everyone. But first, let me enjoy this scene.

Okay, now for my emo kid to show just how “weirdly romantic” he is.

I know Black Brooder Fadel is super duper emo (Paramore’s “The Only Exception” plays in the distance), but Style is just so in love with him that their perfect emo love story is healing my heart. Style is Death Cab for Cutie’s “I’ll Follow You into the Dark” (Love of mine, someday you will die, but I'll be close behind. I'll follow you into the dark) and I love that Style continues to prove that Fadel’s darkness does not scare him, but is the reason he loves him.

I LOVE THEM!

And now they are going back to the support group to share their fears leading to Style basically proposing. That’s my boy! He doesn’t need to wait for Fadel. He can propose!

And seal it with a kiss. They are my OTP!

Fadel is giving Style is heart pin, and that is a reversal proposal. He is giving him his heart. I feel the tingle of a tear of a forming in my right eye!

And now a romantic dinner after cooking together! This is “peaches and plum, motherfucker.” This is “In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.” This is “we deserved this domestic happiness, but even if we don’t have it, I’ll still love you in every version of us” and I’M UNWELL ABOUT IT!

Of course Kant is looking like an angel surrendering his tools, so Bison can claim him with a tattoo.

They are beautiful, and this calming blue light is physically hurting my feelings because now my left eye is tingling with a tear.

Fam, I’m going to be honest, I’m not doing too hot. I don’t give two effs about the colors right now. This hurts way more than I expected.

AND NOW KANT IS CRYING! Don’t have First cry because then my bitchass starts crying. Don't look at me!

FUCK!

FUCK!

Jojo, don't you hurt me like this. This is not HIStory 3: Trapped.

FREE MY BOYS!

[nr1sealuvr]

drv3 chapter 5 closing argument rant below because I am mentally unstable

btw this is not intended as a ship but if you wanna take it that way thats fine!! :3

So erm i think we all know that ch5 is PAINFULLLL man bc WTF :(( but there are a few panels in the closing argument that make me bawl (sobbing as i write this LMAO)

This one hurts the most because LOOK!!! 2 ppl that hate eachother HELPING each other at their lowest. AND THEY WERE BOTH DOOMED FROM THE START. AND THEY KNOW IT. Kaito with his illness and kokichi....well...FJKDKXJDNSSN

just like imagine the most stubborn little shit that you despise (except you dont, because Kaito is such a sweetie hes uncapable of doing so) telling you to kill them. that was the only time he was ever honest to him and really let Kaito see him. 2 FUCKING MINUTES BEFORE HE DIES. Imagine how much that HURT katio, being forced into killing someone in the killing game that you hate so much. He said it himself he KNEW it would fail and he knew he would get executed but FUUUCKCKXK HE STILL DID IT. That was like the last touch kokichi got holy shit being dragged across the floor BLEEDING wait hold on my vision is blurry okay im back AND GOD HE WAS IN SO MUCH PAIN and like. i can not imagine a life where I have to lie to myself that everything is gonna be fine. He had decided that he was READY to die.

WELL HE FUCKING WASNT BECAUESE LOOK AT HIM UZGGHHHSHSH he had to LIE to himself that he was to end the killing game. and he knew aswell there wasnt a high chance to do so BUT HE STILL DID IT JESUS DOES THIS NOT SHOW HOW MUCH HE CARES. He basically killed himself just because of a tiny tiny chance the killing game would end. Also Kaito going "you little..." while he had his little meltdown also made me sad call me delusional but IF YPU ZHINM ABOUT IT HES LIKE SYMPATHISING WITH HIM HES IN DISBELIEF BECAUSE HE FUCKING CARES AND HE KNEW WHAT WAS COMJNG AND THEY ARE FUCKING DOOMED AND I HATE THEM.

