#and it would've probably started a civil war

[al-mayriti]

this is my most thinked about 'what if' honestly, my roman empire i fear

[angsttronaut]

Having no-one in Riverclan believe Frostpaw about Splashtail sure was A Choice

[localvillagecryptid]

Seeing as they clearly didn't know what the hell to do with Jinx/the political repercussions of her bombing the council in season 2, I'd like to explore the possibilities of how Zaun would've reacted to this that would've made way more sense than what we saw.

1. Jinx becomes an extremely controversial figure.

Few are neutral to her. This would be largely because, outside of knowing she blew up the council, no one actually knows WHY. What were her motives? Were they politically charged? Was she trying to start a war? What exactly was her goal? It was never really stated that she was infamous prior to this, but I recall in season 1 act 2 that when Vi went looking for her, people knew OF Jinx, and that she worked for Silco, but weren't really aware of any further details. So those that are aware of her connection to Silco- who objectively did make many of their lives worse with Shimmer- wouldn't be happy. They'd be scared of what will come next.

Those who don't know/don't care might fill in the blanks with their own guesses, maybe that she's some kind of activist- which would split them further into the subgroups of "Oh fuck the enforcers are gonna kill us and it's her fault" and "Finally, a war!" The second of which I'd argue would actually be a very small group. I could imagine the Jinxers being seen by the rest of Zaun as crazy radicals who don't know what they're getting themselves into/are gonna drag the rest of Zaun into danger. I think it would cause a LOT of infighting. Like a civil war inside another civil war.

How Jinx would handle this would be.... interesting. Especially if the Jinxers start making moves on their own. She never really shows much interest in activism- she works for Silco because he's her new dad, and while she doesn't seem to DISAGREE with his opinions, it doesn't seem she's all that invested in actually working to make it happen beyond just wanting to help her dad. His death seemed to take her interest with it.

Now, they could either lean into this, and make people question her motives/actions because of her clear disinterest, maybe increasing some of the controversy around her (no follow through on her action, letting Zaunites suffer the consequences, etc.), or they could make her actually take a genuine personal interest in it. But that, I think, would take a bigger arc that might be more work for arguably less payoff when considering you'd probably have to change a great deal of her character to do it, especially when you could probably achieve similar plot points/outcomes even without her intentionally becoming a political figurehead.

2. Zaun becomes fractured politically/other "symbols" of Zaun

This can be in tandem with idea 1, actually, but can still be it's own idea. Basically, after the fall of the council, and Silco's death, Zaunites are terrified. They've been run so far by Vander, Silco, and then some vague council-like oligarchy of Chem-Barons, who could be interpreted as functioning like very large gangs. The Chem-Barons have always been around, but with Silco's sudden death (and no one who was primed/expecting to replace him), this leaves a massive power vacuum that the Chem-Barons and smaller gangs are scrambling to come out on top of.

The fear of the unknown and the extreme instability would lead to people desperately throwing their lot in with whoever they think would be a better/less dangerous leader, and by extension, political symbol. Season 2 shows a bunch of new people joining the Firelights. In that case, I can imagine that before long, several new potential leaders surface, even if they didn't expect it. Namely, Ekko, Jinx, and Sevika.

Ekko because as I said, people were apparently coming to his base in droves. They don't tell us Jack shit about the Firelights besides the fact that A) Ekko leads them B) they don't fuck with Silco OR Piltover C) Piltover thinks they're terrorists and D) they look rad as fuck. That being said, considering Ekko's Everything, I think we can all gather a general picture of what the Firelights are about. Plus his cool tree would be a great symbol (@srslylini for the idea) of growth, healing, etc.

Sevika, because those that knew her as Silco's second might be hoping for some kind of stability with her. Even if they didn't like Silco, it's better the enemy you know and all that jazz. They'd feel safer with someone who at least seems to know what they're doing, even if Sevika herself has no interest in becoming a leader. I think some would just naturally gravitate towards who they see as "second in line". This could also be in connection to Jinx, as she could possibly been seen as someone who could "rein" Jinx in (again, most people don't actually KNOW Jinx, they just know OF her and that she worked for Silco and was volatile. Think how Finn referred to her as Silco's "attack dog").

Speaking of Jinx, she'd probably be treated similarly to idea 1. Extremely polarizing. Her followers would be seen as crazy, like she is. They'd be seen as warmongers and/or people who have no idea what they're getting themselves into. They'd basically be seen as the stereotypical "young rebels". The average Zaunite would see the average Jinxer as a young, angry, maybe idealistic radical who doesn't understand the cost of war. I'd argue that, again, they'd probably be the smallest and most controversial group just because most people don't necessarily WANT a war, even if they're willing to fight for it. And the suddenness of the bombing would've scared even some of the rebels who DO want war, because they weren't prepared. It wasn't a PLANNED attack, so both Zaun AND Piltover are basically caught with their pants down, which would also bring some ire from the other Zaunites.

There's another option for a faction I'd like to explore, also thanks to srslylini (thank you icon), but it takes a bit of setting up.

In a hypothetical situation in which Vi did NOT become an enforcer, I think it would happen like this: Vi hangs around in Piltover at first out of guilt/feeling like she has nowhere else to go. She's still not on board with being an enforcer, but she attends the memorial out of a sense of obligation. Her and Caitlyn have a falling out over Caitlyn calling Zaunites "animals", and here is where she storms off and goes back to Zaun, with the final words to Caitlyn that "You Pilties are all the fucking same" (or something to that effect). She's still feeling lost, and so maybe this is where she stumbles around, having maybe a similar pitfighting arc (just not as distraught, more like she's broke and angry and has to pay rent somehow so she might as well get paid to punch someone's face in). Because she's not in a massive spiral, there's unfortunately no emo arc (sad), but the bright side of this is that she's recognizable. I don't think she's FAMOUS, per say, but Babette and Ekko recognized her right off the bat in season 1 (yes you can say Ekko was really close to her, but Babette? C'mon), and considering she was older than Powder when she went off to prison, I don't think it's a stretch to assume her face was a little better-known than her sister's (especially considering she was already going on jobs, and in act 1 she gets into a fight with Deckard who I'm pretty sure knew her name, but not Powder's).

This is to say, I think a lot of the "old heads" knew who she was, especially those who liked Vander. It helps that she tattooed her name on her face LMAO. So I'd imagine she'd show up in the ring, no hair dye no makeup, and eventually after consistently knocking her opponents around and winning every time, she'd become a bit locally famous again- to the point that those same "old heads" who remember her make the connection and come looking. Maybe rumors start swirling, especially once they learn she was gone because she'd been in prison- not unheard of, and probably the first conclusion they drew when they realized she wasn't dead.

So eventually Vander's old followers/younger people who idolized him from their childhood start seeking her out. Sensationalizing her. Asking her what she's planning on doing. Is she taking back the Lanes? Will she get those Chem-Barons under control? What about Jinx? Could she hunt her down, rein her in? Hell, maybe even put her to use? Will you give us our relative safety, our security back?

And Vi, who just wanted to knock some heads around and maybe take a nap in her apartment and cry, is suddenly faced with being "Vander 2.0" and Jinx is the new "Silco 2.0" and all the weight of expectations and legacy and history and literal war and politics are being shoved in her face. She, like Jinx, is now faced with becoming a figurehead when she never wanted to be, which could lead into option 3:

3. A joint approach to Zaun

This would primarily be driven by Sevika even if she wasn't one of the possible leaders, because SOMEONE has to be the responsible adult here and it's certainly not any of these traumatized losers (affectionate). She'd be the glue to keep it all together, the reluctant team mom who WILL make this work because she WILL have Zaun even if she has to die to get it.

