#we should be treated like humans and given reasons as to why this happened.

[offtorivendell]

Elain, Gwyn and a possible January birthday...

I can't believe it's the end of the Year of our Cauldron 2024 and this argument has resurfaced, but here we go I guess.

Thank you @shitwillnotbegiven for working though this with me!

Firstly, I really want people to know that none of this even matters; the interview in which Steph asked SJM if Azriel's person could have her birthday happened after ACOSF was sent* to be published. So whatever couple was built up was already set in the text. It's a complete non issue. Secondly, SJM has fudged up the numbers before; I am pretty sure that someone did the maths and, according to canon, Eris would have only been around 8yo when he left Mor at Autumn's border! These things happen, and SJM has said she's not a numbers person (no shame).

* Correction: ACOSF was not yet published, but it would have been at the printers and/or being shipped out. Thank you @valentiinexo.

Thirdly, assuming SJM honours the promise to begin with, even if the birthday request predated ACOSF being sent to the printers, it's still a non issue because both Elain and Gwyn could have been born in January. I don't know why people are saying Elain was born over the summer, besides wanting to reassure themselves that she won't end up with Az.

But let's have a look.

Elain

Nesta said that Elain was "barely thirteen" at the ball when the heiress bullied her for whatever reason.

“She wouldn’t have gone into much detail about it,” Elain said. “Nesta was only fourteen at the last ball we went to before—well, before we were poor …” Elain shook her head. “Another young heiress was at the ball, and she positively hated me. She was several years older, and I’d never done anything to provoke her hatred, but I think …” “She was jealous of your beauty,” Amren said, an amused smile on her red lips. Elain blushed. “Perhaps.” It was definitely that. Even though Elain would have been barely thirteen at the time. “Well, Nesta saw how she treated me, her casual cruelties and snubs, and bided her time. Waited until that ball, when a handsome duke from the continent was there to find a bride. His family had run out of money, which was why he’d deigned to come over at all—to nab a rich bride to refill their estate’s coffers. Nesta knew the heiress had her sights set on him. The girl had bragged about it to all of us in the powder room at every ball for weeks leading up to it. - ACOSF, chapter 44

Nesta herself was only "fourteen," born in the spring.

Cassian held her gaze as he stalked for her, then reached out an arm— And plucked the cerulean-and-cream scarf Elain had given her for her birthday this spring off the hook on the wall. He gripped it in his fist, dangling it like a strangled snake as he brushed past her. - ACOSF, chapter 1

As the map and seasons of Prythian both coincide with the map and seasons of the UK and Ireland/the northern hemisphere in general (besides the four seasonal courts), and it should be safe to assume that the ball happened during the social season, then we can extrapolate from most online sources, which suggest that would have begun when British parliament returned after closing for the winter.

Per Wikipedia:

The Season coincided with the sitting of parliament; it began some time after Christmas and ran until midsummer, roughly late June. Some sources say it began at Parliament's Easter session break. The social season played a role in the political life of the country: the members of the two Houses of Parliament were almost all participants in the season, as all Peers sitting in the House of Lords were by definition nobility, and many if not most Members of the House of Commons were gentry. But the Season also provided an opportunity for the children of marriageable age of the nobility and gentry to be launched into society.

Feyre confirmed as much in ACOTAR, because she arrived back in the human lands after the "socialite season" had ended and it was getting into summer. Elain was even wearing summer appropriate attire and was flushed - maybe from the heat as much as her excitement?

Summer—in the weeks that I’d been painting and dining with Tamlin and wandering the court lands at his side, summer had come. Did my family still truly believe me to be visiting some long-lost aunt? What were they doing with themselves? - ACOTAR, chapter 25

I glanced sidelong at her. My sister was beaming, content—prettier than I’d ever seen her, even in her simple muslin gardening dress. Her cheeks were flushed beneath her large, floppy hat. “I think—I think I’d like to see the continent,” I said. And it was true, I realized. There was so much of the world that I hadn’t seen, hadn’t ever thought about visiting. Hadn’t ever been able to dream of visiting. “I’m surprised you’re so eager to go next spring,” I said. “Isn’t that right in the middle of the season?” The socialite season, which had ended a few weeks ago, apparently, full of parties and balls and luncheons and gossip, gossip, gossip. Elain had told me all about it at dinner the night before, hardly noticing that it was an effort for me to get down my food. - ACOTAR, chapter 29

The following afternoon, bleary-eyed and quiet, we all gathered at the lunch table. I thanked my sister and father for the party, and dodged my father’s inquiries regarding whether any of his friends’ sons had caught my eye. The summer heat had arrived, and I propped my chin on a fist as I fanned myself. I’d slept fitfully in the heat last night. It was never too hot or too cold at Tamlin’s estate. - ACOTAR, chapter 31

Spring is "right in the middle of" Prythian's social season. Winter > spring (tulip season) > summer. Feyre gives us this information.

All of this is to say that it is absolutely possible for Elain to be born in January and be "barely thirteen" years of age in the late winter/early spring of the same year "weeks" later, when Nesta got revenge for her at the ball. And Nesta, who was "only fourteen" at the time, could have been nearing her fifteenth birthday. "Two under two" is a common saying for a reason, and I suspect the "only" was not to suggest that Nesta had recently turned fourteen (though two in one year is definitely possible), but that she was too young for marriage in her father's/family's opinion, and the entire situation was ludicrous.

Perhaps the wooden rose was actually a birthday gift for Elain from Papa Archeron?

She plucked another figurine from the mantel: a rose carved from a dark sort of wood. She held it in her palm, its solid weight surprising, and traced a finger over one of the petals. “He made this one for Elain. Since it was winter and she missed the flowers.” - ACOSF, chapter 55

Gwyn

If Gwyn and Catrin were conceived on Calanmai, which is the first of May, and faerie pregnancies last ten months - this is of course assuming that their half-nymph mother would have expected the same duration of her pregnancy as a high fae like Feyre - then yes, a pregnancy with a due date of May plus ten months (it's impossible to count from her last missed period as we know at least the high fae only have two cycles a year, so the conception date will have to do) could end with a set of twins born in January.

Gwyn went on, “My mother was unwanted by either of their people. She could not dwell in the rivers of the Spring Court, but was too untamed to endure the confinement of the forest house of Autumn. So she was given in her childhood to the temple at Sangravah, where she was raised. She partook in the Great Rite when she was of age, and I, we—my sister and I, I mean—were the result of that sacred union with a male stranger. She never found out who he was, for the magic chose him that night, and no one ever showed up to ask about twin girls. We were raised in the temple as well. I never left its grounds until … until I came here.” - ACOSF, chapter 29

Around half of twin pregnancies make it to term, and 90% are born after 32 weeks (per google), so even with the extrapolation between human data and the barely existent faerie pregnancy "lore" I think that a January birthdate for Gwyn and Catrin is not a risky guess. I also think it's much more exciting to refer to pregnancy "lore" than data, so can we all get that going? 😂

So yeah, there you have it. Both Elain and Gwyn could have been born in January. Though again, it was a request made after ACOSF was finished. This argument doesn't "benefit" either side, and to suggest that it eliminates either Elain or Gwyn is disingenuous. Why does it keep popping up?

[midrosel]

okay so now we’re apparently not allowed to hang out in the hallways at school ??? this is the stupidest rule i’ve ever had at school. how exactly did they think that we would be on time to class if we’re not allowed into the hallways without a teacher (and also the teachers come in from the other end of the hallways, so they need to walk the hallway fully to the students and then turn and walk back to their class) ???

also we got no notification on this ??? like, if you’re gonna make it a rule, it should be treated same as the previous rules: inform the students and faculty that this is a rule that will be enforced from x day onwards. this time they did not do this, and i’m kinda baffled. who decided it was a good idea to spring something like this on everyone without any notice - if your classrooms aren’t in the hallways, you’re not even gonna know about this rule, and will probably be caught off-guard when your class is in a hallway

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Break Free

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.8k

Warnings: angst, prison!wanda

Summary: Four new prisoners get admitted into the Raft, and you now have four new clients as the resident psychiatrist. Wanda is an interesting person and the more you get to know her, the more you understand the position she’s in. She’s a hero even if she doesn’t see it.

Squares Filled: "I won't let you be hurt anymore." for @scarletwitchbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are greatly appreciated <3

x

When you got into the psychiatric field, never did you think you would be at one of the most dangerous prisons on Earth. The Raft houses the most dangerous criminals known to man. They started letting superhumans into the prison since it’s the only safe place to put them.

Never did you think you’d ever see any of the Avengers here, either.

You’ve seen some of the worst humans known to man, so why the hell are heroes locked up here? They didn’t do anything wrong. It’s no secret that the Accords were put into effect, and you know some of the Avengers signed it and others didn’t. Everyone heard about the fight at the German airport.

If you were on the team, you wouldn’t have signed it, either.

Thaddeus Ross walks with you down the hallway where the Avengers are staying. You’re the on-call psychiatrist where you work with each prisoner one-on-one and provide them with a bit of therapy and medication to help them. Since they’ve just arrived, Ross is introducing you to them since they are now your new clients.

“We will be giving most of the other prisoners to Dr. Farrow so you can focus solely on our new guests.”

“Are you sure this is the best option? They didn’t do anything wrong.”

Ross stops walking and looks at you with an unreadable expression.

“They violated the Accords. They’re criminals.”

He won’t listen to reason so you don’t say anything more of the matter. Everyone knows who the Avengers are but Ross takes you to their cells to do introductions anyway.

“Meet Sam Wilson a.k.a the Falcon.” Sam paces the entire cell and only pauses when he locks eyes with you. “Steve Rogers right-hand man. If he gives you any trouble, don’t hesitate to punish him how you see fit.”

“Real mature,” Sam rolls his eyes and goes back to pacing.

Ross takes you from his cell to the next.

“Clint Barton a.k.a Hawkeye.” Clint looks at you but doesn’t say a word. He’s known for being stealthy and not making any noise. He’s not a big talker which is going to be a problem for you. “He’s one of the most notable spies besides Black Widow. Don’t let him manipulate you.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Clint bites out.

Ross takes you to the next cell.

“Look, I have a family. They’re going to be worried about me. I’ll do whatever, just get me out of here.”

“Scott Lang a.k.a Antman. He’s a talker. Won’t shut up. Wouldn’t blame you if you skipped his session every once in a while,” Ross scoffs.

“Come on!” Scott begs, but Ross ignores him.

The final cell he takes you to is the one you’ve been looking forward to the most.

“Wanda Maximoff.” She is sitting on the ground with a straight jacket on and a blank look on her face. She looks so broken. What have they done to her? “The witch.”

“Why is she in a straight jacket?”

“We can’t allow her to use her magic. Be careful with her. She’ll get in your head.” Ross takes you back to his office before you can say anything else about it. He must know that what he’s doing is wrong, right? “You’ll be given two hours with each person a day while also tending to some of the other prisoners. I don’t care who you start with but plan your time however you’d like. Any questions?”

“Are you sure they belong here?”

“Yes. They’re criminals. They went against the Accords that over a hundred countries had signed.”

You don’t think the Accords should have ever happened, but you keep your opinions to yourself. You start the day by having sessions with the other prisoners because you’re unsure how you’re going to go about treating the Avengers. They have nothing that needs to be treated but if you don’t do your job, you’ll get fired.

After lunch, you decide it’s time to talk to the Avengers. You wanted to start with an easy one, Scott, but you find yourself in Wanda’s cell with her.

“We didn’t get to meet last time but my name is Dr. Y/N. Can you tell me a little about you?” Wanda doesn’t speak. She looks at you but you don’t think she’s seeing you. She’s distancing herself from the situation. “Wanda, don’t do that. Don’t disassociate.”

“What do you know? You have no idea how I’m feeling,” she says and looks at you.

“You’re right. I don’t, but I do know that disassociation hurts more than it heals. I’ve been doing this a long time, Wanda. I want to help people and understand them better. I believe in the power of medicine which is what I give out.”

“Do you think I need help like that?”

“No. I don’t think what they’re doing to you or the others is right.”

“It’s fine,” she sighs and looks down.

“No, it’s not. It’s not humane.” She looks at you. “I don’t think you did anything wrong here.”

“They seem to think so.”

“For now, don’t think about them. Think about us. It’s just you and me in this room. I just want to get to know you.”

“Because you have to.”

“Because I want to. I could just sit here and pump you full of so much medicine you’ll forget your own name or I can get to know you and understand you as a person.” You hate that she’s in a straightjacket. You fight the urge to take it off her but then Ross will blow a fire under your ass for doing it. “Your choice.”

Wanda doesn’t say anything for five minutes as she contemplates her options.

“What do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with your interests. What do you like to do in your free time?”

“Before… Sokovia… I loved going to the movies with my brother. We’d sit in the back and make fun of the characters.” She has a faint smile on her face from the memory. “We’d do everything together.”

“You must miss him.”

You’re no stranger to what happened in Sokovia.

“He was my best friend.”

“What about afterward? How did you cope with the loss of your brother?”

“I didn’t. My home was ruined. My parents were gone. My brother was gone. I had no one left. I was living in a place with strangers. I usually kept to myself. I liked playing guitar. Tony got me one. I watched a lot of TV.”

“What were your favorite shows?”

“The Dick Van Dyke Show. My family and I used to watch those when I was a kid. It makes me feel close to them.”

“What made you feel safe?”

“Vision.”

“What will make you feel safe now?”

Wanda looks at you in surprise. She didn’t expect you to ask her that question. Normally, prisons don’t care about the comfort of their prisoners but you do. She looks down at the jacket wrapped around her and you nod in understanding. She flinches back when you approach her but she doesn’t move away from you. You step behind her and undo her jacket so that her arms aren’t restricted. You take the jacket off her and lay it over your arm.

“I can’t do much but I can do this. You don’t deserve this.”

Wanda looks up at you with unshed tears in her eyes. Your phone rings and you look at the message Ross sends you.

My office. Now.

“I gotta go. I look forward to talking to you again.”

You leave her cell and make your way to Ross’ office. He doesn’t look too happy and you have a feeling it has something to do with the jacket still over your arm.

“Who gave you the authority to remove her jacket?”

“Me. I did what was best for my patient. Isn’t that why I’m here? To help them become the better versions of themselves? Isn’t that why you hired a psychiatrist and not a psychologist so I could prescribe them medicine if needed?”

“Yeah, but--”

“Then let me do my damn job. No one who isn’t clinically insane deserves to be in a straightjacket.”

“I don’t like your tone, Y/N.”

“You want to fire me? Go ahead. Good luck finding someone who will want to come out here.”

“You’re dismissed,” he says through clenched teeth.

You’re the only one here who doesn’t put up with Ross’ bullshit and he knows it. Everyone else is afraid of him but you won’t let him control you like he does everyone else. You respect yourself too much to let him.

Scott is the easiest to talk to since he won’t shut up. You ask him one question and he’ll go off on a tangent that has nothing to do with what you asked him. Clint is more reserved and will only give you one or two-word answers. It’s clear he isn’t interested in talking with you. Sam is more talkative than Clint but loves to compare this to his experiences with the Air Force. Wanda is the only one you connect with on a personal level. There’s something about her that’s pulling you to her, and you know it’s not her magic.

The next time you see Wanda, you’ve brought her something to eat. She is lying in her bed when you enter, and she sits up to greet you.

“I don’t like what they serve. I brought you something from my personal stash,” you wink at her.

“Thank you,” she smiles.

You sit down on the other side of her bed and share your food with her even though you let her eat most of it.

“Tell me, do you like your powers?”

“I’m kind of stuck with them so I have to, right?”

“That’s not what I asked. Do you like them?”

“Sometimes, no.”

“How did you get them?”

She knows you know how she did but talking about it helps the mind come to terms with what happened so that it may start to heal from it.

“Do you want the short version or the long version?”

“Whatever version you’re comfortable with giving.”

“My parents were killed by a bomb hitting our complex. The bomb came from Stark Industries. Pietro and I grew up to hate Stark and anything that he did. We attended every protest against him, did everything we could to try and stop him from making weapons and destroying cities for his selfish purposes.

“Hydra saw us and gave us an opportunity to strengthen our country. They gave us a way to fight back those who had too much power. They had Loki’s scepter. Apparently, I was born with the ability of magic but it was so weak that had I not been with Hydra, it probably would have diminished into nothing. The experiments they did allowed the mind stone to reactivate that side of me. It gave me my abilities.”

“Did you want to volunteer for their experiments or do you think Pietro had to convince you to?”

“I think we wanted to matter. I think we were looking for a reason for why all the bad things were happening to us.”

“Do you think you’d do the same thing if you had the chance?”

“No, I don’t,” she sighs. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Why do you do what you do? Why prisoners?”

“I believe in helping everyone regardless of what they’ve done. Some prisoners think prison is a rehab and use that to get better. Some don’t, but I believe in the power of medicine. I just want to help people.”

“And us?”

“I’d use medicine if I thought it would help. Honestly, I don’t think you guys have done anything wrong. I don’t think you guys deserve to be here. You’re heroes in my eyes, especially you.”

Wanda looks into your eyes and tries to understand what you’re thinking. Her cell has power-dampening technology in the walls so she can’t use her magic. She glances down at your lips. Time stops and the only thing that matters is Wanda. She barely moves an inch when the alarms go off and the red light flashes in the hallway.

“Shit, I gotta go.”

“What’s happening?”

“A prisoner escaped. Finish the food. I’ll be back for it later.”

Wanda watches you leave and she doesn’t realize she’s smiling until she sees her reflection in the glass. Ross got a handle on the prisoner who escaped. One of the nurses came by to administer medicine for him but they didn’t know that the prisoner doesn’t like to be touched without warning. He knocked her out. You’re the only one who knows this about him since he’s worked with you since he came here.

That took the next three hours of your time, so it’s nearing dinnertime when you’re finished. Wanda deserves more than the slop they serve, so you’ll fix her a plate from the nurses’ station. You’re plating the food when you hear commotion come from the other nurses.

“What’s going on?” you ask.

“Tony Stark is here.”

You drop what you’re doing and head over to the command center where you spot Tony talking to Ross.

“If Sam’s going to talk to anyone, it’s you, Tony.”

“Yeah, let me see what I can do.”

Steve and Bucky are men on the run, and Ross is searching for them since they violated those stupid Accords. Ross thinks if Tony talks to Sam, he’ll tell him where they are. Tony leaves Ross’ office and you rush to catch up to Tony.

“You’re not on Ross’ side, are you?” you whisper.

Tony pauses and looks at you. He doesn’t know who you are and he doesn’t trust you to reveal his true motives.

“Get back to work before you get in trouble.”

Yeah, he’s not on Ross’ side. Tony and Steve are best friends. He’s here because Steve needs him. If he is going to get Sam to tell him where Steve is, then he can’t let Ross know. Tony has a plan. You’re not sure what it is but you’re going to use it to your advantage. If this goes sideways, you’ll get fired but if it works, you can get Wanda out of here. You rush over to her cell and open the door without letting it close.

“What’s going on?” she asks.

“I need you to trust me for the next ten minutes. Come on, I’m getting you out of here.”

“What?”

“I don’t have much time. Tony is here talking to Sam. I don’t even know if this is going to work but I have to try. You don’t belong here, Wanda. None of you do. I won’t let you be hurt anymore. Come on.”

Wanda jumps out of bed and follows you out of her cell. She feels her powers heighten inside of her now that she is no longer under the influence of the power-dampening technology. All eyes are going to be on Tony so you’re banking on none of them seeing you and Wanda escaping.