Heres him getting dragged because ouch. The silence was PAINFUL

Now this scene. Oh. My. God. Okay so first of that thing jn the bottom right corner. Kaito is looking at him and hes looking down. He just gave him permission to kill him and Kaito had no choice but to do it. Hes exposing himself to him and he cant even fucking look at him because they both know how bad the situation is. There was never any hope but they wanted to TRY. AND THEY TRIED AND THEY FUCKING FAILED Aaaanf my vision is blurry from tears again hold on okay anyway look at kaitos face. HE DOESNT WANT ZO. HE DOESNT WANT TO KILL KOKICHI. HE KNOWS KOKICHI DOESNT WANT IT. BUT THEY HAVE ZO. they fucking have to holy shit

This one also makes me sad because again imagine zhe SILENCE as your so called "worst enemy" takes out the wounds that he himself had made (ik one was from maki) and kokichi is NEVER quiet. He knew how serious and bad this was and they both stayed silent, not wanting to acknpledge it because they had hope. And it failed. Fuck.

Anyways i think its safe to say these little shits make me sick and IDJSJWN kaito being forced into killing has got to be the most painful thing ever oh and him pretending to be kokichi in the excisal. I know kokichi wrote a lot of the lines but still. Imagine having to act so cheerfull while pretending to be the one you killed. The GUILTTT GOOOSSSHHH

okay i gotta go now my dads picking me up in 2 min rant over:3

[larluce]

LETS PLAY!!

What do you think is this merthur story about?

Fire and smoke, burning and suffocation, was the only thing Merlin could see and feel.

"Satan can take many forms!" He could distinguish the voice of the king that was superimposed on the others who shouted 'Witch!' in the background. "Like this witch, who has taken the appearance of a man to confuse my son and induce him to commit the worst of sins. Do not be fooled! They call themselves healers, but with their spells and potions they corrupt our children."

Merlin would have laughed if he had the strength. If he were really a woman, he would not be in this situation to begin with. But he supposed that it suited the king for people to believe that. Maybe he even tried to convince himself that this was the truth.

That his son was not a sodomite.

The flames rose and burned his skin more intensely. He let out a heartrending scream.

Arthur... even his thoughts sounded weak, but he made an effort think of Arthur.

He remembered when he saw him for the first time, entering his medicinal herbs and potion stant. His pearly smile, his sky-colored eyes, his blond hair like gold. He remembered their walks through the fields, when they kissed for the first time under his own roof, his laughter, when they gave themselves to each other for the first time with such passion and, yet, so much innocence in that small cabin abandoned in the middle of the forest.

Tears ran through his eyes. How could such a beautiful thing be a sin?

Another burst of fire. He shouted again, but the scream quickly turned into a cough. Hopefully the smoke would kill him before the fire.

Think of his voice the pain was unbearable, but the memory of his beloved made it a little less unbearable. He could almost hear his voice saying "I love you" in the ear after making love. His voice saying his name as if savoring it in his mouth.

But suddenly he heard the voice of his beloved farther away, still saying his name, but this time screaming in horror.

"Merlin!" his screams were almost as heartbreaking as his, as if he were also being burned in flames. "No! Let me go! Merlin!"

Merlin made an effort and looked up. He tried to distinguish something, but couldn't see anything. There was too much smoke.

No... no, no, no, no ¡No! a despair grew within him, even greater than his fear to death. He could not die without seeing him! Not without seeing his face one last time.

"Let me see him!" he prayed to the heavens then with all his might. "Let me see him, just one more time, please."

And God granted it... only not in the way he expected.

...

Several centuries later...

Mildred Duffy, a 60-year-old woman, looked out the window with a motherly smile as the principal guided another interested couple to the playground to meet some of the children. That orphanage had become almost a second home for her and she loved those children as if they were her own. It would always be a great joy to find each child a home, a family, even if later she would spend weeks missing their little faces and worrying about their destiny. She turned her attention to the even younger children that were in the same room, who were drawing at the tables or playing with dolls peacefully on the floor. No couple who saw them would believe how murky the past of many of them were just by seeing them like that, in their purest innocence.

"Did you send for me, Miss Duffy?" a voice took her out of her reverie.

He turned to meet one of the young volunteers there. She suppressed the laughter when she noticed how noticeably tired and stressed she was, with some hairs coming out of her bun and her clothes tugged and stained with paint.

"I did… Claire, right? I need you to keep an eye on the kids while I take care of something".

The girl opened her eyes wide.

