#BUT i hope this is okay!!! if not you have my discord iirc (and if not its in my about) and we can 100% chat!!

[quillheel]

[ storm; a raging storm outside, where sender insists receiver stays in ] (to wally from home; right i get the muse for the one that can't move, but at least home can shut its doors and protect him from the thing in the woods--)

Like a thunderclap to a small dog, Wally cannot stop moving.

Usually, Wally liked storms. He liked the low sound of thunder and the blinding light of lightning, even if the boom between air & between atoms sometimes startled him, his focus was one of awe enraptured. Rain pattering on the world like a hundred thousand marbles, evidence of reality, evidence of stability, evidence of the world changing in different; wonderful ways. Usually, Wally liked to watch and wait for a storm to pass. Usually, he’d sit — mostly quiet, aside from occasional murmurs to Home — and draw in his little spot perhaps on the porch or next to a window. Usually, it does not rain at night.

He feels as though he is forgetting something important. A thread tugged at the ridges of the seam, like bewilderment, like torture. A thousand miles of downpour. A thousand miles of fiber weaving unto fiber weaving unto-

He feels as though he is forgetting something important. What was it again?

— It makes him antsy. An actor forgetting his lines from just off-stage, he peers out from the spaces he can to watch the dark rain, how he can barely see it at all. Home’s insistence upon keeping him in does not help, and abruptly the entire house feels sinister by sheer virtue of what was being kept away ( inability to tell the difference between locked out, and locked in )

Home was not the problem. Wally was.

He feels as though he is forgetting something very very important. If he looked closely enough, maybe he could see it between the floorboards, like a shivering, terrible, oil slick black hand guiding a prop, like a snake writhing just loud enough to hear it, hear the hiss when he stepped on the right panels. Like being caught in a bad dream, Wally cannot shed the feeling that something bad is about to happen.

When Wally is afraid of something, he likes to remind himself that it can’t hurt him. He does not know what he is afraid of. Maybe that’s what he’s forgetting.

“ What’s wrong, Home? “ he asks, sat in his rocking chair after wandering up and down the halls as though seeking a breach in the wallpaper itself, in the plaster. The nerves don’t leave him, and he’s just a few minutes away from getting up again. “ I always draw outside. Why can't I go...? "

An inquiry that loiters on the edges of the anxiety that pervades, that Home is trying to protect him from, that Wally does not understand, was not meant to understand.

If he stared closely enough at the gaps between the floorboards, maybe he could see it. See what Home was trying to keep out. A basement that does not exist.

He does not want to see, but he has to know.

[dinosquad-central]

Okay, longer post about a headcanon that is completely integral to my enjoyment of Dino Squad. (Largely copy/pasted from my rant on the Discord server)

I think Caruso might actually be very smart. Genuinely, classically, academically smart.

I know that sounds like a crackpot theory, but hear me out!

He's in the same science class as Rodger (the guy who's explicitly stated to be the smartest kid in school), as well as Fiona (who's also clearly very intelligent), Buzz (maybe not top marks, but since it appears to be a biology class, and Buzz is especially interested in animals it makes sense he'd be in a more advanced bio-class). Max may not be a genius, but most schools require members of the school sports teams to maintain a certain GPA, and he’s on the football team, so he can't be a complete idiot either.

And Caruso is in the same class as them and therefore it's implied that he's at the same level as them in that subject! Because of this, and the fact that the classroom is a lecture hall and not a regular classroom, I also headcanon that it's an AP bio class, or at least honors.

Plus! When Caruso told his parents he was dinosaur, their one insistence was that he not neglect his studies meaning A) his family cares about his education and B) he probably gets at least relatively good grades already.

AND! It's shown in the show that Caruso regularly and *easily* manipulates his friends into doing his homework for him (episode: “who let the dog out”). He also manipulated others during the show, including a TV producer or show host, I can’t remember which (episode: “Zoom in on Zoom” I think). You can't be that deliberately manipulative and a complete idiot like Caruso appears to be.

ALSO Caruso has a line of beauty products which he both invented, and markets/sells himself (episode: “Scents and Scents Ability”), meaning he must also have a small company/business that he personally runs, and the quality of his products are good enough to have a whole spa treatment devoted exclusively to them, which is named after him/his product, meaning the products themselves must be well known and trusted enough to attract customers. This demonstrates that Caruso has some level of skill with chemistry and botany (iirc he made herbal moisturizers but it's been a while, so that detail may be wrong). In addition to that he must have a good sense for business, finance, and marketing.

But wait! There's more! When they were trapped in a cage with seemingly no way out, it was Caruso who came up with the plan to use misdirection and social engineering to trick Veloci into not only letting them go, but also donating a sizeable amount to a local charity as hush money (episode: who let the dog out”). It wasn’t genius Rodger, or leader Max, or competent female character Fiona, it was Caruso, “the dumb one”. This indicates that he can also think on his feet and come up with quick solutions to difficult problems.

Furthermore! A lot of highly intelligent people learn to act like they're stupid because when people know how smart you are, they have high expectations of you, and that's stressful to the point of traumatizing sometimes. There's also an interesting type of stigma around intelligence where people tend to think you're pompous or unapproachable when you're highly intelligent and become intimidated or resentful, which, since Caruso highly values his popularity, would be extremely distasteful to him. Given his fixation with fame and popularity, I don't think it's a stretch at all to think he'd dumb himself down, even around his friends, to avoid that stigma.

So yeah, there you have it. That’s all the reasons (that’s I can think of at the moment, anyway) why I believe Caruso is a big fat liar pretending to be an idiot so he doesn’t have to be responsible for anything. I hope I’ve managed to convince you all because I am 100% committed to this theory lol.

[mariverses]

OKAY IM SO SORRY FOR NOT RESPONDING EARLIER TO YOU RESPONDING TO ME I WAS STUCK IN FINALS SEASON 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 BUT!!!!!!! I'M HERE NOW!!!!!! SO!!!! Your oc makes me so ill LIKE???? HE'S SOOO PRETTY please just one chance;;;;;; I want to know more about his backstory tho omg??? LIKE!!! HES SO!!!!! What happened on that one assault....... UGH I WANT MORE!!!! (also.... I do have some ocs but... HAKWHFJKWALKFJAWKJSKADKEA < insane....... I was lowkey considering posting oc art but um scary)

hai haiii ^_^ i hope your finals went well and that you're free now!!! don't worry about it euegzehehrhj you are not even obligated to respond ever ok?? ive also been very on and off ehe

ITS KINDA REALLY HARD TO EXPLAIN AJD KEEP IT SIMPLE BECAUSE THERES SO MUHC but basically there's like these hivemind things in the wotah called the seaborn and uhh their goal is survival.. iirc they got pissed that humanity was threatening their territory and uhh they're fighting. arknights atlantis created the abyssal hunters to fight against them (by . surgery-ing people with seaborn blood) and there was a really big assault on the seaborn by the abyssal hunters which uj. very bad i think. they got washed ashore and not a lot of them survived. they thought they'd had slain one of them but he just fused blood with a girl and is just dormant so uhhjhj pretty bad. I SUCK AT EXPLAINING STUFF IN SHORT IM SORRy

also. do not be afraid..... you should do whatever you want forever... you should post them iyw 👉👈 I REALLY WANNA SEE MSHDSDMSDBSM IM CURIOUSUSUSDUS AND I LOVE OCS OKAYYYYY (i think you also have my discord if you jsut wanna send stuff there ever 👉👈)

[pauein]

Ugh. my horrible sibling bribed me with Frivolous Snack Purchases to post this godawful string of discord messages i wrote regarding whether or not the Boyfriends from webtoons Boyfriends would survive the House on ash tree lane, going off half-forgotten memories of when i read boyfriends as a joke in 2022. SIGH.

