#this is a (theoretical) explanation not an excuse

[dragongirlbunny]

just remembered how in my freshman (grade 9 [15 yrs old]) social studies class one of our assignments was "write an essay on how you, personally, think the israel-palestine conflict should be resolved" and i think that provides a pretty good example of why so many usamericans are Like That about global politics

[syrinq]

thinking about the fact that i do like forgotton realms-adjecent (fantasy equivalent of star wars-sized ip) games but then i have to grab a broom and hit anyone appearing out of the shadows who goes "now play dnd (or any ttrpg) with me" extremely violently so they remain in the dark for another 5 million years

[evilminji]

I got distracted, BUT I REMEMBERED!

The Dr.'s Fenton? Would ABSOLUTELY fight a child.

Specifically, Hatsume Mei. Future CEO of Hatsume Industries! And ENGINEERING RIVAL of their's! They may be new to this whole "support industy" business, but they are SEASONED weaponry makers! And that brilliant little upstart is good! Audacious! A THREAT!!!

COME GET SOME!!! D:<

See, they needed to Move. Things were getting a bit... spicy. They may have made so unfortunate choices, back before they knew the truth about their Son and Ghosts in general.

Ignorance, bigotry, and academic bias are curses in their house for a REASON, after all. They never thought... after all the DECADES of facing it themselves...

Well...

Needless to say, they were, are, and will always BE horrified by how they acted. There may have be a whole host of reasons behind WHY they acted that way. But those WHYs aren't good enough. They should have been better. Done better. They don't offer any excuses, but but they can give an explanation, if it's wanted.

And, together, as a family, they got through Maddie n Jack's horrifying mistakes.

God they don't deserve those kids. Love them to pieces. The things they don't warn ya about parenthood, you know? The mistakes you might make. You think you're ready. Think everything's alright. Then your life's work KILLS your son and brings him back.

And you don't notice.

......what sort of parents DONT NOTICE?

They still have nightmares. Feel sick. God, if they were working in ANY other field. With ANY other materials! If it wasn't SPECIFICALLY ectoplasm? He... he wouldn't have come back. Oh god.

........

So.... so, yeah.

They're working on some things! As a family! Seeing a therapist from the Zone. Lovely... Them? They're a tree person. Neither Jack or Maddie is quite certain what gender pronouns, if ANY, they are supposed to use. They've been defaulting to They/Them just to be safe. Still! Alien therapist! Neat!

But, of COURSE. The BABIES in White throw a FIT. "Wah, wah, wah you've been compromised blah blah blah" oh PLEASE! Just because they've had a little personal growth! And stopped shooting at Phantom in public! And in general! You shoot ONE little Goverment agent for trying to shoot your baby and suddenly YOUR the bad guy!

He didn't even die!

So, yeah, BIT spicy.

Honestly? Feels like a long time coming. They were never very popular. This ultimately just feels like the ends of a road that began in college. Them, the two "crazies" with their backs to the wall, as the government closes in, trying to tear them down for knowing the TRUTH and refusing to shut up about it. Their reputations so deep in the mud, they're tasting bedrock.

At least they are together.

And thank god they've had years to plan for the inevitable.

So? They have the kids grab their go bags and head off too stay with Danny's new celebrity friend from another dimension, Mr Wayne. Nice man, little dim, but since he's willing to open his home to the kids in case of emergency? Perfect. And frankly, as long as Mr. Pennyworth is there, everything will be fine.

Besides! Lil Damian is a very respectful and responsible young man. Tim and Danny may get up to mischief, but they can trust the youngest to put his foot down.

THEM on the other hand?

Not so lucky. THEY have to stay with the house. It's not exactky like they can move the portal after all, it's built in. And this is where the kids grew up! Where Jack and her scrimped and saved, lived out of cars and off nickle noodles, to afford! This is their HOME! And no jack booted THUG is going to take that.

So the kids go first. They go to the command center. Jack takes pot shots while she fires up... THAT machine. The one they wired into the house itself, right along with the Ectoplasmic Shielding. It was all theoretical, once. But not anymore.

Now they have The Zone.

It's been collecting energy runoff from the open gate ever since it opened. Siphoning them into the sub-basment mega batteries. Enough to run two-thirds the planet for the next half a millennia. If only the damn patent office would LET THEM PATENT THEIR WORK-!

But that doesn't matter anymore. No, what matters is checking how full the battery banks are. Decently. It HAS been a while since they've done a controlled drain. Good, that means they have more then enough.

So, with no kids to witness things getting nasty? She pulls out her keys and unlocks the parental commands, flips the the shields to "strobe-kill". Let's see you crowd us NOW fuckers. With Jack freed up to help aim the house? They set to work.

It's... not EXACTLY an exact science, as much as they'd prefer it to be. More of a controlled jump. Set preferences, power jump, hop sideways an unknown distance. Land. Look around.

Is it what you want?

Habitable?

A zombie apocalypse?

Jump again. And again. And again. Until the battery runs out. Then sit... or float...or drift, there, until the batteries refill. You have to be mindful, of course, that you don't lose Shield coverage. Because it keeps the House air tight and together. If you jump and immediately lose power to the shields because you misjudged the energy left in the batteries?

Better HOPE you land somewhere with a breathable atmosphere and no zombies!

And Fentons don't rely on HOPE! They rely on good ol firepower and hutzpa!

Also advanced ectoplasmic scientific engineering! But that was a given.

It... takes a while. They run out of canned peaches. Have to stop TWICE to help cure a zombie plague, since they are the only ones with a still working lab. They were actually sort of joking with the kids about the zombies. Oof. Good thing Ectoplasm eats EVERYTHING. One specialized ecto shot and that disease is TOAST.

Granted, the surviors are all limnal now. But they don't seem to care in the slightest.

Then there was the whole "oop! Planet's gone." Couple of worlds. The one with the crabs. The ocean one. The ice age. The robots. The cartoon horses. The inappropriately dressed high-schoolers with weapons fighting God. The boring one. The one with ninjas...

I mean, they are just NOT having any LUCK!

Okay, next moderately stable world, they are doing a groceries run! A Man can not live off freeze dried meals forever! Well, you CAN. But it's making Jack sad, and frankly that's a war crime. Plus she's run out of tea! AND coffee! A life of no caffeine? She can't endure that.

She's started to eye her son's God awful energy abominations in a can, for God sake! Desperate time's and all that...

Zyeyooom!

Thunk!

Which? Is how? The ENTIRE class of 1-H? Turns to stare in ABSOLUTE HORROR at the cackling, head thrown back, hands clawed, mad scientist "it's alive! It's aliiiiiiive" type insanity that is Hatsume Mei and her "this green goo I found from some guys Quirk" powered teleport anchor.

It MADE A HOUSE.

On SCHOOL FUCKING GROUNDS. An ENTIRE house! Is... is that a blimp? That's English right? What's it say?! What the FUCK is that sh- OH MY GOD ARE THOSE PEOPLE!? MEI!!!!!

So begins... the Fentons Beef With A Child™.

Because! Mei will forever more claim! That SHE brought them to this universe with HER magnificent machine! But Maddie and Jack? At first, trying to be nice about it, helpfully point out, actually? No. THEIR house can and does reality jump. THEY brought themselves.

Mei ignores them.

Crows about her magnificent machine. Scoffs about them thinks they haspd anything to do with it.

Oh... oh it is ON, you tiny pink haired little shit!

Does the Japanese Government want to take control of the situation? Of course they do. They want these scientists and they want that house. Local Nedzu's say? "It's nice to want things" :) *sips tea mockingly*

They landed on HIS school's grounds. Finders keepers!

You may say "threat to national security" but HE says "free support gear for the students and security for the school"! Not to MENTION all this delightful FREE clean energy! They are a delightful couple. With a portal to the fabric between realities in their basement!

Not found of the laboratory, but that's a personal issue. The ZONE however? Oooohohohohoho~☆

It? Would DRIVE THE HPSC and Japanese government BATSHIT INSANE that they can't get at the portal? That threats and stealth Heros and every other method? Just... hits a brick wall. A big ol "lol nope!" Meanwhile Nedzu and occasionally random teachers or students are popping in and out of this house they can get into?

Nedzu especially standing just on the other side of the shields going >:3 neener~ neener~ neener~ Ha ha! I could be mature about this but am CHOOSING NOT TO BE!

@legitimatesatanspawn @mutable-manifestation @hdgnj @hypewinter @babbling-babull

[in1-nutshell]

Since there’s Rapidfire and Ophelia, what about Maxima in IDW?

I understood this as Maxima meeting the Lost Light, not the IDW version of Maxima.

(though I wouldn't mind writing her in the future...)

Hope you enjoy!

Maxima on the Lost Light

SFW, Platonic, Slight Angst, Cybertronian reader

MTMTE/TFP

Rodimus had been feeling strange lately.

The matrix seemed to be acting up, something that never happened before.

Drift suggested that the Matrix was trying to tell him something and to contact Optimus or anyone who had held the matrix before to help.

The only problem was that besides him and Optimus, Rodimus didn’t know anyone online who had held the Matrix.

