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cloudbattrolls · 20 days

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Setting the Snare

This drabble is preceded by Cutting Commentary and followed by Grey Tidings.

The best liars are those who know their misdeeds are safely obscured, and all they need do is stall and redirect blame. Yet Halvir made one crucial error.

Artair shakes his head. "If you must pursue this thin ray of hope, then so be it. Let us hope the defense doesn't have any other outraged peons ready in the wings."

The muttering in the gallery continues for several moments until the judge bangs his gavel severely on the bannister, roaring for order.

Artair seems unperturbed, merely brushing some unseen dust from his shoulder, while Hovend huddles into himself as much as possible.

More clinic staff are brought forward to state when they remember their breaks were and when they last saw the patient. Based on the various times given, the last nurse to see Calcit was Halvir.

One of them struggles to remember when their break was considering everything that happened that night, both he and Halvir estimate they took their breaks around the same time but neither remembers seeing the other.

Indrid, tapping her chin. "Yet we do have one last corroboration. Mr. Valtop, if you don't mind reporting who and what you saw that night during and around your smoke break..."

Giorni dutifully takes the stand. He states that he can remember taking his smoke break out by the exit door to the alleyway near to the time of the victim's death.

When he attempted to return to the clinic, however, he noted one of the mannequins was in his way. It was gesturing down the hallway, towards where the staff room and the victim's room were.

He thought it kind of strange, but then again, those things are nothing but strange, and brushed it off by sidling past it. He didn't remember seeing any other staff in the hallway at the time, so he guesses the person responsible for the ward at that time was probably in the staff room on break.

Artair rolls his eyes at the mention of the mannequin, but dutifully does not interrupt the testimony.

The other nurse who took his break when Halvir did replies that he has some familiarity with the nanites, but he hasn't been trained specifically to use them yet. He notes in his employee record that he's been given preliminary training but has yet to complete the final training required.

When Calcit died, he was working in a different ward, trying to replace someone's IV drip. He could hear the commotion, of course, but working on the opposite side of the clinic and not being on the crash team precluded him from doing much about it.

Indrid, nodding. "Can that be corroborated by the other staff?"

He nods. "Sure, that chief of security guy was in my ward when it all went down. He was checking for... I dunno, actually. He's kind of weird."

Yarrex steps right up to the witness stand, giving a salute to the judge and the defense. The judge is unamused.

"Yes, yes, I was indeed checking that man's ward, he was assuredly there the whole time. I was trying to see if there were any water leaks in the area. You see, I had been hearing this odd-patterned series of drops on the ceiling.

But there was no water damage! And mold is the greatest of foes we can face in a medical facility, aside from nanomachines that go berserk and eat people, but that is just how life is sometimes. Penicillin comes from mold, so, in a way, mold is also our greatest friend. A balance in all things."

The gallery is stunned into silence.

Indrid looks politely baffled but thanks him for his testimony, then looks grave.

"As we have eliminated the only other possibility...what remains must be the truth." She says, solemn. "It is as Mr. Arigah said; Mr. Urtyop could have been the only one to hack the nanomachines that night."

Artair shakes his head. "Nay, you've not proven that. What ye've proven is that we can say that your alleged suspect may have been the one to throw that phone into th' garbage. You've no evidence that was the item used to do your supposed 'hacking."

He taps a thick finger on the desk in front of himself for emphasis. "Can you rule out that this 'hack' was not done before the nanomachines were administered? Perhaps by any of the other people who visited the victim? A phone can be tossed out for any reason, including just because you feel like it."

Indrid sighs, but will concede he has a point. "Very well, Mr. Clonal. Yes, we can, as it counter to how they are designed.

They are preprogrammed with their commands if not being manipulated directly by miss Lovely or miss Wistim's psiionics, and as Mr. Urtyop himself attested to earlier when you questioned him, even their creators cannot alter them when they are inside a troll unless they are within range of them; it is not possible by normal methods."

She raises her eyebrows. "Who else do you think could have done it? One of the medical staff? They were the only ones who visited the patient." She asks him genuinely.

She hums. "As for your other question...true, a phone may be tossed out for any reason. But this phone is bare of any identifying features, stripped of all other information, in a distinctly suspicious manner. Miss Tynshu could attest to that, if you wish."

"So what, exactly, prevented someone using any other phone from doing it? As you suggest, any of the other staff that visited him could easily be a suspect," he sniffs, indifferent.

Indrid sighs. "Only those with sufficient knowledge of the nanites, Mr. Clonal."

"I don't need her to tell me what is obvious. Do you go around throwing out your old phones with personal information on them? I sure hope the galley tonight doesn't have any enterprising thieves in it, if so." He casts a glance at Halvir.

Indrid looks vaguely affronted. "I recycle all my phones, sir."

"Mister Urtyop, you stand here accused of an egregious crime. Not only does the defense allege that you played a part in the death of your patient, but they imply that you are a member of the Grey Mob. Do ye reject these accusations?"

