#but still useful in attacking mental stack etc.

[cog5]

Villainations on a Theme

Thinking up titles for these posts is the hardest part. Something else that’s difficult is trying to create variety in villains while writing a mega-dungeon. I first took the route of having the villain pop up here and there, to make them known, and give the adventure party a chance to interact with them. These interactions set the tone of who this person is. But in the last third of the dungeon, I started to really lean in on playing with different incarnations of the villain, to lean on some of the original facets of their core personality, but then also explore what they might be like if they had lost everything in their life, if they were all-powerful, if they were a puddle of living oil – things like that. 

See, this particular villain has a cloning machine that they use to clone themselves. An aspect of the adventure is that some of these clones have become aberrant, gaining unique powers of their own, or having different circumstances that cause them to diverge from the standard archetype of the villain I first started with. I don’t think I would have done this with a smaller adventure/dungeon, so it’s been an interesting side effect of writing a mega-dungeon where I am constantly scraping by, trying to generate unique ideas to come up with something new. It’s good mental exercise.

I don’t know if this approach works for everyone, but quantity has been effective in sifting out quality for me. That is, writing a lot helps to unearth interesting ideas. Proof to me that it’s worth sitting down and writing a little every day, even if everything that’s on the page doesn’t make it into a final draft. So much of what ended up in the final version did not exist last year during my initial drafts. 20 months later, the mega-dungeon has taken on a life of its own. Even in the final hours of writing yesterday, certain things just fell into place that I had not even been thinking about. It’s a unique sensation when things click like that.

I’ve come to a close on this mega-dungeon, finally. All 12 areas are complete, and I managed to squeeze in an intro and some adventure hooks. 240 pages, last I counted. I’ll likely do one more pass of proofreading, undoubtedly there are still typos, or miss-referenced locations. But it’s a load off for sure. Time to take a breather and focus on something new for a while. I appreciate everyone who has come along for the ride, thank you!

Things I’ve Been Playing

Role-playing adjacent, I picked up a very unique game called “Lost Worlds”. I had never heard of it before, and happened upon a stack of the play books at my local game store. It’s a game from the early 80s, and the mechanics are so utterly novel to me. It’s nice to be surprised. 

The best way I can describe it, is a mix between a choose-your-own adventure book, and a one on one character fighting game, ala Street Fighter, but with a fantasy theme. It’s all done with a couple of books. You and your opponent each have a character card that lists your moves like “down swing”, “thrust” and other “special” attacks. 

Then you exchange your book with your opponent and shout numbers at each other to perform your character’s moves. The numbers are listed on a matrix that correspond to pages. The matrix combinations define who parries, who hits, etc.

It’s fun not knowing exactly what move your opponent is going to pick, and when you have an advantage, you can press on it by picking a move that would score you a hit. There is a real sense of action. No dice, more of a rock-paper-scissors strategy with extra layers. It’s impressive, all being done with a couple of small chapbooks. 

Without knowing how it all works, it’s a bit like magic. After researching how it works (I won’t spoil it), it’s still pretty special. I could go on. So I will.

Another interesting thing about these books, the fact that the illustrations depict the action in first person. Meaning once you’ve exchanged your book with your opponent, you are seeing their character through your character’s eyes. That is, you see an illustration of them attacking you, or blocking your attacks. Pretty much every situation is accounted for. Fascinating stuff that I have just not seen anywhere else in this format. 

I guess this was based on an older game called Ace of Aces. An aerial combat game with similar mechanics. A bit of a rabbit hole for me, for sure. Love digging into this kind of thing.

And of course, you can run campaigns, and your characters can level up. It also mentions using the Lost Worlds battle system in place of traditional RPG combat, taking your Lost World characters into your favourite dungeon adventures. The game was popular in DnD’s early days – if I manage to get a B/X or OSE game up and running one of these days, I might just try this mash-up.

—

Alright, that’ll do for now. I believe I’ll take a break for a bit – see you around!

Oh yeah, go back Get it at Sutlers! Everyone needs a little more Troika! in their lives.

[universalcollisionleaks00]

Universal Collision: Meet the Adventurer Support Assists!

Name: Cyrus Albright

Class: 5★

Summoner/Duo: No

🎂Birthday🎂: No

Weapon Type: Book (EX Weapon: Traveler's Tome)

Current character status: Released

STELLAR AWAKENING Release: 5/22/2024

Info

A scholar of the Atlasdam Royal Academy, based in another world. Popular with his students. He believes that knowledge should be freely shared, but was targeted by the Headmaster and exiled. Currently on a journey to track down the stolen tome "From the far Reaches of Hell"

VC

There's still so much to learn. - Intelligence of all party members +30% (1 turn) and stack 1 BP on user (Max: 5 BP)

- BP: Increases number of attacks, power output, add buffs/debuffs, etc based on number consumed (Max: 3 BP on consumption)

- Stack 1 BP on user when using a skill without consuming BP

Skills/Abilities

Alephan's Enlightment - Apply Mental Focus on user and Intelligence +70% (3 turns)

- Replaces the basic attack when 3 BP is stacked

- Consumes 3 BP after use

Glacies Claudere - Water type magic attack on all enemies x3 (XL)

- When Consuming 1 BP, Water type magic attack on all enemies x3 (2XL)

- When Consuming 2 BP, Water type magic attack on all enemies x3 (3XL)

- When Consuming 3 BP, Water type magic attack on all enemies x3 (4XL)

- When inside Raging Fire Zone, Skill turns into Ignis Ardere and grant Kaleido (Fire) on user

- When Inside Divine Thunder Zone, Skill turns into Tonitrus Canere and grant Kaleido (Thunder) on user

- When inside Sacred Water Zone, Skill turns into Glacies Claudere and grant Kaleido (Water) on user

- Skill set to Glacies Claudere as default

Pursuit of Truth - Weakness Multiplier of user +1 (3 turns)

- When in Sacred Water Zone: Water Type attack of the user +50% (3 turns)

- When in Raging Fire Zone: Fire Type attack of the user +50% (3 turns)

- When in Divine Thunder Zone: Thunder Type attack of the user +50% (3 turns)

Water Circle - Water type magic attack on all enemies (S) and Deploy Sacred Water Zone

- Restore all party members' MP +20

Fire Circle - Fire type magic attack on all enemies (S) and Deploy Raging Fire Zone

- Restore all party members' MP +20

Thunder Circle - Water type magic attack on all enemies (S) and Deploy Divine Thunder Zone

- Restore all party members' MP +20

(Passive) Study Foe - At start of battle, detect 1 weakness of all enemies

Ultimate Skill

Chainspell - Water type Magic attack on all enemies (XL) and Fire type Magic attack on all enemies and Thunder type Magic attack on all enemies (XL)

- Consumes 100% of the Ultimate Skill Gauge upon use

Stellar Skills/Abilities

(Stellar Skill) Magic Synthesis - Water type magic attack on all enemies (XL) and Fire type magic attack on all enemies (XL) and Thunder type magic attack on all enemies (XL)

- Critical damage +100% (Multiplier: x2)

- Attack that matches current Zone's type activates first

- When in Stellar Burst: Perform Technical Magic Synthesis instead and +300% increased damage (Multiplier x4) and Guaranteed critical

(Stellar Burst) Technical Magic Synthesis - Water type magic attack on all enemies (2XL) and Fire type magic attack on all enemies (2XL) and Thunder type magic attack on all enemies (2XL)

- Critical damage +200% (Multiplier: x2)

- Attack that matches current Zone's type activates first

- When in Stellar Burst: +600% increased damage (Multiplier x4) and Guaranteed critical

(Stellar Passive) Stellar Awakening Fill Ability - When there are 2 or more Traveler users party members on the front line:

* User's Stellar Burst Gauge Fill rate increases (M)

(Stellar Passive) Stellar Awakening Activation Ability - When Stellar Burst is activated with user and Gauge has majority Dark:

* Magic Critical damage of all party members +30% (Current Turn Only)

[doedipus]

I've been having in issue with giovanna lately: my safejumps aren't safe enough.

to recap: a safejump is a technique where you hit someone getting off the floor after a knockdown with an aerial attack very low to the ground. if you land during the active frames of the attack and before their attack would become active, then you're guaranteed to be safe from invincible reversals and are in a good position to continue your offense. if you're sneaky you can catch people off guard by not attacking in the air and doing a low or throw when you land, but this offers you no protection from reversals. it's just a jump.

this is a hugely important part of giovanna's gameplan. her combos and reward off throws are kind of weak compared to other strike-throw focused characters in the game like sol or may, but she has guaranteed safejump setups off of basically any combo route and can safely continue pressing her advantage, or take the opportunity to do a mixup. if you do this right you can reset someone a couple times in a row and kill them without returning to neutral, like it's skullgirls or something.

the safejump setup uses either 5k or c.s to otg after a combo. 5k requires tighter execution and can only be done on shorter routes, but used to be the only way to set up against characters with faster reversals, and c.s is much much easier to execute and can be done off of more routes, but would have lost to fast reversals. however, in the current patch all reversals have been standardized to the slower timing, so the setup off otg c.s is always guaranteed.

when I started trying to integrate this strategy into my gameplan, I decided to just stick with the otg c.s setup, since it's easier and now works on everything. however, I've been having some issues with what happens after the safejump itself- sometimes if they block the safejump attack, they can grab me before I can do a grounded attack and continue pressure again. I've been dropping sets like crazy because of this and it's driving me up the wall.

it's kind of hard to gauge exactly what's causing the issue. I think part of it is that if gio has to dash further to land the otg attack, then they recover a bit sooner, so the safejump attack connects when it's higher up on their body, and it takes longer for gio to land and ready the next attack than it does for them to exit blockstun and grab. part of it also seems to be dependent on spacing, and under certain conditions gio will land closer after the blocked attack and be in grab range.

I spent a bunch of time in training mode today trying to figure things out. it seems like if I do a grabbable safejump, I'm basically always able to just walk backwards briefly and make their grab whiff, so if I block high instead of ducking in place it ought to cover both options. this seems like it's mostly useful as a hard read though, since giving them room and time to move means potentially forfeiting my turn.

the other thing is that the setup that uses 5k otg does still work and seems to much more consistently leave gio at safe spacing when blocked, so even though it's not something that's always applicable I can still work both of them in during a match. if they don't know the difference they'll probably react to both the same way, which will end up being in my favor more often than not. ideally this could also help camouflage a similar looking safejump setup off of throw that suffers from the same kind of inconsistency. and like, at the level I'm playing at I seriously doubt this is something most people I'm fighting will actually pick up on, like, I know for sure I wouldn't catch it.

[qqueenofhades]

Re: the post you reblogged about Bush. I'm 21 and tbh feel like I can only vote for Bernie, can you explain if/why I shouldn't? Thanks and sorry if this is dumb or anything.

Oh boy. Okay, I’ll do my best here. Note that a) this will get long, and b) I’m old, Tired, and I‘m pretty sure my brain tried to kill me last night. Since by nature I am sure I will say something Controversial ™, if anyone reads this and feels a deep urge to inform me that I am Wrong, just… mark it down as me being Wrong and move on with your life. But also, really, you should read this and hopefully think about it. Because while I’m glad you asked this question, it feels like there’s a lot in your cohort who won’t, and that worries me. A lot.

First, not to sound utterly old-woman-in-a-rocking-chair ancient, people who came of age/are only old enough to have Obama be the first president that they really remember have no idea how good they had it. The world was falling the fuck apart in 2008 (not coincidentally, after 8 years of Bush). We came within a flicker of the permanent collapse of the global economy. The War on Terror was in full roar, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were at their height, we had Dick Cheney as the cartoon supervillain before we had any of Trump’s cohort, and this was before Chelsea Manning or Edward Snowden had exposed the extent of NSA/CIA intelligence-gathering/American excesses or there was any kind of public debate around the fact that we were all surveilled all the time. And the fact that a brown guy named Barack Hussein Obama was elected in this climate seems, and still seems tbh, kind of amazing. And Obama was certainly not a Perfect President ™. He had to scale back a lot of planned initiatives, he is notorious for expanding the drone strike/extrajudicial assassination program, he still subscribed to the overall principles of neoliberalism and American exceptionalism, etc etc. There is valid criticism to be made as to how the hopey-changey optimistic rhetoric stacked up against the hard realities of political office. And yet…. at this point, given what we’re seeing from the White House on a daily basis, the depth of the parallel universe/double standards is absurd.

Because here’s the thing. Obama, his entire family, and his entire administration had to be personally/ethically flawless the whole time (and they managed that – not one scandal or arrest in eight years, against the legions of Trumpistas now being convicted) because of the absolute frothing depths of Republican hatred, racial conspiracy theories, and obstruction against him. (Remember Merrick Garland and how Mitch McConnell got away with that, and now we have Gorsuch and Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court? Because I remember that). If Obama had pulled one-tenth of the shit, one-twentieth of the shit that the Trump administration does every day, he would be gone. It also meant that people who only remember Obama think he was typical for an American president, and he wasn’t. Since about… Jimmy Carter, and definitely since Ronald Reagan, the American people have gone for the Trump model a lot more than the Obama model. Whatever your opinion on his politics or character, Obama was a constitutional law professor, a community activist, a neighborhood organizer and brilliant Ivy League intellectual who used to randomly lie awake at night thinking about income inequality. Americans don’t value intellectualism in their politicians; they just don’t. They don’t like thinking that “the elites” are smarter than them. They like the folksy populist who seems fun to have a beer with, and Reagan/Bush Senior/Clinton/Bush Junior sold this persona as hard as they possibly could. As noted in said post, Bush Junior (or Shrub as the late, great Molly Ivins memorably dubbed him) was Trump Lite but from a long-established political family who could operate like an outwardly civilized human.

The point is: when you think Obama was relatively normal (which, again, he wasn’t, for any number of reasons) and not the outlier in a much larger pattern of catastrophic damage that has been accelerated since, again, the 1980s (oh Ronnie Raygun, how you lastingly fucked us!), you miss the overall context in which this, and which Trump, happened. Like most left-wingers, I don’t agree with Obama’s recent and baffling decision to insert himself into the 2020 race and warn the Democratic candidates against being too progressive or whatever he was on about. I think he was giving into the same fear that appears to be motivating the remaining chunk of Joe Biden’s support: that middle/working-class white America won’t go for anything too wild or that might sniff of Socialism, and that Uncle Joe, recalled fondly as said folksy populist and the internet’s favorite meme grandfather from his time as VP, could pick up the votes that went to Trump last time. And that by nature, no one else can.

The underlying belief is that these white voters just can’t support anything too “un-American,” and that by pushing too hard left, Democratic candidates risk handing Trump a second term. Again: I don’t agree and I think he was mistaken in saying it. But I also can’t say that Obama of all people doesn’t know exactly the strength of the political machine operating against the Democratic Party and the progressive agenda as a whole, because he ran headfirst into it for eight years. The fact that he managed to pass any of his legislative agenda, usually before the Tea Party became a thing in 2010, is because Democrats controlled the House and Senate for the first two years of his first term. He was not perfect, but it was clear that he really did care (just look up the pictures of him with kids). He installed smart, efficient, and scandal-free people to do jobs they were qualified for. He gave us Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor to join RBG on the Supreme Court. All of this seems… like a dream.

That said: here we are in a place where Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren are the front-runners for the Democratic nomination (and apparently Pete Buttigieg is getting some airplay as a dark horse candidate, which… whatever). The appeal of Biden is discussed above, and he sure as hell is not my favored candidate (frankly, I wish he’d just quit). But Sanders and Warren are 85% - 95% similar in their policy platforms. The fact that Michael “50 Billion Dollar Fortune” Bloomberg started rattling his chains about running for president is because either a Sanders or Warren presidency terrifies the outrageously exploitative billionaire capitalist oligarchy that runs this country and has been allowed to proceed essentially however the fuck they like since… you guessed it, the 1980s, the era of voodoo economics, deregulation, and the free market above all. Warren just happens to be ten years younger than Sanders and female, and Sanders’ age is not insignificant. He’s 80 years old and just had a heart attack, and there’s still a year to go to the election. It’s also more than a little eye-rolling to describe him as the only progressive candidate in the race, when he’s an old white man (however much we like and approve of his policy positions). And here’s the thing, which I think is a big part of the reason why this polarized ideological purity internet leftist culture mistrusts Warren:

She may have changed her mind on things in the past.