That’s where the science department came in.

Well, mainly Brainstorm.

Brainstorm had created a device that would amplify a type of SOS to any bot who had held or was worthy of holding the Matrix to help.

What he had forgotten to tell the crew was that when he meant any bot, he meant any bot in the multiverse.

Brainstorm, Perceptor, and Rodimus stare at the portal forming. Rodimus: “Is this all normal?” Brainstorm: “Yes… theoretically.” Rodimus: “Excuse me what?” Ratchet and Drift enter the lab. Drift: “Rodimus, Magnus and Megatron are—what in the Allspark is that!” Ratchet turning to Rodimus and Brainstorm: “Who’s idea—" Maxima comes through the portal doing a backflip and doing a superhero pose with blasters out. Drift immediately gets in front of Ratchet with his swords out read to slice and dice. Rodimus: “Woah! Woah! Woah! Love the entrance but maybe we can put all the weapons down.” Maxima: “You first wannabe ninja.” Drift scoffs a bit at the nickname but eventually puts his swords away. Maxima slowly puts away her blasters. Maxima looks at their insignias: “… You’re all Autobots. Where are we? Wait! Are we in space!? Primus, Ratchet is going to skin me! I was just supposed to check if Bee and Smokescreen were okay and now I’m in space rambling on and—Ratchet?!” Maxima walks closer to Ratchet. Drift stands right in front of him not knowing what to make of this situation. Ratchet: “Relax Drift. What I think the better question is to our resident scientist and Co-Captain.”

After a brief explanation from Brainstorm about the multiverse and her reason for being here, Maxima seemed ready to help.

Rodimus gave her a brief explanation on what was happening to the Matrix.

Maxima looked uncomfortable at the mention of the Matrix, but agreed to help in however way she could.

But the sound of her tanks rumbling put a stop to that.

A quick stop to the med bay and Swerve’s was mandated.

Maxima quickly got along with this version of Ratchet, Rodimus and Drift.

Brainstorm would have gone, but he needed to put out some literal fires in his lab.

At the med bay… Ratchet: “Okay kid, I’m just going to scan you and then we’ll figure out if you can consume this universes energon.” Maxima gives him a thumbs up while gently swaying her pedes back and forth. Rodimus: “You mentioned Smokescreen and Bumblebee, they your friends?” Maxima: “Yeah, more like little brothers actually. I’m the oldest of the youngest group on the team.” Drift raises his optic: “The oldest? But you’re—” Maxima: “I’m a bit young but not by much!” First Aid from the main computer: “SWEET PRIMUS THOSE ARE HER LEVELS!” THWACK! Ratchet slaps the upside of his helm before marching right back to Maxima pointing at a data pad. Ratchet: “Care to explain why your running close to no fuel kid?” Maxima a bit annouyed: “First Ratchet, its Maxima. Second, I skip a few—” Ratchet gives her a ‘don’t you dare lie to the doctor’ look. Maxima: “—dozen rations. But that’s what you do when your at war. You guys get it with the war going on.” Silence… Maxima: “… Are we still at war?” Ratchet putting a servo on her shoulder: “Our war is over, we won.” Maxima blinks several times before smiling. Drift: “We take it that yours isn’t.” Maxima’s silence only reaffirms their thoughts. Rodimus: “Well, lets get those energon levels up then! To Swerve’s” Maxima welcoming the distraction immediately gets up and follows the Co-Captain: “Lets go!” Ratchet: “Drift get your Amica under control!” Drift was already out the door, ready to join the two. First Aid: “That’s your Conjunx.” Ratchet: “Sadly…”

Maxima looked in wonder and awe around the ship, not shying away from asking questions.

This thoroughly stroked Rodimus’s ego, especially the look on her face when he mentioned to be the Co-captain of the ship.

He was a bit confused why Maxima was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of bots on board.

Rodimus gently took her servo and helped guide her through the crowd.

Drift went ahead to get their seats at the bar and some energon ready.

Maxima had never seen anything like this before, but she liked it.

It didn’t take long before bots started seeing the new bot holding the Co-captains servo.

Maxima started downing the regular energon in seconds. Rodimus patting her back: “Slow down there. Its going to go down a wrong pipe.” Maxima: “Sorry! Its just been long since…” Drift: “We know, hey Swerve you mind getting us another cube?” Swerve: “Absolutely!” Swerve watches her drink: “Shh! You weren’t kidding about her needing a drink. Heard you came from a whole other universe, what’s the occasion?” Rodimus: “Maxi here is going to help with our little ‘Matrix problem’. Wait, I never did ask, were you a Prime? Or a former one?” Maxima tenses up a bit: “No and no.” Drift: “That must mean that your worthy of it then.” Maxima grimances a bit. She looks around: “I haven’t seen Optimus around, how else am I gonna see that Matrix?” Rodimus: “Oh no, its right here.” Maxima stops sipping and gives him a look of disbielf: “What?” Rodimus: “See, right here!” Rodimus opens his chassis and right there was the Matrix. Maxima was up on her pedes backing away from the light with a scared expression. Her back meets someone’s chassis. Maxima backs away: “I’m sorry—” Megatron just gives her a confused look. Maxima: “Megatron…”

Maxima was shaking not knowing where to go.

She didn’t even realize she had ran out of the bar and hid in one of the empty rooms in the ship.

Everything was just too loud, too bright…

She just squeezed her optics shut and curled up in a little corner in the room.

Primus, it was happening again.

The last time she was this bad was with…

Light pedesteps come closer to her. Maxima just squeezes her optics tighter, her servos curling around her helm. A pair of servos gently take hers. There was a whisper. Then the whisper grew a bit louder. It was encouraging her to open her optics. It was a nice voice. Maxima slowly opens her optics. In front of her was an orange bot with glasses. He gave her a kind smile. Rung: “There we go, take it easy, no one is rushing you dear.” Maxima doesn’t know why, but she trust the smaller mech. Little by little her frame starts to relax. Maxima vents out: “Thank you…” Rung: “Rung. Like later.” Maxima gives him a smile: “Thank you Rung.” Rung nods: “Do you mind telling me why you ran into the room with half of the Lost Light worried for you?” Maxima feels a pang of guilt. Maxima: “All of this… its comes from a long story, you would want to hear it.” Rung takes off his glasses and sits next to her. Rung: “I love long stories.” Maxima gives him a watery smile.

Maxima started spilling everything to Rung.

She half expected him to go, or at least look bored.

But he didn’t, Rung stayed by her side listening to every word.

After a while Maxima felt better and wanted to go out.

She gave Rung a sheepish look and asked him to accompany her.

Rung gently took her servo and the pair went out.

Turns out, privacy isn’t something you can get easily on the ship because more than half of the crew was already outside, eavesdropping.

Maxima, while understandably angry that her private conversation was not so private anymore, was also glad she didn’t have to repeat it.

Rodimus was the first to offer an apology for ‘sicing’ the Matrix on her.

Maxima just hugged him tightly.

Rodimus wasn’t expecting the hug but did hug back.

Which lead to more bots joining the hug…

Maxima looking at Megatron. Megatron: “…You’re Prime’s—” Maxima: “I’m his daughter, yes. And you’re the infamous Megatron who defected, am I correct?” Megatron nods. Maxima looks at the insignia and gives him a sad smile. Maxima: “My Optimus would have been so proud to hear the news.” Megatron gives her a small smile. Maxima turning to Rodimus: “Now, lets see what we can do about that Matrix of yours.”

It takes a while for Maxima and Rodimus to figure out what’s going on with Matrix which prolongs her stay.

Maxima adapted quickly to the crew as she was made a temporary member.

She was not shy to act and tell her adventures on Earth with the kids and her team.

There was a bit of a limit in stories predating the war.

She became close to many of the crew members, but Rodimus held a close spot.

Rodimus, besides sharing their share of experiences with their Prime’s, he had become the older brother figure she never knew she wanted.

Magnus thought that this child of Optimus Prime could rub some good on him.

But sadly, to his and Megatron’s dismay, the pair got along faster than a house fire… a fire that would cost some braincells and lead to shenanigans on the ship.

Rewind, Swerve and Tailgate were walking down the halls when they felt the thunder of stomping pedes. Maxima and Rodimus, in their vehicle forms were speeding through the halls. Maxima and Rodimus: “Heads up!” They both transform midair and flip over the screaming minibots before transforming back and speeding once again. Swerve was trying to calm down himself and a panicky Tailgate meanwhile Rewind was buzzing with excitement. It was times like these he was glad to have a camera bolted to his helm. Rewind: “What do you think they were running from?” Swerve: “Who knows?” Magnus and Megatron with little pink doodles on their faces: “WHERE ARE THEY?!” Rewind, Swerve and Tailgate: “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Maxima at some point on the Lost Light after introducing them to monster truck rallies.

