#he doesn't have THAT much brain power. remember. he needs his fix.

[wu-kongs]

Macaque creates a fake eye that is a 100% replica. He accounts for looks, smell, texture, even the traces of magic that comes from two celestial monkeys constantly handling it. He evens hides it in his most elaborate protection yet, and fights bitterly for the eye when wukong comes to get it to complete the masquerade. It's days of work, He's sure that this will finally be the end.

Not sure if it's funnier if wukong comes back after an hour because he KNOWS this is not his eye, or if macaque screws himself over because it's been three weeks and he hasn't made a grab for the eye since then

LMFAO macaque finally winning But At What Cost

now wukong isn't chasing him anymore. now he doesn't have open and near-constant access to wukong.

what has he done?

[tojivu]

love, kisses & croissants ⋆ naoya zenin

an. naoya you've infiltrated my brain.... ib the song where the lyrics go "i love you i love you i love you"

cw. sfw. naoya is kind of an asshole. gn!reader, but not proofread so please lmk any gender references if i made any.

playing. because she goes by the 1975.

naoya zenin would press kisses onto the soft, supple skin of your cheek as soon as he wakes. no good morning, no stretch — he reaches and bends from where he is to let his lips latch onto you.

two kisses later and he's finally greeting you, whether you're awake or not.

"morning." his voice is raspy, throat dry from the cold air of the bedroom you two shared. he brings his fingers to brush the stray hairs away from your face.

how naoya loves your expression when you sleep: an overwhelming need to hold and kiss you, make you feel as comfortable as possible so you can continue your slumber — how he finds you prettiest when you're unaware of it.

your eyelids flutter as the sunlight seeping in through the curtains sting; a long exhale leaves your lungs and you find yourself inching closer to naoya — who was warm amidst the temperature of the room.

he lays face up, shirt nowhere to be found (as usual). your husband was always one to show off even when sleeping — you're able to feel his skin graze your fingertips, some spots more prominent than others due to scarring: you've memorised the position of each and every one of them on his body.

"morning, naoya." you smile lazily at the man under your touch. he doesn't smile back, but you think the way his arm pulls you closer says everything his face doesn't.

naoya zenin was a puzzle, most days — it took you a long time before you could even touch him without earning a complaint or an irritated expression.

"stop touching me." a grunt and an eye roll, every single time.

it was the night after your wedding. you remember it vividly, the order of events engrained into your mind and heart. you never want to forget the hour that naoya let you love him.

it wasn't much, and you think if you told anyone that they might laugh in your face: most couples would scoff and say that the first kiss should have happened long before the knot was tied.

you think you would've gone the whole marriage without any touching. before the ceremony, naoya would only let you hold his hands or fix his tie — mundane things that held no passion — or maybe very little, not enough to remind you both you were to be married.

it was naoya who pulled you in that night, hands on your hips as he pressed his lips onto yours. it's inexperienced, and you want to giggle but you know you can't (due to the crowd and family attending the ceremony). it would be much too embarrassing for your husband.

when he pulls away, his lips are glossy and his eyes are enlarged — as if he's never experienced this feeling before.

it's just then that naoya zenin realises he loves kissing you. the feeling of your lips so close to his skin, the feeling of laying on clouds when he tastes your favourite lip balm. the feeling of you.

he felt embarrassed that his clan witnessed such a thing. naoya's weak in the knees in front of you, someone who was nowhere near his power or authority. he finds it annoying just how much control you have over him, but he thinks it's okay — for now — as long as you don't betray him.

he hopes you don't.

naoya doesn't bother saying a word in the morning, only kissing you where he feels you need to be — your forehead, wrist, cheek, lips, jaw, neck.

the small discovery he made on the night you two got married had his mornings set for life: a kiss as soon as he woke, a gentle 'morning' followed by another kiss. he's hooked.

sometimes he returns all bloodied from brawls: wounded but still the victor, dragging himself into the home he shares with you (and the servants he keeps around) — naoya appreciates your warm embrace and the soft kisses you pepper on his face. you complain about how he smells like metal, but you hold him anyway.

"[name]," naoya snaps you out of your reminiscing-like daydream. "we should go out for breakfast today."

you roll your eyes at the fact that this is what your husband stopped your trip down memory lane for.

"we have chefs for a reason, naoya." you remind him, as if he doesn't know that already — he orders them around almost all the time, mostly due to your random cravings.

"i know."

"then?" you ask, "i thought you hated being around random people."

"i don't like being around lowlives," he clarifies. "but we could spend some time together. if you want."

"if i want?" you giggle, poking at his cheeks. this would've gotten you killed if you were with the naoya you knew all those years ago. "i didn't know you cared about what i want."

"don't act like that." naoya's grip around your waist tightens, your stomach pressing against the side of his abdomen. "just say yes or no. i'm a very busy man."

"are you making space for me in your tight schedule, busy naoya?" you tease. his ears burn a bright shade of red, and he tuts. "i'm feeling really special. you're so good to me."

"cause you are," naoya admits. how vulnerable he seemed that it made him feel like throwing up. "[name]."

naoya zenin was a puzzle, yes, but you think he's gotten easier to solve by now. a kiss and some praise and he's all set, sarcastic or not — whatever you say has him weak in the knees. it's almost scary how much power you hold.

"i love you, my busy man," your hands cup his cheeks and turn his head towards you, and you press a quick kiss onto his lips. "i'm thinking about croissants."

you earn a flustered naoya, cheeks reddened and eyebrows furrowed to hide his crystal clear expression. he was starting to feel his heart pound.

"we can get croissants. i know a good place."

"it's probably expensive, then." you roll your eyes.

"who do you think i am?"

"my dearest husband." you flirt. it hurts to be so cheesy this early in the morning, but you think it's okay because it's got naoya blushing like a tomato.

he doesn't say anything. naoya is fighting the deafening sound of his heartbeat in his ears and the electricity he feels flowing through his veins, along with the smile creeping up on his face.

"i love you," he replies a minute later.

"i never knew you were a romantic, naoya."

"i love you," he repeats, as if you're losing your hearing. "i love you."

the words flow like water. it's a disgusting phrase he never thought he'd utter, but here he is — repeating it like a prayer to you.

"i heard you the first time." you giggle again, running your fingers through his hair. "loud and clear."

"i love you, [name]," he mumbles as his eyes get gentler by the second, his gaze softening the more you play with his locks. he thinks he'll fall back asleep any moment now. "i love you so much."

"i know, naoya," you assure him, head drawing closer to his to peck his forehead. "and i love you more."

"you can beat me in very little things, [name]." naoya replies, eyes blinking slowly at yours. "this isn't included."

"i beat you at wii that one time. you're terrible at wii golf."

"i play real golf," he scoffs. "not in some video game for children. it's harder in real life."

"such a sore loser."

you suppose you're a sore loser, too. you'd never be able to beat him at the 'i love you' game — he'd never let you — but that didn't mean you couldn't try.

you've got plenty of time, anyway.

041223 — Bue i'm gonna cry this is so ?!??? idk what this even IS

[y-rhywbeth2]

Karlach and Durge's relationship has fun elements that I, for some reason, started thinking on this morning.

Aside from some similarities (the offspring/descendent of powerful beings of the lower planes, whose kind are brought into existence as pawns/displays of power; were given basically no choice about serving their evil relative; who are/were made into living weapons; and the homicidal rages they need to keep under control (and as Zariel is known for her seething homicidal rage, Karlach could actually have inherited it the way Durge gets it from Bhaal))

There's that delightful 'I can fix them' mentality Karlach is bringing to the relationship. Always a good sign. We learned nothing from the Gortash shenanigans.

She talks about getting Durge psychiatric help when they get the city and, while that's a nice sentiment (and I assume she's actually talking about clerical healing at a fully staffed temple or something), I do remember what Faerûn's 'asylums' ('howling keeps') are like, and being locked up in a cell forever (at best) does not strike me as a good time. I just picture Durge hearing that, thinking of how people handle the dangerously 'crazed-witted' and getting ready to bolt. No nope nope no.

Speaking of Gortash: assuming Durge's handwriting hasn't been fundamentally altered by the TBI, they're going to recognise themselves praising the evil genius that is the guy who sold their new friend/lover to slavery in Hell and then have to look Karlach in the eye.

Then there's issue that is Gortash and Durge vs Durge and Karlach vs Gortash and Karlach's relationships. Even though Gortash is projecting and doesn't think there is an issue. 'That was literally a month-to-a-decade ago, why are you mad?' And I'm pasting that conversation, because I like looking at it.

Karlach: 'I don't give a shit about your agreement.' Lord Enver Gortash: 'Then why in the Nine Hells have you come back here, Karlach? What could you possibly want?!' Karlach: 'How about an apology for sending me to the Hells?' Lord Enver Gortash: 'Sorry?! You want me to be sorry for helping you gain more power than you've ever known? That thing in your chest is a blessing I helped you receive. One you're too much of a fool to see. I gave you a clean slate. A chance to rejoin me for our mutual benefit - again.'

(What a guy. God, I want to cut his skull open with a spoon and stare at the contents.)

Durge, of course can start swooning over how brilliant the durgetash alliance is, or, not unreasonably, assume - having only Karlach's accounts of Gortash's betrayal, and the knowledge that they were brutally tortured for a month in the building where the guy works - that he might've fucked them over too.

'I seem to have trusted you once, and it ruined me. I'm not about to repeat that mistake.'

Are we stewing in mutual resentment of an old partner, or are we going to hit a massive problem if Durge wants something of their old life back? There is so much unexplored drama in this part of Act 3 and their mutual arc, it pains me.

Plus Karlach should probably be wondering if Durge had anything to do with her enslavement. They almost certainly didn't timeline wise, because if Karlach was shipped off to Avernus 10 years ago then she was gone the year Bhaal came back and gained the ability to pick Chosen, so the window of opportunity for Durge and Gortash to meet (if it exists) is insanely narrow. But the doubt should be there.

And of course the fact that if you romance her and she undergoes ceremorphosis you can tell her how hot it is when she eats people's brains and she goes 'thanks love.'

[silverskye13]

Being the universe's smartest super computer still made for a derpy, non-functional person. It was really easy for people to get caught up in the Cool Sci-Fi Shenanigans of cyborgs and robots and forget how awesome and powerful organic, sentient life was.

For example: Xisuma has a perfect memory. If someone gave him a date and a time, he could scan back through his memory logs, replay recorded data and footage, and tell you the exact recipe he used for those vegan cookies that one time six years ago. He knows the ambient temperature of a froglight that's been submerged underwater for six hours, three minutes and twenty-nine seconds. He can rewind a recorded memory, pause the time lapse, and watch in slow motion as Grian breaks a stone block at spawn with his bare hands because he was bored during their intro-season speech.

However, recorded data takes up a massive amount of memory on a standard hard drive when you record everything you see as a passive function, and all of it has to be purged by hand, regularly, just so Xisuma can maintain the memory needed for daily functions. He's tried writing algorithms to do it for him, but even the best pattern recognition software can't account for his momentary preferences. What differentiates his favorite sunrise from any other? If he were human, he could program some kind of learning software using data from tables tied to the output of different brain chemicals and electrical pulses that most frequently line up with a formative memory -- but if he were human he wouldn't be making a program like that in the first place, now would he?

It's one of those long, long days of trawling through recorded data. It would be shorter if he would just parse through the most recent memories, but he likes keeping long-term memory storage at exactly thirty percent of his total data storage, and he's been resting at thirty-four percent for the past month. Putting off the inevitable. It's just, there's been a lot of stuff to remember the past few weeks, and it's hard to choose what to get rid of sometimes. He's started deep-diving through old data, walking down memory lane. He has to be careful, some of this data is important, tied intricately with the complex spider algorithm that forms his memory data access system.

Click! Click! Click!

"What are you thinking, X?"

The screen that makes up the lion's share of X's face organizes itself into a smile, lights flickering on in the nanoseconds it takes him to process the memory he's watching and attribute happiness to it. Yes, this is a good one.

The playback jolts as he looks down at Tango. Not pictured is a redstone project they are picking away at. Xisuma knows this because this particular memory has a transcript, full of branching tags and keywords that pull up a wealth of information alongside it.

That's another thing about memory that organic life never appreciates. Memory isn't just the memory itself. It's a web of associations built on prior, learned knowledge. A tree isn't just a tree. It's color and texture and symbol and "when was the first time I drew a tree?" and "apples" and "saplings" and a thousand other tiny associations they just arbitrarily have. Xisuma has to synthesize that web. A memory doesn't exist in a vacuum. Unlike the organic mind, however, Xisuma can pull up as much accurate information as he has the processing power for. This memory brings him two more closely associated recordings, associated memories he's kept for context, the transcripts of six more deleted memories, the definition of redstone, a playback of isolated sound he deemed important.

The playback continues.

Click! Click! Click!

"What are you thinking, X?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Tango, I didn't know you'd walked up! I was doing research."

"Yeah? What kind?"

"Oh well, you know the new update. Redstone's always a little finicky after."

