#I torment him and make him have to grapple with his own self image and worth in my mind :]

[paging-possum]

puts on my giant shirt that says I think its awesome and interesting when characters have internalized homophobia and desperately claw the walls trying to escape from their own desires no matter the cost because it goes against what they fundamentally believe themselves to be/The Guilt but its always there lingering in the back of their mind in the depths of their dreams patiently waiting and getting stronger until they can't deny it anymore and they spiral real bad.

[iamnmbr3]

Hi. I've been reading threw a number of your posts related to Loki 2021 and the general impression your post give is that you don't like how Loki 2021 has been written and present (which I understand because while Loki is not a favourite character of mine, I want to see his character done justices). And I guess I was just wondering how you would have tackled Loki 2021, using the plot elements that have been established in the show, but with your own spin. Thank you :)

That's a great question! I think the premise actually had a ton of potential. @nikkoliferous and I often talk about all the really cool things that could've been done and why it's so particularly tragic that they wasted all that good story setup. I think there are 3 main types of directions the story could've gone in with this premise (and then a lot of variations within each type).

Direction 1 - A buddy comedy with a heart

So I think this is what they were trying to go for with Loki and Mobius's dynamic based on the narrative framing and how all the interviews have presented Mobius in a positive light. (Though that's not what they actually wrote at all).

The way to do this would be to set Mobius up in a more sympathetic way and put him and Loki on more even footing. They could've had Mobius be almost as much a prisoner as Loki. They could have started out with him being pretty indoctrinated into the TVA worldview, but also being considered expendable. We could've seen his superiors threaten him with deletion if he can't make things work with the Loki Variant. Maybe he even feels some compassion for Loki and convinces his superiors that Loki can be useful and shouldn't be deleted since he's powerless to do anything else and he figures being enslaved is probably better than dying. Loki could actually be in-character and question Mobius's world view etc. And Mobius could to the best of his ability treat him decently instead of smugly mocking and tormenting him.

We could have Loki escape early on and end up bringing Mobius along with him, either by accident or because he realizes Mobius will be killed for losing him and he feels bad about it. Then we have them thrown together by circumstances and they could slowly grow to trust each other over the course of the show. The series could dig into the parallels between them. Loki could point out to Mobius that he repeats the propaganda he's been taught but he's hardly less of a prisoner than Loki and his masters are hypocritical. This could also lead to Loki realizing that while maybe he wanted to tell himself that he was an ally of Thanos's the truth was anything but.

While they're on the run both could start to realize they're experiencing freedom from the first time. Mobius could learn to question the TVA and Loki could realize that maybe he can be himself and doesn't have to be a tool of Odin or Thanos. Loki could could grapple with how much control he had while attacking NYC (thus allowing Disney to leave that a bit open to interpretation without totally sweeping the torture and mind control under the rug) and Mobius could grapple with how complicit he has been in the TVA's horrific actions.

Rather than Loki "learning to be trustworthy" (smh) Loki could learn to trust someone else and that not everyone will betray him. Mobius could also be a stand-in for more casual viewers and slowly realize that Loki isn't just the uncomplicated villain he at first took him for. There could be a nice mix of substantive character drama and entertaining hijinks. And of course in the end they could burn the TVA to the ground and liberate all realities. There's so many variations on this and @nikkoliferous and I often chat about them. Because the show could've been so good! And yet. </3

Direction 2 - The TVA & Mobius are acknowledged as the great villains they are

This is kind of what they're making by accident without acknowledging it which leads to a lot of emotional dissonance in the narrative. In canon the TVA is a horrific organization and Mobius seems happily complicit. He doesn't seem to have any compunctions about supporting their agenda of using murder, genocide, forced labor, enslavement, torture, police brutality, sham trials without due process, and privacy violation to eliminate free will. He happily forced Loki to toil under threat of death, mocks and humiliates him, manipulates him, and participates in acts of torture. He is INCREDIBLY creepy and a great embodiment of the "banality of evil" concept. The TVA is also absolutely terrifying.

If the show actually leaned into that it would create a great sense of narrative tension. Loki has escaped Thanos only to once again fall into the hands of a horrifically evil and powerful enemy. And it's up to him to figure out a way out of this situation and a way to liberate all of reality from their grip. In this scenario it might be useful to introduce some other prisoner characters so that he has some friendlyish faces to interact with...and potentially an army to lead against the TVA after he's won them over and figured out a plan.