[the-way-astray]

what is going on

let me take you back to half a week ago, when this first started.

it all starts with a simple notification. i click on it, thinking it's an innocent ask, or perhaps an anon wanting to pick a fight with me. i am a notorious keefe hater in this fandom, after all. let's see what the anons have to throw at me this time. if only that small, innocent, little me from four days ago had known. the notification was nothing short of a snake, hiding in the grass, waiting to strike.

it was alayda. she'd dared me to write something *horrified gasp* positive about keefe. she thought me, a notorious keefe hater, couldn't possibly have anything nice to say about my least favorite guy? well, i'd show her. i typed out a truly magnificent pro keefe essay, if i do say so myself. tumblr fought me the entire time, trying to delete half of it, but i persevered, and eventually posted it.

i had no idea what was coming for me. over the next few hours, i began to get truly heinous asks, questioning my commitment to my keefe hatred, and generally slandering my reputation. at the time, i'd thought this was as bad as it could get. but, oh. oh, no, no, no. as edaline ruewen said, "hindsight is a dangerous game". now i know that it could get worse than i could possibly even begin to imagine. and it did.

that same day, i got the ask. the one that changed everything. i responded in horrified horror, terrified terror, because i knew everything was about to change. and the next day, it appeared that other anons had followed in the first anon's footsteps. it was decided that me and keefe would be an enemies-to-lovers romance. our ship name was to be strieefe. an anon went to the official poll blog, @/do-you-ship-this-book-couple. i changed my ask box title to "KEEFE WOULD NOT LIKE ME" and got an anon about it. they started going to katie's ask box.

the debate ramped up. more people became aware. people, both anon and not, began to choose sides. i began offering badly drawn sketches to people who sided against this atrocious excuse for a ship. i should probably be making those instead of typing this out. whoopsie. i fought the anons that disagreed with me with a desperation akin to a rat caught in a trap, but my thrashing appeared to only attract more unhinged anons.

i then got my first anon that made a genuine attempt to explain why this horrible ship could theoretically work. they were wrong, of course, but i appreciate the effort. as i've explained countless times, the real relationship me and keefe would have if he were real would be one-sided hatred. i would hate him with a passion that can't be adequately described by the english language, and he'd be entirely unaware of my existence.

then! a miracle! an anon sent an ask to quil about strieefe, and i can only assume they wanted quil to analyze why we'd be good together. but quil, i never should've doubted quil. the response was a fantastically constructed analysis on why i was right about how i'd have one-sided rage toward keefe. but my delight dimmed significantly when i saw that fin, someone whom i'd previously trusted, had thrown his support behind this awful ship and even drawn fanart of me and keefe. i swiftly demoted him from the spot he had previously shared with max: "favorite fintanposter".

the anons got more unhinged. i began to be shipped with non-keefe main cast characters, sometimes monogamously, sometimes not. i bravely faced the assault, tearing the anons' arguments to shreds with my logical explanations as to why i would not be a good fit for any of them. this led to me posting a poll at the insistence of one anon, which is still open.

just as the waters were looking significantly less treacherous, just as it seemed i may make it to shore without drowning, a new development occurred. i got an ask from alayda, who as you may remember, is the one that started all this. this is entirely her fault. i'd expected maybe a heartfelt apology, perhaps a plea for forgiveness. but no. her ask was but an ominous warning, one i could not make sense of. i pondered the meaning as i stared at it. and then. horror upon horrors, it appeared in my inbox. i read through it in horrified horror, and my rickety little boat was once more swept out to sea.

it was a fanfic. a terribly written, horribly wattpad-ified, y/n-ish fanfic. i tore it to shreds thoroughly, taking pleasure as the scraps of the work of the one who had brought all this sorrow upon me fell in loose tatters all around me. i dusted off my hands and left it at that.

but it continued. even as i type this out, there is a part two to that horrific fanfic sitting in my inbox, which alayda is pestering me to post. there's also a part one to another anon fanfic, which is written relatively well, which arguably makes it even worse than alayda's. then there's yet another poem written about me and keefe by emelin, which also sits in my inbox, gathering dust as i attempt to piece the broken shards of my sanity back together.

all this to say, join the correct side of this debate. we have badly drawn sketches and braincells. be on the right side of history.

[markantonys]

imo RJ is a COWARD for making stilled Aes Sedai suddenly young and soft festured but not doing the same for men who are gentled. let Logan turn into a twink !!!

FACTS!!! i've seen and said so many "stilled aes sedai shouldn't suddenly become young and hot if that doesn't happen to men" approaches to equality, but what you're proposing here is TRUE equality, i.e. EVERYBODY should become young and hot. let logain turn into a twink! same energy as when i said that true equality would not be that neither women nor men have to be naked to go to rhuidean, but rather that both do. start stripping, rand and mat.

anyway, i think the official explanation (minor spoiler since i don't think this is revealed until later) is that swearing on the oath rod is what causes the aes sedai agelessness, and so when they're stilled, the oaths break and the agelessness goes away and they're left looking whatever their actual age would be (which just so happens to be 20 in siuan & leane's case since they're both like 40s or less in the books i think, and if channeling makes you age more slowly, then i suppose we can buy that a 40-something woman who's channeling constantly would have aged slowly enough that she looks 20s). so theoretically, if a non-aes-sedai female channeler like a wise one was stilled, her appearance wouldn't change at all, same as when men are gentled, since it's the oaths & agelessness that cause that.

but all that being said, even though there's in-world explanations for it, i still think the aes sedai agelessness (and stilling age-down) is dumb and just an excuse to populate the series with a bunch of women who are old enough to be super powerful and influential but don't have to LOOK old.

[starbylers]

Can we talk about how Mike ‘not being able to say he loves El because he’s scared she won’t need him one day’ makes no sense when you consider that for Mike this conflict spans two whole seasons, and there needs to be a consistent character motivation throughout.

Mike struggling to tell El he loves her has been, on the surface, his main conflict since s3.

In season 3, after blurting out he loves El, Mike brings it up again at the store. He tries desperately to get his point across, to make El understand ('I've never felt like this before', 'blank makes you crazy, like the word'). But no-one can deny that in this scene Mike is doing everything he can to avoid actually saying love. Now, what is the Mlvn excuse for this again? 'He's not good at expressing his emotions’. That's their running narrative post s3. (Let's ignore how that's not even canonically true of Mike's character and continue).

We come to season 4, and Mike is still chronically unable to use the word love, even when speaking about El and not to her. (Like this is clearly a deeply ingrained thing but I digress). Pre vol. 2, the Mlvn excuses are still related to Mike basically being emotionally unintelligent (his parents, his age, blah blah). But when Mike himself finally reveals the big reason, it's...'I didn't want to tell you I loved you because I was scared you won't need me one day'? Okay. Theoretically, out of context, that could make sense. So this becomes the new Mlvn narrative.

Here's the problem: both of these things cannot be the root cause of the same issue. It's one or the other: either he can’t say he loves her because he’s bad at expressing feelings, or he’s scared El one day not needing him would hurt more. This two-season dilemma is part of one series-long character arc for Mike. Mike in s4 is the same person with the same struggles as Mike in s3. Whatever his motivation for avoiding it in s3 (which was never addressed, it’s not like we got closure for that and then they just came up with a new reason he can’t say it) must logically be consistent continuing into s4.

Can anyone seriously tell me that Mike, here in this scene, was struggling to say the word 'love' because he was 'scared one day El wouldn't need him':

No. Of course not. He was specifically avoiding the word, and the most plausible explanation for his aversion (if we're ignoring Byler) is that Mike's just a kid and love is a big scary word. Bad at emotions etc. Which is why Mlvns and GA subscribed to that narrative, it seems obvious. But it cannot be right because Mike reveals the 'true reason' in 4x09. This is the canon explanation, finally—he's been scared she eventually won't need him. Except, that cannot be right either, because that reasoning does not align with his obvious (again, ignoring Byler) s3 motivation (love being daunting for a young teen) for the exact same behaviour. Like he literally uses the exact same pattern of avoidant wording from s3 in s4 (‘I care for you so much') and like I’ve said this is all meant to be one singular, overarching conflict.

If the initial 'bad at feelings' reading of Mike was correct, you'd expect the monologue to be more along the lines of 'I find it really difficult to express myself but I do truly love you, so this is me being vulnerable and brave'. Personally, I would've somewhat bought that. As a Byler I would've been like okay, it's kind of boring cliché storytelling but I'll admit defeat. But that’s not what happens. Basically what I’m getting at is:

Neither of these explanations can account for Mike’s inability to tell El he loves her in both seasons, so then by the logic of Mike having consistent motivations, neither can be true.

Which leads to the conclusion that there must be a different, all-encompassing, underlying cause for his heavy avoidance. Something that connects all the dots. I wonder what that could possibly be.

[yatagarasuhonyaku]

The Gates to the Outside (Novel Translation)

Blog version

Context: Wakamiya and Yukiya reunite with Hamayuu and Sumio to discuss the message from the Undercity.

Wakamiya, being Wakamiya, seemed to have a different possibility in mind.

“……….. What if Koume’s father had a chance encounter with the Undercity's secret connection to the Outside? It could be possible, what do you think?”

Hamayuu and Sumio gasped with surprise.

“I see, the ‘Third Gate.’”

