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legendofmorons · 4 months ago

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Written in the stars (forever on loop) chapter three - War of hearts

Pairing: pre poly! Chain x reader

Rating: T

Summary: While you and the boys are traveling, you're ambushed. Dealing with the fallout of that shakes lose a dream (?) And leaves the boys with too many emotions. Wind and Epona are done with this, though.

Warnings: HI! The dream sequence in this includes implied character death. You can skip it and get a summary at the end. (Dream is all in bold italics.) Cursing, Canon typical violence

Other: If I missed anything, please let me know.

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Wind dosen’t know what is going on with the others, but he does know that they're treating you weird.

Which is such bullshit.

You are pretty cool so far!

Here you all are, though, walking to try to find the shadow, and the group is being super weird.

So far, you have been here two days total, and you don't seem inclined to speak to any of the others but him and maybe Sky.

Wind dosen’t even blame you.

He watches the others and can't make sense of any of it. The glares, awkward silences, distrustful eyes, and general tenseness the others display are off-putting even to the sailor.

Wind walks beside you, trying to keep your spirits up.

It's pretty obvious you aren't used to so much walking. He gets it. He struggles sometimes, too. He grew op on a small island.

"Hey," Wind says as he nudges you, "I think I'm on first watch tonight if you want to stay up and trade stories?"

You look to him with a relief he hates that you feel. You shouldn't have to feel relief at basic interaction.

The thought of his friend who shares your name and face being treated like this is heart-wrenching. His heart clenches, and he has to take a slow breath.

"I'd love that." You say with a soft smile.

Wind gives you a smile back."You'll have to tell me more about your home too."

"I can do that. You have to tell me more about sailing."

He laughs, elbowing you. "Obviously!"

"Keep it down." Warriors hisses as he turns around with a pointed glare, "You'll draw the monsters to us for an ambish."

"Sorry." You mutter, looking away from the captain and the sailor both.

Wind wants to kick Warriors. You two aren't being that loud, and no one else can be bothered to make you feel welcome besides him and Sky. Sky is in the back today, something about needing to think.

Wind just wants to make you feel welcome.

Warriors is throwing a wrench in his plans, though.

In fact, the look Warriors gives you is going to do the opposite.

Warriors shoots you a dirty look for your apology before turning back to face forward.

You shrink in on yourself visibly, shoulders hitching.

Wind huffs, sticking his tongue out at the captain's turned back.

You see it, though, and you crack a shaky smile.

Wind will take it.

He walks with you in silence, occasionally pointing to a cool bird.

You don't seem inclined to speak again, but you smile at the birds.

Wind just focuses on trying to be friendly. He thinks you're fun to be around, and he wants you to feel wanted.

The day wears on in tedious waltzes of time.

Wind catches the dirty and suspicious glares Legend gives you.

He watches Four and Wild share glances over your head before eyeing distrustful and then looking ashamed.

Wind sees Time stare at you with heavy gazes.

He sees Twilight hover around you with heavy silence. Although Epona seems unaffected by the man's hesitancy and is happy to walk near you.

He sees Sky flinch from your voice when you aren't looking.

Wind sees a group of his brothers, of his previous and later lives, and he sees them and cruel in this matter. As callous. As cowards even. In this one thing for sure.

His brothers are failing you in every way, and Wind feels something thick and heavy in his throat about the debacle.

He catches you quietly, slipping Epona an apple you found earlier. His lips tug upwards at the sight. (He's left curious about if Twilight is aware yet. If the rancher knows how taken with the horse you are?)

How can the others be so callous? You're the shit!

He turns when you nudge his side while pointing into the trees, looking over quickly with wide eyes. He follows your arm and finger up to the seagull that's perched in a large oak tree.

"That's so weird!" Wind gasps, "What is that doing here?"

You give a shrug. "Dunno."

"Think I could call it over?" Wind asks with a crooked grin.

You snort, the sound making his heart loosen a little.

"How? Do you call it like a cat?" You ask wryly.

"No, you mimic their bird call." He laughs.

You crack a soft smile. "So... you just say 'mine' a lot? Or do you call 'seagull seagull'?"

Warriors shoots the two of you another yet dirty look.

Wind opens his mouth to retort, but he falls silent when you grab his arm sharply, pointing to something else in the trees.

He turns, startling at the tight grip you have on his upper arm, following your finger again and seeing a lizafos.

Warriors hisses, having also looked where you were pointing.

Arrows start raining down as you push him behind you. Your frame serving as a shield between him and danger.

Sky is pulling the sailor under his shield next, and Wind is left wondering why in the name of Hyrule you were seemingly ready to use yourself as a shield.

He watches Warriors pull you under the captain's shield. The man pulling you to safety has a neutral look, except his eyes are desperate and wide.

-------

You knew you were all being followed, but the moment the arrows start raining, it seems like a bad time to say it.

You shove Wind behind you on instinct, something in you saying that you just need a shield. You don't have one.

You watch Sky grab Wind, putting his shield up.

You gasp as an arm wraps around you, jerking you close to a body as the person holding you puts their own shield up. Your hands fly up to rest on the person's chest.

You are saved just in time. Arrows are raining against the shield above you.

The arm around you holds you close and tight.

Warriors is the one holding you, silent as he waits for the arrows to let up. He looks down at you, brows knitting.

"Fucking lizafos." You grumble, a dislike of the monsters ingrained in you since you first saw them on a screen.

Apparently, they aren't better in person.

The man holds you close, arm firm around you as he looks down with an unreadable expression. His lips are pinched as he searches your form for any injury.

"When I say run, you're going to run." Warriors tells you with a sharp tone.

"Sounds great." You say quickly.

It's distinctly apparent in your mind now that you have no weapon. The idea seemed strange to need until now. (Your fingers itch to closer around the hilt of a sword that you have never weilded.)

You were traveling with nine heroes but being ambushed without a weapon has definitely changed your thoughts on the matter.

You're going to have to find a sword or something at the first chance you get.

The arrows cease while they reload.

"Run! Go hide, we'll find you." Warriors commands as he grabs his sword. His voice is stern, unyielding.

Following directions is easy. Running into the opposite tree line and away from the monsters seems smart.

You push yourself forward and into the forest as fast as you can, focusing on longer strides to go further.

You break the tree line and keep going, trying to block out the sound of fighting behind you.

Today is officially not great.

You rush through the trees, weaving until you see a branch low enough to climb up a tree with.

It's not a well thought out plan. It's more of a spur of the moment thought. Something about wanting the high ground.

You scramble up the tree quickly, lack of regard for caution in the moment. Yay, adrenaline!

You see the way the trees interlock and have branches that would be easy to get across...

Wouldn't it be harder to track footprints on the trees?

You start making your way across different branches, making sure not to look down or think beyond picking your next destination.

You don't bother wondering why traversing like this seems so easy.

