#can you tell i have no idea how to draw video game controllers

[pixzelin]

omg they are gaming

[erikahenningsen]

47, rejanis?

47. “No one needs to know.”

Janis has always processed through art—drawing, painting, embroidery, her brief foray into stop-motion animation.

Rebuilding her friendships with Cady, Gretchen, Karen, and Regina in the summer after junior year is... a lot. Even after apologies and long conversations (and Damian's attempt to facilitate a restorative justice circle), there are some days that Janis feels angry, or sad, or guilty, or confused.

She's particularly confused about how she feels about Regina.

So she opens a new sketchbook, just for drawings of her friends. Some of them are just simple sketches of their picnic in the park or afternoons at Gretchen's backyard pool—and some of them are more elaborate, from the late nights when she can't stop replaying everything that happened in sixth grade over and over again in her mind.

Tonight, her sketchbook is forgotten upstairs in her room. Everyone has gathered in Janis's living room to watch movies and play video games—a pretty standard Saturday evening.

What has also become standard: intense arguments about whose turn it is with the controller.

"Oh my god," Regina shouts over Cady and Damian heatedly debating whether Cady's brief turn taking over the controller while Damian was in the bathroom counted as a full turn, rolling her eyes. "You're giving me a headache. Do I need to write your names down and put them in a hat?"

Janis snorts, Cady pauses. "That's probably a good idea, honestly."

Janis waves vaguely towards the stairs. "Grab some paper out of my room. It's in my desk."

It's a testament to how far they've come that Janis trusts Regina to go into her room, albeit only for a moment.

However, several minutes pass, and Regina doesn't come back.

"Did Regina die?" Damian asks, and Cady whacks him on the arm.

"Don't say that!" she scolds. "Regina did almost die. Like, recently."

"That was one time."

"I'm gonna see what's up," Janis cuts in, jogging up the stairs.

"Regina?" Janis calls, pushing the door to her room open further. And then freezes.

Regina's head whips up from where she's looking at Janis's sketchbook.

"I'm sorry!" Regina says quickly, taking a step back. "It... it was open. And I saw a picture of me. I wasn't trying to snoop."

Janis's first urge is to slam the sketchbook and tell Regina to get out of her room, out of her house. But Regina looks a little frightened, a little embarrassed, and Janis takes a deep breath and decides to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"It's fine," Janis says.

"These drawings..." Regina looks at the book again. "They're really beautiful."

Janis's cheeks heat a bit. Not every drawing in the sketchbook is of Regina but she is the subject of a lot of them.

"You're a good subject," Janis says, not realizing how flirty that might sound until Regina's eyes widen. But she doesn't take it back.

Regina taps a page, and Janis comes closer to see that it's a drawing of Regina from one of their pool days, from the beginning of the summer, seated on the edge of Gretchen's pool with her feet dangling the water, a soft smile on her face.

"This day," Regina says. "I hadn't been that happy in a long time."

Janis doesn't know what to say to that.

"Can I have it?" Regina asks softly, tentatively.

"I... I guess," Janis says "But can you not, like, show this to anyone? It's personal."

It might be a strange thing to say about a drawing of someone else, but Regina nods like she understands.

"No one needs to know," she says, reaching out and squeezing Janis's arm. "Thanks."

Janis's skin tingles where Regina's hand is and her stomach flips over, and all she can think is how she needs to draw this moment later.

[serxinns]

uhhhhh i have an idea!!!

imagine class 1a (platonic or romantic, u can choose) with a darling who acts like a thembo (i mean ABSOLUTELY STUPID) and then it starts to affect their training and stuff, so they suddenly do better and the class finds out that their darling was actually really smart this whole time, they just act dumb because people liked them like that :3

Your classmates knew you were a nimbo always wondering out the world without a care and it gives them gray hairs but they still love you

Whenever Bakugo is sarcastic with you or someone else says a joke to you, your brain goes into a loading screen and when you FINALLY get it it's already too late 😭 and he either pinch your ears or pinches your stupid adorable face telling you to stop being so stupid and you're just looking at him with either a blank face or just smiling "innocently"