“That could be it, yes.”

Both seemed to follow the conversation without a problem. Yukiya, however, felt left out yet once again.

“Excuse me, but… What do you mean by ‘Third Gate’?” Yukiya chimed in. Ever since yesterday, it seemed like he had done nothing but ask questions.

This time, it was Wakamiya himself who proceeded to explain.

“Officially, it's said that there are two Gates in Yamauchi through which transactions with the Outside are possible.”

These Gates, unlike the edges of Yamauchi or any tears in the barrier, allowed Yatagarasu to go Outside while remaining fully themselves(1). They also made it possible for visitors to enter Yamauchi.

“The first one is known as the ‘Forbidden Gate’. It's sealed, so it cannot be used at present.”

At the deepest point within the Kin’u’s residence, at the heart of the Mountain itself, there was a Gate that seemed to go straight to the Forbidden Realm in its peak(2). It was said to connect to the outer part of the mountain, but whether that was true or not remained unclear: it hadn't been opened, not even once, in many decades. A lock kept its doors permanently closed.

Legends said that this lock would open only with the birth of a true Kin’u. It had indeed come undone when Wakamiya was born, which is why the Haku’u(3) came to recognize him as such. However, despite its open lock, the Gate itself had mysteriously remained closed ever since. The Haku’u acknowledging Wakamiya's status was a good thing indeed, but no explanation or solution had ever been given for the yet sealed Gate.

“The second one is the Suzaku Gate. With the Forbidden Gate unavailable, it can be said that it is, in practice, the only Gate in Yamauchi.”

Consequently, all trade with the Outside went through the Suzaku Gate. The Ministry of Courtesy(4), led by the Lord of the South since generations ago, was the organization in charge of it, handling foreign diplomacy and commerce with the Tengu. As Yamauchi itself had no way to produce either iron or salt, it all had to be imported: this too was under the purview of the Ministry.

With only one Gate available and with any trade made through it under the strict control of the Ministry of Courtesy, prices were intended to be fixed. However, during the reign of the previous Acting Kin’u, there was one time where a massive price drop on both goods threw Yamauchi's economy into complete chaos.

“All of a sudden, an enormous amount of cheap iron and salt started to circulate through the castle town. There were no issues with the Southern House’s stock, and no signs of reselling either. The Forbidden Gate was still locked back then, so the main theory at the time was that someone had managed to import it all in bulk from the Outside by their own means.”

The Imperial Court frantically searched for the guilty party, of course, but it was to no avail.

“In the end, with no more incidents afterwards, people came to the conclusion that it had all been the doing of a long-time hoarder suddenly reselling everything in one go.”

However, at the time, a rumor had also started to circulate: that there was yet another Gate somewhere besides Suzaku.

“A theoretical Gate that nobody even knows whether it truly exists or not. That's the ‘Third Gate.’”

Although there hadn't been any movements worthy of that name since then, small price fluctuations were observed from time to time. Every time it happened, nobody could find a way to trace this new iron and salt back to any legal source.

“I'm sure you can figure out the rest.”

“…… The folks of the Undercity have this Third Gate under their control.”

“That's my theory, at least.”

-----------------------------------------

1: Yatagarasu are known to become normal crows upon crossing to the Outside World incorrectly, hence why they cannot ever return.

2: Yamagami is said to inhabit the peak of the mountain, the Forbidden Realm.

3: Yamauchi’s Highest Ranking Priest, in charge of most religious affairs. It means White Raven.

4: The japanese name is 守礼省 (Shureishou). 省 is merely "Ministry," but 守礼 is a trickier term. It's a term mostly associated with 守礼門 (Shureimon), the second of the old Shuri Castle's gates. It's intended to mean "to keep etiquette/to show courtesy," but the term was clearly chosen too for its association with a very famous gate.

[theladyofmanyfandomsfanfiction]

Stowaway Cloak (2/3)

Characters: Stephen Strange, Reader - platonic

Warning: None.

Summary: You return to visit an old friend but find that something has hidden itself in your suitcase.

Miniseries - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (final)

The party seemed louder than any battle that you had fought and you somehow had found yourself in the circle of the Mayor who was chatting up a storm about scientific funding. You had been trained in the mystic arts and knew how to hold yourself in a situation of torture but you weren’t prepared to endure an endlessly boring conversation that was undoubtedly wasting your time.

Having been feigning interest and politeness for a good twenty-two minutes, you excused yourself and engaged in conversation with another circle of elites who talked about cellular regeneration which slightly peaked your interest – completely deafening you to the loud thump that came from the room above the party hall.

The Cloak of Levitation had promised to stay put but when a shimmering red spark turned into a portal, it peered through the hood of the suitcase and watched quietly as a pair of black-dusted boots landed on the floor with a loud bang. 

The intruder treaded carefully to a corner of the room and as their back was turned to the door, the cloak silently slipped out of the case and under the thin crack.

“It’s highly theoretical at this very moment but we’re close to achieving an actual scientific break-through.” One of the scientists said back at the party and was appraised by his circle of socialites. 

You nodded with the others and raised your glass of champagne. “I’ve heard of a place that’s already achieved such a feat.” You chuckled, causing the group to fall quiet in the hopes that you’d further an explanation.

Just as you realised what you had just insinuated and thought about how to fix this conversation without revealing secrets, a bright silver gleam hit your eye. Looking over to where it came from, your heart stopped when you saw the Cloak hiding behind a wall.

“You were saying Y/n…?” Another doctor wondered, forcing you to snap back to the circle of people who were still waiting for you to speak.

“Oh, I was saying that I’ve heard of a place but the reporter on the story was said to be fired the very next day due to it being false.” You covered with a shrug. “Some people will do anything for a story, right?”

The merry band of men and women raised the glasses and laughed at your comment in agreement, resuming their drinking and topics of medical breakthroughs while you set your glass down on the nearest table and excused yourself.

Making a mad, yet subtle, dash over to the Cloak, you sighed once you were out of ear-shot and sight. “I thought I told you to-”

You were unable to finish the scolding as the red fabric coiled around your wrist and pulled it up the staircase and back towards the room.

You were just a little way away from the door when the cloak stopped you in your tracks and tapped over where you had hidden your sling ring on a chain around your neck.

Putting the pieces together, you knew that something dangerous had set foot in the home and that the Cloak was attempting to protect the lives that laughed beneath them.

You slipped on the relic that allowed you to open portals and took in a deep breath. You stepped forward but instead of touching the wooden floor panels, you were lifted into the air by the Cloak as it carried you to the doorway like a magic carpet, despite being slightly crooked and unstable.

You raised your hand to the door handle and turned it as you swung the panel open and instantly summoned the mirror dimension. The decision turned out to be a wise choice as you were met with a zealot who followed in Kaecilius’ mad plans of destruction.

The zealot turned and tossed the book he held on the floor. “Where is the cloak?” He demanded.

You stepped off and brought the cloak up to be displayed. “Right here.”

The zealot took a step forward and you forced the cape behind the wall of the Mirror Dimension for its protection, sealing it out.

“Give it to me.” The zealot demanded which only made you laugh at him.

Clearly, he didn’t know what you were capable of. Taking a step forward, you ignored the banging on the invisible wall by the cloak and smiled at the enemy.

“If you so much as touch a thread – I’ll end you.”

The zealot smirked at the confidence and leapt forward, summoning a red-axe almost instantly and swinging it at your head. You anticipated the attack and created a gold shield that had started to show streams of white to keep you from being torn in half. 

Once the axe hit the shield, you exerted enough energy to throw the zealot backwards into your bookshelf. Hopefully no one was missing your absence below.

Miniseries - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (final)

Masterlist here

[who-is-page]

Got some interesting asks last night; not gonna publish them as the person who sent me them asked me not to--they were a system who just wanted to vent out some frustrations and I respect that!--but the TL;DR summary is that they were frustrated that "syscourse" even at its theoretical best, even when all the people involved are 'pro-all systems' or label themselves 'endo-friendly spaces,' is something that's still often used as a cudgel to hurt others. And you know-- I'm honestly pretty damn inclined to agree. Syscoursers from a subcultural stance often can't separate themselves in diction and approach from its hyper-aggressive roots, and any attempt at discussion without meticulously unpacking that history falls flat. From a perspective more familiar to most of my followers, it would be like if therians ran around calling themselves "grillers" without disentangling the digital hazing history that went alongside the term and drove so many people away. It's a lack of introspection and an inability to reckon with the iron-spiked, saw-bladed foundations all the way down.

