#or it could just be more timey wimey shenanigans

[unexpectederawhilesubmitting]

WARNING: DOCTOR WHO SPOILERS EXPLAINING REGENERATION SHENANIGANS

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okay so I was kind of not on board with the concept of bi-regeneration, mainly because of how it seemed like all of the Sad and the Trauma that the Doctor had undergone got kind of handwaved away? i'm all for ncuti's Doctor being sort of a fresh start/jumping on point for new viewers, but i didn't get how that could work if like, literally 40 minutes ago he was David Tennant being a sad wet puppy dog of a man

however, after rewatching it, i've realized what i think happened there, and it goes all the way back to something introduced with the 4th doctor's regeneration that was never explained: the Watcher

^this spooky guy

so, for those that don't know (or haven't seen every episode of a show that is over half a century old), the Fourth Doctor regenerates at the end of a story called Logopolis (he falls off a satellite dish, but that's not important right now). all throughout the episode, this weird figure, The Watcher, stands off in the distance, and even intervenes slightly by saving the Fourth Doctor's companion. there's not much given in the way of an explanation until the Fourth Doctor regenerates, saying "it's the end. but the moment has been prepared for..."

the watcher walks up, and gets absorbed in a super rad 1980's digital effect (never change doctor who), while his companion just gives us the not-super-helpful-for-lore statement "He was the Doctor all the time!"

then, in a crossfade, the Doctor goes from Four to weird-powder-man to Five

canonically, the Watcher is explained as a future version of the doctor that comes about in sort of a weird overlapping thing with the doctor's timeline, it's very wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey.

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SO what does this have to do with biregeneration and satisfying character arcs/moving on from trauma?

Well, remember, Fifteen said this, about Time Lords doing rehab out of order:

so, here's the thing: Fifteen is the Doctor AFTER Fourteen (duh, I know?) But to be clear...Fourteen lives out an entire lifetime with Donna and family, gets to a ripe old age, and then, when his lifetime of healing is over, he gets yeeted back through his own timestream just to zoot himself out of David Tennant's chest.

Remember, his first words to Fourteen (after popping out of his chest) are "So good to see you! So good!", not the RTD classic "what?". He greets himself like he's almost expecting this, he then says "does anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" which only makes sense if he's coming from a different point in his own timestream (remember, when two doctors interact, memory gets really weird, 10 and the War Doctor don't remember the events of Day of the Doctor until they live through them as 11).

SO TO BE CLEAR: Ncuti Gatwa is playing the Doctor AFTER he has spent years healing from his traumas. His Doctor is fine because Fourteen takes the time to rest and work on himself.

tl;dr: I didn't like biregeneration at first because I thought it looked like this:

In actuality, it looks more like this:

[therainscene]

Stranger Things 4 is themed around A Nightmare on Elm Street -- Vecna is a child-killer-turned-demon who murders teenagers from within their own minds; his heavily scarred skin and clawed hand resemble that of Freddy Krueger; and the actor who played Freddy himself plays his father.

I think Stranger Things 5 is gearing up to do something similar with The Terminator. Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor) is the upcoming guest star this season; Vecna's exposed skull and vine-covered neck resembles the T-800--

--and Will's speech at the end of S4 bears striking similarities to Kyle Reece's famous "it can't be reasoned with" speech.

If Vecna is the T-800... then the Mind Flayer is the perfect candidate for Skynet.

[And Hawkins National Laboratory is Cyberdyne Systems -- a military-funded lab that meddled with phenomena beyond its ability to control and paved the way for a sinister hive mind to enter the world.]

I'm pretty sure that the Mind Flayer lies at the heart of whatever timey-wimey stuff is going on. It's suspiciously linked to timeline inconsistencies -- Will is already able to sense it in his neck before his possession in S2, and young Henry in TFS is haunted by the spider monster he wasn't supposed to create for another 20 years.

I've already written a theory on how a causal loop could tie Will and Henry to the Mind Flayer -- whatever's going on is probably more complicated than this, since my theory doesn't explain why the Upside Down is frozen -- but it's worth a read, I think, as it's the same type of time paradox as the one in Terminator and could easily be at the core of ST's time shenanigans.

Will is Kyle Reece or Sarah Connor -- so does that mean he's going to be a gun-toting badass?

No.

This scene is Will coming full circle from that moment in the shed at the start of S1: backed into a corner and forced to resort to violence because he sees no other way out. He doesn't want to kill the monster; he has to.

But the difference is that he's not cornered anymore.

This time around, Will knows his enemy, and he has supportive friends and family at his side. He's just so beaten down -- by Vecna, by Hawkins, by perceived rejections from Mike -- that he's lost all confidence in his ability to stand up for himself on his own terms.

I know it seems at first glance that Will advocates the use of violence in desperate times, but consider the context of the episode in which the above scene appears:

Joyce is reminiscing about her missing son while dealing with Lonnie telling her what to do and feel about it. Shortly after, she realizes how manipulative he's being and permanently kicks him out of her life (and the show lol) -- no violence necessary.

Will's advice hadn't been about the value of violence, but about the value of refusing to play by abusers' rules -- a key lesson in Stranger Things, as we've been watching El learn it the hard way over the course of four seasons.

Will cannot self-actualize by "finally" pulling the trigger on an approach that symbolizes his homophobic father's macho expectations. S5 is going to be about him regaining his self-confidence and allowing his authentic, gentle nature to guide him to the real solution.

So, to return to the "he's not gonna stop" speech: the theme at play here is inevitability, and it's one of the central themes of The Terminator -- not simply because the titular assassin is unstoppable, but because of the love story that drives the plot:

If Skynet hadn't sent the T-800 back in time to kill Sarah Connor before she could give birth to the leader of the human resistance, then Kyle would have had no reason to go back in time and end up unknowingly fathering John. No matter how hard Skynet tried to snuff John Connor out of existence, the rebellious love that created him was just as inevitable as the T-800.

This, I think, is the message at the heart of both Terminator and Stranger Things, and is the reason why The Terminator would be the perfect choice for S5's theme movie:

Sometimes the horrors wrought by humanity are inescapable...

...but so too is the hopeful human drive to love each other and overcome them.

Read Brenner's role in creating Vecna as a metaphor for homophobic Reagan-era fear-mongering and it all clicks into place, I think.

[tervaneula]

As a culmination of "some boys do lay eggs", "make your home in me", and the sneak peak you recently posted, I've been having some Thoughts.

Do you think maybe at some point late in the war, f!Leo stopped laying eggs (due to the stresses his body was under) and he assumed that he had hit the turtle equivalent of menopause a little early?

And maybe, after he had been back a while, and after he had started dating Yuichi and they had started having some *fun* together, his cycle starts up again.