"Ok. Fine. For starters. They all move into this house together and when stuff starts getting weird (likely as a result of the shaky foundation their relationship is built upon plus the weirdness with prep and goth) they all decide to investigate it together after some hesitation

Things seem to go mostly okay at first however they all get separated at some point- goth and prep find each other again and soon jock as well but they cant find nerd. Unfortunately continued search efforts have no avail at the moment, so they decide to call upon the Girlfriends (canonically more competent than them) to help out. Girl goth also had like an occult club or something iirc so thats probably the first one they called and she brought the rest of her polycule

However their assessment pretty much ends up being "you guys gotta gtfo" but they refuse to leave without nerd so they continue searching

I honestly dont know much about the girlfriends since they were a later introduction so i cant effectively wrap up their part here but i imagine the tensions between the two preps definitely does not help the condition of the house

Meanwhile nerd is still alive but barely and going insane. Through no fault of his own his sheer dependency on the other boyfriends is leading him into an untimely demise, a labriynth with no escape as he feels there Cant be an escape without the rest of his polycule

Also side note but about the earlier exploration before nerd went missing. Goth was one of the most eager to explore this first because dark and spooky shit but they Nearly got separated the first time, leaving him hesitant the second exploration. However the others still wanted to go back in out of curiosity, nerd in particular. Prep encouraged goth by pointing out that goth is the spooky things guy and its the opposite of going out in the sun. they all vow to protect each other but its a hollow promise against a threat they havent truly come face to face with. And they have already failed through this push to go back in.

Anyway so they go back in , girl nerd maybe stays behind with jock to keep track of things with the radio. The added hope of having the girlfriends along leads them to nerd, but hes clearly already in his death throes. However he attempts to kill goth and prep so they wont be apart. He fails, (might accidentally take out a few of the gfs, idk,) and when he realizes jock isnt even there he gives up, dying tragically, surrounded but alone. he never even finds out jock was keeping tabs on the radio

Goth and prep are stuck figuring out how to get back now, especially what to do about the dead bodies. Unfortunately on their own bringing back the bodies proves to be a very difficult task (girl jock was one of the ones who died and goth and prep are canon wimps strengthwise) and supplies are running low. But they refuse to leave the others behind

Love got them into this mess and theyre going to get out with love in tact, they think.

They just barely manage to reach the escape, however, just as they are, doubt sets in. The corpses they carry and the reality that things will never return to the way they are again stretches the corridor, pulling the door farther, and farther away. Can they truly say they escaped with their love? Like this?

Suddenly, behind them the hall feels like its collapsing, from above, below, all around. Prep panics, theyre both so out of their depth, and now theyre doomed to sink with the ship. However, goth thinks just quickly enough. Almost. He stages his last stand, shoving Prep through the door- sacrificing himself in the process. The bodies also do not make it.

The weight of this grief also collapses the house itself, foundation and walls not sturdy enough to support it. The survivors all escape unharmed, but can they say they really escaped in one piece?

It is unknown where the remaining GFs relationship ends up after this. However, Jock and Prep end up breaking up on despairing but amicable terms, believing nothing can be done to bridge the gap in their hearts. The last shot is of prep, more alone than he ever was, but just as alone as he thought he was before the polycule began.

Fuck you man"

I am not caught up with current Boyfriends lore and i do not plan to be so if i got anything wrong or inaccurate i am not sorry and in fact you should probably be the one whos sorry.

[personallbest]

Hi Joanna! It's your MPN secret santa <33

This is so excitingggg okay so first question(s) - how did you get into maisie? What was your first favourite maisie song vs your favourite now?

Hope u have a wonderful day & month!!

- 🎄

P.s. I always read MPN in my head as meepen

hi!! I’m excited too 😄 iirc I found Maisie because spotify randomly played John Hughes Movie and I was immediately hooked so that was my first favorite song. my current favorite now is Glowing Review, I’ve literally been obsessed since I found it in April. tell me about you! how did you find Maisie and what are your favorite songs by her? hope you have a wonderful december too!!

@cascadeoceanwave I’m gonna change the discord name to meepen now

[evercelle]

hi i hope it's okay i ask this, but do you think em venti is better than crit venti? i've been flip flopping between my builds and no matter what i feel his damage just isnt enough?? so i was wondering what your thoughts were on it..? if you had any?

depends on your team comp, equipment, and constellations o:

if you're building EM, you're focusing on his swirl damage + elemental shred provided to the infused element. venti's burst applies 20 ticks of anemo dmg and 7~ ticks (single target) or 14~ ticks (multi-target) of swirl dmg. you're never gonna see huge nuke numbers, because it's many instances of smaller dmg + elemental shred. you should also keep in mind that swirl doesn't crit, and scales off EM and character lvl only. the value in these builds is swirl dmg and the ER+elemental dmg boost he provides to his team.

crit venti would be my suggestion if on a non-reaction team (only anemo/geo), if you have a high refinement skyward harp, or if you have C2+ venti, because his constellations significantly boost his anemo dmg & provide anemo shred. (iirc, the only other way to obtain anemo shred right now is c4 jean.) the 20 ticks of anemo dmg + his elemental skill are capable of critting, so imo super invested/main dps venti benefits more from a crit build than EM support.

for me, i tested my anemo crit vs an EM build, but crit out damages by a mile because of venti's cons + r5 harp. take a look at your gear and team comps and tailor your expectations accordingly. venti's kit is inherently optimized for subdps/support, so you're never gonna have hyper carry damage with him, but he provides invaluable support for his teammates or very steady base dmg on solo.

also i'm sure there's a venti mains subreddit or discord out there that is 100% calculated out and much smarter than me LOL you should take whatever i say with a grain of salt bc this is all anecdotal from my observations playing (':

[incorrect-dnd-classes]

Hi! So... I've seen a lot about DnD over the years. I actually didn't know such a game existed until I watched Stranger Things but after I saw it I can't stop seeing references to the game everywhere. I know this might not be the place to direct my question but if I wanna learn DnD then where would I go? Where I live it's gonna be impossible to find a party to play with and learn in person but I'd like to learn about it if I can from online sources.

OKAY FIRST OF ALL: WELCOME!! i love finding people who are new to dnd!!

probably the best place to start if you're completely new to dnd is the player's handbook (phb). here's a free link. it's not exactly what I'd call light reading, but it has a decent amount of information on what dnd actually is.

if you want to learn how to play, your best bit is, well, playing. iirc there are subreddits and discord servers that allow you to advertise yourself as a player. one of them is our server, where we'll also try to answer any more questions you have!!

if you're looking to make character sheets, beyond is alright for beginners, but limits access to a lot of options. i'd suggest using a google sheet template, which you can find online, or the app 5th Edition Character Creator, which can be found on the play store.

beyond also offers new player's guides to the rules, forums, and the like. it's an excellent resource for newcomers.

final note - i have access to a lot of online sourcebooks, so i'll be updating our pinned post to give you all access to them

hope this helps, anon!!

[astrxealis]

FF7 RM IS ON STEAM.. 2.4k 😭😭 itll be 70 usd next month if i remember correctly ??

oh man i started enstars like 2 days ago as well!! super fun i am DEEPLY inlove with hiyori and mika.. and niki mayb JSHDJS trying to fix my sleeping sched as well! been waking up rlly early for the past few days n im slowly getting used to it

hmm editinn community ;;; i agree w designign things is super fun as an editor mself !!!! gluck with that ✨ ill do my best to support ya ! 🫶🫶

wahhh sorry again for the late reply TvT </3 i lowkey lost the energy to redo answering this ask bcs it disappeared ya T^T <//////3

FF7R ON STEAM ... for that much ...... 😭💔 games r so expensive man, i do hope u manage to get it soon tho mayhaps :( ✊🏼✨

and ayo enstars hell yeah !! ;D <3 hee hee you have great taste >;) tbh i searched up hiyori after u mentioned him and realized i too like him a lot aside from mika and my other faves ... so ty fr that !! 👁👁 <3 and ayo more gl w fixing your sleep sched ✨ slowly heading there myself too, cheers to us both ! we can do this >< 💖

eeeee tysm kay !! 🥺💞 yeah, designing stuff rlly is so fun (also on a related note, i love the carrd you had ? on your discord !! ion think you have it on your about anymore, but the netflix/p5 theme iirc was super cool <33) tytyty TvT 💖 hope ure doing well !! take of yourself, okay? :O <3

[gingerbreadart1]

Ginger ramble about your irken conlang pleeaaaseee it's so cooool (I know you have on discord before but I want a Tumblr Post for Tumblr Reblogs okay? Okay.)