Mobius's parallels to Odin and Thanos would work really well here because having Loki eventually defeat him and tell him he doesn't get to tell Loki who he is or make him into a tool of evil would be hugely cathartic. We'd get to see Loki stand up to and defeat someone who parallels the two individuals who have most hurt and manipulated him and decide to make his own way from now on rather than trying to be what others make of him. It would be awesome.

Direction 3 - TVA are twist villains

Some people think this might be the direction the show is going. The problem is that if that's true it'll just fall flat because the TVA is already clearly villainous so there's no twist. In the first episode already we see them commit acts of murder, genocide (wiping out a whole timeline because they believe the beings in that timeline belong to a class - variants - that are unworthy of life), police brutality, trial without due process, privacy violation, torture, and illegitimate imposition of rule (they are not elected in any sense and yet they have appointed themselves the arbiters of reality) all in the service of eliminating free will. That is...not what heroes do.

However they COULD have been good twist villains with just a few tweaks. Maybe they approach Loki and play on his deep yearning to be viewed as good and worthy as well as his self-hatred and poor self image to convince him that an "evil" version of him is wreaking havoc and they need his help. Maybe they also sweeten the deal by offering him protection from Thanos and the Black Order since he has no idea they are dead in this timeline. (If you wanted to keep audiences more in the dark you could have them just talk about the Black Order so that audiences at first assume they are still hunting Loki even tho Thanos is dead and don't realize the TVA is manipulating Loki).

At first they don't do anything overtly evil. The authoritarian aesthetic would seem like a humorous parody of office culture. It would then take on a new, much more sinister meaning when the TVA get's revealed as evil later and we learn that they obliterate entire timelines, murder people for the slightest infractions, don't view variants as people, and want to eliminate free will. Mobius could either appear first as a friend and then get revealed as a villain or have a redemption arc where he ends up siding with Loki.

Also for all of these scenarios the script and characterization should be good. I should see Loki, not Larry his dumb lookalike cousin. The script should have Loki doing and saying things that are in-character. (Which certainly doesn't preclude humor since Loki's wit is one of his most iconic features!)

[thecreaturecodex]

Nascent Demon Lord, Igramalash

Image from Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth, © Paizo Publishing

[Commissioned by @tar-baphon. This one requires some context. Igramalash appeared in Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth with a ton of backstory, as discussed in the first paragraph of the entry below. Most parties will probably never learn it, since he just fights until slain and has nothing to say to the party except for screaming for Alderpash. He can act as an agent of chaos in the adventure, and can be goaded into attacking the warden and the staff of the prison, be commanded by the PCs with the help of Runelord Alderpash, or simply killed. The commissioner ran a party through Wrath of the Righteous, and they allowed Igramalash to live and escape. So this request was for an Igramalash improved and triumphant, having re-established his worship and becoming a power to be reckoned with. The original module says he was worshiped as a god of pain and obedience, but I thought his concerns should be updated to reflect his history of betrayals and imprisonments.

Not also that the original Igramalash had mythic tiers, as is fitting for being from the Mythic AP. As I’ve previously said, I hate the mythic rules, and have stripped them out. Igramalash was especially egregious for having the most game-breaking ability of the mythic rules, dual initiative. I gave it an ability to maintain some of that flavor without the overpowered making-two-full-attacks-every-round mechanics.]

Igramalash The Inverted Rune, the Liberated Concerns hunger, revenge, revolt Domains Chaos, Evil, Liberation, Strength Subdomains Demon, Entropy, Ferocity, Freedom Worshipers evil giants, fleshwarped creatures, the downtrodden Minions grimleks, inverted giants, nabasu demons Unholy Symbol a spiral with a fanged maw in the center Obedience Devour a pound of flesh from someone or something that has wronged you. This flesh may be fresh or preserved. Gain a +4 profane bonus on saves against transmutation effects Boons 1:  bull’s strength 2/day; 2: freedom of movement 2/day; 3: greater dispel magic 2/day

Nascent Demon Lord, Igramalash CR 23 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This hideous thing is roughly humanoid, with a head that is merely a fanged canker and squirming fanged tentacles that spill from its body like intestines. Its oversized arms drag to the ground and end in clawed fists, luminous runes carved into the muscle. A long tongue whips from its mouth, and black smoke billows forth from it like a shroud.