And what if—hear me out—he has no idea until the events of "cracks never healed (they can heal now)" and his eggs show up on the X-rays they take of his shell?

Can you imagine the whirlwhind of panic (oh holy shit I was NOT planning on having any babies and now they might be well on their way), hope (maybe it would be nice to raise babies with Yuichi, and Yuichi seems really excited about the possibility), and disappointment (finding out the eggs are unfertilized, and he and Yuichi are genetically incompatible).

Just a thought! I love your NQK Romance Spinoff so much!

The way my jaw dropped when I saw the sheer length of this ask—

Oh gosh THIS IS SO GOOD. SO SO GOOD, ALL OF IT, AAAHHSGFHJ. It could 100% happen just like this if I hadn't planned and already written some of the storylines concerning this whole thing! I'm taking a different route but oh my gosh dang ahhhgg I'm so delighted by your thoughts on this, absolute mastermindery connecting all of the fics and bits in a way that didn't cross my mind even once.

Like in reality, Leonardo knows he stopped producing eggs because of the stress and malnourishment, and is expecting that his cycle will restart again at some point. In NQK canon he meets Yuichi two years after the timey wimey shenanigans so at that point he's already had at least a season or two.

But he also knows that he and Yuichi are not genetically compatible from the start. This comes up in two of my current WIPs and oh my gosh the first one is so funny...... though I promised myself that I wouldn't finish either of those until I've posted their first date cause they spicy lmao

Your version definitely would result in more drama and I'm LIVING for it, no kidding, and will probably use it for daydream fodder. Very tasty, delicious, 10/10 would wine and dine again.

Can you imagine the whirlwhind of panic (oh holy shit I was NOT planning on having any babies and now they might be well on their way), hope (maybe it would be nice to raise babies with Yuichi, and Yuichi seems really excited about the possibility), and disappointment (finding out the eggs are unfertilized, and he and Yuichi are genetically incompatible)

^ this is so goooood I absolutely can imagine it. I don't know how egg fertility is checked but for the question to even come up will imply to their families that Leonardo and Yuichi have had unprotected adult fun time, and I don't think either are very comfortable to suddenly be in that situation 😂

ANYWAY, thank you SO MUCH for thinking your thoughts and sharing them with me!!! I don't have the words to express how incredible it feels to receive an amazing ask like this!!!!!! Thank you for loving the romance spinoff, this means so much to me 😭💜💜💕

[madhogthymaster]

Master Recs: Webcomics (Vol. 1)

I enjoy webcomics. I like being exposed to accessible art, to witness the evolution of artists and storytellers who bring their individual viewpoints to the table, expressing themselves through the medium of free comic books! I spend an inordinate amount of leisure time perusing the old sequential literature. As a result, I follow a ton of people that would give it to me. Now, I wish to recommend a few of these works from my constantly expanding list. I shall begin with a small taster of five, currently ongoing projects to wet your appetite. Let us go.

Preeny Has to Repeat 6th Grade by Jasmine Coté

Preeny is a brush-tailed kitty, fluffy both in appearance and personality, and she might just be the Chosen One to save the world from Darkness – as it is often the case. This comic vaunts a peculiar shtick: the setting is populated by adoptable furry OCs the artist has bought from DeviantArt kids, effectively creating a Kingdom Hearts style fictional universe for the Mid-2000's Sparkledog subculture. This works both as a unique selling point and as a clever metatextual conceit that informs the themes of the story, which is an earnest celebration of creativity, childhood and self-expression, untainted by the cynicism of "You Posted Cringe." It's funny, cute, sincere and it hits you right in the feelings.

HELLO FROM HALO HEAD by Batshaped

The author describes it as "An exploration of the multitudes a person experiences as a response to trauma. Also cartoon animal adventures. I promise it's mostly funny. it's a trauma comedy! a TRAUMEDY!!!!" Indeed, I would say it's an apt summary. The strip began life as a series of Animal Crossing fan comics which would eventually spin into a darkly humorous, twisted yet oddly wholesome deconstruction of kinks and emotional repression. Soon enough, it was rebooted and morphed into the understated, original masterpiece that it is today. Every page oozes with ethereal colours, a delicate yet decisive trait and subtle foreshadowing as a yet unclear narrative starts taking shape behind the surface of "cartoon animal adventures." A rewarding read for those who enjoy to obsess over every detail and pick apart allegories. It's the Thinking Man's TRAUMEDY, if you will.

Haus of Decline: Gay Comics by Haus of Decline

Sometimes, all you need to create a widely appealing classic is a good set-up, a punchline and impeccable comedic timing, all of which encapsulated into the confines of a traditional 4-panel strip. Actually, now that I have typed it, that is one of the most difficult crafts to master. Haus of Decline is a ubiquitous work that has managed to achieve the coveted "Meme Status", swimming in the immediate periphery of your Internet experience. You might be aware of it thanks to that one Steven Universe joke that stands tall as the most succinct and accurate parody of that show. As of right now, I am yet to encounter a single strip that isn't a comedic slam dunk or at least chuckle worthy. If you enjoy a spoonful of irreverent, queer, scatological, sometimes personal humour in your breakfast bowl than this is the cereal box for you!

Molly's Future Mishaps by Peyton Partyhorn

It's the year 2000, the Earth has blown up. Right before that, humans managed to send a rocket full of sea slugs to Europa, one of Jupiter's satellites. It is now the year 3000 on Europa. Molly the slug meets Jo, a sea bunny time traveller from the year 4000. After a soda-related debacle, they both wind up at the end of Time itself. The titular mishaps ensue. Molly's Future Mishaps presents an overly complex amalgamation of premises, each more outlandish than the last, that lays the foundation for what is, in essence, a straightforward character-driven piece. It explores a group of people attempting to finagle their way across Life, their feelings, anxieties, societal pressure, self-worth, many "What If's" and "What Could Have Been's", with timey wimey shenanigans serving as the backdrop for their reasonably scoped adventures. Their personal and interpersonal journeys keep the bizarre, somewhat nonsensical nature of the Universe grounded in a familiar space - in a manner not too dissimilar to that of a Douglas Adams' novel. In truth, the initial run of the comic mostly focuses on comedic high jinks, which tend to be hit or miss, but the writing improves dramatically when it starts exploring the characters' psychology and emotional hang ups. For me, personally, the turning point was the (inevitable) Time Loop arc, which I enjoyed for reasons that will become obvious if you know about my feelings for In Stars and Time. In short: this comic has a high-stakes Absurdist/Existential Sci-Fi premise that belies a refreshingly "Down-to-Europa" story about a bunch of 20-something cartoon slugs. It's relatable!