You have this habit of cooking your head to the side like a dog curious about noise and they just head over heels Ochako squealed to herself blushing Kirishima covered his hold head with his arms making small mutters about how cute you are along with Midoriya

Even Iida couldn't stay strong to cute little you he couldn't even finish his lecture without trying to form a smile or covering his face with his mouth cause he wanted you to take him seriously whenever you left your notes he gave you his or offers you to study with the two of you alone together and if anyone of your classmates wanted to join he use excuse like "they need it more" or "I can only tutor one person"

Denki is always teasing and flirting with you he sees you as a flame twin the two of you would always do chaotic stupid stuff that would result in destroy the room or would get the two of you hurt and despise that the two of you would laugh it off, the class FORBIDS the two of you to be lab partners cause denki told you to put in the yellow chemical when it's suppose to be the pink one sero had to rush In and grab the bottle and throw it out the window where it exploded safe to say denki got scolded while you were babied

Momo is like a mama bear whenever she sees you do something stupid she'll quickly rush over there to the rescue and fight off or remove whatever is about to Harm you and hugs and nuzzles you against her to check and see if you are OK, she always packs a med kit whenever it's hero training or anywhere dangerous to patch up mostly you and your classmates up but mostly you buys you the most amazing and expensive gifts and always gushes and cherish over any gift you send her even if it's some crappy glittery macaroni with a glittery heart and an M in the middle she would put that up on her wall like its a trophy

Tsuyu is so sweet and patient with you whenever it's something you don't get she explains it the best way she can for you, she's obsessed with every little thing you do every time she's watching you do something or minding her business (like drawing, making origami, etc) she sighs dreamily observing and studying you like one of their study books whenever your near harm or in hair she wraps her tongue around you and quickly takes you to a safe place

One day in the common room bakugo and his gang were playing video games bakugo and Sero were yelling at each other to shoot at the zombies while Bakugo was on the edge of breaking the controller and killing Denki and Kiri, Sero wanted to tease you a bit "Hey y/n! What's the database that only pro heroes can assess?" Mina smacked his head while he laughed like a hyena "Stop teasing them it's not very nice! y/n bestie you don't have to" "It's the hero network!"

Everyone paused and silently looked at you with a blank stare even Sero shut his mouth while you were casually eating your snack you looked at them confused "Isn't that the right answer...?" "HOW DID YOUR DUMBASS KNOW THIS" "BAKUGO! be nice!" Before they could ask you any more questions you left with your snack in your right hand and your device in the other, ever since then your classmates started bombarding you with questions and you would answer them correctly without even thinking about it while your classmates were impressed they were also worried do you not need them were you smarter than they thought? Were you offended by them babying you?

So one day Ochako came up to your desk playing with her fingers and looking away "y/n how are you so smart all of a sudden?" You turned to her and smiled "I acted like this because everyone liked me being like this! People started bullying me for being smart so I acted a bit dumb then people would like me" The class heard about this and all hugged you (expect Bakugo) telling you that they like you the way you are smart or dumb

And now the class was more obsessed with you than before always asking you questions Denki and Mina begging you to be their study partner or to do their homework and they'll reward you with sweets but Iida would scold them for it the class would still love you even if you were a little dumb or smart it doesn't matter but you'll always be naive to their dark obsession with you

[thelunarsystemwrites]

Age regression, a useful coping mechanism.

Long post about agere!

So, it's possible you've seen these things on my blog:

Agere. Petre. Agedre. Petdre. Age regression. Regressor. SFW. All that stuff, but, what does it mean? Well, I'm here to tell you!

So firstly, questions are ALWAYS welcome! Rather in reblogs, comments, or in my ask box, I'm always willing to answer questions about age regression!

Second, if you want JUST the terminology explained, you can find it here!

With that out the way: Age Regression. It's basically mentally reverting back to an eariler age! It's a completely SFW (Safe for work) coping mechanism! Though not all regressors use it as a coping mechanism, some just do it for fun! (Also it's technically a form of dissociation!

Same idea with pet regression, but it's reverting to the mindset of an animal! Kinda like shifts for a therian! (Coming from a therian!)