Scary, right? I sound like I’m being facetious, but I’m not. An argument I had to read with my own two eyes on this godforsaken hellsite was that since Warren became a Democrat around the time Clinton signed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, she sekritly hated gay people and might still be a corporate sellout, so on and etcetera. (And don’t even get me STARTED on the fact that DADT, coming a few years after the height of the AIDS crisis which was considered God’s Judgment of the Icky Gays, was the best Clinton could realistically hope to achieve, but this smacks of White Gay Syndrome anyway and that is a whole other kettle of fish.) Bernie has always demonstrably been a democratic socialist, and: good for him. I’m serious. But because there’s the chance that Warren might not have thought exactly as she does now at any point in her life, the hysterical and paranoid left-wing elements don’t trust that she might not still secretly do so. (Zomgz!) It’s the same element that’s feeding cancel culture and “wokeness.” Nobody can be allowed to have shifted or grown in their opinions or, like a functional, thoughtful, non-insane adult, changed their beliefs when presented with compelling evidence to the contrary. To the ideological hordes, any hint of uncertainty or past failure to completely toe the line is tantamount to heresy. Any evidence of any other belief except The Correct One means that this person is functionally as bad as Trump. And frankly, it’s only the Sanders supporters who, just as in 2016, are threatening to withhold their vote in the general election if their preferred candidate doesn’t win the primary, and indeed seem weirdly proud about it.

OK, boomer Bernie or Buster.

Here’s the thing, the thing, the thing: there is never going to be an American president free of the deeply toxic elements of American ideology. There just won’t be. This country has been built how it has for 250 years, and it’s not gonna change. You are never going to have, at least not in the current system, some dream candidate who gets up there and parrots the left-wing talking points and attacks American imperialism, exceptionalism, ravaging global capitalism, military and oil addiction, etc. They want to be elected as leader of a country that has deeply internalized and taken these things to heart for its entire existence, and most of them believe it to some degree themselves. So this groupthink white liberal mentality where the only acceptable candidate is this Perfect Non-Problematic robot who has only ever had one belief their entire lives and has never ever wavered in their devotion to doctrine has really gotten bad. The Democratic Party would be considered… maybe center/mild left in most other developed countries. It’s not even really left-wing by general standards, and Sanders and Warren are the only two candidates for the nomination who are even willing to go there and explicitly put out policy proposals that challenge the systematic structure of power, oppression, and exploitation of the late-stage capitalist 21st century. Warren has the billionaires fussed, and instead of backing down, she’s doubling down. That’s part of why they’re so scared of her. (And also misogyny, because the world is depressing like that.) She is going head-on after picking a fight with some of the worst people on the planet, who are actively killing the rest of us, and I don’t know about you, but I like that.

Of course: none of this will mean squat if she (or the eventual Democratic winner, who I will vote for regardless of who it is, but as you can probably tell, she’s my ride or die) don’t a) win the White House and then do as they promised on the campaign trail, and b) don’t have a Democratic House and Senate willing to have a backbone and pass the laws. Even Nancy Pelosi, much as she’s otherwise a badass, held off on opening a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump for months out of fear it would benefit him, until the Ukraine thing fell into everyone’s laps. The Democrats are really horrible at sticking together and voting the party line the way Republicans do consistently, because Democrats are big-tent people who like to think of themselves as accepting and tolerant of other views and unwilling to force their members’ hands. The Republicans have no such qualms (and indeed, judging by their enabling of Trump, have no qualms at all). 

The modern American Republican party has become a vehicle for no-holds-barred power for rich white men at the expense of absolutely everything and everyone else, and if your rationale is that you can’t vote for the person opposing Donald Goddamn Trump is that you’re just not vibing with them on the language of that one policy proposal… well, I’m glad that you, White Middle Class Liberal, feel relatively safe that the consequences of that decision won’t affect you personally. Even if we’re due to be out of the Paris Climate Accords one day after the 2020 election, and the issue of climate change now has the most visibility it’s ever had after years of big-business, Republican-led efforts to deny and discredit the science, hey, Secret Corporate Shill, am I right? Can’t trust ‘er. Let’s go have a craft beer.

As has been said before: vote as far left as you want in the primary. Vote your ideology, vote whatever candidate you want, because the only way to make actual, real-world change is to do that. The huge, embedded, all-consuming and horrible system in which we operate is not just going to suddenly be run by fairy dust and happy thoughts overnight. Select candidates that reflect your values exactly, be as picky and ideologically militant as you want. That’s the time to do that! Then when it comes to the general election:

America is a two-party system. It sucks, but that’s the case. Third-party votes, or refraining from voting because “it doesn’t matter” are functionally useless at best and actively harmful at worst.

Either the Democratic candidate or Donald Trump will win the 2020 election.

There is absolutely no length that the Republican/GOP machine, and its malevolent allies elsewhere, will not go to in order to secure a Trump victory. None.

Any talk whatsoever about “progressive values” or any kind of liberal activism, coupled with a course of action that increases the possibility of a Trump victory, is hypocritical at best and actively malicious at worst.

This is why I found the Democratic response to Obama’s “don’t go too wild” comments interesting. Bernie doubled down on the fact that his plans have widespread public support, and he’s right. (Frankly, the fact that Sanders and Warren are polling at the top, and the fact that they’re politicians and would not be crafting these campaign messages if they didn’t know that they were being positively received, says plenty on its own). Warren cleverly highlighted and praised Obama’s accomplishments in office (i.e. the Affordable Care Act) and didn’t say squat about whether she agreed or disagreed with him, then went right back to campaigning about why billionaires suck. And some guy named Julian Castro basically blew Obama off and claimed that “any Democrat” could beat Trump in 2020, just by nature of existing and being non-insane.

This is very dangerous! Do not be Julian Castro!

As I said in my tags on the Bush post: everyone assumed that sensible people would vote for Kerry in 2004. Guess what happened? Yeah, he got Swift Boated. The race between Obama and McCain in 2008, even after those said nightmare years of Bush, was very close until the global crash broke it open in Obama’s favor, and Sarah Palin was an actual disqualifier for a politician being brazenly incompetent and unprepared. (Then again, she was a woman from a remote backwater state, not a billionaire businessman.) In 2012, we thought Corporate MormonBot Mitt Fuggin’ Romney was somehow the worst and most dangerous candidate the Republicans could offer. In 2016, up until Election Day itself, everyone assumed that HRC was a badly flawed candidate but would win anyway. And… we saw how that worked out. Complacency is literally deadly.

I was born when Reagan was still president. I’m just old enough to remember the efforts to impeach Clinton over forcing an intern to give him a BJ in the Oval Office (This led by the same Republicans making Donald Trump into a darling of the evangelical Christian right wing.) I’m definitely old enough to remember 9/11 and how America lost its mind after that, and I remember the Bush years. And, obviously, the contrast with Obama, the swing back toward Trump, and everything that has happened since. We can’t afford to do this again. We’re hanging by a thread as it is, and not just America, but the entire planet.

So yes. By all means, vote for Sanders in the primary. Then when November 3, 2020 rolls around, if you care about literally any of this at all, hold your nose if necessary and vote straight-ticket Democrat, from the president, to the House and Senate, to the state and local offices. I cannot put it more strongly than that.

[elrios-trash]

ESPC : What is Synergy Build?

So on my previous post about El Search Party Collection here, I've mentioned that, don't buy an item called "Synergy Ticket" for 30m (7 days) at NPC Ariel (INT/NA) or Aranka (EU).

Why? Because you gonna be poor like me

Keywords

Collection Effect A Character's effect after you purchased Mysterious Collection Book (60m) from NPC Ariel/Aranka. Quest unlocked on level 99. Once you made a character and registered, the effect is permanent.

Synergy Effect A Character's effects after you purchased Synergy Ticket (7 Days) (30m) from NPC Ariel/Aranka. Time limited. Maximum slots are six (two for free + four, each costs 5m). You can fill up the slots even though didn't buy synergy ticket.

Aighty, asides of the expensive cost for a week self-buff, somedays you really gonna need them. But please consider your ED too don't rush about it. There's still some tips besides using synergy (and I will make a post about it soon). These kind of events based from my friends and my personal experiences might need ESPC Synergies:

Basic Burning Event DR (item drop rate) 2x and EXP 2x, 3x, 4x (according to your El Resonance Points level). Usually these events will be held based on NA's holiday date. Example: New Year, Chinese New Year, April Fools, 4th July, Halloween, Black Friday, Christmas, etc.

You will need Farming synergy build. Combinations of : EXP Increase (MC Shakti/Shiva) , ED Increase (MC Devi/Brahma), IDR Increase (MC Apsara/Vishnu), Title Count (Researcher), and Master Artifact EXP Increase (MC Nisha Labyrinth). Note: Researcher synergy doesn't stack up with Guardian of The Secret Closed Space (or people call it Secret Dungeon/SDG Title). So, choose either using synergy as additional title count or use the GOSCS title as additional title count.

Elsword's Anniversary The most awaited event. There's burning event as well. But be careful, the servers gonna be loaded up and busy. Prepare your mental and patience...

You will need Farming synergy build.

Harmony FestivalUsually held from the first week till third week of November. Who can't resist the 100% EXP buff and IDR drop for almost month? Just afk for a minute on the rest area? Also don't forget to equip that Harmony Title.

You will need Farming synergy build.

Jump Event Usually on weekend there's either IDR 2x drop/EXP 2x

You will need Farming synergy build.

Punch Event This event is new and held on INT/NA server at the end of 2021. Same alike jump event, they had chain mission with delicious rewards too, but this event focused on your CP build and reach the targeted CP: 1.5m (1,500,000). If you're done with the chain missions quest and still didn't reach the desired CP try activate your ESPC synergy.

To reach the target CP you will need DPS synergy build. Combinations of : Polarize, Adaptation, Action Speed, Jump Speed, Movement Speed, Magical/Physical attack power, Action/Bravery/Strength skills damage increase, and Ignore Defense.

Raid 2x Drop Both of Varnimyr (Rosso Raid) and Pruinaum (Berthe Raid).

Probably you will need DPS or Support synergy build. Combinations of : Polarize, Adaptation, Action Speed, Jump Speed, Movement Speed, Magical/Physical attack power, Action/Bravery/Strength/Tenancity skills damage, Skill Cooldown, Max HP/MP increase, ignore defense, Recovery item effects, etc.

Okay, now let's move on to building your character ><

The Basic Building Synergies

Source: From My Guildmate Screenshot.

Magical Character Basic build (DPS) for Magical Type characters.

Physical Character Basic build (DPS) for Physical Type characters.

Compared to lists above, some of player did experiment synergies for each character. Every time I joined guild discord server, I gather info and discuss about synergies build. For example build for Bluhen, Bloody Queen, Catastrophe, Liberator, etc. Here's an example of experimental build:

Source: From My Guildmate Screenshot.

The player who shared this build synergy claims that, this is his own best version for Bloody Queen (Elesis). This build might works well on 3rd path physical characters too.

Where is the 4th Path Synergy effect?

Sadly until this time I make this post, 4th paths (Genesis-Surya) still have no synergy effects. They only have Collection Effect. Their synergies might be released after all character in game had 4th path. I will keep update it.

For further information about what is synergy and the effects every characters can be read here on el wiki.

Hmmm, maybe that's all from me? Thanks for reading! >_&lt;

[rhmg-au]

The sequel to the first one, only in the Toppats’ POV.

More will come for these two stories, but beware of major angst ;)

This AU belongs to @rhmg-au . Please follow them, reblog their art, give them fanart, support them in any way possible, etc.

TW: Killing, blood, gore, implied torture

———

Ellie was panicking.

She was extremely scared at the moment, scared that something could go wrong, scared that they could be wiped out from existence, scared that the government had already did something to Henry.

A few days ago, the leader of the Toppats orchestrated a plan to rescue the captured members. Of course, it came with risks, risks that they could be killed or taken along with them, and there’s the matter of that killer…but Henry wanted to save them, and he’ll be willing to take the fall if it meant that they were safe.

So, they went along with the plan, and it was mostly successful…mostly.

They were able to come and collect who they came for, but Henry…wasn’t so lucky.

He was captured.

Since she is his right hand lady, Ellie took the responsibility as temporary leader until they were able to bust him out, or even be permanent if…she doesn’t want to think what would happen to him now that he’s in their grasp.

If only she had gone back for him, despite his claims that he’ll be alright. God, she felt like such a failure for letting him be taken.

After what he had done for her, helping her out of the Wall, she failed to return the favour.

Her mental state wasn’t as bad as Reginald’s though…anyone would be doing better than him. Ask anyone on this space station and they’ll say the same thing as her thoughts.

What happened during the launch sequence made something inside of him snap.

And she couldn’t blame him, anyone who had to see their close friend be taken away by your enemies and you couldn’t do anything about it would be enough to shatter someone’s confidence.

She’s growing very concerned for him as the days past though…especially after Henry was captured.

She was sitting in the office, the one where the leader’s got. Stacks of papers were filling her desk, most were finished but there’s still uncompleted paperwork she has to do, and she felt like she was having a headache from them. Great power comes with great responsibility, and that quote literally defines what being the leader of the Toppat Clan is like.

She’d seen bags under Henry’s eyes from time to time, and now she’s probably going to have them too at this rate.

There was a knock on the door, causing Ellie to look away from her work. “Please come in.”

The door opened up, giving in light into the room. Sabine Setorion entered, her sky blue hair swaying despite there wasn’t any wind inside the space station, the face that contained that unhealed third-degree burn and stitched scar as well as a purple earpiece used for communications is recognizable to anyone. Another thing that made her stand out from the rest was that she had all of her limbs replaced by cybernetics, well almost all of them. The only one left is her right arm. Her spine, left arm, and legs were reconstructed with metal, similar to Right.

“I’m not bothering you, am I?”

Ellie shook her head, swinging her chair around to face her. “You aren’t, really. What is it you want to talk about?”

Sabine shut the door behind her, blocking the light out and leaving them in near darkness again, had there not be a lampshade on the desk, or the blinds opened to showcase the stars. “About your proposal of going down to earth and saving Henry. The executives agreed on it.”

The red haired perked up at this, the meeting ended around 3 hours ago, when she proposed the idea of raiding the government to get their leader back. Not that she just wanted to not be leader anymore, she wanted Henry back safe and sound.

“This can have terrible consequences, but bringing home our family is worth the risk.”

“But we’re also gambling the lives of the rest for the others. I do want Henry back as much as you do, him being my childhood friend and all, but I don’t feel comfortable with endangering the lives of the other Toppats.” Sabine adjusted her blue top hat with a metallic band around it, feeling like it would fall off at any given moment.

“I understand your concern, but as long as we’re well prepared and everything goes smoothly, we should be able to go through without anyone falling.” Ellie stood up from her seat and placed a hand on her shoulder, in attempt at comfort.

“Well, if you’re really sure. I’m just worried is all.” Sabine smiled a little at the gesture.

“We’re in this together, no matter what comes our way.” Ellie mirrored her smile.

“We should prepare ourselves for tomorrow then, huh?”

“Alright, alright. It’s nighttime from what the clock said, so let’s head to bed.”

———

The day arrived.

Screams were heard, bullets were fired, blood was shed.

The raid began approximately ten minutes ago, when the Toppats gathered around the government base, readying their weapons and the signal Ellie would give for them to attack.

As soon as it was, the stage was set.

“The cells are there, come on!” Ellie urged the two Toppats following her, Reginald and Earrings, to where the holding cells are located.

Obviously, Reginald was onboard with the plan, it was mostly for Right rather than Henry, it was understandable. He wanted his right hand man back after weeks of separation. Ellie was feeling the exact same, except that Henry wasn’t gone for the same time period as Right was, she’s still determined to get them both back regardless of time differences. Earrings was there because of her battle functions with her earrings, she’d be a great distraction provider should the need arise.