This could work with either Jinx and Vi, or Jinx, Vi, and Ekko (I genuinely can't imagine season 2 act 1 Ekko willingly teaming up with season 2 act 1 Jinx AND Sevika without some kind of buffer). Basically, once the other "leader candidates"/political symbols have been established, Sevika would round them up with the intention to use their influence to unite Zaun against Piltover. This would take a LOT of arguing, but ultimately I think she'd be able to get them to shut up and hear her out for a moment. Regardless of how different their beliefs are about what the "ideal Zaun" looks like, they can all agree that Piltover isn't in any of those pictures. She could convince them to set aside their own squabbling for the time being, for the greater good: aka, the independence of Zaun.

At the very least, I think she'd be able to get them to agree that Piltover coming down and hurting Zaunites in revenge shouldn't be ignored, and that they're currently a bigger threat than their fellow Zaunite. So eventually they'd reach some kind of truce: behave like a united front against Piltover, push them out of Zaun, stabilize Zaun, and then worry about tearing each other apart later. And because all of these characters- ALL of them- have shown (prior to season 2) anti-Piltover sentiments, they'd at least be able to agree that enforcers shouldn't be allowed to beat down on their people (especially in this version where Vi has better, more consistent writing lmao).

Of course, Rome wasn't built in a day, so maybe they don't reach a total agreement immediately- maybe they just agree to a ceasefire at first, but still refuse to work together. But once Caitlyn becomes a dictator? Once enforcers start gassing the streets, rounding people up, implementing martial law?

That's when the gloves would come off.

I'd imagine this could also be part of how Vi and Jinx slowly start to repair their relationship. They've got bigger fish to fry, but also, this time their enemy is connected to their own personal conflict with each other. Jinx might ask, "what happened to your enforcer girl? What happened to being a Piltie lapdog?" And Vi would essentially, in perhaps more emotionally constipated words, explain that it wasn't really about Caitlyn, it was about being needed. It was about trying to find Jinx, about trying to stop Silco, about trying to "fix" things, only realize that she couldn't. It was about trying to make things better, but that she realized the person she was trying to do that with didn't actually care. That all she wanted was to make sense of the destruction of her old life, and find meaning in a new one. And I think Jinx, too, in her own emotional constipation, would resonate with that, would understand that. It wouldn't fix things between them, but I think it'd be a start.

It could also help their relationship with Ekko. Since Vi isn't an enforcer this time, and season 1 (the One True Season) showed their sibling relationship, I think her and Ekko's bonding would be more like "reconnecting with an old friend", whereas Jinx and Ekko would have a lot of work to do, too. There'd probably be a bit of a cold war between them for a while, once Ekko agrees to help, because he knows actually talking to her would piss him off. But eventually, through Sevika's manhandling of these three, and being forced to make nice with reluctant-figurehead-Jinx, they'd connect again.

Perhaps part of a plan is for them to develop new technology for Zaun. Whether that's weapons against Piltover (unlikely on Ekko's part I think), or just safety gear/ safer city infrastructure ideas for the betterment of their people, I think eventually they'd figure themselves out, too. He'd see the Powder in her, the part he saw on that bridge, and maybe it would give him the ability to try and understand Jinx. And Jinx would realize that maybe these people in her life DO love her, DO care about her, more than just for what she used to be but for who she is now. And somewhere along the way, they'd be friends again (or they can date IDK or care man I just want them to stop trying to kill each other).

Whatever happens next is so wide in possibility that I can't possibly cover it here so this is where it ends, lol.

[abattre]

It's funny that we see Konoha get absolutely wrecked like 2 times in the series and no other villages take advantage of that defensive weakness to start a 4th war. Kiri literally had a civil war and even that didn't blow up into an international conflict. Like, realistically, if the Uchiha coup actually happened Konoha would've been fine. The clan wasn't even trying to take over the village, they just wanted to put pressure on Konoha's leadership to stop persecuting them and maybe stop the segregation and surveillance. So like,,, other than some internal restructuring there wouldn't have been much damage done to the village as an entity and the populace would've been largely unaffected. If the Uchiha did decide to kill anyone, they'd probably just target the council members and the village would've been better off anyway because Danzo and his lackeys were doing some truly wack shit behind closed doors.

All that to say,,, the idea that Itachi ‘saved the village’ by agreeing to the genocide of his clan is so stupid. Like Danzo probably knew that he and the rest of the council would be the only ones in any actual trouble when the Uchiha finally got sick of their treatment in the village, and he was so scared shitless of the clan his only resolution was to eliminate them entirely to save his ass from the consequences of his own actions. The only people who were ever in any real danger from the Uchiha were the people in power who were directly perpetuating their oppression and subjugation. Plus, I mean if another village did attack Konoha while this was going on, the Uchiha were by far the strongest clan there anyway; people used to literally just run away from them so they wouldn't have to fight against the Sharingan like they would've defended the place fine it's unlikely another war would've broken out from that.

[zelda-of-hyrule-tloz]

Some thoughts on Link's mother in Ocarina of Time:

In Ocarina of Time, we're told very little about Link's mother. All we know in-game is that, to escape the civil war, she escaped with an infant Link to the Kokiri Forest, gave her baby to the Deku Tree, and presumably died soon after.

If anyone could ride in and take shelter in the Kokiri Forest, how come she was the only one? How come the woods, specifically all the way to the Deku Tree, was her first thought? I don't believe many NPCs in Ocarina of Time refer to spirits (besides poes) much. Maybe everyone who would've known died, either in the war or during the coup?

Well, I think I have a slight idea.

We know the Kokiri do not leave the forest because, if they do, they "die." This either refers to becoming Stalfos or Skull Kid if one is lost in Lost Woods, or the fact they start to age if they go anywhere else. The Deku Tree's magic is what keeps them children forever, isn't it?

So, what if Link's mother was one of the Kokiri who left? She left the woods, grew up, and married a Hylian knight. Perhaps she even became one herself. When the war was at its peak, the only safe place she knew of left was one where death was null... And she wanted a safe childhood for Link.

(Not to mention, I'm pretty sure Link's mother becomes a tree in one of the Nintendo Power comics...? The German one?)

She definitely wasn't the first Kokiri to leave the woods, but she may just have been the last. Link doesn't seem to have any recent memory of something like that actually happening. Really, I imagine none of the Kokiri really understood what the warning of death meant until Link's mother returned. They finally saw her again after all that time, and she was different. Not only was she different, but her time ran out at the Deku Tree's roots. Though her growing up proved she truly lived, it was still cut short in only a matter of moments. Was it worth it? Did she think it was worth it? Maybe that's why Saria seems to be the most bittersweet about Link leaving. She probably allowed herself to understand what it meant.

All of this considered— Maybe the reason the Deku Sprout says Link isn't a Kokiri, but Hylian, is because he doesn't possess all of the same connection to magic and the forest? Because his mother gave up that life in the woods to become Hylian?

Still, it's quite funny to think of how this affects Link. Hyrule Historia isn't a reliable source for the lore whatsoever, but if OoT Link really is the Hero's Shade (I like to imagine he is), the reason he didn't stop growing until he died could be a Kokiri thing. Perhaps the only part of him that is "Kokiri" by then. Aging Kokiri still once were children of the Deku Tree, so maybe they always grow like one too. (I'm loving the idea that his mom was super tall now).

