#and most of the time they have trouble controlling their power and handling the responsibility

[dungbeatposse]

the amount of mental trauma boboiboy has is astounding.

kid has never catch a break since the day he got his power watch, especially with the weight of the whole galaxy on his shoulders, and the amount of times the descendants of the first elemental users have seen boboiboy as their ancestors AND retakka… yikes…

i’m glad he’s deciding to stay on earth for the time being, lord knows he needs it 😭😭😭

he has yet to get the all third stage elementals, and also i would like to see the origins of the others’ powers too. i think it’d be interesting to see where yaya’s, ying’s, gopal’s and fang’s powers came from.

so we’ll see how that pans out (hopefully my boy’s gonna go clock in with the tapops psychiatrist before he does any shenanigans)

can’t wait for boboiboy galaxy season 3~~

[messiahzzz]

as much as i dislike the dialogue option that leads to this scene, i genuinely appreciate gale's response. it is easy to overlook what he is actually trying to convey here and is instead commonly dismissed as him being "overdramatic" or as a display of his bruised ego.

player: it was fine. gale: i see. gale: well, fine is... fine. nobody weeps because the weather is fine. no monarchs were overthrown because their ruling was fine. no artworks were burned because they were not masterpieces, but merely fine. player: would you have rather i lied? gale: the dignified thing for me to say is 'no. of course not. forthrightness before all.' but honestly? yes... i would have rather you lied. gale: i'm just a man. an imperfect one, with needs, wants, and flaws by the bushel. a fragile vessel in which to place potentially world-ending power. gale: perhaps it would be better to not shake such a vessel. gale: forgive me. these were already trying times before elminster delivered his missive. now, for me at least, they are potentially end times.

gale is no stranger to introspection. despite having his natural blindspots, he is fully aware of his flaws and imperfections. he lacks an inherent sense of self-preservation, displays impatience on occasion, can be hypocritical, has trouble handling pointed criticism well, and has a tendency to respond in passive aggression if he feels his competence is brought into question. he seeks admiration and is known to not honor his limitations and own safety for the sake of receiving praise.

gale: [...] people have always commented on my confidence, sometimes my over-confidence, and in one particularly cut throat assessment at university - my 'abject and incorrigible self-delusion.'

gale is not blind to how he is perceived by others, nor does he dismiss their conclusions without careful consideration. instead of deflecting he simply takes what they dish out and files it away for later contemplation and inspection.

player: because you acted the idiot. and paid the price for it too. gale: as always, i endeavor to be invigorated by your candour, rather than eviscerated by it. gale: blunt as your summation is - it's correct. i dared to call myself an archmage while acting the apprentice. the hallmarks of a most excellent idiot, unfortunately.

player: i can't say i share the same high opinion of you, gale. gale: always bringing such candour to our conversations. some would think twice about mocking gale of waterdeep, but you just go straight for the gut. nodecontext: playing along, making fun of himself gale: i like that about you. it's one of your rarer qualities, though i fear my ego can take no more of it tonight. nodecontext: cheerfully accepting the brush off, not taking it personally

needs, wants, and flaws by the bushel.

gale craves as mortals do. for relevance, safety, consideration, loyalty, care, acceptance, and love. he's desperate, he's angry, he's petty and hurt and lonely. he's contradictory, and at times inconsistent. he's afraid, he stumbles, he yearns. if he loves, he does so with all his heart but forgets to extend the same love to himself. he gains understanding only to disregard it later. he is absorbed yet devoted. he expects kindness but is bewildered when it is extended to him in turn. he's neither a perfect colleague, a perfect companion, a perfect lover, nor a perfect husband. he's just another human who's trying to navigate and make sense of the world. who is silently hoping for his soul to be handled with tenderness and care, to finally be seen for who he is —no need for performance or pretense — and to be unconditionally cherished nonetheless.

a fragile vessel in which to place potentially world-ending power.

he knows the burden he carries. understanding that even a momentary lapse in judgment could spell catastrophe if he doesn't exert tight control over his emotions at all times. he knows what is at stake should he lose the composure he painstakingly had to master. a mere moment is all it takes. this self-assessment isn't an "indirect threat" intended to subject pressure on tav or solicit pity, it's a stark acknowledgment of the truth. he is a fragile human, housing powers that should've never been his in the first place.

player: unbelievable. did you ever think what would happen if the tadpole got the better of you? gale: every waking moment. every dreaming moment too. but there was no way out.

he is also keenly aware of how his (former) colleagues perceive him, following his fall from grace.

player: bold. few would dare to reduce a goddess to their 'muse.' gale: i am, after all, the villain of the tale.

this line in particular is one i often think about. it makes me wonder about the extent of information gale received from the outside world after locking himself in his tower for an entire year, setting magical wards so no one but tara would be able to enter. did he hear the whispers? ("shunned by the goddess of magic herself, of course, it was only a matter of time before he flew too close to the sun.") were his colleagues ridiculing him, applauding mystra for cutting off the rot at the source? how did he arrive at the assumption that he is perceived as "the villain" and not the victim?

player: you must have been lonely, with only tara for company.. gale: sometimes. but i imposed it upon myself, after all. i set up enough wards to keep an army at bay, never mind the few colleagues who sought to inquire about my welfare.

or is this solely his own harsh judgment of his folly? that there is no chance anyone would meet him with sympathy, kindness and understanding after what he had wrought. he was too greedy, too impatient — selfish in arrogance, ravenous in ambition. letting delusions of grandeur guide him. he brought it all upon himself with his lack of patience. entirely convinced of his success and skill, blind to the possibility of failure. now doomed to drag innocents into the abyss with him. the hallmarks of a villain, right? after all, who would truly believe him that his ambition hid no ill will?

players: by rights. i should kill you. gale: perhaps that is what i deserve, but you deserve no such thing. [...]

[goldflinches]

so. Dream gets cursed by an spurned admirer/ex/random vindictive magic user which he pays absolutely no mind to because he's definitely been cussed out worse than that.

But suddenly anyone and everyone he encounters becomes a simpering mess/fawning idiot around him. in the Dreaming, everyone acts so horrendously out of character that it becomes so so awkward for him. absolutely tanks his productivity. the earthquakes (dreamquakes?) may or may not facilitate in some necessary physical distancing. someone lobs the L word at him and he nearly rips a hole through space and time to get away. it's better/worse in the Waking world. he doesn't know these people trying to seduce him. but they are still trying to seduce him so he does the Endless version of power walking away from this problem.

and he makes his way to The New Inn where he knows Hob is. he has absolutely no idea what Hob can do but going to a friend is a better alternative to just going from realm to realm, power walking away from a collection of people convinced they are in love?? with him????

Hob is definitely at his usual place in the New Inn and can absolutely feel the change in atmosphere the moment Dream enters. suddenly everyone zeroes in on Dream and Hob...has never seen that expression on his friend's face. like a cornered animal, if only in the form of a more than a god, no less than a goth that is Dream of the Endless. so Hob manages to shoo away the crowd from Dream, using his extraordinary powers of being the owner of the inn everyone is in to good use.

they hole up at Hob's place and try to figure out what the actual fuck is going on. Hob concludes that yes Dream, someone saying that "your lack of understanding of love is obviously caused by the scarcity of it in your life," and "that can be solved easily," is at the v least a red flag and at most the reason why there is a horde of people on your walking aphrodisiac ass rn. Dream points out that it's mild criticism not a curse. Hob does not have the training or time to unpack that one today.

hijinks that occur while they're trying to uncurse Dream:

call in Constantine for back up. the house call goes very badly for everyone involved. there was a sultry come on. a creature older than humanity lowkey scrambling up the kitchen shelves. an immortal testing his immortality by throwing a hissing magic user out the door. anyway. the consultation goes on much better on the phone. everyone promises never to talk about this incident ever again.

Dream contemplating on whether he should call on his siblings because they might know something about this or even causing it. but what they also get affected by this curse. would Dream be able to handle that?? and his thoughts spin out of control until Dream wordlessly just lies down on Hob's living room floor. Hob panics because is this the next part of the curse??? no it's just Dream borrowing trouble which is it's own curse but one at a time please and thank you.

Hob fighting off a delivery person who nearly breaks the door down when they catch a glimpse of Dream still on the living room floor. no one was hurt, no dumplings were forsaken, a huge tip was placed on the delivery person's face before closing the door.

the nature of love is discussed over dimsum. it's mostly how Dream deserves to be loved and respected (Hob) vs huh what a concept (Dream)

Matthew tries to sneak in so Hob and Dream have to find new hiding places in the Hob's place. the current favorite is under a blanket with a flashlight on

At some point Dream realizes that Hob is just. the way he usually is around Dream. no throwing himself af Dream or flowery declarations or anything??? Dream concludes (wrongly) that Hob's immortality might be making him immune. Hob is just sitting there, wondering if going "lol no, it's too late for that!! i've been down bad for you for centuries!!!" would be an appropriate response. it's not but god is he tempted. he gives in to his other temptation and lets Dream think that "yes immortality has anti-curse properties i guess, you really do learn something new everyday (cue nervous laughter)" 👀👀👀

[restinslices]

CAN U DO EITHER EARTH REALM GUYS OR LIN KUEI GUYS RAISING LIKE A VAMPIRE KID?! Like as a baby they were just dropped off in front of their doorstep

Ok so I kinda like this paragraph format so here’s what we’re gonna do from now on. You can choose between the usual headcanons or this paragraph style. Now obviously there’s like, one shots and drabbles but you know what I mean. This is a quick thing. You still get the same information and thoughts. It’s just formatted differently. Idk how accurate this is but I attempted it.

Bi-Han is a mix of confused and annoyed. He knows he has to have a child because the Lin Kuei needs a new Grandmaster but he’s been putting it off. When a random baby is dropped on his doorstep, he’s beyond confused. You don’t just find the Lin Kuei by accident. You have to actively look for them, so that means he was specifically targeted. Targeted or not, he initially does not want to keep this baby at all and wants Liu Kang to find out where this baby came from and to find them a new guardian because he’s certainly not doing it. A baby is one thing, but that little terms and conditions note that says “btw they’re a vampire”? Absolutely not.

Bi-Han does the bare minimum at first. Keeps them out the sun, gives them blood (don’t ask where he’s getting it), keeps them away from any other harmful objects, stuff like that. Bi-Han somehow manages to get attached though, so when Liu Kang finds a guardian he’s like “they’re attached to me already. It’s probably safer here”. He isn’t sure how or when he became so attached but it happened and he has to accept that.

Bi-Han is the most strict parent and his kid would have the best control over their thirst. He’d have a strict schedule with them aswell. Hunting is from this time to this time, no you can’t eat anyone apart of the Lin Kuei, only night school, etc. He would focus heavily on discipline because if his kid has an emotional outburst, bodies are dropping. He probably ends up raising the most stereotypical brooding vampire ever. This kid is definitely being raised as an assassin too because Lin Kuei shit and also their powers give them a boost above others.