"Right, yeah, totally. I've been putting mine off, honestly. I don't feel like fixing broken stuff right now -- oh but, I guess you can't wait, huh?"

Xisuma parses through the data brought up with the memory. He knows the date this was recorded, the recent change to redstone mechanics brought on by the server update. He'd had three farms break. There was a linked document to a transcript of Doc's rant on redstone as it relates to radiation. There was a script note document typed the day after this recording was created: Clicking Good. There was a preliminary version of what he'd nicknamed "The Tick Script.Exe".

"Yeah, I've got a lot of bugs to fix."

"Are you going to get rid of the clicking?"

"Clicking?"

The clicking was an ambient noise made when Xisuma's system was a bit bulkier, his algorithms and scripts that handled memory and data access crude and unperfected. It caused a disc in a driver somewhere to click when he did searches. At the time, the clicking had been the closest thing to an annoying habit Xisuma could manage.

Computers don't have habits. Habits are repetitive motions that become subliminal, that take effort to break, and are oftentimes formed subconsciously. Xisuma doesn't have a discernable difference between conscious thought and subconscious. He has background processes, he has backburnered data, and he has executive commands.

Xisuma queries the memory, pulling up related tags and searches, letting the algorithm reach. This memory had been the start of a, for lack of a better term, humanification process for him. There was his observation table on organic ticks, habits, and movements. It had taken a lot of uncomfortable staring, but back then, staring was all he'd known how to do. One of the first entries on the table was blinking. Organic things blinked, clearing away dust and debris from lenses and membranes. Xisuma didn't have eyes, didn't blink. But the screen that managed his facial expression animations could be programmed to blink.

Xisuma queries blinking. He pulls up a transcript of an interaction with Stressmonster, where she mentioned he blinked every thirty seconds. She knew this because when she first noticed him blinking, she'd noticed it's regularity. That was when Xisuma learned that, to convincingly blink, time variation was necessary.

Coding randomization into redstone circuitry had always been difficult.

Xisuma returns to the Tango memory recording, replays the question about the clicking, the unintentional habit. Xisuma still clicked when he thought. The others probably still thought it had to do with bulky drivers. In reality, it had been a test in trial and error.

How many clicks was acceptable for a thinking pattern? The three dot ellipses was common in writing, and a two dot pattern was too reminiscent of a heartbeat. When he'd temporarily switched to a four dot pattern, he'd noticed people getting impatient, or worrying if his mechanics were stalling. (Stalling and slow loading does sometimes happen, but it manifests in freezes and long pauses, not in repeating clicks). He invented a three click pattern, tested a variety of click sounds, settled on something similar to a rotary phone click when a number is dialed. It was a good sound. Heavy and sharp. It sounded like something falling into place with intention. Click! Click! Click!

Xisuma doesn't actually need a sound to think. But it's a clever replacement for harder to code things, like remembering to two a surface or fidget.

Click! Click! Click!

Shifting weight had been a harder thing to code. Standing stationary, legs an equal width apart, was the most steady way to stand. It also made him look like a statue, made his unblinking stares eerie and uncomfortable. Organic things read it as unnatural, borderline on predatory. Large predators often froze and stared right before pouncing.

Looking back through old memories, Xisuma could tell if they were from before or after his algorithmic programming because of how still they were. Made for clearer visuals, and he knows in high-stress situations that focus on accuracy, he can cycle them off, but they're comfortable for people to watch.

Xisuma rocks back on his heels away from the screen he's watching. If someone else were in the room, it would be a sign of thoughtfulness. For him, it's the execution from a random table of acceptable fidgets while standing still. He should turn it off. He's alone right now. But sometimes the movements still catch him off-guard and the longer they run, the more he gets used to them.

Xisuma queries: rocking on heals

He gets a handful of save recording bits. Doc rocks onto his back legs and stretches his forelegs. Gem rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet, her arms crossed behind her back, mischievous and excited. Scar rocks back on his heels and crosses his arms, thoughtfully examining some terraforming. Xisuma isolates the last recording and mimics it, feeling how the weight of his crossed arms counterbalances the lean back.

Xisuma queries his habits table and adds the motion to the list.

He never quite figured out how to program what to do with his hands. They spent a lot of time at his sides, or in pockets. Objectively he knew that was bad. Hiding the hands was often a sign of hiding something, and he liked being transparent.

Xisuma queries: Hands

Xisuma blinks at the long list of results.

Xisuma queries: Hands behind back

He gets several animations of Gem, Grian, and Scar, all with some variation of hands behind their backs and mischievous grins. Most of them are snippets made for studying purposes. Two are attached to longer videos, catalogued memories he's kept. His query returns almost four hundred memory transcripts.

Xisuma likes making transcripts. He feels it's similar to the hazy, distant memories people have when time and distance transform them. When someone else remembers something falteringly, he remembers the way he described it to himself. The older transcripts were rougher. He's gotten better at writing them over the years. His learning and pattern recognition softwares are still pretty good, even if they aren't perfect enough to manage the full range of expression on their own.

Xisuma queries: Do my friends know how hard it is to look organic?

This returns no direct results. He receives a directory of the people he's flagged as "friends" over the years, an article on the recent organics additions to the world in the latest update, and a handful of unrelated memory documents where he'd asked this question before and similarly pulled up no response.

Xisuma queries: Do I care?

This pulls up more entries. Xisuma glances across them and clears them.

Xisuma queries: Do I care today?

This pulls up only slightly fewer entries. He smiles. Asking subjective questions to a computer never gleans intended results. Computers aren't subjective. Or, well, they're not supposed to be. Of course, if he were merely a computer, he wouldn't be doing this, would he? If he were merely a computer, he would be sitting on a shelf, or a desk, running prewritten programs and searches for someone else, letting someone else build his code, rules by the guidances and intentions of someone who ultimately viewed him as a tool, if nothing else.

Xisuma queries: Who's flying this thing, if not me?

He pulls up a list of song lyrics and chords, a clip from a movie he'd watched once, an IMDB rating off some database somewhere.

Xisuma clears the data. He pulls up the last memory he was watching, rocks back on his heels and crosses his arms thoughtfully. He presses play.

Click! Click! Click!

"Are you going to get rid of the clicking?"

"Clicking? Oh, I guess I am clicking, aren't I? It's just an inefficiency. I'll fix it at some point, I guess."

Tango smirked at him. One of his hands plucked at his sleeve. Xisuma clips the motion, tags it with hands, nervous, thoughtful, fidget.

"You sure it needs fixed? I kinda like it."

Click! Click! Click!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Given all of this kwami swap talk as well as you explaining how nonsensical it was to hand out the exact two Miraculous that Hawkmoth was looking for to the heroes meant to directly fight his akuma, I’d love to pick your brain about how you think the story would’ve gone if Master Fu gave Marinette the canon Dragon Miraculous and Adrien the canon Turtle Miraculous in Origins instead as well as them having Longg and Wayzz respectively to bounce off of from the get-go. Beyond me loving a classic sword-and-shield combo, I figure that this would still give Marinette the leading stance while giving Adrien the defensive stance in battle, which I personally don’t have a problem with when executed well given Adrien’s issues with self-control in deciding when and on what/whom to use Cataclysm and strategizing in general. In addition to that, having Shellter as Adrien’s power and Wayzz as his kwami would force him to take his and his partner’s disposition in battle seriously from the get-go, with Wayzz being heavily implied to be a kwami that prefers to take his time and thoroughly explain what needs to be done, meaning Adrien would have to show Wayzz that he really understands what he needs to do before getting the transformation phrase out of him.

On Marinette’s side of things, Longg is actually canonically confirmed from his first interaction with Kagami to be a kwami that prefers to take his time and thoroughly explain what needs to be done, which would lead to Marinette being calm enough from his explanation of what’s happening and what her job is to actually remember getting Stoneheart’s akuma the first time without any problems. This is especially in comparison to Tikki who, after Marinette tried to run what she said back to her with a clear lack of full understanding and confidence, even saying verbatim “Aww... this is all going too fast, Tikki... I... won't be able to pull this off!”, simply responds with “Trust yourself, Marinette. Just say ‘Spots on’.” without any further clarification or rerun.

Concerning actually cleansing the akuma, since lightning and especially water have far more cleansing symbolism than creation, either could easily act as the purification of akuma. Lightning could either burn away the negative magic corrupting akumas or burn the akuma itself to ash, which would also deplete Hawkmoth’s collection of butterflies at the time (though Marinette probably wouldn’t like the second option since they’re technically living creatures). An alternative would be Water “washing away” the negative magic in the akuma (while I’m mostly sure that akuma have been sent out in the rain before, Wind could be used to dry off the butterflies before they drown/so their wings aren’t damaged in case I’m misremembering and they’re like normal butterflies in that they can’t get wet). I know I specifically asked for your analysis on the canon Miraculous being given out, and while I would still like that I’m okay with fudging the Dragon JUST this much since it already has established advantages over other Miraculous, a minor wielder not detransforming until all three powers are used instead of just one for example. And while the restoration of Miraculous Ladybug would no longer be an option from the jump, I’m honestly cool with that this far into watching the show as it would push the Parisian officials to get off their butts and actually try to solve the magical terrorist issue WITH the heroes instead of expecting them to just manage everything.

You're actually hitting real close to my "fix" for the dragon with the whole sword-and-shield thing because I absolutely think that the dragon and the turtle should have been a matched set of sorts. I don't like the fact that only the ladybug and the black cat get paired up. I want all of the Kwamis to be part of some sort of set (doesn't need to be a set of two! Just a set). However, I don't see how a sword-and-shield combo fits Adrien and Marinette or how this miraculous pairing would work in the context of canon, though that may just be because I'm missing something. I'll give you why this isn't clicking for me and you can do with that what you will. Do not let me stop you from writing this fic or loving this concept! Fan theories are about having fun, not about appealing to me. I'm only giving you all of this because you asked for my thoughts. Don't feel obligated to read it if it makes you sad.

For me, Marinette's defining feature is her creativity and this setup removes that or at least heavily cuts it back. While you can be creative with the dragon's powers, they're basically just elemental speed boosts which isn't useful in most situations unless we're going to allow akumas to get electrocuted now.

The fights would also become a lot less unique as the heroes are now limited to a shield and the three flavors of elemental speed boost. Those aren't exactly the most diverse powersets in the world, especially given that the elemental thing requires you to physically charge in. You're not casting elemental abilities like a wizard. This new setup could still work if you nerfed the butterfly and made it so that the akumas didn't have such a wide variety of powers, but as-is, that doesn't sound like a balanced fight. The heroes feel too heavily disadvantaged and limited, especially given that they're now both close combat style fighters while akumas can still be ranged.

There's also the issue that Marinette isn't suited to close combat fighting. She has no training in any form of combat sport. Between her and Adrien, it seems more logical to give him the dragon, not her. He's the fencer, after all, and the dragon's weapon is that sudo sword baton thing. Adrien's also better suited to close combat fighting in terms of narrative role while removing Marinette's ranged abilities would further undermine her current role.

In terms of fighting styles, canon's setup is that Adrien does close combat and distraction techniques while Marinette sticks to long range attacks so that she has time to think. This is a really solid dynamic because it lets Marinette be creative. Making Marinette a close combat fighter would drastically limit her ability to be creative because you don't have time to be creative when you're doing that style of fighting. Your brain is simply too focused on survival (saying this as someone who fenced for several years). This is why tacticians are usually at the back of the battlefield relaying orders. You don't tend to send them to the front lines if you can help it.

The final issue with Marinette having the dragon in a canon setup is that I really don't think that you can get away with removing the magical reset button that is her ladybug cure. There are simply way too many akumas that cause mass destruction and even implied death. You'd have to massively nerf the akumas for this change to feel reasonable as it's not a minor change in stakes or tone. Akumas like Syren or The Bubbler would be impossible and you can never let anyone get injured because they now had to heal on a normal timeline, meaning that Adrien would probably end up sidelined before the end of season one.

While I get the desire to have the authorities step in and help more, your theory that the officials would work with the heroes doesn't really match what we've seen in canon or what tends to happen in these sorts of stories. The more likely setup is for the officials to work on solving the case without the heroes help or with the heroes only supplying the occasional tip/coming when summoned via something like the bat signal because, generally speaking, what information can the heroes really give them? Plus that setup requires the heroes and the government officials to have some sort of clear and open line of communication or standard meeting cadence, which is pretty risky and also ads at least one adult character who is now a major player in the story. An adult character who has this as their full time job while the teens are in school unless we're aging everyone up and letting the heroes be available during normal business hours or setting the story during summer vacation?

We've mostly focused on the dragon here, so let's take a moment to talk about the turtle. I do like Adrien as a backup user for the turtle, but you'd have to change the turtle up a bit if you wanted to make it his full-time role. Chat Noir is an incredibly dynamic fighter who jumps around the battlefield via a mix of acrobatics and his staff. Carapace's fighting style is much more tanky with him just holding up the shield and watching for opportunities to move in and defend with his power. This makes perfect sense and would be true for any turtle because of the turtle's weapon and power set. A shield is not suited to offense unless you make it work like Captain America's shield where it's a mix between a shield and a boomerang. For a normal shield, throwing it is a one-time use weapon. It's also not an offensive weapon, so Adrien would be heavily limited in terms of how he could fight.