Omg!!!!! Oh gosh, I don't know where to start! I made a little inforgraphic explaining some stuff, it's a little outdated tho but for now I'll link it here

Anyway,,, I guess I can explain some stuff a bit more thoroughly? Ramble below :P

SO..... First of all, the language is called Irketsi/Irkib, depending on whether or not you want it to be more grammatically correct or cool (Hint-Irkib is grammatically correct) And as of this writing, I think I have about 4,100 words!!! Full disclosure, a lot of those were intially generated.... butttt I have put hours and weeks and months worth of time perfecting and fine tuning and editing and adding words of my own. Anyway.

Grammar Stuffs Irketsi is a SVO language (subject-verb-object), meaning a sentence like "Can I have an apple" would be "Can I apple have." Adjetives are post-positive, like in french (iirc), so for example, "the red rose" becomes "the rose red". Most verbs are regular, and the tenses are as follows:

Write : Gip

Past: written gipoízh

Remote Past: written (long ago) gipa'e

Perfect: have written gipuch

Future: will write gipítai

Nouns are gendered, with masculine, feminine, or neuter genders depending on word. this is important when it comes to conjugating plurals, because each gender has a different way of making a word a plural. Take the word 'broom' (dajeíp) it is a masculine noun, so it should be dajeípeích, but if it was a feminine word, it would be dajeípeí, and if neuter, dajeípa. Um,,,, head empty so now I'm gonna post some pronunciation samples, and a lil song I wrote. Mipta kaí 'akh thayvaonsí vaí rith? (Can I have hot chocolate please?)

Kaí khoweích ao. (I like languages.)

And the song demo

Hope you enjoyed! If you have specific questions, feel free to ask!!!!

[callmearcturus]

pure finale speculation

okay here is my prediction, based on discord convos and my own vibes

jon: will give his opinion of what they should do, but also elect to recuse himself on the basis of "well, I doomed the world, so I'm not sure I should have a say in this." and then hopefully gets push-back from everyone else pointing out "uh hey dunkass that wasn't your fault, either blame jonah or blame annabelle but it wasn't you"

georgie: 198 totally changed my opinion on this, but I think georgie is gonna be on team "lets take the deal" on the basis of her being upset at having lost her people again, and being tired of the suffering she sees.

melanie: 100% team Fuck The Web's Deal, I think. a lot of her frustration in S3 and S4 was how she was trapped working for an evil entity, and I don't think she'll be less frustrated as a tool of the Web instead of the Eye.

martin: COULD GO EITHER WAY, AND HAS KINDA BEEN SET UP EITHER WAY.

on one hand, he has spent the entire season trying to reach out to the ppl trapped, he's the one who keeps trying to show dignity to everyone, iirc he nudged Jon towards making that one guy a Watcher, so Martin has a lot of empathy for the people he directly connects with.

on the other hand, Martin's also always been very good at the Big Picture Idea of things, and may balk at the idea of dooming a lot of other people for the sake of his own world. BOTH ARE TOTALLY FEASIBLE FOR HIM I THINK.

basira: given basira's entire worldview got upended and shaken up, I have no idea which 'side' she would fall on for the debate. someone proposed that this makes her the perfect tiebreaker, and I agree. either she goes in with an answer ready to go, or she hangs back and offers her opinion last.

what i really hope they touch on is the ethics of having such a small group of people making a decision for The Fucking World. like, it's heinously unfair that this comes down to five people, all of whom are not currently trapped in a hellscape. do they have the right to condemn everyone to eternal suffering and fear to spare other they will never meet? is that the "just" decision? the certain doom of billions of people vs the potential doom of everyone?

also, is Annabelle Cane just a fucking liar

i want everyone's hands to get dirty figuring this out. and i'm super excited for what a potential third option would be.

[literaphobe]

another reason to limit the amount of white people associated w amigops/otv and friends is the stuff that’s come out about ash recently :/ like yeah people can learn and grow etc but if you’re still dropping slurs in your late 20s and casually racist even tho so many of your cc friends are poc... girl

ok im about to GO OFF im fucking pissed about little miss cigarette tray,,,, ok i’ve gotten a ???? vibe about her before a :/ vibe n it’s all the way back in rust group forming when i thought she was being a lil manipulative. n the shit she did caused so much annoying shit that literally could’ve been avoided

okay so rae corpse ash n sykkuno bump into toast n jack’s group, right? and they were all like we should all be together in one big group!!!! but then they were like wait what’s the group limit what if we don’t have enough space,,, and then they start experimenting n adding each other i guess? n it turned out they had space for everyone but one person (iirc?????) and ash suddenly was like oh it’s okay i’ll leave!!!! u can all be grouped together i don’t need to be in the group!!! n other stuff that was like v self destructive sounding n like oh no it’s ok no one wants me here anyway etc and syk was like ???? because literally no one had any plans to leave ANYONE out they were literally just trying to figure things out n suggesting ideas and she was over there tryna be the self sacrificial hero i guess?????

and then. people in chat got really mad and toxic hating on rae and sykkuno in their chats yelling about how ash was being forcefully left out or whatever which wasn’t the case at all n wouldn’t have been if she didn’t give that impression??? and then RAE thought that ash was GENUINELY getting excluded which made her ACTUALLY mad at her friends?????? who did nothing wrong???????? and then like weeks later when they talked about this ash was like “oh actually i was super upset about getting left out :/ but it’s all good now!!!” like GOD. NO ONE WAS TRYING TO LEAVE YOU OUT. U LITERALLY IMMEDIATELY STARTED ACTING LIKE SOME SELFLESS VICTIM N REMOVED URSELF WHEN NO ONE TOLD YOU TO LEAVE?? anyway at the time i gave her the benefit of doubt that she wasn’t doing it on purpose since i thought she was ‘nice’ but u know what? it’s a fucking ugly look that a white woman got a bunch of streamers of color hate for “bullying” her and “excluding” her when she was literally the one who chose to walk away n act selfless WHEN NO ONE ASKED HER TO DO THAT

anyway now that i’ve got that off my chest let’s talk about her racist ass comments in her community discord. she essentially made a bunch of anti-asian remarks, specifically many anti-chinese ones (1. i had Chinese food earlier maybe that’s why I feel sick lol 2. making fun of Chinese people for supposedly eating bats 3. calling corona the bat soup virus 4. continuing to be grossed out by what Chinese/Asian people supposedly eat and being all ‘oh maybe i’m just weird w food tho :/‘ n letting people get away w responding to her saying ‘Asians eat a lot of weird stuff no no u r fine!!’ + ‘Chinese people n their food bruh’ which. just. i am very disgusted 5. ‘guys my cup was made in China am I corona infected’ + some other stuff i’m too tired to recap here look at this twitter link)

she also talked about how the BLM protests were.... stupid..... and called people idiots for protesting......... said there was ‘a right and wrong way to protest and this is wrong’ and ‘it’s not like we just can’t have police officers’ ,,,,,, so yeah. and she also said the r word and she called someone the f slur on stream once and uh..... yeah she sucks!

honestly the shit cherry on top of this shit sundae is that she literally profits off asian aesthetics w her anime bitch ass v tuber thing n other stuff on her stream n her twitter handle is literally SUGOI_ASH??? also like otv n friends is a mostly Asian friend group who propelled her lily white ass to success???? she mooched off the success of streamers of color only to say racist ass shit like this???

anyway. she “apologized” by saying “I GUESS i’m sorry for being ignorant n I’m sorry IF YOU WERE OFFENDED. ANYWAY–“ and moved the fuck on and like just. fuck off w that shit. it pains me that she managed to get a larger following from all this in the few months she’s hung out w otv n friends and sydney a black bi streamer literally has less followers on twitch? like what the fuck is up with that make it make sense??? anyway i hope everyone unfollows ash tray n follows Sydeon on twitch instead :-)

also idk how many people in otv + friends know about this. i highly doubt there will be a dramatic kick out of ash from their friend group if it becomes a thing they all know about. i think ever since they kicked out f*dmyster they’re a little traumatized about having to publicly remove anyone from their circle in general? because many other streamers n content creators will jump on it and comment on it very heavily and make them all very vulnerable n i def don’t want that or expect that either. i hope they play w ash less from now on tho? some people commented that in the corpse lobby yesterday it seemed like people weren’t interacting w ash as much? idk if that’s really the case but i will respect whatever they choose to do if they even know what happened,, i guess if i see her show up in future lobbies i’ll just like ignore her lol

[sineala]

Hi! I know my ask is not Steve/Tony but you're the most knowledgeable person I know in marvel comics so I'm going to give it a try. What's up with Thor and Loki? I've stumbled onto a series with loki being a teen, being good and working with Asgard and now, Loki is evil again ( and older somehow) and is antagonizing Thor again? How os their relationship in the comics?