It's a wonderful thing, though it may not always feel like it. Just like how toddlers for example, might have tantrums, not know how to comprehend big emotions, or feel confused. That can happen in regression too! It can be voluntary or Involuntary. But there's ways to manage that!

Oh, and regression is for EVERYONE! (Any ethnic group, any gender, any identity, nobody is allowed to gatekeep it!)

When you're regressed, it really does feel like you're younger, like things are simple, and such. The levels of how extreme it feels varies from person to person!

But yeah, you mentally become a younger age, can be anything from a baby to a teen!

I do HIGHLY recommend doing it! I highly recommend watching shows you loved as a kid, or kids shows you think you'd enjoy now. I recommend getting in cozy clothes, maybe drinking from a sippy cup/water bottle to feel younger? Colouring, playing games (like minecraft!) Listening to soft music, these things really help me!

I'll admit, it can be scary the first time. But you have to trust your mind, trust that youll be able to become big again (your current mental age) when you need to.

Agere (short for age regression) and petre (short for pet regression) can help you have a childhood you never had, help you process difficult emotions, help heal your inner self and inner child, destress, and lots of other benefits!

And hey, some regressors PREFER to watch shows like Hazbin hotel, like playing games like call of duty, like drawing detailed artwork, like swearing. That's all okay too! You don't even have to use baby/kid stuff or talk/act like a baby/kid to regress! But, I do recommend starting off with that first, as it can help you know what regression feels like! ^^

Another thing, you might be a regressor without even knowing it! Like, have you ever laid in bed, grasping to cuddle anything soft near you—Just wishing you were a kid again, that someone would care for you? Maybe you felt like you were having unreasonable fears, like afraid of growing up, or afraid of the dark. Did the world feel bigger, did you maybe want to have a pacifier, or a stuffy?

That could be Involuntary regression! It's a defense mechanism of the brain, basically trying to process the world by becoming mentally younger to help.

You can learn to help control this, not always, but there's ways to help! Pushing away your regression isn't always a good thing, as often, it comes back stronger.

Instead, I recommend trying to find what makes you feel good or safe while regressed, and finding time to do it once or twice a week! (As long as regression isn't taking over your life/interfering with you as a teen/adult, you can do it a lot more than that! Every day if you want!)

You can watch videos online on how to regress, how to do it in secret if you're not ready/don't want to tell others! (I recommend looking up "Agere" or "How to age regress" or "What's agere?")

Same for pet regression! And another thing, there's something called Agedre (Age dreaming) and Petdre (Pet dreaming)

Again, it's always safe for work! It's basically acting, and wanting to be treated as a certain age/animal. It can help to have someone coddle you, and treat yourself younger, even if you'd rather not regress/can't! It's just as valid as Agere/Petre!

And, the community is huge! Slowly, we're working to normalize this, help spread awareness about mental health, and that regression ISN'T a disorder, it doesn't need to be cured! It's a tool that even some therapist recommended!

And hey, even if it's not for you—Please, don't hurt us who rely on it, or use it for fun. If it makes you uncomfortable? That's fine, even if it's 200% SFW, you're allowed your own safe space and boundaries. But try to understand that, we're not hurting anyone, and we can respect each other without taking away each other's safe spaces.

Thank you for listening, questions are always welcome and encouraged! And I hope this helped! (If you have a question you're afraid to ask, you can ask in my ask box with anon! This is a judgement free space!)

The end! ^^

[habitsbf]

This is kinda my theory but ive wanted to hear your opinion on it that maybe the reason why Habit absolutely haves to posses somebody in order to have a physical from is because to more blend in and control people AND because he physically cannot take on his full acually form because the universe that everymanhybrid plays in dosent alowes him to

AHHH THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY ‼️ i like the idea of that theory and have thought about this before! HABIT is a predator, it makes sense that he would blend in with his surroundings to basically get closer to his prey/victims. before HABIT revealed himself in series, he had inhabited evan a few times before and pretended to be him. he used that to trick the others into false security, to lure them closer before eventually striking.

some examples of this i can think of are in the videos "slender man" on the crash621 channel and "Ryan & the SEVENTRIALSOFHABIT" on the main EverymanHYBRID channel.