And if we switch the turtle to Marinette? Then we're back to the whole limited-creativity thing. The turtle's power isn't meant for defeating villains. It's meant for protecting allies and civilians. Whoever is wielding it needs to be watching the fight, looking for risks. They can't give most of their attention to plotting how to win.

All that being said, I really like using the dragon and the turtle to flesh out the team. I think the turtle being the third member of the existing team would make total sense as a way to solve Chat Noir's self-sacrifice problem. You could also replace the black cat with the dragon and make it dragon!Adrien, Ladybug, and a turtle holder, but I'm not really seeing a functional version of canon that removes the Ladybug. It would be a wildly different story.

You asked about the Kwamis, too, so let's end on that!

Wayzz and Longg seem like solid mentors who could arguably replace Tikki without massively changing the feel of the story, but I'm hesitant to replace Plagg. Plagg's got one of the strongest personalities in canon and is the source of a lot of comedy to the point where his poor movie treatment upset a lot of people. Straight up removing him and replacing him with more serious Kwami would change that element of canon even more and I don't know if it would be a good change. Plagg and Tikki's opposing personalities give you a lot to work with. Wayzz and Longg would be way less dynamic and interesting as they're both responsible and calm.

We also have to keep in mind that a lot of Tikki and Plagg's flaws come from the fast pace of the show. Tikki rushed Marinette in Origins because the writers wanted to fit everything into 40 minutes and also establish why Marinette needed to cleans the butterflies in every episode, so they had Marinette and Adrien get their miraculous during the first akuma attack and then mess that up to establish the show's stakes. If they'd been given their miraculous even a day earlier, then things would have gone a lot smoother as Tikki would have had time to fully explain things since no one was in danger. This rushed stakes issue would apply to any Kwami who was handed out during an attack. After all, Wayzz and Longg don't exactly get to give Nino and Kagami detailed explanations when they were chosen either. If Adrien got the dragon or the turtle mid-battle, then I picture things going very similar to Kagami getting the dragon:

Longg: Greetings, young lady and good day to you. Fear not, I am Longg, the Dragon Kwami. Kagami: You're a what? Longg: A Kwa-mi... Allow me to tell you about the many feats that a magic being like myself will help you accomplish once the magic words have been spoken. (Kagami puts on the Miraculous) Ladybug has hopes that you will defeat Ikari Gozen with panache, using the element of your choosing. Wind, water or lightning. But firstly, let me tell you about her plan. Kagami: Longg, bring the storm! Longg: Wait! No! Not yet!

After all, that's basically what happened in Origins:

Plagg: Claws out! That's how you transform. Adrien: Got it. Plagg, claws out! Plagg: No, wait! I haven't finished explaining!--- (enters the ring)

[dryococelas01]

As a worm fan I have to speak up about the best character in worm, the greatest hero in worm, a tragic and severely underappreciated character (I've seen like 1 fanfic with him in. And it was a pretty mediocre one imo) and a character I seem to be the only fan of.

The most powerful man in the world. Kevin Norton.

This is gonna be a big ramble and I have not planned this out and it's gonna contain a shit ton of worm spoilers so ignore if you don't want to be spoiled.

And considering its involved in his backstory, trigger warning for homophobia, rape, homelessness, and partner abuse.

Kevin Norton, unhoused gay English man.

We get 2 versions of Kevin's backstory, the one he tells Lisette and the one from scions interlude.

I'm pulling this from memory so please forgive me for errors.

To her he says essentially he went to college, got a girlfriend. Lived with her for a while, and eventually realised he was gay. When he informed his girlfriend it didn't go well, got abusive, and eventually he left, to live on the streets. There he, eventually, found Scion (and Duke, his dog, the more important character). Scion at the time wasn't exactly a hero. He had healed Vikare and his sister and he definitely wasn't a villain, he just sortof floated around. Kevin goes off on him about all Kevin's been through, how dare he look sad etc. And tells him to help people. And Scion listens, and begins to help. Later he meets with Scion a few more times, to talk to him.

Then there's scions interlude. Its about the same, with one slight difference. He explicitly mentions that he has been raped. I don't believe, off the top of my head, that it's made explicit it was his former girlfriend, but l feel that's very obvious.

I live in Britain, and I've seen a lot of people on the streets like Kevin. I doubt any of them are talking to alien god beings but many of them are on the streets for very similar reasons to Kevin. LGBTQ+ people get kicked out a lot when they come out, many do end up on the street like Kevin when the homophobia from their family or partners becomes too much. There are also a lot of people with abusive partners who end up on the street, or who, upon realising they are LGBTQ+, get a very negative response.

He is a character who's suffering a lot. But, and I don't phrase it like this to minimise it, it is a mundane sort of suffering. He didn't end up on the street because Behemoth sent a lightning bolt through his house, or the slaughterhouse nine altered his face to look like Jack Slashes, or even a possible but still unusual form of suffering like Taylors locker.

The tale of Kevin Norton (minus scion) is one that no doubt countless people are going through now. And I know it's kinda tiring that a lot of stories of LGBTQ+ people revolve around our suffering, but idk, I'm fine with it here.

And yet, and this is the thing that sticks in my brain and makes him so intriguing to me, he doesn't ask Scion to fix it. Kevin Norton dies of a disease (cant remember which), and he knows Scion could cure it. The first thing he did was cure a man's cancer. And Scion could easily give him whatever he needs to live, whether directly with his powers or by just yknow, asking Scion to take him to a nearby hero team and going 'hey, I command Scion and made him a hero, I've saved millions of lives through this, can I have a house'.

So... why doesn't Kevin ask for that.

There's 2 answers I can think of, the selfless (but still kinda depressing) and the full on depressing.

The first is that he recognises scion has so many people to save and doesn't want him wasting time he could be spending saving 10 peoples lives to help him live better. In this interpretation, Kevin has made his peace with living on the street, and with his eventual death.

The second is that Kevin Norton is tired. He has suffered a lot, he has lived on the street for years, he has borne the emotional burden of being the man who commands the strongest hero in the world, and he has discovered that he could have done so much more, if he had just phrased things differently. In this interpretation, Kevin Norton just doesn't want to go on.

There's other possible interpretations, but in truth I think it lies somewhere between these.

There's something tragic about him that captures me. The greatest hero in the world, who has likely saved more people than any member of the triumvirate, and he likely dies alone, bar perhaps his dog, with only one other person knowing what he did. His last act as a hero, is to pass on the torch, an act he clearly feels guilty about, knowing the burden its been for him.

And that's captivating to me. And I don't know if I've even fully explained why.

I like to think he died after hearing of Behemoths death. He would know he had fixed his mistake, and performed a last, great act of heroism.

And there's something to say about how, for only a small kindness of money and a few minutes, he made Lisette the most powerful woman in the world. I try, when I can, to give money and time to the people I see on the streets. But I don't always have money, or time, and whenever I walk away I always feel a great amount of guilt. I'd like to think the little helps I give make as big an impact as Lisettes to Kevin's, but I doubt it. We don't have alien god beings.

Perhaps his rant to Scion was unfair. He didn't know Scions perspective or history. Scion could have suffered a lot. But it was very real. An outburst of a man so powerless and suffering to one who seems to have all the power in the world and is doing nothing with it. There's something about that that resonates with me, despite having had a pretty privileged life myself.

Speaking of privilege, this is sortof a tacked on note but there's something interesting to note about the stories 2 more impactful (in setting) gay male characters.

We have Legend and Norton.

Legend has a lot of power and influence, he has a husband and an adopted son. He definitely suffers from homophobia, not taking that away from him, but he lives pretty well. His suffering doesn't come from his living situation, but from external forces: Endbringers, supervillains, the weight of the entity over his head, the lies of his teammates etc. He has done good. He has saved many.

Norton suffers because of his living situation. He suffers very directly from homophobia, as essentially the cause of his living situation. Other than Scion he likely hasn't really been directly impacted by Cape stuff much. He has done good, he has saved many.

They both have such drastically opposite lives, and you can see it in their relationship to the being that plays an important part in both their stories. Scion. To Kevin he's a seemingly mentally broken man who has saved thousands under his direction. To Legend he's a Venus fly trap, an entity appearing heroic waiting to destroy hundreds.

Under a certain perspective, you could argue both are right.

You could also make a point about how privilege can shield you from some of the worst impacts of homophobia and seeing that by comparing them etc etc but I find such conversations often end up being very dismissive and suffering Olympicsy, and don't feel entirely qualified to talk about it as I am a not out trans woman, not a gay man, and only know about that effect of privilege in relation to homophobia second hand, from discussions other people have had. If other people want to talk about that who have more experience there, feel free.

There's more to say about these two characters, but I can't grasp it right now.

One last point I want to make.

Fiction... does not treat people living on the streets very well. It would have been very easy to have Kevin being a raving man, wearing a tinfoil hat and ranting about how powerful he is. And many other stories would have.

And to a degree, he does initially come off as such, and it appears that Lisette, for a moment, thinks he is after hearing him talk about being The Most Powerful Man and so on.

But he isn't. We get in his head and he's never treated as anything but a human being in a terrible situation.

I don't know what else to say about this part of it other than that his interlude is very well done, and while there's a lot you can, and people have, say about how Wildbow handles certain subjects, I think he did well here.

Also he has a cute loyal dog and one of the best interludes in worm.

I stan Kevin Norton

[rielzero]

Just saw your post about ascended Astarion and male Tav fanfic. I am willing to rise to the challenge

If you need any prompts! here's some concept I've danced with in my head (up for anyone to use) inspired by my own character's potential AUs. Please do not claim ownership over the ideas, I'd love to see people's different spins. Please keep it to Male Tav, there's so many Female Tav fics out there already- I had ideas specifically with a male character in mind. M x M focus is preferred. I'm not bi or pan, so anything hinting to tav being exclusively gay is nice.

THESE ARE all PROMPTS / IDEAS not demands. I'm not here to control anyone's creative progress :V

I'm just a nerd be nice

Brain Damage Tav has used the tadpole powers but refuses to become half-illitid and keeps it how it is. Tav ascends Astarion- but is convinced by Jaheira or someone else that he is incapable of feeling love now and becomes afraid of him- (Astarion still is very much capable of love) Astarion responds of course like a scorned ex, and lies through his teeth when the break up happens and breaks tav's heart. Timeskip- it is revealed Tav's altered brain still has mindflayer powers, but because of the trauma of the final fight he suffers from severe memory loss and pretty much got themselves in a position were he is dying- only for Astarion to come around and save him by turning him- then be met with guilt and over-protectiveness when he realizes Tav does not remember their time together anymore. (would work for a series, this concept is what I intend to use for an AU of my character but it would be very different.) Lots of angst but soft ascended astarion towards male tav :3 very gentle- very protective.

You were There too AU were Tav was kept by Cazador but never turned, just kept as a snack- so Astarion knows him and they may have fallen in love during that time. During the ritual Cazador threatens to replace Astarion with Tav- Astarion goes feral.

I forget you're an Urchin Playing into the fact that Astarion was a corrupted Noble- knows what luxury life is like- inspired by how my tav is an urchin and very unfamiliar with luxury- Tav is Astarion's consort- but is very awkward not knowing ANYTHING about noble life, from etiquette to wearing jewelry and fancy garbs. Wholesome stuff- Probably lots of fluff. Astarion spoiling Tav and showing him off.

Three of them AU were Gale and Astarion and Tav are a in a polycule, after ascension Astarion becomes a little overly possessive over Tav- Gale notices a bit late and feels left out, but supports his loved ones new life goals... Of world domination.

I'm married, get over it Au were male tav has an horrible ex who breaks in the mansion because he thinks tav is enslaved to Astarion- but he's not- He's just as evil as Astarion. And they're very affectionate- Astarion enjoys rubbing it into the ex's face. Extra points if the ex is a human cleric, paladin, or bard with too much facial hair. (COUGHS)

Warlock? cool Any fic that plays into the warlock theme openly for tav, not similary to Wyll- all though I don't want to restrict anyone to a specific type of patron. (my patron is a great old one) keep in mind there's warlock patrons outside of the subclasses in the bg3 game if you need inspiration. If tav's patron is female, give them a mother-son kind of bond since tav is gay.