Dolmistaska by AngusBurgers

In many ways, this one defies description. You should just go read it. Seriously, go read it! It's great! Exceptionally well-drawn too! It looks like an underground Punk comic from thirty years ago. It lures you in with the understated intrigue of its unclear premise, its oppressing atmosphere, environmental storytelling, savvy use of lighting and shading, before dropping everything on you all at once. The protagonist is a non-binary cat person with gremlin energy and a knack for vehicle-related heists. Read it. You'll thank me later.

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That would be all for now. There might be more webcomic recommendations in the future, whenever inspiration shall strike - or I get in a writing mood. Thanks for reading... and happy further reading!

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[VOLUME 2]

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[asknarashikari]

I feel like Hotarou was obsessed with Digimon as a kid. The only reason he wore those goggles as a kid was because most of the Digimon protagonists wore goggles. That and the fact that he was so chill as a kid just playing with all the Chemies and how, as a teenager, he's so chill with the fact that there is a whole concept of Chemies. It's because he gets to live out his childhood dream of being a Digidestined and fight off evil.

Before you ask why, specifically, Digimon and not Pokémon. Bandai owns Digimon and Kamen Rider. A crossover between the two is more likely than with Pokémon

Well, actually, canon has it that the goggles were similar to his dad's, which he wasn't allowed to play with when he was a kid. Naturally, Houtaro being a kid, not being allowed something just made him want it more. The Chemmies made him goggles, which then became the Gotcharigniter after a timey wimey shenanigans adventure.

I do see Houtaro being obsessed with shows like Digimon (and Pokemon as well) though, with the whole befriending creatures aspect, though he didn't necessarily understand what endeared them to him. Of course, it's because of his childhood friendship with the Chemmies- the 'mons subconsciously remind him of them, even if his memory had been erased by then. He could be trying to live vicariously through the main characters without realizing it.

[tobiasdrake]

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, Episode 16

Final episode. It's now or never, Yuki. If you don't pull that trigger this time then you'll never have another--

Well, actually, I think I heard the manga goes farther than the anime does? So. Maybe not. But I want my catharsis after all the time and feels I've invested in her emotional journey!

My dude, it is 2015. You need to sit down with Itsuki for a coffee and ask him about climate change.

Oh this ship is fucked. I don't know how you come back from jerking your hand away from her touch like she's infected with plague.

Pretty sure you're at "Fake my death and move to the next town over" territory at this point.

Like. I get where he's coming from. Factory Settings confessed her love to him and then immediately dropped dead. Anyone would be freaked out over that.

I'm just saying, poor Yuki. She does not know the context of this moment. Minus that, I would be super offended.

Look at her trying not to cry while she apologizes for holding hands with the boy she likes, like it was a grievous personal transgression. The boy who, I should note, grabbed her hand in the first place rather than the other way around.

Yuki. Sweetheart. I'm so sorry this is your life right now.

I can't even be like, "Tell him, Yuki," because boy is grieving so that would not help. Things just suck for everyone in this moment.

Oh my god.

We are actually doing a ninth episode of Eternal Eight.

I mean. In a sense, we've been doing a ninth episode of Eternal Eight since the previous episode. Still.

The audacity. I'm not even mad. I've been complaining about recycling material for the last two episodes but part of me admires the brazenness in going full stop, "Fuck all-a y'all, IT'S ETERNAL EIGHT AGAIN ASSHOLES." XD

Like. There is a logic to ending the series by revisiting the arc that caused Yuki to malfunction and eat Haruhi in the first place. I just. the context of it being this arc specifically.

They had seven years to make new Haruhi material. Seven years to think about the reception to the existing material, and make decisions for what they'd want to do in the new spinoff show. And somebody actually had the nerve to go, "You know what the fans really want? More Eternal Eight."

That is such a Fuck You move that I'm kinda here for it.

Mikuru and Tsuruya aren't here because the timey-wimey shenanigans put Ryoko here instead. That means we're probably not going goldfish scooping.

I do believe I said earlier that I hope everyone died in any cycle where we deprived Mikuru of the one thing she wanted. Sorry, gang, but you're all going under the nearest bus.

Look on the bright side. It might bring Factory Settings back.

Took you 594 years to figure your shit out last time. Try and break your record, Kyon!

Itsuki's branching out into subtle metaphor. Kyon never retains anything Itsuki tells him directly so maybe giving him a puzzle to solve will make him internalize the knowledge better.

Or it will fly over his head. One of the two.

Will Yuki remember to buy a mask? And will they go goldfish scooping so they don't all have to die in a wildfire moments after the credits roll? These are the important questions of Festival Trip 9.

OH MY HARUHI she got distracted by a live performance of Will It Blend. FELT THOUGH. Holy shit, I miss those shameless commercials barely masquerading as an entertainment web show.

You know what? I can accept this. As long as she's having the time of her life, I can forgive a lack of goldfish scooping.

Get fucked, Tsuruya. It is Blender Time.

This is officially one of the best scenes in the franchise. Up there with the time she punched Kyon in the face. Mikuru is getting to enjoy life with no strings attached and got to violently assault one of her abusers. Just like punching Kyon, I could watch her backhand Tsuruya on loop for hours.

Now we just need a scene of her pushing Haruhi in front of a bus and she'll have a hat trick of retaliations.

Also, I still demand they animate the scene of her hurling Kyon down a flight of stairs. I need it.

Okay so we're still going goldfish scooping, we're just doing it without Mikuru.

Not sure if that makes me vindictive again or not. Because on the one hand, this was Mikuru's activity. We were only doing it because she wanted it.

But she's having a really good time watching Will It Blend. If anyone went over to fetch her for scooping, they'd go in the blender.

Dooooo ittttttttttt

And also buy her a mask while you're at it. Failing to acquire a mask for Yuki may or may not also be a death-by-wildfire offense.

Legit thought she was going to be like, "If Yuki and Kyon are officially a thing now then that means you're up for grabs, right? 'Cause I call dibs."

But no. She is going to sort out her feelings with physical violence against inanimate objects.

This is way more believable than her OOC talk with Kyon earlier.

Also, by helping Ryoko sort her feelings with physical violence, Haruhi is nonetheless kinda calling dibs.

(In seriousness, I stand by what I said before regarding how, it may not seem like it, but the fracturing of their emotional codependency doesn't have to mean the end of Ryoko's relationship with Yuki. In time, it may even be stronger than ever for it.

Haruhi's definitely fucked, though. But. Y'know. Fuck her. She is my character and I say this with love but... get fucked, Haruhi. She will be better off in the long run for having learned to process disappointment, as opposed to the spoiled and entitled goddess who drugged Mikuru. This is the kind of thing she desperately needs in the original series.)