SORRY FOR THE RAMBLE I JUST COULD NOT GET THIS OUT OF MY HEAD!!! I'm probably missing some details somewhere, I'm sure, but I think this is the headcanon I'll lean towards for now. :)

[antianakin]

I've seen people make the argument that the Jedi "chose a side" in the Mandalorian Civil War by protecting Satine, presumably because Satine was a royal heir. While I understand this argument, I think it's flawed because there's never anything to indicate that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's actions have any actual impact on how the civil war ENDS.

In the episode "Voyage of Temptation," Obi-Wan's explanation to Anakin goes thusly: He and Qui-Gon spent a year on Mandalore, protecting Satine from people who wanted to kill her (he does call them insurgents, which indicates only HIS opinion of the situation, not necessarily the opinion of the Jedi Council at the time), they were always on the run from bounty hunters sent after them, the civil war killed most of the Mandalorians, and after Satine returned she appears to have taken over leadership in order to rebuild Mandalore post Civil War.

The way Obi-Wan talks about it almost implies that the civil war itself doesn't actually start until AFTER they went on the run with Satine. Not officially, at least. So then the implication is also that the Jedi stepped in just to protect a political leader's innocent child from people trying to kill her just because she happened to be related to the wrong guy. They probably weren't EXPECTING to be there for a year, they likely anticipated it being a few weeks to months at MOST for Satine's father to get the situation under control while his daughter was kept safe. But then the situation rapidly spiraled OUT of control and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan end up having to stay on Mandalore with Satine until the war ends.

But none of them seem to have ever taken part in the war, there's never any indication that they did. The fact that Satine was able to take over leadership immediately upon returning AFTER THE WAR WAS ALREADY OVER implies that her father's side had already won even though her father died in the process. Satine surviving doesn't change that and we can assume that if Satine had died, too, her father's supporters would've just put Bo-Katan (or the mysterious third Kryze sibling that was Korkie's unnamed parent) in charge instead. It went to Satine because she was the eldest surviving heir, that's it. If Satine's father's side had lost the war, Satine's survival wouldn't have been able to really change anything about that, she just would've ended up on the run for the rest of her life, probably. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan might've tried to get her off the planet at that point, but that would've depended on Satine herself and what she wanted to do, I imagine.

The Jedi did not take a side in the Mandalorian Civil War, because when they WENT to Mandalore in the first place, their only job was to protect an innocent girl from being killed while the situation was managed elsewhere and then got stuck protecting her when the war DID break out and Satine chose to take up leadership after her father's side won the war on their own. You certainly can't make an accurate claim that the COUNCIL took a side in the war and you can't even make a claim that Qui-Gon (and Obi-Wan as his apprentice I guess) took a side because none of their actions seem to have really impacted the actual outcome of the war and who won.

[pearblossomrain]

returning from the dead for a new point form race recap:

(what the fuck is happening at red bull??)

• actual generational fumble from red bull like a slow pitstop AND your exit lights aren't working? did the ex redbull second seat drivers actually curse the garage? also the hards. why were we on hards PLEASE. (though verstappen did at one point get a fastest lap on them which. what the fuck?)

• so. many. technical failures. brakes not working, dashes potentially coming off, drs button broken, THE ENTIRE BOARD JUST BREAKING??? at this point call a power outage like in testing....

• speaking of the colossal timings fuckup, i checked my app instead and russell's name kept getting restored to p2 and then inexplicably dropping to dead last then this repeated like 10 times 😭😭

• okay onto the actual Racing, INSANE weekend for haas? starting dead last and p14 but finishing p10 and p8 is actually mental. they have a really solid lineup this year tbh and their strategy team is apparently more competent than any top team (cough ferrari cough) 💀

• what the hell was sainz doing holy shit he was going to run everybody off the track? before any fans cry foul, sorry but if multiple drivers are saying you aren't giving them room then you might be the issue. that 3 place grid penalty was stupid though and he's already dnf-ed like. why is the fia kicking a dead horse???

• red bull what the fck 😭 this is some ferrari type of bad luck i'm not gonna lie like the exit lights breaking has probably occurred to the red garage during some tests. verstappen was hopping MAD with the already bad strategy holy shit. if i was christian horny i'd be scared ngl. but also YUKI TSUNODA POINTS!!! cook that second seat curse omg

• alpine points! gasly had an amazing weekend from qualis to checkered flag so now every single team has scored points this season which is nice. seeing ocon and gasly together at some point made me mildly terrified for a french civil war crash which. admittedly would have spiced up the race (which i love) but everyone was really close due to safety car so it would've been Total carnage.

• i only realized after the race that lawson collided into hulkenberg and stroll?? doesn't matter as much with hulk though because he was disqualified due to. skid block issues? geez that sounds familiar (what is up with the skid blocks?)

• confusing weekend for mercedes like on one hand russell finished where he started, getting a podium but his car sounded like it was falling apart. then antonelli got run off track though i don't think it affected him a lot because the strategy was already kind of fcked by the safety car. pity that his points finish streak is ended though 😭

• piastri was horrifically ahead of the entire pack like great for him but that fcking rocketship oh my god this is like the rb20 again. great drive though i can imagine it's really fun to be that far ahead of everyone 💀 honestly thought mclaren would fck up the strat but i remembered they only fumble when the drivers are next to each other. oops? also norris going over the grid box was hilarious when you see the way verstappen clocked it and then IMMEDIATELY tattled on the radio 😭😭 sometimes f1 feels like a bunch of kids trying to get first in a school festival contest.

• ferrari, oh, ferrari. i actually cannot tell if the new floor worked or not? yes they are faster than before (at least with similar pace to merc according to pundits) but car parts are apparently still flying off 😭 great job for hamilton getting up to p5 from p9 though and thank god the strategy wasn't completely fucked due to the well timed safety car. (which benefited nearly everyone, really) also great defending from leclerc to norris but the car is really no match for that rocketship. (which, they should really just admit is a good car. no shame in acknowledging that your car is good and props to the garage as well.)

new meme section for every race recap. this is the entire race for red bull.

there's definitely things i'm missing but tldr; great day for the midfield (just alpine and haas), horrific day for williams, soo close for ferrari, red bull and merc are a mixed bag.

[melishade]

Someone ask "if AOT cast are Cybertronian" i was wondering if the Warrior, Warrior Cadets, Willy and Lara as Cybertronian. what is there relationship with Megatronus/Megatron before the Civil War and do they join the Deception? 🤔

Pull out a long list of notes over this Survey Corps Cybertronian AU

Thank you @justawannabearchaeologist and @echoblaze5 for helping me with the ideas.

So I will quickly bulletpoint what the Warriors, Warrior Cadets, and Lara do within the context of this AU.

Lara is a Flyer and of noble birth, along with Willy. I'd imagine that they would've been part of the high council or close to it before Megatron kills Halogen and kick starts the war. Willy and Lara would try to remain neutral for the longest time to keep themselves alive.

Warrior Cadets: Falco is a Flyer. Gabi is a grounder. Udo and Zofia are also grounders. The four are part of the Decepticons because they associate the Autobots with oppression. Megatron does see them as nothing more than foot soldiers by the time they're active in the war.