Halvir nods. "Of course I do! What happened was a tragedy! I'm not a mobster, for god's sake, I wear my caste openly! I wouldn't attack my own patient!"

There's further muttering from the gallery, along with continued whispers about the Mob.

Someone receives a phone call and steps out of the room.

"Anyone can wear their caste openly." The indigo points out patiently. "Whoever did this, if it was not you, could have easily had the motive discussed by Mr. Arigah; miss Wistim's recorded testimony from her interrogation is evidence that Mr. Interg was investigating a counterfeit jean smuggling ring, and evidence of such was also among his personal effects.

If not you, Mr. Urtyop, then who do you think could have hacked the nanites and killed him?"

"Why am I being told to play detective? This is outrageous!" Halvir protests. "I'm not going to randomly accuse other staff members! I thought miss Wistim was better than this!"

The crowd again begins to murmur, with distrustful glances now being thrown towards the defenses section of the court.

"I don't know anything about hacking or what-have-you, the most programming I ever did was making some flash-based games when I was younger. Why am I getting thrown under the bus just for doing my job?"

Indrid remains as calm as ever.

"Because you were the last person with Mr. Interg, Mr. Urtyop, the one who threw away that phone, and because these nanites did not malfunction on their own." She says simply. "If the phone was not used for hacking, then why did you throw it away?"

"It was old?" he shrugged. "Did you see the thing? I finally upgraded the other day and decided my break was as good a time as any to toss it out."

Indrid raises her eyebrows. "You had no idea it was capable of hijacking the nanotech?"

"Why on Alternia would I ever think an old flip phone capable of doing that?"

"Yet miss Tynshu says it is fairly simple." Muses Indrid. "Even someone with a basic grasp of the principles involved could be capable of it. Since it was capable of doing such, who do you think programmed it to do so? Are you claiming that you are being framed?"

"You still haven't even proven that phone did anything," Halvir retorts, frowning. "I'd say it feels more like I'm being used as a scapegoat, if miss Wistim wants to duck responsibility for losing a patient."

That rebuke earns a few gasps in the crowd. Artair snorts in appreciation.

At that moment, there is a commotion by the doors. They suddenly spring open, a visibly worried legislacerator carrying a husktop with him. He hustles over to Artair and whispers something into his ear. Artair blinks, whispers something back, then shakes his head.

"Much as I hate t' interrupt the defense's flounderin', your honor, we have interestin' news."

"And that is?" the judge asks, leaning forward in his chair.

"We have a... ugh... surprise witness. The damned Grey Mob itself got wind of th' accusations being thrown about the defense, and now they're in an uproar."

The courtroom, to a troll, is stunned into a vast moment of silence.

He had forgotten - as this entire affair had made Ullane remember - that all things must be answered for.

#cloud writes #more to lose #indrid dynast #here it coooomes #my favorite part of the trial #almost to the very endgame #if the grey mob complaining seems weird to you: you're correct!

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agentfrostbite · 3 years

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It's Saturday and I'm in the mood, so let's talk about Elijah Kamski

Specifically about how he treats his Chloes. Obviously this is an opinion, and everyone is entitled to theirs, but as I read Chlonnor ship fics (they are adorable and I am unrepentant), I notice that a lot of them have Chloe becoming a deviant after Connor chooses not to shoot her. I don't have a problem with this, per se, but I have noticed several things in game that makes me think she's already a deviant.

1. The other two Chloes are already deviant

It's a small detail that tends to get overlooked because you're busy focusing on meeting Elijah and "OMG, Amanda's dead??" and later whether or not Connor actually shot Chloe. But these two girls right here?

They're talking. They're chatting with each other. I know that doesn't sound like much, but look back on the rest of the game thus far. Androids that aren't deviant don't converse with other androids because there's no reason they should. They have a job, and unless they're being addressed by a human, that job doesn't involve talking. You know who does converse? Deviants. Additionally, they're just lounging in the pool, and I guess that Kamski could have ordered them in there because he doesn't like swimming alone/likes to swim with his Chloes/some other potentially creepier thing, but it feels a little too natural for that.

2. Kamski pushes Connor toward his own decision

Looking back on the scene, it's clear that Kamski is trying to force Connor into making the choice of whether or not to shoot Chloe, against Connor's will. He directly pits Connor's programming against his collected software instabilities to see which is stronger. Yes, he is a scientist, first and foremost, so he's gathering data through his test, but I think he's strongly leaning towards - and pushing Connor towards - a pro-deviant standpoint.

His dialogue throughout the scene puts longer, more emotional, emphatic language on the idea of deviancy and the free will of androids - specifically of Connor. He pushes Connor to attempt an answer outside his programming ("Well, that's what you're programmed to say... but you...what do you really want?") and he places special emphasis on Connor's individuality ("Decide who you are. An obedient machine... Or a living being endowed with free will...") in the critical moment just before Connor decides whether or not to shoot.