Now, all Kyon has to do is be open and honest with his feelings. Specifically, the feelings that I have decided on his behalf that he has, because he's never actually expressed romantic interest towards this version of Yuki but I NEED HIM TO IF THE SHIP IS GOING TO BE FULFILLED.

Which is how Melancholy handles him too. So it's fair.

Aww, Factory Settings came back for this. ^_^ Squee!

So. Confusing. For Escapist Yuki who's passively receiving a love confession meant for a different version of her, though. I feel like she just became a replacement goldfish for herself. So many complicated feelings about this.

Oh. Never mind. I guess Yuki lost the Yuki -> Kyon -> Factory Settings love triangle. Sorry, gurl. But at least you still have Spacetime.

Just. Not right now because you will go in that blender.

(Also Ryoko!)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

He is flirting with you.

In seriousness, it makes sense that they don't clinch the romance here. Like I said earlier, Kyon is grieving. This episode is his opportunity to finally sort out his feelings towards Factory Settings, which he needs to do before he'll be emotionally available for anyone.

This is about Kyon getting closure. I'm sure there's probably much more manga to come before Yuki finally gets what she wants, if she ever does - I keep thinking back to the way her wishes are never, "I want to be with Kyon" but rather "I want to stay friends with everyone."

Still. I want nice things for her, dammit!

Being adopted as Haruhi's mom is agony. Ryoko will be thrilled to know she remains employed at the Nagato residence.

She got something better than a goldfish this time around. She is armed and dangerous. Nobody will ever mess with Mikuru again.

She'll blend your phone. Your personal belongings. The clothes off your back. You. She is a deadly blending warrior now and don't you forget it.

Look at Tsuruya's face. Feel how the power dynamic has shifted.

I'm mad that we end on status quo.

But also happy for Yuki because she got what she wished for all the same.

Complicated feelings.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Post-credits joke is top fucking tier HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

This makes no sense but it doesn't have to because this is the end of the road for the show, so it's not going to be followed up on. It's just. An amazing punchline to cap off the revisit of Eternal Eight.

[ratherbeabrcharacter]

Thinking about the elements of time

How tf does a master of time get their powers? After all, they (or just the one master) can reverse their aging body, meaning that they can't die. Not only that, they can time travel as well, preventing unwanted surprises.

Perhaps when their powers first start coming in, their days get shuffled out of order. If its not controlled, they can potentially live their entire life out of order. I headcanon when the twins timey-wimey first started coming in, one would wake up 5 days in the future (or in the past), and they would get each other situated. Over time, they started developing their own secret codes.

Maybe after a master of time has lived a millennia, they pick a person (barring other elemental masters) whose future(s) have the most potential to change, as it makes their powers stronger, and have them inherit?

Besides that, their is also a LOT of shenanigans when it comes to temporal powers. Can they be a seer? Start to see the past of every person, place, or thing they go to as they get stronger? Do they go insane after a while?

What about time paradoxes? There are also different types time travel, from time loops, to not being able to act on knowledge of the future, and more!

Since the elements of time felt trapped into the time blades, can one potentially melt them down, and split them? (like the power of pausing time split into thousands of tiny earnings for some villains minions) Would the powers stay the same, or would they be weakened the smaller the pieces of metal are split?

Speaking of that, WHY HASN'T A VILLAIN CREATED A TASKFORCE TO STEAL TO THE ELEMENTAL POWERS? ....or maybe it's already happened before, and there could be relics out in Ninjago somewhere.

In addition, we know that the metal can ABSORB powers, right? How come when ray and Maya were forming the blades, their elements didn't get yoinked? This has been something the has bothered me ever since I was a kid lol.

Anyways, feel free to add on to this, would love to see other people's ideas.

[not-krys]

Bittersweet

Rating: Teen Pairing: Lucifer x Miriam (OC) Summary: Miri brings Lucifer some coffee Notes: Nightbringer-flavored Obey Me but nothing really spoilery here aside from the premise of MC being brought back to the past; based loosely on the Devilgram story in the 'Healing Lucifer' card and the chat Bittersweet with Lucifer in the original game; angst-flavored; emotional hurt and comfort; guess it could technically count as unrequited love? Or its unrequited love that used to be requited but isn't right now because of Nightbringer's timey-wimey shenanigans? Requited that becomes unrequited and then requited again? Idk. WC: 1977

EDIT: Sorry, forgot to add @loptyrs for beta-ing for me!

Also on ao3!

Check out my masterlist!

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Miri knew better than to directly say no to Lucifer when he all but commanded her to come to his room. Had they been in their proper time and selves, maybe Lucifer would have been softer on her and she could placate him with some coffee and an apology, but this time's Lucifer… He was younger, fresh from the Celestial Realm and the pain that came from his fall. 

And she was a stranger to him. Memories that filled her heart didn't exist in his yet. Days filled with happiness and with tears, all nestled within her, now she held onto these precious moments alone.

Reminiscing while making some coffee for him as an apology for refusing orders, she remembered how she had made him a cup with different beans than usual and how he teased her about how much she must love him, to give him something so unpleasant to the tongue. When she had tried to apologize, he only laughed, telling her that the beans were Hell Coffee Beans. They were supposed to taste bitter because when one prepares them for someone they're fond of, it brings out the bitterness of the bean, thus why he could guess that she cared a lot about him because of how biting his coffee tasted. He then made a point to drink every last drop in the cup, drinking up all of her feelings, he said. Her cheeks warmed at the memory.

Now, however, she had to contend with him barely knowing her or how much she cared for him and his brothers. Plus she had blatantly ignored his order to see him by going and playing video games with Mammon and Levi, so she didn't have a lot of points in her favor.

Thankfully, there were no magical coffee beans in the pantry this time, so she wouldn't have to deal with embarrassment of another accidental confession, or possibly more of his wrath if he didn't know about the amorous Hell Coffee Beans yet.

Instead, she made a regular coffee, black, nothing sweet or creamy, just the way he liked it. At least, how she knew he liked it from her time. Would this time's Lucifer still like his coffee black as his new (to him) wings?

Just in case, she brought along some creamer and sugar set aside, in case he wanted it. Just in case, just in case, she told herself.

She walked on eggshells towards the familiar door, the carpeted path just as she remembered it. She knocked softly, closing her eyes and clenching her teeth, waiting for that old booming voice to yell or scold her, as it had so many times since she had come here, both here in the past and in her present.

Instead, there was no response. No 'come in, attendant' or even a grunt to acknowledge he'd heard her.

"…Lucifer?" she tried, her voice soft and timid, an apology ready on her tongue.

No response.

She took in a calming breath, steadying herself in case he did want to yell at her, and pushed the door open, the familiar sight of looming bookshelves and a roaring fire almost bringing tears to her eyes.