And seeing self-described syscoursers on one specific post essentially try to spin their unsuccessful, grayrocked attempt at confrontation and dogpiling as them being censored and silenced just proves this point to me further, since they're simultaneously claiming to at the same time be in favor of supporting discussion and education while having started off initially so aggressive and seemingly bad-faith. You can't set a bridge on fire and then howl fury when other people refuse to cross it, especially not when you've specifically positioned yourself in the scenario as an individual who intends to foster helpful conversations. You can't come in swinging and then complain that they started it and you only wanted to help! And if they hadn't positioned themselves in that way, jumping up on the pedestal to claim that they only want to have civil conversations and surely others who deny them that are censoring them and bad/wrong/etc WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY looking to be picking a fight rather than a genuine civil conversation, then this would be a different discussion to have-- but, well. I'd be lying if I said it didn't remind me of certain anti-otherkin tactics I'd seen in the past, with people batting their eyelashes and assuring otherkin that they weren't sealioning, it was all just innocent questions about such a stupid identity-- oh sorry, did they say stupid? They meant "interesting," teehee, don't mind them. They're just here to listen and be logical. """Logic""" which usually involves punching down in a way that isn't logical and is more just an excuse to be an asshole and tear into someone.

There's a reason I don't posit myself as someone who intends to always single-handedly foster perfectly civil, moderated, respectful discussions in my discourse posts in the same way, say, Rani (a-dragons-explanation) does. Because I know that when I get pissed, I bite! I'm cognizant of that fact, that I don't have perfect self-restraint and sometimes I come across way harsher than is necessary (even on occasions where harshness might theoretically be warranted, because deserved is not the same as necessary). And I am also aware that discourse is a separate animal from discussion, in the same way grilling is different from an AMA. Sure, they might be technically synonymous on a dictionary level, but in practice they are vastly different. And that applies here, too, even though I've seen syscoursers claiming that they are the exact same.

But this is getting away from me. -chinhands- I guess that I'm disappointed but ultimately not surprised that syscourse is fundamentally nonproductive, and that it too often devolves into dehumanizing others, either through outright arguments around personhood or just through preemptively making people out to be significantly more malicious than they actually are, because within the subculture due to a variety of factors, malice and cruelty is assumed to inherently be much more common than ignorance. And people are also much less forgiving of the latter, even if they claim otherwise. But seeing this happen has given me some perspective on things in the subcultures I frequent and in my own tendencies with some topics, and is making me rethink the ways I communicate with others and what the intended goals of those communications with larger audiences are versus how it can go off the rails, which I think is really helpful, even if it's coming inadvertently from such a noxious source.

[stellagibs0ns]

Ok. Their psychiatrist-patient era. They're both at this party, and this woman has a one-sided beef with Bedelia. She tries to subtly belittle Bedelia in front of many people, but what can they say, Bedelia's too cool for that shit. And this woman keeps shamelessly flirting with Hannibal too.

But soon she discovers their secret relationship and maybe die out of jealousy.

feel free to spice things up! i don't mind if it's long or short tbh as long as you have a story to tell. thank you💗

i changed things up just a bit by writing them both as psychiatrists rather than psychiatrist/patient!! but hope you enjoy <3

—

The room is packed full of psychiatrists and psychologists alike, all engaged in convoluted chatter about a variety of mental conditions and theoretical explanations for them.

Bedelia swirls her wine around in her glass, doing her best to drown out the faux-intelligent remarks and overly boastful anecdotes.

Her recent award for a published book has made her the talk of the psychiatric community. Some envious, others pretending to be pleased for her.

“Here she is,” a drawn-out, nasal voice calls from behind her. “The woman of the hour. At four hundred an hour, too. Very steep, Doctor Du Maurier. I hope you’re as good as your prices suggest.”

Bedelia turns, her eyebrow cocked nonchalantly.

“Doctor Argent. Good to see you,” Bedelia says coolly.

“I’m sure,” the woman says. She’s tall, thin, with severe dark hair and piercing blue eyes. Her mere presence could turn a person to ice, but Bedelia simply observes her. Calm. Collected. “Congratulations on the award. Must’ve been a good book.”

“I take it you didn’t read it,” Bedelia replies. Hannibal is a few feet away. Silent, but observant as ever.

“I did not. I haven’t gotten around to it. I’d be happy to read it and forward you any notes I have,” she says.

“You’re welcome to, but I don’t know if I’ll get around to reading them.”

A light, almost nervous wave of laughter washes through the small crowd. Doctor Argent’s lips purse into a thin, sour smile. She’s eager to come out on top.

“Did you read the book, Doctor Lecter?” She asks, turning to Hannibal. “I’d love to hear your thoughts. You always seem to have the most marvelous things to say. Such an asset to the psychiatric field, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“You flatter me, Doctor Argent,” Hannibal says, slow and steady. “I found Doctor Du Maurier’s book immensely insightful. She has a brilliant mind, and I found the book to be of great help. I entertained many things I hadn’t previously entertained. It was refreshing.”

Bedelia suppresses a smile as she looks down at her wine glass.

“Then perhaps I should read it,” the tall woman says. “I’ve always admired your intellect.”

Hannibal gives her a polite smile. The woman is unabashedly flirting, but Bedelia keeps her eyes down. She catches the way Argent’s hand squeezes Hannibal’s bicep, and the way she subtly leans into him. Hannibal does not entertain her. That’s pleasing, at the very least.

As the chatter continues, and hors d’oeuvres are picked at, Bedelia watches the way Argent fusses over Hannibal. Her eyes wide and her lips parted like a schoolgirl. She’s maybe two or three years younger than Bedelia, but she doesn’t feel threatened. She has no reason to. The woman is a nightmare, and it’s obvious Hannibal thinks the same.

She catches his dark brown eyes briefly, before she excuses herself to the kitchen. She leans against the counter, hidden from sight. She pours herself another glass of wine and exhales sharply. The sooner she can get herself away from this party, the better. She has never been social, despite her profession.

Hannibal joins her five minutes later. She knows by his footsteps alone. When she catches his cologne, she exhales.

He pushes her hair over her shoulder, his lips pressing against the nape of her neck.

“Hannibal,” she says softly, but makes no attempt to push him away. Their relationship is strictly secret, but the kitchen is hidden, and every guest is well occupied with their droning conversations.

“You handled Argent wonderfully,” he says, circling around to stand in front of her. She looks up at him, her blue eyes searching and fond.

“She’s a fucking pill,” Bedelia murmurs. “I don’t have that kind of time.”

“Mm,” he hums, leaning down to kiss her softly. She makes a soft sound against his lips, her hand on his chest.

“Be smart.”

“I always am, Bedelia.”

He leans down to kiss behind her ear, sucking softly. She exhales slowly, and before she can register it, she notices Argent by the doorway. Her piercing eyes meet Bedelia’s, and she can tell she’s seething with jealousy.

There’s a look of disgust on her face, but behind it, she knows there’s a deep seated sense of envy.

Rather than push him away, her hand snakes up to cradle the back of Hannibal’s head, her lips parted as he nibbles her skin.

She doesn’t break eye contact with Argent for a moment, and the smallest of smirks tugs at her lips.

Bedelia really ought to be more cautious, but there is no law against the two of them seeing one another. Plus, the look of spite on Argent’s face is too good. A flickering feeling of satisfaction settles in Bedelia’s chest.

“Take me home,” she murmurs to Hannibal, right as his hand slips down to her rear.

Bedelia raises her eyebrows at Argent. Checkmate, she thinks.

[midknightwritings]

Knights and their S/O as Ghost Hunters

Synopsis : What would the members of Knights be like with their S/O if they were in Buzzfeed Unsolved ??

Era : N / A

Warning/s : Swearing

Mentioned Character/s : G/N!Reader / Tsukasa / Leo / Izumi / Arashi / Ritsu

A/N : I have no excuse for this one. I just think it’s funny af to imagine Knights in Shane and Ryan's shoes LMAO

At the end of each of their sections, I added a summary and link to a Buzzfeed Unsolved moment that sums up the dynamics I imagined the best !! I originally wanted to label who's who for Shane and Ryan but I decided against it to let you decide~ Anyways !! I totally recommend actually watching the videos because they’re so funny LMAO

Please just remember that the show focuses on unsolved mysteries and the supernatural before you watch the links !!

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Tsukasa Suou :

Tsukasa’s secretly a believer in certain ideas but tries his hardest to pretend that he’s a complete skeptic and it’s honestly adorable but, at the same time, he’s really easy to tease. [ Which you do constantly. ]

He’s also the type to use logic to decipher certain phenomena and he knows his history well !! If you don’t stop him he’ll end up verbally reciting an entire history essay WAIT- IS HE RECITING A WORK CITED SECTION TOO ?! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIB-

Tsukasa always brings snacks to your investigations. He’ll try to bring a variety if you’re not into sweets and would seemingly hand them to you at random points in time. So, most of your investigations consist of the two of you sweeping an area with half empty bags of snacks in your hands.

He tries to act as your knight in shining armor but you can sometimes catch him jumping a bit in surprise if he’s caught off guard. He’d explain that he’s tense because he’s ready to protect you from danger. [ Which is true !! At the same time though, he’s also scared but he’ll never expose himself like that... ]

Tsukasa’s view on respect also extends to spirits or supernatural beings, so he’d be the one that’s stopping you from taunting them. He’ll scold you depending on what you say but if you’re friendly, then he wouldn’t say anything. Just don’t go around announcing your, or his, address and he’ll let you say whatever you want.