"All of them?" The girl's voice rose an octave and Mildred couldn't contain a soft laugh this time.

"Careful, Claire. They can smell your fear."

"I'm not afraid of them". The girl became defensive immediately. "It's just that I didn't think they were going to be—"

"Such little devils? They are" Mildred interrupted smiling. "But only if you let them. You've made the mistake of seeing them as helpless children in need and they have used the compassion you have towards them in their favor". She shook her head in disapproval. "Pitty is the last thing you should feel for them, Claire. It's okay for you to be kind, but there is a thin line between being kind and being permissive. Show them who has the authority!" she tapped her on the back, encouraging her, before heading to the door. "They are all yours".

…

Mildred went down the creaky wooden stairs, unhurriedly. She'd only had to file some papers in her office. Something that hadn't taken more than 20 minutes, so she decided to give 15 minutes more for herself. She was confident Claire wasn't having any problems. Besides, she was an old woman, she also deserved a break.

She didn't intend to do anything other than wander around the place for a while. She wanted to make a mental note of what could be changed in the infrastructure, aesthetically speaking, such as the color of the walls, which seemed to come from the same palette of opaque colors for more cheerful colors, for example, or some furniture that didn't seem to combine with the space. Mildred sometimes believed maybe she should've been an interior designer instead of a tutor because of how much those details bothered her.

But Mildred's plans changed as soon as she finished going down the stairs.

"That he deserved it, he deserved it" she heard a little voice. "Doesn't mean you didn't do wrong, Double C. You know Dimples doesn't like when you're mean to people".

The woman turned in the direction of the voice, surprised. At this time children were either in the playground or in the games rooms, where couples could see them, not hidden in the corridors.

"Okay, okay, I'll drop it. But don't think we've finished this conversation, uh? I should be mad at you too, you know"

She soon found the source of the sound. On one side of the stairs, in a half-hidden corner, a little girl with brown hair and blue eyes was sitting on the floor playing chess… completely alone.

"Don't hurry me" the girl complained to someone who wasn't there, seeing the black pieces in front of her with an infinite concentration. "I'm thinking"

A new maternal smile formed on Mildred's face. She would recognize that girl anywhere.

"Am I interrupting?" decided to make her presence known.

"Of course not, Miss Duffy" said the girl returning the smile. "Prince Cotton Candy and I were playing."

"I see" Mildred said in a particularly animated voice and sat next to her watching the game as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "I didn't know you knew how to play chess. Who taught you, darling?"

"Fairy Dimples"

"Of course" she giggled, tender. The girl probably was making up her own chess rules. "Is she around?"

"He, he is a he" corrected the girl. "And no, Cotton Candy and Dimples fought again for something stupid, and they won't be in the same room until they make up"

"Looks like they fight a lot."

"They do, but they love each other"

"It's good to know that". Miss Duffy decided then to turn a little serious. "Bridget—"

"Brigitta" corrected the girl. "But you can call me Biddy. Prince Cotton Candy calls me that."

"Sorry" she apologized. "Biddy, I don't doubt Prince Cotton Candy and Fairy Dimples are very nice people and great friends, but maybe you could… try to make some new friends? It's not good that you isolate yourself so much from the other children, darling".

"I had other friends" the girl's cheerful voice clouded a bit of sadness. "Jheny and Chris. But they aren't here anymore".

Mildred's heart clenched in her chest. From what the orphanage psychologist had told her, these three had been inseparable… well, at least until the children in question were adopted, leaving little Biddy alone. Prince Cotton Candy and Fairy Dimples appeared shortly after she said goodbye to the last of her two friends.

"Imaginary friends are sometimes created as a defense mechanism to cope with a loss or it may be the result of a major change or significant alteration in a child's life," the psychologist had explained her "But it's nothing abnormal, Mildred, she's 5. Many children have imaginary friends at that age and as soon as they came, they leave, it's not something we should force. I think it's important to clarify her she shouldn't prefer her imaginary friends over the real ones, but beyond that, I don't think you have anything to worry about. "

Yes, maybe she was worrying too much.

"Check!" exclaimed the girl, excited, eating a bishop with her horse and cornered the white king.