The long hours she had spent in this room, listening to music with Lucifer, talking the night away, sometimes falling asleep on his shoulder if she had been tired enough, and even the rare occasion where he would nap on her shoulder instead. She bit her lip, pushing down the heartache that was surfacing against her will.

Deep breaths, she told herself, deep breaths. Might have been a bad idea as she still had hot coffee in her hands, the bitter smell tickling her nose and making her wince.

Miri looked around the room, finally spying the eldest of the demon brothers, sitting in a chair with his red gloved hand cradling his face, eyes closed in slumber. The scowl was still present on his face, yet it was softened in his rest, the corners of his mouth just turning up to give him the softest of smiles. 

She then saw the piles of papers at the table in front of him, all having to do with the future building of RAD, the one she and all of them loved so much in the future. There was a sort of energy and excitement flowing through her, seeing the very beginnings of what would change her life forever. Something that she wouldn't have seen in her natural lifetime.

Still, the old familiar bitterness settled over her as she was reminded of her situation. She wasn't one of the founders of RAD. She probably shouldn't be seeing any of this. She shouldn't even be interfering with this time. She shouldn't even be here at all.

Yet despite what her head told her, she couldn't stay away from her brothers, from Lord Diavolo and Barbatos. She loved them too much to stay away. Couldn't stand not helping them.

Instead, she set the coffee cup down, taking in deep breaths again. She refused to start crying again. She had already cried enough for a few lifetimes here, wiping at her eyes just to be sure there wasn't any dampness on her cheeks.

That moment, she heard the familiar rumble of the Avatar of Pride, his deep crimson and black eyes zeroing on her, the sleep heavy in his voice.

"You're late."

She kept her back to him, making a show of straightening up the papers.

"Sorry, I was busy."

"You were playing video games with Mammon and Leviathan."

"I had already promised them that I would. And I don't like breaking promises already made."

Lucifer grumbled and rubbed his forehead, letting out a deep sigh.

"No matter."

He stood, towering over her, and raised an eyebrow.

"You brought coffee?"

"As an apology. I did blatant ignore you to play video games with the others. I figured you'd be less angry if I had something to make up for my transgression."

"Hmph." Lucifer smirked, reaching for the steaming mug. "You didn't add any sugars or creams?"

"I wasn't sure what you liked," Miri said after a pause, holding up the creamer and sugar, "so I brought some with me."

"You didn't bring any coffee for yourself?"

"N-not a big fan." Instead, Miri had a small cup of water. She didn't live at the House of Lamentation currently, and it was getting on in the night. She didn't want to be bouncing off the walls around Solomon. Definitely not.

To her surprise, Lucifer threw his head back and drank the coffee, adding no sugar or cream, shaking his head as he swallowed. Miri gasped.

"Y-you could have added in the-"

"Don't need it." he coughed, taking some measured sips now. 

Miri sighed in relief, taking some sips of her water.

"Does it… taste alright?"

"It tastes like coffee." he said bluntly, though his lip turned up slightly. "For someone who claims to not 'be a big fan,' you sure know how to make a strong cup."

"I made it like that for…for someone who liked it that way." Miri explained, "he… he liked it strong and bitter."

"He, huh." His lip corner lifted higher. "He must care a lot for you, to be able to take something so acidic and not complain about it."

Miri froze, lowering her head, looking at her shoes, a gift from him ages ago. Her pink bangs hid her eyes, her lip taken between her teeth.

"He… he loved bitter coffee, especially when I made it. Always complimented it."

Lucifer blinked, his eyebrows raising in confusion as Miri's came closer together.

"A strange thing to be complimented on."

"He was a strange one." Miri almost choked on her words. "But… that's…that's neither here nor there."

She raised her head, swallowing hard, putting on the bravest smile she could manage.

"But, you seem to like it that way too. I'm glad."

Lucifer started, watching as a sliver of dampness slid down her brown cheek. He frowned.

"You may not realize it, but you always have the saddest look on your face whenever you look at my brothers… especially when you think no one is looking." 

He reached across to her, his gloved hand soaking up her solitary tear. 

"Is looking after them that painful to you? I can do something if-"

"No, they just…" she swallowed, "they remind me of…  of my family."

Lucifer's eyes widened.

"We… got separated. They're somewhere far… far away. Somewhere I can't reach them. I don’t know when… or if, I can see them again."

More of her tears started falling, the glow of the nearby fire making them like falling amber gems. Lucifer kept his hand on her cheek, rubbing it gently with his thumb.

"I miss them so much, Lucifer," she choked out, taking a tight hold of his wrist, "And they're… they're so far away and I can't… I can't…"

She hid her face against his chest. Lucifer breathed in sharply, relaxing only after a few of her sobs escaped.

"I'm sure they miss you too." he said quietly, "losing one's family is never easy, especially with the possibility of never seeing them again."

Her tears fell faster, making her bury her face further into him. Lucifer rubbed her back, trying to calm her sobs.

"I'll talk to Lord Diavolo tomorrow. About searching for your lost family. It distresses my brothers whenever they see you miserable and anxious. And myself as well."

Miri sobbed harder, glad that he was willing to help, but she knew it would be a fruitless endeavor. All Lucifer could do was hold her and rub her back affectionately.

"She was a crybaby too," he muttered to himself, "and a big troublemaker, just like you. Do you cry this much for your 'him'?"

He pulled her onto the nearby couch, letting her curl in his lap, keeping her face in his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair, the pink strands catching on his gloves.

He didn't know how long he held the small creature in his arms (and most certainly didn't think how comfortably she fit in his arms), just that her sobs eventually did calm down to soft hiccups, still refusing to face him however. He rubbed her hair again.

"Stay tonight." he commanded softly. "you're in no shape to go out on your own. I'll inform Solomon you're staying here tonight."

He glanced at his D.D.D on the far table.

"You'll have to get up so I can reach my D.D.D."

He received no answer aside from soft snores. Lucifer chuckled.

"You're refusing direct orders again, attendant."

She still gave him no answer, only cuddling closer to him in response. 

"You're being astonishingly affectionate towards me in spite of loving someone else, I hope you're aware. You would be making your strange coffee lover jealous, I'm sure."

He pulled her closer, moving her head so it rested more comfortably on his shoulder.

"I say that, yet I can't help but feel jealous myself, that someone else holds your heart so tightly instead of me. It's a strange feeling, attendant."

He looked at the blazing fire, lost in thought.

"Why do you evoke these feelings inside of me? Is there something I'm missing here? Some secret I'm not privy to?"

The fire crackled loudly, the amber glow reflecting in his eyes. He sighed, defeated.