Igramalash the Inverted Rune has had a long and bizarre history. He began life as a rune giant, one of a race of titans created by the runelords to manage their giant armies. After a failed rebellion, he was tortured by his master, Runelord Alderpash, and transformed into a hideous parody—an inverted giant. This was accomplished by fusing his body with that of a powerful qlippoth, granting Igramalash remarkable resilience and a deadly poison. In this form, lesser giants worshiped him as a divinity of death, and this tribute went to his head (or what was left of it). After decades of service, he betrayed Alderpash again, and the Runelord turned him over to Baphomet, Alderpash’s patron, for torment in the Ivory Labyrinth. After being freed by adventurers storming the Ivory Labyrinth as a terror weapon, Igramalash escaped captivity. Having been exposed finally to the full energies of the Abyss, he has ascended to the form of nascent demon lord, and now seeks a spot of territory in the Abyss to claim as his own.

Igramalash’s intellect has been enhanced by his Abyssal upgrades, and he combines overwhelming strength with savvy tactics. Against multiple foes, he uses spell-like abilities to shape the battlefield and tie up support before concentrating full firepower on a single target. He enjoys eating his enemies alive, especially wizards, as they remind him of the hated Alderpash. Igramalash has lived far too long to die in battle, and he teleports away to recover and plot revenge if grievously injured.

The nascent cult of Igramalash is growing among giants, fleshwarped creatures, and other monsters used as minions by more intelligent powers. Igramalash has developed a reputation as a savior figure, which inflicts violence on the masters who deserve it. Few of his worshipers realize that Igramalash cares as little for them as their original masters did, and would gladly sacrifice their lives in order to gain a momentary advantage. The prospect of revenging themselves on their tormentors is too great, and his veneration spreads in secret, kept away from prying eyes and passed through hidden signs. Igramalash realizes that wealth can buy loyalty, and collects treasure to distribute among his minions. Igramalash has learned the lessons of his transformation and captivity well—any troublesome underling is swiftly killed instead of having their torment drawn out.

Igramalash   CR 23 XP 820,000 CE Gargantuan outsider (chaos, demon, evil, extraplanar) Init +5; Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +30 Aura fear (60 ft., DC 28), smoke (10 ft., DC 34) Defense AC 41, touch 12, flat-footed 35 (-4 size, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +29 natural) hp 420 (24d10+288); fast healing 15 Fort +20, Ref +18, Will +18 DR 15/good and epic; Immune charm and compulsion effects, cold, electricity, death effects, fire, poison; Resist acid 30; SR 34 Defensive Abilities freedom of movement, rock catching Offense Speed 40 ft., air walk Melee bite +35 (4d8+15/19-20), 2 claws +35 (2d8+15 plus 1d6 energy), 4 tentacles +30 (2d6+7 plus grab), tongue +22 (1d8+7 plus grab) Ranged rock +26 (4d6+22) Space 20 ft., Reach 20 ft. Special Attacks constrict (tentacles, 2d6+22), fast swallow (tongue only), frenzied action, rock throwing (120 ft.), rune claws, runes, spark shower, swallow whole (4d8+22 bludgeoning, AC 24, 42 hp) Spell-like Abilities CL 23rd, concentration +29 Constant—air walk, freedom of movement At will—chaos hammer (DC 20), desecrate, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. objects only), telekinesis (DC 21) 3/day—black tentacles, disintegrate (DC 22), greater dispel magic, quickened greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. objects only), regenerate 1/day—crushing hand, energy drain (DC 25), implosion (DC 25) Statistics Str 41, Dex 20, Con 34, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 22 Base Atk +24; CMB +46 (+48 bull rush, +50 grapple); CMD 57 (59 vs. bull rush) Feats Awesome Blow, Blinding Critical, Critical Focus, Dodge, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (greater teleport), Vital Strike Skills Acrobatics +32 (+36 jumping), Intimidate +33, Knowledge (arcana, local) +26, Knowledge (engineering, planes) +29, Perception +30, Spellcraft +29 Languages Abyssal, Common, Giant, Thassilonian, telepathy 300 ft. SQ nascent demon lord traits Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abyss) Organization unique Treasure double standard Special Abilities Frenzied Action (Ex) Three times per day, Igramalash can make a single attack, use a spell-like ability or use his spark shower as an immediate action. Nascent Demon Lord Traits (Ex/Su) Igramalash is a powerful unique fiend with the following traits:

Immune to charm and compulsion effects, death effects, electricity, poison

Resist acid, cold and fire 30

Telepathy 300 ft.