Other, Tropes I like described vaguely cuz my brain stoopid but ideas that can be expanded into one fic or more -oh shit you're dying don't worry I can fix it with a bite -you're so beautiful I want a 100 paintings of you akjdkhgkfhgk -The gods literally made you to ruin me god damn it I should've known -tav is small / fragile looking man but he can stab you 100 times over -tav can sing, or is creative but he doesn't like sharing this side of him (loki is 100% exactly this lol) hes easily embarrassed -tav is internally panicking because he is very very very gay. -tav has scars too and is very insecure about his body. -overprotectiveness, lots of handholding keep you close kinda stuff -wholesome physical affection, does not have sexual implications even if they talk dirty or flirt silly -words being used like petite, twink- or cute in the right context. -maybe a fic focussing on tav being half elf and the struggles that come with it. Otherwise leave race up to reader. -Tav was already a vampire before they met, or is a dhampir -Astarion and tav knew each other 200 years ago -I will pet you aggressively and affectionally and you will like it -who the fuck are you drawing? wait thats me??? oh -Astarion is creative too and might doodle. -love at first sight but in denial.. cuz its funny -tav has insomnia and needs cuddles... -tav is a necromancer and familiar with vampire lore. -anything reflecting the vampire bride/groom lore in a scene. (there's a reddit post explaining this) -Vampire hunters coming after tav in attempt to hurt Astarion because he's become pretty untouchable -Vampire Tav does not want to feed on his victims because he finds that too intimite -Vampire tav is a vampire lord too- but not an ascended one- and he isn't corrupted by greed. -Astarion technically can compel Tav, but has no desire to do so and voices this openly to anyone who tries to argue Tav is a slave. -If Astarion hurts tav by accident in any way he feels horrible and will shower him in gifts or thousands of love language things just to affirm that it was an oopsie and he did not want to do that. He'd never do that willingly. -consent consent consent anything with consent- love language is consent -tav was a sex worker himself before they met but not anymore -lots of fluff stuff -scheming husbands plotting the downfall of the world together, bonus points if tav is the mastermind and a genius -Polycule with Gale, either as Triad, or Triangle -Admiring from afar, staring- lots of staring- intense consential staring -astarion beating up tav's abusers while tav sips from a chalice like a spoiled consort -dramatic vampire parties and all the normie vampire lords are scared of Astarion and his consort -vampire politics are kind of like ballroom hissing contests with fancy banquets and showing off your partner -I will go feral if someone hurts or touches you -steer clear of the consort, or the master will gut you -jealous vampire lord tries to seduce tav but tav is very loyal to astarion and not having it -astarion gets a cleric or powerful mage in his court just to revive tav if tav dies -You offended my husband? I'm setting your village on fire -Everyone thinks the consort tav is weak- but the consort might actually be more dangerous oh no -None of the above lines have to be necessarily restricted by ingame universe, can all be AU- does not have to include the whole mindflayer drama. Rule of Cool.

Avoid these please? I personally dislike that -misgendering tav (babygirl, queen, girly, strictly effeminate- any words that might demasculinize tav, as a gay man this stuff makes me really uncomfortable) -Overly describing tav's features as if they're set without leaving it open to the reader (long hair, skin color, favorite colors, etc) -Astarion knew tav when tav was still a child and Astarion was an adult. -Astarion abusing tav physically, just.. Please no. -...they're teenagers in high school... *dies* -brainwashing.. No offense to people who like some tropes I don't- You're fine :V We all have different tastes!

Headcanons for how Ascension works that you can use (inspired by ingame dialogue and such) -Tav isn't a regular spawn, but a vampire groom- He was turned differently, not buried for 2 days. Astarion can sense Tav is in danger if he is a groom, or sense strong emotions from him. -Tav is not immune to sunlight unless he stays in close range of Astarion. (based on dialogue) -Astarion might be a bit warmer to the touch since he is a living vampire now. He does not have to feed on blood- but Tav still requires blood and is cold to the touch.

Might edit this post later with more.

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

4 Minutes Theory:

What Dr. Den Doesn't Know

Hello. It is I again.

You know the procedure: It's under the cut.

Let's go.

Is It Dream Theory???

I think I could've started by explaining the things that made me consider the theory that I propose today BUT, I think it's only fair to address the elephant in the room first:

Are the events of 4 Minutes dream theory?

Look: maybe I'm wrong and I just fucking hate dream theory bc it's so overused, unoriginal and pointless but I wanna (and I do) believe it's not what's going on. Well... Not exactly.

Let's take it apart.

My favourite guy over here ^ (look at him, he's beautiful and he's precious and I love him, I wanna keep him inside my house and feed him treats, 'cause he's such a good boy), Dr. Den, is, and we know this since the beginning, conducting a study on what happens to people's brains when they go into cardiac arrest.

More especifically, he wants to know what happens to the brain within the 4 minutes during which it is still alive and without oxygen (before the person either dies or gets medical help).

For this, bc

(Yes, thank you, Pirates of the Caribbean) Dr. Den is collecting information through the people that have survived that experience. And, so far what we knew was: people have weird experiences when their brain doesn't have oxygen. Which, fair enough, that much was expected.

HOWEVER, this episode (or ep.5, for the people in the future. btw hi 👋) he get LORE through Dr. Den, my our favourite medical exposition guy. And here's what he says:

"Patients' perceptions vary based on their experiences. Some relive past experiences. Some have supernatural powers. Some go back to fix past mistakes. Some get a fresh start with those they love.

Patients' experiences feel real but they aren't entirely accurate. Patients can see memories, hear sounds or feel brief sensations of pain. Even if it is unrelated to what else is going on."

So this might seem pretty revealing and easy to understand: what we've seen so far was going on in Great's brain. This is his dream and it's what his brain is making up to keep him going during the 4 minutes where it nervously waits for someone to rescue it from impending doom.

And yes, I'm not crazy enough to say that's wrong but... Every situation has at least 3 versions of it, we say in Portuguese: mine, yours and the others'. And what I believe we need to see here is that:

What we know is merely what people remember when they wake up and what the medical staff can tell is happening to the body whose brain is 4 minutes without oxygen. It is NOT the whole truth. Not even close.

What Is It Then?

See, I could try and show the evidence first and then make a conclusion but I wanna hit you with a banger theory right away so Imma say it rn:

People's dreams when their brains have no oxygen in them are gateways that generate alternative realities.

And I hear you say: "okay but that's last week's theory, that's not new" and yes, you're correct HOWEVER, under the light of episode 5's events I feel like I need to prove this again. So let's hit it, Fergie!

1 - Dr. Den Recognizes He Has No Idea What the Time Travel Thing Is

Now, I know this might just mean Den recognizes he can't explain why it seems many people seem to experience this exact phenomenon of the 4 minutes time travel (which by itself is weird and opens up room for debate on what it means, even on a purely medical level) but I believe it can be used as evidence that something else is going on. That whatever that time travel means it goes being current human medicine, you know?

Even if not, it does prove my earlier point that what we're seing is only a fraction of the truth, that there is more to uncover. And a clear indication of the series (although it might be subtle to many) that we should be looking beyond on what lies on the surface and what Den is telling us.

2 - We're Being Shown Events in the Timeline Where Great Has Powers that Great Couldn't Possibly Know Because He Wasn't There

This is one of the strongest evidence points for me. Because explain to me how and why this man knows what Tyme told his grandma this episode.

Or how he knows conversations that happened between Dome and the medical staff?

Sure, Ig you can argue that maybe his brain imagines that's what happens, especially in Tyme's case since, I suppose it would be a nice thing to keep going for to think that your lover is rushing your way but... He barely knows Dome outside of being his classmate so that rule doesn't apply there. The events of Dome's life are, matter of fact, nearly irrelevant to Great's life (outside of the way in which they change Tonkla and Korn's relationship and, therefore, Korn's actions - which is why he was so hurt this episode to be demanded to let Tonkla go, since Tonkla's brother never dies and so he never met Win, thus they never broke up).

And what does anyone even have to say about what we're shown about Dr. Den's research? How does Great know that? Is he making it up? Does he know this in the original universe? How? He doesn't have the powers in the original universe, does he? Did Tyme tell him? Just casually? Idk, it could be, but...

Based on a very good point @yakdee (great URL btw) made on this post about how different the circumstances, motives and depth of GreatTyme's relationship and how they seem to be way more distant than in the current timeline, I do believe it's farfetched to think that Tyme would give Great any free info on his life and that of people around him. Much less on something so specific and seemingly uninteresting to Tyme (how can he, that topic is fascinating) as Den's research. I don't think it would even come to his mind. Matter of fact, I think it's only more prevalent to him in the current timeline bc of what Great told him. Otherwise, he couldn't care less.

Plus, if we think about it more closely... How many lives is Great's brain processing at once, then?? Isn't that kind of a lot?? Doesn't it make more sense for this to be an entirely different timeline where this things ARE happening??

PS: I know I could've also used Korn's dialogues as evidence but since he's the bridge between Great and Tonkla, I think it's hard to use his scenes as evidence for anything bc they could be happening in either Past 1 (the bad past with a bit of an oddity) or Past 2 (the past where Great time travels) [if you want to understand more of why I refer to these timelines this way, pls check out my previous theory]. I don't tink they change much regardless, Korn seems to be the person whose life is the least affected by the changes, out of all the main characters, but... Regardless, I don't think it's good practice to build over a shaky foundation so I have not.

3 - Great Can't Fix His Mother's Death

Now tell me why

(Ain't nothing but a heartache and a mistake, indeed, my friends) But that wasn't where I was going...

What I meant was: if your brain is making up a better reality where you can fix everything you did wrong, then why the fuck would it choose for your mother to die anyway??? Why, out of all things, was the only thing you could never fix your mom dying??

And sure, I know, I know, people will make the argument that it's the trauma and, like, yeah, Ig if you wanna believe that, that must've been that man's most traumatic moment, sure, I agree. But is that enough? The answer, I think, is: we don't know. Maybe, maybe not...

So... You can believe whatever, so far, I suppose, but the fact is that it leaves it open to interpretation why the events are so. Which means, it can be speculated that, the actual reason behind she dying again is because, for the 1st time since we've started to see Great's trajactory with his powers, he made the wrong choices.

And this is not me saying he's dumb, by the way, like... It's easy to ask for help for someone who's dying. It's only midly hard to land a punch on an murderer, even when he's your best friend. And it's certainly not unthinkable to open up to your crush, even when what you have to reveal is that you're a little bit crazy.

But I think it's extremely hard to stop a man with a gun. Even when your mom's life is on the line.

In a way, maybe, there is no timeline where Great can change that moment when it comes. Maybe timelines where he can avoid that moment from happening in the first place, yeah... But none in which he can avoid it if it's already there. (remember what I said about Greek Tragidies last week? yeah... it's coming up nicely)

And maybe this is not evidence for some people, which I respect, but to me, narrative intent and logic can be used to make a point. And I think making certain tragidies repeat themselves is part of what the narrative of 4 minutes is about too.

I know last time I talked about the power of people's actions and butterfly effect but that is only part of reality. A lot is under our control but a lot also isn't. And I think it's fair to assume, if the 1st part of this series was about the power, the 2nd will be about the impotence (which is not the sexual kind but I think the amount of sex we've seen in the 1st part is definitely a narrative tool and the fact this was the 1st episode without any sex scene [the flashbacks obviously don't count] is also being one).

Thus, my theory makes narrative sense.

4 - Tonkla's Weird Experiences Exist Outside of Great's Knowledge AND the Timeline He's In

Okay, I get it. It is possible to find alternative explanations to what I'm interpreting here and maybe that makes you doubt me. Fair. But then explain to me what the actual fuck is happening to Tonkla. Pls.

How is that man hearing his dead brother's voice? Seeing his dead cat walk around??

What does that mean? How can we be seing that if it's just all in Great's head??

I explained in my earlier theory (please check it out) that we're being given direct access to 3 different timelines: the one where Great is in the ER (pre-opening scenes), the one where Great has superpowers (Great-related scenes) and the one where Tonkla hears his brother and sees the cat (Tonkla-related scenes).

Based on that I can't possibly assume Great in the ER who's creating the timeline of Great with superpowers knows what's going on in the Tonkla timeline. He just can't. How would he even? He has no idea (as far as we know) who Tonkla is, that Dome is his brother, that bro had a cat that got killed by his father and that he buried it in Uni grounds... So we can't place that, no matter what, as just another figment of Great's imagination. Those events have to be real.

And if those events, which seem to be caused by Great's interference with the space-time continuum, are real, then that means, no doubts, that the Great Has Powers timeline also has to be.

So What Does It Mean??

Good question, Miley.

Luckily I have a beautifully tragic answer for you:

It means that when/if Great wakes up from the ER in his timeline nothing will have changed. The events of his life will be exactly the same and life will go on with the consequences of the choices he made the first time. Just like they are for Lukwa who woke up exactly in the same universe as she lost consciousness.

HOWEVER, while for that Great things will be as shitty as they were when he left, it also means that, far away from him, just like there must be another Timeline for Lukwa, there is a different timeline, with a Great who made different choices and, therefore, got a different end.

How different? I don't know. We're yet to see. But I think when we know, we'll be able to compare the two or three (maybe even more, we'll see now that the Great with Powers is also without oxygen in his brain) timelines we're being shown and take our own conclusions about the weight of our actions and the meaning of mistakes.

Final Thoughts

I think this series is doing a great job of making us question a lot of things like what is reality, how time works, what is the real weight of a choice, what is a choice, etc... And I can't wait to see where it leads us. I'm really hyped to understand this narrative.