"You will reveal your secrets to me, Miriam," he rested his cheek on her head, finding her hair pleasantly soft to his touch, "One way or another, I'll find a way. To get you to talk. To tell me all your secrets. To stop that pitifully depressed look on your face. To see your true smile. To see you happy again."

He closed his eyes once more, letting out a soft sigh.

[heartsaplenty]

(Supra)natural Disaster

{ A persona 5 AU fanfic that takes place in Joker's first year of college, or at least.. The events leading up to it. Timey-wimey shenanigans happened, now the phantom thieves are something... Paranatural. Cryptids, if you will. Apologies if characters are OOC- I've been writing almost 15 years but haven't done fanfics since back in like 2010 in a notebook for deidara and what's his name.

Actual information. This fic is gonna be a supernatural AU. I'm going to use Ren and Joker interchangeably for right now (that might change) and chapter length is gonna vary by motivation. :)

Anyway.. Enjoy!!*

*Oh, one more thing. These will be here until I get my AO3 acct invite. Cause that's a thing now. This blog is an ic rp blog, but these posts are seperate. Okay for real this time, enjoy!

When Joker got asked the question time and time again by family, friends- and most annoyingly- counselors at Shujin about what he was going to go to college for.. Well. He never really took them seriously. It was a flashback fest back to the before times. Before he met the phantom thieves- to the time when he figured no higher education anything would take him thanks to his probation.

That was the before times though. The now saw him seating himself in his first class (somewhere in the middle. Close because he really did care, farther back because he was notorious for getting picked to answer questions), ready to learn. Maybe too eager. Did he look too eager?

A quick look around the classroom showed eagerness to match his, if not even more. It certainly wasn't what he expected.

Thoughts interrupted as another first year asked if he could sit next to him. Joker's onlt response was a grunt of approval. He didn't need to talk yet, what was the rush?

He had gotten good at '...s'.

The freshman had nothing to say to him, lost in their own thoughts now.. It let joker get back to it. To thinking thoughts about the others around him.. He wondered why everybody was so happy to be here and listening, and then he realized. It hit him like a chalkboard eraser.

They were here because they actually wanted to be. This wasn't highschool, and it wasn't your typical class either.

Joker was sure that most wouldn't take classes in cryptobiology for the hell of it. In fact, even as an elective he couldn't see the merit. Not that it stopped him.. This was for him, and the other phantom thieves.

"Hey.. Did you print out the syllabus?"

The voice came from right next to him. The one who had asked to sit by him. Joker's head slowly turned to get a better look behind his glasses, shaking his head no.

The student beside him had bright blonde hair that almost hurt his eyes, hung up in a ponytail, ponytail holder a brown scrunchy that matched eye color. Foreigner? Their Japanese was good enough, maybe they were like Ann.

Thoughts interrupted again.

"Oh.. Well, now I feel like I overprepared. Drat.." Said the blond, tousling their ponytail. Ah. Like how Joker twirled a strand. He knew that one, he understood it.

They were staring. Waiting for.. Something. Talking back. The time for silence was over.

"Nah. Look." He pointed around to the ones he had surveyed earlier who had brought their own printed sylabii as well.

"Not alone. I just forgot.. My cat badgered me too much about my tie."

Which, as he looked back down and adjusted it once more, still didn't look quite right. This is why he never wore these things.. Why couldn't he just have worn something casual..?

'You have to look your best on your first day!' Morgana yowled. A memory that rang in his ears even now, after arguing with him enough over it.

The student took a second, but eventually nodded. There was no weird looks or anything at his disposal. He appreciated it.

"Oh, okay.. Right. Well, we can share? Oh, you know. In case the teacher doesn't bring extras for students who have bothersome cats."

Ren laughed, and then laughed a tiny bit louder to cover up for the hmmph that came from his bag.

"Right. I appreciate it. I'm-"

But before he had a chance to answer, the teacher walked in.

[chaiwrote]

* canon divergences for rory williams.

this is a personal rewrite of some of the events that occur during rory's time on the show as a companion as well as his relationship with amy. please consider this as we write as these are all the main things that i changed out of personal comfort as well as what i believe rory's character is more deserving of. you are more than welcome to ask follow up questions as this is more of a comprehensive rundown than anything detailed. this is a living document and might be changed / added onto as i see fit !

although rory and amy are engaged when rory first meets the doctor, they are not yet set to be wed. rory does have a lot of insecurity surrounding his relationship with amy that had been mostly put to rest until he finds out she had run off for a few days with the doctor.

rory breaks off the engagement, stating that neither of them are really ready to be married. while there is insecurity surrounding her infatuation with the doctor, rory really just wants amy to be happy and understands that her traveling with him is what she's truly wanted her whole life. he later regrets not fighting for her more but rectifies this later on.

at some point, maybe a few adventures after ( i really could not tell you which adventure in particular ), rory and amy reconnect on a trip back home, and they rekindle their relationship when both have had an opportunity to grow.

while there is still some residual tension, rory is excited to travel with amy and the doctor.

after rory takes the silurian blast for the doctor, he gets absorbed into the crack, but doesn't become plastic. instead, because of equally incomprehensible sci-fi shenanigans, he is instead a human with abilities equal to healing factor from his time surrounded by timey wimey shit. because of this, it is more difficult for him to die. not impossible, but definitely more difficult.

also because of this, he doesn't age, explaining his time with the pandorica.

however, this is reversed when the weeping angels send him back in time. he is reverted back to normal aging, though still with the healing factor. but, this is less related to age and more related to injuries.

also instead of arthur darvill, i will be using joseph quinn as an image reference for the time being. but, i'll still reblog rory things from canon material.

[marvellouspinecone]

Sorry, not done:

Because I have decided that I want Mels to regenerate after all. That would mean that the Ponds will already be struggling with the fact that their daughter is their best friend and then also that she killed the Doctor before she talks to them. And us too, so that'll make the reveal better and more like in the series, I think. (but more impactful bc we know Mels and we've had fantheories about her being River that turned out to be true and we will be so happy about that :))

But it will also mean that the Doctor in his half-delirious dying state will start calling her 'River'. And she will totally call him out for it because she may have killed him but he is not calling her his other lover's name while trying in vain to kiss her so there's that. But then he touches her cheek and goes. "It's you. This face - that's River Song."