Igramalash’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons he wields, are treated as chaotic, epic and evil for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Igramalash can grant spells and boons to worshipers as described in his cult entry above

Rune Claws (Ex) Igramalash can deal an extra 1d6 points of cold, electricity or fire damage (his choice) each time he makes a claw attack. Runes (Ex) Whenever Igramalash is affected by a spell or spell-like ability, the runes on his arms flash with light. All creatures within 10 feet must succeed a DC 28 Will save or be blinded for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma based. Smoke Aura (Su) Any creature within 10 feet of Igramalash must succeed a DC 34 Fortitude save or be poisoned by his smoke. Creatures that breathe in the area suffer a -4 penalty to this save. In areas of severe or greater wind, this ability is suppressed for as long as the effect persists and an additional round. This is a poison effect and the save DC is Constitution based. Smoke Breath—contact; save Fort DC 34; frequency 1/round for 10 rounds; effect 1d4 Constitution drain plus staggered 1 round from pain; cure 3 consecutive saves. Spark Shower (Su) As a standard action, Igramalash can spew sparks from his runes, acting as a breath weapon (60 foot cone, 10d6 cold, 10d6 electricity, 10d6 fire damage, Reflex DC 28 half, usable every 1d4 rounds). The save DC is Charisma based.

[gothic-safari-clown]

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

Part 17: From Protector to Pathetic

Story summary: They only ever had each other. It had been that way since high school, ever since Elianna transferred to dreary Arlen and took Jonathan under her wing. They go separate ways for college, and when they're reunited at Arkham Asylum professionally, Elianna comes to find that they've both changed during their time separated. Can she look past the promise of danger and stay by Jonathan's side as they slide further and further into the darkness while she grapples to come to terms with the truth about herself? Can she accept what needs to be done in order to hold onto the only person who holds any meaning in her life? This is a very self-indulgent AU that draws from several different canons of the DCU and ignoring others, starting in the Batman Begins Nolanverse. This will follow the plot of the movie, although the timeline has been very slightly tweaked.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15 / Part 16

Word count: 1580

A/N: 👀😗 I hope you all like angsty cliches as much as I dooooo!

It seemed to Jonathan that Elianna had learned from her first experience with the fear toxin. While she still fell unconscious once it began to wear off, the effects didn't last as long, and in lieu of frightened screaming, she had managed to restrict herself to quieter sounds of terror.

Upon seeing his friend's distress diminish as her eyelids grew heavy, Jonathan unfastened the restraints and took the belt from her mouth. When he turned his attention back to her, he found that El had already curled in on her side; she would twitch every few seconds, each one accompanied by a soft whimper, whether from perceived pain or from fear he couldn't tell.

Even so, he once again felt pride well up in him as her body relaxed more and more. He was surprised to find that she was still barely lucid when he laid down and pulled the blankets over them. Magnet-like, she was suddenly tucked against him, seeking warmth. Once the shock by the speed of her movement wore off, he allowed himself a tiny smile and secured his arms around her as Scarecrow piped up with his usual assortment of vulgar persuasion; easily ignored at this point.

Elianna finally relaxed into a deep, exhausted sleep, the material of Jonathan's shirt bunched up in her hand.  He was very quickly growing reaccustomed to her unconscious insistence for closeness in her sleep. He found his fingertips skimming up and down her arm lightly as his thoughts returned to the execution of the attack on Gotham.

Admittedly, Elianna's insistent reminder of all that he had accomplished in the process took away much of the stress and replaced it with a sense of premature victory, which was very welcome in comparison. Jonathan found himself slipping into sleep more quickly than he had in a long time.

.xXx.