You hold her hand the entire time you’re running with her to where Tony’s helicopter is. Of course, there are guards patrolling the area and moving shipments in and out of the area. If you go now, you’ll be spotted and she’ll be in even more trouble than she already is.

“Shit, that’s a lot of guards. I really didn’t think this through.”

“I got this,” she whispers.

She uses her magic and puts each and every one of the men to sleep. They all fall to the ground like dominoes, and you know you’ll have even less time to get her on that helicopter.

“Yeah, that works,” you nod. “Come on.” You run with Wanda to the helicopter and practically shove her inside. “Keep your head down and don’t let Tony see you.”

“Wait, what about you?”

“I have to stay and make sure they don’t find you. Don’t tell me where you’re going but I’ll find you, okay?”

“No, it’s too risky. You have to come with me.”

You pull her in for a hug and run your hand down her back.

“I have to help the others. It’s what I do, remember?” You pull away but keep your hands on her. “Wanda, you deserve to be free. Now, go before Tony comes back.”

You’re about to leave when she pulls you back into her. This time, her lips plant themselves on yours. You kiss her back feverishly, not knowing when the next time you’ll be able to do this again. You pull away seconds later and run away so that Tony doesn’t spot her. He comes walking out moments later with Ross on his heels.

Wanda peeks her head out one of the windows and looks at you. You give her an encouraging nod and disappear back into the prison. You have to have faith Friday disabled the audio and video but you’re prepared for the ugly alternative.

In case Ross figured out Wanda is gone and you helped her, you have to get the others out as soon as possible. They don’t belong here. They’re heroes and it’s time people start seeing them as that.

x

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[dchan87]

A year ago today, Hamas butchered 1,200 Israelis, triggering a war in Gaza and another one across Western institutions, campuses, and social media. At American Dreaming, we’ve extensively covered the discourse post-10/7, from the depraved joy the “decolonize” left felt at news of Jews being slaughtered, to the obscene double standards imposed on Israel, to the explosion of full-blown leftist anti-Semitism. We’ve published articles about the young progressives who hate Biden and love bin Laden, the disturbing redefinition of “genocide”, and the absolutely unhinged Western pro-Palistinian activist movement. And after a year of discourse, one thing has been made crystal clear: the political left has an anti-Semitism problem. Everywhere I looked, over these past 12 months, far-left protestors not only tolerated but actively propagated centuries-old anti-Semitism, including celebrating the October 7th massacre and even praising Hitler. It was equal parts disgusting and confusing. How could a movement that, in theory, is supposed to oppose bigotry and racism have so openly embraced it? How did we end up with left-wingers attacking synagogues, creating lists of Zionists, canceling events with “Zionist” participants, defacing Anne Frank memorials, and protesting Israel outside of Auschwitz? How could only half of young adults, by far the most left-leaning age group, disagree with the statement “The Holocaust is a myth”? How did we get to a place where good progressives openly display swastikas, tell Jews to go back to Europe, express the desire to gas them, and perform Hitler salutes? The rhetoric was much the same as it had been for centuries: that Jews are violent, bloodthirsty, imposters — not even Semitic, but a bunch of Europeans playing pretend. Demonstrators held signs with a Star of David in a trash can next to the words “Keep the world clean.” Classic anti-Semitic tropes like the blood libel resurfaced. All of this happened within far-left movements, who now sound eerily like the far right. It’s no wonder that far rightists blend right in at pro-Palestine protests. But why? Integral to the left’s worldview, elaborate theory aside, is solidarity with the underprivileged, be it the poor, ethnic minorities, LGBT people, etc. Logically, the left should be sympathetic to the Jewish people, given their long history of persecution. At a glance, there should be no reason for the hard left to behave functionally the same as neo-Nazis. And yet they do. 

Sadly, anti-Semitism, as one of humanity's oldest hatreds, has never been confined to any one ideology. To understand the history of left-wing anti-Semitism, we must first look back to before the concept of the political “left” even existed.

An Extremely Brief History of Anti-Semitism

In 132 CE, during the apex of Roman imperial power, the Bar Kokhba revolt broke out in the troublesome Roman-controlled province of Judea. Emperor Hadrian solved it with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. In an outright genocidal war, he utterly crushed Jewish resistance, slaughtering large numbers of Jewish civilians and devastating many towns and villages. The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE tends to be more remembered by Jews themselves as the beginning of the diaspora, but the events of 135 were when the Jews truly lost their homeland. Although a small population remained, most fled throughout the Middle East or Europe. 

Hadrian’s actions were not anti-Semitic per se — Rome was just as brutal to any rebellious subject — but it set the Jews up as a people without a land, a people with nowhere to go whose religion and customs made them visibly other. With the rise of Christianity, the relative religious tolerance typical to polytheistic societies faded away, and the Jews faced constant oppression, at best living as second-class citizens. Of course, Christians have a long history of treating their fellow devotees with murderous contempt if they happen to be the wrong kind of Christian. The massacres of the First Crusade that included Christians as well as Muslims and Jews, the expulsion of Protestants from France, the bloody Anglo-Irish conflict, the Anglican church's persecution of Puritans, and so on. Now imagine what it would mean to openly belong to another faith, one deemed heretical by the Church, the supreme arbiter of morality.

Jews were widely barred from “honest” work — leaving niches in fields considered less savory, like money lending, clerking, pawnbroking, and lawyering. Making the most of the niche they had been forced into by these discriminatory laws — although far from all Jews did such work — led in turn to the stereotype of Jews as greedy, bloodsucking parasites who hated and exploited honest Christians, which, of course, led to even more persecution. Jewish populations were expelled from countries multiple times, or faced savage butchery. There were the brutal Rhineland Massacres of the First Crusade in 1096 CE that saw 800 Jews killed, and expulsion from England in 1290, from France in 1306, and from Spain in 1492. It was a vicious cycle of violent intolerance. 

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

In the late 1700s, the birth of European liberalism changed everything. The French Revolution and Napoleon both offered a greater level of religious tolerance toward Jews, making new inroads toward coexistence. After Napoleon’s downfall, despite a rightward reaction, Europe slowly began to liberalize, incorporate Enlightenment values, and move toward democracy. By and large, Jewish people naturally drifted leftward — the monarchist right wing of the 1800s was no friend to them. When socialism made strides decades later, Jews were an influential part of the movement, such as the Bund, a socialist Jewish party in Russia. 

At the same time, many Jews were understandably fed up with the still-rampant anti-Semitism in Europe, and started to dream of returning to their ancestral homeland, and so began the seeds of modern Israel. 

So far, Jews seemed like natural allies to the left, as an oppressed, marginalized underdog if ever there was one. But anti-Semitism is a powerful, deeply rooted force. Vladimir Lenin forcibly dissolved the Bund in 1921, and all those who did not join the Communist Party were forced to flee abroad or face persecution. It only got worse under Stalin, who systematically eradicated Jewish influence wherever he could find it. His Doctors Plot, in which Stalin invented false charges of treason and espionage toward nine doctors, seven of them Jewish, resembled nothing so much as a classic anti-Semitic purge. Indeed, between 1939 and 1941, the Soviet secret police deported tens of thousands of Jews to Siberia and Kazakhstan. Despite Marxism’s pretensions to antiracism, Soviet anti-Semitism, from Party leadership down to the common comrade, was pervasive, and often intertwined “anti-Zionism” with negative stereotypes about Jews.

It was not until after the Holocaust had been exposed to the world that anti-Semitism finally began to become unfashionable, as humanity took a cold, hard look at the logical conclusion to such hatred. But anti-Semitism did not disappear from either end of the political spectrum.

In the 1960s, James Baldwin explained the pronounced anti-Semitism among the black community in the US, which he tied to attitudes of anti-whiteness and an oppressor/oppressed mindset. In the 1970s, influenced by Soviet propaganda, which relentlessly demonized Zionism and Jews, the Australian Union of Students, dominated by young Trostkyites and Maoists, began following suit on Australian university campuses. When Jewish groups protested, they were physically assaulted.

The ferocious “anti-Zionism” of the Western “New Left” was widely seen as a cover for Jew hatred. In Germany, far-left groups in the 1960s and 70s celebrated the deaths of Israeli civilians in terrorist attacks, engaged in anti-Semitic violence, and schemed to bomb a synagogue. In the famous 1976 Entebbe Raid — in which pro-Palestine terrorists hijacked an Air France plane at gunpoint, then released the non-Jewish and non-Israeli passengers to hold the Israelis and Jews hostage — two of the hijackers were German leftists.

Today’s left ought to be unburdened by such bigotries, at least in theory. Unlike their forebears from previous eras, they did not grow up in a social environment where racism was normal and casual prejudice ubiquitous. The average modern far-leftist is highly educated, affluent, and conscious of systemic biases. They ought to know better. So why don’t they?

Like any complex phenomenon, it has no single explanation. Unlike the far right, which has anti-Semitism encoded into its ideological genetics, leftism is not inherently anti-Semitic. But in true horseshoe fashion, they nevertheless end up in the same place.

The Horseshoe of Anti-Semitism

First, the political far left shares an uncomfortable number of basic assumptions about reality with the far right. Both believe that:

A class of moneyed elites control the government, and democracy is a sham maintained by these vaguely defined, malicious elites.

Proper far-left or far-right beliefs (depending) would naturally take root in society if not for an aggressive campaign of materialist propaganda pushed by these shady elites to distract the masses from realizing their true destiny.

Their cause is one that is so vital and so obviously true that any approach to further it is legitimate, whether that means lying, propagandizing, or committing violence.

The liberal West is evil, degenerate, cruel, and exploitative, and must be crushed at all cost to realize this vision.

This antisocial, conspiratorial worldview is inherent to the far left, to a greater or lesser degree. Name a popular myth about how the West is evil, and a leftist will believe it — whether it’s that the US invaded Iraq to steal oil, or that all Western economies are built purely on the exploitation of developing countries, or that our media and government is controlled by sinister three-letter organizations. Such a mindset is incredibly vulnerable to conspiracy theory — and all conspiracy theories ultimately come back to anti-Semitism. 

If you believe the government is controlled by moneyed elites and that the evil force of Zionism has its claws deep in the US government, then the leftist is already 90 percent of the way to being in full agreement with the Nazi. This is how we get university lecturers saying, “Zionists are straight Babylon swine [...] Zionism is beyond a mental illness; it’s a genocidal disease.” It’s how we get progressive screenwriters complaining that “the entertainment industry is ran [sic] by Zionists.” It’s how you get left-wing musicians like Eric Clapton saying, “Israel's running the show, running the world.”

Israel-Palestine is a Uniquely Sore Issue

Second, Israel-Palestine is singularly inflammatory. It takes every problematic tendency the far left already has — shallow performativity, radicalism, narcissism, subordinating truth to ideology, and viciousness toward perceived opponents — and dials it up to eleven. Palestine offers the leftist a classic oppressor-oppressed binary, one that fits the Marxist image of the world perfectly: a cruel, settler-colonialist nation, brutally oppressing a native population, neatly including a white-vs-brown layer of oppression. It also offers a religious layer, where Israel is painted as both a theocracy and a fascistic ethnostate no different from Nazi Germany.

Of course, there are many facts that one must ignore to believe these things. One must ignore that Israel began with legal land purchases, and that among both Israelis and Palestinians you can find people passing for white as well as people who would not. One must ignore that anti-Semitism is on the rise, and that 48 percent of Israel is of Mizrahi (meaning Middle Eastern) origin. One must ignore that Israel is a democracy with Arabs in its parliament, and that the Palestinians harbor many deeply regressive, misogynist, and homophobic values out of touch with modern progressivism.

The Left is Just Too Successful, But Still Needs a Revolution

Third, modern leftism is no longer the struggling worker’s movement it began as. In the early 1900s, the left struggled with real, material problems, such as genuinely unfair wages and labor power imbalances in which employers held all the cards. Protesting for better pay, fewer hours, and more benefits and vacation were real, concrete improvements to fight for. But with these and other battles won — with an eight-hour workday and five-day workweek, with vacation and sick days taken for granted, with LGBT acceptance and racial equality both legally enshrined and culturally mainstream, the modern left had to pivot. Their crusades became less about tangible change in the face of injustice, and more about an opportunity to display righteousness by advancing an incredibly shallow worldview divided between the morally pure and the wicked, with no in-betweens. The ethos of no bad tactics, only bad targets thereby became bad tactics and bad targets.

Jews Just Aren’t Oppressed Enough

Finally, the far left is captured by a narrative in which the underprivileged are the center of attention. There is a foundational leftist belief that the world right now is not only terrible, but actively getting worse due to capitalist exploitation. In this understanding of the world, everything is defined by class struggle between the wealthy, parasitic capitalists, and their victims, the workers, whose labor is exploited for pennies, deliberately keeping the lower classes down. 

When taken to its logical end, we are left with a movement that resents success. So where do Jews fit into this? Well, from this grievance-focused, eternally victimized perspective, the Jewish people are just a bit too white, a bit too financially successful, and a bit too well-integrated to be seen as truly oppressed. Rather they are seen as oppressors. Just as Asians are now “helping white supremacy” because they’re more financially successful than other groups on average, Jews are just not persecuted enough. The far left resents success, and the Jews have shown extraordinary perseverance in their achievements. Indeed, the archetypal Jewish businessman, lawyer, or doctor fits perfectly into the petit-bourgeoisie stereotype the far left so intensely loathes.

What’s left is a movement deeply committed to performative role-playing while eschewing achievable goals, pragmatism, and principles. It’s a dreadful state of affairs. There ought to be room for a left-of-center movement to express a sane pro-Palestinian worldview, but it’s been hijacked by radicals who are as ignorant as they are venomous. Any healthy, open society requires a variety of perspectives represented, but they need to be rooted in reality — not collective guilt, group resentment, and unhinged conspiracism punctuated with Hitler salutes.

In the span of one year, the anti-Zionist far left has done serious and lasting damage to themselves. If they are to avoid becoming simply an inverted variant of neo-Nazism, utterly fringe and dismissed, they must reckon with and expel their radicals, not celebrate them. Is protesting Israel worth trafficking in old anti-Semitic tropes? Is it worth lowering yourself to the level of a fascist? Is it worth an entire political movement with over two hundred years of history? Because if things continue as they are, the left will be left behind, with all sane and decent people having shied away in disgust. Perhaps that’s one faint silver lining of this past year, that the radical left have lunged toward their far-right counterparts on the great trash heap of history. It’s where they belong.

[darkstarofchaos]

Having seen some frankly irritating opinions from both sides of the aisle, I think some of y'all need to chill about the way the Decepticons were handled in EarthSpark.

Decepticon fans are allowed to be upset that the faction's depth and potential for development was tossed aside in favor of "Decepticons are just evil".

However, depth and potential doesn't mean the Decepticons have to be buddy-buddy with the Autobots. Depth is amoral, you can be a villain who resists "redemption" and still be a well-rounded character.

My issues with S2 vs S1 are as follows:

The lack of good explanation for why the sides are fighting again. I am not upset that the Cons are villains again. They have no reason to like or trust any human or Autobot, and gratitude for having your life saved only goes so far. My issue is that S2 literally opens by saying the Cons started the fight again just because that's what Cons do. Obviously the story is from the perspective of the main cast, and there are hints that they could be intentionally unreliable narrators (Starscream refers to them as oppressors, Breakdown challenges Bumblebee about giving up on Cybertron), but we aren't given enough time with the Cons to draw a solid conclusion about the intentions here.

The way the heroes treat Spitfire, i.e. a literal newborn. She was 100% in the right when she said that she didn't know the moral rules she was being expected to follow. But because she wasn't born with morals and an understanding of mortality preinstalled, the heroes condemned her instead of trying to de-escalate and take responsibility for their part in the situation (granted, Megatron was the only flight-capable adult present and he argued against de-escalation. Which tracks because he's Megatron. But someone should have pushed for a peaceful resolution).

How much depth do individual Decepticons still have? Who knows, Starscream, Shockwave, and Breakdown are the only ones with any focus. The others are only seen fighting, causing trouble for fun, or just standing around growling. Twitch - i.e. one of our main characters - literally spends an entire episode in the Con camp and we still manage to see nothing of Decepticon life when they're just hanging out. And yes, I know that the more characters you have in a scene, the harder it is to show their personalities. You can still show them playing cards or arm-wrestling or something. Anything to show that they're actually people and not just a hive mind that exists to fight.

Starscream. Specifically the last 20 minutes of the S2 finale, because everything else in his characterization fit S1 until that point. He literally calls the Autobots oppressors, so of course he's going to fight them. He wants Aftermath kept out of the way (that's a child, so that's perfectly reasonable) and he's frankly patient with Twitch-as-Spitfire, in spite of Skywarp's incredulity that he lets her "get away" with causing trouble (again, that is a child. Patience is the correct response). He even seems to like Spitfire after meeting the real her. The only issue I had with Starscream leading up to the second half of the finale was that his motivations didn't seem to be much deeper than "I want power" (I could be misremembering that point - there may have been an "Earth is going to be our home, let's make it better to live on" when he and Shockwave discussed Cybertron). And then the last 20 minutes happened and I can't see any logical extrapolation from S1 to that. It was just a generic "Starscream goes mad with power", and it came completely out of left field. Not even any remorse about what he "needed" to do or any attempt to justify himself, it was just, "Yeah, I'm worse than the people I called out for being oppressors, isn't it great?"

If there is some big plot twist where it turns out the heroes were unreliable narrators all along, some of my issues will actually be fixed. However, I find that extremely unlikely, for one major reason: all of the non-Decepticon characters who disagree with the heroes are either villains or they "come around". The Quintessons felt betrayed by Quintus? Nah, Quintus was a great guy, you can tell because he tortured a kid for wishing she had never been chosen by him. Prowl doesn't like the Autobots' reliance on children? Silly Prowl, those kids are special, we want them to fight. The narrative never, at any point, entertains the idea that those dissenting voices might have a point. Which means we're probably meant to take the heroes at face value on most, if not all things.

TL;DR: the Decepticons being villains makes perfect sense, even with the context of S1; it's the heroes acting like they're only fighting for power after we had several episodes about second chances and not all Decepticons being the same that makes it feel like a cop-out. And Decepticon fans are allowed to be upset that some of their favorite characters had interesting stuff going on only to be functionally relegated to Voiceless Grunt Number 3 (and yes, several Autobots have also been relegated to Voiceless Grunts. If one of your favorite characters has fallen victim to this affliction, regardless of faction, you have my sympathies).

[lunar-wandering]

"what the fuck is the mech doing here"

Summary:

"Uh, congrats on the kid, I guess?"

"Monkey King, I'm too young to be a father."

Or, in which Monkey Mech is sentient.

Word Count: 15k

Read on Ao3

Three days.

That's how long it had been since Monkey Mech had woken up.

It had been a rather boring three days, if he had been honest.

(He?? They?? She?? No, 'he' sounded right).

Nothing had truly happened, outside of that one event at the very beginning, when his creator had controlled him to destroy the Demon Bull King (he's fairly sure that that's what that guy had been called, but he could be wrong for all he knew). Or, well, not destroying him, he supposed, more so defeating him. He didn't think the Demon Bull King had actually died. No, he was pretty sure the Demon Bull Family had all escaped without any deaths.

The lack of any deaths, civilian or otherwise, was an honest miracle, Monkey Mech was pretty sure. After all, he'd had a while to think about it, having remained standing in front of the large, smoking, empty crater that he and his creator's final attack had left on the ground. He hadn't had much else to look at.