As usual, if you guys wanna comment or add anything or ask anything or whatever it is, please do! Let's give soul to this fandom and interact with each other, yeah?

In the meantime...

All the love! 💜💜💜

[psi-spectacular]

Since I saw @kibasniper111 do this for the campers, I wanna do some headcanons I have for the interns! Also they get sadder as you go down, be warned.

Raz

Trans kid who's fully accepted by his parents. Sorry I just really can't see the aquatos being transphobic and genuinely don't think transphobia is super common in the psychonauts universe? He's unlabeled at the moment and uses he/him pronouns.

Nona mixing up Raz's name with his brothers is because her brain had to connect Raz now having a boy name and connecting that to the other brothers so shes just a lil confused but shes got the spirit

He has (currently) undiagnosed autism, mostly because 1. there is no way the aquato family is able to afford a psychologist but 2. Augustus is also autistic and they have similar mannerisms, sensory issues, and stims so most of the family doesnt suspect that Raz is neurodivergent, they just think he takes after his father.

His helmet and googles are very much comfort items, but they also help with sensory issues. While they block out noise and reduce color in the area around him if needed, his helmet also stops him from constantly hearing the thoughts of others, which can easily overwhelm him.

He's mostly able to speak to smaller animals, mainly rodents like mice, rats, and squirrels, since they were the ones that were most common at different areas he would travel too.

He fell into water and almost drowned when he was little and that was the biggest thing that spurred the "hand of galocchio" thing.

Raz spent a lot of time in libraries and bookstores in the many towns he's traveled to in between practice and shows, and that was the way he discovered both his love for psychology and true psychic tales.

Raz is sensory seeking and douses everything he eats in hot sauce and spices. He'll try pretty much anything as long as its free and remotely edible. This extends to touch, he likes rubbing his hands on textured surfaces, especially velvet and fur.

He rubs his gloves on his face, bites, and scratches at them when he's stressed, so they're worn down where he's done it.

He has a plush toy Nona made him when he was a baby that used to be a rabbit but it's been repeatedly bitten, crushed, splattered in mud, and fixed so many times that it barely looks like a specific thing anymore, But he refuses to part with it no matter what.

His relationship with the junior agents goes from "eugh its weird having a kid here, we can't swear anymore." to "hello, this is our emotional support 10 year old, his name is shitfuck, we feed him moss, he's the golden retriver that keeps the cheetahs in our hearts from going insane, we constantly make fun of him and if you do anything to hurt his feelings no one will find your body."

Dona taught him how to forage and cook when he was little.

He enjoys dressing up and acting out roles whenever he can, and is very quick on his feet with his roles. He gets into LARPing later in life.

Raz doesn't have a specific specialty, so he's a bit of a jack of all trades when it comes to powers.

Morris

Another trans dude, Wowza. He's been out for a shorter time than Raz, but he's pretty comfortable with where he is right now. He's also bi! Woo.

He's peruvian, and was orphaned at a very young age before being adopted at around age 5 by his moms. He's currently 16.

He was one of Milla's orphans, but he was very young when the fire happened and he doesn't remember what happened or Milla, but his back did get injured in the fire and never fully healed, and that's why he's in the wheelchair.

His moms are rockabillies who own a motorcycle repair shop in the outskirts of Trujillo, They're big into 50's american culture and almost always have the radio on to whatever rock station is playing at the time, which helped inspire his love of radio and older fashion style. The albums he plays on KLOB are the only ones they let him bring because they were copies of records they already had.

He has a regular wheelchair with, you know, wheels, but when he fully learned levitation he found it easier to move around with a chair on a lev ball, especially on rougher terrain, so thats what he usually uses.

Despite his amount of Rizz he has no clue that Adam has a crush on him (not totally his fault, Adam's attempts of flirting are stuttery at best). He's just. Slightly oblivious to the feelings of others.

He acts like he doesnt care what people think. He very much does, and has some very overcompetative tendancies.

He and Gisu met in the motherlobe and have been part of the intern program for the longest, spending three years doing dumb shit in the woods while brushing off their intern duties or whatever they are.

He immediately took Queepie under his wing and they end up becoming really good friends, even if he isn't the greatest DJ. Cause he's, yknow, like 8.

Gisu

She/Her Intersex transmasc bisexual. Binds.

She's an Iranian immigrant who lives in a small town in the midwest, Same town as Lizzie and Norma. They're families know each other and they're childhood friends.

AuDHD and NPD.

She's an only child and lives with her mother and grandparents. She's slightly spoiled and they pretty much let her do whatever she wants, as long as she doesn't get arrested.

She's autistic and has a special interest in paleontology and robotics. She was part of her school's robotics team before joining the psychonauts.

She's very much a romantic, but tends to leap into crushes quickly and gets her heart broken.

Speaking of, she and Norma are QPPs.

Morris and her are besties and each others hypeman.

She has a tendency to work on her projects late into the night to the point of not noticing that its three in the morning by the time she finishes something.

She's easily able to focus on something that interests her, but if she doesn't think its something she would like to do, she procrastinates and avoids it like the plague. She gets easily distracted when she finally does get started.

Has a fursona. Its an otter.

BIG Boy band fan. All paul but also n-street, synced up boys, and whatever she can get her hands on. She doesn't care if its considered "trashy", it sounds good to her ears!

Also daft punk.

She loves Dion for his lack of swag and dumb barry b benson ass expressions

She was raised muslim and is personally agnostic but Sam convinced her Jesus and Moses were psychic and she constantly pisses Norma (catholic) off by bringing it up.

She's smart and gets good grades but doesn't have much respect for authority. She has A's and B's despite skipping most of her classes.

Adam

Transfem gay, but currently unaware of his gender, mostly from repression and not feeling the need to go too far inward. (Dont all guys wish they could wake up in the body of a girl and have no one question it and call him a she?) She/He, 16 years old.

She's from a rich, very influential family in britan known for having a lot of successful and gifted members. There's a lot of push for all the kids to do something "big" with their lives, and many begin to achieve that at very young, most having scholarships and awards at young ages.

And then there's Adam. Her biggest achievements are being

Truman's intern and that time she reached the quarterfinals of the county debate tournament. She's surrounded by ivy bound prodigies and musical geniuses and she's just… some history buff. She fades into the background noise, and feels like she's failing her family despite his best efforts.

Not fully conscious of the amount of wealth his family has. What do you mean your family doesn't send you 80 dollar tea overseas every month?

On a lighter note, He's taken it upon himself to become a bit of a "big brother" to Raz because he has a sibling around his age and he reminds her of them. She's trying to teach him how to play tetris. • As mentioned before, he has a crush on Morris but is terrible at flirting. He's one of Morris' few listeners on KLOB, but mostly does it because he enjoys hearing his voice.

She and Lizzie are absolutely TOIGHT. Lizzie immediately pinned her as a dweeb first time they met and she was right. They became a lot friendlier over time and were pen pals when Adam went back home after their first year.

Adam's eyes are all funky because he's got extra strong aura reading abilities, but the downside is that he basically goes blind for a while sometimes and has to orient around the world by seeing others auras and how they reflect off and affect objects.

Had a cringey katana-and-fedora phase when she was like 13. He tries to repress the memory. Her friends won't let her live it down because they have photo evidence.

Telekinesis specialist

Sam

CW For parental neglect, bullying, and parentification. Hoo boy lotta thoughts here.

Genderfluid Xenogendered Lesbian but not fully out to people who aren't the other junior agents. 14 and uses any pronouns but mainly she/her publicly.

Her family life is... strained. She lives in a pretty small town in the middle of nowhere, southeast america. Her family was normal when she still felt like a kid, but after Dogen acidentally blew up a bullies head, it became a frantic rush of lawyers, policemen, and hospital visits.

Since her parents were frequently away trying to figure out ways to mitigate Dogens abilities and find ways to settle the lawsuit they got, Sam would spend many hours alone. She quickly had to figure out how to cook and gather food outside to sustain herself because they would sometimes be in too much of a rush to prepare anything or be gone for longer than expected.

As things started to calm down, her parents would leave her alone with Dogen while they went off doing whatever else, and when they came back they would be too tired or too stressed to help her with anything.

She spent most of her days in the companionship of animals, almost always got up whenever Dogen was hungry or sick or had a nightmare, just to feed him and make sure he was okay.

Her parents basically treated her like a third adult when she was like 10, venting to her and letting her do most of the chores in the house when they were away, and they never really left her with a babysitter because she's "so mature for her age".

She has a strong fear of developing it herself, so she represses her anger. When someone is being mean to her and she starts focusing more on not blowing up than whats happening so she gets an unfocused look which leads to more teasing.

She eventually decided to just play into the "stupid weird girl" role, hoping being the butt of a joke in a friend group and making people laugh would help ease up her anger if she just laughs it off as her being dumb. (This ended up leaking into her and Norma's relationship and was part of the reason why they broke up.)

She did actually get in prison! She had a meltdown when the teasing became too much and attacked one of the girls in her "friend" group. She got sent to juvie for that. Her parents had to get a lot of recommendations from Compton to get her into the intern program and send her away.

The anxiety is genetic!!! Yayyyy!! Same with the autism.

Her trauma's left her with a very dysfunctional view of relationships and uses the animals as a way to feel like she has some control over her life and that she isn't a servant, she can lead too and help others improve themselves. This ended up leaking into

Heavy backstory stuff outta the way, back to the present. Sam's nickname is barncat because she runs off in the middle of the night and comes back the day after covered in mud and whatever else. She's basically made herself queen of the questionable area and forages for food and scrap metal at night. also she occasionally hacks up hairballs. no one wants to know why

Despite her.. questionable pancakes, Sam is actually a very good chef! She's just better at using more dubious ingredients.

She has PCOS and is on birth control to regulate it (projecting...)

Also IBS! She gets random tummy aches a lot and has zero clue why it happens.

Sam's kinlist includes raku chan gregor samsa and that canary she saw once when she was a kid

Sam constantly masks back home and the motherlobe is the only place she feels she can be weird and free. She used to have longer hair but she lopped it off sometime during her internship because dysphoria (i hc its like end of summer so near the end of the intern program that year)

Sam ends up deciding to become Raz's weird older sister. Sam has no braincells, raz simultaneously has a lot of and no braincells at the same time, but when they're together they somehow add up to -7. She gives Raz advice that ranges from suprisingly helpful to very dubious

She really does love her grandpa, even if she's seen less and less of him throughout her life.

Her specialty is zoolingualism, but I think she'd be skilled at abilities that require her hands, like Psi-Punch and confusion bombs. She used mental connection to create a lasso of sorts she calls "critical thinking" which lets her lasso enemies and tie them down.

Norma

Cw for emotional abuse and manipulation.

Norma's a trans girl, who uses she/her pronouns exclusively. She's a lesbian, 15 years old. She's also Afro-Filipina.

I've mentioned this, but her mother is the mayor of the town they're from. They've very much in the higher rung of their town when it comes to wealth.

Norma's mother is very cold and analytical, constantly seeing most things she does as transactional. Every positive interaction is a step towards a vote, every negative action reflects badly on her status. Average politician. This extends to her daughters and how she expects them to act.

She's the kid that's always trying to be on her parents good side, because failure isnt tolerated in their family and definite high expectations for both sisters and how they're supposed to behave. The two of them constantly needed to fight to get their mothers affection and love. But Lizzie's pretty much given up on trying to appease her, so despite her powers being seen as "less rare", she's the preferred child now.

Her mom uses her as a token of "I'm not transphobic! I have a trans kid!" Despite, in private, constantly misgendering her and insisting she barely change her name (norman to norma) You know how transphobes are a minority in this verse? Yeeep. Its better for her mom to pretend her views are something else so she can get more votes.

Should I add the two of them had a catholic upbringing? Big amount of guilt on her end but at the same time a sense of superiority and entitlement. She's devout and retreats into religious studies as a coping mechanism

Raz makes her feel threatened in her status as "#1 student" and she's very aggressive about it.

She's still not over her and Sam's breakup and is slowly starting to obsess over her and why it ended.

Norma is a big fan of detective shows like Columbo, Sherlock, and Death Book. She absolutely wants to be a detective and solve mysteries, part of the reason why she joined the intern program.

She has NPD, BPD, Autism, and struggles with insomnia.

Despite her last name, neutral to christmas.

Shes a teachers pet and would remind the teacher of the homework just to piss a specific person off.

Touch averse, only lets people she trusts touch her.

She's a closet weeb and uses her psychic abilities to make her glasses glow like an anime character

She has a sherlock based tumblr (or livejournal or whatever you want them to use) and gets into ship discourse at 3 am. She also writes amateur death note yaoi. On paper. She gets so embarassed about it she burns it as soon as she's done.

She misses the time she spend with her sister and envies how much freedom she has from rebelling against her parents. She wishes she could do the same but also wishes they could go back to normal so Lizzie can have a seat at the dinner table again.

She can do glassblowing with her hands.

Lizzie

Same CWs as Norma, Cw for emotional abuse and manipulation.