A few soldiers stood in their way, preparing their guns to shoot at them. Earrings was quick to react as she shined her diamond earrings at them, blinding them and causing them to drop their weapons, prompting an easy victory as they overpowered the disorientated soldiers.

“I swear if they done something to Righty…” Reginald mumbled to himself, the pistol tight in his grasp as he shot the last bullet into one of the soldier’s head.

“If they did, we’ll tear this place down. I can guarantee that, isn’t that correct El?” Earrings turned to Ellie, who finished off the last military person with a kick to the gut. 

“How could I pass up that opportunity for what they did to us? Our family?” She asked, her red hair flying against the wind that came up.

“Let’s get going, before more soldiers come.” The former leader of the clan mentioned, overlooking the chaos that came with their attack.

It was horrifying to watch, to say the least. Many Toppats and soldiers charging into the fray and either getting severely hurt, killed or apprehended, that last one only applying to the clan members. It felt painful to watch, as their family get slaughtered for the sake of everyone else in the clan, or they get captured. Either of them doesn’t sit right with them.

What they’d give to stop this endless cycle of hurt.

But they weren’t going to make senseless wishes as if they would come true. They need to take matters into their own hands, things aren’t going to resolve on their own. Miracles are just myths that aren’t true and are only told to children.

Ellie and Earrings nodded quickly, the three of them going into the cells, rushing down the halls with metal bars speeding past them as they try to find their acquaintances, while also shooting down guards on their way.

They stopped at one particular cell, sitting inside was a familiar individual.

“Henry!” Said male perked up from where he’s sitting on the bed, rushing over to the bars, a smile crossing his face at the sight of seeing the clan still well.

“Ellie? Reginald? Earrings?” He questioned, as if he thought this was a dream or his mind decided to torment him with a fake promise of getting out of this enclosed space of a cell.

By the time that sentence was spoken, the door was opened by the blonde Toppat, having picklocked it while he was talking. “It is, we’ve come to bust you out.”

“Where’s Right? Is he here somewhere? Is he hurt?” Reginald immediately asked, still not relived, he’ll only be once he finds where Right is and brings him back with him safely.

Henry looked away for a moment, a face full of guilt. That didn’t mean any good. “He’s not in the cells-”

“Then where is he?!”

“He’s…been rewired.”

“What?”

“Rewired, they turned him to their side. I tried to snap him out of it, but I wasn’t able to.”

A moment of silence initiated between the four, everyone but Henry speechless. Reginald was easily the one to be the most devastated, Right working for the enemy by force…he knew the government wasn’t kind but this was insane.

“Those…heartless bastards!” He shouted suddenly, his grip on his pistol and his fist clenched so tight it made his knuckles underneath his black gloves turn to a stark white. “I can’t believe they had the will to do this! This is torture!”

“Reg, we need to keep our heads calm, being rash isn’t going to-” Ellie knew how dangerous it was to go headfirst into trouble out of sheer rage, despite she herself doing that a lot.

“We’re going to save him, take this whole place down and get the clan back to the orbital station.” Reginald’s tone of voice changed to that of commanding, stern, full of rage. At the moment, he didn’t care about anything other than Right, the clan, and taking down the government, too blinded by anger to think clearly like he usually was.

“We need one other person before we go.” Henry’s voice spoke up, getting out of the cell with the three, a revolver tossed into his hand by Ellie. “He may work for the government, but it’s clear that he’s seen just how horrible their general is.”

“But are we really going to make it out if we save him?” Reginald questioned, getting some of his composure back, but it wasn’t enough to quell his rage.

“He genuinely tried to help, I saw it all. He’s worth saving just like him.”

Before an answer could be made, a bullet shot through the air, barely missing Earrings’ arm.

The four of them turned to the guard who fired at them, and he was about to pull the trigger again when he was stabbed from behind, by a sword it seemed. The body was discarded off from the blade, revealing a bloodied faced Sabine standing there, breathing heavily.

“You need any help?”

“Nice timing there.” Earrings muttered, a sigh of relief leaving her.

“Actually, I have a proposal. You and Earrings can go find Right while the rest of us can find whoever Henry needs to look for.” Ellie suggested, looking around to see if anymore guards are coming to arrest them.

It doesn’t seem like the worst of ideas, yet it does has it downfalls.

But if that guy is really important…and if he wants to focus on his goal of finding Right…

“Very well. Come along, Earrings.” Reginald took her arm and ran down the hallway, back to where they first got into the cells.

“Who is this person you say is important?” Sabine asked, once the two are out of sight and Ellie made sure no more guards are coming in to arrest their asses.

“He is actively trying to help Right, he now sees just how horrible the general is. We need to help him, just like how he’s helping us taking back our friend.” Henry explained, gesturing with his hand for the two to follow him.

“Wait, is he out on the battlefield?” Ellie asked, running down the hall.

Henry shook his head, his expression now showcasing guilt. “No, before you guys came, I saw that bastard hit him on the head, knocking him unconscious, and dragged him away from me.” His face contorted into rage. “He’s doing something to him, I know of it.”

“We’ll get him back, and when we do, are you going to have him join the clan?” Sabine questioned, all of them now outside of the cells as they continued to follow where Henry’s heading.

“He’ll be much better off with us than that bastard, that’s for sure.” Henry responded, already having made up his mind about it. He would more than likely accept, since the experience with such an abusive asshole had an impact on him.

They soon reached a building, it was stark white on the outside, it had glass doors, revealing a white hallway behind them. It didn’t look as bright as it could have been, since the sky was a dark grey, it didn’t quite captured the full beauty of the construction as the clear day and sunlight did.

“This is the place where he’s taken to?” Ellie questioned, shooting a soldier who tried to attack them.

“Yeah, he told me about this yesterday, a lab. I believe this is where he is.” Henry answered, pushing open the glass doors to allow them to enter.

“And if it’s not?”

“Then we keep searching until we find him.”

They ran down the white hallway, stopping at two other doors that are made of plastic, or some other material. The windows giving them a little sneak peak inside, an operating table was there, multiple types of equipment were there, and something looked like it was raising above the floor as if it was being consumed but it got stuck halfway through the ground.

Soon, they were treated to the full version. It wasn’t too different to an average lab, but the technology there and the lifted up piece in the floor was different than a regular lab.

The group looked at one another, nodding in unison. There was only one way to settle their suspicions, well more of Henry’s but you get the point.

They quickly headed down the stairs, an opened door at the end.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs, they saw who was in the room.

General Galeforce, Dr. V and two other people in chairs, seemingly strapped down to them, dried blood, cuts, bruises, and a torn uniform were seen.

Immediately, Henry held up his revolver, a dark glare on his face now. “Let them go, now.”

Sabine let her eyes wander to the blonde woman, hers and Dr. V’s eyes widening when they recognize who the other was.

“Sabine?”

“Mother?”

[g-a-y-b-a-c-o-n]

I’m sorry but if modern High school AU wolf brothers isn’t just two eighteen year old seniors and a pissed off 14 year old sophomore as brothers and their tired adoptive father, I don’t know what to do with my life. :/

They all have those awful sibling moments. Lambert has shot Geralt in the eye with a nerf gun.

Eskel is usually the one making breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sometimes even dessert and he always gets so excited to try new recipes, but Geralt and Lambert being the chaotic little fucks they are totally invade the kitchen and bother the ever living fuck out of this poor guy.

Eskel has done the whipped cream prank on Geralt. Lambert has awoken to being taped to a wall or door quite a few times. Geralt has gotten different colored hair dyes in his shampoo more than once. Lambert and Geralt totally waxed Eskel’s legs while he was asleep.

They’re the siblings that collectively wake up at, like, 3 am to go to Walmart still in their pjs to grab snacks. Lambert will most likely always go with his blanket still wrapped around him and will always either fall asleep in the car ride back or in the cart basket (to which Geralt and Eskel just stack their things on top of him) so either Geralt or Eskel has to take him to his room.

They also make 4 am meals. It’s most likely a bad night (one of them had a nightmare, breakdown, panic attack, etc.) Vesemir has come home on more than one occasion to Lambert eating a grilled cheese sandwich with tear tracks on his face while Eskel and Geralt made the sandwiches and some tomato soup.

Lambert totally has FaceTime calls with Aiden and Geralt and Eskel 100% like to embarrass him during them. They’ll walk in with some stupid costume on, burst into the room to ask if they’re being PG, and sometimes will straight up just tackle him and wrestle him while Aiden just laughs on the camera. But there are times where Lambert and Aiden will fall asleep on the call at ungodly hours and someone will have to go in to hang up quietly.

Vesemir: Who’s Lambert talking to?

Geralt, screaming from his room: HIS BOYFRIEND!!!

Lambert, screaming from his room: HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND, YOU PRICK!!!

Geralt can’t fucking bring girls or guys home because Lambert’s a little shit and will always steal their attention. It’s payback for messing with him during his calls with Aiden.

Geralt’s definitely the party brother meaning he’s snuck out to go to shitty teen parties where everyone thinks they’re hot shit. He’s a straight A student with the one B here and there depending on his mental state. He’s joined quite a few clubs and is a bit more popular than his brothers. He’s in a theater class and claims it’s for his art credit but that doesn’t explain why he’s actually trying and enjoying himself. He’s also on the football team.

Eskel’s also a straight A student with less time for clubs and things like that because he puts himself in charge of house and meal prep and things like that, he, like Geralt, gets the stray B once in a while.He takes life skills and lets just say that the parenting unit was an automatic A for him because he’s pretty good with things like animatronic babies and babies in general. Like Geralt, he’s on the football team as well.

Lambert’s an A and B student and he tries his best in school. Despite his bad attitude and all the fights he gets into, he’s actually a pretty good student. The only club he’s in is workshop and he’s surprisingly good at building and repairing things. He’s in the football team with Geralt and Eskel, but usually sits out on games like the other boys in his grade level.

Geralt: Eskel? Why are you crying??

Eskel, glaring at Lambert across the livingroom: He fucking made Lily leave my fucking island.

Lambert: You deserved it. She’s in my island now and she loves it.

Eskel, between sobs: She was my fucking favorite villager, you little shit.

Geralt: What the fuck are you talking about?

Lambert and Geralt both have abandonment issues and Geralt has the slightest bit of separation anxiety which is why Eskel is basically the emotional support Eskel. He’s here for them.

Lambert used to crawl into one of their beds after a nightmare and stick close to their side when he was younger. It was the sweetest thing and Vesemir has pictures of a smaller but still as angry Lambert sleeping calmly next to a sprawled out Eskel or a curled up and lightly snoring Geralt.

These are all I have at the moment, but I just might have enough time between self-loathing and napping to make more. Just as a guilty pleasure.

[the-big-nope]

Been rewatching Vox Machina in fits and spurts over the last few months (currently on The Kill Box), and recent meta has me comparing how it might have gone if it was the Mighty Nein in this Kevdak fight (or something very similar). 

Bless that person that said Vox Machina fights like individual heroes vs. Mighty Nein who fights more as a unit, because it feels damn accurate in the Kevdak fight. As a whole, VM is FAR more DPS focused than the M9. You’ve got Grog, Vax, and Percy, who are pure damage dealers. You’ve got Vex, who’s got access to spells but mainly uses them to boost her damage/number of attacks. Even Pike and Keyleth, who are what most people consider more support-based classes, tend to lean toward attacking more than anything else (Pike favors guiding bolt, spiritual weapon, and healing when needed, while Keyleth tends to spend large chunks of battle in beast shape or otherwise using big damage spells like call lightning, sunbeam, and blight. Keyleth’s broad utility tends to shine outside of battle, but she’s definitely a fighter druid once they do get into scraps). The only dedicated supporter VM really had was Scanlan, and that tended to be single-target focus: hold person, modify memory, counterspell, and bardic features that aided one person at a time. VM was a crowd of hard-hitting badasses whose fights were epic as hell when it came to straight up slug-fests that they could bash their way through, but who could fast get into trouble if the odds outweighed their DPS output or there’s some magical trick to them. 

Compare to the Mighty Nein, aka Team Debuffs McGee. I’m not CritRoleStats, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the impression that VM were probably putting out better damage at this level, given their sheer focus on it. However, it feels like Matt gets more frustrated by the M9 steamrolling through his encounters this campaign because the M9 are such a tough nut to crack when they’re all together. They have Jester and Caduceus stacking buffs and debuffs (power combo Bless and Bane, Incite Greed, and single target stuff like Command and Polymorph) like crazy, with the workload split allowing Jester to focus on damage and Cad on support. They have Caleb also on support and control, with some big broad damage spells that can wipe adds damn quick if Episode 86 was anything to go by. Nott’s mainly DPS with some of that Scanlan-reminiscent single-target control like Phantasmal Force and Hideous Laughter. Fjord’s just unpredictable as fuck: he can deal damage, move players around the battlefield, drop a demon on a boss’s head, and now with Paladin spellcasting he could even get in on the buff/debuff action. Even Yasha and Beau, the primary tanks and DPS, have some control and support abilities: Sentinel’s been crazy useful at times, Yasha can buff her entire team for a round, Beau can stun AND find out vulnerabilities to exploit in an enemy. They’re a VERY well-balanced team with some pretty solid strategies they tend to lean on. All together, the M9 are near iron-clad, but take away a member or two, or turn them on each other, and they’re much more vulnerable. 

So in looping back to my original thought about the Kevdak fight and how it would look with the M9 in place of VM. Put them at an equal level (12), accounting that VM knew what they were getting into and had time to prepare their spells, and ignoring variables like how the dice rolls are going, I feel like this is the type of fight the M9 would be kinda killer at. 

There are very few magic factors in play, mostly just melee fighters and archers. Good news for all the M9 magic users, since their enemies’ mental stats probably aren’t going to be stellar, making it easier to get save spells through. There are one or two druids that mostly served as healers, but with multiple M9 members able to counterspell, not as big a threat. The druids would probably see more combat use in this scenario, but then that splits into two alternatives: they stay in normal form, but they’re not the tankiest and don’t halve damage, so a few bolt shots from a hidden Nott would probably be enough to take them out; or they go into beast shape, making them able to take more damage but eliminating their spellcasting element. Since the fight ended when Kevdak died anyway, their staying power doesn’t matter as much. 

There are a lot of adds in play, but the M9 have a wizard available with AOE/multi-target damage spells on hand specifically made for clearing crowds. Granted, those adds are tougher than the average minions (mostly barbs), so them getting up in a party member’s face beforehand isn’t good, but the M9 all tend to have countermeasures for that (Cad can go invisible and run, Fjord and Jester can teleport, Beau and Nott can disengage, and Caleb can turn into a giant fucking ape). Of course, if Jester can get off an Incite Greed in the middle of a crowd, that takes care of a good portion of them for a while. 

Position Cad in the right place and he is set to ruin Kevdak’s day. Crit cancels, can inflict vulnerability so his barbarian resistance is null, Ray of Enfeeblement, Bane. Just make sure he doesn’t get swarmed and Caduceus is a serious drain on a boss’s effectiveness. 

Grog was VM’s only real front-liner (Vax was more of a hit-and-run artist and Keyleth wasn’t always available). The M9 has at least two in Yasha and Beau who would likely be on Kevdak. Not nearly as tanky as Grog, but action economy’s in their favor to take the heat off each other a bit. Beau has stun, and while it’s not likely to succeed, it’s always a possibility, and she is great to stack attack buffs on: haste, holy weapon, enlarge, etc. Additionally, they don’t have to stay alone if the situation calls for it: Fjord can also be a front-liner, Jester’s duplicate can cast touch spells, and if Caleb gets freed up then he can serve as Ape Tank. 

Nott/Veth just does a shit ton of damage, and it’s much easier for her to hide and get sneak attack now that she’s a halfling again. It would probably be easy to pick off the mooks, and if she combos with Cad’s path to the grave, Kevdak takes full sneak attack too. Her spells are also great for distraction, and again, a crowd of mostly barbarians probably chose to dump the mental stats. 