And I think that will always be an exciting idea for Melody but she obviously focuses on the important bit: "but Amy said River was your wife. We're not married." And he laughs in that quiet, dying way of his and goes "Spoilers." And she will tell him about dreaming to marry him before they had even met so he asks her to marry him. Her parents are right here after all. Hey, you know what? He'd even go and put on a suit for her, just let him pick himself up, hang on a sec. (also get rid of the blood because in my mind in this version there's a lot of blood). And she tells him "Don't you dare." Because if they're married in the future and she has not married him yet, then he simply can't die so she won't do it. And he probably makes a comment about how Pond stubbornness should be able to stop the world in its tracks. And they laugh and cry together and we'll all die from angst and cheesiness like we should <3

But when her parents talk to him one last time, it's that thought that gives her hope that this isn't the end. She hasn't married him yet and he will NOT miss their wedding

Honestly though. Moffat owes me boyfriend/girlfriend - 11/Mels. I mean, what he has with River is unparalleled to me, but add some softer, sweeter and then all of a sudden very devastating 11/Mels to that? It would be such a nice extra layer. And they would be so much fun together!

Like, obviously, we would need to have some kind of conversation about the dating River and Mels at the same time and them both being a little jealous of each other situation. But like, River would obviously find it hilarious and tease him about Mels. And I think Mels would be about as jealous of River as she would be of the fact that everybody seems to know and love that enigmatic person and she has always missed her so far?! Because if the Doctor has a girlfriend/crush/wife/whatever, Mels should get a chance at dating her, too. That's just a fact.

(Someone will probably tell River that Mels wants to meet her to see if they could possibly date and she'll go 'oh, yeah, obviously, she sounds like a blast. Someone should introduce us asap')

Okay, now I'm done.

Screaming crying, all the feels🤧😭

Mels being jealous of herself and then going "yeah she sounds fun we should meet" about HERSELF is peak Doctor Who timey-wimey shenanigans, and arguably is up there with the "you named your daughter after your daughter" masterpiece.

I don't think there would be much trouble with the Doctor dating them at the same time, simply because it never felt like dating to me when i was watching the show. The Doctor obviously doesn't trust River until he learns that she is Mels and it's more about cautious flirting while keeping her at arm's length, which is... ok hurts, but it doesn't prevent the writers from all the jokes about him getting it on with historical figures and such. He actually might keep the same distance with Mels, bc the curse of the Time Lords and all that classic Doctor/companion stuff that we love. It doesn't mean we can't get couple-y moments (Ten and Rose were always awfully touchy-feely and romantic without actually going canon until the very last moment) but it would add another layer to their relationship

[onceuponalegendbg-rwby]

Thoughts During RWBY V9x05 The Parfait Predicament

Wow, halfway through the volume.

Let’s get started.

Oh, I uh, actually kind of forgot to write stuff down for a moment there. So, we’ve split the party and now Ruby and Little are on their own for a bit. I see no way this could go wrong.

And there’s another of Penny’s swords. ....Oh boy.

Hmmm. That was an interesting conversation. I love the blacksmith’s voice. It’s like whispers. I’ll have to think on that scene some more.

Uh..... Did Ruby literally just give up her emblem? “A mother’s promise”? Was that thing actually Summer’s? Ruby, baby!

Rusted Knight! Which is probably Jaune!

NEO ILLUSIONS!

OH! HOLY CRAP! TIMEY WIMEY SHENANIGANS! WHAT THE HELL!

Okay... okay... well that makes sense why he’s rusted.... He’s been here for years looks like! The question becomes, however, will he revert back to being a teen when they leave or is this a permanent development? I thought his voice sounded older under the helmet but... oh boy.

Oh wow.... Oh man.

[silvereyedowl]

Well, this trailer was lovely.

Theory time. SPOILERS ahead. And a wall of text.

The Toymaker (NPH) is the villain. A reality warper, his latest evil scheme involves both the Doctor and Donna, for as-yet-unknown reasons. He interferes in the Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration to cause the Doctor to regenerate into one of his old faces, specifically the one he had when he originally knew Donna.

Shortly after the regeneration, the Doctor, trying to figure out what the hell is going on (and having a bit of an identity crisis) lands in 21st-century London and runs into Donna. If reports from public filming are accurate, she's out shopping with her husband Shaun and daughter Rose. The Doctor, obviously, tries to avoid her. As a result of both this encounter and, presumably, some other incidents (maybe at least one more run-in with the Noble family), the Doctor realizes that some force is trying to reunite him and Donna again. Which, given her memory issues, is dangerous for her.

The Doctor and Donna's history together involves previous manipulation to bring them together, per "Journey's End" orchestrated by the mad oracle Dalek Caan in order to stop Davros' Reality Bomb. This history may well give the Doctor an advantage in recognizing that something like this is happening. As a result, he decides to drop in on Sylvia and Wilf to warn them about what's going on. The shot where he's reiterating that Donna will die if she remembers him, as well as the one where Sylvia is trying very unconvincingly to hide him from Donna, probably come about because of this. Rose and Shaun, who both came into the picture after Donna lost her memories, know nothing.

"The End of Time" also showed that Donna is subconsciously tuned in to timey-wimey shenanigans involving the Doctor, and the trailer reiterates that Donna is prone to wistful amnesia, knowing that she's missing something. It's possible that Sylvia and Wilf have noticed more than one such incident over the years. Sylvia looks very stricken and concerned when Donna is talking to her about this, suggesting that she knows it means more than just a reminder of what Donna lost. Donna's subconscious should logically be aware that she's being targeted as part of the Toymaker's plot, causing her wistful amnesia to act up, hence the heartfelt mother-daughter chat. So when the Doctor shows up to warn Sylvia and Wilf that the things Donna isn't supposed to know about may come crashing back in at any moment, the two of them may already be clued in that something is afoot.

The Doctor's attempts to avoid Donna ultimately fail. It could be that the two of them team up for a bit with Donna completely oblivious to the Doctor's true nature; after all, very late in "Journey's End" post-mindwipe, she does briefly interact with the Doctor at her house (he introduces himself as John Smith) with no apparent harm done, although she's paying more attention to her phone. The fate of Donna's memories is obviously a major plot point.

And then we have Beep the Meep. No idea what connection him and his pursuers may have to the Toymaker's plot, but it seems that he's going to befriend Rose Temple-Noble and trick her into helping him because she thinks he's totally harmless. Obviously, the Doctor's going to have no choice but to interfere in that one.

EDIT: The Toymaker may be pulling a few strings regarding Beep specifically to force the Doctor into interacting with Donna, because her daughter is in danger.

Last but certainly not least, how does Fifteen play into any of this? He does want someone to tell him what the hell is going on, while standing somewhere so spoilery we haven't been allowed to see it. My guess? Thirteen was supposed to regenerate into him before the Toymaker intervened, so his psyche came into existence but is now stuck in some sort of limbo. He may possibly even have been yanked out of the Doctor's head, or timestream, or something, and wound up somewhere else.

November cannot come here fast enough.

[atamascolily]

I have not been following xxxHolic so for all I know this is canon now, but it just occurred to me that Watanuki could end up being Clow Reed somehow due to timey-wimey shenanigans, because they sure do look similar and love Yuuko an awful lot, huh.