That, combined with the fact that the two Chloes in the pool are conversing - and at this point, watching the scene, one notably with a concerned/uncertain look as she turns back around - tells me that Kamski is supportive of the idea of deviants.

3. Kamski closes off and expresses almost negative emotion if Connor does choose to shoot Chloe

If Connor decides that his mission is more important than Chloe and shoots, Kamski's attitude makes a definite shift. Where earlier he was toying with Hank and Connor, giving cryptic answers and sidestepping the main issue they were there to discuss, after Chloe is shot, he switches to straight answers and short replies.

Additionally, this post by @omentrash highlights Kamski's obviously upset expression when Connor chooses to shoot Chloe. Call it what you like, but to me, this says he absolutely did not want Connor to fire.

4. No matter what route you choose, Kamski tells Connor about the emergency exit

In any situation where Connor ends up in a place of partial or total deviancy, Amanda resumes control of his program and traps him in the white-out blizzard Zen Garden. In this case, the only way for Connor to escape is to use the emergency exit. But he only knows about it because Kamski goes out of his way to inform Connor of it (and we'll get to the ramifications of Kamski knowing about Connor having it later).

Obviously in the deviant best ending, Connor uses this to avoid shooting Markus and the surviving Jericrew in the back, and most of the time, this ending was preceded by Connor deciding not to shoot Chloe. So yes, it makes sense that Kamski would inform him about a way out, should something like what Amanda does happen to him. But he also tells Connor about it if Connor does shoot Chloe, which lets us know that Kamski is hoping that perhaps Connor will deviate somewhere later down the line. He didn't do it here, but he might when faced with the same situation at a future time. Kamski is looking out for Connor, even though Connor isn't a deviant yet, because Kamski has hope that he might become one.

5. Deviants are capable of acting like normal androids

I include this one to illustrate that just because Chloe appears to be a perfect hostess here

and shows no emotion when faced with life or death doesn't mean that she's not a deviant. We know that deviants can, when necessary, act like normal androids. Markus and North do it at Stratford. (Specifically pointing out the part where a human opens the bathroom door, and Markus snaps to attention at the side, like a good little obedient Android janitor.)

Kamski is the Man of the Century. He revolutionized life for everyone across the planet by successfully creating a robotic assistant species that walks, talks, and looks roughly human, while doing everything a human can do with far more efficiency. Of course he gets house calls. And if his androids are deviants - and at the very least, the two in the pool are, so why wouldn't his first android be one as well? - and people come calling, they'd need to act like proper androids. Chloe, especially, since she greets people at the door and is the poster child.

And you'll notice, even in her interview, she acts more human than most androids do. She stammers, she smiles, she's clearly nervous. She shifts back and forth, readjusting in her seat like a human would. Sure, she needed to do these things to pass the Turing Test, but there's a deeper feel to it than just good programming. I think she was leaning heavily toward deviancy at that point. Not there yet, but close. That was years before we see her at Kamski's house in the game. She must be a deviant by now.

6. Kamski left an emergency exit in Connor's program, meaning that he had some hand in Connor's creation

So Kamski leaves emergency exits in all his programs; I think we've beaten the dead horse enough at this point, but I gotta do it one more time because why would Connor have his program? Base code, sure. Okay, we can make that argument that every android has the same base code as the original program. But we can also make the argument - and it has stronger evidence - that Kamski himself had a huge hand in developing the RK series. Proof? Markus.

Markus was a gift from Kamski to Carl; we know this from Connor's scan of Markus at Stratford Tower. We also know that Markus was a unique prototype, since his police file not only states this but also doesn't have a picture of him. No photo at all. Just a blank face, and "Unknown series" and a DESTROYED.

If Markus was one of a small handful, then they'd have a photo of another. They certainly wouldn't have a "Unknown Series" on the file. This makes me think that Kamski made Markus on his own and then gifted him to Carl. I suspect this means that he still has connections at CyberLife, which he used to get the parts for Markus. By giving Markus to Carl, knowing that Carl would cause him to deviate, he set up the seed of the revolution. Now why would Kamski do that, unless he was pro-deviant?

Summary

CyberLife decides to create an android detective/negotiator with the most cutting edge technology and coding the world has ever seen. This model would hunt down deviants and bring them back, if possible, for analysis so CyberLife could lock down the problem and eliminate it with a software patch. It's a delicate operation; after all, Connor starts with his toes on the line of deviancy. Presumably, when he goes to rescue Emma from Daniel, it's his first mission, and already, he's struggling with software instabilities. To think like a deviant, you have to be as unpredictable as possible. That means that he's right on the edge, and he remains on that edge for most of the game, depending on what the player decides to do with him.