She's closeted genderqueer and a lesbian, uses They/She pronouns. She and Norma are twins but Norma insists she's the older one.

She's just given up on her relationship with her parents. No matter what they do, she isn't going to go back to constant competition and stress. She doesn't want that anymore. The Natividad sisters give off "rich parents in a gated community" vibes but Lizzie abhors their entire lifestyle and spends like 90% of her time outside the house doing random shit

She's realized the privilege that comes with her position, and decided to hang out more in punk spaces and with kids considered "teen delinquents" or "the wrong crowd".

She prefers dumpsterdiving and thrifting over the stuff her parents buy her, stitching and crafting her own clothes is an act of rebellion because they constantly scold her for wearing "Rags".

Her parents finally gave up, deciding to go "Fine, you want to be stubborn? We'll just pretend you don't exist." They give her somewhere to live but otherwise don't acknowledge her existence in the family until she learns to behave. She created a second hangout spot in an abandoned building with her friends and she'd spend long hours there.

She'd rather be a high school slacker who hangs out with poorer punk kids who arent "in the right groups" and actually have a social life than fighting for the spot of "perfect precious angel child" for the rest of her life. No matter how many punishments they give her. She won't let anyone know, but the way her parents treat and talk about her really hurts.

She has undying hatred for hostile architecture and drags Norma along to melt the spikes.

She fake smokes. Using candy cigarettes and using her powers to make smoke because it makes her look cool but she doesn't want lung cancer.

Very into Christmas but more into the gift making and pagan traditions.

She reads vampire romance novels for flirting tips (and also cuz they're her guilty pleasure). She also pretends to be a vampire sometimes.

She enjoys going cryptid hunting and scouring local forums for information.

Hates wearing fancy dresses. Ripped up skirts and suits ONLY.

Introduced Norma to anime, favorite is Akira and fave manga is Battle Angel Alita.

[jedineedlove]

Sun Wukong A Bad Mentor??

I wanted to make this post so I could place my opinions on this topic. I know many people have already posted about this a lot before but I just wanted to say this and make my points. It a bit wordy just to be warned.

Many people see Wukong as a bad mentor because of the LBD arch. Where he left MK and went on his "vacation." But we the viewer have seen that wasn't the case. He did not sit back and relax as MK protected the city. Wukong was on a major task of researching Lady Bone Demon, this is something he has done before in the Journey to the West. He finds what he can about his opponent and uses what he finds as a way to predict their movements. He was playing smarter, not stronger. When LBD showed Wukong her predictions she showed him MK being burned and the world destroyed. This made Wukong doubt himself and his power as we see in Season 4 he states the original reason he sought out immortality and more strength was to be able to protect and he lost his way.

This is similar he may have gone about communicating it to MK the wrong way but he did not do this for selfish reasons he did it for the sole purpose of protecting MK. The LBD's powers stem from fear, when that scene of MK burning was shown to WUkong it shows that his fear was losing MK. Remember Mk has not been learning long and these are complex powers that take a long amount of training. Wukong training with Mk would know where Monkie Kid's limit would be. He knew the kid would not be able to handle a Demon of this magnitude.

Yes, he let MK handle DBK alone but he was a small fry compared to LBD. DBK was a villain that was making some smaller plans unlike LBD she was a calculating mind that had A plan that was years in the making. She was one that had more brain than brawn and that's what made her different than the others. Wukong knows this having faced all these guys before. MK having Wukong power means he can out-brawn them but the kid would not know the mental mind games LBD would be playing.

With his student's life pretty much threatened by a powerful demon that was mentally crazy. Wukong distances himself from MK. MK the ball of sunshine that wants to help and wants to keep proving himself Wukong would know that if MK knew about this mission he would want to join. If Wukong refused him then MK might feel like he doesn't trust him. If Wukong just left MK after denying him MK might have tried to follow Wukong and get into trouble. Acting goofy about the whole thing was most likely meant to reassure MK that everything was okay. He did all that while on the inside he was stressing out and panicking about what could be.

Wukong is seen doing that a lot reassuring MK that MK can do anything and that everything is alright. Something a lot of adults try to do for children. Wukong has proven time and time again to be a protective and encouraging mentor. Trying to lift MKs sprites does he do a perfect job no and can you blame him the last human contact he had was hundreds of years ago. But he tries and he has been trying.

The things Wukong has done to be a better mentor like when he went on stage to please MK neglecting his own boundaries for the kid. He watches over MK during some of his fights and steps in when he needs with sage advice.

If Wukong always stepped in then MK would never be able to gain the self-confidence he needed. Mk also would never learn from his mistakes. Wukong made many mistakes in the past and the consequence only showed up years too late. When Wukong faced punishment what he did was set in stone for those around him it was already too late to take anything back. But with MK facing things he fixed his mistakes faster than Wukong got to do in his youth.

Wukongs enemies have seen a lot of Wukong in MK and who's to say Wukong doesn't see that too. With years of reflection and learning from mistakes. He wants to clearly set MK on the right path. He wants to give MK the lessons he wishes others taught him before he made his mistakes. He want to be the master that his were not for him. Understanding, supportive, and encouraging. Instead of degrading and pounding his spirit to the ground with golden fillets and harsh words, but to lead him down the right path with words of advice to listen to. He wanted to give MK the one thing he didn't have someone that understood, the struggle of being a hero, the pedestal that a hero can never seem to step down from, the self-doubt the two of them are a lot alike that gives each of them kinship.

We all seem to forget that the world is not black and white and in the LMK universe, we don't actually have the full story. This Wukong is very different from the Wukong in the books. Things that happened in the book did not happen here, things that happened here did not in the book.

So many condemn Wukong for so much. Saying things like if Wukong had just dealt with the villains in the past then Mk wouldn't be dealing with them now. To you sure but you must remember he traveled with the pacifist Tripitaka. During the journey, he condemn violence including those that would save his life or stop the destruction. TRIPITAKA, THIS IS THE MAN THAT DECIDED TO SEAL LBD INSTEAD OF GETTING RID OF HER BELIEVING THAT SHE COULD BE REDEEMED! And in the book if you do want to go off of it. many of the demons were former apprentices or pets, or animals that belong to or with gods, goddesses, sages, etc. Many of them were spared because of who they were.

We have to watch and listen again look at the expression hear the tone in the voice, read the atmosphere. Please remember to see things through others' eyes before you judge before you condemn. I'm not saying he's a saint I'm saying you can't heal a wound when it is repeatedly stabbed open again and again. By living in the past there is no bright future. For a brighter future for Wukong AND the others, we need to live in the here and now and look to the future.

Thank you for reading.

[anonymous-dentist]

You’re writing is amazing! The post you made about the “Federation of Heros” application thing along with their “don’t forget to smile in the face of danger”

legitimately made my stomach turn a little, like these are just little kids! They shouldn’t be being put in danger-

It’s so clearly morally wrong, and the way it’s written to like show the Federation’s subtle propaganda use

Mwah 👌

But it’s made me curious, why does Forever ‘endorse’ it? Is he ignorant of what the reality of life is like for the children who enter the program? Did the Federation threaten him with losing custody of Richas? How do the reef of the Favela Five feel about Richas being in the program? Do they even know?

Oh and what happened with Richas! Like I saw the post about how Cellbit used his powers to help Richarlyson with nightmares-

Is Richarlyson an escapee from the program? Or is he still active in it?

Also does Cellbit’s power let him know what people are afraid of? Or does it just trigger the fear response based off their greatest fear without him knowing what it is?

Sorry for the long ask! These questions have been rattling around my brain. I am a huge fan of stories where the superhero society is corrupt with a side of child soldiers and your story is perfectly hitting that fix!

Okay so Forever the Mayor works a lot like canon Forever the President. He doesn't like the Federation, but he has to work with (read: for) them if he wants to stay mayor and do the good things he wants to do for the city. He's right up there with Cellbit and Bad and Max and everyone as Federation Haters, but he has to be more subtle about it, which has kinda put a big rift between him and all his friends except for Cellbit, who just gets it.

It isn't that Forever doesn't understand the dangers, but it's that he can actually monitor the program better if it's out of the FoH's hands and in his. The program won't be under their control if it's implemented in schools, it'll be under his because he's the mayor and, despite everything, the FoH can't get too involved in the public school system without running into a LOT of controversy, and he is going to use that to his advantage.

Richarlyson volunteered, too. He just wants to help :( He knows that he isn't that powerful and that he isn't that useful and that he's just a kid, but he wants to help :( If this lets him help his Pai Forever, then he'll do it no matter what!

(And his dads are all ready to pull him out and homeschool him if necessary, they are well prepared.)

And then as for Cellbit's ability, it's kinda like that! Yeah! He can find out what scares someone, but he doesn't always rely on his ability for that. He's smart, remember? He knows the general common fears of the general population, and he used to go through them one by one until one stuck and scared his victims to death- like 'the dark', 'public speaking', 'gun violence', stuff like that. Find the basic fear and amplify it by 100 until they're fucking dead, that's how he used to work. No need to use his ability to find their greatest deepest darkest fear, that'd take too long.

...But he doesn't do that anymore, of course! He's much better now!

[dr-futbol-blog]

Hot Zone, Pt. 4

McKay's final thoughts are about Atlantis and keeping the people there safe. He's desperate to share with them everything that might help them.

McKay: I've got some theories on looping the power on the Gate to charge a dummy ZPM. It probably won't work, but you should have someone look at it 'cause it might lead somewhere else. Zelenka: We'll look at it together. McKay: Look, you seriously have to stop interrupting my last thoughts! I mean, this is important stuff you need to hear. Now -- if you're here for more than a year, I've left some notes on how to roll blackouts to effectively maintain your power requirements.

It is in their final moments that people reveal their true character. Many aspects of McKay's personality are defense mechanisms but when the chips are coming down, we get to see his heart of hearts. We get to see how much he cares both for and about Atlantis and its people.

But, of course he doesn't die.

The Ancient gene protected him from the virus as it had either not been designed to target the Ancients, or had been designed specifically not to target them. His ATA gene is artificial and weaker than the real thing but it's still the thing that saved him (and let us remember again that he volunteered for the gene therapy because he wanted to be more like Sheppard).

This ties in with the city possibly allowing Sheppard to break quarantine because of his Ancient gene and not the hazmat suit, as theorized by Grodin. This pathogen was not a danger to the Ancients, and it was never a danger to Sheppard, albeit they had no possible way of knowing that.

McKay seems real relieved and happy not to have died. While he says that he doesn't care how he survived, he does actually start working on figuring it out right away. He started by worrying about members of his science team, and his own impending death had but distracted him from this. With that out of the way, he's able to dedicate his entire brain capacity on finding a solution and fixing the problem. And he arrives at it in very short order: it's a nanovirus. We later learn that it is a mechanical virus created by the replicators to eradicate the wraith food supply by killing humans and the fact that it was in the Ancient viral lab and that the city shut itself down to quarantine the humans therein while knowing that it wasn't dangerous to the native citizens just goes to show that they were trying to protect the humans of the galaxy.

Sheppard and Teyla are still making their way in the hallways that show no indication of even trying to stop them from advancing (and as an aside, we never see Teyla try to move through the city on her own here). Teyla and Weir decide that the best thing they can be doing is to go to the Mess Hall to do some crown control. Sheppard goes along with this but once they actually are in the Mess Hall, that's not what he's doing, at all. Where Teyla is trying to calm the people down, tell them it's going to be okay, Sheppard is by the dead body of Dr. Peterson. He killed this man who was not just a civilian but really an innocent one at that. He's lost in his own thoughts with nary a concern for the infected people around them.

If in the previous episode, having to watch Brendan take his own life right before his eyes had profoundly affected Rodney and his belief that he is unlovable, the same seems to happen here with Sheppard. Not only did he fail to keep this man safe, he had to take his life with his own hands. Oh, he manages to bury the feeling of guilt by the end of the episode like he always does, but it very much reinforces his belief that loving him would be a potentially deadly mistake.

It is when Sheppard is knee-deep in these thoughts that we get the first interaction between Sheppard and McKay in this episode. McKay contacts him via the intercom:

McKay: Major Sheppard, this is McKay. Sheppard: What is it? McKay: I could use your help at my lab.

Short. Professional. But notice how Sheppard picks it up as though they're just continuing an on-going conversation. Like he doesn't have to acknowledge that it is Rodney but just naturally jumps back into a conversation that had never ended but was merely on pause.

Here, McKay doesn't tell him what to do but indicates that he needs his help. This is in contrast to earlier, when Weir had relayed McKay's need to get something done to Sheppard and the result of executing what he had treated as a command was there, right in front of him. Sheppard looks lost for a moment, like he doesn't know what to do or is unsure whether he should do what was implied. As a soldier, it's much easier for him to execute commands (>'I need you to go to my lab') than to have to discern for himself how necessary a request is. Obviously, he wants to do what Rodney tells him to do. But his track record for making judgement calls was not stellar just then, as evidenced by the deceased scientist before him. He looks to Teyla for confirmation, as she seems to have a pretty good grasp of right and wrong.