That didn't last for very long, however, as he was tugged back into semi-consciousness after a few short hours by El shifting uncomfortably in her sleep while muttering to herself. Jonathan blinked in the darkness (he had forgotten to turn on the bathroom light, damn), trying to bring her face into focus. He had only barely made out her furrowed brow and defiant frown when her voice began to raise, along with her poorly coordinated movements.

Jonathan had long been accustomed to soothing her back into sleep without waking her up when she had nightmares (which was concerningly often), but this one was clearly escalating faster than he could wake himself up.

That was, until whatever she was experiencing reached a crescendo, and she bolted upright, sucking in a deep, shuddering breath, followed by a short cry of torment. In an instant, Jonathan found himself next to her, his hand on her back. Instinctively, she leaned into the touch, pressing sideways into his chest with another anguished sob as her friend tried desperately to unscramble his tired brain.

This was troubling, to say the least. Generally speaking, El didn't really cry. Not like that, anyway. She hated to cry; she considered it a 'waste of energy,' in her own words. Even when she had occasion to, it was usually just a quiet tear or two and didn't hinder whatever else she may be doing.

But sitting there, listening to his friend actually sob in earnest, Jonathan found himself getting worried. Quietly shushing her (what the hell is that going to do, idiot?), he put a hand on the back of her head to hold her in place as she sucked in another shuddering breath.

"Breathe, El, breathe." She didn't respond, but she did make a second, slightly more successful attempt to take in a normal breath. "That's it; everything is fine." Jonathan cursed the brusqueness of his voice, still barely awake enough to even speak, let alone police his tone. "It's okay," he tried again—better.

Gradually, El's breathing evened out, but she continued to cling to Jonathan like a lifeline, trembling. Once again, he found himself disturbed by the extreme reaction; this was not normal.

Eventually, she sat back up, still shivering and with tear tracks just beginning to dry on her face, which bore no expression as she stared blankly forward at the opposite wall. Jonathan waited patiently for her to speak first; his hand had returned to her back, still uneasy.

However, he was comforted when she finally let out a frustrated sigh, disgusted by her own lack of control. "Round two nightmares are a bitch," she offered flimsily. Caught off guard, he couldn't help an amused scoff.

"Clearly."

"I can't remember the last time I cried like that, ugh," she wiped at her face, all fear replaced with frustration. "That was so annoying. I'm sorry." The apology was punctuated with an awkward half-laugh as she feigned confidence. It wasn't convincing, however, as she wouldn't look at him as she spoke. "Go back to sleep; I'm just going to get some water."

Jonathan considered joining El in the kitchen as she shambled in the direction of the kitchen, but he was just...so tired... Surely a moment to herself would do her some good anyway.

Once in the kitchen, Elianna flicked on the light and took a moment to brace herself against the counter as she scrambled to compose herself. What a stupid situation. She was no stranger to nightmares, having often been plagued by them for her entire life. So why was this one so different?

She knew why. Being in such proximity to Jonathan again had not only stirred up old worries but had given them new form as well. When he had first confessed to her his situation with Granny, many of her dreams had depicted her finding him dead somewhere, pecked to death by crows, or starved to death, or any other horrible possibility.

But their dynamic had shifted so much since they were teenagers. Whereas back then, she had been the protector, their roles had been reversed drastically, and as such, her Jonathan-fueled nightmare had borne a very different image.

Doing her best not to think about it, El finally filled a glass of water and drank it slowly.

In the meantime, Jonathan was facing a dawning realization of guilt. In all of the times that she had been woken by a nightmare when he was around, Elianna had never...snapped like that before. She had blamed it on the toxin, and maybe that was true to an extent, but he was sure that the impending attack on Gotham had played a larger part.

And the only reason she was even in the city was that he had selfishly orchestrated for her to be there. If he had just ignored the application on Warden Sharpe's desk, she was sure to still be in California, bored but safe. As such, he felt a sense of responsibility for her continued wellbeing, and to his mind, this episode made clear what a dismal job he was doing. She was even smoking again, for God's sake.

When she ambled back into the bedroom a few minutes later, Jonathan had resumed a horizontal position, one elbow covering his eyes. Thinking he had fallen back asleep and not wanting to wake him again, El crept back onto her side of the bed carefully.

It was just another nightmare. Just go back to sleep, she commanded herself, shaking off the remaining worry. Just another really intense, very real feeling, vivid, horrible nightmare, she thought grimly as she remembered flashes of what she had seen.