You settle by the trunk of a tree a good fifty feet from the first one you climbed up. You're not too high up, but far enough up and with enough foliage around you, someone would have to really be looking to find you.

You try to catch your breath and slow your heart now. Blood is pounding in your ears.

You can hear everything.

The clash of weapons, the wind in the leaves, the shift of dirt on the ground.

If this is even half of what fighting is like... you can see why people sometimes like it.

The alertness, the heady high that adrenaline provides - it makes sense.

It dosen’t take away the fear, but it makes it matter less now that you're safe.

For a moment, you swear you hear familiar laughter in your mind, the sound of a man laughing in victory - it must be something you saw in a movie.

(Why can you imagine the flutter of blue fabric with the laugh?)

You can't say how long it is before you hear footsteps coming towards you.

You choke down a gasp, peering down to try to see who's down there.

There's a call of your name in a thick drawl.

Twilight then.

You wait to be sure, though. Could it be a trap or something? Who knows.

Twilight calls for you again.

Oh!

You see Epona walking under the tree.

"Sweetheart!" You call excitedly to the horse.

You can hear someone choke a little on the ground, but that seems irrelevant.

You start climbing down the tree.

Once you hit the ground, Epona is nudging you with her nose with a snort.

You smile, petting her neck. "It's so good to see you, pretty girl!"

"Ya really like her, don't ya?" Twilight asks as he eyes you.

He looks guarded, brows furowing, and mouth tense.

"Who wouldn't? Epona is a sweetheart." You smile, happily lavishing the horse with attention.

Epona gives a happy little whicker, nosing your shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Wild asks, eyeing your form with a care you don't recognize.

You aren't sure why he's looking at you like that.

"I'm okay. Are you two okay?"

"Jus' fine." Twilight says, looking away.

"Is... something on my face?" You ask.

"No." Wild says, "Just- a few tears in your clothes and a couple scratches."

You sigh, "That's going to suck later."

Epona nudges you again, demanding that you go back to petting her.

You snort, reaching out to scatch her ears gently as you coo, "Aw, sweetheart, it's okay. You're such a good girl, I'm sure everyone agrees."

"We should... head back." Wild says. "We want to try to cover more ground before stopping for the day."

You nod, "Okay."

Twilight leads the way, Epona's reins loose in his hand.

Wild takes the rear.

Walking between the two men is tense and silent. The air is thick.

Epona is happy to walk at your side though, occasional nudging you for more pets.

You oblige the mare easily, whispering to her sweetly every so often.

Once you break the tree line, you see the others clustered together.

The moment Wind sees you, he's running over while yelling your name. He's got wide eyes again.

He skids to a stop at your side, "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm okay." You smile, "Are you okay, sailor?"

"Those monsters couldn't take me!" He grins up at you impishly.

You smile, "Good. I'm glad. I was worried about you."

"Your warning was helpful. You don't need to worry about me."

"If you say so."

Wind just hums. "How'd you know to look in the trees for them anyway?"

"I felt like something was following us." You shrug half heartedly.

"Well, you were right." Wind says.

Wind, Twilight, Wild, and you make your way the fifteen feet or so to get back to the rest of the group.

"You found them." Time notes.

"We did." Twilight agrees. "They hid pretty well."

You snort, "No one ever thinks to look up."

Wind laughs.

Sky steps over to you, looking you over carefully. "Are you okay?"

He has wide eyes and his lips pinch. He looks a little desperate, but you chalk that up to whatever has him so upset at noght.

"I'm good. I'll probably crash later, but that's adrenaline for you." You wave off.

Epona is nudging your shoulders again. She apparently is feeling affectionate today.

"What do you mean crash?" Sky asks with wide eyes.

"Be super tired? Maybe slow?" You pat Epona's neck as you try to figure out how to explain it.

"Okay." Sky says with a dubious look over your form as if trying to once again assure himself that you're okay.

You look around the group, taking stock of their states and immediately frowning when you see Four with a bandage around his hand.

Everyone seems fairly okay otherwise, though, which is reassuring.

Hyrule and Legend are side by side, talking about something or other. When they look at you, Hyrule gives a strained smile while Legend just glares.

Warriors is with Four, examining a dagger in his hands. Although the Captain does glance your way and give you a nod. (He also looks like he might like to yell, but that's not your focus.)

Getting back on the road is easy enough, although you have been temporarily separated from Wind. (It's like when you talk to your best friend and the teacher makes you go sit in timeout or something.)

Now you are walking beside Time, who is not nearly as excitable. But he isn't horrible. He is, however, doing that thing where he stares, and you just can't prove it.

The eldest dosen’t talk, not now, at least, though he does catch you when you trip over something.

You offer a soft thanks only to get a sharp nod.

-------

Time sits by the fire with Warriors and Wild, unable to look over to where you sit. He can't stand the similarities you share with his lost love.

It isn't your fault but it's erie.

Seeing you come back with all the little scratches shouldn't have upset him so much. You were safe. He dosen’t even really know you.

"Where were they when you found them, anyway?" Warriors asks as he stares into the fire

Wild looks over, face twisting a little. His brows drawn but voice warm. "They were in the trees."

"What?"

"They said no one ever thinks to look up." Wild says with a weak laugh.

Time nods. "It's good you and Twilight found them."

"Epona found them." Wild corrects. "They saw her and came down."

"They seem fond of her." Warriors muses. "Perhaps they have a horse back home."

"Epona loves them." Wild says.

"She seems to." Time says.

"You know... they loved horses too." Wild says, the change of subject is obvious if only to those who also lost them.

Time smiles sadly, the memory of his own steed with their ever tragic soulmate. His dearest.

They left him too soon.

He got longer with them than many. (But not enough. Time is selfish, and no amount of time will ever be enough.)

"I know." Time says. "They were always helping at Lon Lon ranch."

Warriors just hums noncommittal. "They saw the lizafos before the attack."

"You said so." Time says.

Warriors sighs. "How did they know? They said they felt it but... they aren't a fighter like us."

Wild shakes his head. "(Y/n) might just have good intuition."

"Maybe." Warriors says, a bitter tone in his voice that all but screams that he's biting back emotions again.

Time finally looks over to where you are.

You're sitting with Wind, examining a wooden sword the teen holds up. You're grinning, then you laugh.

For as often as Time wishes to hear that sound again... hearing it from you instead of his beloved is wrong.

It's unfair to wish you didn't laugh.

Time wishes that anyways. He wishes you didn't sound and act like his beloved.

"I don't understand why they're here." Wild admits.

"They aren't a hero." Warriors snorts. "They've never fought a war."

"How do you know?" Time frowns.

"I asked. But also, look at them. They aren't like us." Warriors says.

"That's not bad." Wild says softer, a weight in his words only his soul brothers truly understood.

"No." Time agrees. "But it dosen’t explain why they're here."

"Because Hylia hates us?" Wild suggests

Warriors huffs a laugh.