in "slender man" evan and vinnie/vinny are hanging out together and playing video games. they are both in a happy, comfortable, and presumably safe environment. vin feels safe around evan and doesnt feel the need to worry, but before they actually sat down and started up any games, you see evan talking to "someone" about slenderman and his violent impulses. thats obviously not a good sign!! this someone convinces evan to agree with them, claiming evan (who is irritated he hasnt been able to attack anything) can get a hunt out of it. as the video continues and they hangout together, after a while, the video cuts to just vin playing alone. once he dies in game, "evan" appears from around the corner and stares at the screen. vin, believing it was really evan, approaches him. this is when HABIT attempts to strike, throwing him to the ground and attempting to stab him. luckily for vin, he was able to overpower HABIT and throw him off (which i never see people talk about for some reason? like, thats such a cool detail to me. that proves HABIT isnt as powerful as he makes himself out to be) anyways, HABIT blended in and hid behind evan for a while before he thought it was a good time to reveal himself. he wanted vinnie/vinny to feel false security in hopes of catching him off guard.

in "Ryan & the SEVENTRIALSOFHABIT" theres a scene where "evan" is caught by jeff talking to "himself." you can tell his voice is off, his voice is a little more raspy/growly than normal. thats clearly not evan. jeff doesnt piece that together though, mainly since at the time they were less aware of what HABIT was capable of. "evan" tells whoever he is talking with (im assuming it to be slenderman) "you gotta remember, that whatever i want, I GET. whatever i want. i want their fuckin' blood and i will take it. there aint a GOD damn thing you can do about it." which obviously is out of character for evan. he goes on to say "scare evan, hes just a bitch. not me. i will fuck you up the next chance i get." all of this confuses jeff, especially since this all seems to be coming from his friends mouth. jeff speaks up after a moment and calls out to evan. this causes HABIT to pause, and his tone of voice immediately switches back from raspy and growly to evans usual tone, a more friendly tone. he puts the act back on, acting nice and saying, "hey man, how you doing? i didnt see you there. i was just talking out loud." making an obvious excuse in hopes to not scare jeff off as he got up to approach him, knife in hand. jeff could sense this wasnt normal and something about it was dangerous, so he turned around and ran away before HABIT got any closer.

moving onto the topic of his his true form, while i do like the idea of him not being able to use that form in the universe EverymanHYBRID takes place in, it also just makes sense that he would choose not to use it. i mean, lets look at the actors drawing of HABITs true form:

this doesnt exactly look like a creature you would see out roaming around in your backyard everyday. im not sure what color he canonically is, but going off of all the fanon concepts ive seen, no natural wolf-like creatures has purple fur. they also dont have spider legs coming from their backs. again, HABIT is a predator. hes supposed to blend in, not stick out. his appearance is threatening, and to get closer to people, he needs to be NOT appear threatening. he needs to trick them into feeling safe and secure. he needs them to not yet know he is there. not until he is ready.

ANYWAYS LONG RAMBLE OVER 🎉 i showed my best friend this ask and discussed it with them a bit, so heres a silly screenshot from that

[mahercbeaucoup]

TTRPG Design Lessons from Wildermyth

I've recently been spending a good deal of time thinking about solo RPGs and playing Rangers of Shadow Deep, a solo miniature game. My brain has been buzzing with ideas for solo game design, but I wanted to extend my research into video games, and so I found myself playing Wildermyth. This game has been on my radar for years, but I finally took the time to sit down with it. I enjoyed the game's first campaign, and I came away with some lessons for solo TTRPG design.

Procedural Stories

As your party of heroes wanders the world of Wildermyth, the player is treated to vignettes of the characters' encounters with their environment. These little stories build much of the player's connection to their band of heroes, especially the ones who join later and appear less often in the main plot.

Coming from the OSR world, a natural comparison arises to random encounters, especially during overland exploration. But whereas OSR encounters can follow any structure (and it is not uncommon for them to merely provide a moment of flavor), the Wildermyth vignettes always result in a meaningful change to the game state (as far as I can tell). A character may gain a new item, or change in some unexpected way, and the player will have a choice to make. Because a vignette always results in some sort of change, the game has a continuous feel of forward momentum.