I am sorry to disappoint you, anon, but I’m really not the person to ask about Thor and Loki! I don’t read a lot of Asgard stuff, mostly because -- okay, I know this a terrible reason -- the lettering they use for the Asgardian speech bubbles is really hard for me to read. So I have never gotten into it.

I suspect you’re talking about Agent of Asgard? I’ve never read it. I know that Loki is most recently in the current Avengers run and I think his allegiances are kind of unclear so far; also recently (and very briefly) he was Sorcerer Supreme, because he’d stolen the title from Strange because IIRC he said he wanted to teach him a lesson and prepare him for unspecified evils of the future. Which sounds like he might be good? Or just ambiguous? Not sure.

I hope you can find someone to help you! (Someone on the Earth-616 Discord might know? I feel like there is someone there who knows about ANYTHING.)

[catbountry]

Further Discussion of Nazi Punching Ethics

Izzy: There are many many times when it's OK to punch Nazis.

Izzy: When they've committed no crimes, have never met you before, and have their back turned to you isn't one of them.

Izzy: Shit like that is how you get Weimar Germany.

Cat Bountry: http://pastebin.com/LVrdM2fd

Izzy: "HORRAY, NAZI GOT PUNCHED IN THE FACE! BTW guys be safe there's some Nazis that are being really aggressive for some reason, be safe uwu."

Minty: I want your opinion but actually I don't care

Izzy: So far this person is claiming it's a good thing because it emboldens the worse parts of the left-wing? The very part that's been killing the left from within?

Cat Bountry: Yes.

Minty: The neo-left

Izzy: " at the point where people are openly violent, it does more good to be violent back and show defiance then stay silent like in ww2."

Izzy: There were two bad moves by the left in Weimar

Izzy: The regular left refused to acknowledge the Nazis existence, much less debate with them.

Izzy: The equivalent of the modern "no platforming".

Izzy: This let the Nazis both spread their ideas unchecked, and made them look like they were saying something important and revealing big secrets, otherwise why would the powers that be try to censor them?

Izzy: And then the radical left fought them with violence.

Cat Bountry: So basically they're creating THE EXACT SAME CONDITIONS that lead to Hitler's rise in the first place?

Izzy: You noticed?

Cat Bountry: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA FUCK.

Cat Bountry: I wish it'd been you debating this lady.

Izzy: We even have a Great Recession, and a recovery that's only helping the upper class.

Izzy: And even worse, we don't have Communism as a radical alternative, because it's failed so recently, while Nazism and fascism, for the most part, failed 80 years ago.

Izzy: (Not to imply Communism was good.)

Izzy: The Commies fought the Nazis and their brown shirts with violence.

Izzy: Both sides happily instigated the violence.

Izzy: And it served to reinforce both sides biases (dunno if that's the right word to use here) and led to more people moving from the middle to the extremes.

Cat Bountry: BUT IZZY, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE DONE IN 1940'S GERMANY, IZZY? I REALLY WANT YOU TO ADMIT I'M RIGHT ABOUT PUNCHING NAZIS IN THE FACE UNPROVOKED BECAUSE "RHETORICAL VIOLENCE."(edited)

Izzy: By 1940 IT WAS TOO LATE

Minty: But what do you feel about this Nazis

Izzy: Germany was already full Nazi and their War Machine had started rolling into the rest of Europe.

Cat Bountry: Yeah I pointed that out.

Minty: What do you FEEL

Izzy: We're talking WeimarRepublic here.

Cat Bountry: Keep reading, I'm sure you'll love it.

Cat Bountry: I had to share.

MissMarie: It's pretty bad,

MissMarie: they keep trying to double back and want you to admit punching nazis is okay.

Minty: @Septapus wormhole send "HORRAY, NAZI GOT PUNCHED IN THE FACE! BTW guys be safe there's some Nazis that are being really aggressive for some reason, be safe uwu."

SeptapusBOT: Message sent! You can use any wormhole 2 minutes from now.

Minty: Time to get anon hate via wormhole

MissMarie: I want someone to make a callout post on tumblr about wormhole messages

Minty: I still can't believe people are still sending communist propaganda through the wormhole

Minty: What have I started

Izzy: There are some actual communists out there.

Or Maoists.

Minty: The communist uprising of discord

Minty: I WAS JUST MEMEING

Minty: ITS JUST A PRANK BRO

Izzy: Wow, having a Trump icon next to my words in your screencap is not good optics. You can't tell that it's a messed up, mocking image of Trump I'm using in the cap.

Izzy: Hell, I'm not sure how obvious it is to you guys, at least without clicking on it and seeing the bigger animated image.

Cat Bountry: It's not animated.

Cat Bountry: It's just distorted.

Cat Bountry: Why, did you really try to make your icon an animated .gif?

Izzy: Yes, it showed as animated when I uploaded it and when I view it in my account.

Izzy: It's not a big animation, it's just contributing to the distortion.

Izzy: Yes, it showed as animated when I uploaded it and when I view it in my account.

Izzy: It's not a big animation, it's just contributing to the distortion.

Cat Bountry: There is literally no animation when I view it.

MissMarie: nope

Izzy: Is it animated (shaking) when you view my profile, at least?

MissMarie: It looks like Trump has 4 eyes.

Izzy: "rhetorical violence"? What is this bullshit? I've been seeing a lot of this lately from the far-left,

Izzy: Mainly to justify using physical violence or violent censorship against people who verbally offend them.

Izzy: http://4chanpol.tumblr.com/post/130041431174(edited)

Cat Bountry: That was the point I realized I was talking to a wall.

Izzy: There's such a thing as "fighting words", but those go directly to personal insults, and still don't legally justify violence. (Though I'll have to check the law.)

Cat Bountry: They're not protected under free speech though, I don't think, if they're implying an immediate threat.

Izzy: I'll have an answer for that in a bit.

Izzy: Also, IIRC, the left gained a handful of seats in Congress this last election, but not nearly as much as they assumed they would.

Minty: @Septapus wormhole send Making the mother of all omelettes here, Jack- can't fret over every egg!

SeptapusBOT: Message sent! You can use any wormhole 3 minutes from now.

Cat Bountry: I STAND CORRECTED.

Izzy: Google it and check?

Cat Bountry: http://www.wsj.com/articles/republicans-are-confident-about-retaining-control-of-the-house-1478634160

Cat Bountry: You were right.

Izzy: "i think the right to freedom (general) and inherent human worth trumps the right to freedom (of speech)." That makes no sense? Freedom of Speech is one of the most basic freedoms.

Cat Bountry: I KNOW, RIGHT?

Izzy: "rights are social constructs" They're wrong again

Izzy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_and_legal_rights

Izzy: Only legal rights are social constructs.

Izzy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_rights

Cat Bountry: I don't think these people actually know what "social construct" even means anymore.

Izzy: "is the right to be safe more important than the right to express unpopular oipiinions without fear of violent retaliations?"

Izzy: "fuck no? "

Izzy: Well, you got them to admit it.

Izzy: I hope they remember that their opinions are unpopular too, and they've just justified violence against them and theirs.

Cat Bountry: Did I really mispell "opinions" that badly?

Izzy: Yep. I don't blame you two for mispelling tho, tumblr chat ain't great for that.(edited)

Cat Bountry: It's pretty hilarious, though.

Izzy: yah

Izzy: anyway, I have to run out, be back in a bit

Cat Bountry: Later, gator.