Bi-Han would have his vampire child on a tight leash. He might literally get a leash if they keep acting out. I’m not saying he’s a helicopter parent but if he looks away for one second, ten people could die. He’s raising a vampire but he’d still manage to be intimidating to them. Honestly I think his kid would be very isolated for both their safety and everyone else’s. Bi-Han is very aware of the troubles this kid could cause and I think his need to make sure they know how to handle themselves and his need to keep them safe would cause him to teach them how to do all this training when it comes to their thirst and powers but would also keep them isolated so it’s kinda like “what did I learn all this for?”.

They have a mixed relationship. It’s not all peaches and cream but there is a sense of caring there.

Kuai Liang is equally as confused. Anyone would be. A baby was given to him specifically and he has no idea why this is happening and who did it. While Bi-Han is more irritated at first, I think Kuai Liang is frustrated for a different reason. It’s a mystery and who just drops a baby off? What if he didn’t see them in time and they died in the sun? Whoever the parent was didn’t care and that bothers him and he is not afraid to voice how frustrated he is by this.

Kuai Liang also asks Liu Kang to figure out who did this. He assumes Liu Kang has eyes everywhere so he’s confused when Liu Kang has no idea who it was and is having difficulty finding them. Well… he has a baby now… guess he gotta take care of it. He does his best but who in their right mind would actually know what to do? He takes the same precautions you would expect when it comes to things that would harm the baby and he is very watchful. Although this is a responsibility that he doesn’t necessarily want, he understands that this baby can’t really go anywhere. Anyone else could purposefully harm them and I don’t see him being ok with that so they locked in now.

Kuai Liang is not a perfect dad by any means but he’s trying to make sure they survive. He tries to draw as little attention as possible so they’re not targeted. I can see him buying brown contacts and slathering them in sunscreen hoping it does something. I think the main conflict him and this kid would have is Kuai Liang subconsciously trying to ignore the very big elephant in the room. He knows they’re a vampire but since it adds so many problems for both of them, he accidentally acts like it’s something that can be cured. And I can see people thinking this is a more Bi-Han thing but I don’t think so. Kuai Liang’s compassion can be smothering and can be damaging sometimes. In my head he is the mediator whenever there is a conflict and this mediating skill goes overboard and fucks things over.

Kuai Liang would continue to keep a watchful eye on them, even as they got older. Idk why but I feel like he would try to encourage them to stick to an animal only diet but he wouldn’t be upset if they slipped from time to time. He tries to teach them about their abilities as best as he can but tries to be extremely careful since fire can kill a vampire. He’d try to do demonstrations and hope that their powers can match each other if they’re the type of vampire that has telekinesis or something like that. Like I said, he’d try to raise this kid like it’s a regular baby which would only work for a certain amount of time.

Also a mixed bag of a relationship. His subconscious denial and trying to fix what’s not broken would fuck him over.

Tomas was orphaned later in life but he’d still be upset by this situation. He’s not happy at all about someone abandoning their baby and giving it to someone who honestly isn’t in the best situation to raise a baby. That’s where his irritation would mainly stem from. This scooby doo ass mystery would also annoy him. He’s not mad at this kid though because he knows that this baby is a victim. They didn’t ask for this and he can’t just give them away because who is gonna take care of a vampire baby? No one but him.

Tomas isn’t ready for a kid at all. The brothers aren’t either but as the oldest and the head of their own clan at some point, they know a kid has to happen. Tomas hasn’t really thought about kids at all. They’re there and maybe it’ll happen but he’s never had this “imma have to have kids for my clan” mentality. A kid is already difficult but a vampire? He’s completely lost and needs assistance. Certain quirks vampires have, like vampire children aging very slowly is draining this man. If you think it’d be the opposite and the kid would age rapidly, that’s confusing him too. Anything that’s not the normal when it comes to aging is making his head hurt. Plus the other complications.

Tomas becomes a helicopter parent. Bi-Han is maybe getting a leash but Tomas definitely is. All this helicopter shit comes from a place of concern but this kid can’t take a single step without Tomas on their heels worried about them. He ends up doing a lot of stuff for them and holding their hand through everything which isn’t good for any child but especially not good for a future murderer. All of this would cause a rebellious phase and this kicks his ass so bad. Normal kids become emo and role play on Amino. Vampires rebel by eating everything they see and now Tomas is chasing them through an alleyway trying to calm them down. This is probably one of the few times he regrets taking them in.

Tomas would have to learn to let them do them. They gotta figure out this vampire shit by themselves and get some assistance from him. Stepping away from this serious stuff, I can honestly see him dressing them in the most cliche shit ever because Johnny showed him a bunch of movies and now he assumes this is how it’s supposed to go. I mean it is the 21st century and he has this child in Victorian clothing. Other people have to tell him “Tomas… get that baby a t shirt and jeans”. Where is my proof? I don’t know. I just feel like after MK1 he’ll hang around the Earthrealm champions more and that’s not good.

Is that a helicopter? No that’s Tomas. He means well but movies and over worrying is this man’s downfall.

None of the brothers are perfect fathers and they’re definitely making mistakes if a vampire is involved. They have different feelings about this whole situation but they learn to accept this situation and do genuinely care for this kid.

[lordkingsmith]

Still working on the fan power rangers show lol. It’s in its like. Seventh rewrite.

Max, the nonbinary hybrid orange ranger is, lovingly, my problem baby and I can’t decide what species mix they are. To be honest there’s too many gorgeous costume monster species designs and just one Max.

I have come up with a plausible reason for why rangers are letting the monster kids do the current rangerdom, and also have more fleshed out line up for the baddies.

The Z-Wave didn’t happen until Rito showed up again, so a lot of deaths and general plot has been a bit recontextualized and remixed. Rita decided she’d had enough of the villainy life and left siblings Thrax and Selena with Rito without a word-faked her own death. At the time she did this, Thrax was seven and Selena was three. Rito wants revenge but he’s mainly letting Selena and Thrax handle it while he does what he wants. Turn the moon into an amusement park. Because it’s fun and hey everyone loves fun right? And take care of the rangers he’s mind controlling because after the z-wave he’s more motivated by protecting “his kids” than actual revenge. Will throw down with Rita if needed, however.

Thrax has skin and so does Selena. Nobody looks flayed alive. Both of them greatly resemble Rita. Thrax is the one responsible for the giant version of their monsters, and as Val’s the one that often volunteers, this has led to teasing by Selena. Selena’s a lot like a spunky, smarter version of Rito. Thrax is more serious. Selena being the one who likes looking human most is often the one going down to earth to spy and cause trouble. Sometimes with Rito. Thrax prefers endless sulking and staying in more monstrous form, which is similar to Rito’s form. Keeps his opinions to himself, but is generally disgusted he got left behind while both parents decided to abandon him and Selena. Selena is also pissed but she holds out hope there’s a reason their mother abandoned them. Also more protective of her older brother. And her uncle. Is not afraid to kill. Nobody’s finding the bodies of those who hurt her family.

JJ when he was undercover had a fling with a woman in Skorpina’s gang, had a baby with her and they were briefly married and divorced…who came back as Quaxo. Think of this as the messiest custody battle in history. JJ, when he finds out, is…Not Pleased. Rito, Thrax and Selena don’t know who Quaxo really is and she’d rather keep it that way. Her son, however, does and has not been happy with the situation since. Flirts with Rito, though Rito has enough sense to recognize this is wholly because he’s the most powerful member of the group and generally acts extra ditzy to get her to leave him alone. As hyper as ever, as bone headed as ever, but this time he’s also a bit angry and the anger acts as just enough of a grounder to keep him somewhat dangerous. He does genuinely like the rangers, all of them, and much of his tension with his team and the human rangers is mutual misunderstanding based. Quaxo hasn’t quite understood this yet, and thinks it’s a game he’s playing. It’s not. Rito’s just Like That.

Billy’s Clone was located and brought back to life, and is making this everyone’s problem. He’s the one who made Rito’s Rangers their new morphers and he’s the one lowkey trying to get the other four killed by “accident” so he can take their power for himself. Guy goes by William. He’s responsible for Tommy, Jason, Trini and Udonna’s deaths but passed it off to everyone as accidents. Only person onto him is the new recruit, Valentine

Valentine “Val” Draven was directly affected by Z-Wave, losing his parents and aunt and uncle to it. He and his cousin Iva were spared by being in another dimension for a birthday party and while Iva’s fairly certain they wouldn’t have been destroyed or turned human anyway…Val’s less certain. He’s angry but he doesn’t know at who. He wants revenge but Zordon’s dead and Rito’s not a bad guy. Val’s also got the fact the color Fuchsia chose Iva, who happened to be in the room at the time, over him, who’d been asked to do this. He joins Rito because Rito makes sense. And the second he heard about Quaxo and William….well. He’s not a bad person. Not really. Someone’s got to make sure Rito’s Rangers are protected, and he’s not sure if Rito Thrax or Selena really understand how to keep the superpowered group safe. Plus, he might be a vampire but he’s got a sweet tooth. And he was promised unlimited cotton candy. Also a little bit sweet on Thrax but..who’s counting, really?

-

@augment-techs @skyland2703 @pinkrangerv

Just because I think you’d be interested lol, but yea it’s coming. Slowly. Working on first episode’s script, I shall keep you updated if you’d like :)

[lab-trash]

A Few Hot Takes About Elite Force

Bree did not deserve to go to Centium City, nor does it make sense plot-wise

In season four it's jokingly established that Bree is becoming sort of a mom-friend, mom-mentor sort of figure. There is no way in hell that she would've allowed fucking Adam and Leo to run the bionic island. She knows those two knuckle-heads would get into trouble. Don't get me wrong, I love when Adam takes control of the situation and when he takes responsibility for Bob in that one episode, but let's face it: he is not ready for such a large role when it comes to that many kids. Dude is not equipped to be a babysitter. When it comes to Leo, while he is more equipped for the situation, he is very well established to make shit go wrong on fucking accident. We see it time and time and time again, not only in season one, but in season four (read: the whole business card fiasco). She would've known that they would've be able to handle it alone, especially when taking into account that their chaperones would've been fucking Terry Cherry Perry and goddamn Douglas Davenport! Excuse me???? No! She would have not allowed that.

Edit- Also, she just got a sister! I know that she said that the excitement was gone after having to change diapers, but you're telling me that Bree wouldn't want to be a part of her life????