And those are just their typical strategies! There’s so many individual spells or tricks available to them that they’ve used before to great effect: Banishment, Antilife Shell, Cat’s Ire for grappling purposes, Slow, Summon Greater Demon, and the ever chaotic Polymorph. You never know what the M9 is going to pull out of the bag.

The Kill Box was a hell of a fight for Vox Machina, in large part because of the sheer amount of enemies, since Kevdak was paralyzed for a good chunk of the fight. If it had been just them up against Kevdak, they probably would have whittled him down super quick, but without any way to manage the large amount of minions aside from pure damage, things got tight with the action economy stacked against them. It probably would have been even MORE gnarly, if not unwinnable, without Scanlan and the essential control elements he provided. If it had been the Mighty Nein, it probably still would have been a challenge, but I don’t think nearly as much. Their plethora of options for controlling the battlefield, pulling themselves out of sticky spots, boosting their team’s abilities while reducing their enemies’, and without many opposing spellcasters to counter them, the Mighty Nein would probably be in their element in this fight.

[fgodestinyawakenings]

Which 4 star would you recommend? 🤔

Sorry for the late reply since I’m currently studying a part-time course on the weekday ^^;

I’d say it’s always boil down to what you really need the most in your party? A particular class like Saber, Caster, Extra Classes? Or more of, DPS, Tank and Healer? If you’re going for husbando/waifu, again, all the following above are irrelevant and just grind for QP. Because raising a waifu/husbando isn’t cheap

I’ll put the rest under the cut for Servants (sort by classes), numbering are based on what I used most or feels good which is debatable before anyone starts murdering me. And also some I have yet the chance to try because they are not home for me after rolling/i didn’t pick them at all

Sabers:

ST NP:

Lancelot

Yagyu Munemori & Rama

Diarmuid Saber

Papalot will always be my number one no matter who says, and been saving my ass in both FGO JP and NA. His own skill alone is summary of enjoying hearing him crit his enemies to death. With support like Tamamo and Castoria, he makes the pain twice as fun :D

Unfortunately for all his attacks, he’s your glass canon. So you don’t have either of the two support or just any support in general, he’s going to die ASAP. Munemori’s 2nd and 3rd skill are a headache with them being mixed together, especially that Evade + increase attack

Munemori is the one I feel should actually be on par very closest to Lancelot with both sharing the same NP type. In terms of surviving longer, this old swordsman is your choice. But in terms of consistent attack, it’s Lancelot.

Oh my sweet Rama, while I’m sorry DW is a dick in putting your wife in Arcade (BECAUSE FUCK YOU DW, THAT’S WHY). You’re worth to grind and have on par with Munemori. So far in LB whether or not having any Demon enemies, his damage especially on crit is as good as Lancelot. But unortunately, this skill is a one-time effect, so need to know when to make use of that burst to kill your Boss. Lastly, he’s got the Guts in terms of own survival kit.

As much as a husbando you are my dear Diarmuid... You’re also fucking expensive in terms of grinding 180 stakes to raise you. NP damage is good which is unfortunately held back that your defense buff removal comes AFTER dealing damage to your enemy. He’s more in need of a good support like Skadi to put him to his fullest potential (or heck hell you might as well take Caesar since he does better than him being in the same NP quick category)

AOE NP:

Artoria Alter

Siegfried

Suzuka & Nero

Gawain

Artoria Alter being first aside story-locked, her damage output for me is the highest among all I have used just using her skills alone. But may or not need strengthening to upgrade Intuition, have her more crit-based attack? (dude, everyone getting their intuition replaced.)

Siegfried ranked higher to me because he’s still hits hard enough in my opinion to replace AOE saber that I don’t have such as Artoria Alter in JP. However, he’s still easily replaceable once you got better AOE Sabers. And, you’ll still want him in some event and main story mobs where dragon-type enemies show up.

Compared the two above after using Suzuka, she’s definitely ranked third with lower NP damage. Charm, well, may or not work but LB debuff immunity is saying otherwise for all male servants. But her skill of generating her own stars help her in criting and gaining NP slightly more faster.

For Nero’s case, she’s more on survivalist skill thanks to her 3 times Guts skills. Arts AOE NP Saber are limited until you get budget Jason next year which, yeah, Jason works better than her if you want NP damage. Her attack boost is based on RNG probably either want to love or have hate sex with you to get that buff out. Again, if you want more of surviving long duration fights in LB thanks to break bars, she’s your good choice.

While Gawain is story-locked issue too, he’s heavily reliant on his skills. Which those skills are also can be highly reliant on field to be Sunny before strengthening. But charging of NP will take a long while with his current deck set, so you’ll need a better support or AOE Saber to do the work

Support:

Chevalier D’eon

If you haven’t grinded Georgios or Leonidas, they are your best replacement for tank support. The two I mentioned will do a far more better job than D’eon, aside wanting their NP to debuff.... Which unfortunately also not that useful in current LB difficulty, too many servant bosses are putting up debuff immunity.

Archer:

ST NP

Chiron

Tomoe Gozen

Emiya Alter

Tristan

Chiron-sensei as per his lore is more of a support due to his skills revolving mainly in supporting your party. Castoria and Tamamo may or not fix with his damage output but you definitely want that remove defensive buff which comes BEFORE dealing damage at your Boss enemy.

Tomoe’s burn debuff makes her one of Arjuna Alter’s best friend if you’re aiming for him in the future. But aside from that, her skills are quite generic of attack + np damage buff, crit gather and drop (lacking of crit dmg to make her good on her own right) and guts to survive. However she isn’t story-locked, so if you can wait for her to spook...

Emiya Alter: I haven’t tried what’s the changes aside increased in damage output with Castoria. But he’s more of a staller in removing enemy gauge by 1 and if you have those annoying enemies with tons of defense buff, he’s your Servant against to fire a hole in them. Only issue his normal version Evade and star drop rate is gone and replace with a defense buff, so may or not need support to keep him alive

For Tristan I didn’t put him high because if you have David, he’ll do a more slightly better job than him? Reliant on Skadi if you have her to boost his damage for NP, which... If you’re doing NP charge from his skill, do remember he has that unfortunate debuff of NP seal that blocks him from using NP during or not the same turn. Though if you’re getting him to complete your Knights of Round Table Servants collection urgently and not caring about gameplay, go ahead :D

AOE NP:

Mama Emiya

Atalante

Now that’s my mom who raised me :D But anyway, Emiya’s investment especially 2 years later with that one last NP strengthening, he’s a nightmare of Arts AOE Archer once Castoria joins into the party. Right now before strengthening, he still crits hard in single attacks with his own star generation + also having evasion to survive.

Without Skadi especially, Atalante both damage output of normal and NP is very weak. Her NP more or less served as a function to gain a one-time burst of 60+ stars. But if you have Skadi and your friend support does, then get her for one of your Quick Archer Servant farming if you don’t have her.

Lancer:

ST NP:

Li Shuwen

Vlad III EXTRA

Medusa Lancer

Li Shuwen will be one of decent choice Arts Crit Lancer before Kagetora kicks in next year. A good burst of his NP helps to kill your enemy Boss ignoring that he also have a instant death NP. Though said burst is relying on both 1st and 3rd skill which... they should have just kept either one (preferably ignore invincibility) and pointless for them to stack. 2nd skill however is ok with your evasion to survive and increase star gather rate.

Vlad III EXTRA’s NP... Pretty much gonna see more Evil Servant in the future so he’s good to keep around. And that ignore invincibility is good until DW being a dick and put Archer Servant with Solemn Defence in the future LB. Despite lacking skills to survive, he has his own HP recovery that also buffs his defense and attack. And a decent taunt if you haven’t got Leonidas ready, for 1 turn. Though damage output you’ll need support like Merlin to increase.

Maybe just me without Skadi, Medusa Lancer ranked low due to her damage output. But having Skadi will increase her rank with 1 skill keep her alive (invincibility + guts), 1 skill to stall (charm and provided it’s male servant), and 1 last skill for one-time burst in attack.

AOE NP:

Parvati & Artoria Alter Lancer

Valkyire

Fionn

Elizabeth Bathory

Nezha

Artoria Alter Lancer being another Servant who like her Saber, does well in her AOE NP damage. And a good debuff of NP seal to stall + def buff ignore damage. However trying to gain NP for her is problematic if you don’t have support like Merlin to do so.

Parvati will be one of the many Servants recommended to have if you’re going for Double Skadi farming. She’s got good NP refund and good support to other Servants. But make sure your Skadi or support having a star generator CE to get her loop going.

Like Parvati, you’ll need Valkyire if you already got the former for double Skadi farming. She’s more on a defensive in surviving if not use for farming, and definitely Skadi regardless to improve her damage performance. Beside that, her NP is applied with good buff such as ignore evasion and instant death for demonic enemies (excluding them working on enemy Servants)

If you’re aiming for Castoria next two years, Fionn is one of the Servants to invest for farming. And latest strengthening has upgrade to give more of NP charge to himself and your party. His own NP buff to mental debuff immunity is good to prevent him from being stun like charm, etc. However if you’re in need of Rare Prism and any other reason or so, feel free to burn him.

Elizabeth doesn’t rank high since she’s more support and debuff oriented Servant than damage. Support being attack that gives additional boost to female servants and debuff lower defense and curse. Unless you’re urgent to complete your Eli-chan collection, she’s not in a hurry to get and can spook anytime.

While Nezha has a good skill kit of own Quick + Buster buff, increase star weight and remove debuff, and guts + NP charge.... Most of her skills are best used if they are at max level. And even at max level, her low NP damage isn’t that a viable choice with better AOE NP Servants above be it farming or attack.

Rider:

ST NP:

None of the above

This is the only rare case I really don’t recommend getting, especially mary and anne. The two are definitely meant to be glass canon which unlike Hijikata, there’s no guts for them to survive if you want to utilize their NP at its fullest. Welfare and 3 star like Ushiwakamaru and Ryouma, Mandricardo in the future does a better job than her.

AOE NP:

Astolfo

Martha

Marie

In terms of damage output among the 3 Riders, Astolfo hits hardest and also perfectly compatible with double Skadi farming. Has 2 rank up on strengthening their NP and 3rd skill to improve farming performance. However outside farming, they definitely still need Skadi to keep that performance.

Martha is one of the more recommended Servants when it’s come to Challenge Quest. Mainly her instant team debuff removal and enemy buff removal targetable, and additional healing. Damage output may be easily fix with Merlin and Waver to deal more. But, as of now her status whether being useful is debatable as most LB debuff on your team are permanent thus rendering her to rank lower.

Despite sharing the same NP type, Marie ranks lower using more of a support for herself and her allies on her damage. Her NP buffs while it’s provide good support, it can easily be replaceable with either Jeanne, Merlin, Waver, etc. But if you’re not concern for her and already got Astolfo, you can still get her to invest on Quick farming. Or raise Medusa who could do about the same like Astolfo...

Caster

ST NP

Queen Sheba

Circe

Sheba while story locked, she fits well in both support and own DPS of herself for CQ and in LB. NP damage may be concern but having Tamamo and Castoria will makes up for it, especially in surviving for long fights. Her excellent NP gain with good crit buff helps her to refund NP easily for spam.

Circe while provide good support (debuff removal and star gather) and debuff (poisoning AOE), she ranked lower from a few things. One being very bad NP gain (if your NP charge skill on CD), low NP damage which can be compensated with good support, and debatable stun NP effect. If you already have Xuangzang or Caster Shuten, you’re better off with them. 

AOE NP:

Nitocris

Caster Gilgamesh

Nursery Rhyme

Helena

Thomas Edison

Nitocris ranking top for her being the best farming Servant to have, and remained that spot with now Castoria boosting her damage. NP Charge skill at full 100% when needed, increase death chance (can be RNG and not effective with some enemies) and Guts + Buff removal making her a Servant recommended to have. And of course being the best.... You’re gonna need to offer her 180 bones of your dead enemies to upgrade her skills to the max, making her one hell of an expensive material grinding Servant to have.

Caster Gilgamesh with wisdom now considered one of the recommended Arts Support Caster if you don’t have Tamamo or Castoria. While damage can be lacking, his NP debuff of lowering defense helps your other Arts DPS to crit to death thanks to his skillset. Despite that, he still additional support and composition which preferably best work when the team deck in total has higher percentage of Arts cards.

When paired with the right team, Nursery can be one of the good damage dealing and staller for AOE Caster. The latter however is RNG dependant which praying it works in your favor. She also have good NP refund and self-charging with her skill making her easily spamming her NP. But she’ll need good support to boost her damage and star generation to utilize her.

If you still haven’t gotten Waver and willing to wait for that SSR ticket in the future, she’s your alternative with all cards type buff, 20% NP gauge charge and own crit star generator. NP deals good damage, which further improve with either Tamamo and/or Castoria. However, many may turn away of choosing her because of notorious long skill cooldown even at max level. Also if friend support already got your main 4 or now 5 support of Caster, you’re better off with other Servants unless you want her for farming.

Thomas gonna need his strengthening to increase his rank here, mainly that 1st skill to reduce skill cooldown which is targetable. While his NP and normal damage is weak, he makes up by being the best stalling support (provided no debuff immunity), having skill seal, NP seal to stall enemy Servant. 3rd skill of his provide a good buff to your main DPS to overcharge their NP level. And, also being a story-locked servant some may consider getting him if you can accept the long cool down (2nd skill at 10 turns CD on max level) on his skill.

Support

Medea Lily

If you’re wondering who is the White Mage/Healer in this game, that would be Medea Lily. Pure healing + Debuff removal and now a targetable buff removal resist? That’ll be her where many sought her in Challenge Quest. But her skillset is overshadowed easily by your Top 5 Caster (Merlin, Waver, Skadi, Tamamo & Castoria) who can do those said job if not better than her.

Assassin:

ST NP:

Yan Qing & Emiya Assassin

Wu Zetian

Carmilla

Chiyome

Yan Qing while I put him first, he can easily replaceable with Jack who does better star generation. Or pair them to generate even more stars while you watch them burn your potato phone. His recent skill upgrade increase his damage making him more usable in fights, but will still need Skadi to invest him well.

Emiya Assassin, with good NP damage buff like Ignore Defense + Invincibility and NP drain, own Arts buff, and targetable taunt, he’s one of the recommended Servants for Arts DPS with Castoria when she’s out. And especially needing Castoria because of his horrible Arts card NP generation... If you got Shiki who’s doing better along with Hundred face Hassan, you’ll want them for damage and own survival kit.

Wu Zetian would be in line with Kiritsugu if not better for damage, but is heavily reliant on her Imperial Privliege RNG to work with her. Skadi support and buff removal NP makes her one of the recommended Assassin Quick NP DPS to pick if you’re lacking..

Carmilla is low rank while despite having good NP gain, charge and own healing with a staller..... You’re better off having other Servants like Wu Zetian. Or even Jack who does more better than her on the Anti-female damage.

Chiyome definitely her low damage despite NP spam and charge, make her least wanted for SR ticket. Even NP seal can be ineffective with those having debuff immunity, which many other Assassins are doing their job including the 3 stars one.

AOE NP:

Katou Danzo

While waiting for Gray next year, Danzo is your currently only 4* Assassin with more on the support side. Having both targetable evasion and invincibility, she can keep either DPS or support Caster against enemy on their attacks and NP. AOE damage may not be boost a bit with the help from said support caster, unless your enemies are demon to work against.

Support:

Stheno

Aside additional Rare Prism to exchange, Stheno acts more of a support if you want to challenge yourself with a Divine Servant theme in CQ, etc. She along with Gorgon Sister are known for their notorious Charm Lock in CQ, and NP now easily spammable to remove buffs on enemy. Stheno together with Euryale is why Gawain is having nightmare every night ever since his humiliating defeat in Camelot. But in terms of damage output, you definitely want alternative Servant than her. And support wise, you’re also better off with others if you’re not that into Divine team routine.