"Oh, wow. You really can play chess" Mildred said surprised when she saw the girl moved the pieces correctly.

"Yes, I told you Fairy Dimples taught me"

Mildred frowned and shifted her gaze from the girl to her side, specifically where a second player would be if there was one.

A chill ran through her. Could it be…?

An incredulous laugh escaped her, dismissing those thoughts immediately. Yes, she was definitely worrying too much.

"Right, I forgot" She stood up, briefly resting one hand on the girl's shoulder in a loving manner. "Don't forget to leave that board in its place when you finish, okay?"

"Yes, Miss Duffin" the girl answered cheerfully and dismissed her with her hand in a very adorable way. Mildred smiled. She didn't understand why nobody hasn't adopted that girl yet. She was way too charming.

Well, time to go see how Claire was doing with those little devils.

…

"Double C!" Little Biddy said as if she was calling someone out. "It's your turn".

Silence.

The impatient expression of the girl softened to a more understanding one.

"You know Dimples never stays angry for too long. he's not even avoiding you to bother you. He disappears because he doesn't want to say hurtful things that aren't true… Or at least that's what he told me."

Silence.

The girl laughed.

"Well, don't tell me that, tell him. And remove that sad doggy face already and play. Come on, be a good loser".

Almost immediately afterwards a white bishop rose into the air and, in one quick movement, brought down the black king.

The little girl smiled.

"Checkmate".

...

Now, this originally was a very old draft I had for a another's fandom story that I never finished cause the fandom kind of died in between. But today a started reading my old drafts out of nostalgia and I realised this prompt actually fitted merthur way better than it did for the original pair. I made very minor changes (we got Brigitta in this AU too! :D).

While I never finished the story, I clearly remember how it was going to go, so... What do you think is happening? Share your theories in the reblogs or comments 😄

[tvckerwash]

plot points that should've been utilized in season two but weren't #432575890: the chembarons.

ignoring how awful the chembarons being taken out in a single music montage already is, I actually think it was a mistake for them to be taken out of the picture at all.

piltover's goal in season two, or act one of season two anyway, was to regain a semblance of order and reestablish control in the midst of the chaos left in the wake of the attack on the council and the continued chaos being perpetrated by jinx. as runeterra's version of the panama or suez canal, they are very valuable, and the entirety of act three in season one is establishing just how much trouble they could be in if they don't get a handle on the situation—which was one of the reasons why jayce made a deal with silco in the first place, as having some outside faction swoop in and take over because of their instability would be a problem for both piltover and zaun:

the chembarons are zaun's leaders/policing force/the guys keeping the place from falling into total anarchy, and as mentioned above an outside force coming in would be a major issue, so logically they should've played a key role in helping piltover hunt down jinx, if only for the sake of their profits. as a bonus, season one established that every single zaun faction we meet—silco’s guys, the barons, and the firelights—all hate jinx, and for good reason! so they have multiple reason to want her out of the picture.

it'd also been made clear in season one that piltover CAN'T control zaun, which is why the vote for independence happened, and with silco dead zaun is in the exact same position as piltover. working together is in their best, mutual interest, and that in of itself would be a major point of tension between the two—zaunites are pissed they're working with pilties, and piltovians are pissed they're working with trenchers. the situation would not be helped by jinx continuing to be jinx while evading capture, renni's attack, and warwick running around murdering people either btw. everything is on fire and the barons and the council are going "this is fine".

basically taking out the chembarons was a really, REALLY stupid move on multiple fronts, in and out of universe.

with the barons out of the way I want to take a moment to address ambessa and noxus, since the writers decided to make them the threat piltover and zaun came together over, which imo was also stupid. jinx being arrested should've been the finale of season two, and cait letting her go on the condition that she left piltover would've been a better ending than her sacrificing herself (because lbr having every suicidal character 'die' at the end is uh. definitely A ChoiceTM)

anyway, contrary to what the writers thought of her in season two, ambessa never had a desire to conquer piltover in season one, in fact it seemed to be the complete opposite—she wanted to take mel, whatever hextech weapons she could get jayce to make, and jump ship. a war between piltover and zaun was literally meant to be a diversion against the guy that killed kino (who I think could've been urgot but I guess we'll never know):

[blushingdread]

Sometimes, I imagine the vessels being able to like talk to each other. Specifically, the Adversary and Eye of the Needle because they're both very "Leave the cabin?? Why the fuck would I want to leave the cabin???? Let's stay in here and fight forever!!!! Freedom is for losers!!!!" And like everyone else, who very much wanted to leave the cabin so bad "Let. Me. Out."