Honestly, given the shit CLAMP pulled in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, I think I would be more surprised if this doesn’t end up happening eventually.

[quibbs126]

Okay, so I had a random idea for some Evoland 2 thing while I was out today. I do that sometimes, make up random scenarios that could happen in game (but don’t). So like, it’d happen during the game

Anyways, so basically it was an idea for a way to actually see Demonia

We’re told we need this thing or other that was in Demonia (it isn’t really important, just an excuse for this storyline to happen), and so we go to Present Demonia Ruins to get whatever we need. Menos and Velvet leave, as they do when we’re here (I set it here because I need Menos not to be there), and while we’re exploring, we come across this place where there’s another special Magilith, since those exist. We use it, and the pair end up in a new time period, 100 years from the Present, aka about 899, in an actually thriving Demonia

Excuse for the special Magilith? Well this is where the Molecular Research Center once was, maybe they wanted to have their own secret Magilith here or something. Justify it however you like

When I was thinking about it, I came to the snag of the graphics change, since every time period has a different one. Made more difficult because it’s supposed to be in between the Magi era and Past era, so it has to be higher quality than Magi, aka GameBoy, and Past, which is…something else, I think 16 bit? Anyways, I thought this put me in a big conundrum, until I came to the big solution: GameBoy Color. Have the graphics be the same as it normally is in the two Eras (since they have the same ones, just different amounts of color), with there being colors but only a limited color palette. In my mind, it’s like the coloring in the Gen 2 Pokémon games. I felt really smart when I thought of that. But yeah, that’s what we’re using 

So yeah, Fina and Kuro end up in this new time period, and they go around the capital, meeting people and trying to find that item. If you don’t want to do too much work in this new era (as well as just for time and limited characters), have it just be like, a big puzzle/side quest thing around town to get it. And also we aren’t allowed to leave the capital for whatever reason. What we do doesn’t really matter, it’s more about experiencing this place, at least for me

There is the problem of the group current being two Humans in the Demon capital, but this is also decades before the Great War, so maybe they’re a bit more open minded in this era and more lenient. I mean one of the guys in the Demon Camp said he used to have a Human friend, and he’s only 60, so it doesn’t seem too unreasonable

One more thing here (and the main reason I don’t include Menos in the main group), somewhere during this point, we end up meeting a younger version of Menos. I’m gonna say around Kuro and Fina’s age of teenager/young adult. I’m not too sure how Demon aging works, but that feels about right, with him being 50 years younger here. To ensure we don’t have too much timey-wimey shenanigans of Menos’ past self having met Menos, meaning he would have met us before the game, let’s say we don’t see him for that long. Like, he’s only there for a brief segment, like meeting us once, or we see a scene with him but he doesn’t meet us. Or even maybe he briefly helps us out, but not for too long. Enough so that we see him, but not long enough that we’d leave a big impression on him to clearly remember us 50 years later. Maybe after this section when we meet back up, Menos recalls having met two odd Humans once in the Capital but not really remembering them well, and maybe he starts to realize that it was indeed us because he knows time travel exists now, but it’s nothing much

We’d probably get a different main guy from this era that we interact with, probably in order to get that item we need, and Menos is just a cameo

But yeah, we get the thing we need here, we go back through the Magilith, Fina probably says something at the end about she feels even more sorry now for the Demons and what fate befalls them, as well as empathizing with Menos more, and we end this section

I don’t really know where in the timeline it’d fall, but let’s say after you get the Frangment of Earth, you can do this section. Since that’s the Demonia section

Like I’ve stated, it’s just an excuse to see Demonia before it got destroyed and such, as well as see a younger Menos just because I want to. I just think it’d be neat

I get that realistically, something like this probably wouldn’t happen in the game, given that the developers would have to make an entire new era and graphic style just for this one, relatively unimportant and small section. Yeah the Magi era you only need to visit once, but it’s part of the main story and has plenty of lore significance, as well as some foreshadowing of the ending. And again, it’s entirely superfluous in the grand scheme of this and easily cuttable, but I think it’d be neat

If I ever end up actually learning how to make games, at least in some way, maybe one of the first things I’d do is this little fan made extra sections for Evoland 2 (since this isn’t the only one I’ve made up). You know, like the Earthbound Halloween Hack or other romhack games. It’d be neat

[okami-zero]

Timey-Wimey Shenanigans

Just a random ramble brought up buy a new show I have been watching (and absolutely loving). I will not name the show, to avoid spoilers, but it kind of reminded me of one of my least favorite things in... I guess fiction? Show, movies, literature, etc.

Time Loops. (This is kind of a long ramble-rant, so I'ma put a cut here, to save y'all some scrolling).

Now, it's not something that instantly ruins something for me (thankfully), but it's... kind of an annoying conundrum. Especially if it's something very central to the plot, because then I can't easily hand wave it. The specific example is knowledge that you receive, but the only reason the knowledge is received, is because the person who came back in time heard it from someone in the future, who heard it from that same someone from the future in the past. It's the whole Möbius Strip - no beginning or ending. It just... dunno why, but there is a part of my brain (which could probably be focused doing something else) latches onto it when it crops up. Infinite loops. I know Doctor Who did some shenanigans (and I've not seen enough, or in so long to recall if there were loops) but maybe they did a better job at hand-waving? I dunno. And yes, I know there are two instances of this in FFXIV, I am aware, the first one rankled me pretty bad, but the other... was..I dunno, it was kind of a loop, but handled in a way that it didn't feel as... loopy?

"This thing from the past has always existed, because we made it in the future and sent it back in time" kind of deal (which are probably the ones that kill me, mentally) because now we're getting into some borderline Schrödinger's Cat, but not? Because if it was made in the future, to be sent back in time, to inspire it to be made in the future, to be sent back in time... means it didn't ever *not* exist. Because there is no first iteration of the loop, technically. And that kind of stuff just shorts out my brain until I can go dismember necromorphs or watch goofy slice of life anime with no time-travel whatsoever or something until I can shove that poor smoldering portion of my brain back into its cubbyhole.

Like I said, it's not (usually) more than an annoyance, and hasn't (yet( ruined a show for me. And I hope it never does, but I reckon ti comes down to how well it is handled (like if it makes something make more sense, or if it just seems pointless and kind of dumb). I also absolutely suck at seeing foreshadowing in some stuff, but that is definitely a me thing, and not necessarily being the best at both analysis and enjoyment at once, but that is likely another rant that will rear its ugly head soon enough.

So yea, if you read all that, feel free to chime in with your thoughts. I need to go back and finish some drafts, since I seem to have a bit of motivation today.