[pmd-explorers-of-oblivion]

Canon(ish) RP - Ship Spats

(Artemis-mod here.  Occasionally, in the downtime between sessions, we tend to mess about and do roleplays as our characters over on our Discord server.  It works particularly well for stuff that wouldn’t otherwise be particularly interesting to play in sessions--like a looooong journey by boat!  So, without further ado, here are the logs from those assorted RPs.)

Irwin

 *Irwin scurries across the deck, leans over the starboard rail, and hurls into the water below*

Giga (Danica)

 "Uh... Irwin?" quickly climbs down from the crow's nest "Are you okay?"

Irwin

 *he's draped over the railing motionless* Uuuuunnnggh...

Giga (Danica)

 "Ah. Seasick?"

Irwin

 *he slowly turns his head to the side.  He looks like he could be a zombie.* First time... on a boat...

Giga (Danica)

 "Ah. Still need your sea legs then. Don't worry, it'll pass." leans onto the rail peering out into the water.

Irwin

 I don't know how you do it.  It's got to be so much worse up there on the lookout thingy.

Giga (Danica)

 "I just focus on everything else. Honestly, being out on the open sea is reassuring to me."

Irwin

 I thought it would be fun... but now I just want to get back to land.

Giga (Danica)

 "Well, with any luck, we won't be stuck in the Temple of Faith as long as the Temple of Time... Seriously where does Absolute get his stuff for this place?"

Irwin

 Yeah, I'm a little nervous about what we may find there.  I'm glad to be helping Casia though.  I may have been dragged here against my will, but I can appreciate what Absolute does. *he slowly looks up at the land in the distance* And besides, this place is pretty beautifURP- *he leans over and throws up again* *he then proceeds to crumple down into a ball on the deck* Euugh...  Do me a favor, and just knock me out until we get there...

Giga (Danica)

 "I uh... would rather not take the risk of accidentally taking your memories..."

Irwin

 Maybe I'll be better off below deck... *he proceeds to crawl away ever so slowly*

Giga (Danica)

 winces as Irwin crawls away, then looks out at the sea "...wonder how Rippy's doing..."

Sarah Blossom

 she's been enjoying herself..the little cheater she's FLOATING so she doesn't get seasick how whos doing Dani?

Giga (Danica)

 "Oh, hey Sarah. Well, my Samurott Riptide for one..." Puts her head against the railing "...he must be worried sick..."

Sarah Blossom

 looks over at her and leans on the rail smiling happily ahh..you got "family" back home to...i hope my crews doing ok....but I'm sure they're fine!

Giga (Danica)

 "I hope so... Rippy has a tendency to... uh... rush into things if something's wrong, to say the least..." turns to Sarah "What about you? You got folks or Pokemon waiting back home?"

Sarah Blossom

 laughs ah..bon bon is like that....but she thinks on it looks to her "mostly pokemon at this point....knowing my luck...but i call them my family, 5 of em and an egg to be exact!

Giga (Danica)

 "Oh, really now? Who, and what, are they respectively? If you don't mind me asking."

Sarah Blossom

 smiles oh no trouble, in no order really, a sylveon ribbons, an espeon Psy, Nebula the clefable...who was my mom's mon by the way, chance the blissey and bon bon the lopunny

Giga (Danica)

 "Huh... interesting. Riptide's the only Pokemon I've ever really had, per say, and he's been with me for... well, since my earliest Plasma days, I think... way back when he was an Oshawott..."

Sarah Blossom

 "aww that's sweet...nebula and chance have been with me since before i could hold a screwdriver!, Chance was a gift to me when I  turned 2...according to my dad...Nebula and chance might be most worried...but i love all of them...back when the two were happiny and cleffa

Giga (Danica)

 "Heh... that's nice." Looks out towards the sea (again) "Rippy was apparently found from an abusive trainer. I was assigned to take care of him while I was still getting basic training and other such courses... Wow, that feels like such a long time ago..."

Sarah Blossom

 smiles looking out to sea once more "Ouch...I...I really hate abusive trainers....i found psy and ribbons as Eevee's ....i was...few years before I was trainer material...two trainers left them and they were scared....nurse joy had mentioned it when we went to carefor the others....i saw them...they weren't causing trouble...they just needed a snack...they followed like a lost lillipup for the whole day!"she giggled..."it feels a lot longer then.... she blushed sorry..i..i uhh ..rambled

Giga (Danica)

 Shakes head "It's fine, if anything, the rambling is a nice change from... well, y'know."

Sarah Blossom

 laughs haha yeah....adventure...it is nice...plus..I uhh..haven't gotten a chance to really talk to you since....like we first met

Giga (Danica)

 "Yeah... considering we've had to spend most of our time and attention is spent trying not to lose ourselves... well, I'd say that it's a fair statement to make..."

Sarah Blossom

 "It's..putting it nicely...meanwhile I..spent my time wandering and my mind drifting!...Only just recently did you guys help me set straight in my mind

Giga (Danica)

 "Glad to be of some help then. I just hope that we'll be sane at the end of this..."

Sarah Blossom

 "ha, me to, no offense but..you Dani my girl..drive me a tiny bit bonkers with some of your antics"

Giga (Danica)

 "Oh?" smirks slightly "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sarah Blossom

 "i call shenanigans, you egged me on to talk to irwin....and he felt the same way..because you wanted a few extra berries....or the fact you are my wing girl 98% of the time....*raises a brow smirking *

Giga (Danica)

 "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah..." still smirking mischievously "...it was ridiculously obvious that you two were pining for each other. I'm just grateful that it happened sooner rather than... well, too late..."

Sarah Blossom

 "It is the best thing you got me to do!...We realized how much we wanna get out of here...now we don't EVER want to evolve... I'm letting Irwin keep the stone until we find a way to split it in two halfs and make it wearable...and uhmm...*looks around..making sure no one is listening(if anyone wants to try to listen perception roll!!!!~) We uhh...we..kinda got into a talk in the tent the other night...

Irwin

 *the distinct sound of a Quilava stairs can be heard in the distance, followed by a ghostly wail*

Giga (Danica)

 "Wow already at that phase of the relationship, huh?" Insert Sarah's reaction here "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! But do go on."

Sarah Blossom

 EXTREME BLUSHING GO AND WING FLUTTER hahahaha!!!  I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.....nono....she whispers..we umm...kissed....

Giga (Danica)

 "Ohoho~" Leans in closer, an interested glimmer in Danica's eyes "You have my full attention ma'am."

Sarah Blossom

 she's blushing umm....we kissed..o-on...t-the lips..soft voice

Giga (Danica)

 beams "Well, well, well~ Now this conversation just got infinitely more interesting~"

Sarah Blossom

 &*shes blushing so hard"s-shush!!!....just..i...on the cheek..he did the same..and..it sorta...happened

Giga (Danica)

 "Well then, how was it?"

Sarah Blossom

 blushed how was it..umm..well uhh..i dunno...i mean it's..it's just a kiss right?

Artemis the Absol

 The Dark-type makes his way above deck.  It seems like he'd been suffering some of the same issues Irwin had been--poor bastards.  "Hi, girls...urp."

Sarah Blossom

 turns around huh..oh look it's our giant amount of fluff that's mega evod....were you listening to us?

Giga (Danica)

 "Nice to see you too Artemis. Also, I believe you do have a minor explanation to give about... well..." points at Artemis' floof wings

Sarah Blossom

 you mean the fact he mega evolved?

Giga (Danica)

 "Wait, you know what he did?" is genuinely confused

Sarah Blossom

 looks at her  WHAT?! you've never heard of mega evolution?!

Giga (Danica)

 "Uh... admittedly, Pokemon related stuff isn't my strong suit..."

Artemis the Absol

 "Mega Evolution?  It's..."  He says, giving a bit of a noncommittal shrug.  "It's something I've been able to do for a while, honestly.  It's uncommon in the tribe, but not unheard of.  I don't use it much since it takes a whole, whooooole lot outta me.  And I can’t fly, even with--"  A rather rough wave rocks the ship, and Arty grips the railing of the boat tightly, wrenching his eyes shut.  "Bleeegghhhh..."