Warriors: Zeke is a Maximal playing multiple sides. He cannot be trusted. Pieck and Porco are also animal based transformers with the Decepticons. And I believe I stated that Reiner was a grounder in the past. Bertholdt would probably be a cityformer like Trypticon...maybe Bertholdt would be Trypticon in this IDK. And Annie would be a rogue. Don't know if she would be a grounder or a flyer.

But a lot of the Warriors and Warrior Cadets would fall to the Decepticons first either because of the abuse suffered under the caste system or just conditioning and propaganda that reached really far into the war.

But how would this whole thing start?

So in the Aligned Continuity, the Quintessions invade Cybertron and successfully take it over, but Cybertron rises up, defeats the Quintessions. But the trauma was so bad that everyone's memories got wiped.

However, Erwin's father recorded information about the Quintession war and hid it because he noticed enough historical patterns to realize what was happening. They new government was going to suppress the information, and Erwin's father was taken away when he publicly tried to speak out. Erwin saw this in hiding, holding onto the information his father gave him, saw the people taking him away, and saw Sentinel Prime ordering people to burn any records of the Quintession invasion.

Erwin then decides to make a case against Sentinel Prime, trying to find the proof needed to expose Sentinel for burying what happened during the Quintesson War. Erwin ends up going to the Iacon Hall of Records, where he meets Orion and asks him about the Quintessons...but is stopped by Alpha Trion, who gets in the way of both of them and immediately tells Erwin to stop asking about the war. Erwin is about to press, but stops himself, realizing how all of this felt off, and immediately leaves the facility. Erwin does a little more digging and realizes that Sentinel Prime was just a figure head. A puppet of the system ran by the high council. Sentinel was only a Prime in name. Erwin started digging into records, files, photos, and realized that Sentinel Prime wasn't the enemy: it was Alpha Trion.

(Now some of you might be wondering "Why Alpha Trion?" "He's Optimus' Mentor!" "He's a good guy!" In TF1, maybe, but not in the Aligned Continuity. Alpha Trion in the Aligned/TFP can be described as negligent at best, secretive as neutral, and malicious as worse because of the Covenant of Primus and his Quill! It is argued that Alpha Trion either had the foresight of the future and made it happen, or chose to write that future into existence. Either way, the Prime was actively pulling strings in order to make the events in the Covenant happen, including letting Cybertron die. I don't care if it was some long convoluted way to get Optimus to Earth in order to defeat Unicron. The Cybertronian race was almost wiped out.)

But besides that, Erwin is veering off course away from Sentinel and focusing his attention on Alpha Trion. He finds out information about Alpha Trion like he's influencing the council's decision making and he's actively talked to Sentinel in the past. And whenever he talks to Mike and Hanji about it sounds like an absolute madman but the other two go along with it because they're afraid he'll try something if they don't.

Meanwhile, Levi, who is a triple changer (Because all Ackermans are triple changers here) who ends up in the gladiator arena in order to provide for Farlan and Isabel. Ends up getting a match with Megatronus and is persuaded to join the Decepticon movement. Yes, Levi as a Cybertronian would be a Decepticon first.

Also side note, a lot of the Survey Corp veterans would be the ones that were actively around prior to the Cybertronian War. The 104th and Warrior Cadets would either pop up at the very beginning of the war or in the middle of it.

By the time the council meeting happens and Orion gets confirmed to be a Prime, Erwin has his suspicions confirmed of Alpha Trion's involvement. But despite having it confirmed, he still joins the Autobots. Erwin's surface justification is that Megatron's credibility went out the window when he shot the council member. Because if he was willing to go that far to get what he wanted, then he wasn't worthy of being a Prime. In reality, he knows Megatron was sabotaged, he knows Orion was used, and he knows Alpha Trion had something to do with it. So he's making it his sole mission to figure out why. He's doing everything in his power to not be suspicious in Alpha Trion's eyes. And Mike and Hanji are slowly starting to become believers.

This is from Justa. These lines are not mine. I just thought to include it for fun.

Erwin: (optic twitching) You’re telling me no one knew Megatron was losing it until he went into those council chambers, he was able to hide it perfectly? And that his entire following just conveniently went with it, aside from Orion??? You can see what I’m getting at here.

Hanji: (sigh) The same thing you always get at?

Erwin: (using a ruler to slap a picture of Alpha Trion with a bunch of red arrows pointed at him and devil horns drawn on his head) THIS BEARDED FUCK-

Erwin is given his own division within the Autobots, which is technically the Survey Corps, and Erwin's methods are obviously still very questionable among the Autobot ranks. Some have even compared Erwin to a Decepticon, but Erwin's loyalties are too strong to really find any cracks. And instead of Erwin pulling Levi from the underground, he and the Survey Corps ends up capturing Levi, Farlan, and Isabel and bringing them to the Autobots. Which is definitely causing Optimus a headache at this point. But initially, Levi and co had no plans of betraying the Decepticons, but Levi couldn't help but notice that Megatron's methods were becoming rather sadistic, and his goals were starting to change. And exposure to the Autobots doesn't really help their case.

However, Levi ultimately ends up defecting from the Decepticons and joins the Autobots when Megatron kills Farlan and Isabel for their betrayal. Levi tries to take Megatron down himself but ultimately fails because Megatron is still the slightly more experienced fighter. But Levi swears vengeance.

Megatron walking away from Levi, wounded and bloodied.

Levi croaking: I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you! DO YOU HEAR ME MEGATRON?! ILL KILL YOU! YOURE GOING TO DIE!

Megatron:…save your breath, Autobot.

Now anytime Levi sees Megatron it's on sight.

Optimus: One shall stand, and one shall-!

Levi zooms past Optimus and tackles Megatron.

But also also, Erwin manages to trust Levi enough to get him completely onboard with his theory that Alpha Trion is pulling all the strings.

Levi when he gets looped into this: You mean to tell me all of this is because of that bearded fuck?!

Erwin: YES!

Levi: Farlan and Isabel died for Alpha Trion's fanfiction!

Hanji: Oh wow it was really easy to get Levi on board.

As for Armin, Eren, and Mikasa, they are all orphaned during the war. Mikasa is all alone while Armin and Eren are together. Eren lost his mom during the war while Armin lost his won parents and they've been staying together to survive, ultimately found by Optimus and the Autobots to be raised.

Eren: Bites Optimus.

Armin: Quietly reading.

Optimus:…We’re keeping them.

Ratchet: groans in defeat

Meanwhile, Mikasa ends up getting found by Megatron and she's holding a knife to defend herself. Megatron sees her will to survive and the fact that she's a triple changer and brings her back to the Decepticon base.

Soundwave: What is that?

Megatron holding Mikasa and an energon smoothie: A smoothie.

Soundwave: sighs in defeat.

She ends up defecting too it's gonna be great.

Now there's a lot more that I wouldn't mind talking about but I've been...going through it so the AOP Cybertronian AU will have to wait for the time being.