In solo games, I struggle with developing side characters (or characterization at all, if the game is primarily skirmish-based). Looking at Wildermyth's approach, I can see the potential for a spark table to take one or two characters and create a little side-adventure for them, giving them a little color and differentiating them from the others.

Overworld Map

Wildermyth's map is broken down into regions, and each type of region contributes a different gameplay option. Some areas may have ruins you can reclaim, giving you increased resources or "Legacy Points" (a type of special currency), that you can use to grow and enhance your party. Some areas might allow you to build a bridge across a river, or tunnel through a mountain pass, into an adjacent territory. Villages provide recruitment opportunities, and new areas need to be scouted.

Crucially, every action requires time to complete, and the world is always moving on. Timers count down to the next bad event, armies march across the map and destroy settlements, and the deck of potential enemies is always growing stronger. Even when you acquire enough party members to split them up over multiple locations, it always feels like there is never enough time to get to everything you want to.

This system is simple, but it adds rich, opportunities for gameplay. I would love to experiment with this kind of campaign layer in an otherwise more traditional skirmish game. By adding simple concrete benefits to the control of a region, a huge amount of gameplay naturally emerges, even before diving deep into other sorts of quest hooks that will develop.

Enemy Behavior

When it comes to the tactical battles, the enemy AI seems to be very simplistic (as it is in most games of this type, and video games in general). But this isn't a knock against the battles, because the game's designers clearly understand that you can compensate for AI with varied enemies and scenario design.

I could very much picture running these enemies manually, each one operating by a different tactic that is simple enough to execute manually, while also appearing in enough unique combinations and situations to the player on their toes. One enemy might always charge to the farthest character it can reach, while another might draw characters toward it. These are just a few examples from Wildermyth, but they demonstrate how a few simple enemies can drastically change the tactical situation.

Interfusion

The mage class in Wildermyth has "Interfusion" as its primary ability. This lets the character manipulate the scatter terrain in the environment, with different types of terrain offering different tactical benefits.

I haven't seen this kind of approach to magic before, and I think it has good potential on the tabletop.

Putting it all together

After playing Wildermyth, I have a clearer picture of the game that is brewing in my mind: a cross between a skirmish game and an RPG (hardly a new idea), focused on a war band securing an area, and reacting to dynamic threats with varied enemies and approaches to AI. It's the smallest of seeds, but I have a vision for what it can grow into.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Heyy me again so about the creepypasta thing, I just wondered if you can do Ben drowned with a gen z reader platonically? It's okay if your uncomfortable doing it ><

Ben drowned x gen z!reader (platonic!)

not uncomfortable at all! love that im getting ben drowned requests since i enjoy him a lot and kind of want to write for him more; just strictly platonic ..which reminds me, i need to draw him again soon! gonna answer this then take a break and get back to requests yipe!

admin is still sold on the idea of ben being confined to electronics most of the time so i can easily see him gaining access to your devices so he can pester you whenever he wants; though this may get a little annoying since youre... well still alive! you have a life

whether or not the reader is a creepypasta themselves or is a normal person is up to you! i think both can work, though i must say the idea of the reader being just some random person is really funny. like can you imagine? you get some haunted virus but the ghost is chill an you guys become friends

i do think ben can only mess with devices, i dont think he can mess with like. any internet browser stuff.... which segways me to my next idea; the og creepypasta came out in 2010, majoras mask came out in 2000, so putting it in the middle lets say ben died in 2005.. bro has missed a lot. youre going to have to fill him in on a lot of stuff, and boy let me tell you hes going to be going nuts

tell him about the new legend of zelda games. i think he would be hyped. throwing admins hc of ben being sick and tired of LOZ due to being trapped in the game out the window, admin needs this boy to get joyous!

he probably pesters you and asks you about the dumbest shit, does it on purpose because he thinks its funny

sometimes you guys play video games together, bro is absolutely astounded by how far games have come since he passed away. i think he would go insane over five nights at freddys. fill him in on the lore

going back on the video game stuff and playing together, just know that hes going to break the game and cheat + hes a sore loser, soooooooo...

do you think sometimes he comes and tries to spend time with you more and more over time because hes been stuck for years and hasnt really had many people to talk to? like yeah hes an angry spirit, but even angry spirits deserve friends!!!