Sarah Blossom

 "well..you DID say you weren't from kalos..so i guess you don't know,,,"she laughs "it's the bond between pokemon and trainer, some pokemons bond is so strong..some have the capability to do whats called Mega evolution a temporary step further of evolution its seen as a trainer has truly bonded with its pokemon as one being... only a number of them can do such a thing...but those that are able to wield the mega stone with its pokemon can be even stronger than before... taking control of it isn't easy..but those who have the right mindset should feel as if they and their pokemon are one

Artemis the Absol

 Artemis squints and peers at her with suspicion.  "You keep saying that word.  What in the world is a 'Trainer', exactly?  Something to do with humans and Pokemon together, that's about all I can tell."  He says, hiding the venom in his tone.  Mostly.

Sarah Blossom

 She speaks of it as if it's pure bliss a trainer...something I am considerably..catching pokemon..but as friends..to perform with me on stage..her voice went from sweet to bitter sour...a mean glare in her eyes do you have a problem with that fluffy boy? (gotta roll intimidate you gotta focus roll arty) (for me that's....2d6 and your focus is what? @Artemis the Absol !roll 2d6

RPBotBOT  @Sarah Blossom rolled 10. (6 + 4 = 10)

Sarah Blossom  (OH MY GOD)

Giga (Danica)

 steps in between both Sarah and Artemis "Ladies, ladies, you're both beautiful, but I believe Fluffy the Terrible deserves an explanation, at least."

Artemis the Absol  (Focus and Intimidate should both be 4d6 iirc)

Sarah Blossom  (your intimidate should be disadvantaged because you're too fluffy (and she went from sweet to...BOOM SOUR

Vivian

There is a loud series of clacking noises ringing from across the way. An automated voice rings out. Sarah, are you picking on Artemis?

Sarah Blossom

 and she's back to sweet what no!...i could just sense the venom in his voice when he said trainer.*she sounds happy once more

Giga (Danica)

 "Oh hi Vivian. Not feeling too seasick, I assume?"

Vivian  !roll d20

RPBotBOT  @Vivian rolled 17.

Sarah Blossom  (tip:you can type just ! roll it's still a 20)

Artemis the Absol  !4d6

RPBotBOT  @Artemis the Absol rolled 12. (5 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 12)

Sarah Blossom  (ok umm.your..your mildly startled by that sudden tone change)

Vivian  She takes a few seconds to type out her response. No. This trip has been a lot easier than I thought. She grips her phone tightly as the boat sways. That doesn't mean the trip hasn't been without its problems, though...

Artemis the Absol

The floofdoggo is relatively outwardly unfazed by her sudden change in demeanor, though the sudden venom leaves him a bit rattled.  Jeezum, temperamental much?   "If you say so."  He says shortly, clearly unconvinced, though he'd rather not press the issue.   "...I'm inclined to agree with Vivian on this one.  I was worried about wasting time, about not doing anything to try and find the rest of my family, but..."  Artemis grimaces as he recalls the impromptu reunion with Mercury.

Vivian Vivian furrows a brow. Who?

Sarah Blossom not temperamental, just one protective girl for her pokemon, don't test her"we won't waste time..vivian had you told me you wanted to get back to your trainer....well you  like i said remind me of someone...every trip has hiccups...but we're making it through height

Giga (Danica) "...the ultra fast Absol, right? He had a bell, didn't he? Sounds pretty similar to what was happening at Lilac Town..."

Sarah Blossom "yeah that absol was wicked fast!

Giga (Danica) "...dare I ask, but are any more members of your family special snowflakes like him?"

Vivian Vivian types on her phone, eyes apparently disenchanted with the conversation. And here I thought you all just forgot about me. she continues typing, not looking up. By the way, next time there's a trap, try a little harder not to let us get captured.

Giga (Danica) gives Sarah a certain look. :/

Sarah Blossom looks away i was looking! i didn't detect anything!...looks away pouts i have a hard time seeing at times..these goggles are gonna make like easier...

Giga (Danica) "Remind me to upgrade the Trap Harvester next time we're in Casia..."

Sarah Blossom "yeah snivy was wondering about it...you never got to speak to him i guess

Giga (Danica) "Corwyn did rush us out of town pretty quickly..."

Sarah Blossom "yeah..i wasn't to happy about that..

Vivian Vivian scowls, as loud clacking emanates. He doesn't seem keen on warning us about traps, either. She continues. I think we should consider throwing them overboard before we get to the place.

Giga (Danica) "Big problem though, they know where the hell we are. And where the Temple is, at that fact..."

Sarah Blossom "viv..you..do know they can swim right?

Artemis the Absol "I didn't expect to meet with Mercury like that--that 'ultra fast Absol' as Danica put it."  Artemis says, nodding to Vivian as he explains.  "Mnh...a lot of them tend to have markings like that.  Gilgamesh is a bit like me, more of an all around-er.  Scathach--Scatty--specializes in bladed weapons.   Bit weird for an Absol, but..."   Another violent wave rocks the boat, and Arty's face turns even more green.  "I'll...be right back.  See if I can't find more of those little tablets Kevin gave me..."   Down below deck he goes--holy shit IRWIN DON'T DIE BRO.

Vivian How well can they swim while packed into a storage crate?

Giga (Danica) "Vivian please, I'd rather not get lost at sea after a mutiny..."

Sarah Blossom smirks save your evil for later..use that on plasma for me ok dear?

Vivian Who?

Sarah Blossom "oh sorry..eherm..those evil goons who kidnapped us before

Vivian I'm supposed to fight evil with evil? Doesn't it add up to being one big evil?

Giga (Danica) "The recruitment standard has really gone down in the last year..."

Sarah Blossom "heh, it's because they all made a mad dash for world ending team flare*she jokes

Vivian Vivi shrugs. Team this, team that. Is everyone on a team these days?

Giga (Danica) "Apparently? Heck, technically we're our own team at this point..." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sarah Blossom "yeah but we're the good guys!

Vivian Says the absol bully. Vivi gives a blunt look as the message plays.

Giga (Danica) "Well, personally I'd rather keep Plasma from essentially killing people mentally..." "And uh, from accidentally destroying the fabric of time, or messing with things that they shouldn't..."

Sarah Blossom "hah..least your team isn't trying to start a war that could end all humanity

Irwin *Irwin lies at the bottom of the stairs, watching as the silhouette of the Mega Absol descends toward him*  ...An angel...? *his eyes take a moment to adjust* .......oh........

Artemis the Absol The Disaster Pokemon waves a paw in front of his face, pulling and tugging him back up to his feet.  "They warned you about those stairs, man.  What with how rickety and shaky this ship can--urp."  He quickly cuts off his chiding, a wave of nausea hitting him.  "Ok, nevermind.  Let's get to Kevin.  Get you checked out and get seasickness away.  Seasick bad."

Irwin Thanks.  *Irwin sways, and leans up against Artemis steady himself* You're not... looking too hot yourself there.

Artemis the Absol "L-like I said.  Kevin can help."  Artemis murmurs, biting his lip and rolling his shoulders, letting the Quilava rest a bit more of his weight against his side.  He's a big boy floof, he can handle this.   A few twists and turns later and Arty noses the far door open... aaaand no Kevin?  Lovely.   "Sonofa..."

Irwin That's okay... *he stumbles his way to one of the beds* Only medicine I need... is a bucket... *he practically falls into the bed* and some water...     I'm no...  sissy... How 'bout you?  You need me... to take care of you? *he chuckles a bit, but it quickly turns to heaving*

Artemis the Absol Arty shakes his head and grins, giving him a light pet on the back before moving to rummage through some of the things on Kevin's desk.  They're sure to be there somewher---aha!  "Oh thank Arceus."  He murmurs, spearing the old, oooooold packet of tablets with a claw.  "Saw him take one of these earlier.  I asked about it and he said they help with seasickness...  bit odd for a Water-type to have, but he did say he used to be human...somehow..."  The Dark-type shrugs, confused--though now really isn't the time to fiddle with that.  NOMF.