Leo did deserve to go to Centium City, and it would've made more sense plot-wise (especially if they kept it mostly the same story-wise)

Leo, as we all know, gets along great with Kaz. Not only that, but he's a superhero nerd. I guarantee that if Leo just knew wtf the 'secret project' was, he would've been on board faster than the train to Downtown Welkerville. It would've been epic to see him interact with not just Kaz, but Oliver too? Skylar probably would've felt like she fit in more too, because she's definitely one of the boys (not in a pick-me way, in a nonbinary way). It would've been really fun seeing Chase trying to battle Kaz, Oliver and Leo down from playing Topple Tower and whatever other various games. Such as, for example, Leo jumping off the building for Kaz and/or Oliver to catch him before he fucking dies. I know this was more of an Adam and Chase thing, but I still think we should've gotten a prank wars episode, and since it's decidedly canon that Bree is, at best, mid when it comes to pranks, it could've gotten real fucking intense. I love the idea of Oliver and Kaz warning Chase and Leo about Skylar being really amazing at pranks, and then when they don't really notice her being weird or suspicious, they just think it was to mess with their heads (which does or does not work, depending on if you want a Sicillian situation on your hands or not) so they brush it off, only to be bested by the prank master. But I'm getting off topic. The biggest reason that I think that Leo should've gone to Centium City instead of Bree is because of Episode 9 and Episode 10. In episode 9, The Intruder,we are introduced to a character named AJ, who finds Chase and Douglas in the Mission Command (aka, the basement) by mistake. And I know that they often draw comparisons from AJ to Chase, but I think that it would work way better with Leo— Better yet, Leo and Chase. Like Chase, AJ is autistic coded, socially inept, and a tech nerd. But like Leo, he means well. He wants to be a part of the team, even though objectively that maybe shouldn't be allowed. He snuck his way into this family by running into them when he didn't mean to, when he was just exploring where he lived. AJ should've gotten bonding time with Leo. Maybe then, the common headcannon that AJ will/would become Mission Specialist like Leo once was, would be cannon. Next is Episode 10, The Rock. In The Rock, AJ makes a list ranking the most useful/gifted in the Elite Force, to the least. This causes Bree to become insecure when she's placed in the middle, leading her to attempt getting more powers by touching the Arcturian. I will always stand by the fact that this was a fucking stupid idea. But when it's Leo? This idea becomes nearly fucking genius. Leo would likely be placed in a similar place, if not lower, given that only part of him has powers. He is not bionic, he has bionics. And, y'know, he's a superhero nerd; why would he not want superpowers. He also is reckless, which would make sense why he would touch the Arcturian without really thinking about it as much as he probably should. And best of all, this could be a personal secret, instead of a secret between him and someone else, like it was with Bree and Skylar. After all, Leo already has a buffer. His arm. Leo wouldn't need to be endangered to get these powers, he already paid that tax years ago. Leo would finally have powers. Not just partial powers; real, true powers. It makes sense that he would be the first bionic superhero. Leo deserves to be the first bionic superhero.

Edit cont.- I do think that Leo would want to be in Naomi's life too, I understand that. Especially with his dad having been absent in his life, he might want Naomi to grow up with her family around. But at the same time, I really like the idea of him letting Bree have that honour. Like a bit of an emotional moment as they debate who goes to Centium City and who stays on the island/in Mission Creek, and in the end, Leo knows how much Bree's always wanted a sister and decides that she should be allowed to have that.

I have way more, but I can't remember, so this is probably the last one. Ka-Kai-Ra-Ta-Hee-Haw-Mwak-Floopie-Pazoing should've been in Elite Force

They couldn't have invited Auggie Issac back for one episode just to make it feel more like Caldera? Seriously? She is definitely one of the highlights that we get when we visit Caldera in Mighty Med, and without her, it feels disingenuous. Hell, start the episode with a quick video chat with Gus talking about how things are going in Philly and with The Domain, make the universe feel more coherent and put together. And then, if Chase and Leo/Bree see the call, they could later mention how she looks like Gus. And, not only that, but she could help save Skylar. Like, instead of Scarlett just being like 'hey muthafuckas, lemme bring you to ya girl,' it could've had this semi-dramatic, semi-emotional moment with Ka-Kai-Ra-Ta-Hee-Haw-Mwak-Floopie-Pazoing where she explains that she saw Scarlett taking Skylar away. She could've explained the whole rebellion thing to Oliver and his accompaniment. They could've had one of those cross cut scenes where it cuts between Ka-Kai-Ra-Ta-Hee-Haw-Mwak-Floopie-Pazoing and Scarlett explaining what's going on, instead of getting weird feeling, one dimensional exposition from just Scarlett talking to Skylar through an oddly shaped TV. I would've loved to see her and Skylar reunite, even for a little bit. Hell, y'know what, Ka-Kai-Ra-Ta-Hee-Haw-Mwak-Floopie-Pazoing is basically not a pet, which is implied through the numerous jokes of her not responding to things that a normal pet do, and the fact that she speaks english. It would've been epic as fuck if she was like... leading a rebellion army. That would've been so fucking awesome. But that would've been far more difficult to do, and I understand that. But the first part? Cmon, she is the heart and soul of Caldera. She should've been there.

Sorry for the super long post that was basically about nothing, but I was ranting to my friend who knows nothing about the lref universe and I wanted to share these. They're definitely the ones I'm most passionate about— not including how I think that Douglas definitely should've been indited more as their father instead of Donald, especially in Elite Force where Douglas showed up more than Donald did. And that Tasha deserves someone better (and I wouldn't exactly mind if that person were Douglas, but I've been over how I think that Douglas deserves a nice twunk)

Let me know if I should make a part two, and I might rant about a few more things they could've done to make Elite Force better.

Anyway, all in all, thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[jadetheblueartist]

Torture and Wound for Frida, Secret and Nightmare for Camille, Skin and Pain for Megan, Alone and Hide for Talon, Heartbreak and Mistake for Ivan, Midnight and Bound for Zoe, and Fear and Guilt for Zenith.

Hiya Jade!!

-Frida

Torture: Has your OC ever been tortured? Would your OC ever torture someone else?

Not sure if she would call it torture, but the whole Nexus experience was definitely something. Being thrown literally and figuratively thrown to the wolves to fend for yourself at a very young age can definitely be hard. After that instance, though, she would usually be on the other side of that spectrum. So yes! She has tortured people and would do so again if Mama required. It doesn’t come up often, but in order to get info out of people she will resort to torture.

Wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

She does NOT like being wounded. Since she relates her worth to how well she can assist Mama or fight for her, an injury that disrupts that makes her very upset. She gets little injuries often (scratches, bruises, some sprains or small breaks), but Mama’s medical staff are great healers so that’s not a problem for her. Mental and emotional wounds absolutely ABOUND with her, she just doesn’t recognize or handle them. That will be a great project for Dr. Feelings. The worst wound she’s experienced is her shoulder injury. When Draxum’s lab burned originally, her shoulder got injured. When Mama took her in, she had some healers patch her up, but the injury was pretty bad. Her arm was literally barely hanging on. That being said, her arm got fixed to be usable, but it still gave her a little trouble. Then in the Nexus, she sustained a mystic blast to the same shoulder which made it so much worse. The medics did all they could, but it’s not a good time. She has to do these mystic treatments daily, along with powering through any discomfort.

-Camille

Secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

That her responsibility of saving the yokai from the human threat scares her sometimes

Nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

Gotta be selectively vague here… she often has nightmares about being on the run and about her past. She deals with it by trying to make some alchemical potions to help (it doesn’t do much bc she is just making stuff up). And she doesn’t tell anyone because there is no one to tell. Plus she’s supposed to be a hero, the symbol of strength and resilience. She’s not afraid of things, especially dreams. If she had the chance, she probably wouldn’t talk about it much.

-Megan

Skin: How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they grapple with anything that lives inside them—a beast, a curse, a failure, a monster? How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Are they able to acknowledge it at all?

Megan is pretty comfortable with herself, at least at first. After the situation where she was controlled and made to attack her friends, she is always scared of hurting them. If she thinks about it too much, she’ll become self-loathing and very self-destructive. She mimics the punishment she received on the ship, so she will hurt herself or withhold vital stuff from herself (like food or water or friends). It’s a fun time and she doesn’t handle it well. Just very very guilty.

Pain: What's the worst pain your OC has ever felt? Do they have a high pain tolerance?

Hehehe are we talking physical or emotional? Physically, it was when she got tortured after some of the volunteers/prisoners escaped. They thought she knew about it and tried to break her. If it didn’t work on her, they figured that Ivan (who was watching and very protective of his friends) would tell them what he knew. Emotionally… well that’s a bit of a secret, but it’s a very important part of the story I’ll probably do something with soon. It shall be referred to as the incident and had a big effect on everyone. She has a pretty high pain tolerance overall due to lots of testing and physical enhancements.

-Talon

Alone: How does your OC deal with loneliness? Have they ever been completely alone before? How do they act when there's no one around to see them?

Baby boy hates being alone. He’s pretty dependent on other people and has a touch of people pleaser in him, so he places a lot of his worth in what others think of him. Unfortunately for him, he has had to be completely alone a bunch. He left home and cut off his parents because they were awful to him, but didn’t know many other people. He spent awhile trying to figure out a living situation and job with no support system. He started working with an agency that helped get people out of the alien hunting program/Megan spaceship (bc they trapped people there). In that time, he became surrounded by coworkers and friends and stuff, so he was doing good. He acts the same as he does with people around, if not a little less energized.

Hide: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it?

He hides his problems and past, plus some mistakes he made when he was younger. He’s upset that he did those things and doesn’t want to be judged by that because he’s changed.

-Ivan

Heartbreak: Have they ever had a relationship that ended badly? Experienced some other kind of heartbreak? What happened?

For right now, he hasn’t experienced a romantic heartbreak. However. The incident was very difficult for him and he holds a lot of resentment. And I’d love to say what happened, but I have to hold off for now…… >:]

Mistake: What's the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on?

Tagging onto the above, would be trusting in that heartbreak situation, but more broadly, joining the program thing. He joined because he wanted to feel in control of something in his life and this was the first thing he saw. He could get paid to live in space and hunt aliens? Sign him up. He’s been able to fix it because he eventually escapes, and he’s moved on by just trying to adjust back to life on earth.

-Zoe

Midnight: What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping?

She does deal with lots of nightmares. As the leader of the group, she feels a lot of responsibility for others and often worries about making the right choice. She’ll often wake up and go to the common room to find someone to talk to. Usually Megan will be around or Zoe will just get her and they’ll talk. Once Zenith arrived, they started talking more and that’s how their relationship got going.

Bound: Has your OC ever been imprisoned or captured? What happened? How did they get out? Did the experience leave any scars?

Yeahhhh? The alien hunting program is set up in a way that it is a prison that makes you think it’s not a prison. After she tried to rebel, she and the crew who also tried rebelling were imprisoned in an actual cell where they all just sat for ever (until they were liberated and had freedom on earth) She probably has a few small scars from basic rough behavior from guards and hunts, but there is definitely emotional scars from the incident that, again, I can’t go into yet :)

-Zenith

Fear: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

Zenith’s greatest fear is being left behind. He always felt like he couldn’t keep up with his peers, so it’s something that he is often really afraid of. When he is confronted with it, he often gets desperate and does what ever he can to keep up with everyone else. He has a tendency to overshare so he’s pretty open about this, especially with Zoe. Zoe helps him care less about it and just do what he can.

Guilt: What is your OC guilty about? How do they handle their guilt? Do they try to avoid guilt, or do they accept it?

Ahem… again, the incident. I can’t get too specific. He handles the guilt by trying to rationalize what he did and by talking about it. He will eventually accept it, after a little bit.

Woah, May, these were great! You really hit on the incident for everyone involved hahaha thanks for the ask!

[lepidopteralabyrinth]

Arisen & Pawn Intro (template by @arisenreborn): Andras & Tieve

♛ THE ARISEN:

NAME: Andras

AGE: 34

RACE: Human (Half-Elf)

PRONOUNS: She/Her usually. (They don’t really care, though. Any.)