Berserker:

ST NP:

Heracles

Penthesila

Beowulf

Atalante Alter

Ibaraki

Aside being bias because that’s my boy I raised and grailed him, Heracles will be your number 1 must have Servant to have for all Master. One of the best surviving Servant for long fights, may need a little boost from support Caster. His investment to get Bond 10 will be a long while but will definitely be worth it once achieved. Now, with the latest strengthening his Guts Skill and own CE makes him the monster on why Lancer ga Shin Da and Emiya in Saber Route one of a nightmare to fight with.

Penthesila while ranked second despite lacking of Greek Males (doesn’t include Achilles avoiding her), she provide a good Buster support for all team, own NP charge and debuff immunity for herself that brings out a high NP damage. However, without Merlin... She’ll die before finding and killing Achilles.

I swear to god DW has a grudge against you, Beowulf. But hey, after his strengthening next year, good bye intuition, hello Inspired Hero that increased crit damage and gather rate! If you’re looking for a more general damage unlike Penth, he’s your boy. High NP damage and Guts to keep him in the game longer, but requires support to boost NP gain and normal damage.

Like many other Quick Servants, Atalante Alter is Skadi compatible. A ST NP with staller and curse debuff, her own crit generation, gather and damage allow her to produce good NP damage. Yet like all Berserker she falls harder in terms of glass canon like lacking of survival skills. Her critical dmg is hard to maintain with her 1st skill merely providing her a one time burst.

Probably the one Servant who fits truly as a glass canon is Ibaraki, NP damage can be comparable with Heracles, Penth and Beowulf. Removing own debuff and enemy buff is a good thing, but defense buff alone may not save her from enemy Servants who hits the poor banana like a truck. NP gain may also need boost from support due to her triple BBB in her deck.

AOE NP:

Lancelot Berserker

Frankenstein

Tamamo Cat

The most recommended yet also possibly need additional whaling is Lancelot Berserker. The moment Skadi appears, he’s on the top list of having in party to do farming. Own NP create large amount of sum and massive crit boost helps to refund NP. But, without Skadi and needing NP2 at least, he’ll be ranked lower.

Frankenstein will be your alternative to berserker Lancelot if you already have him. But like Berserker Lancelot, you’ll need Skadi to do the looping. Her own NP Damage boost and increase gain helps for the loop, but unfortunately you’ll need Servant with debuff removal to remove her stun after using her NP. Aside farming....You’re gonna want other Servant to save her from getting killed within few turns.

Tama Cat aside being one of Chaldea main cook, she’s more utilized for farming after abusing poor Waver and Caster support. And poor Waver everyone will have to do their best to protect Tama Cat who took a few turns of napping (stun) after using her NP. Beside that, she does provide an RNG of NP drain and own defense and attack boost. However other than farming, you’re better off with other AOE Servants for survival.

Avenger:

Situational between Gorgon or Hessian Lobo

Because a Ruler enemy is very rare to find aside coming LB3 without mention spoilers on who, it’s more or less situational. Do you want for the sake of it? Want to do your own CQ rules to experiment against? If so, AOE or ST NP?

AOE being Gorgon where she got a a decent AOE NP Damage with a stun but definitely need support to survive (guts may not be sufficient) and star generation. She’s also story-locked which if you want to get her before Babylonia, might as well do so.

Hessian Lobo is compatible with Skadi and alternative if you don’t Avengers like Jeanne Alter. Good crit gather for 3 turns with Skadi or any other Servants provide star generation. NP damage has own boost of ignore evasion and additional crit damage, excluding your instant death. While having buff removal is one and atk decrease, your death resist is still ineffective on enemy Servants boss.

[o-bae-me]

The Brothers with an Anxious MC!

As someone who lives with pretty bad anxiety, I thought this would be a fun one to start off my headcanon blog!

Lucifer:

He doesn't really get it. Your triggers seem irrational to him or at least blown out of proportion. He isn't mad at you, just confused, and maybe a bit frustrated. He's a busy guy and taking care of you might be more work than he anticipated.

He doesn't blame you though. He's heard of such disorders before and knows that you can't help it. Besides, you're a guest in the Devildom and it would be a disservice to both you and Diavolo to treat you poorly, even in this.

While he will never be the touchy feely type, Lucifer does his best. He does his research and speaks with you about how best to tackle the problem.

Always tries to combat your anxieties with logic, reassuring you when you need it. He's a solid pillar when you feel like you're drifting.

Let's you sit in his office when you need quiet. If he's in there with you, which he usually is, he makes tea for the both of you, picking blends that he knows are meant to calm.

He isn't the most patient of the brothers but he's making an effort.

Mammon:

Also doesn't understand, but hey! You can't worry if the great Mammon is distracting you right?! The first time you have a panic attack around him he panics a bit himself. Why are you crying? Should humans be breathing that fast? He may or may not think you're dying.

Once he's sure you're not dying though, he goes right for the distractions. Probably by doing something stupid. But it makes you laugh, and that smile is better than crying right?

He's great at getting you talking, or talking to you if you aren't up for responding. He usually tells you about the things he's bought recently or his next big plan to strike it rich. The two of you walk around the house or the school, burning off the extra adrenaline as his voice lulls you back into a calmer state.

He never lets you feel embarrassed or ashamed. He simply won't have it. Whenever you start to apologize for your emotions he cuts you off, reminding you that time is money, so if it wasn't important, he wouldn't waste his time.

NOT THAT YOU'RE IMPORTANT OR ANYTHING! WHAT? NO HE NEVER IMPLIED THAT! Stupid squishy human. He's just doing the job Lucifer gave him. Yeah, that's it.

Leviathan:

He gets you. As someone who suffers with anxiety himself (social), he understands what it's like. You end up bonding over your shared experiences, giving each other advice and simply venting about your frustrations.

Levi's go to coping skill is video games. He shows you all his favorites, picking out ones that are positive and lack violence. Don't get him wrong, he loves a good FPS but when he's really anxious, sometimes something a little softer is called for.

He's a great listener, willing to stay quiet as the two of you play. He chimes in here or there when needed, but overall he's the more silent type of comfort.

If you ever try to apologize he laughs it off, saying he knows what it's like. Besides, he enjoys having someone to share these games with.

Satan:

Like Lucifer, he can't empathize with your experience. However, he's very knowledgeable on the topic, having read countless psychology books over his lifetime. Probably goes into full teacher mode when he realizes what's going on, explaining to you the medical reasoning behind the condition, what treatments work best, etc. He thinks maybe if you have more knowledge about what's going on, it'll be less scary.

Mostly he ends up being a quiet body to lean against when you feel like you can't be around the others. The two of you curl up on a couch in the library with a stack of books. He'll read to you if you can't focus or you'll read to him if you feel up to it.

Like Lucifer, he also is good at tackling your anxieties with logic. He often ends up going on tangents without meaning to, info dumping whatever he knows about the subject. You don't mind. It's a good distraction.

If you can't sit still, he'll have you help him hunt down books in the library, hoping the movement will help use up the extra energy. It's a good task to help you focus on the present.

Asmodeus:

Definitely startled the first time you panic around him. He doesn't really understand why you act this way but he'll be damned if he lets you deal with this alone. Worrying causes wrinkles after all and that just won't do.

This man is the self care KING. Whenever you tell him you're having a bad day, he immediately takes you too his room and pulls out his emergency kit. It's got all the essentials; facemasks, nail polish, lotion, bubble bath, you name it, it's in here. The majority of it is lavender scented, a tip he picked up from the consultant at the store when he asked about aroma therapy.

Basically, he's your man for recovery after an anxious day. But not so much if you're actively panicking. He really doesn't know what to do to calm you down. He tries his best though, sitting you down and cooing reassurances, touching you as much as you feel able to handle, smoothing your hair, holding your hands. If you can't handle touch at all, then he's really at a loss for what to do, but he stays by your side regardless.

Beelzebub:

One of the more understanding brothers. Belphie struggled a lot after Lilith died and while he never knew the full extent of it, he was always there for his brother.

He isn't much of a talker but, like Asmo, he excels at physical comforts. He mostly just lets you lay on him as you watch TV. If you're actively panicking his first instinct is to hold you tight (if you're okay with it). He's basically your living weighted blanket.

He's always there to listen if you need to rant or cry. He doesn't always have advice, but he's there to let you know you aren't alone.

If you need a bigger distraction, he suggests the two of you make some food. The methodical tasks help you refocus your mind and calm you down. Plus, you get to have yummy food at the end. You guys end up trying a bunch of new recipes over the course of your stay and it becomes a sort of destressing ritual you two do on the regular.

Belphagor:

Like Levi, Belphagor understands struggling with mental health. He's never really had anxiety, but he definitely struggled with depression and anger after Lilith's death. Unlike Levi however, he hasn't quite learned how to manage his own emotions yet. He's only just accepted Lilith's death after all.

Belphie doesn't really have any coping skills to offer you but he does commiserate with you about your struggles. If you're actively panicking he doesn't really know what to do. He most likely enlists his brother Beel to help. Or if Beel isn't around, he may try to emulate Beel's techniques.

What Belphagor excels at is panic attack aftercare. You're exhausted after all that anxiety and adrenaline and who better to take care of you in that moment then the avatar of sloth himself. He makes sure you're nice and comfy in a mountain of pillows and blankets, laying next to you to nap and recover.

Ends up gifting you either a weighted blanket or a weighted stuffed animal. He heard those help with anxiety. Plus, the stuffed animal is just cute.

[doedipus]

is there a fighting game for people with terrible reflexes? I can't seem to ever block high/low correctly even with 24F of startup

that's a tricky question. there's kind of a lot of factors that go into reactions, and most fighting games are gonna test at least some of them.

typically though a lot of it comes down to the idea of mental stack- there's really only so many things anyone can pay attention to at once, so when in-game scenarios get really convoluted (or if they're just unfamiliar) it also gets really hard to react quickly. but on the other hand, as you play more and learn what to expect, it gets easier to react as well.

so like, while a lot of stuff in that 20-30 frame range is technically possible to react to if it's the only thing you're worried about, in practice it can be unbelievably hard if you're also on the lookout for a bunch of other things, still getting used to your own moveset and controls, etc.

and then another factor is that a lot of stuff is just straight up not intended to be possible or feasible to react to and you really do just have to guess. I think this is more of a thing in anime games like guilty gear than in more traditional fighters like street fighter, but it's basically universally important to be able to make decisions preemptively either by getting a read on what habits the other player has, or by just eyeballing the risk/return on the things you could do and playing the odds... which are also things that mainly come with familiarity.

there's also techniques you can do in most fighting games that can help cover unreactable or hard-to-reactable situations. for instance, I also have pretty mediocre reactions, and a lot of how I play defense in strive comes down to delay mashing. basically every time I block an attack, I wait a split second and then hit a light button, and if the blockstring is true or there's a tight frame trap the attack doesn't come out and nothing happens, and if they're trying to reset pressure/run up throw/charged dust, they get hit out of it. I'll get counterhit for it sometimes, but otherwise it saves me having to think about or react to most of the common situations in an otherwise hectic game.

so I guess the actual answer to the question would be to look for a game that doesn't demand as much from your mental stack. something in the vein of like, samurai showdown or last blade miiiight be easier to get into than guilty gear or melty blood or skullgirls.

but on the other hand, if the characters or general vibe of one of the trickier games really grabs you, stuff will get easier to handle as you play more, and you'll be more likely to stick around for the long haul in the first place. so like, if you're asking because you're invested in picking up a game and getting frustrated, you miiight be better off just toughing it out than switching

[superman86to99]

Action Comics #692 (October 1993)

In this issue: Superman goes to the doctor and finds out why he's not dead anymore! But, before that, he's clearing some of the debris left by his fight with Doomsday when he finds... Clark Kent? Lois Lane is very happy to see Clark again, but Superman himself doesn't look very thrilled in these panels.

Turns out Clark wasn't dead as everyone believed, he was simply trapped in the basement of a collapsed building! The basement happened to equipped with plenty of food and gym equipment (explaining why he's still jacked, like Superman), but unfortunately not a single pair of scissors (explaining why his hair is now long, like Superman's).

Later, Superman bumps into Lex Luthor Jr., who demands to know where Supergirl is, but Superman gives him the runaround. Hmm, where could Superman's good friend who can change shape and pretend to be other people be? Anyway, Superman then meets Lois and Clark and... holy crap! Mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent is secretly Supergirl!

So yeah, Supergirl pretended to be Clark for a while just so he and Superman would be seen together and no one would question why both are suddenly alive again. Then Supergirl leaves and we move on to the second dilemma solved in this issue: How the hell is Superman alive again? To address that question, supernatural DC character (and fellow Jerry Siegel/Joe Shuster creation) Doctor Occult appears out of nowhere and rudely teleports Lois and Clark to a black void, where he replays moments from Superman's life... and death.

Occult explains that Doomsday DID punch Superman's spirit out of his body, but there was still solar energy keeping the body just barely alive. Superman's ghost ended up stuck between the living and the dead, attracting some nasty soul-eating demons. Fortunately, Pa Kent happened to be dying of a heart attack at the same time, so he and Superman teamed up to fight off the demons (as seen in Adventures #500). Superman’s soul returned to his near-corpse, which was taken to the Fortress of Solitude by the Eradicator and lovingly nursed back into health. (Okay, more like “coldly,” but you can’t argue with the results.)

Anyway, the point is that Superman's resurrection happened due to a convoluted series of events that could never be repeated, unless someone's willing to sneak behind Pa Kent and blow an airhorn in his ear or something. As the mystical exposition dump ends, Occult teleports Lois and Clark to Smallville, and the issue ends with the Kents finally reuniting. A tender moment...

...until two seconds later, when Ma smacks Clark in the back of the head for taking two whole issues to come see them (or that’s what I’d do).

Plotline-Watch:

Doctor Occult reveals that the moment when Bibbo shocked Superman’s body with a hyper-charged defibrillator in Adventures #498 actually helped keep him alive. Once again, Bibbo is the real hero of this saga.

Supergirl has a lot of experience posing as Clark, since she was stuck in that form between 1989 and 1992. That was also her in the only other photo of Superman and Clark together, taken in Superman #34.

While Superman is being interviewed by a news crew after rescuing "Clark", that lawyer from Action #689 barges in and demands that they stop calling Superman Superman, since that name is now trademarked by Superboy's manager. Damn, maybe he's gonna have to start calling himself "Supreme" or something?

Aww, Lex is happy to see Superman again. Sure, it's only because he wants to be the one to kill him, but still.

S.T.A.R. Labs is examining the Eradicator's corpse when they realize he's alive! Sort of. Later, Doctor Occult remarks that the Eradicator sacrificed himself "in mind, if not in body". Hmm. The doctors overseeing his condition are Kitty Faulkner, who can turn into an orange She-Hulk called Rampage after a workplace mishap, and a new character called David Connors, the only S.T.A.R. employee without superpowers. So far.

The JLA returns from the little space vacation the Cyborg sent them on, and we get the first instance in all of comics of Guy Gardner admitting he was wrong. Character growth! Don Sparrow says: “Nice to see some follow-up to the characters around the DCU and how they react to Superman’s return. No mention of the fact that they got suckered into a mission into space that went nowhere.”

When Doctor Occult shows up, Superman is like "aw, not this guy again!", referencing that classic tale of Superman's first encounter with the supernatural... which hasn't come out yet. Don: “It’s a neat forward call-back (is that a thing?) when Superman references his first encounter with Doctor Occult, given that we won’t see it happen until 1995, when DC does a line-wide ‘Year One’ series of stories. And wouldn’t you know it, that story is written by none other than Roger Stern (and even involves tentacles, as in the thumbnail image)!” #rogersternplaysthelonggame

Don Sparrow's section, on the other hand, can be read NOW, after the jump!

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

We open with the cover, and it’s one of the top ten best of this era, for sure.  Drawn by Kerry Gammill and Butch Guice, DC used this drawing on the “Return of Superman” cards.  I tend to favour simpler, iconic covers, even when they don’t necessarily represent the story within, but in this case, it’s showing exactly what the heart of the story is about: Clark Kent is back. 