The city in chaos, fire, destruction, screaming, pain; Jonathan standing over her, watching as she begged for help ("please, don't leave me here, you promised!") before he walked off, leaving her alone, injured, and at the mercy of the panicked, violent citizens of what used to be Gotham...

A movement from the other side of the bed startled her out of her thoughts as she released her breath from her tight chest. Blinking through the darkness, she saw that the arm that had been previously thrown over Jonathan's face was now stretched out between them.

"Come on, you know you're going to end up over here anyway," came his tired voice by way of invitation. After a moment's hesitation, El obeyed and once again found herself tucked up against her friend's torso. "So, what happened?" Jonathan asked as his arm wrapped around her and felt a sharp intake of breath from the redhead.

"It doesn't matter." He waited patiently for her to elaborate. "I already know you wouldn't leave me behind." Oh. Almost subconsciously, he squeezed her tighter.

"No, I wouldn't." The finality in his tone did well to reassure El and quell the final remnants of her apprehension.

"No, of course not. Doesn't matter," she murmured to herself, holding him close.

"Doesn't matter," Jonathan repeated affirmatively, clearly drifting back to sleep judging by his voice, and El found herself at last in a similar state. She hummed a response and kissed his shoulder before the pair finally slipped back into slumber.

[thanksjro]

Eugenesis Part Three, Scene Seven: Nightbeat’s Battle With Cancer

While the Quintesson camp gets ready to break the Geneva Convention over its knee like a cheap plastic ruler, our Quintessential Flying Fucks are watching the POWs pour into the building.

Ryknia- not a part of the comic canon, unless there’s something I missed looking him up- is twitchy about getting all these Cybertronians hooked up with Inhibitor Chips as soon as physically possible.

We get an explanation for the shotgun-style red paint job, and it’s even worse than my initial hypothesis.

The Quintessons are planning to reduce the identities of each individual robot to essentially nothing, so they won’t be able to fight back.

Someone teleports into the room, loaded up with the Chips. Oh happy day! Jolup decides to test them out, by way of stabbing the delivery boy in the neck with one. Yeah, they’re using Transformers to run their errands. Ryknia establishes himself as the serious one, yelling at Jolup for playing around when they still have an entire camp full of robots to beat into submission. Jolup responds… well.

Just kidding, he threatens Ryknia with death if he so much as looks at him funny again. Jolup is the wildcard.

Meanwhile, over in the collapsed tunnel, the Quintesson troops pull Sunstreaker, Hoist, and Grapple out of the rubble. No life-signs from Nightbeat or Optimus, so it’s to be assumed that they’re both dead.

You’d think it’d be common knowledge by now that Optimus Prime is completely incapable of staying dead for more than ten minutes. Nightbeat’s plot armor shoulder also still be protecting him, at least until we figure out what exactly shoved that stick up his ass.

Literally the next paragraph is catching up with Optimus and Nightbeat.

The mental image this creates is simply delightful. Don’t get too cozy now, Optimus, you still need to figure out how you’re going to escape this predicament.

The two of them are stuffed into a very small pocket in the debris, in the catacombs that line the underside of the city, having been used during the pre-war fighting to move non-combatants and the like to neutral territories.

The two have a little time, since they’re effectively trapped down here, so Optimus takes the opportunity to reflect on just how bonkers the last couple of hours have been for him.

Then he asks where his current self is. Nightbeat doesn’t have the heart to tell him he’s dead. Luckily, he doesn’t have to, because Optimus immediately retracts the question.

Geez, Nightbeat, tell us how you really feel about the guy.

Optimus instead asks about just what the hell is going on that they would need him in the first place. As Nightbeat explains the situation, he starts getting cryptic again.

Nightbeat, all this dancing around the subject better be frickin’ worth it. It’s almost maddening how little I know about your character at this point.

After flubbing through his explanation, Nightbeat says ‘fuck it’ and just outright shows the mind-wiper to Optimus, who takes it surprisingly well.

Then the question regarding the ethics of this mission comes up. Good thing Perceptor and Prowl aren’t here, they’d hate this. Optimus is confused as to why Nightbeat would take this mission on if he didn’t agree with it.

