#For Bad Artifacts

[bluerosefox]

Once again. A new DPxDC idea/prompt.

(Deaged! Danny, Dan, Ellie, and Jazz!)

Enjoy my random ideas.

Look.

Selina....

Selina wasn't expecting this when she decided to have some fun and do what she does best.

She just meant to sweet talk her way into Master's gala/party. Flirt and get info, maybe some blackmail. Steal away the rare cat themed artifact he had recently gotten (and also steal away his actual cat, such a lovely little diva it is too). then she was going to disappear into the night like always.

So...

Selina casted her eyes into the mirror of her car and could see the tiny children she had rescued from Master's hidden basement lab. All but one was asleep, the oldest out of them, although she seemed to be losing that fight from the way her head was falling forward, eyes closing but would jerk herself back awake when she realized she was falling asleep.

Curled up as hard and as much as they could towards the little redhead was three dark haired children, Selina mused that they'd fit right in with Bruce and his little bats/birds.

Two were near identical boys, though one seemed to be much paler than the other and if she remembered right one had red eyes and the other had blue, and the last one of the sleeping kids was a tiny toddler, a girl she heard was named 'Ellie' from the others.

Selina took note that the red head, Jazz, had finally fallen asleep a few minutes later. With a deep breath as she drove further and further away from that... that insane Fruitloop (she overheard the two boys call him that as they ran to her car) Master's place, she blindly reached for her phone and pressed a single digit on the screen, knowing it will connect to her car and call up the only person she can trust to help her with this.

"Selina." came the gravely voice after a single ring, sounds like she caught him on patrol but he seemed to be in a spot where he was okay to say her actual name over coms or she caught him before his night shift started.

"Hello Darling, I need your help with some kittens I found and to help me... Put away their terrible old owner."

[astraeusx]

hoyo needs to add an automatic roll system for genshin domains like they implemented in tears of themis i am dying

[c6jpg]

Well? Have I convinced you yet?

[garou-art]

🔪✌️ when your bf disappears into the mountains but he's totally fine now

[heyclickadee]

Phee speedpaint. Sort of speedpaint. (Maybe take the “speed” out of the paint part—I’m a very, very slow painter.)

[theartgremlin2]

Shhhhhhhhhh

He is reading

[drawpius]

Strong Bad Smoking Weed The Movie

[grim-echoes]

Commission for @justgyr of her Lancer gal Leonida ⚔️

[chuluoyi]

how do you all pass the deepspace trial open orbit lv. 50 😭

[mushyfart]

rough sketch of ninja ivor while I try to figure out his design‼️

[blueiscoool]

Roman Fort Defended by Wooden Stakes Discovered in Germany

For the first time, archaeologists have discovered well-preserved sharpened wooden stakes used to deter attacks from enemies at an ancient Roman military camp from the first century CE.

Researcher Frederic Auth from Frankfurt’s Goethe University discovered the spikes at an excavation site in the German town of Bad Ems.

Installations of these martial-looking wooden structures, comparable to modern barbed wire and metal bird spikes, have been referenced in literature and by Julius Caesar. But prior to Auth’s discovery, none had been found.

Experts believe the military had a presence at the site specifically because of the Romans’ investment in the lucrative precious metal mining operation there, which would need defense against sudden raids for the valuable raw material. But Goethe University archaeology professor Markus Scholz said further research is necessary to verify this theory.

The university’s archaeology department has been overseeing a multiyear excavation project in the area focused on the Roman search for silver ore in the 1st century CE and the establishment of two military camps.

A hunter’s observations of color differences in a grain field, a sign of subsurface structures, triggered the excavations in 2016. A drone photo found a track crisscrossing the field that was actually a double ditch, framing a Roman camp. The spikes were preserved through the area’s damp soil.

According to a statement from the university, geomagnetic prospecting later revealed a 20-acre military camp with about 40 wooden towers.

Auth also led a student team to discover a smaller military camp made of wood that held approximately 40 men, located two kilometers away.

Notably, the spiked wooden defense structure was discovered on the second-last day of the team’s excavations, along with a coin minted in 43 CE. The coin was proof that the military structure could not have been built in connection with ancient Roman fortifications known as the Limes, which were built around 110 CE.

By Karen K. Ho.