Irwin Well hey!  Don't hog 'em... *he stretches his arm out as far as he can without moving his body*

Artemis the Absol "Since you asked so nicely."  He deadpans right back, spearing a second one and plopping it down into his outstretched paw.  "Enjoy."  Artemis says, grinning to himself.  "I'll go ahead and head back up.  See you there?"

Irwin *he stuffs the pill in his mouth and rolls onto his back to help him swallow* Nyeh... Yeah... I'll just... give it a chance to kick in.

Artemis the Absol Arty pauses for a moment, then nods back to the Fire-type, flaring out his wings to keep his balance as he pushes through the ship's winding corridors.  Only a few minutes had passed since he'd left before he finally pokes his head up above deck.  "And back.   Irwin should be here shortly."

Sarah Blossom looks backpoor irwin..i feel bad he's getting so sea sick

Artemis the Absol "Eh, dunno why Kevin didn't' give him any of those lil' pill thingies, then."  Artemis says nonchalantly, shuffling his 'wings'.

Sarah Blossom "well..i guess not...i got a little dizzy at first..but i'm fine now

Irwin *Irwin carefully climbs back up the stairs and greets the others* Hey guys, I'm feeling... a lot... *he runs back to the railing and throws up*

Artemis the Absol Artemis can't help but frown at that.  Maybe they simply aren't as effective for the Fireself?  "Eh, give it a bit to kick in...I guess.  Where were we, again?  Something about...special snowflakes?"

Sarah Blossom "that was all dani

Artemis the Absol "Where'd she wander off to...?  Odd."  Artemis murmurs, frowning and shaking his head with a scowl.  All over the place, this team.  "Was there something you wanted to know, then?  You had that kinda look on your face."  He says, gesturing vaguely towards her.

Sarah Blossom "what me?....well...you seemed...bitter at trainers specifically..

Artemis the Absol "Forgive me if I'm distrustful of humans."  The Dark-type says, growling and baring his fangs.  "Especially since this group we're fighting, all the humans turned Pokemon, they were 'Trainers' too, weren't they?"

Artemis the Absol Artemis rolls his eyes and shakes his head, snapping his jaws shut menacingly.  "And how, exactly, is that any different than the rest of you, beating them to near unconsciousness and taking them from their homes?!"

Irwin Hey hey hey!  Don't snap at her!  I know you just went through something horrible, and I'd be mad too, but we need to be able to trust each other if we're going to make it through whatever's ahead of us. I'm not a trainer, so if that's what's nagging you most, then at least trust me to start. *he leans back against the railing and closes his eyes* And try to keep in mind that this isn't just about your tribe, or my team.  We've seen others being controlled like your friend back there, including a family of young Totodile.  We need to work together to stop this.

Artemis the Absol Arty growls, but he can't deny the logic in his words.  "When we get to shore, we're going to need to have one hell of a heart-to-heart.  And no, NO PUNS!"  He says, quickly regretting his choice of words.  "That's...only for very close friends and loved ones."

Irwin *Irwin looks like he's about to say something, but instead he just slumps down and sits on the deck* If you don't want to talk any more right now, I won't make you.  But don't judge us.  Some of us have been through a lot.  At least let our future actions speak for us.

Adrian St. Artiel "How are we different?" Adrian, with worn bound sketchbook in hand and propped up against the mast, glances nonchalantly at the agitated absol before shifting his gaze back to his work. "For starters, we aren't ALL trainers."

Artemis the Absol Arty stops to the far side of the deck, tail swishing angrily through the air, and he digs his claws into the railing.  "Fine.   Fine..."  He murmurs, lidding his eyes and forcing himself to take a few deep breaths.  That's the other reason he doesn't Mega Evolve often-otional.  "If you're not trainers, then what ARE you?"

Irwin ... *he looks up to the sky* We're Team Wayfinder.  Visitors from various lands, on a mission to rescue and protect the inhabitants of Casia from Team Plasma.

Adrian St. Artiel "I can't speak for the rest, but I've never captured nor battled with a single pokemon... least not until becoming one."

Irwin Same here.  I've almost never even interacted with Pokemon growing up.  I don't even know what type of Pokemon you are, now that you've evolved.  This shouldn't matter though.  I'm not saying we're perfect.  We're all flawed, and will do dumb things, but we're trying our best. We never asked to come here, but we all chose to stay to help. Anyway.... How's that drawing coming along, Adrian?

Giga (Danica) climbs back down from the Crow's nest

Adrian St. Artiel "Adequately." he responds, half brushing the poor fire type off and half too disheartened in his work to respond otherwise.

Artemis the Absol "From my understanding, that Team is what you became after getting stuck here."  He says, putting a bit of a point on it.  "Even so... you...mngh."  Artemis stifles a swear.  Why are words eluding him this evening?   Damnit!  "As for what Pokemon I am, I'm still me.  Still an Absol.  Can't even fly with these things, as much as I might want to."   The Dark-type says, gesturing to and fluttering those 'wings' of his.  "Temporary boost in strength, to put it simply."

Giga (Danica) "Honestly, it's not something I see in Unova very often..." "...or at all..."

Irwin I... can't say I follow.  It happened at a good time at least.  Speaking of which, I'm sorry you had to fight your friend back there. *he holds his paws together and stares at the deck* I don't think I'd have the heart to do that. *he trails off and begins mumbling to himself* If I had known Jack was......

Artemis the Absol Arty tenses up and shoots him a pained grin, baring his fangs once more.  "Bit closer than just 'friend', but I appreciate the concern.  Mercury's my half-brother.  Same mom"  He explains simply.  "And now he's disappeared after that fight... I KNEW I should've...!"

Giga (Danica) "Whoa now!" steps in a bit closer "Look, judging from how you're reacting, I'd say he's pretty close to you, huh? ...we'll find them. If we've run into him once, then I'm more than certain we'll find him again, and more than likely, we'll find the rest of your family not far behind..." Irwin *Irwin stares off in the distance, now with a wide eyes expression of shock* He was your... actual brother?? *he curls up a bit, looking pretty depressed* I... you... *he pauses as he tries to find the words* ...I'm... so sorry.  Don't worry, I'm sure he OK...  If he got away, then he must be.

Artemis the Absol "Maybe not as close as most other families, but with how much we both care for Mom, yeah, we're close."  Artemis says, trying and failing to stifle a low sniffle.  He'd been strong and brave during the fight, but adrenaline was on his side then.  "As glad as I was to see him, to get some kind of a clue, with how he was acting, with those other...twins?  Copies of him?"  He says, stamping a paw on the deck.  "Part of me is afraid to see what they've done with the others.  He was always fast, but THAT kind of speed... I've never seen nor heard of anything that quick, nor strong.  Maybe...once, twice I've seen something even getting close to that level."

Giga (Danica) "Hmm... I wonder... he had a bell around his neck, right? That Dewott at Lilac... he had one too, and I remember he was trying to get it off of him..."

Irwin If that's true... we should at least try and get that off of him.  Though you weren't wearing a bell when you fell under their control Danica.  As for his speed, we have seen a lot of fast Pokemon when dealing with Team Plasma.  They were doing research on manipulating time, back when they had that staff Adrian carries with him.  I wonder if they learned how to do it without the amulet... If we do have to fight him again, I think Adrian can get him down to a manageable speed. Maybe we can even capture him safely.

Giga (Danica) "Speaking of those powers... try not to get into too much trouble. I haven't been able to use mine after what happened at Town..."

Irwin Did you use it in town?  I hadn't even noticed.

Giga (Danica) "...that's because I used it on you Irwin..."

Irwin ..what? *he laughs* Did I fall into the well or something?

Giga (Danica) "Well... you aren't wrong about the water part, let's put it that way..."

Artemis the Absol "If we're lucky enough to get that to work...  And that's assuming that it's the bell that's causing it."  Arty retorts, glancing between Dani and Irwin, canting his head.  Why in the world is she not telling him?  Sure, he got fucked up, but it's not like he was the only one who got hurt that night, either.

Adrian St. Artiel "The powers we gained are likely tied to the temple of time."  Adrian muses, still scritching away at his pad with what would appear to be charcoal. "The fact that I was given the staff is likely the only reason we still have them. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd also assume the temple of faith is where froslass and plasma have been pulling this bell trick from." Adrian glances over at Irwin, somewhat unnerved. "You really haven't figured it out yet? Really? Think. You've seen how her power works. And more importantly you saw the look on Sarah's face that day. It shouldn't have taken you this long to put two and two together."