He wouldn’t like the idea of sleeping overnight in a haunted building but if it’s for the sake of the investigation he’ll suck it up and do it. He isn’t used to sleeping in these sort of places but he doesn’t mind as long as you’re both together. Depending on the building, he’d either unintentionally pull an all nighter to make sure you're safe or would snuggle up close to you for comfort.

You both know each other so well that you can pretty much figure out what the other truly thinks or what they would say next. So, sometimes, Tsukasa would call you out on something when he knows for a fact that you're sugarcoating your explanation / reason.

Buzzfeed Unsolved moment that represents your dynamic :

Summary of the scene : Shane tries to sugarcoat his love for a certain theory before Ryan immediately cuts him off with the actual reason, which was the fact that Shane likes the idea of someone getting eaten by crabs.

Click the timestamp to watch it: 14:38 - 14:56

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Leo Tsukinaga :

Leo believes in aliens so it’s not too farfetched to say that he’s open to the idea of ghosts existing too right? He isn’t as vocal about it compared to his belief in aliens but, at the same time, he will jump if he hears a sound from the empty hallway.

You both have the goofiest dynamic ever. Always joking around, you both seemingly turn the scariest situation into something so comedic that it’s a surprise that you didn’t ruin any of the antique items with your tears from how hard you’ve both been laughing.

You’re more "grounded in reality" compared to Leo in some situations though, as he tends to come up with very fantastical explanations to certain mysteries. Though, there is the off-chance situation where one of his ideas could theoretically work.

You both have a non-spoken game where you try to scare each other throughout your investigations. Whoever scares the other the most wins !! It makes your investigations a bit more bearable but, at the same time, it desensitized you both to actual evidence when they happen. This desensitization helps you filter out possible reasons, real or supernatural, a lot better so you can think of that as a benefit !!

Leo will definitely try to befriend the spirits, saying things like;

“Ah, yes I remember Wahaha~! Hey spirits~ There’s this really cool food stall I know you’ll love near my house at-” “DON’T TELL THEM YOUR ADDRESS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

You always bring extra notebooks and pens because if you didn’t, you’d be holding Leo back from vandalizing the area when inspiration hits [ which happens; Every. Single. Time, during an investigation. ] He always says, “but the spirits wanna have fun too~” If you couldn't bring any notebooks, or Leo finished them, you both came to an agreement that he’ll scribble on your arms instead. So yes… Now you’re basically walking around dressed up as a sheet music.

Doesn’t really mind sleeping overnight in a haunted building because he thinks of it as a sleepover~ Though, most of the time, he’s so excited that he ends up pulling an all-nighter. He’d either make you pull one too or you somehow fell asleep before he could’ve tried to persuade you. With the latter, he’d lower his voice and either snuggle close to you or gently move your head so that it's resting on his lap; and with that, he’ll gently play with your hair while humming a quiet lullaby.

Buzzfeed Unsolved moment that represents your dynamic :

Summary of the scene : Shane and Ryan laughing at the thought of someone pooping himself in his final performance before dying.

Click the timestamp to watch it : 3:28 - 4:51

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Izumi Sena :

Izumi’s a skeptic who unintentionally acts like a believer, you can’t convince me otherwise. He acts all cool and brushes things off as "just the wind" but at the same time, he’s internally shitting his pants every time he’s remotely alone during your investigations. You tease him into oblivion because of this.

90% of your investigations are just you messing around with Izumi whether it’d be randomly jumpscaring him, telling him to go somewhere alone, or just pretending that you saw something to try and get a reaction out of him. [ Though, he’s numb to the last one since he knows that you’re just bullshitting at this point. ]

Izumi quietly talks to himself to psyche himself up when he’s doing a solo investigation. Just don’t bring it up to him because he WILL deny it, saying things like; “This is so~annoying and completely pointless !! None of this is scary at all !!” [ Spoiler alert : That was him psyching himself up to open the basement door. ]

He thinks that abandoned places are gross because they weren't cleaned and would complain about it for the entire duration of your investigation. Even with that though, Izumi’s the first one to dust off any debris that he notices on you and in return, you do the same for him. Assuming he didn’t dust himself off for the 30th time in the last 5 minutes.

Speaking about hating abandoned buildings, the amount of preparation you need to do if you want to sleep overnight in a haunted one is honestly more stressful than the actual sleeping itself. This is because, Izumi will absolutely not sleep on some dirty, musty old floor. You had to limit your overnight stays to haunted houses that have actual beds which decreased your choices by a lot but at least you get the bonus benefit of sharing a bed !! So free cuddles woooo~!!

When it comes to evidence though, Izumi’s skepticism kicks in at full force. He always comes up with logical explanations to certain phenomena and even provides real-world evidence to strengthen his claims.

The banter between you two is honestly hilarious because, most of the time, it’s just the two of you spitting insults at each other. You both know you don’t mean anything you actually said so none of you take anything to heart.

Buzzfeed Unsolved moment that represents your dynamic :

Summary of the scene : Ryan's exploring a dark, empty area by himself, complaining about his current predicament, before getting jumpscared by Shane who crawled out of an empty hallway in a low growl. Ryan cusses him out afterwards while Shane just laughs at him.

Click the timestamp to watch it : 12:06 - 12:54

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Arashi Narukami :

Arashi leans towards the skeptic side and doesn’t really believe in the supernatural but she’s the one that tends to “protect” you during your investigations. Her teasing is more like her calling out your reactions, saying that you’re adorable rather than actually trying to jumpscare you. [ She wouldn’t stoop that low~ ]

A lot of impromptu acting. You both vibe so well together that you can both just, “get into" character and develop them on the spot, all the while bouncing ideas off each other. It’s really impressive and funny at the same time !!

She’s really good at moving around the space and would often hold your hand / tell you to mind your step if she sees something that she thinks you might trip on. Especially since it’s so dark, she helps the two of you navigate the area. Sometimes she carries you bridal style while you’re the one holding the flashlight <3

She isn’t too keen on the whole “sleeping in a haunted building” idea because it’s either dirty and abandoned, which isn’t good for both your healths, or because she’s worried for you. She doesn’t want you to be scared so, if you both decide to actually stay somewhere overnight… Firstly, it’s most likely in a haunted house with beds [ Arashi doesn’t want you to get sick because of the dust and trash laying around ], and secondly, Arashi would constantly remind you that she’ll protect you <3 You’ll fall asleep safely wrapped in her arms~

She takes every single piece of evidence with a grain of salt but at the same time, she would also joke about certain ideas and theories. [ Especially if she thinks that those said theories are dumb or just too farfetched. ]

Arashi secretly wants you to overcome your fears but, at the same time, she wouldn’t force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. If you do decide to go out of your comfort zone, she’s so supportive and praises you for your bravery. She’ll even pepper your face with congratulatory kisses in the end !! Since then, you'd constantly try to push yourself out of your comfort zone just for her kisses. [ Honestly, I can’t blame you cuz I’d do the same thing too~ ]

She isn’t the type to taunt the spirits into showing themselves but she’s also not the type to be friendly with them either. So, depending on how you act, she’ll purposefully be the opposite to balance things out and release any tension from the situation. Arashi wouldn’t be that extreme though, so she often reminds you to tone it down a bit~

Buzzfeed Unsolved moment that represents your dynamic :

Summary of the scene : Shane and Ryan talks about a certain crime technique from the past and explains it in a cartoonish way before breaking into overly-comical characters on the spot.

Click the timestamp to watch it : 15:22 - 16:00

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ritsu Sakuma :

Ritsu may be a vampire but he acts like the biggest skeptic out there and honestly, he will not hesitate to tease you the entire time during your investigations.

You seriously can’t catch a break with him. He’s so nonchalant about everything that, at this point, you believe that the ghosts are afraid of him and not the other way around !!

His skepticism knows no bounds, and he will always come up with the most “grounded in reality” reason for everything. "It must be the sound of shoes squeaking", "The forest is pretty loud at night~", "That's just gravity", etc; and yes, he also despises the spirit box because it’s way too loud and it hurts his ears.

Ritsu will not hesitate to fight a ghost. Every time you enter an investigation area, the first thing Ritsu announces is the fact that he’s willing to fight anything here. He also taunts them to no end saying things like, “I didn’t get a good nap before this so you definitely have a chance to give me a papercut~”

“That’s so photoshopped,” is his signature catchphrase for any visual evidence you find and if the age / texture of the photo itself proves that it’s basically impossible for it to be edited, he would say; “It looks like shit… So, I don’t care what anybody says about it.”

He will try to push you out of your comfort zone for “the sake of the investigation” by telling you to do things or go to areas that you wouldn’t possibly ever wanted to in the first place. Such requests include taunting the spirits, closing your flashlight for 5 minutes, separating from each other for a few minutes to see if anything pops up, etc.

Ritsu honestly wouldn’t mind sleeping in any haunted building. As long as he has a sleeping bag and a pillow, he’s all good to go. He’s asleep the moment he closes his eyes while you’re still rolling around trying to get comfortable. If you unintentionally wake him up from your movements, he’d just pull you in and cuddle you like a pillow. You can’t escape his grasps once that happens~

Buzzfeed Unsolved moment that represents your dynamic :

Summary of the scene : Ryan's too scared to investigate the top of the stairs and Shane's pushing him to do so, saying that the investigation will be a failure if he didn't go all the way up. Ryan's excuses starts to become comically extreme and Shane says "that's fine" to all of them... "As long as you goes all the way up."