Teyla gives him the go-ahead but he still pauses for a moment to get another look at Dr. Peterson's dead body. This dead scientist symbolizes both of their need to make things right. Again, though they come from different places, they have arrived at the same place emotionally.

I find the next bit interesting.

The people gathered at the Ancient viral lab are discussing what to do with Weir on the intercom. They have the following exchange:

Weir: So we give everyone the gene therapy. McKay: No -- it's not gonna do it. Zelenka: I've already been given the gene weeks ago -- it didn't take. McKay: I know. I'm already on it. --- Ford: There's gotta be another way! McKay: I have already told you -- I am working on it.

McKay tells them that he is already working on it. He is working on it as they speak. Only, we cut to Sheppard in his lab. McKay is working on it but Sheppard is the one executing his plan. They are literally working as one here. Sheppard is an extension of McKay. He's working as McKay's hands. McKay's mind is directing Sheppard's body.

He has such faith in John Sheppard that he, without giving it any conscious thought, confidently tells them that he is working on it. It is being worked on right now. By him. Whose only direction for Sheppard was "I could use you in my lab." He doesn't need to assume that Sheppard is getting there or will do what he needs to get done, he just knows it. We have not seen them physically at the same space at all during this episode, and yet here they are, one mind and one body.

Continued in Pt. 5

[glitterguts13]

Dr Ratio/Aventurine/Sunday with pregnant Aventurine, with all three trying to do right by each other and their baby after everything that went down in the Penacony storyline (I don't know how it'll end but let's just pretend everything works out)

It's been a week and I still haven't emotionally recovered from 2.1 I need Hoyo to stop hurting my babies, please, and thank.

(JK I love the pain)

Seventeen system hours.

That day felt so long ago now, but it still sits heavy on everyone's mind. Ratio, ever the rational one, wanted to talk about it, get everything out in the open and to fix things because the good doctor didn't leave problems unsolved.

Sunday didn't take the same approach, because ackowling the issue meant acknowledging how he'd hurt and almost killed their lover. How close he had been to taking away the brightest light in their lives and he couldn't do it. Instead, he spends their time together lavishing his partners with gifts and spoils but still keeping a safe emotional distance.

While Aventurine waves it off, saying it is fine, he doesn't care, all that matters is that things worked out at the end, even if he still woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and violently trembling from the nightmare of having the Harmony dug deep into his aching brain.

Seventeen system hours.

It was hard to believe it had happened at all, or that they still hadn't managed how to talk about it without one or all of them ending up so heated they needed to walk away.

"Veritas, you're crushing me." Aventunine grumbles under his breath, feeling the scholar's tight arms wrapped around him while they prepare for a dinner party that evening. The doctor mumbles something he can't make out before loosening his grip.

"You always hold me like I'm about to disappear," he says it as a joke, but the way Ratio goes still behind him makes Aventurine's heartache deep.

"I didn't mean-"

"Quiet." a trail of kisses is left down the back of the blond's neck and over his bare shoulders.

"Are you almost ready?" the click of Sunday's shoes alerts the pair before he turns the corner to their room. Aventurine hears the breath catch in his lover's throat, and Ratio quickly releases his hold.

"You look...divine." Sunday struggles to find a word powerful enough to describe his beautiful lover, but it is nearly impossible. The garment left his shoulders exposed, but draped softly around his arms and dipped low at his chest. The cloth hugged the curve of his swollen belly, his hands resting gently atop it. A faint blush creeps over his cheeks, unable to look away.

"I don't remember purchasing that for you."

"Because you didn't. Robin did. Not that I need either of you to buy me things." none of the three could be described as anything short of idiotically wealthy, but Sunday and Ratio always insisted on spoiling Aventurine regardless. Not that he minded at all.

"She's excited for tonight." Sunday quirks a small smile, something he'd started doing a lot more recently with Robin having returned to his life.

"That makes one of us," Aventurine grumbles, tugging at his sleeve and adjusting the hem of his top.

Ratio places a hand on his shoulder, and Sunday steps closer, cupping the blond's face with his hands.

"You don't need to be worried. Everyone will love you."

Aventurine snorts, eyes darting to avoid Sunday's eyes.

"The family was less than thrilled to find out, I can imagine 'polite society' will be even less understanding of you having a child with a-" he stops himself, mouth snapping shut and eyes squeezing closed.

"Aven, I love you," Sunday pauses, glancing up to meet Ratio's eyes, "We love you. All of you. Every part of you." Ratio's thumb graces over the brand on Aventurine's neck, and he shutters.

"Other people will not be so understanding. If it was only me, I couldn't be assed to care but our baby is going to be the center of attention and the target of so much-"

"And if anyone so much as looks at you wrong, I'll have their heads." it isn't an empty threat, and it only causes Aventurine to shutter once more.

"You are not facing anything alone. Not anymore." Ratio wraps his arms around his lover's waist, large hands resting over the taunt bump. Sunday joins him, gently running soothing circles where their unborn child slept.

"You two are impossible, you know that?" the men chuckle, Sunday coming to meet Aventurine's mouth with a deep kiss, and Ratio's lips working their way back across his neck. The blond moans, shivering and pulling away from their touches.

"If you don't knock it off we're going to be late."

Sunday laughs, and Ratio rolls his eyes.

"Very well, we'll simply finish this when we return home tonight."

[zkoh001]

There are children who grew up on atla, still praising it's writing, animation, and emotional storylines.

And then there's children who grew up like me, with this shitshow. And you know what? Screw it-

I loved it.

This is me ranting about this horribly flawed show that's a relic of my childhood.

It was either incredibly predictable, or batshit crazy, was riddled with plotholes, and was about a bunch of twelve year olds playing matchmaker for badly animated chinese legends that looked more like burnt out balcanic couples.

The plot happens in episode 1-5 and then 25-26. Inbetween that, it's just tomfoolery. 19 episodes of literal nothing. The people who get close to ending them are literally never the main badguys. They fix up marriages, families, (it's kinda sweet in that sense i guess...) fight the baddies (one of whom they literally HAVE to befriend- but thats just another one of the ✨plotholes✨) and run after the dragons eye, which (guided by their fortune cookie of a master) leads them in a gigantic circle back to where they came from.

The plotholes are so ridiculous that my brain started to come up with explanations that I literally just made up in my head. I remembered there being an episode with an umbrella, and I was sure that it was either used by Flamo, since y'know fire... But no, the fire element is doing just fine in the rain (despite the water element not doing well in the desert but who cares amiright) Or maybe Jinhou since water corrodes metal. But no.The umbrella was Raindrops. The water element. I can't make this up I swear.

Then there is the biggest thing that stems from the premise of the story: They need the five elements to reunite, and become the golden dragon. So why doesn't General Bu just get rid of one or two of them? He captures them regularly, and he has one stapled to his hip at all times... Why does he insist on capturing all of them? (So the show may go on i guess) In my mind, I decided that if one dies or something, the rest can revive them, but that is never even implied in the show, I'm just trying to stop my brain from imploding...

The characters are... Not smart. The only characters arguably smart are Master Yun (debatable) and Shao Yen who is in the wrong show (and sometimes Niwa I guess). I mean, it explains a lot when you know these characters are all 12, and the backstories loosely fit their personalities (by sheer accident I'm sure). Niwa was a servant, and has the strongest powers so she's reserved and nut much of a leader, but still confident, Jinhou was raised and praised by monks who knew of his importance, so hes full of himself and a bit sheltered, Randrop is an objectively worse fighter and student than Shao Yen, so he has doubts, and she in turn has this responsible big sister attitude despite not leading. Flamo acts pretty accurate for a 12 year old with fire powers and a megalomaniac for a role model. ...Why is it that only he and Raindrop gets dumb ass names, while the others get... Like, normal ones?

Last point: This show brings up some interesting ideas (by accident I'm sure) and blatantly ignores them, going out of it's way to avoid anything even remotely surface deep. General Bu, evil mastermind (with gadgets I'm sure they made up while high on drugs) is the past student of Master Yun, teacher and father figure of two of the main characters. That never even matters. It gets mentioned in episode 1 and never again. Why is he even evil? Idk, who cares. Dragon taido. What even is it? How is it different from Tiger taido, and what even is that? Is it made up by General Bu, or are there other martial arts forms? When our characters scream dragon taido, they just start using their elemental powers, and there is no difference between how Raindrop fights and how Flamo fights despite them being dragon and tiger taido novices respectively. Hell, I'm pretty sure Flamo never even says Tiger taido in the whole series, only Bu does. Grub is apparently an experiment gone wrong, but I'm not even sure if I made that up, or was a detail of the show. Thats how important it is. There's this thing where they try to juxtapose Shao Yen and Raindrops semi-healthy sibling relationship (and to a lesser extent with the other two elements), to Grub and Flamos toxic one, but that never goes any further than Grub calling for him when locked in a cupboard, and Flamo being kinda sad for a moment when he "dies".

Also: The whole Avatar ripoff thing? I don't really see it? Yes, obviously thats what inspired it, and honestly, the intro is probably the big thing people point to when saying its a fipoff and you know what, thats fair. But story wise, I don't really see it: Face it people. Master Raindrop is way to off the rails to even try to liken it to Avatar. Outside of five man band, elemental powers, and fiery -eventually redeemed -bad guy, i don't really see it (and none of that was invented by avatar, might I add). Maybe that one talk with Master Yun in episode 5, but wise, cryptic guy is also not an Avatar thing. I even saw some people say Grub is supposedly Uncle Irohs stand in..? Flamo and Grub remind me more of the wet bandits from home alone than Uncle Iroh and Zuko, but suit yourself I guess :"D

Now after saying I love this show, shitting on it for 3 and a half pages, I have only one thing to say.

Its still better than the movie.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #317: BUSINESS AS USUAL

May, 1990

Guest-starring the Amazing Spider-Man -- -- But not for long!

Okay. That almost makes all the "Guest-starring the Amazing Spider-Man" cover captions worth it.

Can't believe Peter Parker, Spider-Man is going to die in an Avengers book.

Well, it is the 90s. He's better off dead in space.

Zing.

Anyway.

Last times in Avengers: Nebula accidentally broke the universe in an attempt to gain unfathomable power. The Avengers and special-guest Spider-Man fix the universe. Then, chase her to her spaceship but find that her prisoner Starfox has already freed himself and zonked out Nebula and her crew.

And then the Stranger bursts through the wall, very mad at Nebula.

Perhaps because her media footprint is unfathomably bigger than his in modern times. Or maybe because she stole a thing from him.

Both equally likely.

The Stranger really did just OH YEAH through the hull of the spaceship like the Kool-Aid Man.

Good thing for vague sci-fi technology that keeps all the air from rushing out.

Then again, all the heroes that need to breath have air buckets on their head.

Show of hands: who would be broken up if Gunthar the Rigellian died of no air?

Actually, the best part of this being the start of the issue is that Nebula is STILL zonked out by Starfox's pleasure power so she's smiling and not treating any of this seriously.

Spider-Man tries to tell the Stranger about the pleasure power zonking. But he first pulls continuity receipts and reminds the Stranger that they met in Marvel Team-Up #55.

The Stranger remembers but doesn't care. So he fucks off with Nebula someplace where there's less interruption.

The Avengers and special guest Spider-Man all take a moment to reflect on how little a shit the Stranger gave about them. Like they were nothing to him, what with his cosmic might.

Which is definitely the exact case.

Thor: "Mayhap, to a being of such enormous powers, our presence was unimportant." Sersi: "It was almost... demeaning." Spider-Man: "Well, I get de-meaning of it. We're good enough for him!" Captain America: "Be that as it may, troops -- we've got a job to do!" Spider-Man: "innocuously slinking back home, maybe?" Captain America: "We have to find out why the Stranger was so intent on getting Nebula!"

... Do you though?

You saved the universe. You were nearby when Starfox saved himself. Nebula will be less of a problem in the Stranger's custody. That's space justice. What more do you have to do here?

That aside, love this exchange.

Having Spider-Man around certainly does add something to the banter.

Cap asks Sersi to try to psychically scan the Stranger but she puts her foot down.

She's still exhausted from scanning the world and also holding that communications room together and Cap wants her to poke around the brain of a cosmic being?

Captain America: "All right then, I understand -- but if you are going to be an Avenger, we'll soon have to gauge the extents and limits of your abilities!"

Well one limit is not poking around the brain of a cosmic being.

He has a point though.

Sersi's powers are less straightforward than a lot of Avengers.

She's psychic: but how psychic?

She can transform matter but what are the limitations on that? Can she just transform anyone the Avengers fight into pigs? Could she polymorph Thanos? Or does it only work on mooks?

Anyway, the Avengers rush toward trouble and...

Hey, you remember last issue how the space Quinjet was dwarfed by Nebula's spaceship?

Well, Nebula's ship is dwarfed by the Stranger's.

He's a big cosmic man and he needs a big cosmic ship.

(Big in this case is estimated by Spider-Man to mean the size of Argentina.)