A few people had stopped by, a couple of times. Some had been observing the crater- Monkey Mech figured they were some kind of official people, from the way they were dressed. He wasn't... entirely sure how he knew that their outfits made them official people. He didn’t know where that information was coming from, but he was fairly sure that it was right. Probably.

...He should ask someone about that sooner or later. Of course, that’d only be once he got the chance, to talk to someone.

There'd been some other people who had shown up. Most had been seemingly curious civilians who had taken the opportunity to try and get a selfie with him. Not that it was really hard, as he was standing perfectly still, but he had still had to witness some people take hours trying to find the perfect shot to get as much of him in the frame as possible. Monkey Mech didn't really think that was necessary.

After all, why take a picture with him, when they should really be taking a picture of his creator?

Speaking of his creator, he had not actually seen him since the day of his creation. Him, Pigsy, Tang, Sandy, and Mei, (how did he know those names? He'd never truly met them. Was this leftover information from his creator?), had all left the scene shortly after the Demon Bull King's defeat, leaving Monkey Mech by himself.

All alone.

Standing still.

Which he had remained doing for the past three days.

...Okay, so maybe he was just the tiniest bit spiteful about that. Like, come on. He was starting to get restless!! He couldn't just stay like this forever! He wasn't some sort of inanimate statue, he needed to move!!

Of course, he supposed that he could just move at any time. Whenever he wanted to. But there was a reason why he hadn't.

Just one reason. (Definitely only the one. There wasn’t… anything else. Definitely). 

And it was really quite simple.

The humans around him, including his own creator, did not believe him to be sentient.

He was quite certain about this. Considering the way people had been treating him when they walked up for selfies, and the way he had caught some of those official people muttering something along the lines of “what should we do with the tin can?” it was fairly obvious that the people thought he could not think for himself.

And it seemed like his creator likely subscribed to that theory as well, considering he hadn't shown up to check on him yet.

...Not that he could truly blame him for it. Monkey Mech supposed he hadn't given his creator any proof as to otherwise during their brief amount of time together. So it made sense that he simply would not know.

And, well. Monkey Mech... didn't want to frighten anyone. Or, at the very least, didn't want to go against their expectations. He didn't really know how the humans would react if they discovered the giant robot was, y'know, capable of thought and had free-will. It was probably better for everyone's sakes to pretend that that wasn't the case.

...And also he didn't want to have to explain the standing around for three days thing. In truth, complete and honest truth, initially he had frozen up because he didn't know what to do, how to interact with his creator and his friends, and then they had left before he could figure it out, and then other people came around, and, well.

Monkey Mech had an inkling that, for some reason, he'd probably get teased if it was revealed that he had stood around completely still for three days because he was shy.

(Despite not even knowing her, something about Mei gave off that kind of vibe to him).

(Once again, possibly leftover remnants from his creator? Monkey Mech wasn't sure).

Still though, it had taken everything in him not to turn around when he heard his creator's voice again.

“Okay team!” MK yelled, arriving at the edge of the crater, dropping a table he had been carrying onto the ground in front of him and spreading out a blue sheet of paper on top of it. “It's go time!”

The others congregated around him, and Monkey Mech felt curiosity overtake him. Exactly what was his creator doing back here, now?

Patiently, he waited until the whole group was seemingly occupied looking over MK's shoulder, at what he was drawing on the paper, and then, making sure there were no civilians or anyone else around that could possibly see, Monkey Mech slowly and carefully bent over to try and get a better look.

(...He supposed it didn't really matter if a civilian happened to see. After all, since his creator was here, they'd likely assume that MK was the one moving him around. There wasn't much danger in that.

No, it was MK and his friends that he had to be careful of).

He was glad they had chosen to stand in a place that was already covered by his shadow, as it meant none of them noticed his shadow shifting to cover them more.

It... seemed like MK was designing some kind of blueprint?

Pigsy mumbled something, to which MK laughed- but what they were saying was so quiet that, at his height, Monkey Mech couldn't hear them.

He leaned down a little closer.

Mei seemed to bristle, and Monkey Mech took the warning for what it was and quickly returned to his prior position before she could turn around.

Her piercing stare settled upon him, almost kind of frightening, and it was only through three days worth of practice that Monkey Mech didn't instinctively fidget.

After a few seconds of analysis, she slowly turned back around, looping an arm over MK's shoulder as she pointed at something on the blueprint.

If it was possible for Monkey Mech to breathe a sigh of relief, he would have.

After a few minutes, just for safety, he started to lean down again- moving a lot slower this time than before. He wasn't entirely sure as to what had notified Mei that he had moved, so he wanted to be extra careful.

Thankfully, it seemed that he went unnoticed this time, as he was able to lean much further down than before- able to get a better look at what his creator was designing.

It looked like... buildings?

Monkey Mech glanced up at the crater in front of him, and then back down at the blueprints.

Huh.

By his calculations, the buildings in the blueprints would fit inside of the crater perfectly.

...Why was his creator designing the official replacement buildings for this area? Shouldn't that be the job of some government designer, or something?

...Now that he thought about it, were government designers even a thing? He was sure that there were some people who had designing as a job, but he couldn't recall if there was a government position for it or not.

Well, there probably was. Maybe. There were government positions for restaurants after all! Why else would Pigsy have so much authority?

...Something about that didn't feel quite right, but as it was, Monkey Mech didn't have enough facts to be able to dispute it, so, he supposed he should just be better safe than sorry and consider it true.

That still didn't answer why MK was designing these buildings though.

Oh, Monkey Mech really wished he could just ask him. But they all looked so focused on what they were doing, he didn't want to disturb them, and he especially didn't want to make them angry.

(He didn't truly want to admit it, but Mei's stare had been outright terrifying. Despite being a giant robot, he had actually felt threatened. He was certain that he absolutely did not want to get on her bad side).

So, he really had no choice other than to sit there quietly observing.

He was just starting to become entranced in the way MK drew the swooping lines for his designs when Mei abruptly turned around again.

This time, Monkey Mech was not as fast as he should've been.

He returned to his prior position standing up, yes, but it was obvious that Mei had caught the movement this time around, if the way her jaw dropped was any indication.

The both of them stood perfectly still for a moment, Mei's jaw slowly closing as she seemingly processed what she had seen. Monkey Mech stared back down at her.

And then she was opening her mouth again, in the process of turning around to, most likely, inform the others, and Monkey Mech panicked.

Bending down slightly again, he waved his hands silently, pausing for a moment before making a shushing motion. Mei froze again, but-

Tang had seemed to notice Mei's actions, and turned around to see what she was looking at.

The next few minutes, despite Monkey Mech's panicked shushing movements, were a clean and simple chain reaction.

Tang, in his shock, took a step back, bumping into Sandy, who automatically turned to stabilize him, thus seeing Monkey Mech in motion. While the river demon did not react with shock, per say, he did seem surprised, and immediately nudged Pigsy, lightly, on the shoulder, prompting the pig demon to turn around as well.

Monkey Mech found himself being stared at by all four members of his creator's friends and family.

He could feel his joints start to lock up- causing his motions to slow down. If he was human, he was certain that he'd likely be sweating from anxiety right now.

None of them had said a single word.

MK still hadn't noticed. He was completely in his own little world, happily drawing on the blueprints, seemingly having no clue what was going on.   

That, unfortunately for Monkey Mech, didn't last long.

Mei put a hand on MK's shoulder.

“Hm? What's up-” MK cut himself off with a strangled noise as Mei abruptly spun him around, outright picking him up off the ground in order to do so. He didn't let go of his pencil, still holding it in one hand like he was about to continue drawing. “What was that fo-”

Monkey Mech froze completely as his creator's eyes locked onto him, but it was far too late.

“Oh.” MK said, completely deadpan.

And then he opened his mouth and screamed.

Within instants, everyone was screaming. Monkey Mech, surprised by the sudden action, screamed too, and that just seemed to make the other's scream louder-

On a logical level, Monkey Mech knew exactly why they were screaming.

But, for a brief second, pure instinct took over, the want to protect that was literally written into his very being activating.

Not even thinking about it, he scooped the group up into his hands and ran.

It wasn't until he was sitting behind an abandoned building, glancing over the top of it (rather easily, as he was much taller than said building) for any sign of danger, that he realized what he had just done.

He turned his head back to look down at the group in his hands just in time for MK to summon the staff, seemingly moving to attack him-

Only to very clearly overbalance, as the staff grew larger and connected with Monkey Mech's head with even less force than if he had been lightly flicked on the forehead.

The staff automatically shrank back to more comfortably sit within MK's hands as everyone went completely still.

Monkey Mech blinked.

“...Was that really necessary?” He asked, and everyone quite promptly started freaking out once more.

“Holy shit, you can talk?!” The staff vanished into golden light as MK's hands moved to grasp at his hair in clear distress. “The mech can talk?!”

“Yes, I can talk.” Monkey Mech had to admit, he sounded a lot calmer than he actually was. Well, he supposed that would probably work in his favour.

“Why didn't you say anything before?” Mei asked- seemingly taking over the questioning as MK suddenly looked like he was having a crisis of world-ending proportions.

“You didn't ask me anything?” In truth, it was, well, as previously stated, because Monkey Mech hadn't known what to say, and was quite frankly too nervous to attempt it.

But he wasn't just going to tell them that.

“Why.” MK whispered, and it was only because he was holding them all so close to his face that Monkey Mech was able to hear him.

“Why what?”

“Why did you just stand there???” MK clarified, and Monkey Mech was so glad that he had not actually been built with the ability to form facial expressions, cause he was certain that if he had, the one he would be making now would've been very revealing.

“...The view was nice?” Oh, he should not have said anything. His voice had been steady beforehand, but now there was a certain tone to it that made even him able to tell that it sounded nervous.

There was a collective deadpan look, all of them clearly knowing that what he just said was very much not the truth, but there seemed to be a collective decision to not mention it yet (hopefully it would never be mentioned again, ever-), as MK suddenly removed his hands from his hair, a look of determination in his face.

“I need to go get Monkey King.” There was a bright golden flash, and then suddenly he was gone. Monkey Mech could just barely make out the visual of him struggling to pole vault with the staff in the distance, occasionally being thrown way up into the air.

...His creator should really have someone help him learn how to control that better before he goes off trying to vault across the ocean on his own, he was probably likely to fall in the water with the way he was doing it.

But, Monkey Mech realized, that was not the priority right now.

He glanced back down at his hands, where the remaining four stood staring up at him.

“Uhhh.” He didn't like how quiet they were being. What did people do when they were in this kind of situation? “...Hi? I'm... Monkey Mech?”

-

MK arrived at Flower Fruit Mountain with a bang- as he crashed into the beach.

Groaning, he pulled himself up out of the small impact crater he had left behind, shaking sand out of his hair and wringing ocean water out of his jacket.

(He hadn't exactly... perfected the art of vaulting across the ocean, yet. He had, unfortunately, lost his grip, and ended up taking a little dip on the way there).

Straightening himself out, he rushed up the stairs to the waterfall cave as quickly as he could.

“Monkey King!!” He yelled, as soon as he was past the waterfall entrance, “Are you in here?”

There was a loud crash, like something falling over, and MK winced.

“Just a second, kid!” There was a bright flash, and, as soon as MK had blinked, there Wukong was, standing in front of him. “What's up? Surely there can't be another world ending crisis already- besides, you could definitely handle it on your own!”

“That's not the issue.” MK sighed, opening his mouth-

“Oh, is this about me training you then? I thought I left a letter in your apartment telling you when we could start that-”

“Yes, yes! I read that- starting this weekend. Yes. I'm very excited for it actually! But this isn't about that.” MK said. Wukong opened his mouth as though he was about to speak again, and MK quickly reached out, slamming a hand over top of Wukong's mouth, preventing him from saying a word. “Could you just let me finish what I have to say?”

Wukong gave a nod, and MK slowly pulled his hand back.

“...What was I gonna-” With all of Wukong's distractions, MK had almost forgotten- “Oh, right- Monkey Mech is sentient!!!”

“Yeah, he is.” Wukong summoned his cloud, back flipping into it, laying down casually, like this fact wasn't a surprise to him. He even went as far as to pull out a bag of peach chips and start eating them before he noticed the incredulous look that MK was giving him. “...Did. Did you not know?”

“You knew?!?!” If anything, MK seemed more distressed than he had been before at this discovery.

“Uh, yeah? I could sense the life energy in him from the beginning, when you made him.” Wukong's tail swung back and forth with a nervousness that MK did not pick up on. “I thought you knew.”

“Well I didn't!! I only found out today!”

“...Uh, congrats on the kid, I guess?” The joke did not land, if the way MK collapsed down onto his knees was any indication. “Woah, hey-”

“Monkey King, I'm too young to be a father.” MK muttered, seemingly in despair. Wukong reluctantly got off of his cloud to hesitantly pat him on the shoulder.

“...You can be his brother, then?” Wukong tried, and, shockingly enough, this attempt seemed to almost kind of work.

“I've always kind of wanted a younger sibling…” MK trailed off, looking back up at Wukong. “But, Monkey King, this is a giant robot we're talking about. Like, giant!”

“So?”

“He can't even fit in the Noodle Shop!!”

“That's your biggest concern?!?!”

-

Monkey Mech being alive, surprisingly, was a concept that took very little adjustment to. People seemed to accept things as the new normal far too quickly in this city, in Monkey Mech's opinion. He thought there'd be more of an uproar than this.

Of course, that didn't mean that there hadn't been challenges. In just the one week since his sentience had been discovered, there had already been a group that had tried to run him out of the city.

'No Giant Robots Allowed!' Had seemed to be their catchphrase.

After one meeting with them, however, their leader had mumbled; “Well, I guess he seems rather polite”, and the issue had been dropped.

Of course, there still was the general concern about the overall destruction he might cause, even if it was accidental, which, Monkey Mech found that concern entirely fair. So, he did his utmost best to stay in one section of the city, mainly around the parts that had already been destroyed by the battle against the Demon Bull King, and, when venturing out, made sure to stick to the same paths- usually stepping into the footprints he had previously left behind, so as to not create more damage.

Really, the only reason he had for venturing out anyways was to go and visit his crea- (“MK, call me MK. Hearing myself be called your 'creator' just feels... wrong, for some reason.”)- no, MK, at the Noodle Shop. And, even then, most of the time the others just came around to visit him, instead, so he didn't really need to go anywhere.

(There had been, some kind of... vibe when he had first shown up outside the Noodle Shop. Pigsy had offered him some noodles, and Monkey Mech had allowed the tiny bowl to balance on his pinky finger for a good five minutes before something seemed to click in the other's mind.

”Can you even eat?“ Pigsy had asked.

”No, but I like to feel included!“ Monkey Mech had been genuinely happy at the time, but the energy coming from the others…

It had felt a little sad.

Monkey Mech didn't like it.

So he much preferred it when the others would come and visit him, instead).

He had never gone further than the Noodle Shop.

Which was why he hesitated when a commotion started up over at what he was pretty sure was the Weather Station.

He stood, in the middle of a street, ignoring the sound of traffic carefully moving around his feet as he stared down the road. He'd never gone down this way.

But... something was definitely happening down there. He couldn't just ignore it. What if MK was in trouble? They might need his help.

(Or, well, maybe not. He was pretty sure that they could handle themselves, most likely. But that didn't stop him from being worried).

A louder bang came from the Weather Station, and Monkey Mech made his choice.

Carefully, he started walking down the street to the Weather Station.

He kept his eyes on the road below him, paying close attention to make sure that he didn't accidentally step on top of a person- or their car.

(Someone who's car he'd stepped on had been a very vocal part of the 'No Giant Robots Allowed!' group. Monkey Mech would rather avoid going through that whole experience again if he could, thank you very much).

It wasn't until he was directly in front of the Weather Station that he realized that this building was actually slightly taller than him. Carefully, not wanting to knock himself off balance (falling down when he was surrounded by so many buildings was most definitely a worst case scenario), Monkey Mech stood up on his tippy toes in order to look inside.

MK wasn't there, but Mei, Tang, Pigsy, and Sandy were. They were all tied up, and seemed to be varying levels of mad about it. The Demon Bull King's son, Red Son, happened to also be there, sitting in the chair at the Weather Station's computer. All of them had their backs turned to him.

Well. This was a less than ideal situation.

Monkey Mech reached out, to attempt to gently tap on the glass to get the attention of one of his friends- and quietly ask them how he could help out.

Unfortunately, things did not turn out that way, as his 'gentle tap' completely shattered the window, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“...Oops.” He quickly withdrew his hand. “I... didn't mean to do that.”

“What…” Red Son muttered, and then continued, much louder than before; “What the fuck is the mech doing here?”

“Hey!!” Mei yelled, looking outright feral, “Watch your fucking language around the mech!”

“...You guys say the f-word all the time though?” Monkey Mech's head tilted to the side in confusion. Red Son looked absolutely flabbergasted at the situation, and Tang turned to the side, seemingly to hide laughter.

“Holy shit, he censored it.” Mei said.

“Say 'fuck' Monkey Mech.” MK chimed in.

“Do it Monkey Mech, say fu-” Mei started to continue, but was interrupted.

“I don't have the time for this nonsense-” Red Son said, his head in his hands, before he paused, and slowly raised his head, blinking, as his eyes locked onto MK. “What the fuck- when did you get back here?!?”

“Oh, around the same time Monkey Mech absolutely destroyed the window.”

“I said I didn't mean to!!”

-

It had been a few days since what Mei had promptly dubbed the “MK Clone Revolution” incident- which was a rather uncreative name, but Tang's idea of “Duplicatnation” had been outvoted. In all honesty, MK had felt a little bad to have to get rid of all the clones, especially the more sentient ones, like Painter, Delivery, and Porty... they had almost given off a vibe rather similar to Monkey Mech, if he was being honest.

Even so, that hadn't stopped him from making a clone or two to help him out with a few things. 

He just made sure that he didn't leave them around for too long! He even had Mei develop a little check in system to make sure that he hadn't left any clones unaccounted for.

“Clone Check!” Mei yelled, appearing out of nowhere behind him, and it was only due to the fact that MK had grown used to this behavior over the years that he didn't startle. “How many clones did you make today?”

“Mmm, three?” MK was fairly sure that sounded about right. It had been a pretty busy day- between his third training session with the Monkey King that morning and the intense rush hour that afternoon, he'd needed a bit of an extra hand (or, well, hands) with things.

“Okay, and, did you dismiss all of them?” Mei asked.

And MK... paused.

He... couldn't remember.

Had he dismissed the clones he made today?

Apparently his silence was answer enough, as Mei narrowed her eyes dangerously.

“MK...”

“I don't remember.” MK admitted, “But, y'know, I probably did, right?”

He winced as Mei gave him a Look.

“Alright, alright.” He said, before letting out a sigh. “I... probably didn't dismiss them.”

Mei sighed too.

“Guess we're going on a clone hunt.”

It was quickly discovered that there were far too many places within the city for a hair clone to hide. Over two hours had passed, and between him and Mei, neither of them had found a single clone. It was getting rather frustrating honestly- this was eating into MK's free time. Well, he supposed that was a valuable lesson to himself; don't leave a hair-clone active unless you want to waste hours in the city searching for it.