Inside, we open with a full page splash of Superman’s shield, through tons of rubble, and it’s a great image, but without the face, it allows us to focus on the title of the story, a callback to the speech introduction of the old Fleischer Cartoons.

I don’t know if it’s from the writing, or the artist, but Action Comics has always seemed the most romantic of the Super-titles, and this one is no exception, as Clark and Lois have their hands all over each other for basically the whole comic. While it is a bit weird to remember that it isn’t Clark that Lois is caressing (more on that in a bit) in the early part of the story, it always feels intimate and romantic more than it feels graphic or titillating.  A tricky balance that this team pulls off well, particularly in their “reunion” on page 3. [Max: Every time I read this issue I think it’s Martian Manhunter posing as Clark and when they start flirting I’m like “ew”. Then I remember who it is and I’m like “nice”.]

I always enjoy seeing Superman flying upside-down, which I consider to be a Byrne innovation—I don’t remember him doing it pre-Crisis. It always seems so joyful and carefree, and it’s nice to see Superman savouring his powers. 

Jackson Guice uses tone very well in the scenes with Lex Luthor II in his aviators, and I quite like the sense of motion to Superman’s pose as he approaches the helicopter—almost like he’s swimming in the sky rather than floating.

It’s a good drawing of the Eradicator getting the post-Hoth Luke Skywalker treatment, with David Connor and Kitty Faulkner getting an eyeful.  My copy has a slight colouring error that makes it look like the Eradicator is awake in the tank, even though he’s supposed to be catatonic. [Max: Still looks like that in the collections. Maybe he’s one of those people who sleep with their eyes open?]

Superman embracing Lois after the ruse of “Clark Kent” is very cutely drawn, as is the Ghost-like backward embrace on the following page.  

The entire sequence replaying Superman’s death and rebirth is drawn well throughout, especially the dreamlike staging, and the darkness as Lois knocks the flashlight away.  It’s also moving that Superman can see the heroic lengths that Bibbo went to try to save him once Superman succumbed to his injuries.  

Lastly, it was wonderful to see Clark reunited physically with Ma and Pa, especially with the nice touch of the poem by DH Lawrence as the only narration.  Stern was always the best at referencing secondary texts in his stories, and it’s well used here.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

Is it me, or is Matrix/Supergirl a little too into this Clark Kent act?  I get that making their performances light and funny keep it from seemingly overtly dishonest, but “Clark” is pretty tender in these scenes. Lois does a good job of playing along, but it’s hard for me to fully forget that all this canoodling is actually with Supergirl.  So as a helpful tool, I created these graphics: [Max: Nice.]

It was cool that Lois specifically mentioned that Jimmy got a shot of the returned Clark Kent next to Superman, I always like it when that can happen.

In previous posts, I’ve talked about how creepy it is that Luthor has a sexual relationship with Supergirl/Matrix, when she is in so many ways (mainly mentally) a child, and I can’t help but read the scene where Lois chooses Superman over “Clark” this way.  The laughing and clapping has a whole different feel if you think of her as mentally diminished somewhat.  

So it’s not exactly a continuity error that Clark says on page 13 that he has to call Ma and Pa to let them know that “Clark” is alright (even though he already called them in a previous issue).  It could be that they want to tell the Kents the cover story of Clark’s return has now taken place, and they can act like their son is alive again when they go to the corner store, etc. [Max: Yeah, that’s how I took it. It would be awkward if their neighbors saw them all cheerful while their son is still “dead”.]

 I like to imagine that Dr. Occult looks and sounds like Robert Stack. [Max: It’s impossible for me to hear him as anyone other than Humphrey Bogart after Lois calls him “Sam Spade”.]

We’ve mentioned previously Jackson Guice’s tendency to use photo reference for his characters.  In this issue, Superman looks a lot like Jason Patric to me, who would have made a pretty great Superman had there been movies being made in this time.

I also appreciated this issue explaining both the physical and metaphysical reasons Superman was able to return—and that there’s no back door to the story—if Superman ever died again, he would be unable to return.  

[nightwingshero]

Full bingo angst answers for Wren please! 💋💕

Thank you, baby!!! Kinda hitting it where it hurts today, huh?

TW: Mentions of self-harm, alcohol abuse, and child loss...just kinda...it’s angsty. Sorry guys. 

💙 What would your OCs last words be (or if they’ve died what were their last words)? What were their final moments like? How did they die?

Probably...man, knowing Wren, she’s gonna go down fighting and defending a loved one. She...Wren will use her Wrath to draw the attention to herself, even if she knew it was a battle she wouldn’t win--sacrificing herself to give the other person a chance. Her last words...would be deep and meaningful, something that would hit hard. She would either quote something with a deep meaning or something so pure from the heart...I could also see her saying “Free...I’m finally free.” Or maybe being excited to see her mom again. 

💧 What’s the worst pain your OC has ever been in? Mental or physical? What was the cause of this?

That’s a toss up between her father blaming her for her mother’s death/being mentally and emotionally abusive or the car accident and losing the baby. Both had Wren spiraling in very different ways, both still giving her nightmares to the point of insomnia some nights. Then also losing John later in life. It hits her hard to know that her life partner died sacrificing himself for their son, and that he’s just...gone. It’s hard for her to bounce back from it. 

🔷 Has your OC ever had to leave something behind or abandon something they didn’t want to? Have they ever had this happen to them? How has this effected them over the years?

There’s a locket, a gold locket with a tree on it, that her mother used to wear before she died. It was one of the things she held onto dearly after her mom died, because it was pretty much all she had. Her father got rid of most of Lily’s things, including the piano, and so Wren clung to it through her childhood, drawing strength from it. It “mysteriously” disappeared after her father found out about it, just a few days before she left for college. In turn, she stole her mother’s ashes to scatter them, but it still haunts Wren. It had a picture of the two of them together.

🔵 Has your OC lived through any particularly traumatic events? Does this event (or events) still effect them or have they tried to bury it? Is there a reason why this event is so traumatic for them?

JFC, where to even begin? Honestly, the cards are stacked against her in the worst way, I feel for her. The biggest ones would be abusive childhood, losing her mom, unhealthy relationship with college professor, the horrible car accident, the drinking problem that followed...Wren tries her best with it, truly. It still effects her, mostly through panic attacks (triggers) and her nightmares. She will fall into depressive episodes as well. Most of the time, she will bury it though, like, she’s guarded--if you’ve been through some shit, you could probably pick up on it, you know? But with anyone else, you can’t tell. She hides it well. 

❄️ What is (one of) their biggest regrets or biggest mistake they’ve made? Is there anything they can do to fix this or is it so far gone there’s no point anymore? Is this something they dwell on a lot?

Wren...Wren is on the path of learning what she can and can’t control, and it’s...going as well as it can, because she has such a control issue. She tries to tell herself to not dwell on the things she can’t control...but the thing with Wren is that she needs to feel in control. The biggest ones would be the college professor and the path she took after the car accident. Wren hates giving parts of herself for it to be taken for granted or advantage of. She also sees the alcoholic chapter in her life was a little too close to her father than she cares to admit. But well...you can’t fix the past. 

💦 Does your OC have any self destructive habits? Addictions? Urges? What is the cause of these or the reason for them?

Wren used to have a drinking problem, mostly because of an emotional thing versus having to have alcohol. She just used it as an outlet, but most of the time, it just lowered her walls and made her more emotional in a self-destructive manner--depressive, angry, and antagonizing. She would start fights, which is why she got in trouble and got her shit together. Wren internalizes too damn much, overthinking and jumping to conclusions based on her own observations because she’s not one to trust someone else’s intentions or words. While Wren isn’t judgmental, she’s very open minded and accepting--she can be quick to judge in cases where you’ve invoked her wrath. Did some shit when you were young? Who hasn’t, I still care and accept you. You just crossed and betrayed me? I’m going to make it my personal goal to make life hell for you-- She also has a tendency to use her wrath to push people away and then close off, hurting them both in the process. 

🌊 What is your OC like at their most depressive? In the middle of a breakdown? Having a panic attack? What are they like with dealing with anxiety and stress?

Wren during a panic attack starts with her not being able to formulate actual coherent sentences because her mind is going so damn fast, and her hands shake. Her muscles will stiffen, making her super tense and she shuts down mentally. Most of the time, she will curl up on the ground (in the corner of a room, etc) with her legs hugged to her chest, forehead against her knees. Mostly to hide her face and to make herself as small as possible and to provide herself some sort of comfort (sometimes she’ll grip her hair, too). If someone catches it (if they know what to even look for), they can intercept and help kinda deter it. But Wren internalizes, closes herself even more, buys a ton of whiskey or wine, and just sits with her dark feelings. They consume her easily, which is why she usually tries not to drink when she’s down, it makes it too easy to spiral. Wren handles stress the best she can, but she internalizes that too. Anything negative has a chance of coming out in the form of wrath, so she can be a bit...yeah.

☄️ Does your OC struggle with their emotions and trauma? Do they find it easier to open up to strangers or those close to them if at all? Do they tend to hide their pain from everyone?

Wren struggles hard. Like, she has a harder time coming to terms or understanding the why behind everything, and has a constant struggle with her desire to change what happened that her emotions and traumas don’t fully get resolved. She’s so desperate to be free of it, but there are times where she’s holding her own self prisoner for it due to guilt and heartbreak. She will never open up to strangers, she doesn’t trust people easily, you have to have earned your way close to her before she’s confiding in you. She hides her pain (or tries to) from everyone, including herself. You have to actively pursue Wren and be supportive consistently for that to spill from her mouth.  

📘 Write a sad journal entry, an unsent letter or short sad drabble. + bonus, give a theme!

A piece from Wren’s journal while going through therapy:

"I wish...it starts off normal, and it’s inconceivably misleading, but it draws me in anyway. Then...then its sneaking up on me, so before I know it, I’m in the deep-end, drowning in something dark and sticky, feeling as if it will become my second skin and suffocate me in the process. That’s when I start to hyperventilate, desperate and clawing to find the surface, but I can’t. I start crying, my chest constricting in panic. I turn...I turn and I see an open door, the inside is even blacker than what’s around me and I slowly start getting pulled back into it...and he just watches--laughing and taunting. I cry more, because there’s nothing else to do. Until the hand...it grabs me and yanks me back...I wake up then, screaming and panicking before the door slams shut. I take a shower once I wake up, because I can feel the hand, I feel the darkness on my skin. I don’t sleep most nights. Not anymore.”

🔹 Does your OC have any scars? What are the stories behind them? Do they have any mental scars? Talk about the effects of their trauma in general on their day to day life.

*Nervous Laughter* Scars....alright...so, Wren growing up would often resort to self-harm to cope, unfortunately. She avoided her wrists and opted for her inner thighs, aiming to hide the marks better. Once hitting college, she moved on from it, until the car accident. She started again once she spiraled, even using it a bit as she stopped drinking. It didn’t happen too often, just in major low points. She dropped it completely after she started going to therapy, learning to try and find healthier coping mechanisms. Wren’s traumas come out daily in the form of her having to be in control of herself and situation at all time. She’s the one driving, she makes her own choices, she sits on the outside in booths at diners and whatnot, having the option to leave when she wants. Wren hates feeling trapped and is super claustrophobic because her dad would lock her in the basement or her room for hours at a time. She buys a Jeep so she has the option to remove the top and the doors, everything in on her terms. You don’t touch her unless she wants you to, you don’t come visit her space unless she wants you to. Things like that. 

[astrozones]

Sanders Behavioral Health, Chapter 1: Virgil Starts Freaking Out More Than Usual

Trigger warning: mental health stuff. Major mental health stuff. For the whole fic.

Group Therapy AU. Prinxiety and Logicality eventually.

Three hours.

Three goddamn hours of his life dedicated to therapy. Every. Single. Day.

Except weekends. At least he still had his weekends.

When his father had told him of the “amazing” news, Virgil was seriously rethinking going back to his old family.

Coming from an abusive home to a place where others cared about him was jarring, to say the least. Parts of it he adored. Not being punished for coming home a couple minutes late? He couldn’t say he wasn’t grateful. But since his time at his new family’s house, he had been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and a hint of OCD. And when his parents put him in therapy for the first time, he found it dull, but a good escape from his bad thoughts.

But when his therapist suggested Sanders Behavioral Health, he was apprehensive. Even more so when she told him that three hours of his day would be dedicated to working on his anxiety. His social anxiety, mostly. Virgil had stared at her in disgust, why would he ever want to go there? Why would he want to go somewhere that would give him more anxiety, on purpose, rather than stay at home scrolling through YouTube?

He was even more disgusted when his adoptive father had happily agreed to look into it.

Yes, Virgil wanted to get better. God, he wanted to get better so bad, to be away from the thoughts that plagued his mind. That’s what he told himself, at least.

Maybe he didn’t want to get better. Maybe he wanted to stay in his room all day because that was what he was used to. He was content at this stage, and so what if he was destroying his future and the potential for happiness? He was here now and he was content, wasn’t that good enough?

He would never say that to his therapist. If he did, she would tell his dad, who would in turn tell his mom, and they’d worry about him more. If this was the life he had to live, then so be it.

So here he was, in the lobby room of the building he had dreaded coming to since they made the first call to get him into this institute. He hunched over in his hoodie, idly scrolling through his phone, trying to collect his thoughts. What if he made a mistake? What if it turned out he had been faking it this whole time and they got mad? What if he did something embarrassing? Oh, god, what if they hated him? What if-

The lobby door slammed open. Virgil jumped in his seat, his father gently putting a hand on his shoulder. In stepped a boy that looked just about the same age as himself. Oh, for the love of-

“I HAVE REETUUURNED~,” the boy sung, arms spread as wide as he could with a binder in his hands. “No need to fear, your Prince is here!” Virgil pursed his lips.

“Yeah, ‘prince’, my ass.” he mumbled, looking back down at his phone. The boy spluttered indignantly, to Virgil’s confusion. That wasn’t even a good insult, so why was the boy getting mad at him? Oh god, oh shit, I already made an enemy-

“Roman, please just sign in.” The front desk lady said with a small smile. The boy, or rather, Roman, blushed, with an “oh, right” as he did as he was told.

Roman slumped down in a seat, turning to the only other kid in the room.

“So, Mr. Professionalism, I know it’s only my second proper day here, but what’s with the tie? You wear it every day or somethin’?” Roman’s posture remained slouched and easy-going, the opposite to the other, who was indeed wearing a tie. Tie guy’s posture was pristine and collected, his face not revealing any emotion, except a slight glare.

“I do not. I wear a different tie every day. It is unsanitary to wear the same thing every day. And when I sleep, I change into the proper wear. I would also like to point out that it’s pronounced some thing . With a g. Proper pronunciation is important, lest you confuse someone who is not as knowledgeable with our language. And my name, is Logan. Thank you.” Logan, apparently, finished his monologue with hardly a change in expression. Both Virgil and Roman looked a bit disoriented.

“Allllrighty,” Roman started, ignoring Logan’s hiss of “it’s pronounced al right ”, “Welp, glad to see I’m not the only one who’s early! Don’t you think the weather is great today? So sunny!”

“I do not wish to engage in small talk.” Logan said, returning to his book. Roman blinked at this, his head darting back a bit. He quickly returned to his confident persona and turned to Virgil.

Oh no , was his only thought before he was forced into conversation.

“SOO, Emostein, what’s your opinion on the weather? Since Necktie over there refuses to be nice, that is.” Roman said with a flourish of his hand.

What was he supposed to say? That he never went outside enough to appreciate the weather? That he would rather not say anything? That this whole thing was pushing him to the verge of a panic attack?

So, instead, he murmured, “Emostein?”. Goddamn it, that was dumb-

“Why yes! Like Frankenstein, but judging by your apparel, I had assumed you were emo and listen to My Chemical Romance all day. Am I wrong in this?”

Virgil shoved his head in his hands, blushing from embarrassment. “Ugh, no, you’re not. You don’t need to point it out, though…” He grumbled. God, he hated social situations. Even if it distracted him from the anxiety surrounding this new therapy group.

Whether he had bad luck, or the fates hated him, he couldn’t decide as the door to the rest of the building opened in perfect irony.