There would be such a fundamental disconnect, maybe Witch would sorta get them (she wants to die with you so fucking bad. The Adversary Witch friendship, i wanna fight him forver -> fists vs battle of wits), but "My happiest molment was being in the cabin fighting the bird man eternally" and "playing fairytale romance in that cabin was slowly killing my soul." being in the same room would just be so????? Why are you miserable. How were you happy. Horrifying fun house mirrors versions of yourself, that's everything that you are and went though except opposite. How would you EVER cope

Imagine being Songbird and seeing a version of you that GENUINELY would of been happy in the cabin forever, but because she spent all her time being violent and ripping apart TLQ for fun and you don't like violence, but that's how she was happy, but even rembering stabbing him all those times makes you wanna throw up and—

Vs

Well, clearly, this whole thing was because you were doing what someone else wanted. If you just did what you wanted, then you would have been happy to stay in the cabin eternally, ignore literally every other vessel other than me when I say this

I also think about how Adversary, horrified when she fought you without a knife, would react to Molment of Clarity, not only would she not understand Clarity's desire to be free but MoC was designed by her to remove TLQ's will entirely. I think that would freak her the FUCK out

Finally. Den and Needle are the two vessels that got the Stubborn Hunted combo and I think they'd bond over how well their little guys work together. Or more Adversary and Needle would brag endlessly about how much they like Stubbron, and only include Hunted when talking about how he gets even better with Hunted's help. Beast thinks their fucking insane, and Den is like yeah. I like my little meow meow. He's good at dodging, and he helped pull me out of the tunnel. 10/10 pack mate

[slytherweasel]

MC is still MC! There is no ‘original’

Spoilers most likely

Let me start that saying that this is my opinion based on the game and my personal knowledge and understanding of general science fiction logic and the game itself.

The Love and Deepspace timeline is very complicated and confusing. I will fully admit that I don’t even fully understand it, but based on my understanding MC is always MC. She is the same MC no matter what. What differs in the timelines are the love interests. Past lives are not necessarily a different person. So you have a Rafayel timeline, Xavier timeline, Zayne timeline, Sylus timeline, Caleb timeline

Rafayel’s and Xavier’s timelines fairly up front with them being the same.

Rafayel- a Lumerian, the Sea God, 800+ years old (as long as I’m understanding his timeline correctly), and he’s found MC throughout her many lives. I do not have his limited myth pair but from my understanding that was their first meeting. MC does not retain these memories when she essentially reincarnates as herself, but Rafayel stays bond to her, she is still his “devout follower.”

Xavier- my most basic understanding of it is the MC of the future was being used as the life source of the planet and Xavier (rightfully so) was not happy about that and wanted to save her, so he left her (wrongful so), but he came back and she died in his arms. I would also like to add while I think Xavier’s timeline is pretty up front about who he is, the actual events of his timeline hurt my brain to comprehend. Being as this is a very far ahead in the future MC she would have no memories of Xavier anyway. The lack of memories is what makes her seem different (especially to Xavier, at least at first).

Zayne- He also has no memories of his past lives, but Zayne is still Zayne. He is still cursed by Astra to suffer and die for loving MC instead of killing her. If Zayne was a different Zayne why would he still be cursed by Astra? I do need to reread his Dawnbreaker stuff but it seems to be a future Zayne and he is remembering a past version of himself (Dr. Zayne) that has MC (I assume MC has already died in this future). And present time Zayne is having dreams of future Zayne. I do hope they’ll properly explain the connect these Zaynes are having with each other. I am guessing there is a sort of rift or something due to future Zayne not having an MC to love/kill. I believe that is what Astra wants, he feels Zayne betrayed him the first time just for loving her, so he will continue to torture him until he does give in and kill her. Same timeline, same people, different lives.