Time supposes that makes as much sense as anything else.

He looks back to you, watching as you swat playfully at Wind's hands as the teen tries to swipe some apple slices from you. It's... nice.

You are not his beloved, but you look like them. Seeing their joyful face on you is- strange and awful, but it's nice too.

He was forgetting what they looked like. What they sounded like.

How they laughed.

You laugh with Wind quite a bit. It's awful. (He's missed the sound.)

The next time Time looks over, you are holding a wooden sword, and Wind is laughing at the bad grip you have.

"We have got to teach you to fight!" Wind laughs.

You snort. "Are you volunteering?"

"Sure, why not." Wind shrugs.

Warriors sighs. "That's going to end badly."

"Maybe." Wild says.

Time has to resist the urge to smack the wooden sword from your hands. (You shouldn't have to fight!)

He dosen’t get to make that choice. In all reality, if you are to travel with them, learning to fight will be good.

The eldest of the group falls back into memories of his beloved.

Memories of mornings spent ignoring the call of responsibilities.

Memories of a timeline that will never be (not for him).

Memories of late nights slow dancing in the kitchen to the hum of his lover.

Time can't help but wonder... how long did the others have with them?

Did their soulmate have a favorite version of them?

Time has a favorite version of their soulmate. His version.

-------

Epona is more than happy to let Twilight brush her coat out after today. It's been such a good day for her.

She has you back!

Epona isn't too sure where you went or why you wear such strange fabrics, but you're back and that's all she cares about.

She watches you with the youngest hero, wondering if you have any more apples for her. She's missed you and your penchant for spoiling her.

Mostly you though.

"Don't get yer hopes up, girl, that's not who ya want it t' be." Twilight says as he brushes out her mane.

Epona looks at him, chuffing her disagreement.

She knows you. She can tell it's you. She's lived too many lives at your side to not know you.

"It's not yet fault." Twilight sighs.

Epona nips at his arm as a chiding measure. He's being so silly!

She hears you laugh again, looking over to see the youngest helping you with a wooden sword.

It's so good to have you back. It's good to hear you laugh.

Twilight sighs heavily beside her. "Oh, Epona, we're in it now. They look just like 'em an' I don't know how I'm s'posed ta go on like this."

Epona neighs.

She is going to have to buck some sense into her master. Silly man.

They're always so silly when it comes to you. Smitten and fawning all over you and assuming you don't like them at first.

Her silly Links.

She watches you, wondering where you've been.

It dosen’t much matter she guesses.

You're here now. With your boys. It's all going to be fine.

Epona chuffs again. However long you have left, she's sure it's going to be good.

Twilight pats her side sympathetically. "I miss 'em too, girl."

She has such silly boys. She knows Twilight will figure it out, though. They always do.

After Twilight is done with brushing and feeding her he goes to check on Wild.

Epona hasn't met several of these boys but they are all her Link. She Knows.

She goes over to you, nudging you. Epona will be getting her night time kisses from you now, please and thank you.

You just smile at her, petting her gently. "Hey sweetheart. It's late shouldn't you be ready to sleep?"

She chuffs happily, leaning into the touch on her muzzle.

"Aw, you just want some love, huh?" Ypu grin.

Epona is left, thinking once again that you are the better half to her boys. Always perceptive when it counts.

You press a kiss to her cheek. "Good night, sweetheart. You get some sleep."

She nuzzles her face against you in thanks and to wish you sleep too.

Epona lets you go on your way to finish setting up for bed.

She knows you'll need it.

She watches you stay up with Wind for first shift.

She falls asleep before you do though.

-------

You can't say you love fighting, but it's much better when you fight at Link's side. There's a heady high of adrenaline, trust, and adoration when you fight at his side.

Adrenaline is a hell of a high, but something about fighting for your life back to back with the man you love is even better.

The way his back flexes as he moves about behind you, the reassurance that Link is alive and okay. The reassurance that you are alive and okay.

It's a unique experience.

The sound of his breathing is a familiar cadence that helps you focus.

There is no regret you can find in your choice to follow Link into the royal army, especially not now when you get to fight at his side and help keep him safe.

You can hear Link laugh behind you, back vibrating with the victorious sound as he takes down a particularly vicious enemy.

"That's my man!." You call back with a grin as you knick aside a blade.

"Focus on your own fight, dove." Link says with a fondness that makes your heart swell.

You're not sure how a man can be both so loving and so vicious on the battle field.

You laugh again, blocking a volley of arrows before kicking the next enemy square in the chest.

The enemies fall quickly, the two of you a formidable duo. You both ebb and flow around the other, covering weak spots and prompting moves that are otherwise to risky alone.

There is no meaning beyond this moment. For now, there is only you, Link, and those that stand against you.

The moment the last one hits the ground, Link is spinning you around, so you are in his arms. His sword drops to the ground behind you, unimportant as he looks you over.

Blue eyes flit over your form as his brows draw together.

You smile, dropping your own sword and reaching to cradle his jaw with one hand.

"You're hurt." Link frowns heavily. His hands on your waist light but solid as he tries to tell how bad it is.

"Not bad. You're hurt, too."

"That's not important."

"What's important is we kicked ass!" You laugh, shooting him a wink.

Link laughs too, eyes crinkling and lighting up. He shakes his head at you fondly, indulgent, if only for you. "Of course we did, dove."

"Get over here," You demand lightly, the hand not cradling his face settles on his shoulder.

He does. He moves closer until he can kiss you, and then he does that, too. His lips press against yours as if he has all the time in the world.

As if you aren't both filthy from the fight.

As if you are precious.

There's a soft hum from Link, nothing but an innocent sign of affection as he uses the moment to reassure himself.

He pulls back, pressing his forehead to yours. He breathes heavy, but there is a deep understanding between you and him that this is where you both want to be. Together.

His gaze meets your own, and he gives a soft exhale.

You rub your thumb across his cheek.

He smiles at you softly, a warmth reserved only for you floods his eyes.

"Why don't you head back, I need to go find my dagger." You prompt.

Link frowns at you, "I'll stay."

"No, go ahead. You have to speak to Impa."

"She can wait." He says with a soft voice, arguing to stay by your side.

You smile, pressing another kiss to his lips. "Go on, captain, I'll meet you there."

Link sighs before he leans back in, cupping your face in one hand as he presses a kiss to your mouth a third and final time. "You better get back before dinner."

"I will."

He gives you a smile before he turns and picks up his gear.

You feel something prickle in your mind, an intuition. Danger is here.

It's somewhere to the right-

You turn, seeing the spear with just enough time to react. A desperate bid to protect your lover.

It's not thought through. You launch between the spear and Link, catching the tip through your lung with a strangled scream.

There's piercing pain and the distinct knowledge this isn't going to end well.

You land on the ground, impaled and wheezing heavily.

Link screams your name before whipping around to kill whatever threw that spear-

Time blurs as blood wells up in your mouth. You cough and wheeze.