[thephoenixdescendant]

The way they designed Krytus' personality gives me the ick sometimes. They probably made him nerfed too much because it's a kids' show and they wanted it to be as child-friendly as possible. But If I were to rewrite him and make the show not for kids lol, Krytus would've been the most ruthless and the most cynical villain in the Hot Wheels franchise. And in the actual show, he is kinda dumb in some episodes which makes me go "Really? 🙄". At least make him smart and knowledgeable instead of being "All I know is anger and chaos! Brrrr....!" Not only that, he would've been smart asf in tactics and strategies. Mans has been in the warzone for millions of years, I'm sure he's able to predict and come up with stuff and knows things even Sage doesn't even know. The writers made his entire personality based on one emotion, and that if ofc Anger and he casually breeds out other horrible traits that just make him a big mess. At least give him a reason as to why he is the way he is... Like, why is Krytus so obsessed with ruling over the multiverse and destroying the balance? Why does he hate the blue sentient civilization? What made him all mad towards Sage from the beginning? Was he born this way? Was there a point in time when Krytus loved his sister and viewed her as an equal? Was Sage the reason why he started to hate her race? Was she partly responsible for the war? A million questions come into our minds and the show has no answer for those questions. (Unless they have and I haven't been paying attention or is mentioned in the movie. I couldn't find any and if you did, lemme know). The show made Sage the smart twin and Krytus the stupid twin lol. Krytus reimagined would be an evil charmer too. He isn't a loud person, like in the show, and he is this calm man where from his calmness you can tell he is seething from the inside. Knows how to smooth talk and get what he wants whenever he wants. He isn't someone who stupidly jumps into stuff and gets too prideful of himself to notice that he ain't strong or smart enough to handle certain situations. He is a very methodical villain. Knows things a little more than most, which makes him a worthy foe. He is as smart as his sister Sage and he is physically stronger than her meanwhile Sage is mentally stronger than him. (as mentioned in the show), which balances out their dynamics. And with this personality, I don't think he stupidly gives out a deal to Grimian because I headcanon him DESPISING the Vandals because they are not as efficient as he is. If anyone, he would've made a deal with Zemerick but he can't since Zemerick was his slave once and Zemerick wouldn't cooperate. Also, Krytus should've been much taller. At least 7 feet because why not? Makes him extra scary lol.

[broccwalker]

Putting my thoughts into a closed section because it contains major spoilers for the movie, but it's something I haven't been able to get off my mind since I saw it.

SPOILERS FOR TRANSFORMERS ONE BELOW

It's poetically ironic that one of the major factors that helped radicalize D-16 into the tyrant Megatron was Starscream.

While it's never shown in the movie itself, we know from countless other shows and movies that Starscream will eventually become just as duplicitous and treacherous as Sentinel Prime. It shows a kind of hypocrisy among the Decepticons that they formed specifically because of Sentinel Prime's deceit yet willingly allow Starscream to remain among them and, in some timelines, allow him to become their leader once more. This is because D-16 doesn't agree with them on policy or morals, beforehand he probably wouldn't have agreed with their whole "might makes right" shtick. He agrees with them and eventually becomes their leader because they play upon his wrath and need for vengeance.

I think this is exemplified by what he says about the Primes at the end of the movie and his reasoning for starting the civil war on Cybertron. Sentinel Prime was the only Prime to ever betray them and the other Primes don't seem to be nearly as tyrannical as him, Megatronnus Prime was even an inspiration to a younger D-16 yet he was also a Prime. They specifically chose Orion Pax due to his ability to inspire hope in the hopeless and because he cares about his fellow cybertronians. By all accounts, Optimus Prime would've been a great leader who could've helped Cybertron into a new Golden Age. However, Megatron is too hellbent on ridding anything related to the Primes thanks to his radicalization by Starscream and his cohorts.

The movie gives us a Megatron and Decepticons that can reasonably go from a group of plucky yet violent freedom fighters to a tyrannical regime. They have no goals or ideology, all they have is wrath and vengeance, so of course when they receive political power all they do is subjugate whoever they don't like. All they had to do was play upon D-16's strong emotions and want for justice while he was at his lowest and they received a leader who could manifest that.

[chakotaybodypillow]

Can we talk about how sinister it is that they made Chakotay marooned for 10 YEARS?!?!

I would've still been shocked and heartbroken over like 1-5 years 😰 but 10?!?

I'm sure it has something to do with aligning the time traveling to the plot, idk I kinda went braindead whenever they discussed it. I didn't wanna think about it too hard.

But man... longer than the time he was on voyager? The guy witnessed the genocide of his home planet, faced the horror of the cardassians as a maquis, went missing in the delta quadrant, lost like 95% of his maquis buddies, unintentionally started a civil war on an alien planet, lost his crew, was captured and imprisoned, went missing for ten years, losing the only organic companion he had, and after all that, he stayed true to his sense of duty 😭 not to mention he spent the majority of his life being emo. WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO MY POOKIE WOOKIE BABYGIRL PRINCESS QUEEN?!

This reminds me of that scene from one small step where he said the things that he wanted in life always took a back seat, he just wants to teach anthropology/ paleontology at the academy ☹️ and it seems like they're just fulfilling that statement. I seriously think about that a lot when it comes to him. It's one of the entire premises of the headcanon lore I've come up with for him. He has a very strong sense of duty and a strong desire to protect those around him, especially after what happened to Trebus. And some people say he's boring 😔 hes definitely not boring on paper. I'll tell you that much.

I loved prodigy s2, but this is probably my biggest and only gripe. I'm not a fan of the trope of bringing back legacy characters only to make them go through the most diabolical scenarios known to man lol. Let them be old and rest 😔 (I know that wouldn't make good storytelling, but I'd still want to see it more often)

This is what they looked like in the writers room formulating chakotays story lol

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Auto Erotic Assimilation" from season two is one of my least favorite episodes because it takes one of the queerest concepts in the series and makes it aggressively heterosexual. Aside from a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene with one male alien and a joke about Rick possibly contracting STDs from coal miners, most of the episode is a straight male power fantasy.

"Look at all the hot women with big boobs throwing themselves at Rick! He's the man! Unity's avatar is another alien lady with big boobs! Don't worry, folks--even if Rick talks to a man, he's really talking to HER! Don't you wish you were him, straight male viewer? Sexy alien orgies everywhere!"

The episode does have poignant moments and famously culminates with Rick's suicide attempt after reading Unity's final message, but a third of the plot is just a goofy teenage boy's fantasy. I watch it when I rewatch the entire series, but that's the only time I expose myself to that one.

When I saw screenshots from this episode that featured Unity, I thought "Oh God, not this again." Just let it stay in season two!

Admittedly, "Air Force Wong" handled Unity with more maturity. If this episode aired in season two or three, a bunch of sexy women probably would've mobbed Rick as soon as he stepped foot in Virginia. Here, the writers focused solely on the characters' relationships--not just Rick and Unity but Rick, President Curtis and Dr. Wong and their web of interactions.

I liked how Rick referred to Unity as "them," although he starts using "she" pronouns when she disconnects from the hivemind. This highlights one of my issues from the original episode: Unity is a hivemind, but she's also a hot, sexy alien babe who controls everybody, which are two opposing concepts. This seems like a backdoor way to make Rick's interactions Certified Hetero (which is probably what it was, to be honest.)

I also thought the resolution was unsatisfying. Unity's note at the end of "Auto Erotic Assimilation" makes it clear that she and Rick just make each other worse, but "Air Force Wong" implies that they should have stayed in touch. I was hoping Rick would get closure by ending it for good, but it seems like they're maintaining their distant but toxic connection.

I did like how the end of "Air Force Wong" parallels "Auto Erotic Assimilation." Rick heads back to the garage to drink, but instead of attempting suicide again, he decides to visit the president and put aside some of their differences. Like Dr. Wong says: it's a slow process, but he's changing!