The answer is that glowing orb thing from Part One. Looks like we’re getting some answers.

Fucking finally.

Okay, so Nightbeat was a Headmaster, right? His head came off and turned into a smaller dude, it was a huge gimmick for years within the Transformers franchise. He had a few of these, one of them being his very best buddy Muzzle. I mentioned Muzzle in Part One, Scene Four.

So, Muzzle got colon cancer.

Towards the end, they shipped both Nightbeat and Muzzle off to Antartica, and then he died, exposing this nigh-immortal robot to mortality.

Nightbeat, what the 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔.

Fortunately, his chest orb doesn’t contain the rotting corpse of a cancer-riddled man, just his helmet. It’s all he’s got left of Muzzle, and he misses his friend terribly.

Now that Nightbeat’s shared his emotional trauma, Optimus decides that he’s going to return the favor, telling him about why exactly he joined the Autobots. Nightbeat believes what everyone else does- it was ★𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕪™★.

Yeah, no, it wasn’t, actually. Optimus just didn’t want to make things awkward when folks started heralding him as the robo-messiah.

So back in the day, Optimus Prime- back then he was Orion Pax, naturally- fought in the State Games as a gladiator. Megatron was also a gladiator, as he often is in Transformers. They faced off against each other, and Orion lost… because Megatron cheated, using an illegal fighting style. A few weeks later, the war kicked off, with Megatron giving the “Peace Through Tyranny” speech. During said speech, Orion rushed the stage, in what looked to be protest.

He just wanted another chance to kick Megatron’s butt, actually. Optimus Prime is who he is because he wanted to punch a guy in the face. Outstanding.

Meanwhile, back with Prowl and the Autobots, Quark’s discovery of an alternate route to the AMC rears its ugly head- the Quintessons are already there. Prowl assembles a small team and they go in. Tacker, Rad, Rev-Tone, Quark, Spindle and Chromedome all follow Prowl. Kup does not.

They catch up with the old-timer in front of Rodimus’ room, where they discover that absolutely nothing’s happened to him. Rodimus is perfectly fine- in a Quintesson-related fashion at least. He’s still completely jacked up and hanging on by a thread.

The other Autobots in the hospital aren’t so lucky.

Part Three’s friggin’ dark as shit, y’all.

They see Red Alert, miraculously still retaining his head, shoved off into a corner. Prowl isn’t taking any of this terribly well, entering a fugue state, while Chromedome gets to work resuscitating the head of security. Chromedome for Prime 2012.

After some explosive defibrillator action- Chromedome is literally thrown across the room by burst of electricity that’s created- Red Alert comes to, and so does Prowl.

Prowl decides to check on the rest of the wards while Kup and Chromedome get Red Alert talking again. He promptly runs into Perceptor, who I guess just decided to waltz into this war zone of a hospital on his own. He gets to IDW Shockwave-levels of ice-cold logicalness, noting the strategy the Quintessons are taking here, which kind of proves that dumping all your points into Intelligence is worthless without a little Wisdom so you know when to shut up.

Rad’s found something- Perceptor brought him along. They go into the operating theatre and find a scene that belongs on the cover of a Cannibal Corpse album.

I think First Aid might be dead, folks. Just a guess, though.

Up above, the Quintesson forces are rounding up the last of the Autobot war prisoners. Quantax calls, demanding that the Matrix be brought to him, seeing as the last team that went down to the AMC didn’t seem to be able to grab it. Maybe because they were too busy stringing up the medic like a holiday lanyard.

Back down below, most of the surviving Autobots are clustered together in the waiting room. Of course, Rev-Tone’s decided to be ornery, and has dragged Quark away from the throng so he can have company while he tries to break into some mysterious locked room.  

Next thing you know, he’ll be stabbing himself in the brain and removing his memories of his husbands just to not have to deal with the torment of it all.

Rev-Tone manages to get the door open, and finds someone inside. A survivor! Who could it be?

GODDAMMIT THROWBACK

Throwback, of course, asks just what the hell’s happened. Rev-Tone answers with his usual tact, stating that everyone’s dead.

Pipes just isn’t allowed to stay alive in a Roberts’ story. That’s just the rules.