Link falls to his knees by you. "Dove, stay with me. It's going to be okay."

"Li-nk." You croak. You know you don't have much time or strength.

Based on his face, he knows it, too.

"Lo-ve you." Your voice cracks over the words, but they are important.

Link is openly crying, shaking as he reaches for your hand. "I love you too. It's okay. It'll stop - it'll stop hurting soon."

You smile weakly-

You bolt up right with a strangled sob and an ache as if impaled through your lung.

It was a dream.

Why are you dreaming about the heroes?

Wild is the one one watch and it's his voice that asks "Are you okay?"

You whip around, eyes landing on the champion. Your still heaving shaky breaths.

Wild looks genuinely worried even as his eyes look far away.

You swallow hard.

"Just- a nightmare." You manage. "I'm- I'm fine."

He dosen’t look convinced.

-------

Dream summary: You and Warriors are in a battle. You guys finish it off and are sappy. You convince him to head back while you stay put to find your dagger, but when Wars goes to pick up his things, you are ambushed. You basically die, but it's not explicitly show, your last words to him are 'love you'. He cries.

Tag list: @vrsin

#misty writes #linked universe x reader #lu written in the stars (forever on loop) au #lu written in the stars au #written in the stars au

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cutiekaijumuseum · 1 year ago

Text

A little trivia for those that just got introduced to Ultraman thanks to Ultraman Rising

You know that part where baby kaiju Emi is shown a kids cartoon with an earworm of a song?

That cartoon is real!! It's called Kaiju Step Wandabada and it stars cute kid versions of different monsters from different Ultraman series (mostly the original from 1966 wich Rising is also based on). The opening shown in the movie is in stop-motion while the cartoon itself is in 2D.

The Ultraman heroes don't appear in person, but bizarrely enough they seem to exist as fictional superheroes in-universe, with the kaiju kids having toys and dolls of them. It's no surprise Emi liked it so much! She would be right at home in this show!

The episodes are 5 minutes long, there are two seasons of 26 episodes each for a total of 52. The official Tsurubaya channel has the first episodes of both seasons uploaded...

youtube

...but the rest were sadly only up for a limited time cuz gotta sell the dvds. What is officially available online right now is a series of educational shorts.

Some years ago Marvel Comics got the rights to make Ultraman comics and made a mini-series called "The Rise of Ultraman" (no relation), and these Kaiju Step designs got to appear as part of in-universe instructional videos about dealing with monsters and aliens:

So let's have a quick rundow on the little monsters and where each comes from:

Pigmon or Pig-chan is the main protagonist and new kid in town (forest). This coral-looking guy is one of the most iconic and recurring ultra monsters and the go-to kid-friendly one, as he stood out among the original set of kaiju for being friendly and heroic (as well as human-sized). He has the bad habit of dying in many of his apperences but fortunately that's not the case here.

Kanegon or Kane-chan is the second member of the protagonist trio, and the most energic and simple-minded. A coin purse monster that eats money, and usually a human kid under a curse. He actually pre-dates Ultraman, appearing in the black-and-white anthology series Ultra Q wich had monsters but not superheroes. Fortunately this one doesn't need to eat money and was born a kaiju.

Alien Dada or Dada-chan is the reliable but temperamental inventor of the trio, he dreams of building a rocket ship. One of the most iconic villains from the original 1966 Ultraman (and that's saying a lot), it's a weird alien with weird powers looking for human subjects for his weird experiments, like testing his shrinking ray. He really earns the name of a weird art movement.

Gomora or Gomo-chan is probably the most iconic ultra kaiju of all. Remember how in Ultraman Rising there is this whole sequence where the dad omniously talks about fighting him? There is a good reason for that. Gomora had the only two-parter in the original 1966 series, and was able to actually defeat Ultraman in their first figh. He's essentially Godzilla if he lived underground rather than underwater (He's even been a good guy and had a robot counterpart). Here, however, Gomora is a chill guy who's passionate about agriculture. (btw, you can also spot Gomora in Rising on a screen around an hour and eight minutes into the movie).

Red King or just Red is another iconic ultra dino, that looks like corn. In the show he's brute but well-meaning, and has a friendly sport rivalry with Kemur-chan. But in the Ultraman series he's a sadistic and murderous bully who beats up weaker monsters but gets his butt kicked rather easily by Ultraman (although more recent incarnations have have been more positive, both in his fighting ability and sometimes even becoming a loving father). (and yes, you are right, he's not red).

Jamira or Jami-chan is a passionate archeologist and fossil collector in the show, whereas in the original Ultraman he was a human astronaut that got infected by a virus. He hasn't appeared much beyond his debut... but doesn't need to, as his episode was very memorable in how sad and tragic it was. I can't imagine the target audience's whiplash seeing this cute creature one moment collecting fossils and the next having a horrible sad death. I guess one could say the same for most of the characters, but this one takes the cake.

Miclas or Mic-chan is the youngest character, a baby, and loves bugs. He was one of the "capsule monsters" from the second ultra series, Ultra Seven. Sometimes the titular ultra wouldn't be able to fight himself so he would summon up to three very loyal monsters from little capsules to do the fighting instead (or at least buy some time, they weren't very strong). One was a triceratops, another was a robot bird, but the most iconic had to be Miclas because really, what even is he? Some kind of bull toad hybrid? (By the way, fun fact, the capsule monsters were one of the inspirations for Pokemon).

King Joe (yes, that's his name) or Joe-chan is a robot controlled by alien invaders and is to Ultra Seven what Gomora is to the original Ultraman: he's the subject of a two-parter and was able to beat the hero to a pulp at first, made harder to fight by his ability to divide into three flying parts. Fortunately this Joe is very shy and very friendly.

Eleking or Ele-chan from Ultra Seven is another of the "mascot" ultra kaiju. If two ultra kaiju have to appear in anything, chances are they will be Gomora and Eleking. In fact, in Ultraman Rising you can see Eleking in a monitor right next to Gomora (around an hour and eight minutes in). It's a dinosaur-like eel monster with (of course) electric powers, and the enforcer of an all-female bug-like alien species set to conquer the earth, that are nonetheless very affectionate towards their pet-weapon dino-eel. The fact that Eleking's masters are always women may explain why the Kaiju Step one is a very femenine and elegant girl despite having King in the name, though no less dangerously electric.

Alien Guts or Guts-chan here is a very little alien bird child who can multiply into three separate individuals to cause all the destruction in their sincere attempts to help out. The original duo from Ultra Seven meanwhile are ruthless alien invaders that are infamous for freaking crucifying the aforementioned hero, leading to decades of japanese media having christian imagery for the sake of looking cool, most notably Neon Genesis Evangelion, because these birds did it first and it looked so cool.