Irwin Eesh.  You guys are always so cryptic.  It's like with the thing about the water.  Why am I always the last to hear about stuff?

Giga (Danica) "Ehehh... I swear I meant to let you guys know about the water sooner..."

Adrian St. Artiel "It's not cryptic Irwin. It's rather simple actually. You died. Congratulations."

Giga (Danica) "Well, you got pretty close..." shudders at the memory

Artemis the Absol Artemis nods grimly, only to let out a low yawn.  "Well, maybe not died, but--yes."  He turns his gaze up to the stars and the moon above--has it gotten that late already?  It must be past midnight, easily.  "I'm going to head below deck to grab an hour or so of sleep before my watch and meditation.  Good night, you three."  He says, yawning once more and dipping his head.

Irwin And so you give me sarcasm instead.  Right.   Wait, pretty close?   ... W-wait.  OK, just say it, what happened?

Adrian St. Artiel "Whether you choose to believe me or not is up to you. I won't repeat myself."

Giga (Danica) "Well, you decided to go after Primarina, who then hit you with a wateris- Attack and... well... yeah... it looked like it hurt, to say the least..."

Adrian St. Artiel *Adrian nods and waves at the absol as he leaves

Irwin *He looks at Danica, then Adrian.  He looks concerned, to say the least* S-so which was it?? *he gets up to his feet* Did I... die?  ...or not?  Am I like Eddie now?? *and turns back to the water* Tharina...

Giga (Danica) "First off; no, you aren't dead. Second of all, you got close. From what I've seen, the effects more or less got reversed when I pulled off the wibbly-wobblyeyey shit again."

Irwin So if you hadn't been there... if the mind control hadn't been broken... I... hrrp... *vom over the railing*

Adrian St. Artiel "Dani's power reverses the flow of time for someone for a set amount of time, just like how mine slows it, like messing with the playback on an old cassette. When she found you... as you were you were too far gone for normal healing measures so we essentially cheated, and made it so that for you, the whole thing never happened."

Adrian St. Artiel "But it did happen, and we did all see the results of you failing to control yourself."

Irwin *Irwin wipes his mouth, lurches over to Danica, and gives her a hug* Th-thank you, then... for saving me...

Giga (Danica) returns the hug "Well, I couldn't just leave you there... It wouldn't be right..."

Irwin Failing to control myself...?  I don't even know what I did.  *he turns around and begins to sulk off* I... need to go... process... for a bit...

Giga (Danica) nods solemnly "No worries, if you need to talk to one of us though, just say the word."

Irwin *he waves limply without turning around*

Adrian St. Artiel *softly, so as to not have Irwin hear "He had to find out sooner or later."

Giga (Danica) at the same volume as Adrian "Admittedly, he took it significantly better than I expected..." leans back over the rails and sights

Adrian St. Artiel "He's definitely the most tolerable of the group, but damned if he isn't oblivious as hell most of the time... ugh." Frustratedly, Adrian rips the page he was working on out of his notebook, crinkles it up and tosses it over the side of the ship.

Giga (Danica) "...no luck?"

Adrian St. Artiel "Not exactly. Just... something I shouldn't be thinking about right now." He sighs and puts his art kit and supplies back in his bag. "I'm heading in too. Likely going to be a while till we hit land. Might as well try to get something vaguely resembling sleep."

Giga (Danica) "No worries. I'll keep watch then..." Waits for Adrian to start moving off before chiming in again. "...Hey Adrian? I need you to be honest with me, do you think we made the right choice in... staying here?"

Adrian St. Artiel Adrian looks back over his shoulder and raises an eyebrow."Hmmm? Oh that? Well, to be honest... No. We probably didn't. But at the same time, I don't think it really matters." "Something tells me leaving wouldn't have been the simple matter that Absolute eaking it out as. We'd likely be pursued by plasma anyhow, whether we were human or pokemon, simply because we were here, and we have seen what's been going on. You think a place like this would stay as is if the whole of the outside world knew about it? Plus I've begun to suspect that Absolute and Moira aren't quite as all powerful here as the think. There's more to it. Stuff they're either not telling us, or don't know themselves. Least from what I've gathered. And also..."

Giga (Danica) "Hmm?" turns to look at Adrian more clearly

Adrian St. Artiel "I don't think I CAN leave. Not yet anyway. Just personally. Being here has made me... remember things. Ironic right? Things that I haven't thought about in a while. Things I didn't want to think about. I think, for a good long while before coming here, I haven't really been trying to think at all. At least not about myself or what I was doing. I kind of just... kept moving, not looking nor caring where I was going cause it felt like if I stopped, everything I left behind would eventually catch up and I'd have to answer for a lot of.... well, let's just say lapses in judgement and leave it at that. But here... it's different." "The outside world can't touch us in here, at least not directly. It's like someone pressed pause on life, and then gave us the time, for better or for worse, to think things over, and try to make sense of where we are. At least, that's what I've been trying to do. I know I can't go back to the way I was, not really. I've at least realized at this point that I was going nowhere, and keeping a lot of things bottled up. And so I've decided that, before I even consider heading back, that I would figure out just where I went wrong and to make plan to at least try and fix things... whatever that might entail."

Giga (Danica) "...guess we're in the same boat then." looks out at the sea. "I don't know what's going to happen to us here... Hell, I can't even guarantee our own physical safety... And there's only one thing that I'm completely certain about." looks up to the stars. "That once we leave, once this whole crazy adventure is over, we're never going to be the same people we were beforehand, like you said, be it for better or for worse... Between you and me Adrian, I don't have a lot waiting for me back home. Main reason I'm not accepting staying here... well, I've got things I still need to do as Danica." grips onto the railing. "...I can't afford to falter in my duties... not when... not when the alternative is... when failure is..." Frowns, then shakes head in frustration. "...Not when there's so much at stake." "But enough of that. Tell you all what, I've got a decent amount saved up. Once we're done with this place, how about we all go on a trip to Alola? Or something, either way, getting away from all the world's stresses sounds pretty good right now."

Adrian St. Artiel "Hah. We'll see. First we have to make it through the night. And on that note-" Adrian turns and waves behind him. "-I'm off. Take care Dani."

Giga (Danica) "Heh, night Adrian. I'll keep watch and let you guys know when I see land."

Adrian St. Artiel Adrian gives a thumbs up (Or at least, the smeargle equivalent of one) as he descends the ladder into the ship's depths, but says nothing else, disappearing from view.

...

Out of the corner of your eye, over the railing, a glimmer of moonlight reflects off something and catches your attention.

Giga (Danica) "Hm?" Tries taking a look at what's reflecting the light...

Adrian St. Artiel You peer over the side and for a split second, you spot a patch of white amidst the dark ocean below. A face, a human one maybe, hard to make out from distance and darkness and saturation, stares back at you from just slightly beneath the water's surface, inscribed on a crumpled up wad of paper that is slowly unraveling itself, bleeding black clouds of water and coal as it sinks below the surface. You only get a quick glimpse of it, what you are able to make out, before the passing wave sweeps it behind the boat and out of sight: Long hair, tied in a pony tail. A bright smile, nearly erased by the waves. And the letter K...

Giga (Danica) Dani's brow furrows in confusion. "What on...?" ((Cue intuition roll!)) !roll 4d6

RPBotBOT @Giga (Danica) rolled 18. (2 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 18)

Adrian St. Artiel While the girl depicted is not familiar to you in any way, the material she was drawn on is. In fact, you're fairly certain you saw a teammate of yours huck a similarly sized, if not identical wad of paper over the edge moments prior. What this means however, is a mystery to you. You can say this much at least: from what you could still see (and water damage aside) the picture looked very realistic. And very detailed. Painstakingly so.

Giga (Danica) "...oh geez..." looks over to where Adrian was earlier and then frowns, before climbing back up onto the crow's nest to keep watch over the horizon/surroundings. "...there really is way too much at stake for us, huh?" ((Uh... end RP?))