PREFERRED VOCATION: Warfarer/Mystic Spearhand

FAVORED GIFTS: Practical items, oddities (monster parts, cool rocks, etc. like a crow…)

FAMILY: Estranged father and step-mother, younger half-sister.

POSITIVE TRAITS: She’s genuinely compassionate, and her coolheaded nature and pragmatism make her naturally suited to command. She tries to push others to be their best selves, and will never hesitate to fight for someone who needs her help.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Overly calculating and stubbornly independent. While she’s pretty easygoing in her casual friendships, anyone hoping for more insight into her than she’s comfortable with will find themselves swiftly rebuffed. Put simply, she likes knowing people but hates being observed in return. 

LIKES: Exploring nature, quiet time to think and sketch. Learning a place’s history.

DISLIKES: Prying questions, alcohol. Wasteful and careless people (rich ones especially).

1. What was their life like before becoming Arisen?

Andras was born in Battahl, in a village near the border. She never knew her mother – though her pointed ears have given her some ideas– but her father was a relatively successful wheelwright (hey, someone's got to be repairing all those busted oxcarts). Andras was fully expected to take over the family business, but after her father remarried and her half sister was born, Andras struck out on her own as a mercenary and left for Vermund. About ten years later she was hired by the Vermundian army, and sent to Melve.

2. How do they handle being Arisen, and the responsibilities that come with it?

About the same way she's handled every other trouble in her life: deep sighs and hard work. She's had relatively little time in which she's felt safe enough to actually process anything she's gleaned since regaining most of her memory, and the dragon needs to be dealt with one way or another. If she has to do it, she has to do it.

3. What are their thoughts on Pawns in general?

While her cultural background left her with some lingering prejudice, it was summarily disproven by her first real interactions with them and she’s since developed a fierce protectiveness over the rift’s denizens. 

Rook in particular left a lasting impression, and his influence is probably what led to Tieve’s magical pursuits. She admires their loyalty and capability, and while she finds her control over them disconcerting, they’ve proven many a time to be unique and wonderful individuals.

4. What's their relationship like with their main Pawn?

She adores Tieve, watching every subtle expression of newfound will with the air of a proud teacher. They have a mutual fondness for quiet contemplation, and can spend hours in companionable silence if uninterrupted. 

5. Do they have any interest in being Sovran? What are their opinions on the politics of the world in general?

As much as she respects Brant, she initially found the idea of her ruling anyone too ridiculous to be worth considering. She’d have wholeheartedly advocated for Sven to be consul if that seemed to be what he wanted. But the closer that idea comes to being a reality the more she finds herself if not content with it, then at least resigned. 

She has a fascination with rulers of old and political theory, but she finds the present political situation on the continent grim. She approves of Nadinia, but she’s pessimistic about her shifting her culture’s deeply ingrained beliefs anytime soon, and she’s even less hopeful about the state of beastren in Vermund with people like Disa and Allard in power. 

6. Who are their love interest(s) and/or closest friends?

She’d never admit as much to anyone, but of all the wonderful people she’s met in her journey, she felt the most kinship with Raghnall. Their shared background and his directness about his loyalties (or lack thereof) clicked with her in a way others couldn’t. Andras is drawn to Wilhelmina’s drive and passion, Ulrika’s kindness and leadership skills, Menella’s strength and sense of duty, and Nadinia’s devotion to her people, but finds her own attraction to any of them too stressful to deal with. (“I'll just keep all my feelings right here *points into dragon's mouth* and then one day I'll die.”)

She finds herself wanting to mentor Sven, to encourage his curiosity and desire to exert his own will rather then be controlled by his mother. He reminds her a bit of Tieve in that respect. Really, if she didn’t have the rational understanding that it would be way too dangerous, she would’ve offered to take him along with her. 

7. What drew them to their preferred vocation? Do they have history with it?

She’s always preferred polearms for their ability to control a fight. Keeping an opponent at arms length, engaging on her own terms. While she had to swap to a sword and shield out of necessity, the familiarity of the weapon and the new possibilities of magical skills drew her attention, missing memory or not. The flexibility of swapping weapons won her over to Warfarer, or she might have stayed with her duospear indefinitely.

8. Do they have any hobbies? Any way of relaxing between all that monster-slaying and traveling?

Aside from sketching, Andras is an avid knitter, and if the game would only permit it every pawn that found themselves in her service would be in possession of some handmade accessory.

♟︎ THE PAWN:

NAME: Tieve

AGE: 22 or thereabouts.

RACE: Human

PRONOUNS: She/Her

PREFERRED VOCATION: Mage

FAVORED GIFTS: Jewelry, flowers. Anything cute, really.

INCLINATION: Kindhearted

POSITIVE TRAITS: Gentle, supportive and patient beyond measure. A sweetheart through and through. 

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Tieve is painfully lacking in self awareness. She exists in a perpetual state of “I'm the only sensible person in the room.” and assumes it's her job to keep everyone else in line.

LIKES: Hot baths, cute animals, especially deer. Flashy spells and new experiences of all kinds.

DISLIKES:  Cold weather, especially cold and wet. Dog-like enemies, especially Garm. 

1. What was their life like prior to being summoned by their Arisen?

Tieve doesn’t remember much of her time drifting in the Rift before her summoning. A vague sense of anticipation, like the stillness before a rainstorm. Then a voice, familiar and strange at the same time, calling for her.

2. What is their opinion on the Arisen? How do they view their relationship?

When she first emerged from the rift, Tieve had an unchecked blind reverence for the concept of the Arisen. The one she had been waiting to serve since time immemorial. The reason for her existence. And at first nothing struck her as wrong about that impression. For all Andras’ attempts to engage her as an equal, to put her opinions and comfort first, Tieve held fast to the idea that any camaraderie between them stemmed first and foremost from their purpose in the grander stage. 

Traveling with other Arisen, watching them with their own pawns, Tieve was forced to confront that her connection with Andras was more unique then a simple function of her role as adjutant and guide. Lovers, friends, family, to deny her own capacity for such relationships would be to deny that ability in these others, and it is that fact, more then anything, that persuaded her of her own feelings.

3. Is there anything about the Arisen they find troublesome? Be it a small quirk or bad habit? (Or are they obviously flawless?)

Aside from her practically job required habit of leaping into danger, Tieve finds her master's excitement about her expressing herself both perplexing and embarrassing, especially when in front of other pawns. 

^ The energy ^

On a less surface level, Tieve is troubled by her master's distress when pawns are injured or sent back to the rift. While she’s not completely inured to the feeling herself, she draws the line at allowing the Arisen to endanger themself or other non-pawns for the sake of someone who can just be pulled back from the rift the next moment. Compounding her concerns is Andras’ seeming lack of urgency in seeking out the dragon. Helping people is all well and good, but she has a duty to fulfill. And if Tieve isn't guiding her along the path well enough, then isn't she failing at her own role?

4. What is their specialization and is there any story behind how they cultivated that skill set?

Her specialization is Woodland Wordsmith, and (since on a technical gameplay basis it comes from a previous playthrough with different characters) it's probably drawn from Andras’ much neglected wish to learn more about her mother's culture. It also plays well to her own desire to understand people!

5. Do they have any thoughts on the politics of the world and their place in it as a Pawn - or how Pawns are treated?

Tieve is often the member of the group who pipes up with the “Take heart, for we are fulfilling our duty at the Arisen's side. We have naught to be ashamed of.” line in Bakbattahl, and that sums up her thoughts on the matter fairly well. While the godsway terrifies her, the opinion of the general public does not.

6. Does their journey with the Arisen change them in any significant way and how?

I'm going to save this one for a little bit later, once I've actually gotten into endgame at least. But rest assured, I have wordy and incoherent thoughts on this topic as I do everything else.

7. Is there a reason they chose their preferred vocation?

After giving every vocation some time, Tieve has found her niche as support caster the most suited to her personality. Giving her companions the boost they need to topple any foe and soothing others pain is all she’s ever wanted…though she does miss climbing enemies.

8. Do they have any hobbies or preferred past-times?

Tieve enjoys people watching and theater! She's not a heavy drinker herself, but she loves to hang out in taverns and listen to the patrons' stories. (She also enjoys hearing other pawns gossip about their arisen. She may act scandalized, but she loves the drama.)

[blackjackkent]

All right, time to wrap up the Sorcerous Sundries arc by letting Hector and Gale nerd out about books together.

"I found the Annals of Karsus. Here - you should read them."

Hector - former monastery sage that he is - finds it quite gratifying how carefully Gale takes the ancient tome from him and thumbs through its pages. The wizard's eagerness is obvious, but in spite of it he is careful, exceedingly gentle with the fragile pages; like Hector, he has experience with handling such tomes.

His eyes flick rapidly through each page, scanning, scouring, lifting out relevant passages. As he begins to absorb the knowledge within the ancient book, his skin grows pale. "That devil Raphael was telling the truth," he mutters. "There's no doubt. The Crown of Karsus is what's controlling the Elder Brain. And this... this is no mere journal. It contains Karsus's original plans for the Crown's construction." His eyes lift to Hector's. "His designs for godhood."

Hector feels a chill run down his spine at the words. "The design for self-destruction, more like," he points out. "Didn't this crown *kill* Karsus?"

Gale shrugs. "Not exactly... it was what he did with it that sealed his fate, and for a time, that of magic itself. The Crown was merely the means." A long silence as he again peruses the book.

"The book states that the Crown and Netherstones were originally one construct," he goes on after a while. "Seemingly sundered at the moment of Karsus's downfall."

There's a new energy in his voice, one that Hector hasn't heard there before, reflective of some great churning of thoughts in his mind. Gale's true genius is at work here, something that reaches far beyond Hector's own. "If we can collect the crown's setting, and the three Netherstones, and with the correct invocation of certain spells and gestures detailed in these notes... I think I could reforge it."

Hector stares at him. Reforge the Crown of Karsus? "To what end?" he asks uneasily.

"To every end you can imagine, and a thousand more beyond," Gale says, snapping the book shut with an air of finality. "Just think of it. The power of the gods in mortal hands at last. We'd be free of doctrine and dogma, confined only by the limits of our imaginations!" He's breathing faster now, his eyes widening. "I promise you - the gods will never grant us such a blessing, no matter how much we worship and adore them."

(A/N: I do love when the game gives me moments that unintentionally directly connect with my headcanons, but I also do love moments like this where it's like 'This is a HILARIOUSLY bad tack to take with this OC in particular.' Gale, buddy, you could have framed this literally any other way and it would have gone over better. Claiming you just wanted to control the brain would have gone better than this - though not by much.)

Hector's mouth draws into a tight line and his eyes narrow. Does Gale not understand that what he is describing is anathema to everything Hector stands for? The idea of stepping beyond the reach of his goddess is not empowering but terrifying, and blasphemous to boot. Not to mention that Gale's reach outstripping his grasp is what landed him in the situation with the orb in the first place; how does he not see that such hubris would only get him into trouble a second time? But most of all...