Alien Kemur or Kemu-chan is a very agile alien that comes from the distant future of 2020 to consume humans and extend his lifespan. Here he's a friendly but competitive ninja from the present, and has a rivalry with Red King being the speed to his strenght. Like Kanegon, he pre-dates Ultraman, being from Ultra Q.

Motokureron or Kureron-chan originates from the whimsical, fairy-tale like Ultraman Taro. A kid found him as a baby and fed him until he grew to giant size, but when the kid couldn't feed him anymore he turned destructive; fortunately he was easy to pacify with food, including the kind that made him shrink. He retains his glutonny and clumsiness in Kaiju Step, often doing the bad thing (tm) so the others can teach the kids in the audience why you shouldn't do the bad thing (tm).

Nova or No-chan originates from the surprisingly dark Ultraman Leo. This creepy and bizarre ghost-like alien created a red mist that made people go crazy, and manipulated a kid with illusions of his deceased family, and under his cloth there are lots of tentacles and a scythe. So of course, in Kaiju Step she's a happy and energic little girl that loves to sing.

Mugera or Muge-chan is by far the most obscure kaiju of the cast. She's from the 2001 series Ultraman Cosmos, the one where the titular hero protects monsters instead of fighting them. Mugera is an ET-like cryptid that lives in an amusement park that only kids can see, with the ability to fix toys and heal wounds with her magic. After the amusement park closes down she phones home and the protagonists have to protect her from the goverment wich is a little too eager to shoot down the UFO that came to pick her up. In Kaiju Step she likes reading and plants.

And that was your daily dose of kaiju sugar, that may be overdose because you probably already met Emi. Cheers!

#ultraman #ultraman rising #kaiju step #kaiju #marvel comics #long post

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saramurphy · 1 year ago

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Dan posted this video that gave us a HUGE peek into Martin's notes about episodes they're working on...

Screenshots (with about 90% ID of what's visible, bless his handwriting) under the cut! Fair warning, it's long, but there's a lot going on here, and it's so much to think about!

picture 1: ????? chicken head funnier

picture 2: (first page) Reactionator

? Speakers all over town People's phones Therapist Doof & Candace

Therapist thinks she is crazy but is tactful

The shrink is delusional ? ? exercise that is the catalyst for Cand. being delusional

Candace "It's A Wonderful Life" -- After actual bust C sees everyone doing much worse she feels sad

Family - I think you discuss it Cruise Ship - P&F Van/Doof Last chance to Candace A / Perry back

(second page) Doof's DEI W/A C's Therapist

Doof same therapist

Ferb is next a speech therapist

Doof trauma-dumping on therapist

Therapist "The real self-destruct button is in your head"

Therapist does ex(?)nemesis - therapist

Therapist sees - "WAIT, I GET IT, what Candace is doing gets taken away by what HE'S DOING--"

(note going down side of page) GUEST ON DOOFENPUSS

Doof ? regular ? ? - but she can't ? this because of C ? Confidential ALL DANVILLE Doof and Vanessa on cruise ALL CHARACTERS ? Reactionator blackmail secret I ever tell you w/Lindana whose solved mysteries

picture 3: (script on the table) (our first potential season 6 title?) PHINEAS AND FERB

"VANESSAY"

Written by Martin Olson & Olivia Olson

picture 4: Vanessay

Change tennis to playground

Roger & slushy guy not zapped

Rog. - reflects ray w/ his teeth - set up teeth first Doof: strong jaw -

Agent T thumbnotes "Up the chimney is a weird visual pun" Stacy: "You know we have a front door."

C & Stacy w/ambient sounds joke sequence - cut down?

Mono - "Four seasons of this show" Why did I ? ? ?

To Liv for Vanessay Playground - see how ? ? trap sets scene - a handled window box

Stacy: "Hey ? I ? ANIMAL NOISES!" CUT TO BLACK

Stacy pushes ? out of doorway

Dimin: after "Shorty" - No prize is worth this!

picture 5: T For Teen For Liv - SC 916 Perry leaps into air & does triple flip & lands ready to fight

Pitch n buttons for each

Exec note - Thurs - T For Teens 1:48 end of C/Stacy annual ? sudden cut to end ? w "napkins"

MEAP - PT2 S&P CONCERNS

(I cannot make this bit out to save my life. Martin what in the world my dude)

picture 6: Meap pt 2 - thumbnotes

22 to Meap - "Uh-uh! An ship ? us away!" (clumsy)

Fix pronunciation "St. Lois" joke C is shushed by Meap

Tidy up - don't have everyone say "Don't forget to flush"

C pressing red button to explode ? ship sucks

Brenda joke sexist "No one tracks you through the universe more than your wife"

picture 7: 501 PT1 Exec notes - bigger intro of Doof instead of him on yearbook 10:27 Buf. throw away Constitution Irving beat #2 too quick to nerd

Deconstructing thumbatic

Instead of "psychosis" "phantasma"

607 - Isa hair - 704 OWCA shredding SC

C feels good - "? ? that every day"

12 min: Viewers see The Murder Board

Biblio Blast anim. notes Perry incompetent - smashes into Doof's roof Cut down - plants surrounding/attacking Cut down Doof/Per table start w/Doof "We have to HIT SELF DESTRUCT"

picture 8: (page 1) song by the paver the wind makes love w/each other again

around us - it all seems so real meaning confounds us - cuz nothing's revealed we're SW in love w/each other again

Middle 1: From nothing we hustle Towards each other again Our love seems to circle Without any end

V3: The cloud of unknowing has such beautiful colors But where is it all going ? towards one another? we're SW - in love w/each other again

Middle 2: We seek out each other Every time we appear Sometimes we find another Before we disappear

INSTRUMENTAL W/DANCING SKELETON

(page 2) Middle 3: The breeze says to hug her And show how we feel Slowly healing each other Every turn of the wheel

Repeat V1: So basically - We're SW Along by the river We sit on a porch and The wind makes us shiver We're SW in love w/ each other again We're SW in love w/ each other again

JOSH - The paver of

picture 9: While Dance

says to hug her how we feel healing each other turn of the wheel

Repeat V1: (So basically)

We're SW Alone by the river We sit on the ? and The wind makes us shiver We're SW In love w/each other again

picture 10: Swampy

is trapped

back build something

element

State Triangle

"It's like the Berm[uda Triangle] totally different

(Teen lounge) & P&F build

too much like

Dan wants PLANE to

Doof is the ship

Jon said we turn strong where Doof is in the clouds - there's

picture 11: It's a whole new summer Perry (reblog if u cried)

Earthquake

Mom is laughing so hard she can't look

Staring contest - Try not to laugh

Candace has to be ? at Jeremy's larping tournament but she laughs

picture 12: Perry sick, "Can you take

Candace P&F canoe race

Laughtrack-inator Start ? - reveal Doof hits them w/a Doof keeps cranking it up

Doof rises wall of ? behind at ?