Click the timestamp to watch it : 7:22 - 7:55

[ I'm not too sure which episode this scene was from so if you know, please let me know so I can link the original <3 ]

[jonphaedrus]

how to convince multiple corroborating witnesses you time travelled

i happened to tell an unrelated story to some friends last night and there came a request for "how on earth did your father convince you that he was capable of time travel" and the answer to that one was "sheer fucking audacity and a natural charisma score of about six billion, as well as the fact that my father has never been on time for anything. ever. in his life." my stepmother even calls it "running on dave time" because it's so ubiquitous.

here are some examples for you. last month my dad came to visit us, and the day he was supposed to be driving here i called him and said "so where are you right now?" and he replied "oh, i haven't left yet." it was at that point 4 in the afternoon and he was supposed to be maybe two hours out. i was like "...uh" and his explanation was "my mother wanted me to do some stuff and i didnt do it earlier this week so im doing it tonight" (the adhd time blindnes Really is). he missed an entire whole-ass plane flight because he was running so late over the summer, but because he has weird small magic they casually rerouted him through denver to san francisco and he met his students at the gate on their way to tokyo and they hadnt had him on the flight over to san francisco and were like "...what??? how did you get here?" dont worry about it.

the time that sticks out to me most of dave time is when i was about nine and there was a party for some family friends we were going to that started at 1pm. i was at my mother's house that weekend, so he was picking me up there. at 1230 he called me and said "okay im on my way now."

nothing.

at 1 he calls and says "im just leaving now."

nothing.

he calls at 115. "im going out the door, i am walking out the door right now." at 130 "i've just gotten in the car." at 2 "i'm actually in the car, i'm starting the car" at 230 "i am driving, right now, i'm driving."

he shows up at 3pm. this is pretty standard dave behavior.

my parents had the most contentious litigious divorce you could imagine—they were in legal arbitration, like, actively in court, for fifteen straight years, from the day their divorce was finalized until the day the decree expired when i graduated high school, because my mother would find basically any excuse to do anything and then right back they'd go. as a part of this divorce, they had 90s split custody—certain nights with either parents, weekends back and forth, etc.

one problem with this was that my father was congenitally incapable of getting me to school on time. ever. i reached the point where it became an issue they took to court, because i had so many tardy days in elementary school i was going to get counted as truant, so it was ESSENTIAL my dad get me to school on time.

one night, a friend slept over at my house on a school night, and we reminded him again and again WE HAVE TO GET TO SCHOOL ON TIME IN THE MORNING!!! WE HAVE TO GET UP AT 7!!! and he was like yes right okay we have to (i dont know why i didnt own an alarm clock at his house as a child. this is very adhd of him. he of course also does not own an alarm clock, to this day. he could theoretically use his phone but... uh. he doesn't know how to use his phone) and so we went to bed and woke up—

at 8.

school started at 745.

massively panicked, knowing we were going to be in SO MUCH TROUBLE if we were late, we rushed out of the house. my father, meanwhile, was cool as a cucumber—SOMEHOW. usually he would have been freaking out too, but he was like no, we got this.

you see, he'd been keeping a secret weapon on hand, just in case. ready to deploy when his need was most dire. and this was... that he knew how to time travel.

if literally any other human being had said that to us, i think we both would've laughed in their face.

my friend and i, of course, knew my father. we looked at each other. we looked at him.

we recognized that this was more plausible than we necessarily wanted to admit.

he was always late for everything but never got into trouble and always somehow made it just on time enough it wasn't a big deal. he could magic up stories that were so unbelievable nobody could possibly make them up. he'd been all over the world. if anybody could time travel, it was my dad.

so into the car we get. it's 8:15 now according to the clock, and we gotta go, we gotta RUSH. so we do rush, driving all the way across the city to school. he explains that the magic spell requires several components.

we must be in the nicer of the two old cars (the 1988 subaru outback, as has been mentioned previously as being the car we sold to later buy the car that almost exploded), so we take the white car, because the grey car is too old to be able to time travel any more, its engine couldn't take the abuse. we must drive a weird way to get to school, because this only works when you're going a certain speed, and the only highway that lets you go that speed is a little bit out of the way, but don't worry, we aren't risking anything by going further east than we normally would—we need to go 70mph. we must be listening to this specific classical radio station. and, most importantly of all, we must drive under this bridge. this one specific bridge. my dad, of course, needs his eyes on the road, so can me & my friend watch out the windows and tell him the INSTANT we're about to pass under the bridge so he can make the time travel happen?

honestly even now (at 28, not 8) i could believe this amount of setup has some very specific powers. it's well thought out, it has a solid amount of backup in place, there's specific somatic and verbal components, and it all fits into the logic train of "my father is a perfectly normal human being". my friend and i, of course, know he could just change the car clock, but this isn't likely to happen because my father doesn't actually know how to change the car clock (he still doesn't).

so we get to the bridge, we press our faces against the glass, and my dad says "okay get ready here we go!" and he guns the engine to speed just over speed limit past and under the bridge. there's a frisson of unbelievable energy. we gasp.

we get out the other side of the bridge and my dad looks at the clock and says "oh no. it might not've worked. the car clock is still wrong" so we start panicing again. he's like "okay, well, we'll have tried anyway, and so even if it didn't work we tried".

we pull up at school at 8:30, almost AN HOUR LATE, and my friend and i RUSH into the building, expecting to get tardy slipped... except there's no tardy slip person. none of the classroom doors are closed.

the clocks all say it's 7:30.

we look at each other. we stare. we look at the clocks. we look back at where my dad has driven away. this cannot possibly be true, right? there's no way my dad was able to go back in time.

and yet... we're early for school. a thing that has never happened to either of us, probably, in our lives.

we RUSH down the hall to our classrooms, find the rest of our friends, and start yelling our heads off about how MY FATHER JUST TIME TRAVELLED BACKWARDS IN TIME BY AN HOUR. our friends, of course, have never seen me on time on a day my dad had me, ever, and my toher friend who was with me was also always late, so they were like "what??? HOW DID YOU TWO GET HERE ON TIME???" and this... this has to be the only plausible explanation, right? there's no way my dad would get us to school on time. there had to be time travel involved.

and it wasn't even the day we had to change the clocks back. so that's not an explanation, either. it was december! totally wrong time of year!

and yet... my father time travelled.

i ran into this friend again YEARS later in high school after we'd lost contact and she was like "remember when your dad made us time travel" and i was like "oh god yeah did that really happen" and she was like "how the fuck did he do that." and we sat there, wondering. for hours. how the fuck did he do that??? because it totally happened, we both witnessed it, and he never did it again. so...

after i graduated from high school i finally asked my dad how the fuck he had managed to pull of time travel. i'd gone over all the plausible explanations with my friend—was that the day we'd changed the clocks back? no, it was december. had he snuck into my bedroom and turned the clock forward? no, that wouldn't make any sense, he's not capable of being sneaky or quiet. had he actually time travelled? obviously not.—and we'd finally just been like "well, it's dave. only explanation is it's dave"

the explanation?

in order to combat his terrible, terrible time blindness, my father had decided to not turn the clocks back and leave them all running so it looked like it was an hour ahead of what time it actually was, since this meant he'd actually make it places on time. if he always thought he was an hour late, he'd end up getting there right on time!

so he hadn't turned a single clock in his house or his car back. he'd left them all running an hour ahead. when we woke up in a panic he just started laughing at us, telling us we were running late and everything, because he knew we were, in fact, early! since we were so scared, though, he decided to give us something fun to make up for worrying us, and invented the whole time travel shtick off the cuff. given how much fun we had, and how it had stayed with us, he was just glad it had ended up "working"

that all said though?

........... i do still kind of think my dad might actually be able to time travel.

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

I know that the word "biology" has gotten a bad rep in trans spaces for being used as a shitty excuse for bad thinking and bad policy... But like... 'Biology' is not a bad or dirty word.

Just like real world biology is a scientific study that would actually back up sex and gender as not being binary or fixed... People in fandom spaces just using the word biology in reference to how nature functions unadulterated by conscious choices, aren't inherently coming up with bad -or exclusionary- explanations or ideas because they want to explore how something naturally evolved or could evolve in the absence of interference, theoretically, even in universes where there are forces at work other than 'natural' evolution.

Sometimes discussing biology in fandom spaces is fun and kind of adjacent to the whole point of what you are doing, aka "Vulcan biology, the biology of Vulcans..." And hand waving things away as not needing to be explained or specified is kind of missing the point no matter how easy it is to do...

Maybe sometimes when you are writing smut, as a random non-specific example, you want a solid theory on what kinds of pleasure a character is capable of experiencing that is laid out in a way that doesn't ignore or alienate cannon.