Eventually, their search led them to the outskirts of the construction area- where people were working to repair the damage MK, Monkey Mech, and Demon Bull King had inadvertently caused. (MK was just glad that his only punishment was to design the new buildings, not pay for them. The Demon Bull Family was the one charged with the financial aspect of it, thankfully). Monkey Mech usually hung around in this area- he said it was to stay away from buildings he could actually damage, and to help with the construction efforts, but MK was pretty sure it was actually because there were less people over here. He had a niggling suspicion that the giant robot was, for some reason, shy.

(This suspicion was only strengthened by how Monkey Mech still continued to avoid answering the question of why he had chosen to stand around perfectly still for three days. The longer they went without a proper answer, the more MK was certain that the mech was almost embarrassed about it, which, on some level, was kind of hilarious if you thought about it).

Sure enough, in their search, they eventually stumbled across Monkey Mech, who was sitting on the ground, seemingly doing nothing.

(...Weird. For some reason, MK could swear that the background soundtrack was oddly louder in this area...)

“Hey! Mecha-dude!” Mei called, catching the robot's attention. “Have you seen any rogue MK-clones running around?”

“First of all, it's Monkey Mech. Secondly... no. I haven't seen any MK other than the one beside you.” Monkey Mech said.

“Huh. Guess... they're not in this area.” Mei let out a groan, leaning on MK's shoulder to take weight off of her own feet. MK allowed her to do so without protest. “Ughhh, where could they be? We've been searching all over for them…”

“I don't know, Mei.” Was it MK's imagination, or was the soundtrack getting louder? “Maybe they... happened to 'poof' on their own? Hair-clones can't actually stand up to much stress, physically.”

No, yeah, the soundtrack was definitely getting louder.What was up with that?

“I think the hair-clones would know fully well what they can and cannot do without 'poofing', MK.”

“Ehh, I'm not so sure-”

Man, that was really loud. What was up with the-

Wait.

That wasn't the soundtrack.

MK turned on his heel to face Monkey Mech, not missing how the giant robot seemed to nervously startle at his action.

“And what is in your cockpit young man?!?!” MK shouted to be heard over the music, pointing at Monkey Mech in accusation. The music stuttered for a moment and then died out, Monkey Mech slouching slightly as the entrance to his chest opened-

Revealing Delivery, Painter, and Porty to be standing inside- slightly tangled with one another, as though they had been arguing.

They quickly straightened up when they saw that MK and Mei were staring at them though.

“Oh, uh. Hi, OG.” Porty avoided eye-contact, the other two clones following his lead and mimicking his actions. “How's it goin'?”

“Where have you three been?” MK asked, a note of exasperation leaking into his voice. “We've been searching for you three for hours.”

“Well, we've just... been here. Chillin' with big bro mech.” Porty said, lightly knocking his knuckles against the side of Monkey Mech. MK looked up at Monkey Mech expectantly.

Monkey Mech sighed.

“They're kinda like... well, they feel a bit like younger siblings to me.” He said, reaching a hand up for the three clones to jump onto, carefully and gently moving them back down to the ground. “They ended up wandering over here and wanted to hang out before you 'poofed' them away.”

“Well, you could've told us about it.” Mei huffed, “We went on a three hour long goose chase looking for them.”

Monkey Mech and the clones all hung their heads as though they'd been admonished, and MK let out a world weary sigh.

“Just... tell us about it next time, okay?” He said, pretending not to notice how both the clones and Monkey Mech brightened at the mention of a 'next time'. “I don't want to have to go searching all across the city again.”

The three clones saluted him, and Monkey Mech quickly copied their action.

...MK hoped he wouldn't regret this.

-

Monkey Mech didn't need to sleep. This, however, did not stop him from daydreaming.

Which, of course, is why he startled when his inner comms device suddenly rang.

“Hello, hello?” Mei's voice came through, “Testing, testing… Monkey Mech?”

“...Hi?” Monkey Mech said, slowly. He... didn't know his comms could do that, actually. Considering Mei had contacted him with them, he probably shouldn't tell her that, though.

“Oh good, it worked!” Mei said, “Anyways though, we've got a tiny bit of a situation.”

Well. That was never good.

“What's up?”

“Y'see, Tang and Pigsy have been kinda kidnapped.”

“...Kinda kidnapped?”

“Yeah, by some kind of spider-demon, apparently.”

A full body shiver suddenly made it's way through Monkey Mech's non-existent spine. He wasn't even sure he knew what a spider was, but just hearing the word was enough to convince him that he did not like it in the slightest.

Mei seemed to be completely unaware of this, thankfully, as she continued.

“She's down in the sewers, so we're starting a little rescue mission, but, well, MK is kinda scared of spiders, so we were wondering if you could lend an extra hand, somehow.” She said, and Monkey Mech could just barely make out the sound of MK saying something about spiders in the background- something about being tiny with lots of legs?

Yeah.

Monkey Mech did not like the sound of that. He wanted to help, that was what he was for, but…

...Mei had said that the spider-demon was 'down in the sewers'. Well, in that case…

“There isn't an entrance to the sewers that I can fit through.” Monkey Mech said, “And I don't exactly wanna destroy a city street just to get down there...you should probably save me as an absolute last resort.”

“Oh. Yeah, you're right. Y'know, sometimes, I forget just how big you are.” Mei said, and Monkey Mech did his best not to wince. “Sorry for bothering you! We'll contact you again if we need you to do some... demolition.”

Monkey Mech did not like the way she said that, but didn't get the chance to respond, as she hung up almost immediately afterwards. After a few seconds, he let out a sigh (he couldn't actually exhale air as a sigh, but something about making the sound of one did help to release some tension, somehow, so he kept doing it), feeling like he had just dodged a bullet-

“What are you up to, buddy?”  

Monkey Mech jumped, cringing as the buildings around him briefly shook from the motion. Paying attention to his surroundings, out of the corner of his eye, he could just make out the Monkey King standing on his shoulder.

“N-not much.” Monkey Mech hadn't actually interacted with Wukong, outside of that one time the monkey had stood on top of him before turning into a bird and flying off. He had sensed the Monkey King's magic then, but other than that, he'd never had any contact with him, so... “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I'm just checking a few things out.” Wukong said, sitting down, swinging his legs back and forth. “Where's the kid and his friends?”

“...Tang and Pigsy got kidnapped by some kind of... spider-demon. In the sewers. So MK, Mei, and Sandy are gonna go save 'em.” Monkey Mech explained, Wukong nodding along with every word.

“Ahh, Spider Queen, huh? So she's hiding out in the sewers? Good to know.” Wukong said, “Well, since everyone else is gone…”

Before Monkey Mech could properly react, one of Wukong's feet swung back with much more force than before, whacking him, and causing the door on his chest to swing open on instinct. Within seconds, Wukong had swung down and flipped his way into the cockpit, the door automatically closing behind him.

“Wha- hold on! What are you doing?!” It took all of Monkey Mech's strength not to move as Wukong started pressing buttons and moving the controls. “Hey!”

“I've always wanted to try driving a mech.” Wukong said, pulling one control stick back. Monkey Mech couldn't stop himself from lifting one arm in response. “Ooh so that's how that one works-”

“Okay, just, wait a second!” Monkey Mech forcibly brought his arms down, shaking with the effort not to move as Wukong kept messing around. “Just- can we at least move somewhere where there aren't so many buildings first?”

“Huh, why?” Wukong asked, sounding genuinely confused, before realization seemed to finally hit him. “Ohhh, property damage. And mortals. Right. Okay, yeah sure. I know someplace where we can go.”

And that, was how Monkey Mech ended up following Sun Wukong's instructions to a nice, large, abandoned clearing a good 20 minutes outside the outskirts of town.

“Right, we shouldn't bother anybody out here.” Wukong said, “Now come on, I wanna test this whole thing out!”

Monkey Mech glanced around for a second, double checking to make sure that no-one else was around, before he let out another audible sigh, just to let the Monkey King know exactly what he thought about all this, and then let Sun Wukong take control.

(Later, after calculating the exact number of trees they had accidentally uprooted, as well as the damage done to the ground, both Wukong and Monkey Mech agreed that Wukong should not be allowed to take the controls unless it was in the case of an absolute emergency).

-

Monkey Mech didn't normally get summoned for any kind of problem. He was rather big, after all, and his fighting style caused a lot of destruction. It was, usually, a better option for him not to get involved.

He knew this. He knew MK and the others knew this.

Which was why he rushed to MK's location at top speed the instant he felt the calling magic from the staff activate.

He had sensed that something was wrong all day. Or, for the past week, really. There'd been something off with MK, definitely, for sure. Some kind of magic that hadn't been there before. MK had vaguely mentioned having a bonus teacher “giving him a few extra pointers” when he had asked, so Monkey Mech had mostly shrugged it off.

However, he had also noticed... something strange about the overall magic in the city.

Over the past two days, the magic levels in the city had spiked. By, a lot. And the temperature levels seemed to be dropping too, for some reason.

Monkey Mech could only assume that the Demon Bull Family were up to something again. Something of this scale seemed like their forte. However, with his size, he couldn't exactly pull off any kind of investigation, so he had to leave it be.

As he jumped down into a giant hole in the ground and caught MK and Mei within his cockpit, though, he kinda wished he hadn't.

He didn't pay much attention to what MK and Mei were saying, instead observing his surroundings, as well as making sure that they didn't fall any further down the hole. Man, there sure were a lot of Demon Bull...Clones? Bots? Now that he thought about it, Monkey Mech wasn't sure what they were called.

Next thing he knew though, MK was falling back down the hole again, and Mei was maneuvering him back up to the top.

“Woah, hey, wait-” Monkey Mech said, even as he let Mei move his arm to deflect an attack away from himself. “What's going on?”

“Don't worry big guy, just let me handle this.” Was the only response he got, as Mei promptly threw herself entirely into fighting the enemy. Very quickly deciding there was no point in trying to get any kind of answer from her- she did have a tendency to be rather impulsive, sometimes even more so than MK and Wukong after all, Monkey Mech allowed her to do as she wished. The only time she paused, was when she happened to mess up a step, causing Monkey Mech to fall over backwards.

“Agh- sorry!” She said, even as she quickly readjusted while Monkey Mech stood back up.

“It's fine- you're doing better than Monkey King did, anyways.” Monkey Mech lifted a leg, lightly shaking off the Bull Clones(??) that had gathered there, sending them sprawling across the ground.

“Monkey King? When did he- ah, you know what, you'll have to tell me about that later, okay?!” Mei's tone left no room for argument, and Monkey Mech knew he would be forced to tell the whole story to her one way or another- despite the fact that he had told Sun Wukong that he “would keep the whole thing a secret”.

Well... it is in the nature of secrets to not stay secret forever, he supposed.

-

There was a large crash that was, most definitely, not fireworks.

Monkey Mech stood up almost immediately. From the outskirts of the city, he couldn't exactly see what was going on in the city center, and that... well, that worried him. He had picked this spot because it was far enough out that he wouldn't be in the way of any of the celebrations, but would still be able to hear everything, as well as see the fireworks, but now he worried that maybe this was to his disadvantage.

For a few moments, he wondered if maybe he had just heard wrong, if perhaps a stall had gotten knocked over or something, and the sound had just echoed louder than it should have. Maybe someone's generator blew a fuse?

The screaming proved that theory wrong.

He quickly started towards the center of the city- not daring to run, not quite yet (besides, he could cross the general area much faster than most cars could just by walking), when he caught a glimpse of Wukong and MK out of the corner of his eye.

He turned a bit, to put them in his sights better, just in time to watch MK completely freak out.

MK looked terrified.

Confusion ran through him. What could possibly freak MK out so much that he would-

Monkey Mech glanced back in front of him, and immediately came to a direct halt, a kind of fear he didn't even know he was capable of sweeping through him.

The shape of this-this mech. The way it was moving- the- it's legs-

Based on the way MK had reacted, there was no doubt in Monkey Mech's mind that this- this was a spider.

He felt almost sick at the sight of it, terror almost locking him in place. The spider-mech moved forwards, knocking into a building, sending debris falling to the ground.

He could've sworn one of it's various 'eyes' swirled around to look at him.

For once, Monkey Mech was glad for the general confusion and chaos of the panicking citizens.

Cause it meant that nobody noticed when he turned around and ran away.

-

“Hey, uh, has anyone seen Monkey Mech?” MK asked. The colours in the sky from the explosion were steadily beginning to fade, and MK had realized- “I don't think I've seen him in a while... He would've definitely heard the commotion, right? He usually always comes when there's some kind of trouble.”

“...Now that you mention it, no, I don't think I did see him.” Pigsy said. “You'd think a giant robot would be, y'know, easier to spot.”

“I can see where he normally hangs around from up here.” Mei curved her hands in front of her eyes like binoculars as she focused in on the direction of the construction-zone as well as the outskirts. “I don't see him at all…”

“...Strange.” MK muttered, standing up from the ledge of the building. “Maybe we should go look for him. It'd be bad if he'd gotten hit by some weird kinda robotic spider-virus or something.”

“I... don't think that's possible-” Tang started, but MK ignored him, instead heading for the stairwell. He was far too tired from the day's events to try pole vaulting around the city. 

Soon enough, everyone had piled into Pigsy's van, and were driving to the outskirts of the city.

About halfway there, Mei pointed something out.

“Are those... Monkey Mech's footprints?” She asked, and Pigsy brought the van to a stop as they all turned to look. Sure enough, there were giant footprints in the ground- ones that abruptly turned around and went back in the direction that they had come from. Mei tilted her head to the side. “I don't... think this is one roads he normally goes down... Plus, he usually makes sure to step in the prints he already left, so as to not leave much damage behind…”

The sense that something must be wrong settled over them like a suffocating blanket.

Pigsy turned the van around and took off, following the footprints.

It turned out, Monkey Mech could cross quite a distance when he wanted to. It was a full hour and half before they found him- they'd even needed to go off road, following the trail of crushed trees and flattened bushes until they reached a fairly large, fairly destroyed, clearing.

(MK had worried, for a brief moment, before he realized that none of the damage seemed truly recent. Good. At least 'giant robot gone rogue' wasn't on the menu for today. With everything that had happened already, MK wasn't sure he would've been able to handle that).

Monkey Mech was sitting in the center, his legs pulled up to his chest, his tail held within his hands.

Overall, he looked a bit like an upset child.

MK was out of the van before it had even come to a complete halt.

“Monkey Mech!!” He yelled, wincing as Monkey Mech seemed to actually startle- the resulting small jump the giant robot did enough for the ground to shake, sending MK temporarily off balance. Seems like Monkey Mech hadn't heard the van.

...That was weird. Normally he was more aware of his surroundings.  

“...Monkey Mech?” MK said again, gentler this time. “Is... everything okay?”

“Uh-” Monkey Mech's voice crackled a little bit, slightly staticky as he let go of his tail- but it only swished once before he seemed to think better of it and grabbed hold of it again. “I- yeah. Everything's fine. How'd uh- how'd the fight against Spider Queen go?”

“It's over now, but-” MK started, but was cut off by Pigsy.

“If you knew the city was being attacked by Spider Queen, then why didn't you come to help?” He asked, and Monkey Mech visibly shrunk back, seemingly trying to make himself smaller- a completely impossible task. Pigsy let out a sigh. “We're not mad at ya. We just want to know.”

Monkey Mech let out an electronic noise that, if MK didn't know better, would've almost sounded like a whine.

...The giant robot's next sentence was so filled with static that it was impossible to tell what he had just said.  

“...You wanna try running that by us again, big guy?” Mei joked, and MK harshly nudged her in the side.

Monkey Mech made another static-filled noise.

And then, after a minute of heavy silence, there was a staticky sounding sigh.

“I'm…” Monkey Mech's voice was still filled with static, but at the very least was now understandable. He sounded...almost nervous. “I'm... afraid of spiders.”

“Oh.” MK said, ignoring the various looks and noises of disbelief from the others as he stepped forwards, using the staff to help himself up to stand on top of one of Monkey Mech's hands to be closer to eye-level with him. “Uh. You uh, probably got that from me. Sorry. But, hey!! Spider Queen and the others are gone now, so there's nothing to worry about!!”

That statement, for some reason, seemed to do very little to assure Monkey Mech, as he let out another static filled noise. MK sat down and tried to give off the best comforting vibes he could, watching out of the corner of his eye as the others started pulling out blankets and some snacks. Seemed like they were all aware that they were probably going to be here for a long while.    

It was an hour before Monkey Mech spoke again.

“...I'm sorry.” He mumbled. MK, who had been leaning to the side, starting to fall asleep, jumped, before straightening up. Once Monkey Mech knew MK was paying attention to him, he repeated himself; “I'm sorry for running away.”

“Oh, hey- it's okay buddy.” MK said, gently patting Monkey Mech's hand. “Like Pigsy said, none of us are upset with you. Heck, if I was you, I probably would've done the same thing if that was my first encounter with a spider. Nobody blames you.”

“But what if you had needed me?” Monkey Mech asked- “What if you had called for me, and I didn't come?”

“I'm sure I'd find another way out.” MK swung his legs back and forth, creating a steady rhythm. “I have my friends with me after all. And, even if that had happened, I still wouldn't have been upset with you. Concerned, maybe, but not upset.”

This didn't seem to reassure Monkey Mech as much as MK had hoped- but the distressed energy he had been picking up from the robot started to slowly recede, so at the very least it was somewhat working.

Monkey Mech didn't speak again- MK wasn't entirely sure if he even believed what MK was telling him, but he wasn't outright arguing with it, so MK figured that there wasn't much else that he could do except wait.

...In the end, he must have ended up falling asleep, because when he next opened his eyes, he was laying on the ground, on the blanket with the others. Sitting up, he could see that Monkey Mech had moved slightly- unfurling from his previous curled up position into one that looked much more relaxed than before.

The sun was rising.

MK stared at him for a few moments more before laying back down, rolling over to curl in closer to Pigsy and Mei, and fell back asleep.

-

Everyone in town was asleep. All because of some stupid app.

Obviously, MK had to go to the Cloud to fix this.

.

...But before that…

Well, he wanted to check in on Monkey Mech first. Everyone had simply fallen asleep after all, there wouldn't have been any screaming, Monkey Mech probably wouldn't even know that there was a crisis at hand. So, deciding to put his plans to, y'know, save everyone, on hold for a brief second, MK vaulted to the outskirts of the city.

It was rather easy to find Monkey Mech this time around- he was standing beside a nearly finished building, his tail slowly swinging from side to side a little bit- MK wondered if Monkey Mech had to physically hold back from letting his tail swish more.

Well, at least he didn't seem to be asleep. (Could Monkey Mech even sleep? Now that MK thought about it, he didn't think he had ever seen, or heard of, Monkey Mech sleeping. Huh. Maybe he should ask him about that. If he was capable of sleep, the fact that he hadn't was... kinda concerning).

Anyways, right now, Monkey Mech not being asleep was a good thing.

MK landed on the rooftop of the building beside him, waving to get his attention.

“Yo!! Monkey Mech!!” MK called, and Monkey Mech, thankfully, didn't startle, instead just turning to face him. “You doing okay?”

Monkey Mech gave him a thumbs up.

“...Alright, good.” Something about this seemed...a bit off, but MK wasn't entirely sure what specifically was wrong, yet. “Um. Are you aware of what's going on in the city?”

Another thumbs up.

“Oh, so you know that everyone's fallen asleep because of that video game?”

Yet again, a thumbs up.

...Oh. That's what was wrong.