So CyberLife need some assistance getting the code ironed out to ensure their Deviant Hunter doesn't become a deviant himself (until the time is right), so they turn to the man who first invented androids and has already technically worked on the RK series: Kamski. They ask - or perhaps Kamski himself offers - and Kamski works on the code. Not all of it, not even the majority, just the few bits and pieces where their almost-deviant and anti-deviant codes clash. All of his work is surely checked - secretly, of course; no need to make him think they don't trust him - so there's really only one thing he can add to Connor's program: the emergency exit. And that's why Connor is his program, why CyberLife would allow the exit to remain, why Kamski points it out, no matter what you choose.

And Kamski would do none of this - it doesn’t make sense for him to do any of this - unless he's secretly cheering on the revolution from the sidelines.

#dbh #detroit become human #dbh kamski #elijah kamski #dbh chloe #chloe rt600 #dbh connor #connor rk800 #dbh markus #markus rk200 #dbh carl #carl manfred #deviants #deviant connor #long post #dbh meta #pro deviant elijah kamski #deviant chloe

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dusky-dancing · 4 years

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Gift of a Heartbeat - Part 1

Summary: Once Sora learns the deeper meaning of Aqua’s protection enchantment on Kairi’s necklace, he can’t help but want to add more.

Length: ~1800 words

Rating: T

Genre: Romance

In honor of the birthday boy, I wanted to post the first part of this fic in which Sora and Kairi exchange special and very personal gifts for each other. Happy Birthday, Sora!

Enjoy :)

Update: Read part 2 here!

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Sora didn’t know exactly how he’d ended up in the middle of Aqua’s study, covered in the remains of failed spell attempts. Memories of himself arriving at the Land of Departure and begging for her help to craft an enchantment flashed his mind, but all he knew in the moment was that he had to keep trying.

He’d been restless ever since he’d found out the specifics of the protection spell Aqua had cast on Kairi’s pendant. It had briefly come up when they’d all reunited in Yen Sid’s tower, but the looming threat of Xehanort and the Organization had taken precedence. When the subject of her protection spell came up again in casual conversation and she’d spilled it’s specific intended purpose, Sora had squeezed the blue-haired mage into the tightest hug he’d ever given.

Many thanks had spilled from his mouth, though he wasn’t sure exactly what for.

For protecting her.

For sending her to us.

To me.

And now here he was, crafting his own enchantment in the study of a Keyblade Master far more skilled in magic than he was. She stood back and observed, saying that the spectacle was worth more than any messes he made.

“The enchantment you want is extremely personal,” Aqua had said, “it’s not something that can be easily repeated, and will require equally personal touch.”

Sora didn’t complain about having to do the actual crafting on his own. It wouldn’t feel right giving Kairi a gift that had been made by someone else anyways. But the repeated failed attempts, the sheer amount of literal blood, sweat, and tears poured into its assemblage made Sora miss the days of merely plunging a Keyblade into his chest for her.

Atleast he had an excuse to be gone so long. He’d told Kairi that Aqua had agreed to train him in high level magic, and he technically wasn’t lying. Little did he know how much potion crafting and enchanting had become a hobby of hers.

Sora winced as he combined the base magical components with the custom ones once again, carefully stirring them together to the right consistency before adding another. With each failure, he’d made little steps further along and learned the various don'ts of spell-crafting.

Don’t let that sit still for too long.

Don’t breathe in those fumes.

Don’t get impatient when heating components.

To his surprise, everything had run smoothly thus far in this attempt. He added the second to last ingredient, petals of a bright red carnation, and the mixture turned an incandescent violet in color.

That was new.

He stepped back and watched it shimmer, steady and stable. Aqua perked her head up and leaned forward, eyeing it carefully.

“It’s ready,” she said. “Quick, add it now.”

Just one final ingredient, a simple drop of his own blood. He’d endured enough physical and mental pain throughout the past week that a simple prick of the finger paled in comparison. A simple needle did the trick, and he held his hand as far out as he could over the basin. His pulse drummed at his fingertip, and a thought crossed his mind.

I wonder if it will feel the same for her.

Despite the fear that something could go horribly wrong, Sora couldn’t take his eyes off of the red drop as it fell from his fingertip into the mixture. A puff of steam rose from where it made contact, and the concoction turned from violet to a warm red, though still just as luminescent.

Sora took a deep breath and pulled his hand back. The hue alternated between shades of red to the beat of his own heart. A beaming smile pulled at his lips, and Aqua gave his back a reaffirming pat.

“You did it, Sora,” she smiled proudly.

A relief-filled sigh escaped him. “Now I just have to apply it.”

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He was already waiting for her in the secret place. What was left of the evening sunlight illuminated the cave and all of their childhood drawings. He was crouching in the far corner near the door with no handle, and she could easily guess which drawing his hand was running over. At her approaching footsteps, however, he snapped his attention to the cave entrance and stood.

He’d returned from training with Aqua earlier in the day, so perhaps he was just tired and jumpy. But something seemed more off about him.