Sylus- We are out a good chuck of info compared to the OG 3 but we do have his limited myth which helps. My understanding is his limited myth is the first time MC meets him. MC then curses Sylus after he dies to always live by her side until she says otherwise. Sylus is born again and finds present time MC only to realize that she has no memories of their past together, but it is still their past. He still loves her because she is still his MC, she is still the girl he fell in love with. You can also draw many characteristics and habits Sylus carries over from when he was a dragon with horns (because he is still a dragon at heart). He still doesn’t understand music and is tone deaf but he loves it because of MC, he is still a treasure hoarder and loves buying MC things, and he is still a creature of the dark just more figurative speaking.

Caleb- He was just released and only has a present time myth at the moment, so I don’t have much for him yet. But we can infer he watched MC die multiply times, that he is all too aware of how she loses her memories after dying. I assume the controlled environment of the lab is what controlled where and possibly how old MC would be when reborn. She was still the same MC, just without the memories.

The overall of this is that guys fall for who MC is, not what she looked like. The fundamentals of who MC is never changed when she died, she always remained the woman they love. There is no reason for these ‘would he leave present MC for the one he first met’ videos. That is just not how timelines work. The myths are not AUs, they are past, present, or future lives. Based on my understanding of science fiction, those are two very different things.

Spoilers for Catch-22 banner

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This banner takes place in an alternate universe. It very obviously states that for us, so there should be no questions about that.

I will be using Rafayel for this because 1. He’s my main and I love him lol and 2. I’ve watch his card like 4 times already.

We’ve established who Rafayel is in the original universe. He is none of those things isn’t this AU. He’s not even a painter. He’s an opera singer who got bite by a Praedator (basically a werewolf). They also do not have that Lumerian bond but they do give you a parallel for it. He gets that chip implanted in him that allows only MC to essentially control him. This is a different Rafayel and a different MC, while you can draw parallels that match the original universe they are different people, different timeline, completely different universe. Xavier’s also has a similar and obvious parallel with the plant Philos (original universe) and organization Philos (Alt universe) and him being the Prince/Heir.

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This rant is basically due to all the sad photos with the frame background and the posts I’ve been seeing talking about the guys leaving present MC for the MC of the past or future. I just don’t agree and feels like is causing unnecessary heartbreak. That’s not my understanding of how the LaDs timelines works.

[scribescrawls]

Do you ever think about the possibility of the Quintesson Commanders knowing Starscream by name and face because of how many Quintessons he’s taken out in the past considering Starscream made it to the position of leader of the High Guard under the Primes. Like Starscream has probably been a nuisance to them for hundreds of cycles and killed/helped kill plenty of them in battle. Not to mention the fact that it's not only Sentinel looking for the High Guard, but also the Quintessons since we see a Quintesson ship scanning the surface for lifeforms looking for the High Guard even after 50 cycles. I do think it is really interesting that the Quintessons themselves still see the High Guard as a threat even after so many cycles. The reason why I think/headcanon this is because there wouldn't be any reason to waste so much time and resources looking for them after 50 cycles if the High Guard were merely a small annoyance in their takeover of the planet. If it was a small matter they probably would have told Sentinel to deal with his internal affairs himself and that it's not their problem, but we see the Quintessons actively searching for the High Guard not just Sentinel. Like they were incinerating any lifeforms on sight (rip that mech!deer) just in case. That's kind of overkill and a waste of resources unless they were perceiving the High Guard as a viable threat to their rule. The reason people tie up loose ends is because they are afraid of the threat they pose if not dealt with. Like to put so much effort to tie up what they'd consider a loose end has such fascinating implications on the perceived threat level they view the High Guard.

Something very interesting about the idea of Starscream and the High Guard's very existence and survival ensuring that the Quintessons and Sentinel can never consider themselves having a complete one hundred percent victory because the High Guard persists. I know D-16 implied that Starscream/the High Guard weren't doing enough against Sentinel, but the fact that even after all these cycles the Quintessons and Sentinel still feel the need to search for them so meticulously means that Starscream and the High Guard's actions in those 50 cycles were having an effect on them even if it was not enough to take out Sentinel or win the war against the Quintessons. It at least seems implied that they could never completely rest easy even after all this time. Like sure Sentinel was living like a 'king' most of the time, but all those trips to the surface to look for the High Guard potentially implies that he was afraid to some degree and that their very existence out there haunted him and the Quintessons.