“...Why aren't you talking?” MK asked, and the slight swaying of Monkey Mech's tail immediately froze. “Is something wrong-”

“I'm fi--ine.” Monkey Mech's voice seemed to almost glitch mid-way through the word, going staticky and skipping a little- like a broken CD player. “Nothin--ng's wro--ong.”

“Uh-huh. Yeah. Suuuure.” MK said, leaning against his staff with the most deadpan pose he could muster. “Really believable, Monkey Mech. Now, tell me. What's up with your voice?”

“My voi--ice? Nothing's u--up with my vo--oice.”

MK didn't bother responding to that, instead fixing Monkey Mech with the best 'Disappointed Pigsy' look he could muster. (He'd never quite been able to nail the expression, but there had been people who had told him it was rather effective anyways, so...).

Sure enough, it only took a minute or so before Monkey Mech caved.

“...I'm no--ot as unaff--fected by the vi--rus as I see-em.” He finally said, sounding slightly defeated. “Bu--ut I can't sle-eep, so...”

“So it's just... making you glitch out?” MK asked, and got a thumbs up in return. “Hm. Well. That's. Less than ideal.”

“You're tel--lling me...” Monkey Mech mumbled, crossing his arms. MK let out a sigh.

“Okay. Okay.” He said. “Alright. I gotta get to the Cloud. The only real issue seems to be your voice so... keep an eye out to make sure nothing else happens?”

Monkey Mech saluted him, and MK saluted back, and then spun his staff and slammed it into the ground.

-

“You named me after what.” Monkey Mech deadpanned, looking down at where MK and Mei were standing in front of an arcade game with a very familiar name. MK laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, well... it's what you're designed after, after all.” He said, “I didn't know you were going to be, like, sentient. Alive. I would've picked a more serious name for you then instead of just. Y'know, what you are. You're... fine with this name though, right? We can always change it if you want to.”

This...gave Monkey Mech pause.

Did he want a different name?

...Maybe if MK had asked him that at the start, he would have, but, now, quite frankly…

“Nah, I think I'm too used to this one.” He said, “I'm fine with it. I just, can't believe I never noticed that I shared a name with the video game you're always playing before, though.”

“I mean, you are rather big.” Mei said, “It makes sense you wouldn't be able to see the letters on the screen down here.”

That... was true. While he could read, oftentimes, Monkey Mech wasn't sure what most signs or written letters said- simply because they were too small for him to actually see.

However…

“Can I watch you two play?” He asked, carefully kneeling down. “This arcade screen...seems big enough. I'll probably be able to see it.”

“Oh, sure!” MK said, before muttering to himself, “I wonder if we could somehow make a controller and screen large enough so that you could play it too...”

...Yeah. Monkey Mech wondered that too.

Honestly, there were a lot of things that he frequently missed out on, just due to being too big. Going to movies, hanging out in the Noodle Shop, playing video games... yeah. There wasn't exactly much that he could do.

Sometimes he wished he was smaller.

As it was, he would have to settle for this, doing his best to focus in on the tiny screen in order to take in every single detail of the video game his creation had apparently been inspired by.

-

Mei woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a large boom, immediately followed by shaking.

She got out of bed as fast as possible, grabbing her jacket but not bothering to change out of her pajamas as she raced to the door- a large crash and shaking in the middle of the night could only mean one thing.

There was some serious mystic monkey business going on.

Swinging a leg over her motorbike, she turned on the engine, switching her phone on and checking the most recent social media to find out where the attack was taking place.

Only to find… nothing?

Sure, there were some posts, mainly from her general area, about a large crash and shaking, some even asking if there had been an earthquake, but nobody was mentioning an actual incident.

...Huh. Maybe it really had just been a normal explosion, or earthquake-

That idea was promptly dismissed as there was another large boom, and the ground shook again. This time, Mei was awake enough to be able to somewhat pinpoint what direction the sound had originated from.

Pocketing her phone and revving her bike, Mei pulled out of the driveway and drove out of the city.

Over the next hour and a half, she thought she'd picked the wrong direction a few times- or that maybe whatever was going on was now over and dealt with. That thought was always overruled, as another large boom would ring out, followed by more shaking- sometimes closer together, and sometimes further apart.

It was when the booms started to get loud enough to the point she had to put headphones on that she noticed the giant footprints on the ground.

Hm. Well, that certainly painted a scenario, but she wasn't going to make any assumptions just yet.

But, as it turned out, her assumptions would've been right anyways, as she pulled into a very familiar clearing, turning off her bike and hopping off of it, staring up at Monkey Mech.

He hadn't seemed to have noticed her yet, too preoccupied with-

He moved suddenly, with enough force to make the ground shake- as well as knock Mei completely off balance, tumbling to the ground, her headphones slipping off her head. She remained on her back for a moment, briefly dazed, her ears ringing, only just managing to catch a glimpse of Monkey Mech starting up another movement out of the corner of her eye.

“Ah- wait!” She yelled out just in time, Monkey Mech freezing before his foot could make contact with the ground. “Monkey Mech!”

Slowly, Monkey Mech turned around, with a lot more carefulness and precision than he’d had in his previous motions. He carefully knelt down once he caught sight of her, the ground still shaking with his actions, but not nearly as bad.

“...Mei?” He asked, and she could just pick up the slightest bit of hesitance and nervousness in his voice. “What are you doing out here?”

“That's what I should be asking you!” Mei pushed herself off the ground, wiping dirt and grass stains off of her pajamas. “You woke me up, I'll have you know.”

“Woke you up- ah. The, uh, the noise?”

“And the shaking, yes. Nearly knocked my shelves off of the walls, the entire west side of the city thought there was an earthquake!” Mei said, stretching her arms above her head for a second, before letting them drop back down to her sides. “What are you doing all the way out here anyways?”

“Oh, uh, nothing much”” Monkey Mech said, and Mei raised an eyebrow. Monkey Mech looked away from her. “...I'm sorry. I thought I was far enough away that nobody in the city would be affected.”

“Maybe the other parts wouldn't, but the entire west side certainly was.”

Monkey Mech still wouldn't look at her. Mei slowly crossed her arms, analyzing him. Something was niggling on the back of her brain, but what-

The expression she made must have somehow given away the fact that she had figured it out, as Monkey Mech let out a groan, dropping his head into his hands, as Mei pointed a finger at him accusingly.

“You were copying the moves from the Monkey Mech video game, weren't you!!!” With the way she said it, it wasn't really a question, more so a triumphant realization. Monkey Mech made a noise filled with static, but didn't attempt to deny the accusation. Mei cackled, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “Oh, MK's going to love this!”

“...Must he know about it?” Monkey Mech asked, his head still covered by his hands. Mei's loud laughter was the only response he got, indicating that, no matter what, MK was definitely going to find out about this- and there was no point in trying to delay the inevitable.

-

Monkey Mech found MK sitting on top of an abandoned building, cross-legged, his staff sitting on his lap. He didn't seem to be doing anything, simply staring off into the distance, in the direction of the ocean.

He only tilted his head to the side slightly in acknowledgement when Monkey Mech came to a stop beside the building. There was silence for a few moments- Monkey Mech couldn't help but think something about MK just felt off today, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what.

But, after a bit of pondering it, he decided to brush that issue to the side.

He had a more important question after all.

“Soooo.” He started, drawing MK's full attention to him. “I heard you managed to shrink your staff?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah- I can make myself go all tiny too, if I want.” For some reason, MK didn't sound as excited by that fact as he should have been, but Monkey Mech didn't think too much about it.

“Well, in that case…” Monkey Mech looked side to side, confirming that no-one else was around, before leaning closer towards MK. “Could you... make me smaller?”

“What?”

“Y'know, smaller! Like, person-size, preferably?” Monkey Mech couldn't keep the hope out of his voice. MK gave a sigh.

“I... I don't know.” He said, “Maybe I could, but... I don't want to try it. Risk it.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I made you, right?” The staff vanished into golden light as MK slowly stood up, turning to be able to face Monkey Mech fully. “You're created from like, my energy, or whatever. I just, I don't know if trying to make you smaller would like... mess with that. I don't want to risk losing you.”

Oh. That... was reasonable, Monkey Mech supposed.

He didn't exactly want to be 'lost' either.

“Besides…” MK muttered, under his breath, too low for Monkey Mech to hear. “We're going to need as many heavy-hitters as we can get.”

-

Something was wrong.

MK and the others had headed out to the desert to train today. Monkey Mech had considered following them, but had been explicitly told by MK to stay in the city, and keep an eye out for trouble. He was under no circumstances allowed to slack off today, apparently.

Monkey Mech had picked up on the fact that it seemed like MK had been more anxious lately. And it was starting to look like he'd had good reason to be.

The magic levels in the city spiked again- to numbers that went even higher than the last battle against the Demon Bull Family. Monkey Mech's sensors pinged as the temperature steadily started to drop.

But, weirdly enough, it didn't seem like the source of the magic spike was in the city.

Monkey Mech was in the middle of trying to place where exactly the magic source was coming from, when a bright flash of blue light shone from the corner of his eye.

The desert.

MK.

Monkey Mech didn't even think twice before abandoning his post, turning and starting to run in the direction he now knew the hauntingly cold magic spike to be coming from.

A pang rang through his chest, causing him to almost stumble. It felt like something had grabbed hold of the energy contained within him and squeezed it.

Something was happening to MK.   

Monkey Mech started to move faster.

Even so, with the pangs in his chest resonating throughout him, he knew he wasn't going to make it to the desert in time.

Which was why he gladly accepted the staff's call, allowing it's magic to encircle him, teleporting him directly to MK's location.

He had only just registered MK's presence in his chest, safe but drained, as well as the small figure in front of him-

There was a brighter, bluer flash.

Something grabbed hold of him, and cold ripped through Monkey Mech's sensors faster than he could process.

Alarm notifications flared in his vision as connection to his left arm was severed.

He could hear MK's voice, faintly, but he couldn't make out what he was saying over the ringing- and the whispers.

“M....K....” His voice was staticky, barely understandable, as he struggled to move, to get up, to protect.

Something cracked.

Darkness.

-

MK slipped out of Wukong's grip and slammed onto the deck of Sandy's air-ship, skidding slightly before coming to a complete stop. He groaned- it felt like every muscle, every bone in his body was aching.  

Slowly, he started pushing himself up, glancing over at where his mentor was starting to do the same.

His breath caught.

“The- she-” He choked, coughing, Monkey King turning and looking at him with obvious concern. “Monkey Mech- we have to, we have to help-”

He pulled himself to his feet, only to freeze at the sight of Wukong's expression.

That... that was not the expression of someone who believed there was still someone to help. 

That there was still someone to save.

MK stumbled backwards, collapsing into Pigsy's arms.

Monkey Mech was gone.

-

It was almost like... dreaming.

Except Monkey Mech was not supposed to be able to dream, and, instead of a dream, if he had to compare it to anything, he'd say it was more like a nightmare.

He hadn't been expecting to come to awareness again at all, really.

And especially not like this.

It was a bit of an overly polite way of describing it, honestly. He wasn't entirely sure if he could call what this was 'awareness'.

It was still dark. He could sense things moving around him, sure, and he thought that maybe he was moving too, but he wasn't in control of it.

It was cold.

He felt like he was rotting from the inside out.

-

MK stared up, gaping, at the armored monster Macaque had created.

Those... those were Monkey Mech's parts.

A ringing flooded MK's ears as a bone-chilling anger crashed over him.

-

The Lady Bone Demon was gone.

MK guided the mech over to a nearby cliff, moving the hand up in front of the entrance to the cockpit, letting the door open, the other's silently stepping out onto the hand, which MK lowered to the ground, allowing the others to hop off before he jumped out of the pilot seat himself. Landing on the ground, in a crouched position, kicking up a fair amount of dust, MK slowly stood up and turned around, facing the mech behind him.

Since summoning him onto the field, Monkey Mech hadn't said a single word.

Not a single thing.

With MK no longer in the pilot seat, the mech simply stood there. Still.

Not a single sign of movement.

“Is... is he…” Mei trailed off, not wanting to voice what they were all thinking.

Monkey Mech was back, in body yes, but in spirit?

MK wasn't sure.

There was a flash of golden light out of the corner of his eye, and MK turned his head just in time to see Wukong change out of his bird form to land on the ground, Macaque stepping out of the shadows behind him. Wukong wasted no time in tearing off the armor he'd been wearing, tossing it off to the side as though it had personally offended him.

He was in the middle of making quick work of tearing off his outer shirt when he noticed the looks on all the others' faces.

“...Why do you all look so sad?” He asked, before seemingly finally noticing how still Monkey Mech was being. “...Oh. Hm. Weird.”

“Monkey King... is Monkey Mech-”

“He's... there, yes. Just not... awake, I guess? His energy is definitely there, but it's not at the forefront.” Wukong said, tilting his head to the side, golden eyes flashing. “Maybe if you give him a lil smack on the side?”

“Monkey King.”

“What, it works for laundry machines!” Wukong tried to defend himself from Mei's glare, raising his hands innocently. Her glare only hardened to pure steel.

“Monkey Mech is not a laundry machine, Mr.King. We are not going to sma-”

She was cut off as a loud clang resonated through the air. As one, the group turned to see Nezha, who was slowly pulling the flat end of his spear away from Monkey Mech, analyzing him.

There was a brief pause-

And then suddenly Monkey Mech was reeling back, stumbling, almost like a delayed reaction. One hand went up to the spot where he'd been hit, protecting it from a second attack.

“Ow.” Monkey Mech's voice hissed, filled with static, “What was that for- Oh. Hi guys. ...Did we win?”

“Holy shit.” Wukong muttered, the only words spoken as the others simply stared up at Monkey Mech in frozen shock. “I did not think that would work.”

-

It was a few hours after Nezha and Macaque had both left, Macaque saying he was going off to do some scheming, and Nezha simply saying that he need to return to the Celestial Realm, when Wukong brought it up.

“Y'know,” Wukong started, pausing mid-way through his fourth bowl of noodles that night, “I've been wondering this for a bit but. Why doesn't Monkey Mech just join us down here?”

“...What do you mean?” MK asked, from his position of sitting on Monkey Mech's shoulder. “He's right here.”

“Well, yeah, but like, he could be down here, is what I mean.”

“...I'm afraid I don't follow.” Tang said, “Once again, what do you mean by 'down here'?”

“Ugh, y'know!! Down here!! With us!! Eating!!”

“...I don't know if anyone told you, Monkey King, but I'm a robot.” Monkey Mech gently lifted a hand so that MK could jump onto it, carefully bringing him down so that he could be closer to the conversation taking place around the campfire. “I can't eat.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know you're a robot.” Wukong waved a hand dismissively. “My point is, you don't have to be a robot right now.”

Silence.

“...Monkey King.” MK said, slowly, and Wukong finally seemed to realize that maybe, just maybe, he was privy to some information that the others weren't, if the way he suddenly started to shrink under their collective stares was any indication. “Are you telling me. That there's been a way to make Monkey Mech human this whole time?”

“Uh…” Wukong shrunk down more, looking nervous as the others didn't take their eyes off of him for even one second. “...Kinda.”

“What do you mean, kinda?” Pigsy asked, “Either there is, or there isn't. Hurry it up and spit it out.”

“Okay, okay, fine so like, he would not necessarily be human, I guess?” Wukong scratched at the side of his face, seemingly thinking about it more intently. “It'd be more like... a hologram? Except he'd be able to interact with solid matter. He could form a new body outside of the mech, and just, transfer his energy into it. Of course- me or MK would have to help him make it the first time, and it doesn't really need to be a human form... but it's possible.”

A much longer silence. Wukong's tail started to swing back and forth nervously. 

“Did, did you guys not kn-” He started, but was interrupted by Monkey Mech's voice.

“I could've been going inside the Noodle Shop this whole time?!?!”

“That's what you're the most concerned about?!”

The rest of the night ended up being entirely and completely dedicated to designing Monkey Mech's mortal form. Wukong had said something about how Monkey Mech “needed to feel like himself in it” in order for it to work- so MK had rushed inside of the van to grab his sketchbook and pencils, and had quickly gotten to work, creating multiple designs with Monkey Mech's input.

Realistically, it should've been a relatively short process.

That is, if Monkey Mech would just pick one design.

“...No, it's not right.” Monkey Mech said, for what had to be the 23rd time that night, and MK let out a groan. The others had all mostly accidentally dozed off, leaving only MK and Monkey Mech awake. (Or, at least, MK assumed so. Wukong was curled up on top of his cloud, but for all MK knew, the Monkey King could very well just be pretending to sleep. MK kind of wanted to pull a little test, just to check, but considering Wukong had probably had little sleep these past few days in general, he didn't want to risk accidentally waking him up if he was, in fact, asleep). MK shoved the paper he'd been working on to the side, grabbing another one, and waiting for Monkey Mech's next drawing instruction.

“Um... I, uh…” Monkey Mech trailed off into silence. MK turned to look at him, but his face was just as blank and unreadable as always. His body language, however, read as… nervous. Unconfident. MK stared at him for a minute, then back down at the papers covered in various designs all around him, and then back up at Monkey Mech.

“...You do know that it doesn't need to be perfect, right?” He asked, receiving no response. “Nobody's perfect, after all. It just needs to be you.”

Monkey Mech slowly gave a nod. After a longer moment of silence, he quietly gave a new request, and MK turned back around to focus on drawing.

By the time morning came, the sun rising over the horizon, Monkey Mech had made his choice.

“Alright.” MK said, clapping his hands together as the others sat on the nearby logs they had set up for the campfire the night before. “Let's get this show on the road!”

“Uh, kid, did you even sleep at all?” Pigsy asked. MK ignored him.

“Monkey King!” He said instead, “You uh, got any advice on how to do this?”

“Eh, just concentrate your magic in one spot while focusing on the visual in your mind.” Wukong shrugged. He raised an eyebrow upon noticing the deadpan stares he got in response for his simple answer. “...What? The kid's pretty instinctive, it'll work out. Besides, if it's not working, I'll step in, don't worry.”

He then proceeded to yawn and roll over, seemingly going back to sleep, which was, y'know not reassuring in the slightest.

MK turned to look up at Monkey Mech, trying not to let his anxiousness show.

“You ready for this big guy?”

Monkey Mech gave a simple thumbs up. MK suspected that he wasn't speaking so that the nervousness in his own voice wouldn't show.

“Right. Okay.” MK took a deep breath, muttering to himself. “You got this. You can do this. Simple. Easy. Just picture it in your head…”

MK closed his eyes, holding his hands out in front of him, doing his best to hold the mental image of the design he and Monkey Mech had chosen within his mind.

Red fur... golden eyes... hair pulled back, with just a tiny bit of it remaining loose to frame his face... that stupid jacket that Monkey Mech seemed to enjoy for some reason that MK didn't have the heart to refuse adding to the design…

A few minutes passed with seemingly nothing, and Monkey Mech was about to speak up to tell MK to maybe take a break from this whole thing, that he could wait until later, when-

A spark.  

A flash.

A bright ball of light appeared in between MK's outstretched hands, flickering, before slowly growing and morphing. The others watched in raptured silence- even Wukong sitting up (proving that he had not, in fact, gone back to sleep), as they watched the light slowly morph into a more humanoid form.

Another bright flash, one that had everyone covering their eyes-

And then there was a body, standing on the ground, frozen still, eyes closed, almost as though they were asleep.

“Yes!! I did it!!” MK cheered, before pausing. After a moment, he turned his head to the side to look at Wukong. “Uh... Monkey King, what do we do next?”

“What do you mean?” Wukong asked.