Laugh-inator Cut to surgeon heart

Norm: Good mg. sir Doof: But I programmed you to

picture 13: (this is another view of the page in picture 2, but this one reveals slightly more at the bottom, nothing too noteworthy added except for this)

LINDANA 80'S COP MOVIE - GUEST ON DOOFENPUS

#phineas and ferb #this took hours to transcribe btw. the things i do for this dang show <3

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spock-adoodledoo · 2 months ago

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even worse realization: I have to redo the knh gifs I was in the middle of making

oh my god i gotta reread all the gif tutorials fuck

#it's probably just exporting them again which should be easy #but I'm scared something will be messed up OTL also I made all of them 960p instead of 540 bc the dithering made it look bad at 540 #but now photoshop solves that problem so idk if I should shrink them ahhh rip #daily logs #procrastinated on those so much that season 2 is already on the second half now #i just didn't want to color correct the door sequence even though I really really liked it. thinking about just throwing it out honestly #and then the small voice in my head is like 'you should do the 4 consorts sequence instead tho' skull emoji ion wanna

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herecirmsims · 2 months ago

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Vincent

Goshhhh I made these back in August last year for lovely Lacie 😭😅😅 I'm a hoarder, what can I say.

Important notes about this pack: with this, you get a sequence for a monstrous Sim being gently calmed and returned to their human self by another Sim. Lacie did some incredibly cool stuff including making an enormous deco Vincent to show his true form, and I tried to carry that on here by having him start taller and then shrink down to normal size. Because you can't make a Sim too tall without them looking stretched, the female Sim is also shrunk down to make the size difference more apparent. However! I have noticed that this can look a little weird if the pose is used on some male frame Sims. I did mean to redo them but honestly... it's nearly a year later, it ain't gonna get done.

Another important note: I originally made these without realising that Vincent would have horns, so you get a no horn version (different hand placement, heads closer) and then a version of poses 4 and 5 to work with @saruin 's Shuten Doji horns.

You will need: - Pose Player - Teleport Any Sim Not required, but can be used with: - Shuten Doji horns (should work with either size)

TOU: you may adjust for personal use, but please do not reupload/paywall/claim as your own.

I'd love to see them used! You can tag me on Bluesky, Instagram, or Tumblr. I repost. ❤️

Download here (always free): SFS | Patreon

You can easily browse more of my posepacks using my Ko-Fi gallery, or by browsing my collections on Patreon. Want to commission me and help support my work? Details here! Want to leave a suggestion for poses you'd like to see? Form here!

@ts4-poses @alwaysfreecc

#ts4-poses #sims 4 posepack #ts4 poses #ts4 posepack #sims 4 fantasy cc #occult sims #alwaysfreecc #herecirmposes

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ilovetenna · 22 hours ago

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One of the most interesting things to me is Tenna’s ability to change size (and shape, though that is considerably limited). This ability isn’t the most consistent thing in terms of its context and application, so this is trying to make sense of it beyond simply “it’s just funny.”

First of all, Tenna’s size changing is dependent on his emotions. I feel this is relatively clear considering what happens in Ch3, but I think it’s worth reiterating since there are some confusing things involving his emotions and the fun meter.

Now, at first glance we could argue that his size is dependent on this fun meter. And I feel that on the surface this tends to add up. Generally, the higher the fun, the bigger he is, and the lower the fun, the smaller he is. But there are some variations in this that show he isn’t fully bound to the fun meter, and instead is more dependent on his overall emotions. A good example of this is the dead fun meter during the doom board sequence.

As you can see, he is full size. However the fun meter is fully depleted for obvious reasons. I feel that this shows the fun meter is separate from him, like a show prop of some kind. Though I still like interpretations that bond him to the fun meter, it can make for some silly jokes.

Nevertheless, this raises some questions. If his size is dependent on his emotions, then what emotions specifically make him larger or small?

The answer, from what I can tell, is that all strong emotions will make him bigger, but sadness and hopelessness are the ones that make him shrink.

The moments in which he is at his smallest always show him despairing. Whether it be a silly despair like in his introduction sequence, or after his fight, it’s still sadness nevertheless, and once he lets it consume him, he shrinks into… A tiny ant.

This is an important distinction to make between negative emotions and sad emotions. If he shrank with all negative emotions, then fear would also shrink him, and I don’t believe that to be true. During the whole TV world situation, he can be seen experiencing various forms of fear, like when he is trying to find Kris & Co. after they escape, or when he is begging people to not leave him. It is very clear that he is afraid in these scenes, as he talks frantically and misses details going on around him in order to fixate on one goal. If these emotions shrunk him, he would be much smaller way more often.

So now that we have narrowed down what technically makes him shrink and grow, let’s talk about why this is narratively interesting.

I have seen a variety of jokes about Tenna being a child of divorce. While I feel that is only one interpretation of his character, it is something that I find to be… An accurate description nevertheless. Not to get personal, but I am also a child of Divorce, and I can see very clearly how the impacts of fighting parents are reflected in Tenna. I think that this reading of his character is also supported by his size changing ability.

Think of it this way: When Tenna gets sad or upset or hopeless, he shrinks. He looks pathetic. He, intentionally or not, becomes small and vulnerable. He almost becomes “childlike” in that vulnerability, which parallels the idea of a child despairing through splitting parents. In his intro sequence, he very vocally expresses his distress to Kris & Co., but was surprised when they actually wanted to play with him. His smallness is trying to express his loneliness and despair so that maybe, just maybe, someone will care. However, whatever happens, he becomes complicit and follows along even if it means certain despair. His associations with childlike fears, emotions, and wants is something that, I feel, should not be ignored.

Considering Deltarune has a lot of themes about childhood neglect, abandonment, etc., Small Tenna’s behavior is not there for nothing. In a way, in those moments, perhaps he represents a Susie who wasn’t able to get over despair and make a friend. Perhaps he represents a Kris who was isolated and lonely during the divorce. But that’s getting into fanfic territory, and is stepping away from simply pointing out some observations on the source material.

When Tenna is large, we can see that he is much more capable of handling and managing complex things. He can run a show, even. But his smaller self does not want for grander things, and does not wish to make these larger things real. He wants simple things; love, attention, connection. If you are familiar with psychology, you may recognize these as “basic needs” in some models of thought.

That’s preeeetyyyy much all I have for this one. TLDR: Tenna Small = Sad & Hopeless Tenna. Tenna Large = Any Other Emotion Tenna. His mood is very visible and I feel that his sadness parallels other character’s struggles too.