He's hurt that after all this time, after all the struggles they've shared together, Gale would look at him and urge him to such disdain for divinity with a straight face.

[CLERIC] "Don't dare to assume why I worship," he says, his tone markedly cooler now. "Not all of us share such transactional relationships with our gods."

"But do you not expect something in return for your devotion?" Gale asks pointedly. "Some favor, some stir of courage, some *response*?"

(A/N: And there's one of those actual "ow, that fits perfectly" moments. Yeesh.)

Hector flinches. Gale knows perfectly well that this is a vulnerable spot for him to choose to stick in the knife of his words. Hector has long regretted the fact that - while Gale, Shadowheart, and even Lae'zel have heard the voices of their gods directly, he has heard nothing but silence. It's a cruel jab, and he's sure Gale knows it.

"I worshiped Mystra loyally for years," the wizard goes on bitterly, "and in that time she granted me the barest sliver of the power I was ready to wield. Even with the fate of the world at stake, she had little to offer me than the means of blowing myself up at a more convenient time." His voice is rising in energy, almost shouting into Hector's face now. "Mystra wanted the brain obliterated because of this crown! She fears a world in which such power is beyond her control - ready to be claimed by Karsus's successor!"

Deep down, Hector knows what's really going on here. Gale has started to realize how poorly he has been treated by Mystra, and he is angry and hurting and afraid. And he wants this power that has been denied him - an act of rebellion, of defiance, claiming control over his own life again.

But he can't be allowed to do it. And the way he speaks of it has struck Hector to the heart in a way he can't easily shake off. "I thought you were past this kind of temptation, Gale," he snaps angrily. "You know *exactly* where such overreaching leads."

"Neither of us can know what truly may be if we don't at least try," Gale shoots back. "Potential is nothing in itself - just a fleeting dream, unless we drag it into the waking world. Please, at least think on it." He gestures emphatically with the book in one hand. "Powerful as he was, Karsus lacked some advantages I can lay claim to. I know Mystra - intimately. And I carry a fragment of the Weave itself within my body." He laughs humorlessly. "Karsus achieved many thigns, but he never managed that..."

The frantic energy is starting to drain out of him, and perhaps he recognizes that he pushed Hector too far, because his voice softens, takes on a placating, pleading tone. "A long road lies ahead before the Crown comes into our possession. All I ask for now is that you not dismiss this possibility out of hand," he says. "Please... at least think on it."

Hector is still more than a little angry - and concerned - by the way Gale is handling this discovery, but he sets his jaw and breathes deeply for a moment before answering, centering himself inwardly. "Gale," he finally says, his tone scrupulously even. "I'm urging you to drop this. This Crown *cannot* be reforged."

Gale frowns, his shoulders slumping. "I see," he mutters. "I suppose I am asking you to take a leap of faith even the most loyal of companions might struggle to land gracefully." A pause. He turns away, absently fidgeting his fingers against the bedpost next to him.

"I've spent so long feeling... inferior," he goes on after a long silence. "Shut out from my destiny over such a simple act of youthful enthusiasm. Perhaps I got carried away with the thought that this Crown could give me back what Mystra took." He rubs his hand involuntarily against his chest, over where the mark of the orb lies under his shirt. "Cure me, even..."

Hector lets out a heavy breath. He has control of his anger now; while he's still hurt by the tactics Gale took in this conversation, it doesn't prevent him from seeing how badly his friend is hurting. How much Gale wanted this to be the solution that would undo everything that Mystra has put him through, that would give his life meaning equaling his potential after having been slapped down.

A simple act of youthful enthusiasm is, perhaps, a rather simplistic way to look at the mistake he made, of course. But that's neither here nor there.

"You're still destined for greatness, Gale," he says quietly. "But you won't find it chasing Karsus's shadow."

Gale's eyes flick to the floor. "You're right," he mutters. "There aren't many wizards who'd care to be mentioned in the same breath as him, or his folly."

He looks up, meets Hector's eyes with sudden intensity. "Whatever comes of this, we cannot allow the Crown to be reforged in *Raphael's* image," he points out firmly. "A devil wielding the might of Karsus... it would be the end of everything."

Well, Hector reflects ruefully, on that at least they are perfectly agreed. Though Raphael is dead, so perhaps that threat is past... but after everything that's happened to them, he's in no mood to make assumptions about it.

[waternilly]

No Tricks (George Weasley x OC) - Part 6

Fandom: Harry Potter Ship: George Weasley x OC Word count: 1.2k Warnings: None Ao3 link: here Summary: A tattoo shop opens across from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, immediately catching the eye of the youngest twin. The intriguing owner, though well-versed in the magical world, doesn’t quite belong to it herself. As they navigate their differences, their mutual curiosity blooms into something deeper. Harry Potter Masterlist

Oli was worth all the trouble.

At least, that was what George believed as he looked over at her, busy cutting asparagus next to him while he minced an onion. Turning his attention back to his task, George shifted to the other leg. The radio quietly played in the background as the wind traveled through the curtains, gently tickling his neck.

Laying the knife down, Oli sipped from her glass of white wine. She turned towards him, casually leaning her hip against the counter. 

“How did you learn to cook?”

George answered as he began mincing garlic: “Believe it or not, I own cookbooks.”

As if to prove it, he nodded towards the shelf atop his fridge. Oli opened it and was met with a collection of hardcovers, magazines and loose sheets of paper. She nodded, a corner of her mouth lifting, impressed.

“I figured that if I had to eat to survive, I might as well make the best of it.” He paused, then added: “After 20 years in the Burrow, it would have been hard to switch to industrial food anyway.”

This elicited a chuckle from Oli.

“How come you don’t cook?” he asked, wiping down the blade to detach the last pieces of garlic.

She shrugged.

“Never bothered to learn much. No one in my family was hung up on making home cooked meals, so I learned to be happy with little.”

They both sipped from their wine.

“My aunt was a crap cook, no matter how hard she tried.”

Putting his glass down, George said: “You mention her a lot.”

“My aunt?”

He nodded, now facing her. Oli only shrugged.

“She practically raised me.”

“How come?” George wondered, brows furrowed. “If I may ask, of course.”

“You may.”

She exhaled as she put her glass down onto the counter.

“My parents were too busy being important. They didn’t have much time for me.” With a small smile, she continued: “My aunt never had kids, but she adored me. She was the best parent I could’ve asked for.”

George thought for a moment.

“She was your Muggle aunt, right?”

“Yes, she was.”

“How did she handle your magic?” he wondered with a small smile, already imagining 9 year old Oli, unable to control her powers and accidentally setting the carpet on fire.

“It was quite okay actually.”

“Oh.”

“Very uneventful.”

He tried to hide his disappointment at the absence of a funny story.

“Maybe it’s because I was always very happy around her.”

George considered her response, twisting his lips.

“Perhaps…”

It could make sense. Magic in young children was caused by strong emotions, most often negative ones such as anger. He knew joy could also be a trigger, but usually it caused more discreet magic. Perhaps neither Oli nor her aunt had ever paid much attention to it or any other signs. 

Huffing, he decided that it did not matter and, putting his glass down, faced the stove. Igniting one of the fires, George threw a cube of butter in the pan and let it melt. He then added the onion, soon followed by the garlic.

“You never mentioned where you went to school,” he pointed out.

Looking up from his hands to meet his gaze, Oli furrowed her brows.

“In the Netherlands. Not that it matters.”

“Aren’t you from Ghent?”

“Yes, but there is no school of magic in Belgium.”

George looked away from the pan to meet her gaze, confused.

“Why?”

Oli smiled and shrugged: “I don’t know. Probably to do with the linguistic mess that are Flanders and Wallonia.”

“So Flemish kids go to the Netherlands?”

“And Wallon kids go to France,” Oli completed.

George then added the asparagus to the pan and stirred the vegetables together.

“What about you?”

Raising his brows, he shot her a glance.

“Where did you study?”

“I went to Hogwarts, in Scotland.”

“Ah, I love Scotland.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I backpacked to Edinburgh when I finished school. The Highlands are beautiful too.”

George smiled and met her gaze again.

“Have you ever been to Devon?”

Oli chuckled and motioned no.

“I’ll take you some time.” He caught himself speaking more gently: “If you’d like that of course.”

Thankfully, she agreed to the idea.

“What is there to see in Devon?”

George felt his breath catch in his throat. Her tone matched his, both playful and quiet.

“Oh well, there is the Burrow, of course.” He mentally cringed. Was that really the best he could come up with? “The sea isn’t far either, so if you enjoy hiking we could walk there. And we have a theme park!”

“Walking to the beach sounds fun.”

They exchanged a smile, but the moment ended when George had to refocus his attention on the stove.

He poured the risotto rice into the pan and brought the fire up. After a bit of stirring, he added the white wine while Oli filled up both of their glasses with what was left of the bottle. Despite remaining focused on the rice, George was also very aware of Oli’s presence next to him. He could feel her gaze fixed on his hands, while her silhouette piqued in the corner of his eye.

As he hoped that she would enjoy the risotto, he wondered if she would also like being over more often. Whether it was to cook or simply to chat would be for her to decide. And to him. Of course. Not that he was expecting anything else but cooking together that is…

George cleared his throat at the thought of sharing dinner with Oli every evening for the foreseeable future. It was a pleasant image, but perhaps one to better not linger on in her presence.

Slowly and while never tearing his eyes away from the stove, George added the broth, mixing until the rice had absorbed all of it before pouring more. Oli, he noticed from the corner of his eye, never moved away. She merely shuffled in place, leaning one way or another against the counter. George swore he could feel her eyes on him at all times, but he must have dreamed. She had that smartphone she had told him about. Surely there was something more interesting on it than him cooking rice.

As finishing touches, George cracked black pepper over the pan and sprinkled in the parmesan.

Finally turning back to her, he was surprised to find her already facing him. Oli looked expectantly, a small smile forming on the corner of her lips, no phone in sight.

“It’s ready,” he declared at last, causing Oli’s eyes to crinkle.

Once they were both seated, she hummed pleasantly as the scent of the risotto reached her.

“It smells amazing.”

“Thank you! Now let’s hope it tastes amazing too.”

Without further ceremony, Oli picked up her fork and declared: “Smakelijk!”

George chuckled.

“Bon appétit?” he answered hesitantly.

“Très bien!” she played along.

Both beaming, they dug their forks into the meal. The night was one of laughter and shared smiles. Oli spoke further of her aunt and how she had introduced her to the arts through frequent museum visits. He encouraged her to speak further, showing interest in her craft and asking about her start as a tattoo artist. Oli seemed flattered by the situation, eyes crinkling with happiness at the chance to speak more about herself for a change, and George could not ask for more.

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: "What is Strength?"

What would the answers from the roster of Guilty Gear StrIVe be in reponse to this question from Street Fighter 6?

https://youtu.be/dsYIIf_DoHo?si=fR81cdzHKmmwSoaQ

HOHH~ That's a tough question~!

Especially in light of the politics that has recently transpired in Guilty Gear Strive~.