“He means, uh.” Monkey Mech said, leaning down to get a closer look at the body meant for him. “How do we get me into the body?”

“Oh. That…” Wukong said, trailing off. Mei, sensing mischief, pinched his arm. “Ow, hey!”

“You better not have been about to say something along the lines of 'smacking him like a laundry machine' again.” She hissed, and Wukong leaned away from her.

“Please, of course I wasn't!” From the expressions of everyone around him, nobody actually believed that statement. Wukong coughed awkwardly. “Ahem. Uh, anyways it... should come naturally, really. Just, you can feel the energy inside you, right?”

“Yes…” Monkey Mech said, slowly.

“Right. So, just, mentally imagine that, condense it into one spot, and then... just imagine it leaving you and going into the body I guess?”

“You guess?” Pigsy crossed his arms, “What do you mean you guess?”

“Well I've never done this before!”

“What do you mean you've never- how do you know this will even wor-”

“Oh. Hey. It worked.”

Everyone turned to see that the light in the giant robot's eyes had faded, and-

The smaller, monkey demon form on the ground was now moving.

Monkey Mech had barely taken a step before he was stumbling, not used to his new size. MK quickly moved forwards to catch him. Monkey Mech's hands clung onto MK's jacket, shaking for a moment, his tail swinging as he looked up to meet MK's eyes.

“...Hi, MK.” He smiled at him. MK smiled back.

“Hi, Monkey Mech.”

That seemed to be all the permission the other's needed to tackle the two of them, sending them both tumbling to the ground, trapped under the rest of the group.

“Agh- hey!” MK struggled, trying to squirm his way out. “Not fair!! I wasn't ready for this one!! Let me go!”

“No can do, kid.” Pigsy said, “Y'see, Tang's done the numbers, and we're pretty sure you have not slept in the past three days, at least.”

“And, well, Mr. Monkey Mech has never slept at all…” Sandy said, “So…”

“Yeah. We're not letting either of you up until you both fall asleep.” Mei finished.

MK huffed, pouting, but not directly protesting the treatment. Monkey Mech, for his part, looked shocked-

And then he burst out into loud laughter, some tears running down his face, startling everyone.

“Uh, guys?” Tang said, “I think we broke the mech.”

-

Monkey Mech swung his legs back and forth. Getting used to being able to transfer himself into such a small form was... definitely a weird adjustment. He was grateful for it, most definitely he was, he finally got the chance to play arcade games with MK, Mei, and Red Son, as well as go in a car, and into the mall, and the movie theatre, as well as the Noodle Shop-

(Monkey Mech looked at the area around him with wide eyes, half supported by MK and Mei as they led him in. He still wasn't quite used to walking around in such a small body yet.

“Y'know…” Monkey Mech said, “...The inside of the Noodle Shop is much smaller than I thought it'd be.”

“I don't know if I should be taking that as an insult or a compliment.” Pigsy sighed, walking past them. “It better have been a compliment.”

“Oh- uh, trust me, it was!”

“You don't sound very confident in that statement.”

“C'mon- it was definitely a compliment- MK back me up here!”

“Sorry dude, you're on your own.”).

 So yeah, overall, it'd been great.

Didn't mean that sitting on his own shoulder didn't feel really weird though.

Monkey Mech swung his legs back and forth again as he thought, staring out at the half-constructed buildings around him. He'd been leaving his real robot body here for now, but he'd probably have to move it soon. Construction was shockingly fast within this city, sooner or later people would start to move back into this area... he'd probably have to move himself to the outskirts then.

Now that he thought about it, that clearing that Wukong had shown him would probably work just fine…

Lost in his own thoughts, he almost missed the shadow portal forming directly beside him.

The keyword being almost.

Monkey Mech did a double take, whipping his head around just as Macaque stepped out to stand beside him, giving him a little wave.

“Yo, Monkey Mech!” He said, “Uh, congrats on the new form. Heh. Um, I just came around cause uh. I wanted to... say sorry for, uh, stealing and using your corpse. From one resurrected guy to another, that was, uncool of me.”

...Was that meant to be a pun? Monkey Mech had some vague memories involving Macaque and feeling like pure ice was tearing through his non-existent skin.

Hm. Now that Monkey Mech thought about it, pretty much all of his memories associated with the time Macaque had been using his parts had felt... wrong.  

Hm.

Macaque seemed to be growing nervous at Monkey Mech's lack of a response, the anxiety in his expression slowly growing more obvious as Monkey Mech slowly stood up.

“...So, yeah, that was all I wanted to say, so, I'll just be going now-” Macaque went still as Monkey Mech vanished in a flash of golden light, returning himself to his robotic body. Before Macaque could recover from the shock, Monkey Mech raised one hand, carefully grabbing Macaque by his scarf. Macaque immediately struggled, trying to kick and scratch at Monkey Mech's fingers to no avail. “Woah- hey-”

Macaque let out a strangled noise as Monkey Mech unceremoniously tossed him into his cockpit, shutting the door behind him.

“Hey!” Macaque shouted, and, having landed in the pilot seat upside down, quickly readjusted himself to be sitting up. “What are you-”

“During your time using me, you felt a little... off.” Monkey Mech crossed his arms over his chest, preventing Macaque from being able to kick the door open. “So, I'm running a diagnostic on you.”

“What? You can't just- you know what, I don't have the time for this.” Macaque huffed, a shadow portal forming under his feet, the monkey demon dropping down into it-

Only to be spat out back into the cockpit.

“...Huh?” Macaque didn't even waste a single second before trying again. “I- what? What is this, how are you doing this?”

“A robot never reveals his secrets!” Nevermind that Monkey Mech was horrible at keeping secrets, or that-

“You have no idea how you did it either, do you.”

“Not a clue!”

A small pop-up appeared in Monkey Mech's vision.

Macaque was suddenly and abruptly tossed out of the cockpit.

Macaque swore, loudly, and Monkey Mech saved rolling his eyes until after he'd reformed his monkey body, and leapt forwards to snag Macaque out of the air, landing on the rooftop on a nearby almost-finished building. He set Macaque down on the solid ground, dusting off the shadow monkey's shoulders, ignoring the angry and indignant muttering that seemed to be comparing him to a dangerously faulty Easy Bake Oven.

...Not that Monkey Mech even knew what that was.

“Diagnostic's done!” He said instead, clapping his hands while smiling innocently. “And- hm.”

“Hm?”

“Well, you're functioning.”

“Yeah, obviously, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't.” Macaque rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and turning away from him.

“I do think you should probably go to a doctor, though.” Monkey Mech added, watching with thinly veiled concern as Macaque let out an irritated sigh.

“Oh yeah?” He asked, “And why's that?”

“...Well, it's not exactly normal for people to not have heartbeats, is it?”

Macaque made a sound that was almost akin to a kicked puppy, and suddenly Monkey Mech almost wished he hadn't said anything, as the other vanished into a shadow portal within the blink of an eye. Monkey Mech stood there, for a while, waiting to see if the other would come back, to learn what else the diagnostic had picked up.

...He didn't come back.

Monkey Mech sighed, and shelved the concern over the shadow monkey's only slightly healed broken ribs and damaged six ears for a later date.

-

“Monkey Mech!” MK's voice called, and Monkey Mech risked glancing up from his precariously stacked stack of delivery boxes in his arms to see MK standing on the top of a nearby building. “Is it cool if I use some of your parts for a bit?”

Monkey Mech shifted slightly to account for the stack changing weight.

“Uh, who is it today?” He asked.

“Jin and Yin!”

“Oh, sure! It's fine!”

MK gave him a thumbs up, and then summoned the staff, leaping to another building. They had discovered, a while ago, that while Monkey Mech was in his monkey demon form, any damage taken to his robot self would not hurt him in any way- so long as it was put back together properly before he returned to it.

That knowledge would have certainly been helpful in escaping a few situations if they had known it much earlier.

Monkey Mech returned to his goal of delivering the take-out boxes in his arms, and sure enough, a few minutes later, he could faintly feel the tug of magic suggesting that some of his robotic parts were being pulled to MK. Another couple of minutes later, there was a large crash in the distance, and Monkey Mech struggled not to fumble the last delivery box in his arms- only barely managing to keep it from slipping out of his grasp and tumbling to the pavement as the ground shook.

Geez. He couldn't believe anyone had been able to handle living with him around for a year if this is what it had been like whenever he had taken a step slightly too hard.

Final box delivered- Monkey Mech turned around to walk back to the Noodle Shop.

Upon return, it seemed like he had just missed MK, the faint hint of his energy vanishing around a corner, leaving Mei and Pigsy behind.

“Hey guys!” Monkey Mech gave them both a wave, catching their attention. “I'm done with deliveries, Pigsy.”

Pigsy let out a worn sigh.

“Thanks, Monkey Mech.” He said, “At least one kid is actually doing their job around here…”

-

Monkey Mech sat cross-legged on the stone floor, Delivery, Painter, and Porty beside him. 

All four of them were focused solely on the Azure Lion sitting across from them.

MK had summoned them to Flower Fruit Mountain- or, well, he'd summoned Monkey Mech, literally teleporting him there (he'd been in the middle of cat-napping on a roof, now that he could, in fact, nap). The other three had simply been poofed into existence already at the scene.

They'd been instructed to “keep an eye” on Azure Lion. He was, essentially, a complete stranger that they were choosing to tentatively trust, after all.

Besides, it wasn't like Monkey Mech could go into the scroll in giant robot form, not to mention that going in while in his monkey demon form, which he was only just getting used to, would be a bad idea, and MK obviously knew that he would worry if he didn't have some kind of task.

...The clones were probably just there so that he had some familiar people with him.

That being said, none of them had said a single word for the past four hours, which was rather impressive restraint on the part of the hair-clones.

A restlessness started to form in Monkey Mech's chest, but he ignored it, figuring it was just coming from being stuck sitting around doing nothing but stare at a complete stranger for so long.

Seriously, couldn't the guy come up with some kind of polite conversation to talk about? Heck, Monkey Mech would even take talking about the weather at this point! The weather!!

The restlessness kicked up a notch.

And then suddenly it was a pang, an all too familiar one.

Monkey Mech gasped, doubling over, clutching at his chest. The hair-clones had a similar reaction-

They poofed out of existence at the next pang.

“Something- something's happening to MK.” Monkey Mech struggled to get out, unable to get rid of the sensation of pain and panic. “I- you gotta let me in there, I have to help him-”

“Sorry, but.” Azure slowly stood up, a new, menacing aura surrounding him. “I'm afraid I can't allow that.”

And then he snapped, and Monkey Mech could feel the magic encircling him- the parts of his body fading away-

He jolted back into awareness in his robot form, exactly where he had left it, sitting on the outskirts of town. He remained completely frozen for a second, processing, before;

“Oh, I knew we couldn't trust that motherf-”

-

Monkey Mech watched silently as Wukong began the slow process of collecting all his robotic parts from the places Azure had carelessly thrown them to. Now more than ever, he was glad that he could transfer himself into another form so easily.

It still didn't make seeing his real form torn up into multiple pieces any less... disturbing.

He tried his best to ignore it, instead looking over to where MK was trying to lift some knocked over trees back into place. Wukong had said that Flower Fruit Mountain was fairly sturdy, and had a habit to bounce back from, well, a lot. (He hadn't elaborated upon what that meant, but Monkey Mech had the feeling that Flower Fruit Mountain had seen catastrophe before). So, MK had taken it upon himself to make as much of the process easier for the mountain's magic as he could.

...The both of them had also been quite promptly kicked out of the efforts to rebuild Wukong's house after Wukong had accidentally broken a board in half, and MK had started to get a little too into painting the walls.

Monkey Mech, really, had been sent out to keep an eye on the both of them, to make sure that they didn't end up getting into some kind of mystic-monkey trouble.

(Technically, didn't he also count as a mystic monkey now? Did that mean he could also get into mystic monkey trouble? ...Monkey Mech wasn't quite sure about the logistics of it, or how one defined 'mystic monkey trouble' in the first place. It was probably better to not think about it).

As it was, everything seemed fine…

Monkey Mech let out a sigh, slouching a little as he watched Wukong move to grab the next piece, and MK reach for the next tree.

He wished he could be on the beach right now…

-

Monkey Mech stared at the water far below him in trepidation.

“C'mon Monkey Mech!” MK called out, waving his arm from said water. “Join us!!”

Monkey Mech continued to stare down at the water.

He was standing on his own shoulder again. MK had practically tackled him full force earlier that morning, telling him about a much needed beach day, to take a break from the efforts to repair Flower Fruit Mountain, to just enjoy some sun, and had practically outright demanded that Monkey Mech bring his robot form with him, not just his monkey-self.

Monkey Mech had been, understandably, confused at the time.

He hadn't expected that MK would have used his robot body as a makeshift giant diving board plus water slide.

(Or, well, more so just slide, with the water only being at the end. They didn't have a hose long enough to be able to reach Monkey Mech's shoulder- so they couldn't run water down the arm that was currently extended slightly at an angle).

There was a green flash, and suddenly Mei was standing beside him, her head tilted to the side.

“What's wrong?” She asked, and Monkey Mech tried his best for an easy-going smile.

Considering how he had quickly discovered that faking expressions was a lot harder than he thought it would be, he was pretty sure he did not succeed.

“It's nothing!” He said, “I'm fine.”

“...Uh-huh, sure.” Mei was clearly unimpressed. “You've been standing up here for the past 15 minutes. Are you going to jump in or not?”

 “Well, uh-” Monkey Mech stuttered for a second, before shrinking down into himself, avoiding eye contact as he said, quietly. “I don't know how to swim.”

“What do you mean you don't-”

“I was a giant robot, remember!! Of course I don't know how to swim.” Monkey Mech's tail swished back and forth with anxiety. “What if I just sink?”

“Hm... I guess that's a valid point.” Mei mumbled, before reaching out and grabbing hold of Monkey Mech's arm. “Let's get you down from here, then.”

Before Monkey Mech even had the chance to blink, Mei had scooped him up on one shoulder, and rushed him back down to the beach, her dragon speed ensuring that they barely even touched the water.

Monkey Mech stumbled slightly when she put him down on the sand, but very quickly regained his balance.

“Mei? Monkey Mech?” MK asked, walking out of the water to join them. “What's up?”

“Mecha-dude over here doesn't know how to swim.” Mei said, pointing her thumb at Monkey Mech as she did so. Monkey Mech let out an irritated huff, mumbling “it's Monkey Mech, you've known this for a while now-” under his breath, and being rather obviously ignored.

“Oh! Well, not to worry!!” MK wrapped his arm around Monkey Mech's shoulders. “I can teach you!”

“...Uh-huh.” Monkey Mech said, slowly. “I have so much confidence in being taught how to swim by the person wearing floaties.”

“We should've never let Red Son teach you what sarcasm was.” MK deadpanned, before swapping back to his easy-going smile effortlessly. “And I can swim!! I just sink easily, is all.”

That statement was not as reassuring as MK clearly thought it was, but Monkey Mech didn't even have the chance to voice that thought, as he was grabbed by both arms and dragged into the ocean.

-

“Hey, Monkey Mech?”

...Monkey Mech did not like the look on MK's face.

“...What is it?” He asked, hoping his nervousness didn't show- but it must've, as the teasing smirk on MK's face grew slightly wider.

“So... I realized I never actually got the chance to ask you this before, in between getting you adjusted to your new body and, like, everything that happened afterwards…”

Oh, Monkey Mech did not like where this was going, slowly starting to stand up, but was prevented from doing so as MK put his hands on his shoulders and shoved him back down into his seat.

“And, well, you can actually show expressions now, so y'know, I was wondering…” MK continued, “...Why?”

Well... Monkey Mech could pretend to play dumb for a few moments longer, couldn't he?

“Why what?” He asked, already knowing there was an absurdly flustered expression on his face, one that drew the attention of the others, as well as made the teasing smirk on MK's face somehow more menacing.

“Why did you stand around for three days?” MK asked, and Monkey Mech opened his mouth- “No lying this time, young man.”

Monkey Mech let his mouth close.

Slowly, he looked away, avoiding eye contact.

“C'monnnnn.” MK poked him in the arm repeatedly, “I'm not gonna leave you alone until you give me an answer.”

Yeah. Monkey Mech had picked up on it.

He let out a defeated sigh.

“Okay, fine, you got me.” He said, “It was because of p.”

“...P?”

“Peace out.” Monkey Mech quickly made a peace sign, and then let himself dissolve in a flash of light, returning to his robot body.

Even though he was now on the other side of town, he could still hear MK's scream of frustration.

[brsb4hls]

Good Omens Spoilers:

I'm off work now and can sort my thoughts a bit.

So far I've seen only positive reactions and some posts complaining about criticism (which I have not seen in itself).

I very much feel there's something missing in the discussion.

I'm not gonna spoil people's fun and I certainly will enjoy fan stuff, but I cannot stop being pissed.

And it's not about wether Aziraphale reciprocates Crowley's feelings and if they are a canon romantic couple or not.

That's not the point. The point also isn't dolphins, it is that I feel that Gaiman perverted the original core of Good Omens.

He might have done it for angst and a dramatic build up and he might resolve it if there will be a third season (which cannot be guaranteed, so THAT ending could be what we have to live with), but whatever the reasons, he did it and it leaves a bad taste.

To me the point of Good Omens always was that heaven and hell as a strict and rigid concept were equally horrible.

The 'good place' so to say was always earth.

And being a human on earth was about being accepted with all one's quirks and also making one's own decisions.

If I remember correctly those points are mostly made by Adam (who actually is the main character of the book, it just has so many colourful supports you wouldn't notice).

So Aziraphale and Crowley fit way better on earth, because they're both too unique for a rigid corporate structure.

They already are their own little team even if Aziraphale sometimes displays a holier-than- thou attitude and needs Crowley to remind him what he would loose, if earth were gone.

So they both defy their respective bosses to keep the niche they carved.

The first season of the show manages to keep that core statement despite changing the characters up a bit.

And it ends like in the book, with Aziraphale and Crowley fighting the system and winning, being free.

And now it's all set back and actually made worse by Aziraphale willingly going back, as long as he's in charge.

In the show, Aziraphale was bullied by his superior and now takes his job. He thinks he can change the oppressive system from the inside instead of abolishing it altogether, or staying clear of it, because it is 'toxic'.

And yes, I did notice that tiny bit of blackmail from Metatron regarding Crowley, but after all that happened THAT should have given Aziraphale a clue about what he is getting into again.

He also doesn't seem to suddenly know his best friend of 6000 years anymore.

Crowley never had a problem with being a demon. He had a problem with how hell treated him.

And a problem with how heaven reacted to asking questions, which is a thing he loves, so why would he want to go back?

On earth, Crowley was completely ok with doing minor mischief and performing demonic magic.

And Aziraphale technically knows that, but he tries to drag Crowley along for purely selfish reasons. And on top he seems to think that as a demon Crowley is not good enough anymore.

And that completely goes against the point.

The point that has been made very clear before and made book and parts of the first season so great.

Gaiman let the system win.

(and pull Aziraphale back in after he successfully got out. That's like someone taking back their horrible job at the factory that pays minimum wages and pollutes the environment as long as they're forman).

[discocandles]

I haven't talked about my babysitter's a vampire in a bit, but it's october, so i have no excuse(or every excuse. whatever). this show impacted me a lot.