#I should say that I’m not anti divorce #it’s actually a good thing both for parents and children.#however that doesn’t change the fact that it still messes children up.#deltarune #mr ant tenna #tenna #tenna deltarune #deltarune spoilers #my post #I LIED I WROTE THIS BEFORE I SLEPT #don’t worry I’m getting sleep after this #I just wanted to put this down before I forgot #also I don’t intend to infantilize the CRT #I’m articulating that his experiences and expressions parallel childhood neglect #which is probably why children of divorce like me empathize with him so much

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aouiaa · 10 months ago

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What if.. Dina + Werewolf reader

Maybe R is very secretive about it at first, nobody knows at all, they go about business as usual other than maybe disappearing every full moon. R is just pretty strong and fast and they can just write that off as being athletic or something

Dina could possibly find out when Dina and R are on patrol and they get ambushed by a bunch of raiders, then R is forced to transform into the big werewolf form in a last ditch effort to protect Dina?

Live Laugh Love Dina Nolastname..

❝ under blue moon ❞ — 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 !

warnings and disclaimers, established wlw relationship (not implicated), half werewolf/human!reader, reader has long hair, human!dina, cursing, angst with comfort, self-deprecation, sequences of violence, deaths, descriptions of wounds, mentions of blood.

TAPE THAT MOUTH SHUT, “we love you dina” we all say in unison.

like the repetitive tap of a foot, you were restless. plagued with conflicting emotions that a slip-up at any given moment could alter the course of history, a beloved one with many. every howl under a night sky, a display of unwavering loyalty, ignites a sense of profound shame within you. perhaps this constant state of self-deprecation and guilt stems from a deep-seated selfish desire to release, to finally be who you were meant to be, not forced.

from the unyielding itch to molting, you didn't wish to frighten or harm anyone, but sometimes it was necessary. a sharp whistle pierced the tranquil expanse of lush forests you patrolled alongside dina, morphing into a fierce war cry. your primary concern was preventing any harm from befalling your companion. the attack materialized so abruptly that it seemed almost surreal. the scathing slash struck swiftly, leaving a searing wound in its wake.

in your perception, the situation was akin to clinging to a rope for dear life, so tightly that it sliced through your skin, leaving behind scars begging to be licked clean. the rope itself was not robust, hanging by an exceedingly fragile thread. every action demanding meticulous movement, for a single misstep could spell doom.

the same doom that loomed over your relationships, uncertain if they could ever be salvaged. the relentless onslaught came fast, and just as quickly, the man perched atop you pinned you down, leaving you battered and close to your final breath. in that critical moment, you gazed over to your right, desperately seeking an escape. there, you saw dina, her life slipping away as she was being strangled. amidst the chaos, a profound realization washed over you. it’s clear like any human, they have a breaking point, and being half-human, you certainly experienced those moments of revelations too, just like you were destined to now.

at first, you felt a disconnect, as if the world had shifted into a hazy fog. then, through the blur, a trembling, bloodied figure came into focus. she looked up at you, her eyes wide with fear, as if you were some malevolent entity. the truth was, you were, yet not a monster in the conventional sense.

driven by primitive instinct, you lashed out at her and fled through the dense forest, putting distance between yourself and the once battlefield. with your heart pounding furiously, the stinging sensation of tears threatened to fall, it all felt useless, as if your efforts amounted to nothing. you were nothing, but a failure. now, certainly, you were gonna be alone. wearied, you gently placed the terrified girl on a patch of clear ground before collapsing at her feet, utterly spent.

as if in a scene from a film, a brilliant aura enveloped you, gently shrinking your form until you were your true self once more, but—were you ever truly your “true self” to begin with? your tresses fell like a curtain, shielding your face, almost as if they spoke on your behalf. shame cloaked you, fearing what the other might think, but realization sunk in: you couldn’t hide any longer, not anymore. you gathered the courage and swept your hair behind your ear.

inches from your visage was the face you dreaded, one that could turn away and call out wolf— literally. you stared up at her, tears streaming down your face. You weren't physically harmed, yet sobs continued to spill from your lips.

your voice quivered as you choked out, "i can't... i won't hurt you." you attempted to sit up, but to your dismay, she moved back, the small distance feeling like a chasm between you. it was as if the whole world had been turned upside down—your feet no longer firmly planted on the ground.

it might be for the best that everything unfolded this way, as deep down, you had no real grasp of whether you were truly domesticated. just like animals with their innermost instincts, there was a chance that an unexpected trigger could send you into a tailspin. with tears streaming down your face, you tearfully admitted, "i’m a monster." slowly, you began to rise to your feet.

“hey, hey,” her hands, gentle and soothing, came to rest on your tear-stained cheek to stop you, redirecting your gaze to meet hers. she softly reassured you, “you’re far from that.” like a mother calming a distressed child, she stroked your skin tenderly with her thumb.

“but you look at me like i am.” you murmured.

she huffed, clearly at a loss for words, “i—what is there to say to this?” her smile held a hint of resignation as she continued, “sure, you're a bit on the hairy side, but you did get us out of a hairy situation.” a pitiful attempt to lift the mood with a lighthearted remark in a tense situation wasn't so easily dispersed. unmoved by her attempt at humor, you offered her a cold shoulder, extinguishing the fragile flicker of light that had briefly appeared.

she notices your expression and sighs, momentarily resting her forehead against yours. as she inadvertently glances downward, the change in her expression prompts you to follow suit.

immediate embarrassment flooded you as you swiftly move to cover your private areas, your face beet red. "oh shit." you muttered, realizing you had forgotten a crucial detail.

her infectious laughter sliced through the tension in the room— or rather forest. with a toothy grin, she took off her jacket and draped it over your shoulders, quipping, “there you go, you wild animal."

"hey!" you pouting in response.

request are open, don’t be shy! :3

PERMANENT TAGLIST, @dyk3ang3l, @elliesprettygirl, @les4elliewilliams, @r3starttt, @slut4mascss, @marsworlddd, @bready101, @abbysleftbicepp, @airenaa, @caraphernellie, @astralnymphh, @whore87, @kaiilectric, @sapphicontherun, @mikellie, @nihilisticangelbby, @be3flow3r, @ppuussyyy, @clairoscharm, @lvlymicha, @brackishkittie, @loveyru, @drunkonnatasha, @leosw0rld, @visupremacysstuff

[!] — IF BY CHANCE YOU WANNA BE ADDED TO MY PERMANENT, look at this for more info!