I MAKE NO CONCESSIONS TOWARDS PERFECT RESPONSES, BUT I SHALL TRY TO RESPOND TO THIS:

Slayer: "Power isn't determined by strength, or even advantages one can afford. Not even Victory is decided by Power alone. True power will reach the minds and hearts of everyone, touch them, and change their lives for Eternity. Even Love is a power that transcends… Is it not, Sharon?"

A.B.A.: "I don't expect someone ignorant in History to understand Power, but even an idiot can understand Love, right Darling?"

Flament: "Erm... I guess to me, Power is something that can block out everything else if you're not careful. You need a sense of control to understand Power."

Elphelt: "Power? You mean like bust sizes!? Womanhood~! Or are you talking about the size of a Wedding Cake~!? Ah, if only my Honeymoon were full of POWER~!"

Johnny: "Power... influence, CHARISMA... LUCK... no amount of power can overcome the odds if Fortune is on your side~... It helps to read the situation~."

Asuka: "I once believed in Science as a Power, but History has proven how powerless that knowledge can be in the wrong hands. And, how dangerous that knowledge is in the right hands. If anything, Power serves to humble you, and hopefully set you on the proper path in life."

Asuka R: "Power is untapped. All living beings have potential, but the question is whether or not they can reach that potential, or if Fate has something else in store."

Delilah: "My brother used his power to save me, so I guess that counts for something. If I could control my power, I wouldn't be causing so many problems, so I guess I need to work on that."

Sin: "Power? Like how spicy food can get? I mean, spice is important and all, but Raven once taught me that you get sick of too much flavor, so like... I think you need balance, yeah?"

Bridget: "If power could do anything, we'd have happier lives, I think. But not everything is solved with power, sometimes you need time to think things through."

Testament: "Any form of Power is potentially dangerous, but it's also proof we exist. What we do to manage that strength is what's important."

Baiken: "Hmph. If strength solved all my problems I'd be grinning from ear to ear for the rest of my days, but Karma isn't so kind. Sure, Power is something, but you'd be a fool to handle it improperly."

Happy Chaos: "Heh. You want to know about Power? Freedom isn't much different from Power, you know. Freedom to think, freedom to choose, freedom to act, freedom to do nothing. That's a power that most people take for granted. What will you do with the Power of Freedom, I wonder?"

Jack-O': "Power is something that can potentially hurt a lot of people, and it can also hurt yourself too. Some powers shouldn't be allowed to exist, I think."

Goldlewis: "There's a statute of Limitations on just about everything nowadays. That's proof that Power isn't exactly what it's cracked up to be. Still, it takes Power to maintain Peace, and that's never easy."

I-No: "I guess Power is a big deal, from where I stand, it just gets in the way of progress. Power makes people uglier than they originally were."

Anji: "Power isn't much of anything if I can dance right by it. The Wind flows wherever it will, and yet harms almost nothing. True power is just like that."

Giovanna: "Power doesn't pay the bills or sign my paycheck."

Nagoriyuki: "Death is a Power that Bushi understand deeply, to skirt Death, to live with it, is to understand that Power. As a Samurai."

Leo: "Obviously any Dictionary is going to tell you what Power is... but even if you have that information, not knowing what to do with it is going to get you in to trouble. Knowledge and Wisdom are more powerful than people give either credit."

Ramlethal: "Everyone has their own Unique Powers, and that's what makes them special. But you can't let Power determine who you are."

Zato: "When I was originally alive, I was obsessed with Power and that blinded me, literally. It seems Fate has seen fit to teach me this lesson and take it to heart."

Millia: "I'm sure you're sick of hearing what people have to say about Power and Strength by now... but it takes skill, practice, focus, and dedication to use any form of strength. I suggest drilling that in to your mind and body from now on."

Faust: "TOO MUCH POWER... CAN BE BAD. BALANCE YOURSELF."

Potemkin: "People often ask me what I think about Power, because of how I look, you see... If Power was the only thing that influenced my life, I'd be in far worse shape than I currently am, and I have my Master to Thank for that wisdom. Looks can be deceiving."

Chipp: "Obviously you need Power to go fast in life. But control is just as important: training, pacing, awareness, and plenty of exercise! Take good care of yourself too!"

Axl: "Power's gotten me in to a bit of trouble in the past, mate. Not sayin' it doesn't have its uses, but you gotta use your grey matter. Think ahead!"

May: "I've always been strong physically, but it turned out that my heart wasn't very strong at all. Life is just full of knowledge like that, so take it seriously."

Ky: "Power most certainly isn't always elegant, is it? A calm heart and clear mind can endure a raging sea storm. Power doesn't always come in the form of sheer force, so always be aware of your situations."

Sol: "I used to think Power was the only way to solve my problems, but I never had any luck in that department. Sure, it did solve a LOT of problems, but nothing's ever perfect. Real power is understanding all that and finding your one way through it all."

[evieveevee]

Forza Motorsport (PC) Review

Scratched Paint

Forza Motorsport is the game I have been looking forward to all year, particularly since I sold my PS5 to go all-in on PC. Positioned as a new starting point for Forza Motorsport as a franchise, it promises a next-gen visual experience, alongside more robust physics and multiplayer. But, does it deliver?

A Note from the Author

Hi! It’s really special to be able to review something like this, and to be one of only a few creatives based in Australia/New Zealand, not to mention one of even fewer transgender creatives, given the opportunity to do this. It’s an immense honor that I take very seriously, and I’m proud to be bringing this out for you today. If you’re interested in publishing this review on your website, please contact me directly. Enough talk though! Let’s go racing!

Lights Out and Away We Go

Let’s start with the out-of-box experience with Forza Motorsport, the first stuff that everyone’s gonna see. There’s a brief accessibility setup, including the usual settings like Subtitles, and new settings like the Blind Driving Assist and support for low vision features too. For customization minded dorks like yours truly, there’s a handy shortcut to the settings menus so you can dive deeper into things like the graphics settings on PC with a “worst case” benchmark involving a full field of 24 cars on a rainy circuit with complex lighting. Also in the settings, you’ll find comprehensive controls over the assists, including a few quick presets to base your own off. I turn off the racing line and most assists, leaving only ABS on while I shake some of the rust off. Folks who want to make sure they’re getting exactly the experience they want out of this will walk away satisfied.

However, it’s after the configuration that the trouble starts. The game loads into a practice session on Maple Valley — a returning Forza original track — in one of Forza Motorsport’s cover cars: the 2024 Corvette E-Ray. I hit the accelerator, hear the awesome engines roar to life, but then I noticed: my wheel configuration was not at all right.

In the review build I had access to, my wheel (the Logitech G29) was not properly detected, did not show appropriate inputs in the UI, and it was wildly misconfigured, requiring 10–15 minutes of messing around with the wheel settings before I hit something that approached proper handling and the sort of response I expect. Forza Motorsport also does not have support for shift indicator LEDs, continuing this trend from previous entries and the Horizon series, something which is frustrating and I would appreciate being fixed in a future update.

Check Engine Light

About now is when I began to take note of the visuals of the game. With the promise of next generation visuals in Forza Motorsport, and the additional power that the Xbox Series X is able to leverage, I was hoping that the visuals would feel like they’d taken that generational leap. In some regards, namely those related to gameplay like dynamic time of day and weather systems, the leap is absolutely there. Forza Motorsport has incredible lighting and the dynamics are incredibly solid.

However, on PC, it’s clear there are some problems.

Let’s start with one of the most obvious generational visual leaps: raytracing. If we want to showcase the generational leap in graphics, an RT implementation is the way to do it. However, it’s clear that the state of RT reflections on — at the very least — AMD RDNA3 cards like the 7900 XT is extremely poor. The RT is being done at an extremely low resolution, providing a blocky and terrible facsimile of the environment surrounding your vehicle. This issue visible on racing suits with reflective materials or on visors. RTAO seems mostly fine, but this issue is very strange, and I hope that Turn 10 and/or AMD are able to fix this issue soon and provide proper RT reflections.

It gets worse before it gets better sadly.

Building It Up

While the PC version’s apparent problems are abundant and annoying, the core of the game is extremely solid, and it’s very evident in the Career mode that Turn 10 has created: the Builder’s Cup.

The idea is relatively simple. You’ll pick from one of three cars, and you’ll carry that car through the entire series. A series is about 5 or 6 races, during which you’ll improve the car you choose, pushing it faster and faster as the rest of the field does the same to theirs. There are larger rewards up for grabs for completing a series, but each race offers plenty in the way of credits you can invest into other new cars. You’ll do at least three laps of practice before each race, with a goal time that will indicate you’re competitive against the field. You must complete practice and the race in the same session. If you exit the event after completing practice, progress is not saved and you will need to run the practice session again.

Here’s where it gets complicated. If you’re not familiar with racing games, or even if you are, I want to stress something right now: the words I am about to say are not a joke, a prank, or played as something silly in the game. They are deadly serious.

In order to build up your car, you need to level it up. You level up your car by driving well through the various sections of each track and gaining Car XP (CXP) for sections that are quick and hew close to the racing line, with bonuses for passing certain thresholds. Each section is rated on a scale from 1.0 to 10.0. I believe — but may be wrong — you also get CXP for completing events. Get enough CXP, you get a level, and each level gets you a certain number of Car Points (CP), which can be used between events to apply upgrades to that car. Your CP and CXP are only available on that specific car, meaning that even if you have multiple copies of one car, each one has its own balance of CP and CXP. Each available upgrade costs a certain amount of CP, but adding an upgrade is not a permanent choice. Instead, it’s a flexible balance that you can move around into various upgrades according to your needs. Additionally, upgrades are restricted to specific Car Levels, so you need to level up your car a specific amount to, say, unlock the ability to change your aero parts.

Look, I think this one’s gonna be controversial. In a way, this system does guide you through what’s worth upgrading and all, a great feature for people who are learning their way around the tunes. For expert players who already know what they need out of a tune or are able to pick out the weak points on a car, it’s going to mean grinding out Car XP so you can get the upgrades you need, all the while dealing with the poor tune. It means that I’m definitely turned off of cars that I can’t immediately jive with, even if I recognize their potential. I think the primary audience that cares about Forza Motorsport will be frustrated by this system, but folks trying this out through Game Pass and wanting a more casual experience out of things are likely to be happy with it.

Zooming Away

Let’s look at the on-track experience a little closer now.

It’s worth saying that circuit racing is its own beast, and if you’re coming from Forza Horizon or Need for Speed’s open world racing experiences, you’re in for a unique, tight sort of experience. Be prepared to learn the ropes of non-contact racing though; contact is strongly discouraged in Forza Motorsport (and in real life), with penalties applied for egregious contact, or contact which nets you an advantage. Corner cutting is the same; you need to stay with two wheels within track limits at all times. Thankfully, you can turn on visible track limits in either marker (intermittent triangles) or ribbon (unbroken line) styles.