Aside from that, I loved this episode. President Curtis was hilarious ("Civil war, baby!" is already one of my favorite season seven lines), and he's as petty as ever. In fact, he's so petty that he was willing to enslave the entire Earth just for a 100% approval rating. He makes Rick look calm and responsible!

As usual, Dr. Wong was the voice of reason. She could've been just a crowd-pleasing cameo, but she guided Rick through his interactions and helped him remain stable in the face of emotional turmoil. While she flirted with the president, she didn't lose herself in some unprofessional whirlwind romance.

After watching "Pickle Rick" in 2017, who would have thought that Rick would not only willingly see Dr. Wong every week but try to punch the president to protect her honor? I wondered if he had a crush on her, but nothing he said implied romantic feelings, so I think he just feels protective over her because he distrusts the president.

Likewise, we're getting glimpses of how Rick treats his family: apologizing to Summer, sticking up for Morty when President Curtis insults him (I half-expected Rick to ruin that by giving Morty shit, but he didn't.) Morty sticking up for himself was nice, although man, the writers are underusing him. I think the president had more lines in "Air Force Wong" than Morty's had in these entire three episodes. And Morty's name is in the title!

Otherwise, setting up Prime's return was great. We're probably going to have a slow drip as season seven builds to their next confrontation. It seems like most of the trailer scenes are from the first four episodes and maybe "Wet Kuat Amortican Summer," so who knows what's in store for the other five.

And I mean--the Unity scenes weren't bad. Most of my issues are holdovers from 2015, which the writers can't change now. I'd prefer not to revisit it again, though. That's like taking another trip to Gazorpazorp.

Then again, later seasons have been correcting earlier issues (Summer saying "Sorry, Rick, but your opinion means very little to me" is one of my favorites), so revisiting "Raising Gazorpazorp" with a feminist lens could be another middle finger to the dudebros who are crying for Roiland's return and howling as Ian Cardoni outpaces him.

[arlekinommpa]

corlys being a shit father isn't talked about enough

like even Daemon and Viserys who are both beloved characters get flack(rightfully so) for not treating their children well, but all of Corlys' actions are swept under the rug like???

first of all he tried to marry off his 12 year old daughter to a man she probably cant count up to his age, I understand it was a good opportunity to secure power to house Valeryon but that's a fucking baby??? they knew she was too young and told her that Viserys would have to wait for her to turn 14 before he beds her.

then he marries his gay son to a girl for the same reason knowing that his son will either "grow out of it" or just cheat on Rhaenyra and that with both scenarios he'd be unhappy. I'd run away too, bro was TIRED

then he just left his daughter to be groomed by a man known for being impulsive and violent who is also mind you around double her age which is an upgrade from Viserys but is it tho? like that dude legit took her to Essos with their children and refused to let her comeback to Westeros to visit her family, to be back in her homeland, and Corlys knew about this because Rhaenys mentioned it after Laena's death, so Laena must've expressed this to her parents through letters or something. (also I've seen someone legit argue that Laena A 15-16 YEAR OLD GIRL was not groomed by Daemon A 30-SOMETHING YEAR OLD because she initiated their first interaction and flirted with him first? how mental do you have to be bro...)

not only that but he also tried to pass off Rhaenyra's obvious bastards as Laenor's despite the fact that it was obvious disrespect to not only house Valeryon but to the Valyrian linage as a whole when he has two perfectly looking Valeryons (Baela and Rhaena) for bastards that look neither Valeryon or Targaryen. if he was as smart as the show runners are trying to tell us he is, he would know that Rhaenyra's bastards would cause another civil war in the future, that people would want a Targaryen looking heir to the throne (Aegon III, Viserys II or Jaehaera ) and a Valeryon looking heir to DriftMark (Baela, Rhaena or even Alyn)

he mentions that he is not suspicious but that he KNOWS Rhaenyra had a major hand in Laenor's "death" yet he jumps to her every beck and call like a lapdog ??? do you actually give a shit about your kids bro??? your son, your first born child, your heir to DriftMark, your legacy that you cant seem to shut the FUCK up about, the son that was used to legitimize Rhaenys' case as an heir to the iron throne in the first episode? your legacy was publicly disrespected by this woman and you're still on her side with little to no hesitation?

also I'm sick and tired of this "Corlys is an iconic male feminist icon, he wanted to be Rhaenys' king consort" bullshit, we all know damn well Corlys only wanted Rhaenys to take the iron throne so that he can have more power and boost up his legacy, if he was a feminist icon he could've named Baela heir to DriftMark instead of taking that bastard shit to his face, he wanted Lucerys to be DriftMark's heir because Luke is a male heir to Corlys' male heir. "but naming baela heir would mean that he'd publicly admit to the strong boys' illegitimacy" so? it would've been better than letting a bastard be your heir when he looks nothing like you. but Corlys doesn't care about his blood being his heir.

don't even get me started on Alyn and Adam

[camcat1320]

Civil War - North v. South

The Northerners travel to the Southern Water Tribe to help them rebuild. The Northerners do this in their style and fashion, disregarding the culture of the South. The Southerners feel as if their home is being invaded while the Northerners say they are uniting the tribes. This tension builds up until it reaches a boiling point.

Keep reading for an essay on my world building.

History

Since the start of the Hundred Year War, the Northern and Southern Water Tribes have been disconnected. With an entire century of separation, there would be many cultural differences between these two tribes.

The South

The South was heavily impacted by the war, having regular Fire Nation raids that decimated their waterbender population. This not only greatly diminished their defenses but also their culture and economy.

After Kya's death, the raids had ceased since the Southern Water Tribe was no longer seen as a threat by the Fire Nation. After two years of no raids, the men of the tribe decided to take an active approach and joined the war effort. This left the women of the tribe to not only rear children but also hunt and fish, tasks traditionally left for the men. This is why Sokka had sexist beliefs in the beginning while Katara had feminist views. The cultural shift happened during their childhoods and they were impacted differently.

The Southern Water Tribe was cut off from trade with the Northern Water Tribe and other nations. Without trade, their economy greatly diminished which left them impoverished.

The North

Due to the Northern Water Tribes isolationist policies, they were less impacted by the Hundred Year War. The structure of their tribe was much like a fortress, thus resistant to Fire Nation raids. Because of this, they were able to retain their waterbender population along with their culture and economy.

Over the century, their culture is able to develop and grow, surpassing that of their sister tribe. The culture aspects that may have changed can be anything from their clothing to architecture. Though they still retained their sexist traditions because they had no pressure to change.

Since the North had a self-sustaining economy, taking an isolationist approach to the war had little impact on it. This left the North with an abundance of wealth more so than the South.

Cultural Clash

Members of the Northern Water Tribe travel to the Southern Water Tribe to help with reconstruction. They have good intentions but when cultural differences collide, sparks will fly.

The Northerners view the Southerners as poor and uneducated, leading the Northerners to come in with a savior mentality. They reconstruct the South in their style, making it into a replica of the North. With this, the Northerners are being culturally insensitive which fuels the Southerners distaste for them.

The Southerners will view the Northerners as pompous elitists who are invading and dictating what they ought to do. On top of it, the Northerners have the waterbenders which allows them to hold more power over the Southerners.

(Dang, I was just looking at the Water Tribes in the show but this is starting to feel a lot like U.S. history as I write this.)