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autistic-sidestep · 5 months ago

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while i was writing up the wiki article for the heartbreak incident (yes i've been working like a maniac on the wiki) i figured out why sidestep has the burning hair smell and blood in their mouth when they get super stressed out, they're having functional seizures (and auras)!

i didn't actually understand how sidestep could have seizures while not being epileptic, but then i found out that's still possible. anyways, sometimes people smell burning hair or other phantom smells when they're about to have a seizure, and burning hair in particular is a stress scent for sidestep. you can also bite your tongue during a seizure.

they (almost always) trigger when sidestep's facing something very traumatic eg:

the final hb flashback in rebirth (and malin confirmed they're having a seizure in their sleep for the december 2023 qna)

[i]Around you, the apartment shrinks into focus, the hallway ejecting you into the living room. A small, dead space, smelling of feet and antiseptic.[/i] (And burning hair.)

when they wake up in their body at the gala debut, they have the burning hair smell and the taste of blood in their mouth

"It takes a moment to tap in the right sequence, bringing the armor to life; green numbers scroll across the corner of your vision. You can taste metal on your tongue as you feel the Rat King cozy up against your hindbrain, the telltale stench of burning hair tickling your nose as the nanovores contained inside your glove come alive.

triggers if you fuck up setting off the sword of damocles left in argent's head during the bridge fight if you didn't already trigger it in rebirth

("You can feel their thoughts wrap themselves around yours, tugging at you, and you obey, falling back in their grasp, falling back in your body, gasping in pain as you're greeted by what must have been a seizure.")

release the catastrofiend in chapter 19 at the auction (even as the puppet it will trigger) or chapter 20 (mortum shoots you with the disintregun)

end up seeing chen's version of the heartbreak events while attempting to dethread him when you ask him to help you find the threads with too low friendship.

"What…happened?" Things start coming back, uneasy things, terrible memories. You must have blacked out again. Running on empty, too tired, and Chen's mind was a lot tougher to work with than you imagined. "You started seizing up. I was about to call an ambulance when…" His voice drifts off, and you can see it in his eyes. No ambulance. He wouldn't have. Not this time.

it's also possible that this is a defense mechanism against telepathic intrusion

[Ortega's immunity against telepathy as an epileptic] has something to do with the electrical storms in the brain that cause the seizures; there is enough static in there to make it nearly impossible to read ${his} mind. Or in this case, be influenced from the outside.

dunno how well this works if HB is riding shotgun inside their brain though. these moments are often (but not always) accompanied by sidestep's scar level increasing and/or a gate being opened

notably, rat king is Scared of you

You must have had a panic attack. You're five blocks away from the casino; you've walked past your pickup point. Is anybody following you? Your head is hurting too badly to scan for it. Instead, you try to jog the Rat King to life, finding… Nothing? You stop, a cold shiver down your spine, checking the life support…still green. Still alive. They are still alive. Your worried wave of concern prompts a small, questioning reply. [i]A tiny squeak. Barely.[/i] Are you okay? Are you? The answer is no, the Rat King is…terrified. Of you? No. Not anymore. That doesn't make sense.

so it might've been the imposter (or heartbreak?) briefly taking the wheel.

also, food for thought, from yoinking carter's memories.

It's hard to keep mental shields up under torture. You should know. You do know. Your helmet disguises the twitch on your face as you kneel down and take hold of Carter's face. Physical contact is not needed, but it makes it easier to focus. Pain makes it easy to slip inside because that's the brain's priority alarm. Unlike panic, which can shut things down, or fear, which can lock things into loops, pain opens everything up. All the gates. All the hidden rooms. Enough pain, and it's impossible to focus on anything but, leaving defenses crumbling and hidden secrets crawling out.

#fhr #fh codediving #fh meta #ramblings #i feel high figuring this out lol it might also be because it's 5am lmao

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mariacallous · 5 months ago

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This prediction is based on several decades of research that my colleagues and I have been undertaking at the University of Oxford to establish what makes people willing to fight and die for their groups. We use a variety of methods, including interviews, surveys, and psychological experiments to collect data from a wide range of groups, such as tribal warriors, armed insurgents, terrorists, conventional soldiers, religious fundamentalists, and violent football fans.

We have found that life-changing and group-defining experiences cause our personal and collective identities to become fused together. We call it “identity fusion.” Fused individuals will stop at nothing to advance the interests of their groups, and this applies not only to acts we would applaud as heroic—such as rescuing children from burning buildings or taking a bullet for one’s comrades—but also acts of suicide terrorism.

Fusion is commonly measured by showing people a small circle (representing you) and a big circle (representing your group) and placing pairs of such circles in a sequence so that they overlap to varying degrees: not at all, then just a little bit, then a bit more, and so on until the little circle is completely enclosed in the big circle. Then people are asked which pair of circles best captures their relationship with the group. People who choose the one in which the little circle is inside the big circle are said to be “fused.” Those are people who love their group so much that they will do almost anything to protect it.

This isn’t unique to humans. Some species of birds will feign a broken wing to draw a predator away from their fledglings. One species—the superb fairy wren of Australasia—lures predators away from their young by making darting movements and squeaky sounds to imitate the behavior of a delectable mouse. Humans too will typically go to great lengths to protect their genetic relatives, especially their children who (except for identical twins) share more of their genes than other family members. But—unusually in the animal kingdom—humans often go further still by putting themselves in harm’s way to protect groups of genetically unrelated members of the tribe. In ancient prehistory, such tribes were small enough that everyone knew everybody else. These local groups bonded through shared ordeals such as painful initiations, by hunting dangerous animals together, and by fighting bravely on the battlefield.

Nowadays, however, fusion is scaled up to vastly bigger groups, thanks to the ability of the world’s media—including social media—to fill our heads with images of horrendous suffering in faraway regional conflicts.

When I met with one of the former leaders of the terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia, he told me he first became radicalized in the 1980s after reading newspaper reports about the treatment of fellow Muslims by Russian soldiers in Afghanistan. Twenty years later, however, nearly a third of American extremists were radicalized via social media feeds, and by 2016 that proportion had risen to about three quarters. Smartphones and immersive reporting shrinks the world to such an extent that forms of shared suffering in face-to-face groups can now be largely recreated and spread to millions of people across thousands of miles at the click of a button.

Fusion based on shared suffering may be powerful, but is not sufficient by itself to motivate violent extremism. Our research suggests that three other ingredients are also necessary to produce the deadly cocktail: outgroup threat, demonization of the enemy, and the belief that peaceful alternatives are lacking. In regions such as Gaza, where the sufferings of civilians are regularly captured on video and shared around the world, it is only natural that rates of fusion among those watching on in horror will increase. If people believe that peaceful solutions are impossible, violent extremism will spiral.

Surprisingly, however, a remedy may lie in the fusion mechanism itself. Our research has shown that when Muslim and Jewish participants reflect on the sufferings of the outgroup in the Gaza conflict, this has strikingly positive effects on their attitudes toward each other, despite initial feelings of hostility. Investigations into the fusion mechanism also suggest that it can strengthen over time, when people reflect for weeks and months on their shared experiences of suffering. Consequently, there is still time to prevent my bleak prediction for 2025 from being realized.

Acknowledging shared suffering on both sides of human conflict is often a pathway to imagining peaceful solutions. But first we need to find better ways of ensuring that more people around the world are exposed to the sufferings of those on the other side of the conflicts they are personally most affected by. This may seem like an impossible task in a world where politics is becoming more divisive, foreign policy more parochial, and social media bubbles more impenetrable. However, recognizing the psychology that compels us toward violent or peaceful outcomes is the first step to a solution. How we manage that psychology in 2025 may profoundly influence the kind of world that future generations inherit.

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