Like we the audience know that the High Guard were kind of dealing with terrible conditions on the surface considering the lack of energon and being hunted down so it's not like they had the resources to launch a full frontal assault on the enemy when they've probably been doing everything just to survive day to day. But the enemy can only guess at their condition since the High Guard have been hard to find and I would not doubt if Starscream tried to present the High Guard as stronger than they were to their enemies. Like I bet as cycles passed in the beginning, the Quintessons and Sentinel probably thought there was no way the High Guard would be able to survive for long and yet 50 cycles pass and they are still out there. For instance some time might pass and they think perhaps the High Guard have finally died out and then another 'hit and run' attack/sabotage happens which might not derail your operations too badly, but you continue to have confirmations that they are still out there alive and they are against you still. It probably makes them nervous that the High Guard have survived for so long. I also think it fits with how Starscream is a character who usually survives many things that would kill most people like a persistent cockroach (I say affectionately) who refuses to die. Like Starscream refusing to die and thinks to Sentinel 'You may rest easy in your gilded tower, but I hope my very existence is a thorn in your side and haunts you always whispering in the back of your mind that there is always the possibility that the truth will be revealed'. I bet the Quintessons and Sentinel hate his guts.

It's a different form of warfare than just physical. It's mental warfare. A set of mind games to demoralize the enemy to make them think they are never completely safe even if the reality is that you and your troops are in terrible shape. I think it's one potentially interesting way of interpreting the High Guard's actions and Starscream's leadership style of his use of cunning and deception in war to keep them alive. The use of manipulation of the factors in his limited options to make the enemy perceive them as stronger and more dangerous than they are to gain an advantage. Very 'All warfare is based on deception' technique/vibes.

I also think it's funny that later when Optimus sends out that warning implying they’ve managed to fight the Quintessons off the planet (the how is left vague which makes for fun possibilities to explore), you ever think the Quintessons are like ‘it’s always a red, white, and blue glitch ruining my day’ lol

[kiame-sama]

My ass is too nice, I couldn't be mean to anyone of them. I would not survive all the yanderes

Warnings: HAE AU, Malleus, yanderes, mention or murder, spoilers for later HAE AU chapters

That is why Malleus is so protective of MC Human. The Human can be as soft and forgiving as they wish to those around them, he will hold the grudge for them.

He thinks they are too forgiving- as he wanted Cater dead for his crimes, but the Human not only forgave but also sheltered Cater- so he will withhold from attacking. He wanted Riddle dead for Overblotting and harming the Human- though Riddle did not intentionally harm the Human, even while Overblotted- but forgave the Unicorn because the Human wanted him to. Malleus wants the Fae to die- and could still choose to kill them, as he is prince of Briar Valley- for daring to try and take what was not theirs, but the Human talked him out of it. Malleus wants to kill Erikír for trying to kidnap the Human and forcibly breed them, the Human is the only thing stopping him from doing it. Malleus wanted to kill the Huoshu Rat scientist- Rattigan- for plotting against the Human, but the Human and Maleficent stopped him.

The only thing truly stopping Malleus from killing those who oppose the Human, is the Human's gentle heart. If the Human were more bloodthirsty or narcissistic, it would be a blood bath. Because the Human is understanding and doesn't yearn for deadly reprimand to every action, Malleus has only killed those the Human didn't directly choose to save/didn't have the chance to save.

He has killed already and will kill again if the Human doesn't stop him. You may be wondering who it is he has killed, thus far he has killed the small group of poachers that first night he spent in the Human's nest in chapter 7 with lightning, and the poaching wolf pack in chapter 11 in his full Draconic form. Malleus would have killed the Pigeon Harpy in chapter 33, but Rook shot the Pigeon first and then it got detained by Queendom citizens. The Dragon won't hesitate to kill those he gets his fangs on.