[romantichopelessly]

There’s something so personal about the number of times The Raven Boys aligns Gansey’s relationship with Adam to his relationship with Blue

[dreamsrunfaster]

hey tech lives truthers what if he's not with the others bc/ he's living with phee. what then.

[lightwise]

 Analysis of Phee and The Bad Batch

I know that this topic has been heavily discussed the last few days, so I apologize if any of these points are repetitive. I also am not discounting anyone’s differing opinions. I was a bit hesitant about shipping Tech and Phee together going into S2 E13, but five minutes in I was fully on board both with this amazingly sweet relationship and Phee being a straight up badass role model who I think is GREAT for the Batch as a whole. 

WHO PHEE REALLY IS

When Phee is introduced I think we all were expecting a typical pirate a la Hondo Ohnaka–funny, charming, dangerous, but ultimately just out for themselves and the chance of financial gain. Phee has way more complexity to her than this.  

Moral Compass: She’s a good person. She has a moral compass, and a great one at that. She spends most of her time traveling the galaxy both to explore history and natural wonders but also to restore artifacts (many of which don’t even hold monetary value) to refugees who have lost their homes and cultures due to war. And she often risks her own life to do so. For a pirate she’s pretty dang honorable. I think this is when Tech really starts to warm up to her, because he is intrigued by and respects her value of these other cultures and her efforts to give people who lost their homes a sense of belonging. 

Intelligence: Phee is so smart both in intellect and emotional intelligence. She’s been around the galaxy for awhile and knows who to trust and who not to, even when she considers someone a friend (cough Cid cough). Her adventures require her to know and love history, science, and the appreciation of the art and cultures that she explores. While her mind works very differently than Tech’s, she has more than enough curiosity and learning to engage with his level of intelligence. 

Bravery: Traipsing around the galaxy searching for lost treasure requires a lot of bravery and survival skills, especially when traveling alone. The Batch have pretty unique skill sets both as soldiers and survivors, and Phee is more than a match for all of them with both weapons and her ability to navigate dangerous situations. 

Compassion: Her dynamic with Mayor Shep and his daughter Lyana, her help throughout the natural disaster the island faces, and the specific ways that she shows care for the Batch members and trusts them with her community, all speak highly of Phee as a person who adds safety and value to all of her relationships, something the Batch members desperately need. 

PHEE BOTH SEES AND CARES ABOUT EACH MEMBER OF THE BATCH

Hunter: He trusts her now. We open with the Batch playing bodyguard as Phee is negotiating a tense deal. Hunter is absorbed in the moment and is fully prepared to defend Phee no matter what. It’s clear that his previous dislike/distrust of her in their first encounters is gone, and that he trusts having Omega around her even in a dangerous situation. Phee has also softened towards him and talks with him quite a lot, both teasing him in a very sibling-like manner: “so why bring us?” “makes you wonder, doesn’t it”, but also quite seriously respecting him as the leader of the squad and the father of Omega. She directly voices her opinions and concerns to him and goes to great lengths to let him know she cares about Omega’s and their future, and he listens to her concerns. She knows that he wants to keep his family safe and settle down, and she wants to give him an example of what that could look like.

One moment that really solidified this for me is how Phee reacted when Hunter pushed in between her and Tech as they were watching the sunset. Someone less acquainted with Hunter’s skills and brooding nature might have thought that he was just cutting between them or dismissed his qualms about what he was sensing. Phee’s reaction proves that she takes Hunter seriously because she immediately knows something is wrong and isn’t at all offended that her moment with Tech was interrupted. 

Wrecker: While their interactions are more sparse, it’s clear that Phee understands Wrecker’s motivations too–food, helping others, rest. She brings them to a place his hunger can be satisfied, where his physical strength is an asset but it’s not the only reason he’s accepted, and she convinces Tech to let him and the girls sleep a little longer when Tech is ready to wake them up. Her face here says it all.

Omega: In episode 5 we could have argued that like some other pirates we’ve had the pleasure of coming across (ahem Hondo again), she might have looked at Omega as just a little sidekick who she could impress and teach a few lessons. Here we see this is not the case. While she is impressed by her fighting skills, Phee is genuinely concerned about Omega’s livelihood and welfare as she gently suggests to Hunter that she needs friends and a stable place to grow up. By bringing them to Pabu she is able to introduce Omega to another girl her age, give her a chance to relax and be carefree, and show Hunter and Tech that there are sides of Omega that need to be nurtured, without dismissing their current life with Omega at all.