The experience of driving in Forza Motorsport is great, as you might I expect. With an appropriate vehicle and tune, you’ll be cruising from corner to corner, earning Car XP, and enjoying the intensity of competitive racing. Having full race regulations on in single-player content is great practice, and the system feels like it deals with both the AI opponents and you in very fair ways. All of this combines to make Forza Motorsport feel great, in that indescribable sort of way that driving tends to be; you kinda… just have to experience it to understand, I feel. But, I need to emphasize that this applies only when the vehicle and tune you’re driving are set up properly. It’s a bummer to see that the stock tunes are still rough, when competing sims have much more robust and good feeling tunes out of the gate. Combine that with the upgrade system locking certain parts of that tune behind levels, and it’s a recipe for pain.

As you drive, the information displayed is pleasantly minimal, but still conveys just about everything you need to keep focused on your race. In the lower right, you have a speedometer and RPM indicators, as well as indications of fuel remaining, tire life and temps, and your acceleration and braking inputs. All of this is useful information, available to you at a glance, but also reminds me that shift indicator LEDs are still not supported in Forza Motorsport, and that makes me sad. Limited customization options, besides turning them on and off, is also kind of a bummer.

Besides that, in the upper right, you’ll have visibility of your segment scores and car XP, and in the top left, you have visibility of your current lap time. All of the UI can be toggled on and off to suit your needs. However, racing enthusiasts will also note there is no radar showing nearby cars, nor weather radar to allow you to plan around the new dynamic weather systems. Much of this sort of information, as well as control over TCS and Brake Balance, is available in Gran Turismo 7’s MFD, a feature I desperately wish was in Forza Motorsport, but if they can only choose one bit of UI to take from that, I hope they add a radar, because the current system of proximity arrows (which, perplexingly, are not on by default) is not adequate, and it can make dealing with traffic on tight courses unpredictable. I also hope that the input UI can be made a bit larger, and the information about tires can be made more reliable.

Tires, worth noting, seem like one of the weak points of Forza Motorsport. Tire data was unclear to read at first: tire temps are shown on the larger real-time view, but tire wear is only shown via the small meter to the side of it. Tire life predictions are *not accurate* and will rapidly go from 3 laps to 1 lap over the course of a single lap even with clean driving. It’s super unclear if some sort of accelerated wear is on, but if it is, that information is both not exposed to the player and creating incorrect predictions about tire life, both of which are frustrating.

Star of the Show

For all that though, we still need to talk about the multiplayer experience. Before launch, I had the opportunity to play with other reviewers as well as Turn10 employees in full multiplayer lobbies, and I was extremely happy with the experience!

As you do those races, you’ll notice that each race starts at a fixed time, and that there’s time for practice before each session. This is a great change! You’ll get the chance to size up your competition, get a feel for the track, and set a qualifying time for the final race. This change continues beyond the introductory series as well, and modes like Forza GT and the Touring Car modes will always be there. There’s also a slot for a rotating featured series, and open series’ as well, allowing to show off your project cars on the track. All of these use the same structure and it makes me extremely happy; it feels more like a fleshed out version of the Sport mode in GT Sport/7.

There’s also the ability to do custom multiplayer (and singleplayer) events, just as you’d expect. You can make lobbies as desired, and race away to your heart’s content! I did not test the multiplayer side of that during my review period though, sorry about that. My focus was on the featured multiplayer, as that’s where I’m going to spend most of my time, and expect that’s where most players will be as well.

Chequered Flag

So, wrapping up here, crossing the finish line. Forza Motorsport is a pretty damn good experience, and makes meaningful improvements over previous entries (and over competing sims such as Gran Turismo 7), but it also comes with its own unique set of regressions, particularly in the PC version. However, all of my complaints about this are primarily quality-of-life (with the exception of the state of the visuals on PC, and all the sorts of things that Turn 10 can fix up with some TLC.

Career and Multiplayer are the real standouts, providing a ton of depth for players to explore and a lot of options for how they want to race, and comprehensive new systems for both of them mean that the overall experience is going to be incredible for the primary audience of the game. Hardcore racing sim fans may find aspects of it disappointing, as I did, but hopefully their feedback will help them steer the future of this title into true greatness.

For now though, I can softly recommend Forza Motorsport for PC! I hope to see improvements to it in the future but what’s here is a great package that’s likely to please fans of all stripes.

My copy of Forza Motorsport was done using a copy of the game provided to me by Xbox Australia and New Zealand (Xbox ANZ) for the purposes of review. Xbox ANZ also provides me with a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to use as part of my streams and coverage.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer, Issue #42: Zeti Hunt (Part 2)

When we left off in the last Issue, the Zeti had managed to gather and lure Sonic and Team Chaotix away from the Restoration HQ in an attempt to break into the place and destroy it. So, let’s see how the Restoration will handle being under attack and what their plan for the Zeti is.

We start off with Jewel basically having a zoom meeting with Team Chaotix, Tails and Sonic to go over their plan on how to handle the Zeti. Team Chaotix is currently in Sunset City. Tails is at his workshop at Central City, working on something. Sonic is at Winterburg, chilling on a couch with hot cocoa in hand.

Jewel asks Vector to brief them all on the situation, with Vector explaining that they figured out that the Zeti are attacking all the towns they attempted to control during the Zombot Fiasco (yeah, considering how many times I used the term, I figured I might as well continue with it), so since two towns are left over, the Chaotix and Sonic will attempt to ambush them. As for Tails, he has been working on something.

He presents everyone the Zeti Zapper, a device that turns their own electro-magnetic powers against them. It would disable them, allowing for easy capture and transport aboard the Zeti Launcher, which is basically a rocket that would sent them back to Lost Hex, never to be seen again.

Jewel is a bit worried that they might remove the Zappers or take control of the rocket, but Tails assures her that he built in safe-guards, so the toughest part would be to take everyone down.

Sonic tells Jewel to trust Tails and that things will be fine. However, despite his reassurances, Sonic appears to be worried. He notes how he had just saved Winterburg from Eggman and how he’s not going to let the Zeti destroy it. He thinks about how hard everyone worked to rebuilt everything and how they just want to forget the Zombot Fiasco, but it is hard with the likes of Eggman and Zeti around; and he’s also hoping the Babylon Rogues won’t try to create any trouble, or worse, that Starline might make another return.

Honestly, it is obvious that, despite his seemingly carefree attitude, Sonic tends to worry a lot. Sure, the greatest (most recent) crisis is over and the missions he had afterwards were on a smaller scale, but any of his enemies might cause trouble once again and destroy what the Restoration had just fixed. People just want to move on with their lives, but it is not possible when there are villains running around trying to undo their hard work.

Speaking of Starline, he’s at Emeraldville Ruins, right at the entrance to the Restoration HQ. After his defeat at White Park (which he himself was responsible for, the idiot), he decided to find Belle, geeking out over her design and construction, calling her an unique creation.

Okay, I can’t stay mad at this guy. Just look at the panel above, he is totally excited to have seen a completely unorthodox creation of his idol and wants to learn more about it. Admittedly, it is also a bit creepy because... well, this IS Starline we’re talking about and I doubt Belle would agree to be studied by him.

Anyways, he has figured that Belle is in Restoration HQ, and he notes how he can use the Tricore to storm it, but that is Eggman’s style, not his. He also notes how he will be identified by everyone, so using the hypno-glove won’t really work. In short, he needs to be stealthy, so he enters the shed, having seen people going inside but not leaving, and deduces that there is a trap door. After finding the correct lever, he notes how he cannot celebrate yet, as he hasn’t the time to establish a good distraction, which cues right into what is going on at the main entrance to Restoration HQ.

Speaking of distraction... Holy Hell! The Zeti really know how to make an entrance! 

They basically hijacked a truck, set it on fire and drove it straight into the main entrance, just casually walking inside. That’s pretty badass if you ask me.

Finally at Restoration HQ, they aren’t really impressed by what they see, and Zavok orders them to tear everything down, causing destruction all over the place and beating the security (with Zeena even doing Sonic’s iconic pose from Sonic Adventure; nice reference!). Zavok then gathers them up, saying how they’ll fight the Restoration’s soldiers as one.

Zavok wonders where the rest of the security is, but Zik figures that that’s all, explaining how people here cherish peace (duh, no surprise, they had dealt with a war several months ago), only being disturbed by Eggman’s madness (Ha! You’re right there, Grandpa!), and even then, they’re relying on Sonic and co. to save the day.

Zeena wonders what happens if someone takes their stuff or picks their fight, but Zik continues how they’re to kind and compassionate to do that, which grosses her out. I really, like how the Zeti cannot even comprehend how some people can just be nice to each other. It’s totally alien to them.

Zavok then commands they march right to the heart of their operations and just rip it out.

There is something I have to wonder about. Did it occur to them that, I dunno, someone might actually alert Sonic they’re at the base? I mean, it’s just a thought and a very likely possibility.

Starline witnesses the Zeti’s destruction and is shocked that Zavok is still alive, only to realize that he can use the ensuing chaos to his advantage. While the Zeti terrorize everyone, he can move around freely, but he still has to be careful not to be caught.

While Starline hopes that his enemies will keep each other occupied, we see Jewel, Tangle and Whisper in the main control room, having blocked it off and preparing for the battle. Jewel calls Team Chaotix, Tails and Sonic to tell them that the Zeti are here. Charmy is confused, as they had followed the clues, but Vector has figured that they had been baited and they run off back. Tails has packed up the Zeti Zappers and is most likely to arrive there first, telling Sonic they’ll go inside together. But, Sonic doesn’t answer, much to Tails’ confusion.

As for Sonic?

He’s already en route to Restoration HQ with a rather intense look on his expression. Like, damn, I don’t think I’ve seen him so pissed off since the Zombot Fiasco when he confronted Eggman and Starline.

You mess with Sonic’s friends, you mess with Sonic himself, and Gaia below help you if you make him angry.

Back at Restoration HQ, Zomom has wandered into the machine shop, with the guy in charge and Belle hiding there. Suddenly, Starline appears, hypnotizing Zomom into leaving and is quite surprised it worked so easily. The guy in charge thanks him for saving them, but Belle warns him that Starline is another Bad Guy.

The orangutan is confused, since he just saved them, but Starline quips how he can multi-task and asks him to hand over Belle. The dude refuses, noting how they all look after each other, even if Belle messes up (love how, despite losing his patience with her, he still cares a lot about Belle). Starline is pleasantly surprised to see that Belle is self-actualizing (uh, I think she was always like this) and Belle introduces herself.

Starline tells her how she left an impression on him (and kicked him in the face) and how she’d be pivotal to completing his project and how he will handle her with the utmost respect, seeing her as just another Eggman handicraft rather than a person.

The orangutan dude tells Starline that she isn’t coming with him and is about to knock him over with a pipe wrench, but Starline easily paralyzes him with his heel spurs, explaining to Belle how the next round of toxins will be the end of him and how if they leave right now, he’d be too busy to finish him off. Belle agrees, having no other choice.

Meanwhile, we see Sonic running up to the main entrance, with the guard pointing him inside and Sonic just barely missing Starline and Belle as they go to the elevator. If he just looked to his left as he dashed past, he would’ve seen them.

Meanwhile, Starline is pissed off that the elevator is out of service, but I guess we can thank that to the Zeti, with Belle even suggesting they probably cut the power lines and decides to bail. Starline responds by grabbing her and using the Fly Core to get out.