Spider-Man: "Uhm... Listen, guys, much as I'd like to invade a ship roughly the size of Argentina... shouldn't we reconsider, or plan a comprehensive strategy... or run and hide somewhere?" Captain America: "This is all in a day's work, son. If you're going to be an Avenger, you'll have to learn to deal with the unexpected!"

To which Spider-Man thinks "Okay, the unexpected I can deal with... as long as I'm expecting it, that is..."

Cap makes plans for the Avengers and special new recruit Spider-Man to be ferried across by the fliers, while Iron Man stays behind and makes sure all of Nebula's henchmen are secured.

But before they even leave, they're interrupted by the Stranger not taking kindly to them even thinking about barging into his house/spaceship.

He sends over a robot called Blockade. Who has his one and only appearance in this issue.

Like his name suggests, he's here to put up a stern hand and tell the Avengers to stop getting involved.

And on top of the robot telling them to kindly fuck off, the Stranger even astral projects and doubles down on the message.

Avengers, kindly fuck off. The Stranger has this handled.

Captain America tells the Stranger that they can't leave until they find out what the Stranger wants with Nebula.

The Stranger really does just want the Avengers to kindly fuck off because instead of pulling the 'nunya bizness' card, he exposits.

That or he's a comic book character who secretly loves any excuse to spill the tea.

The Stranger reveals that Nebula stole from him. Which we knew but the Avengers didn't. Not that Cap is surprised. This is the most in-character crime he could have heard Nebula was accused of.

But she specifically stole from his homeworld, while he was gone doing whatever the Stranger does. And his homeworld is so well-hidden and so well-guarded that nobody had ever heisted him before.

Nebula is like Space Black Cat. Was like. I think modern Nebula, because of the movies, has a skillset more tailored towards assassination.

But back in the day, Nebula ran with a crew of pirates and was a super-duper space thief.

It was thanks to her best minion Gunthar, who is a Rigellian and not a penguin, that she was able to strike while the Stranger was gone. Rigellian tracking tech, yo.

Although, despite him being essential to this heist, Nebula isn't afraid to claim credit for herself for this bit.

And what Nebula stole was "the most powerful weapon in the multiverse."

Which I'd guess was the Ultimate Nullifier or the Infinity G- oh wait, we haven't revealed how powerful the gems are yet.

But Infinity is still the word to throw around to make things sound important.

Because she steals the Infinity Union!

Which is three devices mooshed together which combined can channel "all forms of ambient energy into the user!"

Hey, the Stranger, why do you have this? Why does it even exist?

Like, the Ultimate Nullifier and the Infinity Gems have gotten explanations for why they're even a thing. But why build three devices and then smoosh them together to control all ambient energy and then just leave it in a storage room somewhere? Why?

And this Infinity Union really didn't have any staying power or maybe it got overshadowed by the Infinity Gauntlet in a couple years but the Union doesn't even have it's own page on marvel wiki.

(I do like that the Stranger's homeworld is so unfathomably huge that it takes Nebula and Gunthar two hours just to cross the room to get to the Infinity Union.)

Also, while Spider-Man's silly jokes were appreciated last time, he's apparently running thin his welcome.

Jokingly comparing an Infinity Union to the teamsters causes the Stranger to call Spider-Man an idiot. And when Spider-Man jokes that it sounds like a rerun that they're saving the universe right after saving the universe, Thor tells him, hey bud, this is serious time.

Meanwhile, Iron Man and Starfox have finished interrogating the zonked out Gunthar, who has given them basically the same exposition about the Infinity Union.

Iron Man: "But what does Nebula want with such a weapon, Gunthar?" Gunthar: "What she has always wanted, Earthling -- ultimate power -- and the attainment of her goal, the chance to create ultimate entropy -- the death of all there is!" Iron Man: "That's insane! It would wipe her out, too!" Gunthar: "That is not my concern -- I only serve my mistress in being the sole player in this deadly gambit! If any other than Nebula touches the device, it will annihilate this entire sector of space!"

Hang on. Nebula's goal is to wipe out all life?

I call bullshit.

For one thing: Why would she want that? Thanos wanted something like that at various points. Because he thought it would make Death want to smooch him. He had personal reasons for doing what he did.

Nebula is going around telling everyone she's the granddaughter of Thanos. Later, it will turn out, that she's lying for clout.

But every Nebula appearance (discounting the Kang Nebula, since we've reached retcon territory on that) has had her want power for the sake of power. She wants conquest.

When she accidentally broke the universe, instead of being thrilled, she was annoyed that she was close to achieving infinite power and now had nothing to use it on.

Is this a swerve? Byrne deciding in his last issue to just change directions? Or did Fabian Nicieza add this in when he finished up this issue? Is Gunthar an idiot?

Let's assume Gunthar is an idiot.

Stupid, dumb Gunthar.

Anyway, Iron Man leaves Starfox to watch the stupid, dumb prisoners and flies off to go warn the Avengers not to touch the thing.

Do you not have radios? Communicators in some fashion? You're wearing a computer and Vision is a computer. And you can't just ring him up?

Get your shit together, Stark.

In the medical-science section of the Stranger's "continent-sized spaceship" (so Spider-Man was way off when he thought it was only the size of Argentina), the Stranger continues to be annoyed that Nebula's brain is still zonked.

Medical crystals! What, is this Kryptonian tech?

Because of the zonk (the pleasure zonk) from Starfox, the Stranger can't probe Nebula's brain for where she hid the Infinity Union.

And he knows her intentions for it are bad.

Also, weirdly, the turning off the universe plot is relevant here. All the energies gathered by the compressor have been absorbed by the Infinity Union. So if Nebula uses it, she'll become even more infinitely powerful than she already would have.

I guess that links the stories together.

Considering all the build-up was for the compressor, this part of the plot feels rickety. It feels almost like we're in a post-script season. We had this story about Spider-Man helping the Avengers when the universe goes all photo-negative and now we're in a different but linked plot.

Him joking about going from the universe being at stake to the universe being at stake, feels a little self-aware in that light.

The Stranger tries a stronger PSYCHIC PROBE on Nebula's ship but all he accomplishes is causing agony to the Avengers. Even Vision. And his brain is a computer.

This is apparently a bridge too far for Captain America.

Captain America: "Enough is ENOUGH! Anything that is wanted that badly by people like Nebula and the Stranger shouldn't be had by either of them! It's our responsibility to find this Infinity Union before they do -- and once we find it -- destroy it forever!"

I'm not sure it IS the Avengers' responsibility. The thing is the Stranger's and he did have it pretty well under lock and key. Well, before Nebula stole it.

Hm. Maybe do destroy it.

Iron Man shows up to back up Cap and explain that the Union is booby-trapped to blow if anyone other than Nebula touches it.

So Cap tells the Avengers to split up to cover more ground that way. But if you find the Infinity Union, don't touch it!

... Hey. Do they even know what it looks like?

They're going to search an entire huge spaceship and not even know what the thing they're looking for is?

Great plan, Cap.

Spider-Man is getting a little nervous about what he signed up for.

Spider-Man: "Sure is one heckuva way to spend my first hour as an Avenger! The really scary thing is that these guys play for keeps each and every day! Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is a little more used to your common type of thugs. Like Doc Ock or Hobgoblin, or geez, even Leap Frog! Saving the planet as an appetizer, then the universe as a main course is a little out of my league! Well, they say the cream rises to the top so maybe it's time to curdle up and hide!"

Quite a bait and switch this story is pulling. Insisting Spider-Man would be a perfect Avenger in one issue and then having him second-guess it the next.

I did dimly realize that obviously Spider-Man didn't become an Avenger in this era. But one can't be faulted for hoping.

Now, that's a What If? I'd like to see. What Ifs Spider-Man joined the Avengers for this story and for the one where Monica Rambeau joined.

But despite Spider-Man not wanting to be involved, he turns out to be the best guy to find the Infinity Union. It's so dangerous that it's setting off his spider-sense and by playing hot and cold with the headache it gives him, he's able to find where the thinger is hidden.

He can't figure out how to open the door so he just rips it open.

Despite Cap telling him not to touch, Spider-Man worries that the Stranger or Nebula might stumble in and find it before he can get the others so he tries to snag it with a web-line so he can drag it without touching it buuuuut

I guess he activated Gunthar's trap card.

Looks like Spider-Man is super dead now. We'll have to bring in Ben Reilly early.

Meanwhile, back on Earth in Manhattan, Quasar arrives at the Avengers Construction Site.

I legit forgot that he was sorta one of the core members right now.

Even Quasar comments on the fact that he's been so busy in his own book that he hasn't done a lot of Avengersing.

Quasar sees that not as much construction has happened as he's expected and weirdly the Avengers Sub-Basement is pretty abandoned. John Jameson and whoever else apparently ditched between issues.

But Jarvis is in the communications room... a communications room? That one communications room is still hanging off the PolyDyne building.

Anyway, Quasar goes to see Jarvis in a communications room, where Jarvis explains in brief where the Avengers are. Before the monitors explode in their faces.

Since it makes the same SHEEKAK noise, this is probably Spider-Man's fault.

Looks like Jameson was right. Spidey is a threat AND a menace.

This extended Spider-Man story guest starring Avengers ends next time. But our next time is back over to Avengers West Coast for a weird fill-in which is also technically part of the arc Byrne was setting up before he left.

Follow @essential-avengers for more fun times. Fun not guaranteed. Offer void where prohibited. Like, comment, reblog, and whatever else. But only if you want.

[pocketramblr]

I want to know how all might reacts to reincarnated afo!aizawa

Like I think All Might would understand that Aizawa doesn't remember his villainous past, and has essentially been reborn, but the fact that afo somehow managed to get away with it (in a matter of speaking at least) must be like one of those forbidden itches from another dimension: forever vexing him

So All Might doesnt find out about this until Aizawa goes to him himself a few months after the worst of it, which is important because the reaction is defintely something that would vary based on when and how he learned it.

As it is, Aizawa goes to Might Tower and is like "Hey, I'm a UA student, Nedzu emailed All Might and said why he needed to see me, if he hasn't checked it tell him its about All For One." and is quickly sent up to talk. All Might is confused about the why- this kid is like, sixteen, AfO could have been dead before he was born.

But then Aizawa sighs, and says "I was born on the day you killed All For One," which means he knows way more information than he should, and All Might listens even when the kid immediately seems to go off topic by explaining that he's always wanted to be a hero, even though erasure is a weak quirk, and he knew he wouldn't be able to be a hero like All Might. Then he gets to the Garvey fight, and very quietly says that when he tried to erase the villain, he stole one of his quirks instead. All Might looks at the boy's palms, and sees.

But he doesn't quite see the truth yet.

"You're All For One's son." He breathes.

Shouta shakes his head. "No. Worse. I was born the day you killed him, right? Well, the hospital I was born at, there was a doctor that worked for AfO. Tried to save his life. Couldn't. So AfO ordered him to grab a baby, and transfered his quirk... to me." All Might relaxes, because that is tragic, but easier to deal with- "And then, I guess, they lost me? Not sure, but um, after Gravey, i went to the hospital and the Doctor kept messing with me. He was giving me more of All For One's quirks... and his memories. And i- it was so stupid, I went in there alone, and now... it's all there. in me."

All Might is no longer relaxed. He stares at the kid. Miserable, Aizawa holds out a hand, and a spike shoots out from it. One All Might remembers going into his chest, and he flinches.

Aizawa puts his hand down.

"I can't figure it out."

"Can't figure what out?" All Might asks.

"I can't figure out if I'm more me or more him now. I mean, I feel like I'm in charge. But he's been alive a lot longer, even if so much of those memories a blur. And, logically, even if he isn't in my head, his memories have to affect me. I mean, i knew going alone was stupid, but all those memories of his power, his pride, i ignored it and went anyway. I can't figure out what it means to know all of this now, who I am or what I should do."

All Might nods. He feels such pity for the boy, such grief he didn't prevent this. caused it, even, really. "And you came to me?"

"Yeah. You're the person alive who's known All For One the longest, except Gran Torino and I didn't know how to find him." The teen shrugs. "You'd be the one to know if he's... you know, if i'm him. You'd be the one to stop him."

All Might stares at him, not moving, not speaking. Aizawa beings to twitch despite himself.

"You trusted me to fix this." He finally says. "Yeah, there's no way in hell All For One's in charge of your brain then. You're safe, kid. You might have the memories, but i take it you hate the guy in them?"

"More than anything. You're sure? It makes sense that i could be influenced-"

"Young Aizawa. You're safe. I am sure. And if that changes, i'll make sure to help you. I am here."

Aizawa goes nearly boneless on the couch. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'm guessing you'd feel better if you were doing something about it, though?"

"Huh?"

"You're a hero. You feel better when you're doing something."

"Yeah. What do you have in mind?"

"Let's see if any of your new old memories can help us weed out anyone else who could be planning something like the Doctor was, and then come up with some plans to use all those quirks in you now for good."

Aizawa smiles for the first time in weeks. It is a terrifying smile, but it is absolutely nothing like All For One's too-calculated smirk. All Might smiles back.