The dream team unhook Throwback from his mess of cables and carry him back to the foyer, where Mommy and Daddy are fighting. Kup’s furious with Prowl, who believes- correctly, but we won’t tell him that- that the Quintessons will be back for Rodimus, and that they need to stay put and get ready to defend the Prime. It’s a right screaming match, and everyone has to watch it and be uncomfortable.

This really has been just the worst day.

[dailycharacteroption]

Scarred Monk (Monk Archetype)

 The image for today’s entry is a bit grisly, which is appropriate as we’re touching on a grisly subject.

All monks seek perfection of some kind, seeing their mortal flesh and mind as an imperfect thing. That’s why they typically include martial arts and self-reflection into their regimens.

However, monks are not the only ones that seek self-perfection. The kytons, also known as velstracs, also seek their own form of apotheosis, one defined by pain, body modification, and more.

When the former starts taking leaves out of the latter’s book, a new sort of disturbing monk is born, one focused on achieving perfection the kyton way.

It makes sense that we would see this archetype in Horror Realms, a book full of horror character options for classes that are not, by default, scary things. The sort of body horror associated with kytons becoming linked to a player class, even as NPCs can be quite disturbing, and is not for every game. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what unique abilities the scarred monk possesses.

 As these monks grow in mastery, they undergo many various body modification rituals. Cutting, stitching, and more. What’s more, these monks almost exclusively train to channel their ki through these mortifications, unlocking greater power as well.

These mortifications vary in nature, and are picked and chosen by the monk as they acquire them. One involves scarring the skin, the tissue hardening with the presence of ki to better protect the body. Another alters the ribcage to be able to flex and rip through the skin, slashing at those they grapple. Others break and reset their limbs in disturbing patterns, allowing them to better contort out of bindings.

By scarring and damaging their own face to remove any identifying features, they can use ki to shift their appearance to that of a deceased person. A few take this a step further to gain a disturbing doll-like face that can briefly shift to horrify onlookiers. Nightmarishly, some choose to sew their eyes shut, blinding themselves, but letting them use their ki to sense the location of other creatures, with injured beings showing up brightly against their senses.

Rather than a mortification, some are able to channel their pain into a foe, letting them feel their pain whenever the monk is injured. Some can even do so reflexively on the spot for a single blow, throwing a foe off. Others can cause those they previously affected so with lingering torments, stunning them with visions of pain.

A few pierce their body with iron rings, which, with an expenditure of ki, can be ripped from the body, unleashing a wave of pain to all nearby. Taking the idea of a third eye literally, there are those that surgically implant a mummified or preserved eye into their foreheads, which they can channel ki through to see past all deception for a brief moment. Cutting out their own tongues, some of these monks choose silence, and can inflict it on others, silencing them with a ki-infused strike. What’s more, while the victim’s voice is stolen, the monk can speak using the stolen voice.

As you can see, there is quite the arsenal of potential abilities these monks can possess. And since these abilities are the only ones they can use their ki on, you could build with heavy ki use in mind, or turn away from ki abilities to focus mostly on other monk builds. I can see arguments for tank builds involving having high natural armor and dealing feedback damage on foes that harm them, but there is also options for mage-killer builds, and so on.

 While these monastic sects need not be connected to kytons, such a connection ultimately results in an evil ascetic order. Without that influence, these monks might simply be some manner of extremists that go beyond the teachings of contemporary monks. Regardless, they are almost certainly not as benevolent as most, teaching through pain.

  Kytons are not the only ones with a disturbing fascination with pain. A colony of intellect devourers has overtaken the remote monastery of the Iron Body, and the foul brain beasts have twisted the training of their host bodies, testing the limits of pain and modification with the usurped flesh, partially mummified by the cold, dry climate.

 Disgusted with his aberrant form, the drider Malkenath turned to self-flagellation and body modification, seeking to slowly destroy and remake his body in this way. Exploiting that shame, the cult of the chain easily recruited him, training him to become their enforcer in the drow city of Nyn-Valak.

 The Blind Warden Monastery, for all its disturbing faults, is the perfect place to store things that are not meant to be witnessed, since the monks all sew their eyes shut to heighten their ki-related senses. This could be anything from terrible tomes, powerful artifacts, monsters too horrific to look upon, or the party’s reason for coming. A political prisoner whose presence could spell upheaval for the realm.