Natural Resources

Why was the Fire Nation interested in the Southern Water Tribe anyways? Despite the raids, the Fire Nation did not establish any colonies there. I get that it's cold so it's probably not a place anyone wants to live. Now if the Avatar would've died, the next Avatar would've been born to the Water Tribes, but which one they couldn't be sure of. The Fire Nation only reduced the chances of the next Avatar being born in the South but couldn't do the same for the North. I think there was another reason why the Fire Nation was interested in the Southern Water Tribe - oil.

I believe the Fire Nation had established an oil well or wells which they used to fuel their war machine. Fire Nation machinery utilizes gears which need to be lubricated with oil to function properly.

In Canada, there are natural oil leakages and tar sands which the Inuit used to seal their canoes amongst other things.

If someone of the Southern Water Tribe were to reveal the location of this natural resource deposit, the Fire Nation would take advantage of this for their benefit. And since the Fire Nation is the most technologically advanced, they would have the capabilities of drilling the oil.

After the Hundred Year War

Now with Zuko as the Firelord, he had ordered the immediate withdrawal of his forces to return to the Fire Nation. However, in doing so, the oil wells were abandoned, left without regular maintenance and without plugging them. This would lead to oil leakages that would negatively impact the local environment, thus angering the spirits.

When the Northerners discover the oil wells, they see an opportunity for themselves. They intend to gain the land rights to the South so they may have access to the oil. This would give them an advantage in trade with the other nations, increasing their wealth. Before the thought of war, the Northerners would first use political avenues to obtain the land rights. Though they wouldn't be forthcoming about their plans for the South.

Hahn was engaged to Princess Yue before her untimely death (or spiritual ascension). As Chief Arnook has no other heirs, he takes Hahn under his wing and makes Hahn his chosen heir. Since Katara is the chief's daughter, she holds political significance in her tribe.

To unify the Water Tribes, an arranged political marriage would be proposed to Chief Hakoda which he contemplates on. Hakoda only wants what's best for Katara and his people. With reunification, the South could have a large injection of funds which would boost their economy. Not only that, Hakoda would be ensuring the safety and well-being of his daughter with a marriage to a strapping young man. Where are the downsides?

When the arranged marriage falls out and the secret oil plans are spilled, the North would see no other choice but to go to war over it.

After the Civil War

After the Civil War is stopped, the Southern Water Tribe is left to deal with the oil wells. Do they plug them to prevent more leaks or do they own and operate them themselves?

Aang would advocate for plugging them to prevent angering the spirits more. It would also be a return to normalcy, the way things were prior to the Hundred Year War.

Katara, on the other hand, would advocate for the Southern Water Tribe to trade the oil themself. While the oil wells were properly operated and maintained, there were no leaks according to the log book. The spirits had only recently become enraged when the oil wells were abandoned and leaked into the local environment.

By trading the oil, the Southern Water Tribe could boost their economy. If they don't take advantage of it, someone else may try to take it for themselves. If they traded it, then people can get their hands on the resource without needing to take it by force.

Writing Arcs

In this chapter, Katara would struggle with tradition vs. change. Not only does her home look entirely different but her father also has a girlfriend. Everything is changing around her but she just wants it all to stay the same. In the end, she'll learn that change is sometimes good. When Aang would object to her idea of keeping the wells open, Katara would respond with, "I understand that change can be scary but sometimes, change can also be good." This is when Katara earns her title of ambassador.

The idea of good coming from change would be an overarching theme throughout Book 4. Picture it- transnational marriages, marriages between people of different national origins. That is definitely a big change that can have positive impacts on the world.

[luckytohavebucky]

Why Bucky Must Be Neurodivergent Anymore

Clearly Bucky has changed from before, and while part of that may have to do with his "training" and having been "sheltered", being neurodivergent myself (autism and adhd) I definitely notice indicators that something else is going on with Bucky's relatively different personality these days; and that something appears to be neurodivergence, as I elaborate on further below...

Point 1: Bucky has started to experience sensory extremes.

When Bucky attempts to stop the Lucky Cat's waving arm while on his date with Lea in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier I find it highly relateable; I also can't stand things wobbling or rocking in front of me and can even get irritated with whatever has been doing that as if it was purposeful, just like Bucky in that scene, and Bucky seems to be more sensitive to smells and lights, like when Bucky, Sam, and Zemo arrive in Madripoor in the above mentioned show, of course that smell the latter mentions bothers everybody, but Bucky seems particularly troubled by it; it's all he can do to get past that uncomfortableness, and there's the scene where Sam has to consume the snake galbladder drink, which I know Bucky has a higher sensitivity to animal suffering even if that's only been implied (seeing as I know Bucky, obviously, and it is after all typical of ISFP types anyway, also I know the dnake is already dead, but it's the waste that's a problem too), but Bucky does also seem to have trouble with the smell and sound involved; his expression indicates that he's trying hard not to lose his lunch, so to say, and there are indicators further back such as when Bucky is in that holding cell in Germany during Captain America Civil War and the lights are raised; Bucky's albeit relatively subtle reaction still potentially indicates that he's affected by the change in a way most neurotypical individuals wouldn't be, then there's the positive range, which in Bucky's case is no better shown than when he's riding a motorcycle; Bucky loves the feeling of that vehicle (and if Bucky thought of such things that would override any negative association he had with) so of course it's his favourite form of transportation and why he utilises it as often as he does.

Point 2: Bucky stims now.

While it certainly isn't like unheard of for neurotypicals to stim, Bucky never did so before, and even if he did the amount and overall contexts in which Bucky stims nowadays would've increased, and examples of Bucky stimming include (yet are not necessarily limited to): pursing his lips, licking his lips, running his fingers along his thumb (which I do a lot), sighing heavily (also highly relateable), tapping his foot/leg up and down (yep), and nodding somewhat excessively (ditto), so, yeah, obviously Bucky is having to find ways anymore to avoid getting too overwhelmed at times, and the reason for that probably is his neurodivergence.

Point 3: Bucky can no longer fake a proper smile.

Something else I definitely relate to is that Bucky can't really smile on command (at least not without it being rather awkward) unlike where neurotypicals can often "fake it 'til they make it" ('though as an empath and INFP I can always tell if it's genuine, just like, for the record); that's mostly not possible with neurodivergents, and in that case anyway, Bucky is no exception.

Point 4: Bucky makes "inappropriate" eye contact anymore.

Bucky has apparently lost the ability to guage how much/often he should look at people, doing so either too much or not enough; he also gets uncomfortable making eye contact under certain circumstances, yet another potential indicator of neurodivergence that I'm "guilty" of too.

Point 5: Bucky sometimes goes non-verbal.

The relating to continues with the fact that, when Bucky is faced with a particularly stressful situation such as when Isaiah and Sam yelled at him concerning the former's history, Bucky can "shut down"; in the example given Bucky tries to say something at 1st but is clearly very uncomfortable, especially after Sam confronts him, only really being able to try and explain things when the mood is shifted around after that bigoted cop shows up.

Point 6: Bucky was traumatised.

So, none of this would even matter if it wasn't possible for Bucky to have become neurodivergent to begin with, however, there is in fact something called acquired neurodivergence, which basically works as follows: If someone is left in a prolonged stress where they're unable to find any outlet/means of escape, the only way to avoid a complete nervous breakdown is for the brain to actually adjust itself to (somewhat ironically) handle that extreme stress even as some things can be made more difficult (such as with negatively interpreted sensory stimuli), and I mean... I can't think of anybody else who's fit that criteria quite so well as Bucky, but of course it doesn't work the other way 'round, so even after Bucky finally escaped Hydra's clutches at the end of Captain America The Winter Soldier (thanks in no small part to Steve, for which he has my utmost, undying gratitude) Bucky's continued to have that adjustment, which Bucky has had to try and get used to because he's remembered what it was like being neurotypical.