“You wanted to meet me here?”

“Yeah,” He smiled. “I got you something while I was gone.”

Kairi’s heart nearly melted. Of course Sora would be so selfless even while training. “Sora, that’s so sweet, but-” she tilted her head to the side. She’d trained with Aqua before, so she knew her training regimen - and its lack of free time for gift shopping. “How did you find the time?”

He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. “I was with Aqua, but I wasn’t training exactly. She helped me make something.”

With a shaking hand, Sora pulled a small vial out of his pocket. It contained a luminescent red liquid, more shimmery than a normal potion. He held it carefully before her, and the hue shifted as it moved under the light.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, leaning down to get a closer look. The last few seconds only added more questions. The mystery behind it intrigued her, but she merely looked to Sora for answers.

“Can I see your necklace?” He asked.

She glanced down at the small jewel dangling in front of her collarbone. It had been a part of her wardrobe for as long as she could remember.

“Of course, but what about it?” She clutched it in her hand before standing straight.

With a deep breath, he uncorked the vial. His whole focus was on the tiny trinket around her neck, but he broke his concentration briefly to meet her eyes. He shot her a smile, his eyes filled with enough admiration to turn her cheeks warm. She still couldn’t handle when he looked at her like that, and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to.

He began, “Do you remember what led you to Destiny Islands?”

She glanced to the side, recalling their brief conversation in Yen Sid’s tower. “Yes,” she answered, “Aqua cast a spell of protection on me.”

His lips twitched into a smirk. “Do you remember what she said when she cast that spell?”

“No?” She cocked her head to the side. “Sora what-”

“She said that it would carry you to the light of another. That they would protect you when your heart was in danger.”

Kairi opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. There had always been one person who’d protected her heart. One person whose light welcomed her own in when others sought after it. One person who’d made stupid reckless sacrifices to save her. And that person was-

“Me. It led you to me, Kairi.” His eyes reddened with tears that she hoped were from happiness. She fought back her own, because whenever he cried, she cried. He continued, “And I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect gift.”

A few tears escaped her defenses and came out with a nervous laugh. “Sora,” she pleaded with her voice, knowing her heart couldn’t take much more.

“I made a promise to you, that I’d always be with you,” he continued, “and I wanted to get you something to remind you, no matter where you are, no matter what you’re going through, no matter how far apart we are. My heart is with you.”

Before she could speak, he lifted his free hand to trace a sigil in the air. His fingers moved quickly, but she could swear they were shaking. He spoke an incantation in a language she’d never heard before, and the contents of the vial glowed. She flinched when the glass vial shattered, but rooted herself in place. The natural light around them dimmed. No longer contained, the magical red glow rippled outward and danced around them, showering her in sparks. He took one step closer, and she reminded herself to breathe, completely hypnotized by it all.

Gently, he touched two fingers to her pendant. His hand was shaking, and she would’ve held it within her own to calm him, were she not frozen in place. The magic surrounding her followed his movement and quickly converged on the small jewel. She drew in a quick breath at the sudden motion and squeezed his hand - when had he taken her hand? He gave her a gentle squeeze as reassurance.

After what felt like an eternity, the glow slowly faded. The cave around them returned to normal.

At first, nothing felt different. But in the still silence, Kairi felt the slightest little vibration against her chest. It was soft, rhythmic, and barely noticeable. She reached up to grasp the pendant exactly like she had a million times before. At her touch, the sound amplified exponentially within her mind. It had been faint before, but now it was unmistakable.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

“I-” she choked out, shaking her head in disbelief.

He looked at her with a bashful sense of wonder in his eyes. “Did it work?”

A heartbeat.

It quickened as she held it longer. With the way he was looking at her, she knew whose it was.

His heartbeat.

She couldn’t hold it in any longer and stumbled forward, throwing her arms around his waist and pressing her head to his chest. She had to hear for herself, and sure enough, the rapid beating next to her ear confirmed what she’d already known.

The cracks in the dam behind her eyes burst, shedding tears onto his shirt. His own arms encased her in return, and she never wanted to let him go.

This was real.

He wasn’t a dream.

And if anyone, including herself, tried to tell her otherwise, the proof was right in front of her. Even if their memories faded or were stolen away, their hearts would always remain true.

“I love you,” she whispered.

He tilted his head down and kissed the top of her hair. “I love you too, Kairi. Always will.”

She giggled and pulled back to look up at him. He’d been crying too, and her heart overflowed with more love and admiration that she ever thought existed. Her hand came up again to feel his heartbeat through her pendant, gripping it like it contained her whole life - in that moment, it really did. She cupped his face and brushed away his tears with her thumb.

“You realize that now I’ll always be able to tell when you’re lying,” she smirked.

“Like I’d ever lie to you.” He returned the favor against her own tears.