“Virgil?” The woman called with a smile. He hugged his few items closer to him as he stood up, making his way through the entrance. He glanced back at the lobby, where yet another kid was entering.

Then, the door was closed.

--

The woman introduced herself as Rebecca, or Becca for short. She led him on a quick tour of the building before the others were scheduled to come in, something he was grateful for. The place was smaller than he expected. She led him through the cafeteria (a cafeteria? what?), the doors of a couple staff, the bathroom, the check-up room, and the individual rooms. The individual rooms, as she explained, were for when you needed to focus on an ‘exposure’ and couldn’t handle distractions from other people.

Virgil quickly decided he liked these rooms.

Becca let him choose a room, and had him write his name on the whiteboard in front of it. As he did, he heard the entrance door open and a loud voice groan out, “UGHH, but I don’t wanna go in yet!”. Uh oh, people alert! He quickly slipped into the room, Becca joining him soon after.

“While you’re in this program,” she started. “you will be doing exposures, which means you’ll be directly facing the anxiety. It’ll be tough, but the goal is, when you get out of the program, you’re more used to these situations, and when you encounter them, you don’t freak out as much.” At that, she smiled, as if she hadn’t just diminished his already depressed mood.

“Does that sound good?” Becca continued, tilting her head to the side. Virgil stared at her as if she just told him the Sun was purple (not that he would mind that… purple was a very nice color.).

“Not really,” came his reply. “sounds terrible.”

Becca’s smile became just a little more stressed.

“I get your point, but I disagree. See, here and now, you’re not okay. Do you agree?” she stated flatly, and at his small nod, continued, “It’s because you’ve been in this slump for too long. It’s ruining your mood, and unless you do something about it, it’ll just get worse. If you want to get better, you have to do something about it.”

Virgil sighed. Yes, he understood, but he had the right to dislike this.

Becca explained a few more things about the program before handing him a small stack of papers and leaving him to mull over in his silent suffering.

He doodled in between the questions he had just answered as he waited for Becca to come back. Just the classic questions, ‘What do you want to work on while here at Sanders?’, ‘How would you describe your average mood?’, ‘What is (or are) your diagnosis?’, etc.. He glanced at the clock. 5 minutes. He tapped his foot. Fiddled with his hoodie strings. Kicked at the wall. 10 minutes. Hm.

Sanders Behavioral Health had a rule against phones being in the building, for privacy reasons… but, taking a glance around, he couldn’t see any cameras. And he had snuck his phone in by slipping it into his boots when no one was looking. Then there was the fact that no one was in the room with him…

Whipping out his phone, he quickly found a position where his phone was hidden enough that the average passerby wouldn’t notice and opened it up. What to do, what to do…

He scrolled through Tumblr, and responded to a few messages on Discord. He was in the middle of typing one out when there was a knock on the door.

Jumping, Virgil quickly turned to the door while desperately trying to hide his phone. He couldn’t fit in past his shoe in time, could he hide it in his hoodie so the visitor wouldn’t see it? Think fast befo-

The door opened, a stranger walking in. The stranger smiled.

“Hello! I’m Nurse Vicki. You’re Virgil, right? I need you for just a moment so we can do checkups, if you’ll come with me!” Vicki grinned, holding the door open wider. Virgil slid the phone into his hoodie pocket. There was a chance of it being noticed, but it would have to do.

When brought into the nurse’s office, she sat him down and started asking questions.

Are you suicidal? Yes.

Are you going to school regularly? No.

Are you eating healthy? Probably not.

And on, and on, and on, until finally, she took him to track his weight and vitals, and escorted him back to his room. Still no Becca.

The second Nurse Vicki left, Virgil quickly took his phone out and situated it where it wasn’t easily visible in his boot. Yes, it did rub against his foot painfully, but that was just the price he’d have to pay. Without his phone, he felt even more anxious. He knew it was stupid, but what if he got a call? What if he got hurt? What if someone else got hurt? Virgil needed the phone, and if that included sacrificing his comfort, he would do it.

Now, what was he supposed to do? 20 minutes had passed. He studied the vandalism done in pencil on the wall, but that quickly got boring.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

He drummed his fingers on the table.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

He thought about what he was going to do tomorrow- wait, no, that gave him more anxiety.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Sighing, he leaned back and studied the ceiling. Maybe he could fall asleep here. Or maybe he’d just get in trouble for that.

After what seemed like ages, Becca returned. Gathering up the papers, she led him outside the room.

“We aren’t going to start anything today, but I’ll show you the timers and computers. Here’s the check in sheet for them,” she motioned to the top of the computer cart, a basket with multiple stopwatches in it next to the sheets. “and the top row of computers are assessment computers, while the bottom are normal computers. Today, you’ll be getting an assessment computer.”

Stepping aside, she let him check out a computer. As he was writing down his name, another person came in from a second hallway. The loud boy from before- Roman?- glanced in their direction before doing a double take. Cringing slightly, Virgil prepared for Roman to burst out with a loud “hello!”.

Only Roman did nothing of the sort. Once Becca greeted him, he motioned awkwardly to the timer in his hands before walking down the hallway and turning into a staff’s room.

O ...kay?

He may not have known Roman for long, but that seemed entirely uncharacteristic. Pursing his lips, he finished filling out the sheet as Becca and him walked back. Well, almost. Becca stopped in her office for a split second before returning with a binder and a dazzling smile. Virgil sunk into his jacket with a ‘dazzling’ scowl.

Back inside the room, Becca gave him the binder and led him through all that it entailed, before signing him into the assessment computer. And once more, Becca left him to fill out the assessments alone.

Which was fantastic.

Another round of repetitive questions he’d answered a thousand times before-

In the past 7 days how often have you not able to stop feeling sad? Often.

--felt alone? Always.

--feel everything in your life went wrong? Always.

--feel like you can’t do anything right? Often.

--it was hard for you to have fun? Always.

He supposed a lot of this came from his past family. And, geez, these were not nice memories to go through. But being pushed around and starved for days on end was bound to take a toll on you, and it sure as hell did in the case of Virgil. It was part of the reason he wore hoodies all the time, to hide the- the- oh god he was not ready to think about this right now.

Shaking his head, Virgil returned to the questions, feeling worse than he had. He felt a tear trying to surface and quickly closed his eyes. Not here , he thought. Not now, I can’t. They’ll make fun of me for it.

And yeah, maybe it was illogical to worry about being made fun of for crying in a literal therapy building, but maybe Virgil wasn’t thinking quite right at that point. Maybe he wasn’t thinking quite right often.

Or maybe he was just stupid.

--

The last time Becca returned to his individual room was to bring him out to the cafeteria for something called ‘recreational therapy’ which included doing “fun things” with the other patients.

Great.

After putting away his computer, he was instructed to leave his new binder in the cafeteria and to bring a pen or pencil with him.

He didn’t have either and had to ask someone else for it. Oh, god…

Dodging around the others in the cafeteria, he made his way back to Becca and quietly asked for a pen, and, to his disappointment, didn’t get one. He turned around to face the 3 other patients, forced to consider the options as to who might have a goddamn pen.

The others were all the people he had seen in the waiting room earlier. Only one of them he hadn’t really gotten to know, which was the boy in light blue. He was talking to the loud one, ugh, what was his name again… Roman! Yes, he was talking to Roman. Listening in on their conversation he found that they were talking about… dogs? Well, Light Blue was nearly screaming about dogs while Roman was looking a little bewildered at just how loud this boy was about dogs. Which only left Tie Guy, Logan, to ask. If he didn’t have one, Virgil would have to walk out and ask a staff, so asking the scary one it was.

Glancing towards his binder, Virgil saw that he had 3 pens next to it, black, red, and blue. Bingo!

“Hey uh,” he started once he reached Logan. “Um, can I… uh, sorry, can I borrow a pen? Please?”

Logan’s gaze jerked towards Virgil, then back to his pens. “No,” he stated bluntly. “I only have one black pen. As you can see. ”

“But… I could just… use the red or blue one? I don’t really care that much about colors…” Virgil, to say the least, was hella confused. What was this kid’s deal? First the whole tie thing, now Virgil wasn’t able to use one of his three pens? There was no need to be so rude.

“No, you can’t. Red is for spelling errors and blue is for grammar errors. Everyone knows that. You cannot just use a red or blue pen for normal writing!” Logan nearly growled out. Virgil took a few steps back, was it okay for him to be around this guy?! Was he safe?

He felt a tap on his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin. Whipping around, he was faced with Light Blue holding a pen. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Heyo! I’m Patton,” Light Blue said. “I couldn’t help but hear your conversation, so sorry for interrupting, but I have a free pen you could use instead! It’s no big deal to me!” Patton’s smile was nearly blinding as he held the pen out. Grabbing the pen, Virgil felt a little… unnerved. Maybe it was just the anxiety talking, but this guy seemed way too nice to be here. Maybe he was just about to leave the program?

“Uh, thanks.” Was the only thing he said in response before retreating to the corner of the room. He could see Becca hovering around the computer before telling them she would be back in a second.

Well ain’t that just fucking great .

“Ooh, scandalous~!” Roman yelled as Becca went to leave the room. “Leaving a bunch of teens unsupervised? Didn’t take ya for the type.” Virgil looked at him. If he remembered correctly, Roman had said this was his second day. So, why was he so… extroverted? He, along with Patton, didn’t really feel like they belonged in this group. Patton seemed too bright and happy, and Roman seemed too loud and confident.

“You is not pronounced ‘ya’.” Logan huffed. Roman turned to him looking a bit confused.

“It’s… not that different, though?”

“Every little thing matters, Roman. I’ve explained this to you before, so why do you continue to lack the capacity to understand it?” Roman spluttered at this, the insult obviously getting to him.

“I was just telling you my opinion, and you don’t need to… insult me over it! Believe it or not, I don’t like being called stupid!” Roman spat out.

Uh oh.

“I did not call you stupid. It seems as if you came to that conclusion yourself, yet I will not deny it.”

“ You implied it you-”

Before Roman could finish, Becca, in all her glory, opened the door and invited them to follow her. Well, maybe invited wasn’t the correct term, but Virgil was well on his way to a massive anxiety attack and couldn’t give a shit.

Once Becca had led them outside and had them all introduce themselves, she gave them a simple two-sided sheet of paper.

“Today, we’re going to be doing a people scavenger hunt! On the paper, there’s a bunch of questions, and it’s your job to find someone who fits the criteria! Once you do, they should sign your paper. Try not to use the same person for most of the questions! Sounds great, don’t you agree?”

“Yay.” Virgil muttered unenthusiastically, curling into his hoodie when both Roman and Patton turned to him.

“Miss Becca, there are four of us. Statistically speaking, it is unlikely for us to be able to fill out the entirety of this sheet, especially with questions like the 13th, which says ‘Someone who has red hair.’ As you can see, none of us have red hair. I must recommend that you reprint this paper with questions we can properly answer.” Logan attempted to smooth down his hair in the wind as he spoke, his paper resting on a clipboard, because of course Logan had prepared himself with a clipboard while the rest of them had to combat the wind attempting to blow their papers away.

“It’s okay, Logan,” Becca smiled sweetly. “You don’t need to answer all the questions before we go back in.”

“Yes I do, or the assignment is incomplete!”

Smile dropping, Becca motioned for the others to start as she turned to talk to Logan. And with that, Virgil was forced to communicate with the last two.

Already, Patton and Roman seemed to be chatting, which left Virgil to awkwardly stand by while they filled the paper out. Virgil could feel his breathing quickening, why did Logan have to be picky? He could be talking to him, which would be better than just standing here with nothing to do!

Roman turned to him once he had gotten the paper signed, smiling slightly at him before skimming his eyes through the paper. Wait, he took it back, he wasn’t ready to talk yet oh no-

“Do youuu….. Like mint ice cream?” Roman asked, looking up from his paper with a smile. Silently, Virgil nodded. After signing the paper Roman gave to him, Roman stayed, looking expectantly at him. What? Oh! He’s expecting a question quick choose one!!!

Looking at his own paper, Virgil chose the first question his eyes landed on.

“Do you, um. Do you speak another language?” He stuttered out. Roman brightened.

“¡Sí! Hablo español.” Roman was bouncing on his heels, grinning impossibly larger. At Virgil’s dubious stare, he seemed to deflate, a small blush growing on his cheeks. “Sorry, uh, yes, I speak Spanish.”

As Virgil handed him the paper, he had more time to stand awkwardly. Roman had hoisted his leg up and was now balancing precariously on one leg while writing against the other one. His tongue poked out from between his teeth as he tried to not fall over.

Roman had green eyes. While Virgil didn’t usually make eye contact, he couldn’t help but notice while this kid was right in front of him . Virgil had always adored green eyes in people, they may be more rare but they were so pretty and-

Roman glanced up at him, and Virgil quickly flushed. “Do you want me to fill out the green eyes question, too? I’m pretty sure I’m the only one of us who has green eyes, so… y’know… while I’m here, might as well, yea?”

All Roman saw was Virgil’s small nod, which Virgil was grateful for as his mind was screaming at the current moment.

Is this guy psychic what the hell how’d he know EXACTLY what I was thinking??? What???? No, Virge, calm down, he can’t be psychic- BUT WHAT IF HE IS????

Once Virgil got his paper back, he turned once more and was suddenly face-to-face with Patton’s smile.

“Heya kiddo! Have you been on a boat ride?” At Virgil’s shake of his head, he continued. “Hm, okay, have you been to a park in the past few months?

On and on the activity went. Surprisingly, Virgil quickly found himself actually enjoying the activity. Roman and Patton were easy to talk to, if slightly disorienting to the extreme introvert.

Unfortunately, the universe seemed to hate him, because after about 10 questions with the others, Logan stormed back into the building, leaving Becca alone. Becca sighed.

“Sorry guys, but I legally can’t leave him or you without a guardian, so if you could follow me please we will go back inside.”

Back inside, Becca took them to the cafeteria, where Logan already was, meticulously rearranging his binder. When Becca approached him, he hissed out, “I will NOT be doing an assignment where I am forced to fail.”

The three looked at each other, Patton seeming to be the only one who knew what was happening. He gave them a sad smile.

“Logan came here before me, but he told me he has extreme OCD. Basically, he gets anxiety when things don’t go the way his mind tells him they have to.” Patton whispered to them. “I think he has a sort of… fear of failing, so he gets the bad feelings when he can’t finish an assignment. Well, more bad feelings than the average person.”

That made sense, Virgil supposed. While he was told he had a bit of OCD, he wasn’t exactly briefed on all the ins and outs, only diagnosed with it. So he had no definitive answer as to what exactly it was, but from what he had heard, that seemed to fit with the behavior Logan was showing.

A couple minutes passed, Virgil tapping his foot aimlessly. He stared at the ground as Logan continued to bicker, and as Becca desperately tried to calm him down. Eventually, Roman spoke up and told Becca that it was check-out time, which apparently entailed them filling out a sheet of paper before they were able to leave.

Thankfully, Becca told Virgil that he didn’t have to fill a check-out sheet today, which left him awkwardly tapping his pen against the table. He noticed Roman doodling in a blank space on the paper, mouthing the lyrics to a song Virgil couldn’t decipher. Patton was watching the clock after he had finished, which left Logan to be the only one still filling out the sheet.

Once they were finally blessed with the absence of silence in the form of Becca loudly exclaiming that they could start sharing aloud and dear God would Virgil have to do that tomorrow? They were finally allowed to leave.

After signing out and riding the elevator down, with all the other patients and their parents in the cramped space, they finally exited the building.

“So, what’d you think?” His dad asked as they walked to the car. Virgil simply shrugged in response.

And maybe, Virgil enjoyed it a little bit, just a little bit. But he wasn’t going to admit it after he claimed so adamantly that he would hate it the days prior.

The ride home was spent with Virgil telling his online friends what had happened in therapy that day, a task that would quickly become routine in his days at Sanders.

And maybe, just maybe, he was feeling a little bit better at returning the next day.

Maybe.