Point 7: Steve treated Bucky differently after.

Now, what I mean by this is that, along with knowing Bucky anyway, even though Steve is sensing he's still (like Bucky) perceptive of other's emotions and how they interpret their personal environment, so he well understood that Bucky was perceiving things differently around the events of Captain America Civil War even after Bucky fully remembered Steve; this led him to approach and talk to Bucky in a manner Steve hadn't exactly before but which he realised would be preferable to Bucky, and that continued on through to the end (no pun intended) of Avengers Endgame, which, I've had individuals do this with me, but it's refreshing that there are neurotypicals who try to understand and are respectul of the different processing of neurodivergents, whether or not Steve was completely aware of why Bucky had changed in that respect (and even though I know people who don't do this, such as Sam, can still mean well).

Conclusion: There are other indicators such as Bucky seeming a bit selfish or being "immature" every so often, not to mention people "clocking" Bucky as a "weirdo" (and the relatability continues) just to add a few ranges, but the points chosen are I feel the best examples along with proof that it can happen, and even though Bucky isn't gonna seek a diagnosis, like, I'm confident anyway that neurodivergence is the cause of these changes in Bucky.

[nkn0va]

After reading that one izanami post i was wondering if you could do other bb girls reacting to an unplanned pregnancy? Possibly noel kokonoe and tsubaki?

And this request takes the title of taking the longest to write due to various unfortunate circumstances...

-Chances are the...act that lead up to such a thing happened because you couldn't help but notice her severe lack of self confidence, especially in her body. One thing lead to another and it ended up happening as a more direct way of assuring her that you did indeed find her attractive.

-However in the heat of the moment neither of you remembered the potential consequences, nor the protection for such consequences. The two of you had to find out the hard way. As soon as the test comes back positive Noel especially is just stunned, not knowing what on Earth to be thinking right now.

-Truthfully, she'd always wanted to be a mother deep down and do for a child what her parents did for her when she had nothing, but at the same time now that it's actually about to happen she's probably having a breakdown.

-She has no idea what to do with a child when it eventually comes, she's far too busy with her job in the NOL. And god forbid Major Kisaragi finds out the reason she suddenly has to go on leave.

-At least you have the excuse to finally not have to worry every day about needing to eat Noel's cooking or deflect it as believably as possible and get her to rest. You can finally take the reigns for once in that department.

-The news is received to...mixed responses. Makoto is thrilled, already getting ideas of being the 'fun aunt'. Mai's somewhat in the same boat but also slightly worried for you two. Tsubaki has some very choice words for you. If she wasn't already close friends with you she would've probably landed you in the ICU, best case scenario. After she gets over her initial shock and rage she can finally calm down and take the situation for what it is. She's not a fan of abortion so this is something everyone has to deal with now.

-As excited as Noel is about the prospect of a child, she's also extremely nervous. She doesn't want to mess this up. It only gets worse the closer to birth she gets, you're gonna need to spend a lot of time reassuring her.

-When the time does finally come and she hears her child's first cries, holding them in her arms, she very quickly breaks down into tears, and in that moment she knows she wants to be a mom.

-Kokonoe doesn't really pay attention to...those particular base urges of hers. At least she didn't until you started dating. That's when she finally started having those intrusive thoughts.

-Normally that wouldn't be a bad thing, but this is Kokonoe we're talking about. She shows absolutely zero restraint in those intrusive thoughts 90 percent of the time so you were pretty much doomed from the start. Or blessed, depending on your perception.

-Shortly after your night together she starts getting sick in a way she never had before, none of it made any sense to her. It was only when started running checks on herself she realized what happened.

-Well this is just fucking great.

-This was seriously the last thing she needed right now. She was caught up in trying to contain Azrael all the while dealing with the Civil War. She didn't need a damn child on top of that. As much as she wants to just abort and get it done with, she just...can't seem to muster up the will to do it, and that's still without you expressing your want to raise a kid with her. She soon begrudgingly resigns to her fate and lets it happen.

-If you think her chocolate addiction is bad normally, you haven't seen shit yet. She is going through the stuff by the bucket while pregnant when she has her way. If you're smart about it though you can leverage this fact and bribe her to eat normal, healthy food for both her and the baby's sake.

-The actual pregnancy itself doesn't really affect much outside of that. She almost never went out anyway and she has non-in-person ways of ordering people around so they're left in the dark about it.

-She is cursing you and squeezing your hand in active malice during the birthing process. Given her beastkin strength, you've got several bones in there cracked now. At least Sector Seven's medical care is top notch so you recover in record time.

-You're gonna have to take primary care of the kid, Kokonoe is already busy enough as is dealing with all the shit she has to deal with. That doesn't mean she doesn't want to, though.

-Deep down, she does wanna care for the kid, she knows what it's like to not have parents in her life and she doesn't want her own child to have to endure that. Out of care but also out of spite to be a better parent than Jubei was. She has no idea what she's doing and she acts like she isn't trying but she really is doing her best despite her complete and utter lack of experience. She just hides it behind the the apathetic, impatient mask. When no one's watching she's researching every childcare related topic she can so that she can give them a better life than she had, but she'll never let you know.

-The chances of such a prim, proper, chaste girl like Tsubaki getting pregnant by accident is very slim. The only real way this is happening is if you're already married to her and she gets curious about the act. She'd never even heard of it until embarrassingly late in life and it was only when she entered the military academy and overheard fellow classmates talking about it.

-However as smart as she is, she forgot about the concept of protection in the heat of the moment. An uncharacteristic mistake on her part which she soon found out the hard way, causing her brain to basically shut off as she stares down at the test.

-On one hand this was always what she's wanted. To settle down, marry, and start a family. She was looking forward to it ever since she fell for you. On the other hand, the weight of what that really was finally started to set in now that it was about to happen. Being wholly responsible for the health and wellbeing of an entire person that depended on her for basic survival was now starting to really mean something for her. You're gonna have to snap her out of this and reassure her that everything will be fine as long as you two tackle it as a team.

-Similarly to Kokonoe, her love for chocolate only grows more pronounced during pregnancy, though she does at least realize she can't live off it. She's much more mature about it. She'll try to hold back most of the time, though try is sometimes the keyword. It's pretty cute in all honesty.

-All her friends soon inevitably find out and most of them are thrilled. Jin much less so, but it's Jin. He still wishes you well, though not without threats of freezing you to a popsicle if you screw this up. You already got that when you married Tsubaki though, so no big deal mostly.

-The moment you confirm the baby's gender she immediately starts the name brainstorming, her excitement is infectious. She definitely steers towards more traditional names in her preferences, mostly Japanese but a foreign name can definitely catch her interest if it's meaning really speaks to her values.

-Tsubaki is basically the model mother every mom wishes to be. She's devoted, understanding, caring, and has an endless amount of love to give. She can finally give all that love to an offspring like she's always wanted, and she'll make sure her child is never lonely like she was growing up.

-Of course though, part of that includes the child having siblings...she'll go as far as you want to with that. At least one more, but other than that she has no particular preferences herself. The more the better in her opinion but she does also want to respect your wishes since you might not be as excited as her. If you somehow are she only falls even more in love.