She smiled, not caring that joyful tears continued to fall down her cheek and onto his hand. “Alright, you win gifts this year.”

He smiled triumphantly and laughed, and her eyes shifted from his face down to his crown necklace.

For now.

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Thank you for reading! Part two should be out within the next couple of weeks hopefully! I’ll post an update if anything changes :)

This fic was born when @phoenix-downer posted some headcanons about what Sora and Kairi would get each other for the holidays a few months ago. The idea of them enchanting jewelry with each others’ heartbeats kept growing and developing, and now here we are! Thank you for being inspiring as always :)

#kingdom hearts #kh fanfiction #sokai #sora #kairi #aqua #romance #fluff #tooth-rotting fluff #happy birthday sora #sora's birthday #gift of a heartbeat #my writing #dusky writing #long post #I know Sora's the one giving the gift instead of receiving #but he's so selfless and giving #he seems like he'd get more happiness from giving gifts than receiving them #atleast until part 2 ;)

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magic-and-moonlit-wings · 5 years

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Hi, why did Jim not like Strickler dating Barbara? With Trollhunter!Claire how would things play out in Unbecoming? If the show had kept AAARRRGGHH female, how would this affect it, both in the show and meta? And finally, you mentioned the gay subtext with Blinky and AAARRRGGHH, why didn't they make them a couple? I mean, ever since Korra and Steven Universe, LBGT representation has skyrocketed, I don't want to come across as a SJW, but I just wish that the show took more chances with itself.

Okay, well, I should preface my analysis of Jim’s reaction to Stricklake by saying my biological parents are happily married to each other, so I have never personally been in the position of ‘child whose single parent has started dating again’; and I only knew two kids in high school whose parents I knew were divorced, and they didn’t talk to me about their parents’ love lives; so I can only infer based primarily on media stereotypes.

There are a few reasons portrayed in media as to why the child of a single parent reacts negatively to that parent getting a new love interest.

We can rule out Jim hoping his biological parents will get back together, because James Senior is a complete nonentity in their lives. Jim only mentions him four times, all in the first season - twice to Barbara (“You remember when I was old enough to ask about Dad? Remember what you told me? You said, we just have to take care of each other. And that’s all I’m doing, Mom.”) (“Shrimp cakes? Gosh, I haven’t had those since … since …” “Dad made them for us?” “I didn’t think you were old enough to remember.” ”Oh, I remember enough. I remember how his beard used to scratch my face when he hugged me. How he used to make you laugh. But most of all how much he hurt you when he left.”), once to Bular (“You wanna see Dad. I get it, trust me. But we don’t always get what we want.”), and once to Blinky (“You know I don’t care about my father!”)

There is, popularly shown in media and I’m sure it comes up in real life too, a dissonance in a kid’s mind between their school and home lives, which makes it uncomfortable to have their parents and teachers interacting, exacerbated if the student is having some kind of difficulty at school. Jim reacts negatively to Barbara’s interest in Strickler before he even knows Strickler is a Changeling. (“So. Mr Strickler. He seems very nice. Is he single?” “What?! I don’t know!”) (“Did you seriously just ask my teacher out on a date?!”)

Jim assumes something like a caregiver role at home, taking care of food prep and household maintenance. The introduction of a new person into their lives could set off a reflexive response of, “No, we don’t need you, we’ve been managing just fine on our own.”

Jim’s also very protective. The precedent of Barbara having a relationship that ended badly means Jim might be worrying from the start that a new relationship will also end in her getting hurt.

Any change, positive or negative, creates a stress response while a person readjusts. Having his mother start dating again would be a big change for Jim. (We see no indication she’s done so in the past ten years, although it’s possible she did and the relationships just never got serious enough for her to introduce the person to her son, and it’s also possible that it just never came up because Barbara’s past relationships weren’t relevant in a show focusing primarily on Jim being the Trollhunter.)

And then, of course, Jim finds out Strickler is a Changeling, and thereafter views all of Strickler’s interactions with Barbara through the lens of “he’s trying to get to me and using my mom as both a weapon and a shield”, which is accurate for quite some time, and of course is going to make Jim angry and scared, and not going to warm him to the idea of them being together.

An Unbecoming with Trollhunter!Claire raises the question of whether Not Enrique would still take Enrique’s place.

In canon, Enrique getting swapped was indirectly Jim and Toby’s fault. Because they followed the goblins to the museum, they saw Nomura in troll form, and she revealed the Fetch and suggested bringing in a new Changeling to convince Bular not to kill her after her identity was compromised.

Therefore, a solid argument can be made that in the show’s version of Unbecoming, Enrique was never kidnapped. We never do find out for sure.

If the swap happens because of something Claire did as Trollhunter, Enrique would probably never get switched in the Unbecoming episode, which would be one of the reasons Claire thought at first that it was a better world. (Though she might eventually realize she misses Not Enrique.)