[bahinscute]

American McGee’s Alice

I’d be underselling it if I said the visage of a morose, brunette Alice Liddel stained in blood and wielding a knife wasn’t something of a creature comfort for me. It brings me back to a time of unabashed edge and calling yourself -*twisted*- on MySpace. I never played either of American McGee’s Alice games when I was younger, but Madness Returns always intrigued me. A 3D platformer that seemed to conform to my every niche. It wasn’t until last year when I actually picked it up; and with it, the first game.

 I don’t want to dwell too much in the history of the game, much less it’s titular auteur. I’ve watched a few reviews of the series in preparation and, much to my interest, many of them go into lengthy detail into the admittedly tragic life of American McGee. His mother was criminally neglectful in his early life, and in his later life he would come to bare the kidnapping and certain death of his sister, along with the cruel taunting that ensued by what we only can assume was his sister’s captor. It’s no wonder then, that the very first game he helmed featured such dark themes. Themes of survivor’s guilt and the utter destruction and reconstruction of a mind proceeding tragedy.

 Here’s the short of it. The game takes place after Lewis Carroll’s novels and functions as a sequel more or less. Sound familiar? That’s the premise of Tim Burton’s live-action adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, but this time with a much less confusing execution. There’s no arranged marriages or trading companies for Alice to inherit. Instead, she’s been institutionalised in the wake of a house-fire of which she was the only survivor. This entire premise is exposited during the intro cinematic, so if you weren’t paying attention then too bad. These events are barely revisited again. This might sound like a critique on my part, but I appreciate this threadbare style of storytelling. The rest of what you need to know is laid out for you subtly, it paints a story for you through the subtext of the environment. Yes, you’re in a weird school, then a garden where even the ants tower over you, then a smothering claustrophobic cave filled with water. These seem innocuous enough (with maybe the exception of the Skool) but keep in mind, these events take place inside the players mind!!

 Apparently, the manual which shipped with the game included a journal of Alice’s Ward as he tried his best to treat her mental state. I didn’t read this, partly because I don’t actually own the manual, but mostly because I think this is bullshit. Everything you need to know about Alice’s emotional journey is within the game itself, and a “real world” account only exists to muddle the game’s themes.

You could draw parallels to the player’s conquering of the game, the stages and the enemies, as Alice conquering her own trauma and retaking control of her own mind. Your arsenal grows as Alice discovers more tools with which to resolve the blame she assigns herself. Obviously this is all conjecture, what sort of game would it be without enemies and weapons and etc., but that’s art for you. It’s not entirely unfounded, of course. The Jabberwock fight is markedly a poignant fight for Alice, and the themes are much more opaque. The Jabberwock openly mocks Alice for letting her family die in a fire, and its death certainly represents a forgiveness she allows herself. It’s no mistake that this fight takes place in the Land of Fire and Brimstone. This is a running theme in American McGee’s Alice series, of bosses representing some part of Alice’s struggle. The Mad Hatter owns an asylum and dedicates his life to hurting his infirms. The Red Queen represents a fear of the real world and a complacency in fantasy. She urges Alice to stay where she is, doomed to face the consequences of losing herself to her own escapism. The Queen’s face peels back to reveal to Alice who she’s really speaking to, herself. And that’s an interesting thing to keep in mind in a story like this, essentially every dialogue Alice has is in fact a monologue.

 If there’s one thing I’ve always admired in these late 90s-2000 PC games, it’s the amazing moods they always manage to create. They suck me in like one of those sucky things in a pool would suck at your leg. Most dev teams couldn’t or wouldn’t hire some writer to hi-jack their video game, so to compensate artists could inject the project with an incredible atmosphere you’d be hard pressed to find in any modern game. This game manages both and passes with flying colours.

The dialogue and tone, beyond the edge and grit, is unrelentingly Wonderland, short just of the copious Oxford educated maths jokes. Alice speaks with a sophisticated wit and approaches her own strange world with a seemingly innocent curiosity. Despite her broken psyche in the waking world, she’s comfortable in her fantasy, no matter how depraved it’s gotten. I’m sure I’m not the only one who can relate with this idea.

The majority of the locales are viciously memorable. The source material demands imagination and the game, with the exception of a few stages, certainly delivers. The first real location is the Skool, looking like a miniature from the set of Nightmare Before Christmas. The floorboards giving way to a hypnotizing infinite, where titanic stacks of books threaten to topple over and phantoms infiltrate the walls. The battlefield beneath the grass where insect troopers threaten Alice with bayoneted rifles, and the only refuge from the battle is down below the earth, in the treacherous ice caves. The Hatter’s Domain with it’s daunting amount of mirrors and ticking clocks, where enemies can be waiting around each corner, behind each wall. The Pale Realm, with it’s perplexing geometry and chequered stylings, where Alice must traverse as a Rook, Knight or Bishop. It’s just all so endearing.

The gameplay might be the one aspect of the game I’m still not entirely sold on. Unlike their first-person counterparts, third-person games developed on the id-Tech engine have aged like bread. See also: Heretic 2. The game requires a lock-on mechanic for you to ever hope to hit your attacks and it features a jumping reticle of all thing. Stand close enough to a platform and you’ll see a spinning imprint of Alice’s boots projected onto it. They seem like very rudamentary solutions to issues that console devs strived in solving. This game was released four years after Crash Bandicoot and Mario 64, and two years after Banjo Kazooie and Sonic Adventure. Even for its time, the gameplay was awkward.

 Alice in Wonderland is one of those rare stories whose mythos inspires creators more directly than even what you might consider the most influential of art. Storytellers make allusions to Carroll’s work as much as they might Greek legend, which is a monumental claim to fame. The Jabberwock is referenced in the same tone as Hercules’ Hydra, the White Rabbit which leads Alice down it’s spiraling gateway has been used to symbolise psychedelics, More recently, Arkane’s Prey has borrowed an Alice title for it’s iconic in-universe Looking-Glass technology. McGee has made his very own impact in this legacy, instilling a grit and twistedness to the world which can still be seen today. I doubt that Tim Burton would have wound up directing a Wonderland movie without American McGee’s input.

I do hope McGee gets another shot at game direction. He’s a talented level designer, his life has been harsh and his Alice series holds a special, extremely biased place in my heart. That said, maybe he could give the series a break, maybe work on that Oz idea he had. Madness Returns left a bittersweet taste in my mouth, and his track record of video game direction slants slightly more to bad than good. I mean, google Bad Day LA.

[fuckyeahcharmcaster]

Pot, Meet Kettle

So, was looking for more Charmcaster content and came upon these comments related to the reboot episode “What Rhymes With Omnitrix?”  And...wow. I won’t name names out of respect for privacy and will put this all under a cut so that only those interested can read it, but the hypocrisy here is just so mind-numbing that I needed to comment on it.

Kevin stans unwilling to admit to his faults, do not engage.

What she did to Kevin was not conning in any way, that was clearly and blatantly magical enslavement complete with chains, torture, and mindcontrol. You can’t just downplay that shit like this and expect me to go along with it, not when the sequel series already tended to pull that, especially with regards to Charmcaster doing that sorta shit. You do not get to blatantly show Kevin being forced to do things against his will, being tortured for fighting back, and then try to pass it off as him having been tricked into working with her. What the fuck is with this franchise with having Charm do horribly evil shit and then just waving it off?

Remind me: how much horribly evil shit did Kevin commit, even in the sequel series themselves where he was a good guy, that got downplayed, justified, waved off or swept under the rug? Murder, war profiteering, aiding other criminals when it suited his interests, letting his friends take the rap for his crimes, etc?  

Sequel series Charm was incredibly shitty, there’s no denying that, probably shittier than sequel series Kevin honestly given the sheer lack of consistency in her character and over-the-top extremes they had her go to. But guess what, that doesn’t make sequel series Kevin un-shitty. If you’re not holding the same standard to how they’re written, your argument loses credibility because it is intellectually dishonest.

More to the point, what about all of the crap that reboot Kevin has pulled? Does none of it bother you? Is him walking free sensible given the stuff he’s done? Ex: he enslaved Glitch, who is a sentient being, against his will twice. He wasn’t taken to task for it afterward, even though he felt no remorse and went on to do more evil deeds. Before getting controlled by Charm, he was about to beat Ben to death. And even before he got his Antitrix he was a vicious bully who traumatized Ben to the point of being scared of public bathrooms. So why is all of that excusable and you can “go along with it” when the show doesn’t dwell on any of it afterward, but you draw a line in the sand when Charm, a villain, does something bad to Kevin, another fucking villain? That’s like hating on Kevin for manipulating the Weatherheads or Steam Smythe and expecting the show to make a bigger deal out of that, or hating on Zombozo for screwing Vilgax over or hypnotizing Kevin and expecting the show to make a bigger deal out of that; it makes no logical sense. Villains are gonna villain, it’s what they do.

With Charmcaster, it was a case of Kevin trying to puff himself up and seem big and bad and Charm responding with ‘great, let me have your brain for my own’, followed by an episode of him fighting viciously against her control until she took 100% over. But he was ‘working with her’, the writers say. And given how much the sequel series were into brushing the awful shit she did under the rug, I really don’t have patience for it here.

Again, I ask if you’ve checked under Kevin’s rug from the sequel series lately. Lot of awful shit there. And if you had the patience for all of that, you can have the patience for this.

And as for what sparked this whole outburst, the ‘working with her’ thing was in reference to that in his puffing Kevin outright said that she ought to take control of him. She told him upfront that she wanted to control Ben against his will to have him attack Gwen, and told him to be on his way because he wasn’t Ben. Kevin could have gotten out unscathed. But, not thinking straight because of jealousy, he protested and said that she should want to control him because he’s more powerful. Charm’s response (basically “OK, if you insist!”) made him realize all too late what he had just said and what it actually meant would happen to him.

It’s not trying to excuse what Charm did as right or justifiable or undermine it in any way, it’s just acknowledging that Kevin also played a willful part in making it happen too due to his hate-boner for Ben, just as Charm did due to her hate-boner for Gwen.  He wasn’t just minding his own business until Charm up and took control of him for no reason: he was about to murder Ben and got accidentally pulled over to Charm who mistook him for Ben, she told him to leave when she realized her mistake, and then Kevin insisted that her plan to control Ben was dumb because Ben was weak; she should want him because he’s stronger. His claim of Charm “conning” him into getting controlled is him lying to himself about what happened, acting as though Charm deliberately manipulated his jealousy to make him say what he did, rather than admit that he had been a stupid, jealous kid who badly fucked up.

It’s not even that they don’t treat her as being in the wrong, it’s that they want her to both be redeemable and also to do things that may or may not be irredeemable. It’s a theme of every sequel series and now the reboot as well.

Except that Charmcaster hasn’t done anything remotely irredeemable in the reboot series. And if you think that she did, then you’re being intellectually dishonest because, again, Kevin has done literally the exact same things and usually for the exact same reasons. He’s not against controlling, enslaving, manipulating or relishing in inflicting pain on people either. He may not be a psychopath, but he still is written as lacking in basic empathy, just like Charm.

It was also absolutely a theme for him as well in the sequel series, probably even moreso since they did a whole fucking arc about it w/ Ultimate Kevin, where he did horrific things that were irredeemable and yet he’s still redeemed and those actions are swept under the rug with the whole “it wasn’t his fault, it was the energy he absorbed that made him do it!” excuse, which is the same kind of cop-out as the Alpha Rune was for sequel series Charmcaster. If you can buy wholesale into that excuse but can’t for the Alpha Rune, you are operating under a double standard. Either both are cases of awful character writing that exist purely for the writers to avoid having to write actual redemption arcs, or neither of them are. Pick one.

SO they have her do these things and then either sweep them under the rug, downplay the shit out of them, or tell us that we should feel sorry for her that she felt the need to do that.

....I...I really can’t right now.  I just can’t.

This literally describes Kevin too. Swap names and gender pronouns, and it’s the same.

And yet every time Kevin does something horrible, your reaction seems to be “oh, my son!”, sweeping it under the rug or downplaying it, and you feel sorry for him that he felt the need to do it; you still understand and sympathize with his troubled mental state regardless of what inexcusable acts of villainy it drives him to do. But when it’s Charmcaster? Fuck that bitch and cue violent fantasies of what Kevin should do to her for revenge just because he happened to be the victim of her actions (oh yeah, and about those: what the actual fuck!? Honestly, the hypocritical bitching about Charm being some kind of writers’ pet wouldn’t bug me half as much without this totally uncalled-for shit accompanying it.)

It sounds to me that this has nothing to do with morality: it has everything to do with a bias toward your fave and anger that he got hurt.  It sounds to me that Kevin can hurt Ben, Gwen, Grandpa Max, Glitch, or anyone else and you’re fine with it - heck, he can hurt Charm and you’re fine with it given the aforementioned fantasies. But when Kevin is hurt, the one who did it MUST be held accountable at every turn and suffer the painful consequences!

He’s your fave, I get it, but the emotions involved with that should not rule out objectivity. Nor should it fuel torture porn fantasies toward another character, especially a female child one who already has being physically abused by a boy as part of her goddamn backstory. (Humiliating slapstick like the show itself uses is fine though, she definitely deserves it.)

The way you are going about it, you come off as a pitiful MRA-type always bitching about how them damn women get away with everything and men get screwed as a result, even when it’s not at all reflective of reality. If you really think the writers of the Ben 10 franchise have historically held some kind of bias toward Charm and didn’t toward Kevin, then just look at Kevin’s screentime throughout the franchise compared to Charm and then come back at me with that shit (same goes for Gwen for that matter; stack her up against Ben and Kevin in terms of significant arcs, actions and development, and you’ll find she falls woefully short.)

And the thing is, for the reboot at least, she’s young enough I’m willing to give her some leeway, but the tempering damages that by making it feel like the writers don’t see what she does as an issue.

It’s not that the writers don’t see what she does as an issue. It’s that you see it as way too big of an issue while also not seeing the same thing happening with Kevin as an issue at all. It’s a double standard, pure and simple: Kevin is your fave and so he can get away with anything in your eyes and you don’t consider it to be troubling writing if he gets let off with a slap on the wrist for it. But you can’t do the same for Charm because she’s not your fave and - more importantly - Kevin is negatively impacted by what she does. If he wasn’t, then I’m pretty damn sure that no evil deed she commits would actually bother you at all. You want the show to fixate on how evil what she did was not because you hold some standard against magical mental enslavement in general, but because you’re angry that she did it to Kevin. This is all about you taking offense on behalf of your fave, not about the writers messing up in any way.

And before anyone gets on my case for bashing Kevin, I’m not! I love reboot Kevin! None of what I described above about him bothers me in any way because I can look at him objectively and enjoy him as the troubled but undeniably nasty little shit that he is, just as I do with reboot Charm. They’re both villains who do villainous things, and the show’s lax attitude toward it is due to its light-hearted tone and the fact that they’re both children (ditto for the likes of Billy Billions and Simon Sez). But more to the point, they’re supposed to be hypocrites in regards to each other, because what they hate about each other is actually the worst of themselves reflected right back at them. They are the same kind of person and they project like crazy, this is a certified fact per Word of God. Their FANS, however, shouldn’t be following their example because they ought to be smarter and more mature than that.

It goes all the way back to this post, and what I said there still applies: Why are male characters allowed to be bitter, angry, hateful, vengeful, insolent, insulting, anti-social, violent and manipulative without reproach while female characters always get demonized for it?  Why does such behavior in a male character get the “my precious son!” reaction, while the exact same behavior in a female character get the “that horrible bitch!” reaction? Why are bad things a female character does to a male character considered irredeemably awful, but what bad things that male character might do to her for revenge considered an appealing fantasy and totally justified? Why can a male character be allowed nuance despite their deplorable acts of villainy, and yet when it’s done with a female character it’s proof that “the writers don’t get that what she did was wrong because otherwise why try to make her appealing or sympathetic in any way?” Why this double standard?

I don’t know, but I do know that it’s wrong and I am not here for it.

Tl;dr: don’t hate on Charm for things your fave is equally guilty of or things that a witch-themed supervillain is gonna naturally do just because it’s your fave who gets hurt by it.