Tech: Alright. The main reason why this post is being written 🥹🥹🥹. This little romance is the sweetest thing to me and with how much character growth we have gotten from Tech this season, I think seeing how Phee interacts with him only continues to highlight that growth and social connection.

I cannot get over how sensitive Phee is towards Tech. She understands how his brain works and doesn’t shame him for it, but simply tells him what her thoughts are without invalidating his. She accepts him for who he is while also showing him other ways of viewing the world. The way she pushes lightly against his boundaries and social awkwardness (especially around physical touch), but in a very respectful manner, always giving him the space to pull away or say no. How she knows that he’ll hate an overly boisterous social gathering and lightly teases him about it. How she gets him to put the data pad down and experience the world through his other senses. And as other people have more eloquently mentioned (shoutout to the Star Wars Universe Podcast), how she makes him feel safe. Safe enough for Tech to feel fully comfortable being himself around her, and also to begin to get curious about who she is and her points of view. She is giving him the space to meet her. And boy is he.

We’ve already seen from previous episodes that Tech has a strong moral compass and cares about people suffering in the galaxy. Her sense of moral justice and care appeals to him and he respects it. Tech just watches her in awe and interest at how she deals with people. He is steadily falling for her. She shows him beauty. She shows him compassion. She shows him new ways of relating to others. She understands his family and how they all work together. She matches his level of interest and fascination about the world. And he’s melting in the face of it.

THIS SMILE??? THIS MAN SMIRKED AT HER. SMIRKED, I TELL YOU. 🤩

Putting this caring, sensitive, socially awkward, neurodivergent, nerdy genius of a man and this badass, independent, kind-but-takes-no-bs, intelligent woman of color together is so fun to see. I’m loving these two and can’t wait to see where this goes.

[eternal-auditor]

Burn them all

[tiredspacedragon]

Why is there an exit to the Test of Trust on the 777 Stairs?

Like in theory I really like the idea of that room; a group enters, and each member is trapped in an inescapable cylinder adorned only with a single latch. A recorded voice informs the group that if each individual lifts the latch at the same time, they all may pass, but if one betrays the others and lifts their latch first, they will go free and their companions will perish. However, this is a trick, and if one of the group does attempt to betray the rest, they are all judged unworthy and dropped into a pool of water that will slowly heat and boil them alive.

The specifics don't mean much, but the concept is solid. Judge the character of the team by their ability to work together and prioritize the group over personal gain. If one is willing to sell the others out, they certainly don't deserve to continue and the rest are likely no better, so they all die. Fair enough. A little extreme perhaps, but this is a safety feature on the path to the most powerful item in the universe, which has complete power over life itself, so I'd say it's fair.

So why the heck is there a tunnel out of that boiling pit? One that was clearly put there intentionally since it contains doors that shut behind any who pass through it to prevent them from turning back. If the point of that chamber is to determine who is worthy to continue on to the Ignika, why is there a way out for people who fail the challenge? One that leaves them closer to the mask instead of spitting them out somewhere else far away from the stairs? The test of character is completely moot at that point because it's actually more beneficial to fail the challenge, because it lets the group completely bypass the next chamber they would have entered normally, which was presumably Umbra's room! It's just a cheat code to get around the strongest guardian!

So is that the point? Is it not a test of character, but instead a test of intelligence and craftiness? If so, it's a piss poor one, because you can't judge someone's puzzle-solving skills if they aren't aware there's a puzzle they're supposed to be solving. Plus what would it matter if those who passed it were clever if they've already proven they can't be trusted and are thus completely undeserving of the limitless power they're trying to get their hands on? And if it is a test of character, it's also useless, because the stairs have an automatic system that detects the intentions of those who descend them anyway! That's why the Inika and the Piraka faced different challenges on the way down, the Toa got the heroic path with the Chamber of Death, which actually is a solid test since it demands the same thing the Ignika itself will, while the Piraka got the villainous path and the trust test instead.

So like, if you already have a system installed that can sense the intentions of those coming to claim the mask, why isn't the path that opens to those with nefarious intent not an instakill? Why is there a way for them to succeed at all when they're the last kind of people who should? And more importantly, why is it the easier path?