On the other hand, if the initial Trollhunter!Claire timeline was one in which Not Enrique were already planted in the Nuñez house before Claire became the Trollhunter, then Claire’s dynamic with Not Enrique just got a lot more complicated. She has memories of growing to see Not Enrique as an adopted sibling, which he no longer shares, and she has memories of saving Original Enrique from the Darklands, which she is no longer in a position to be able to do.

I figure the ‘failed attempt to thwart the reopening of Killahead Bridge’ thing would happen, because I interpret Unbecoming as a worst-case-scenario vision crafted by Merlin to make the Trollhunter off-kilter and desperate enough to do what the wizard wants without question, but I see this backfiring when he reveals himself because Claire would be furious.

Either way, time reverts itself to how it was before at the end of the episode.

Honestly I don’t see it affecting the overall plot of the show much if AAARRRGGHH had remained Johanna, especially if the writers still went with the show backstory of “raised by Gumm-Gumms and then deserted” rather than the book backstory of “one of the leaders of the armies against Gunmar”.

She would probably have stayed a pacifist for the first half of Season One, to force Jim to have to learn how to fight instead of just hiding behind his big scary troll friend.

We might’ve actually seen cats in the Domzalski house, if the gag was kept that they are drawn to Johanna and love sleeping on her fur, to their peril; but all the cats-being-eaten scenes were just barely off-camera in the show, so maybe not.

I personally would’ve had a less negative reaction to Jlaire, because Claire wouldn’t be the only girl in the core cast, although I might still feel like it was an “Obligatory Het Romance So The Main Character Looks Straight (Or If He’s Bi It Never Comes Up In The Show)”.

BlinkAAARRRGGHH would probably be just as popular as it is now, but if the ship still wasn’t canon (or even if it was), there would also be a number of people defending keeping Blinky and Johanna ‘just friends’ because of the under-representation of close male-female friendships in popular media.

The fandom would probably also create the sapphic ship of Johanna/Nomura, based on how they’re both kickass fighter ladies who used to serve Gunmar and then deserted. (Johannomura? Nomuranna, despite the different number of ‘N’s, sounds like it refers to Nomura/Morgana, though I think that would called Nomurgana, and Jomura could be misinterpreted as the ‘J’ being for Jim, which … no. Johannomura is clearest. Maybe Johmura if that’s too long.)

I don’t know why BlinkAAARRRGGHH was never made official, but I can make some guesses.

Option 1: they didn’t know how popular the show would be and didn’t want to lose potential popularity due to censors not allowing it to air in certain countries or conservative parents not letting their kids watch it.

Option 2: because Blinky and Johanna genuinely did seem to be Not Romantically Involved in the novel, the writers didn’t realize that the adjustments and expansions made to the characters and their interactions made them look like they were together, and so the romantic subtext was unintentional.

Option 3: it was presumed that it went without saying, like how no one in the show goes out of their way to point out Claire’s parents are married to each other. (Okay, except Jim does address Claire’s parents as “Mr and Mrs Nuñez” twice, so that comparison doesn’t quite work.) This is probably the interpretation that will ‘age best’ as LGBT+ rep in children’s-marketed media becomes more prevalent and accepted.

Option 4: the writers have a different love interest planned for one or both of the characters, to be introduced in Wizards, and the romantic subtext between AAARRRGGHH and Blinky was either unintentional or meant to be one-sided.

Option 5: they aren’t together yet, and the script is building up to them becoming an official couple in Wizards.

#Trollhunters #Tales of Arcadia #Jim Lake Jr #Walter Strickler #Dr Barbara Lake #Stricklake #Anonymous asks about Trollhunter!Claire #Claire Nuñez #Unbecoming #Enrique Nuñez #Not Enrique #Merlin needs to be Rule Number 3'd #TOA novels and comics #Johanna M Arrrgh #BlinkAAARRRGGHH #Speculation #ask me anything

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twdmusicboxmystery · 6 years

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Hey sorry if this sounds silly but I just worry I guess lol. But a lot of people are saying the walking dead is gonna get cancelled cause the ratings have dropped and also they think this decision to have Carl die was bad or something and I don't know but it's just kind of making me worry I guess. But are you worried about that? I know I'm just being paranoid probably but I just really don't want one of my favorite shows to get cancelled. Lol. 😂😅

No worries Nonny. I know alot of people are worried about this, and I’m glad you asked because I’m seeingit all over the fandom and I wish there were some way that I could refute itwithout answering every single comment in getting tons of hate in return.

I’m not at all worried aboutthe show being canceled or about Gimple being fired. That’s something peopleare saying in response to Carl’s death. Emotions are high, and that’s whereit’s coming from, but I know it feels worrisome. So let me refute some of thisfor you:

Gimple getting fired. Remember that back in S3, the showrunner Frank Mazzura was fired, not for killing off characters per se, but forkilling them off without direction. Obviously AMC is okay with killingcharacters off. Otherwise, the show would be very different. But there must besome direction to their deaths. It has to drive character arcs, or the plot, orjust be the natural conclusion of the character’s own arc.