So maybe picking apart how a character race ended up the way they are is weird and needless nitpicking to -you- that should be hand waved away or isn't worth bringing up and exploring, but to someone who is -for example- going to use it for plot reasons or is going to be horny about it, the nuance of how things got to be how they are is kind of important.

To put it very bluntly, for anyone still missing the point, the reason why a person might want a very specific explanation of these things is that maybe it's hard to write about having a character -as a lover or otherwise- when how they function or experience pleasure on a fundamental level isn't written in the original text in a way that makes sense. Even if you are going to come up with your own answers, you might still really enjoy working it into something that doesn't argue with the accepted cannon, because that's how you get your kicks, or because that raises the likelihood that other fans can also enjoy a story without being irked by it being "incorrect" constantly.

Maybe -you- don't feel the need to explore it because you aren't horny on main about it.

[mdhwrites]

There's something I don't understand... since the Collector (or one of his siblings) trapped the owl beast in the scroll, but couldn't the Collector remove Eda's (and by extension, Lilith's) curse and free the owl beast from her body since he's basically a young god? Even if they insist on treating the curse like a chronic illness, it wouldn't have hurt to mention it since it just seems like a plot hole.

So the only time this would matter would be in the epilogue. Otherwise, the Collector is never on Eda and Lilith's side and so doing a kindness of that sort for them wouldn't make sense. Maybe taking it away to depower them while the Collector is ruling the Isles but that's frankly more work than just turning them into a puppet. Should he have done it at the end? Eeeeh. I think the creators reasonably decided that Harpy Lilith would be a flashier way that more fans would want to see as a resolution to the curse than simply getting rid of it. It also allows those who see it as a disability or chronic illness to not just have a god whisk away those issues but instead see how these characters are thriving in spite of it. Not that I'm too happy with the allegory in the end with the Harpy forms, I'd rather be rid of my own disability frankly than pretend it's a superpower but *shrug*.

I wouldn't call this a plot hole though. Nothing is actively contradicting this point or is missing from the logic of the show's events to justify it as one. That's what causes plotholes after all. When something actively goes back on what it has shown or done or blatantly changes the rules of reality for what it wants to do. I would personally argue that TOH's biggest plotholes either go to A: Why the fuck was Belos able to make a portal out of a stone arch and Titan's Blood and LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE and it worked better somehow than the explicit instructions that he himself left on how to make a portal door? There's just a LOT of levels of bullshit and contradictions that we're never going to get an explanation for. B: "How do we stop this draining spell that kills people by feeding on their magic?" "I know! Let's mix it with a curse that turns people into monsters by feeding on and corrupting their magic!" And then everyone should have just stared at whoever offered that idea before immediately moving on with the meeting like nothing had happened and that person hadn't said anything. And yes, it's trying to play off of Eda's Requiem but in that, I never got the feeling of "This weakened the spell," I got the feeling of "OH! This made it so she has a disintegration spell!" because let's face it: Her and Raine's spell was not WEAKER than anything else Raine could do. Not if it was their only option to nullify, stop and then murder two coven heads who were actively trying to find them.

God this show's writing got stupid. Then again, in both cases you have plot holes that exist because, well... The show wrote itself in a corner. The show spent so much time on Belos' backstory and on Hunter and Lumity in S2 that they hadn't actually come up with a real way to stop The Day of Unity. Even if you do want to use Eda's Requiem as an excuse, they also have to retcon in that same scene the fact that Darius, Eber and Raine can't just sit out the ceremony anymore like they had previously established, making the one way they HAD established to beat it not matter anymore, even though Odalia could have just told Luz about an off screen raid that was happening on the CAT's hideout and effectively nothing changes except Eda doesn't lose an arm. The other is of course the portal. The portal not working immediately is a cool idea but one they don't explore AT ALL. And it presents the obvious problem of "Okay, what was the missing piece?" Yes, Belos theoretically knows that piece but even his Isles door looked like it needed a lot of extra elements to function and work properly that let you assume that what Luz had gotten before was a prototype door, not the real thing. But... Then it's literally just a stone archway and liberal application of Titan's Blood because Belos is a monster and can't have gotten the materials for a proper door anymore. What leads to these moments in both cases aren't bad ideas but they're also stepping away from the fantasy genre without knowing why the genre uses these tropes. Why can't you just remove one of the things necessary for the villain to win is a common problem for a lot of fantasy stories and most are just smart not to EVER BRING IT UP because of it. Magic working on the first try may not make sense but it means that there isn't further experimentation that's required, or the spell only works once before devouring itself or the like, a trope TOH even played into because suddenly the door required more Titan Blood every time it was opened and yet the key isn't fully drained after probably hundreds of years. It's all a part of that feeling of TOH wanting to be smarter than it's writers are. At least for this genre.

[lowkeyclueless5137]

whoa. This new AU looks mega cool 😎. You know the one where Riddle, Kalim, Epel, and Idia turn into aliens and all. So uhh can I ask how it would technically impact some side events like uhhh ghost marriage, that one Halloween event, glorious masquerade and last not least the most recent Stage in Playful land?(also Epel got a slight opinion on Way Big, what about the rest?) PS, what if the four somehow(especially Idia) uhhh got uhh affected by a certain Big Chill/Necrofriggian event that uhh kinda ended up with FOURTEEN Necrofriggian babies?

:0 welp the last point plays into the more deep relationship with magic and the omnitrix.

Again... I'm going to go into a long explanations, so anon, hope you are ready for a pretty stuffed up read more. :'3

First of all! The remaining 3 impressions for way big... Well... It is in the name: it's way too big. Since most of the action is in NRC, a confined space(save for the dorms) way big is more or so an inconvenience. (Kalim might find it fun to hold Jamil in his palm like a smol hamster) Therefore it's a transformation that is used almost never. :'3

For the events, it does depend on everyone. So I'm gonna tackle them in the form of who has the most impactul changes in this au.(basically the ssr of the event) :'3

Ghost marriage

It is obvious af that Idia is the main attraction of the event. Here Ortho is even more insistent on saving his brother because if Idia dies, the omnitrix can fall in anyone's hands and thus a lot of problems could be caused. :v

As such, since(theoretically) ghost marriage is before book 6, Idia still doesn't use the omnitrix unless he gets into a hiding spot first. This is also when Ortho plays some 4D chess and convinces the last team to 'fight for Idia's hand'.

*a wild Malleus has spawned*/j

But this does grant Idia the time and space to go hide and transform. For the occasion, I would say that he uses ghostfreak, just to be in theme. :'3

Endless Halloween night

This is definitely Riddle's event. He would be down to use any and all opportunity to save everyone.

Definitely this is the place where Riddle gets to use some aliens he usually doesn't use, mainly because if they are dealing with ghosts, he has to not be all rash and more retreated.

Most likely Riddle is oh so close to punting Lilia and Malleus, but hey... There is a party at least as some sort of compensation. :v

Glorious masquerade

Again, Idia has an ssr in here and a lot of plot relevance, so he gets yeeted in there and becomes the enemy of state no.1 in Rollo's eyes(as usual :'3)

In here, at first, Idia probably makes a 'noble sacrifice' which is just an excuse to get broken from the group. In here he definitely uses big chill since it's just feels like a smart move to freeze up the fire flowers.

Also Rollo becomes a popsicle. :'3

Stage in playful land

In here, this is definitely after book 4 so Kalim is more prone with arguing with Jamil about his capabilities. This is one of the arguments that makes Kalim to storm off and thus ends up with the group to go to playful land.

And I imagine Kalim absolutely tries to be responsible. He gets swayed a bit by the attractions and fun, but the argument still lingers in his mind and as such he's on guard, which Fellow doesn't like the slightest.

Maybe because of the playful land magically changing the attire, every time Kalim uses the omnitrix, he gets a redesign fit for the playful land aesthetics. Which if it wasn't a dire situation, he would totally be excited about. :v

And now! For the one I was so hyped about: the alien influences and how they are affected by magic.

I did say previously that magic does take a more passive role even in half transformations. This is for a motive: to protect the mage's consciousness and prevent it from outside factors such as the alien DNA, from interfering. Basically like a security clause so no alien DNA imprints on the consciousness. This can prevent a lot of biological urges to go in full swing such as reproduction or more violent responses, but that doesn't mean that the urge isn't there. The difference is that they are absolutely conscious about it and can control it properly to the point it's simply irrelevant. :v

For the Big Chill problem, everyone does handle it differently. :'3

Riddle is absolutely freaking out at first, but as long as he keeps it in, it would be alright.

Kalim tho, would be more like the 'sleepwalking' problem, which gives Jamil a wild night. Doesn't help that man is scared shitless of insects. :'3

Epel doesn't freak out, but is keeping it in pretty easily. Vil and Rook also help him out too.

Idia now, the urges are usually pretty easy to ignore for him, but he cannot deny that it spikes more his anxiety when in public. ESPECIALLY if he has a crush on someone. He's just a mess for a few days and Ortho only puts him to rest, which is the last thing Idia would want to do. He's just making it harder for himself. :')

All in all... Chaos hours. :3