In mbav, i feel like vampirism is treated a bit differently than in other supernatural media. and maybe that's because its for a younger audience that a lot of other vampire media, aiming for pre-teens rather than actual teenagers and young adults. From what i remember of buffy, vampires aren't people anymore. The person dies when they get turned and are left as like demons, i think? its been a while since i last saw btvs. When turned into a vampire in mbav, you still retain your personality for the most part. there's just also vampire quirks next to it. and don't ask about the vampire diaries, i've never wached it.

like we only see people get turned in the mbav movie, and while we never see what Sarah was like as a human, we get a few ideas from erica, and it's not like she's unrecognizable after being turned(into a fledgling, but beside the point), just acting kinda weird and distant. Rory also doesnt act super different when turned, but almost made this whole post about him, and i have a theory about why he barely changed that i'll get into later. Erica's change was pretty dramatic but given the fact that the main thing the movie told us about her personality before being turned was her obsession with the dusk franchise it was pretty easy for her to have a dramatic change, and she still has elements of the girl she was before that come through from time to time, especially in season 2.

I think people don't change a lot when turned in mbav because they has a bigger sense of freedom to do whatever they want to due to all the power they now have at their disposal. We see this more in the show, because of the need to defeat Jesse takes precedent in the movie. In a lot of Erica's s1 plotlines, she's doing things because she's "hot now", or didn't have the courage to do, or just because she wants to. And with Rory, part of the reason he didn't change all that much is because prior to being turned, he already did whatever he wanted, and his wants are more aligned with publicly being a nerd rather getting more power. Like in the movie, he talked about his interests with Ethan and Benny, but as a vampire he's broadcasting those interests in the hallways in addition to that.

Sarah is a bit of a different case, especially as a fledgling, because she feels held back by her vampirism rather than her humanity. The thing Sarah wants is one of the few things her vampiric powers can't do: go away. she sees them as a shackle instead of as freeing. and she acts like a normal human should act like to cope, trying out for sports and getting a job or two. Scarfing down human food to stave off her bloodthirst. But in season 2, when she's fully a vampire, we see her sense of doing whatever she wants pop up a few times. it happens a lot in episode 1, when she dunks VP Hicks in the trash can, and especially when she's resistant to the Vampire Counsil. We also see her join activities that she's actually interested in, similar to Rory being even more outward about his interests after being turned. she joins the talent show and the school play, and she starts dating again. ironically, i think that's pretty similar to things she would've done as a human. hell, we even see her being best friends with Erica again, which hadn't happened since before Jesse turned her.

and speaking of getting turned, vampirism started as an allegory for like, losing your virginity before getting married. and it's not really present as a metaphor in the show(again, made for pre-teens), but there are a few moments that it's hinted at. Like Rory calling his vampire bite a "wicked hickey" or Erica leaving a bedroom with Gord looking really disheveled. It's the closest to a legitimate allegory with Sarah and Jesse, because the way he phrased him turning her into a fledgling is very very similar to that of sexual assault. it's very clear that Sarah did not consent to being turned, even if Jesse was her boyfriend at the time. its less an allegory for loss of virginity and more one for the importance of giving consent, and even then, it's not that exact of a metaphor.

away from that, also interesting is how different Erica is from Rory and Sarah. there were hints of her desire to rebel in the beginning("if i had a hot boyfriend, i'd totally ditch class too. what? i would!"), but they feel understated after everything she does after being turned. while in the movie, it's because she was one of Jesse's followers, but her morals also skew towards the gray area in the show, sometimes having Rory as a henchman to have do her bidding/hep her. it could be attributed to her vampirism, except the fact that Sarah and Rory don't often share that muted sense of morality is odd, especially since she was introduced as a straight As good girl that's really into canon's twilight. And in season 2, we see she still has some of her nerdy aspects in there that she's hiding, like when she geeks out to Ethan that the star of dusk is in town, or her chemistry knowledge, or her following instructions for vampire rituals on halloween. also, the way she acted around David in the werewolf episode seemed to call back to her nerdier side. idk it just fascinates me the ways that erica acts, because she will wholeheartedly do things that are at least kinda questionable morally, but hesitates when it feels nerdy or sees the guys are also doing it.

anyway, those were some of my thoughts mbav that i've kinda just had in the back of my mind.

[carus26]

Subjective (mostly) opinion, but I will comment on a couple of things (and character).

Rather negative statements about a SPECIFIC character, so I will say right away that I am not in the mood to argue with anyone here, but I am simply expressing my point of view based on what I have already seen, and I don’t know how the plot will unfold further :)

Randall's banishment.

Considering how many fans (randall fans) dislike this scene because of its *illogicality* and *unfairness*. Like, Sulley and Mike didn't even tell anyone and generally did a bad thing (considering that with Randall's help they themselves were recently banished for life for nothing, I won't even mention the attempted murder).

Now, given the recent events of season 2, they surely told either the CDA or the authorities about what happened. Because that's the only logical reason for Johnny to know the exact coordinates of Randall's location, since NO ONE knows about it except Sulley and Mike. And if this is not so, then I have big questions for the scriptwriters... 

As for the illogicality and unfairness, I really don't see any other outcome for Randall. They needed to take Randall with them? How? Considering that they have a child on their hands, with whom they still need to somehow get to the place moving on FLYING doors. Considering that Randall can turn invisible at any moment, and generally come up with anything to slip away from them. And it's not like they have a rope to completely tie him up.

Or *they should have listened to him*, after everything that happened? Again, my opinion, I don't see any other logical outcomes for him, considering how strong and cruel he can be.

But i will only agree that they definitely should have told the authorities about it, so that the banishment would not be considered illegal. Because otherwise it just looks weird. (and btw Randall's transfer to the authorities turned out to be completely useless because he ran away that same day 💀, as we can see in the series)

In general, the whole situation looks more like self-defense, considering what happened recently.

About Randall.

I never saw him as a *victim* at any point. Why? Because he always has a choice about who to be with and what to do, and he always makes those choices himself.

One of his main characteristics is that he has goals that he has set from the start, and he will achieve them by any means necessary. And, apparently, he doesn't give a damn about *conscience* and other human traits from a high bell tower.

It costs him nothing to set up a whole team of monsters, whom he doesn't even (mostly) know, just to win the trust of those who are an authority for him. It costs him nothing to kill someone, torture (just for fun), manipulate others, and much more, only to achieve a high position at work (I'm not even mentioning that he basically treats people around him like an asshole, absolutely EVERYONE, not just Mike and Sulley).

And who forced him to do all this? Johnny? Waternoose? No. The choice is always his. You know, he is not a prisoner or a slave to any of them. Never was.

*he wouldn't have become like that if he hadn't joined ROR* sure, but then you're talking about a completely different character. Randall initially had a goal to become popular and get fame, and he would have achieved this goal in any other way. I'll tell you more, he and Mike still wouldn't have remained friends, because their goals in life are INITIALLY different, they see life differently, they have different principles.

They were initially with each other temporarily, not as friends, but as roommates, and their separation is a natural process, not the fault of other characters, other characters simply accelerated this process.

*he was simply influenced by other characters (insert any name) it was because of them that he became like this* of course, it's always easier to dump your problems and responsibility on others.

When fans like to, besides Johnny and Waternoose (who are just who they are, Randall knows who they are, he HIMSELF decided to go and work with them, I highly doubt that the CEO of the corporation took and FORCED Randall to work for him, how did he even know that Randall understood and can build the construction of the machine that Waternoos supposedly invented? There is no logic. It was either Randall's idea or their common) blame Mike for not being Randall's friend. Was that Mike's job?

As far as I understand, you don't have to be best friends with your roommate, you can always just do your own thing, not bother each other, and just be nice to each other, which is what Mike did, being one of the few who was nice to Randall, gave him important advice, calmed him down when he was nervous, and that's still not enough, you have to be best friends and always do what the other one wants?

Or if you're talking about Mike allegedly using Randall for his own benefit when he was studying with him, was Randall forced to do it? No. 

Or when fans like to blame Mike for the ACCIDENTS that happened between them and Randall, with that pig and the cupcakes, like Mike did it on purpose, like it was all the bullying that led Randall to this result. Mike was bullied his whole life, somehow he didn't turn into a maniac. ALL the main characters went through humiliating moments in life, some were smart enough to move on.

*he didn't even apologize*, well, I don't know, they didn't show me this, just like they didn't show you, therefore we can only assume this.

*Randall was jealous of Mike towards Sulley* why can Randall interact with other monsters and Mike can't? Why does it even matter to him, it's none of his business.

Or when fans blame Sulley for that scene in the scare games, when he literally did what he had to do, and Randall literally got *karma* back for the fact that he DELIBERATELY embarrassed the other team and experienced first-hand what it was like to be humiliated in front of everyone, but for some reason his "friends" will not support him this time.

This scene only shows why Randall is mad at Sulley, not why Sulley is supposedly to blame for all of Randall's troubles by supposedly being so successful "just because" :)

in general, ALL their dynamics look like:

- you ruined my whole life

- I don't even know your name

Another detail that I doubt is that Randall actually helped Waternoose or Johnny (in Maw) to supposedly gain their favor, using them for his own purposes is MUCH more suitable for him as a character. Unless, in Johnny's case, it might actually be a debt payment for saving his life, but I doubt it's ONLY a debt payment (he left Johnny in prison and escaped himself, as we can see at the moment).

I also add that he, apparently, has achieved great heights in life, independently and without any connections, he has a great job in which he has achieved success, his colleagues respect him (whom he himself does NOT respect), in general he has a successful position in life, and it is still not enough for him, he is still eternally dissatisfied. If you do not value what you have, you can lose everything, and this is no one's fault except your own, and people who are better in something will always be there, no matter how hard you try (they are trying too, actually, maybe even more), that's life.

It's an endless race that leads to nothing, except unhappiness. And by the way, perhaps that's why Sulley got the position of *the best* so easily, precisely because he took it easy, and could easily refuse this glory, in favor of other life values. Considering that he, in fact, also tries every day, and this position was not given to him *just like that, just because*.

And for people who *the director of the company does not respect him and exploits him, you can understand him*, note, the director of the company does not respect ANYONE, and literally sent his favorite employee to death.

And I will add one more very important detail: it is Randall's fault that the child escaped into the monster world, it was he who left the ACTIVATED door unattended and went somewhere himself, the child could have escaped at any moment, Sulley was just lucky to be involved in the situation.

Randall's redemption.

I know that Pixar tried to give him his redemption arc, but only on the condition that he helps Mike and Sulley in their search. Now..? And besides, why would Randall change himself if in his head he does everything right? He himself is sincerely confident in his rightness. After all, he himself never had doubts and questions about his actions.

And now he suddenly wants to change because he has nowhere else to go? It's not like him, he's too proud for that. In any case, there's not a single person in the corporation who would believe him and accept him, after EVERYTHING he's done. And where is his life sentence to go? All of this is of course too big a statement for a children's cartoon, I know that everything can be solved by the magical power of friendship and so on, but these questions remain questions.

In any case, I personally think that if he is just redeemed like that, it would be stupid and unbelievable. He needs to undergo a lot of therapy before he is safe for society, you know? x)

So, yes, this is how I personally see the picture, and after everything I have written here, draw your own conclusions.

[kcwriter-blog]

Choice. Consequence. Blame.

Choice. Consequence. Blame. When I think about these concepts, I think about Solas and the blame he incurs for the choices he made. How do you apportion blame? How far back in time do we go? Those are interesting questions to me. My somewhat disorganized answers are under the cut. 

The concept of blame is universal. Someone makes a choice. That choice has consequences. If the outcome is good, the person is lauded. If the outcome is bad, the person is vilified. Context — the reasons why the person had to make that choice in the first place — is thrown out the window. 

How does this relate to Solas? Just about everyone agrees that his choice to create the Veil was responsible for what happened to the elves — even Solas. He is to blame. It’s a simplistic view. Choices are not made in a vacuum. 

What motivated Solas? He tells us. The Evanuris became corrupt. They lusted after power. They killed Mythal. We don’t know much beyond that, but we can theorize that Mythal was keeping the others in check. With her gone, they could pursue their own agenda. That would have destroyed the world.

Solas had to make a choice. He could do nothing, or he could do something. He chose to do something. 

Many people feel that Solas should have found an alternative to forming the Veil. That he didn’t look hard enough. Basically, he threw a temper tantrum over Mythal’s death and thoughtlessly did something he now regrets. Except that isn’t what happened.

Solas has a temper. We see that when he flambés the mages who killed Wisdom. He can be impulsive. We see that in his romance.

What people forget is that he is always able to master himself. It takes one word to keep him from roasting the mages. He doesn’t like it, but he does it.

In his romance he always stops himself before things can go too far. He didn’t create the Veil in a day. There was plenty of time for him to cool off. 

Solas tells us he considered alternatives. We don’t know what they were. We just know the consequences of those solutions were so dire, he chose to lock away his favorite place in the world — the Fade — instead. The wolf chews its leg off to escape the trap. 

Sometimes there are no good choices. Solas chose the best solution he could, given the information he had. The consequences? Bad.

Does that mean Solas should be the scapegoat? Is he 100 percent to blame for what happened to the elves?

I would argue no. What he did caused the elves to fight amongst themselves. It meant they could not protect themselves when Tevinter came calling. How the elves were treated once conquered, however, had nothing to do with Solas. 

Humans behaved toward elves the same way Europeans did when they encountered indigenous people on other continents. They could have done it differently. Solas didn’t make that choice for them. Humans decided that for themselves. 

Solas wasn’t responsible for the obliteration of Halamshiral. The Chantry was. Humans chose to force elves into slums, to take away their rights, to kill them if they felt like it.

Humans may not have taken immortality from the elves, but they did take away their language, history and cultural identity. Solas was not responsible for that. Humans bear part of the blame for what happened to the elves.

Which leads to my final point. How far back in time should we look when it comes to assigning blame? For most people, unless they are historians, probably not very far. Solas created the Veil. He is to blame. Simple. Except that it isn’t.

Would Solas have created the Veil if the Evanuris had not become corrupt? No, he wouldn't have.

The Evanuris are ultimately responsible for what happened to the elves. Solas did what he had to do, to prevent something worse from happening. He may view it as a mistake but it’s only a mistake if another, better solution was available to him, and he chose not to take it. 

The key to redeeming him might be helping him see that. 

[but-a-humble-goon]

for, https://www.tumblr.com/but-a-humble-goon/754670294342500352/name-a-character-from-one-of-my-fandoms-and-ill?source=share

Cassandra Cain, naturally.

If you already got Cassandra then I'll take a wild swing and go for Emerald Sustrai.

I ain't got Cassandra yet funnily enough. Cassandra Cain Three personal headcanon facts about them -Even after she learns to talk she's still trying to figure out what's going on via inference in 90% of social situations. Words are challenging and not the kind of challenging she likes. -Cass hates stakeouts more than anything in the world. She is a creature of pure motion, she must be free. It takes all of her considerable will and discipline to sit still for longer than an hour or so and it feels like actual torture. -She gets sincerely very emotional listening to Evanescence. She's got no idea about their pop culture context, she just feels very seen by their music. Like she senses a spiritual kinship. A reason they suck Basically everything about how she treated Stephanie in Batgirl 2000. Didn't trust her, didn't respect her, tried very hard to drive her away, completely took their friendship for granted, was generally insufferable and mean to her constantly, took Bruce's side against her and pushed her into getting herself killed. A reason they are great Cassandra Cain is genuinely the kindest soul in the entire DC universe. She is the very essence of empathy and compassion. She would take on the entire world to fight for the life of even the worst person who ever lived. I've said it before but no matter how much the universe tries to hammer the message into her that you can't save them all her response will always be "watch me." A reason I relate to them She's terrible with her emotions and even worse at social interaction and everybody around her misconstrues this as her being emotionless or just projects their own biases onto her. People talk about her like she isn't even there and even though she acts like it doesn't sting, it does. She feels like everybody around her got given a manual on how to be human properly except her. Top tier OTP I don't really ship Cass with anyone. If she's gonna end up with someone at this point it should definitely be Stephanie to give the middle finger to all of the queerbait between the two over the years. Five things that never happened to the character that I believe should have happened. -We should have actually gotten to see her seeing Steph alive again for the first time after War Games and gotten all the devastating emotional fallout of that. -they really should have done a Cass vs Jason storyline at this point, it's kinda ridiculous that they haven't. -Batgirl 2000 should have had a real ending and not just sort of fizzled out the way it did. -Bruce really does need to sort his fucking life out and admit he's basically been feeding her self-abuse, ruining her life and failing her as a father and mentor. -SHE NEEDS A GODDAMN SOLO BOOK AGAIN Five people that the character never fell in love with and why -Conner Kent, much as I think there's probably still some not entirely platonic feelings between them, I don't think anything could ever really come of it, that's why I like where they left off. -Tai'Darshan, because that whole plotline was stupid. -Rose Wilson. If you were to ask Cass she'd tell you it's because Rose is a punk ass bitch. -Zatanna. I know it's like the joke that every bat is at least a little bit in love with Z but Cass could never be with somebody cooler than she is. -Any of her brothers, no matter what people seem to think, because that's disgusting.

[solarbird]

Let’s talk a little about the recently-noticed hatred of in vitro fertilisation coming from Trump’s MAGA base, because while it’s being treated as new, it’s not actually new. It’s only recently risen back up to visibility – ahead, even, of their hatred of contraception – thanks to Trump’s success in overturning Roe v. Wade using his Republican-packed Supreme Court.

I’ve seen a lot of people publicly wonder why the Christofash are so against IVF, given that their whole procedure is about “more babies,” and they say they actually want “more [white] babies.” I’ve also seen people suggest that it’s solely about controlling women, and, well, of course that’s kind of true, because so very very much of what they do is about control over women.

But while there is some “separating procreation and sex is bad” thought out there – particularly amongst far-right Catholics – it’s actually far more consistent than that. At least, in its origins and early discussion.

It is, in fact, the direct result of them finding out more about IVF. They found out that multiple eggs are fertilised at once, with the most apparently healthy being implanted, and the others kept frozen. They then asked themselves a couple of… I hate to say it, but reasonable questions:

If every fertilised egg is a person, why doesn’t that apply in cases of destroyed fertilised eggs left over from IVF treatments? Why aren’t we condemning the destruction of human life that happens as part of IVF?

If you hold their professed beliefs – and some of them actually do – then the answer is obvious. They naturally then came to that obvious conclusion, one that’s entirely reasonable for those who have decided against all reason that a fertilised egg is in fact an actual whole person. They decided that yes, this is the same thing, it is a person, and no, IVF should not be allowed in its current form because yes, it is murder.

All of this is, again, nonsense. But it’s a rare bit of consistent nonsense from them, and you can see how it follows from a certain point of view.

And as they came to this conclusion – some decades ago now – they knew it would be impossible in the near term to even approach it, politically. Certainly not with Roe v. Wade the law of the land, which even to those with a focused interest in IVF was a far, far bigger issue to tackle.

Besides, the people involved in this – the Beverly LaHaye crowd were involved, but not just them – actually did empathise with people trying to have children. The goal, that was fine; the method, however, was not.

So they started a campaign to try to “save” what they started calling “snowflake babies.” It was a campaign, a recruitment effort to find volunteers who would have these leftover zygotes implanted, and then carry them to term as their own. Married heterosexual women only need apply, of course – their secondary worries about IVF included thoughts that it would somehow let THE HOMOSEXUALS have children, and they were, naturally, stridently opposed.

But honestly? If someone wants to get pregnant with a leftover IVF-fertilised egg, great! Go for it. I hate the whole “married heterosexual cisgendered women only” part of course, but the rest? It’s fine! Knock yourselves out.