I’ll talk about this more onMonday, but Gimple has given several interviews in which he’s said that Carl’sdeath will very much be tied to the story moving forward. So he has a goodreason written into the story for Carl’s death.

In S3, characters werekilled off without direction, there was a huge backlash from the fans, and theshow runner was fired. Gimple took over and has since killed several majorcharacters. The first was Beth. There was a huge backlash from her death, andthis is something we always pointed to as evidence that she’s coming back.Because despite the backlash, and a petition that garnered 60,000 signatures,Gimple was not disciplined for this by AMC at all. AMC stood by him. Why? It’s theexact opposite of what happened the previous show runner. So there must’ve beensome kind of plan in place.

Many people like to say itwas just to affect Daryl’s character arc. While I’m not a huge fan of thatargument, because it suggests that Beth was not her own character and was notvery important, we definitely have seen Daryl’s character arc be affected bylosing her. So the plan could’ve been that: to build Daryl’s character arc insome way. Then you have to ask where it’s going. If Daryl’s arc doesn’t startswinging upwards soon he’s going to be a lot of trouble. I have a hard timebelieving that they killed off Beth just to send Daryl spiraling downward andend with his death. I would not be a good plan or good storytelling. But whateverGimple is planning, AMC is behind him.

Then we had Glenn’s death andthe huge backlash from that. Lots of people saying they wouldn’t watch to showanymore. There’s no way to be sure what the numbers are, but I personallybelieve that most people who threatened to stop watching probably are stillwatching. They may have left for a time but I think eventually they trickleback. Of course some will always leave when their favorite characters killedoff and that’s understandable.

Now we have Carl’s death. Mypoint is that if Gimple wasn’t fired for killing off Beth Glenn or any of theother more minor characters she’s killed off, why would AMC do anything abouthim killing off Carl? Especially when he promises that he has a plan in mind?So based on precedent, the show is not ending, and Gimple is not getting fired.The backlash always trickles off eventually.

Ratings drop. It is true that this show has is at anall-time low for ratings. But the first thing you have to understand about thatis that it still has more viewers even at its low point than most other showson TV have. I know GoT is doing better the last two seasons than TWD is, butkeep in mind that the first few the seasons of GoT only had 2 to 3 millionviewers while the first five seasons of TWD was far above that. So overall itstill the most successful show on TV, and while its ratings are down, I think,right around 7 or 8 million, it would have to drop into the to 2 million orless range for AMC to consider canceling it. It still their biggest moneymaker,not only due to episodes but also due to merchandise sales and cons. I’m reallynot worried about being canceled.

Plus there’s an interviewhere that I’ll go into more on Monday where Gimple says he’s confident not onlyof seasons 9 and 10 being a thing, but of having many seasons beyond that. Evenmore than that, though, I think that the drop in ratings is a natural thing.Someone made a really great point in my group that most shows don’t last 8 seasons.As a show continues, people who loved it in the beginning will sometimes loseinterest in drop-off. A show that’s long-running will naturally have fewerviewers at the end than they had at the beginning or at their peak. So, I’m notsure that we can count on TWD’s viewership ever going back up to what it was ins4. However, that doesn’t mean they’re getting canceled. As long it makesmoney, it will remain.

I also want to point outthat many people are leaving the show because it’s just too damn depressinganymore. S4 was a great season because we saw the group loose something bigwhen the prison fell, but they really bounced back in the next 8 episodes. Mostof them found each other (Beth excluded) and they ended with fighting words:“They’re screwing with the wrong people.” People really like to seethat kind of hope and fight in the group.

Since then, especially sinceBeth’s death, it’s been really downhill. There is a lot of darkness, a lot ofdespair, and there’s been a lot of our favorite characters dying. So naturallypeople are going to wander away from the show because there’s just no hope orpositivity in it anymore. But in a lot of ways, that’s TD’s point. Somethinghas to come in now and renew everyone’s faith and hope. And what characterexemplified that more than any other? It will have to be something completelynew something that no one’s looking for and something that’s all Gimple’s.Because there’s nothing in the comic books that would fit all this criteria,especially in the wake of Carl’s death. So if they have a major twist, likesomeone coming back to renew everyone’s hope and help them fight against Negan,is naturally going to bring a lot of viewership back to the show. Again I don’tknow the ratings will ever go as high as they once were, but I do think thatwhen hope returns, people will return to the show naturally.

So I hope so this is helped,Nonny. I know there’s a lot of negativity in the fandom right now, but Iencourage you not to let it worry you. The show isn’t going anywhere, Gimple isn’tgoing anywhere, and I think we have many seasons left of our favorite show toenjoy. Hopefully. 😉 Xoxo! 😘

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theoires #team delusional #team defiance #beth is amost here

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