As for the Zeti, Zomom is currently trying to punch his way through the sealed steel doors, making a little gap which Zavok then attempts to pry open. But before he can open the so-called tomb, Sonic spin-dashes into them.

He then makes comes to a halt, ready to beat them up, while the Zeti are ready to put him into his grave.

This is going to be awesome!

Links:

#Previous Issue

#Next Issue

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[mothfinite]

okay okay okay here we go: what my s/is are doing during the different idw arcs!!!!!!!!!!

part 1 (just moth for now) cuz this post turned out way longer than i thought it would

some stuff definitely varies when factoring in different ship timelines but im just gonna do a general run down of things that happen no matter what

moth !

fallout / battle for angel island - the first half of the arc, theyre definitely doing some r&r after the war. they probably show up after sonic saves spiral hill but before mr. tinker is introduced. since they live just outside of their hometown, they go out to help when a badnik attack happens. sonic, catching wind of the attack, arrives to help moth defeat it. theyre later called in to help in the fight against neo metal.

metal virus saga - this one heavily varies depending on the ship timeline, but regardless of ship, moth narrowly escapes when their hometown is overrun with the virus and meets up with sonic, worried for his well being due to his affliction. they immediately join the efforts to evacuate different cities and towns, using their powers to avoid zombots as best as they can. they manage to last until the incident happens with restoration hq, where they get lost in the chaos and backed into a corner, fighting like hell and swinging their flail to no effect, creating a bubble shield with their powers that will only last for so long. amy is distracted by saving cream, and doesnt notice them. espio sees their bubble and tries to reach them in time -- but before he can make it, the bubble shatters and the horde swarms them. in the shuttle, when amy performs a headcount, espio delivers the news that moth also didnt make it out just before vector turns as well. their next appearance is in the horde of turned friends that swarms angel island, where theyre also cured like the rest.

tangent: bad guys - they ONLY show up here in the mimoth timeline where theyre basically persuaded by starline to see mimic again. they spend most of their time glued to mimic's side cuz hes basically the only one they have even a fraction of trust in. they disappear halfway through, when starline kidnaps them.

chao races & badnik bases - regardless of timeline, by the time this arc starts theyve been kidnapped and project luna v2 is well underway. they dont show up in this arc aside from a luna cameo/mention at the VERY end

test run - no mentions or cameos here

zeti hunt! - theyre semi-mentioned, but not by name. theyre at starlines lab for the time being

trial by fire - with surge and kit being sent out to Cause Trouble, luna is sent out as well, to different areas. the chaotix is handling their missing persons case, and are recieving multiple calls from different towns in response to someone who looks eerily similar to the person on the posters. they try to investigate, but get caught up in the other cases related to the power surges.

impostor syndrome - this is the first full appearance of luna v2. they're fully under starlines control at this point - not really having the same ""free will"" (heavy quotations) as surge and kit.

battle for the empire - luna is initially with starline until eggman attacks, where theyre then sent off to make sure surge and kits missions are going successfully. they end up stumbling across belle and metal and start to follow them. this leads them to witnessing starlines death. they have to be pulled away by belle, eyes remaining locked on the rubble as they run. they finally get brought back home in the end and start their recovery arc

overpowered - moth's brainwashing is effectively reversed, but its made clear that theyre not fully themself. their memories are scrambled and fuzzy, and their personality is just off. theyre recovering during all of the main stuff so they dont have much of a big role in this arc.

urban warfare - if they were Real there would probably be a mini-arc juuust before this arc to show their recovery. they convince the team to let them come along when sonic calls for backup. they help out as much as they can in their condition!

and thats everything up to the current misadventures arc!

[waterfall-ambience]

17 with Luna, 5 Damien, and uhh 7 with Phobos?

How does your OC sabotage themselves? 

Captain Luna has some of the ‘normal’ self-sabotage behaviours like isolating from others when he’s sad, neglecting his health, ruminating on things that happened decades ago/things he can’t control, etc.

But right now, he has this major problem of never really asking or accepting help, even when he needs it. The whole Wither King fiasco we’re seeing? He’s almost constantly turning down other people’s offers to help him- “Don’t worry about it, I’ll handle it”, “Thank you, I appreciate the concern, but you mustn’t trouble yourself”.

He’s almost convinced that he can do everything his way, and that he can do it alone, for better or for worse.

(This will bite him in the ass later in Arc 1 when he tries to save Damien and defeat the Wither King all by himself.)

The guy has a not unfounded (but definitely unchallenged!) subconscious belief that he’s better than everyone else. Because his immortality is forced but manual, he’s very aware of how much older and more experienced he is than most of the other Perpetua members. On top of that, the Key makes him almost a god among men, and as it’s guardian, he’s internalised this idea of “with great power comes great responsibility” to the point where he throws himself at almost every responsibility because he thinks he has the power to fix it. He’s not conceited about it or anything, and will happily let others contribute to a solution.

But when push comes to shove? He’s not a team player.

The worst part is that he hasn’t recognised this in himself. He thinks he’s better than this- after 230 years he’s had over triple the expected lifespan for a human, double that for a lucky human, and twelve times the amount of time Augustin had. He thinks that he’s got most of the flaws in his character sorted out (not that he’ll admit it), but he doesn’t.

It’s hardly been challenged, though, because calling Captain Luna ‘egotistical’ feels wrong. Hero-worship aside, he’s just a nice guy to most people, and hardly anyone (with the relatively short amount of time they spend on Perpetua) recognises it in him except during moments of crisis.

Does your OC get lost easily? What do they do when they do get lost?

Damien’s sense of direction isn’t horrible, but if you only give them verbal instructions on how to get to a place, chances are they’ll get it wrong.

(“First…or second exit? Was it room thirteen or thirty? Sixteen? Fuck! Did they say Corridor B, or D? Upstairs or downstairs?! Where do I go from the ibis tapestry? Is this even an ibis? It’s not like, a heron, right?”)

If you give them a map or some visual way of getting to a location, they’ll have a much easier time.

How they respond to being lost depends on how much of their abilities they can use. Before the Wither King undoes the life binding and takes away their infinite magic stamina, they’ll probably just fly up to a high enough vantage point and orientate themself based on what landmarks they can pick out. God help them if they’re indoors.

Without any magic or outside help, they’re likely to pick a direction based on what information they have (however little that may be) and hope that they end up in the right spot (“It’s a sort of kinesis movement! I learned about this! If a flatworm can do it, so can I!”). The odds that they’ll start crying and throwing up increases the longer that this goes on, especially if they think they are late.

Realistically, could your OC (in their normal circumstances- i.e. at their own house/battlecamp/spaceship etc.) keep a small child alive for a week if they had to?  A Dog?  A Houseplant? A rock with a smiley face painted on?

Phobos could probably handle a small child. He won’t be particularly happy about the situation, but the kid will live. They’ll probably be exposed to violent video games, sure, or maybe traumatised by decades-old CGI, but no immediate danger except for watching him commit arson or something. He, however, will end up exhausted.

The dog is the happy medium in that it doesn’t need as much attention as a small child, but it’s enough of an active presence for it to not fade into the background. The dog will live, and he might actually have fun with it.

The houseplant is where things get dicey. There’s a good chance that he’ll forget to water it, or water it too much. The plant, being sessile, is dangerously close to being an inanimate object that he can just forget about. After a week, it will probably live. After two, you’re playing with fire. Any more than that, and just prepare for him to have gotten a replacement plant and claim that it’s the same one.

The problem with the smiley rock is that it’s hard to tell if you’re doing a good job at taking care of it. Avery would probably get on his case about either not feeding it enough sprinkles, or feeding it too many. Do rocks even like sprinkles? It’s quite a lot of sugar to be giving to a rock. Who knows, it might already be dead.

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi, I'm a male Intj (20yrs) and I really appreciate the work you put out here. I seem to struggle opening myself to others or let people close to my life.

This maybe is due to being sheltered as a child because my mother and grandmother were afraid of the harshness of the world (kidnapping, stranger danger, shooting, etc.) would negatively my mindset but also expect me to socialize while being hidden away from the world.

I did grew up with 2 cousins, one is a year younger than me (Infp) and the other who is a year older than me (Entj), I was the middle child of the two. My Entj cousin likes to poke at my flaws at every chance he gets such calling me ugly, stupid, and even goes out of his way to berate my introverted nature. (Inferior Fi) Me being the level headed yet emotional of the two would try and retaliate his attacks but would fail everytime because my family sees it as a sign of disrespect or he would always find a way for a harsher combat.

He has grew out of that phase and has nutured his Inferior Fi over the years and I learn to not take things personally over the years but the doubt and insecurity is still present within me whenever I try to find opportunities in friendships or relationships.

I don't mind helping my peers in a project that requires thorough planning, action and execution of a project. (Ni-Te) But I would not necessarily connect with my peers on a deeper level even with potential relationship opportunities, I would most likely move on without a second thought.

This is also prevalent in my church group that I participated in to help them with the music but I will still remain emotionally closed because I don't see the need to socialize with my peers but I also don't want to end up feeling lonely.

I have a fear of abandonment since I was child because the friendship I tried making has failed often due to lack of interest (sports or social trends they like to talk about) or I would feel as if they don't appreciate being me as a person and would only befriend me out of pity. (Which is something I do not like)

I normally don't talk about this to anybody because in general society, males are viewed as masculine men who toughens up their wounds and would be a sissy if they shed a tear of emotion. Which is a belief I disagree with. I am sick and tired of feeling lonely and closed off and I want to find a way to become more approachable and more open towards people because I can't find a way.

What's your input on this? Thank you for your time.

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Asking for "input" is too vague, and vague questions get vague responses. It's not my place to tell people how to live. You ought to live your life in the way you want. If you want to be alone, be alone. If you want to have friends, make friends. I won't judge your decisions if you don't.

The issue is that you have not made clear what you want and/or you are not fully committed to putting out the hard work required to get what you want. You seem to suffer from ambivalence, of wanting and not wanting something at the same time, which usually indicates an underlying fear of change. People who fear change might also use the past as an excuse to avoid change. So, is your description of a troubled past merely an explanation or is it being used as an excuse as well?

INTJs grow and mature by making the most of themselves in the world. It is difficult for Te to feel at peace when you keep ignoring glaring evidence of incompetence. It is difficult to live up to your greater potential as long as you are held back by fear, allow fear to control your decision-making, and/or feel too afraid to reach for the things you need and want in life. Generally speaking, the most effective way to overcome the kind of fear that is disproportionate to the perceived threat is to confront it. Do the thing you fear in order to learn that it is something within your power to handle. If you don't grasp and create opportunities for yourself to learn and grow, you get stuck in life.

It seems that up until now, 1) you haven't found the right people to connect with due to undervaluing relationships and thus not searching properly, and 2) you haven't nurtured enough curiosity about people to connect well with them (remember that meaningful relationships should not be merely instrumental or one-sided). The first task is to clarify what exactly it is you want and set up a better plan to build a social network and follow through with it. From there, you will also have to work to improve your social skills to develop the relationships properly. (It's a common topic here, so you can also read past posts about social skills or consult the book recommendations on the resources page.)