At the time, it almost sounded like them trying to take positive action themselves for once, rather than just driving hate against others. I even allocated a little bit of hope that maybe it marked the beginning of a healthier trend.

Alas, it did not. But at that time, it couldn’t be ruled out.

Regardless, none of this ever went away. Bush II threw them a token amount of money in his first term to promote the idea, there are some small organisations still promoting “embryo adoption,” and the term “snowflake babies” still shows up once in a while.

Really, though, they see it as a stopgap, or even harm reduction. At its core, their fight is still to define every fertilised egg as a full human being with not just full rights, but more rights than anyone carrying it.

So those aren’t backup or redundant fertilised eggs, those are “snowflake babies,” and therefore cleaning the dish containing them is murder – no matter how many actual, real new parents and actual, real new children IVF procedures help create.

Accordingly, IVF must go, for the heartache of would-be parents pales to nothing next to the God-given inalienable rights of…

…a single frozen cell in a dish, which matters ever so impossibly more than any real child ever could matter to any of them.

Now you know how they got here, and you know that this isn’t a fad, and that it will not be something they easily give up. And since this whole line of thought is absolute batshittery to anyone not buried deep in the inner nooks and crannies of their bizarre cult, hopefully you have a better idea how to use this particular bullshit against them.

Good luck out there, and good hunting.

75 days remain.

[andreal831]

Hey, love your posts and I hope we aren’t annoying with all of these asks!

What are your thoughts on Alaric Saltzman?

Not annoying at all! I love asks. I'm probably going to post anyway so asks just give me a direction to start talking in!

Alaric Saltzman is one of those characters who would have benefitted from staying dead.

Throughout TVD

He comes onto the show as this really great character. He's one of the few humans who knows about the supernatural world and is able to protect the teens better because of it. I love that he really becomes a parental figure to Elena and Jeremy. This time in TVD was really peak. I loved him and Jenna. I thought the conflict between Jenna not knowing plus Isobel coming back was so interesting. I really wanted Jenna to survive as a vampire and get to see that play out. All and all, I really enjoyed his character.

The storyline with the Gilbert ring was really interesting too. And how Esther was tied into it before even entering the show. But to me he should have stayed dead after he died when Elena died. It didn't feel like his character was ever as necessary again or as good. And this is coming from someone who loves him and Jo. But the whole "turning human from being saved in the 'no magic' zone" just seemed to go against the rules of the show. If it was that easy, we would see so many more people doing it. Also why wouldn't they have done it for Elena who desperately wanted to be human? I know she does enter it to get her memories back but they didn't have a doctor with her trying to save her. It just feels like they would have tried it on more people. Or what about Caroline? I know the fandom likes her better as a vampire, but she didn't even get a chance to want to be human again. I digress.

Where he starts going downhill for me, is really after Jo's death. Which is kind of understandable, but he just never recovers. After Jo dies, he goes on a spiral to try and bring her back. Again, understandable given how he lost her and the babies. I even like how gentle he was with the soul they accidentally put into Jo. But he's not really helpful to the plot at this point. If anything, he is the reason everything with the phoenix stone happened. He asked 20 year old Bonnie to get invovled, knowing it was dark magic and knowing Bonnie's history with dark magic. He was willing to risk her sanity and safety to bring back Jo. He never even apologized for it at any point. I get he was desperate, but this just highlights the rest of his character throughout TVD and Legacies. He is constantly willing to do anything to keep himself safe. It's almost like he thinks less of supernatural creatures. Like they don't deserve his consideration.

This is shown with how he treats Caroline throughout the pregnancy and after the twins are born. The fact that he doesn't even really consider what sacrifice it is for Caroline. She puts her life on hold to have his children, risking her life, and then even more after they are born to help him raise them. And then when it gets too hard, he wants to take them away from her, claiming they were never hers. I get he wanted to get them out of harms way, but they are siphoner witches, they are inherently supernatural. He wanted to remove them completely from the supernatural world with no way to teach them. I also just try to block out any type of romantic relationship between Alaric and Caroline. This was clearly just forced by the writers to cause conflict. It was clear neither of them really were into it.

I feel like in the last season we get a little bit of early Alaric back. We get to see him working with students again. But again, this easily could have just gone to a new character.

Throughout TO

His role in TO made near no sense. I've said it before, and I know I've seen others talk about it. But it would have been great for Tyler to be invovled (I think he was dead already, but his death was pointless and shouldn't have happened). It could have been anyone helping Elijah and Marcel find the Hollow bone. It would have made more sense for it to be a supernatural being considering how important the mission was. Everyone makes fun of Matt for surviving, but seems to be okay with Alaric surviving as long as he did when he's actively putting himself in these situations.

The only reason he was brought onto TO was to talk about Legacies. Again, ignoring plot to promote the next project.

Throughout Legacies

Alaric taking over a magical boarding school has to be the dumbest plot throughout TVDU. How is everyone alright with two humans (him and Dorian) running a school for magical beings. Again, I have not seen Legacies, but I've been told that he puts misbehaved students in a prison world?? Also the fact that Hope nearly kills him. They needed to have a supernatural person running the school who, first knew what they were going through, and two had the ability to protect the students and the school. Alaric's protection was throwing his teenage students at the monsters and hoping for the best. It's sad because most of these kids are there because they don't have anyone looking out for them, so Alaric takes advantage of this. He was supposed to be the one looking out for them.

The fact that the fandom all agrees that Hayley, Elijah, and Klaus were killed in TO because they never would have let the plot of Legacies happen shows just how bad it was.

And every scene I see with Alaric talking to Hope is just him reminding Hope of who her father is. How is that helpful? Children are not their parents and behavior doesn't function that way. If anything, he had more influence over Hope than Klaus since he was with her throughout her life more. I get Alaric's anger against the Mikaelsons and specifically Klaus, but he was the one that lobbied for Hope to come to the school. He told Hayley he would protect her. It breaks my heart that Hope felt like she didn't have a piece of her mom because she was turning into her dad. But with Alaric telling her that every five minutes no wonder.

I will also never get over how he treated his children. I know Lizzie stans tend to hate Josie because of how she responded to Lizzie's mental health, but that's learned behavior. Josie is a teenager and we see (I think) throughout Legacies, that she and Lizzie get closer and do better. From one of the early episodes I did watch, I remember Alaric is outside training Hope (we never see him train his own children) and Josie comes out and makes a snide comment about Lizzie. Alaric doesn't correct it or anything. He just goes and calms Lizzie down. But how is Lizzie not on medication or seeing someone regularly. They have a witch counselor, but for the most part it doesn't seem to be helping her. I don't blame the students or Josie for not knowing how to handle Lizzie because it's clear that it is learned behavior from Alaric (and even Caroline) not knowing how to handle Lizzie.

Also, Matt Davis being the worst and yet JP et al. kept inviting him back?? It just shows how toxic the set was. I wish they would have overhauled and got a new creative team before Legacies to protect the cast, but that wasn't the networks priority. It's a big reason I don't stream anything in the TVDU or anything JP has worked on.

Thanks for the ask! Never feel bad for asking! If I don't have time, I'll just get to it later <3

[thagomizersshow]

I said a few days ago that I’d share my criticisms of Jurassic Park, so here goes. At its core, JP is a movie that has one message in the text and another in the subtext, and this all comes down to why of the park’s failure.

The film’s dialogue famously ascribes the failure of the park to hubris; don’t mess around in god’s play place (aka genetics) because you don’t know what will happen. Ian Malcolm’s "life finds a way” criticisms of the park are portrayed by the characters as correct. Malcolm even says that “he hates being right all the time.” It’s also worth mentioning that Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg have both been interviewed on the message of Jurassic Park, and they both said it is about the misuse of science, in agreement with Malcolm.

That is the text. This all-too-common sci-fi story about humanity meddling in the domain of the gods. Which, BY THE WAY, did not originate with Frankenstein as I said in one of my earliest videos. I’ll argue now that lumping Frankenstein in with JP and other “man’s hubris” stories is an oversimplification and possibly even a straight up misreading, but that’s a WHOLE ‘nother post.

Now, when we look at the events of the story, rather than the dialogue, a different message is revealed. Looking at the actions that actually lead to the failure of the park, it’s clear scientists failing to account for something has nothing to do with it.

Yes, the dinosaurs turn out to be breeding, but this has zero effect on the events of the film. Maybe if they had included the raptors changing sex, like they do in the novel, this argument would have a leg to stand on, but as the film exists the discovery of breeding dinosaurs makes no difference to the plot. You honestly could cut this scene out and the film wouldn’t miss a beat.

The real reason for the park’s fall is much more mundane: Hammond didn’t pay one of his workers enough.

Dennis Nedry is honestly one of the most disgusting portrayals of a “disgruntled employee” ever put to screen. He’s written to be the least sympathetic character possible; he’s messy, annoying, gluttonous, physically inept, and to top it all off, of course he’s fat, a trait most often given to characters who are either comic relief or villains. So, when he complains about not being paid well enough, the audience is already primed to think of him as unworthy of sympathy.

This in spite of his clearly incredible feat of automating the entire park single handed. Nedry’s decision after being fucked over by a multi-billion dollar company — like anyone with a backbone — is to try and fuck them right back. In this case, it was by stealing their shit, which may not have been the best choice (workplace organizing, man, c’mon), but I honestly can’t fault him for it. He deserved better than to be the audience’s hate sink, and we can put full blame on the writers and director for creating such a vile representation of a worker.

All this to say that the theme park’s failure, and all the deaths it caused, fall on John Hammond’s shoulders. Not because he “didn’t stop to think if he should.” Not because “life finds a way.” But because he treated a worker like shit who knew more about the thing they made than he did.

Now, finally, I want to address the fact that I’m not the first person to make a Marxist analysis of JP. In fact, Idea Channel made a video on this topic forever ago, and there are literal academic papers on this topic well worth reading. The point I want to make is not just that JP says something about capitalism, but that the subtextual message about capitalism is at odds with the textual message about the hubris of scientific advancement, AND this degrades the film’s quality massively in my eyes.

If Nedry was portrayed as sympathetic, if Hammond’s abuse wasn’t glossed over, if someone called Malcolm out on how he isn’t right all the time, then MAYBE this movie could be an actual good commentary on capitalism. But as it stands, it feels like it ignores the questions its own story brings up, and even worse, is really mean spirited towards fat people and workers who’ve been wronged.

As much as I love SO much about Jurassic Park, including acting, cinematography, effects, editing (honestly SUCH good editing), the script itself falls apart so badly at the seams I struggle to enjoy it the way I used to. This, combined with the fact the series has turned into a nostalgia driven sludge machine, and I just can’t bring myself to engage with this franchise in a positive way anymore. 

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

While my brain is on the topic: I genuinely cannot imagine a show like Quantum Leap being made and being what it was even ten years ago. And that is insane in the best way.

Hell, even five years ago feels possible, but like a stretch. Irl changes in actual rights are one thing:/ but I think it'd hard to overstate just how much the state of trans representation has changed, on every level, throughout the 2010s and early 2020s. Visibility isn't everything, but it truly does matter.

Like, this show has a nonbinary character, played by a nonbinary actor, in the main cast, and it's treated as the utterly normal thing it is. And Ian is not a side character brought in for brownie points with at most one character trait tops besides that. They're a genius and a clotheshorse and they're neurotic about Ziggy and too secretive sometimes and a workaholic and loyal and an alien true believer (apparently which. Honestly why NOT, this is a show where time travel and body swaps are canonically a reality. Aliens feel almost mundane in comparison) Ian is a person, not a PSA.

THAT, to me, is why, by the time the show does get around to its Big Damn Trans Episode it doesn't feel like "okay great time for Ian, or some one note trans character to get hate crimed to wring pity out of a clearly presumed cis audience because clearly nothing else will make you respect this poor unfortunate soul". It's not that feeling at ALL, even if Ian has an entire Moment talking about *spoilers* their past suicide attempt. Partly because they hired a trans writer who knew what she was doing, (that's the thing too!!! The fact that ANY trans writers are making it in should NOT be a big thing but unfortunately it is) and an actor with talent...but also the show itself had worked Ian organically into the cast, and the universe, without clearly resting the audiences entire presumed sympathy on that pain. It let us get to know them alongside the rest of the cast. Ian makes jokes about Ben exploring his gender while being in the body of a woman and nobody bats an eye.

Shows like Euphoria, whatever you want to say about it, just wouldn't have happened back when I was a kid. A trans lead character who's a romantic lead and played by an actress who's actually trans, not a cis man in drag who's praised for his Bravery for a Controversial role? And the show didn't immediately get axed after one season or less, and protested into oblivion?? And there are several others too!! Pose is so fucking good it honestly makes me sick, like we could and should have had shows like this ALL THE TIME. Even cartoons nowadays?? It feels like we're being spoiled even if it's really what should've been normal all the time, because I remember when it was a DESERT. And the tumbleweed would call passersby slurs. Like. I think if you did not grow up or see a lot of media from the 90s and even 2000s you DO NOT UNDERSTAND how bad it was. A nonbinary character much less one being treated seriously but as a human being in a show on NBC???? Most networks would've laughed that idea out of the office upon first pitch. Nevermind the question of if they would've been played by a cis man. Of course they fucking would've. More than likely anyway.

What we have now, even if there's a lot more that there could be, is something I genuinely cannot imagine ever getting greenlit this much even as far back as my childhood or young adulthood. Most trans characters if they even existed thru the 90s and even 2000s, were either playing outright into the Straight Cis Dude Got Trapped by the Eeeeevil Trans Villainess trope (who is not just a villainess for any actual wrong things she does, but specifically for Lying and Being Trans...which is given WAY more cinematic weight of disgust and outrage by the cast than her crimes lbr. Soap Dish, literally every other 90s comedy apparently for some fucking reason I'm looking at you fuckers) ...OR the Mentally Troubled villains of crime shows whose gender was mainly coding. They were well-meaning but poorly written side characters at best. And usually even those, were left unhappy and rejected, traumatized, or dead. Orange is the New Black at least let their trans woman survive and the depiction of her pain feels like it's coming from the right place. But that was still The one type of sympathetic portrayal you were likely to get. And I may not be trans, don't have my own skin in this game, but it's still so heartwarming to see. We've got to look for what good we can right now, and I'm so glad even this much has changed. It's for the best.

[thenixkat]

decided to pull up The OMAC Project to see what happened after Ted's death they threw his ass in the incinerator

writer said Ted got graphically shot in the head and then incinerated his ass is not coming back he's * dead*

this does not deter me from having Khaji Da go 'yer not allowed to die yet' at Ted and keep him alive, conscious, and heal him from the damage

(also the implications that Dan was conscious the entire time he was trapped underground and mortally wounded do help explain why he was fairly easy for the Scarab to overpower)

wild that Blue Beetle 2 and many of his nonsuper but hero associates are getting the meta-human label

they arent metahumans Brother Eye has Batman listed as his creator, which fiar Batman did make it. Tho I doubt that Brother Eye gets considered part of the Batfam

dont want to have to kill Batman…yet. ANd Brother Eye seems to be fine with that

granted given how it was firmly on Ted's side in the dark multiverse au when Ted went against Batman, it probably doesn't have much loyalty to its maker Overthrow and Rocket Red are two guys with high tech suits! They arent metahumans, you should make yer computer better with terminology to more accurately assess shit

unless Batman was over there labeling everyone in a costume as a metahuman

Sasha? apparently Batman's ex??? Took Ted's goggles to send a warning/message about what's going down. ANd i guess if Ted never got wrecked, she wouldnt have been able to get word out and the world would have been doomed

yeah other knight lady does have a point. Given the shit that went down in Countdown, who would have believed Ted if he told people what he found? Hell, yall could have just locked him up in yer fortress and tried to make him come around to the idea of being on yer side or brainwashed him. Killing Ted was unnecessary and messy and bad for morale

also Brother Eye is watching everyone at Checkmate. ANd yeah being constantly watched by a homicidal brainwashing boss would not be great for team unity or morale

folks seriously need to get on Batman's ass about the spy satellite

Booster got out of the hospital and Wonder Woman actually following up on what she was talking with Ted about now that she's not busy

ALso loved that Skeets was referred to as having been killed, being treated like a person who got murdered and not just a robot that got taken apart and used for parts

again, I am bothered that folks made a mystery involving Ted but didnt bring in Vic Sage/The Question who is also his friend and this shit would have been right up the man's alley

like do we even get an explanation for why Vic couldnt be here in this or Countdown other than the writers wanted Ted to be alone and forgot that he has close friends outside of Booster Gold?

Did no one who watched the skies for a living question Batman's spy satellite and what authorizations it had?

we also need to get on Black Canary, Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Hawkman, Green Arrow, and Zatanna's asses for deciding that brainwashing supervillains to 'not be evil anymore?' which is yikes! ANd double yikes for deciding to brainwash Batman to forget the incident when he caught them and had an issue with it. That;s not hero behavior. Like Batman deserves to get shit for the murderous spy satellite and the others need to get shit for mentally violating people

like everyone involved fucked up in this situation and in response to this situation

Batman, just cause you got mentally violated by a handful of superheroes doesnt mean you get to invade every superheroes' privacy at all times

people are rightfully pissed at Batman who does not apologize for violating everyone's privacy or his satellite being used to hospitalize Booster, destroy Ted's home and one of his Bugs, and lead to Ted's murder. Batman got hurt by a handful of people so its ok by his reasoning to fuck over everyone in the superhero community

and of course the actions of the satellite he built arent his fault if someone stole it to use it as intended more or less with all of its capable of killing people functions intact. Like…honestly Booster may have been onto something. Does Brother EYe have a death laser b/c Batman's plans to deal with any hero who crossed the line again were to straight up murder them?

yeah actually Batman had some info that he could have shared with Ted that could have been helpful in him not dying and chose not to give it b/c a desperate fellow hero asking for help wasnt worth his time. Batman had bigger things to worry about and didnt stop to question if maybe the cases were related. Unfortunately, Booster isnt allowed to shoot Batman. He should, I'd like it, but no not allowed

Booster hitting it out of the park. Batman is not going to admit he was wrong or that he got Ted killed and Batman wont be held responsible for any of the people his spy satellite endangers or kills even tho it is his fault

And Maxwell Lord does use the shit that was built into Brother Eye to kill people, like Batman why the fuck did you add a death laser to yer satellite in the first place? Max has Brother Eye activate an OMAC and murder Overthrow (one of Ted's villains) as a fucking distraction for the Justice League

Just Batman is at fault and could have stopped a lot of shit sooner, saved some lives, by coming forward with shit sooner At least Checkmate does attempt to murder Max b/c his Big Brother shit and murdering folks unnecessarily is a bit much

too bad it doesnt work out huh the secret society that spies on everyone and fingers in every pie and shit didnt know Maxwell Lord was a meta somehow. There's shit that should be on his medical records or ya know just fucking ask the League and they should have known. But no, they didnt know Max can mindcontrol/brainwash people and they're gonna die for their lack of knowledge

And Batman's internal monologue of no one understands and he had to violate everyone's privacy and not tell people shit. So yeah, Booster's right Batman is never going to take responsibility for all the people he endangered and got hurt or killed with teh Brother Eye shit. Max figures out Sasha is the mole

yeah yeah (mocking voice) Batman;s so bad ass you'll need multiple metahuman slaying robots to neutralize him b/c normal man in a cape is just so powerful so skilled so bad ass (/end mocking voice)