ponders

probably messes with you by messing with your recordings if youre trying to make a video/tiktok/reel/what have you

probably interjects his own texts into your posts, never really says anything harmful, just messes with spelling or adds dumb messages

honestly its not your SM account/blog, its yalls shared account/blog now/j

stuck with old 2000s humor but i think he would absolutely love present day humor and how unhinged its gotten, though quick warning hes going to start quoting stuff

definitely quotes the sticking out your gyatt thing, hes going to drive you insane with it and hes going to laugh at you

do not play roblox tycoons with him hes going to bully small children

you guys play a horror game together on roblox and you can hear him freaking out through the speakers (likely using an old device for him so youre not fighting for control over one device)

absolutely DEVASTED when you tell him club penguin shut down

just know hes punching the metaphorical wall

on the rare chance ben is able to pull himself into the real world for a brief period of time, you guys probably do the same stuff hes just physically there for a short time!

make him touch grass while hes out, bro hasnt touched grass in nearly 20 years. this isnt even a haha "hes chronically online" joke, he hasnt actually touched grass in years due to circumstances

closing this with a hit of angst that made me go :( but imagine that it starts out as you guys being around the same age (well... close enough, since ben doesnt age anymore due to being a ghost) but overtime, you obviously grow up and have less and less time for him and :(

like owie

"what happened to us? we used to be best friends?" audio but its you two SOBS AND CRIES

[bestworstcase]

re: talk of Burn, do you have any idea why Yang's aura clearly broke when Neo struck her in V8 (right after activating Burn)? my theory is that perhaps activating her semblance does something like Tock's where it makes her aura manifest more solidly on her body (which is how it can make her hair light on fire) and therefore also, like Tock, means that her aura is more vulnerable. to me this would also explain why Yang would use it as a finisher at first; using it when she's already going to run out of aura makes it, in a sense, less dangerous because she's already gotten most of the other uses out of her aura that she can get.

would love to know if you think this is accurate, or what you actually think is going on with yang's semblance on a mechanical level (if you're interested in that anyway)

first, a general point about aura and aura breaking. the characters’ use of meters has led to a sort of popular fanon that aura works like hit points in a video game, where you have this many and taking damage reduces your HP by a certain number until you hit zero and then your aura breaks; (dark souls splash screen voice) YOU DIED.

i do not think it works that way.

from world of remnant:

aura is a manifestation of the soul, a life force that runs through every living creature on remnant—whether they are a meager shopkeep or a renowned knight. however, what sets true warriors apart from all others is their ability to amplify and control their aura.

aura is the power of one’s soul. it’s guided by emotion, self-knowledge, and spirituality. in its purest form, it becomes a semblance.

defensive aura is not a passive effect. we know this for a fact. in V5, oscar finds it physically exhausting to engage his aura in this way and ren tells him that’s normal—it requires intense concentration at first, then becomes second nature with practice. in V7, jaune’s aura-training demonstrates that recovery, regaining aura once it has been depleted, is a conscious action that can be improved through practice. this is because the “aura level” tracked by those meters is not a measurement of how much aura you have in the tank, as it were, but something like the density of the aura-field you’re pushing outward, or speed of flow, or something along those lines.

(the way i’m handling it in TDT is there’s a hard upper bound to how much aura you can hold in your skin, like a sponge not being able to absorb more water, and what auraleric gauges attempt to measure is % of maximum saturation because everyone’s aura will break around 5-10% saturation even though the amount of aura you have at 100% varies. anything you push out above that threshold is projected as transient bursts of energy and that’s where you start getting into offensive techniques.)

hazel’s phenomenal endurance is noted to derive from his rapid recovery, not the basal amount of aura he has. (he even just shrugs off being impaled.) i believe his semblance gives him an edge here, because it requires concentration to amplify one’s aura and hazel can’t be distracted by physical pain.

which brings me to aura-breaking. it doesn’t happen when the proverbial tank is empty. auras break when you can’t sustain the mental effort of generating enough aura; this might happen because the well you’re drawing from really has run dry (<- think this is what happened to nora with the high voltage door), but it might also be because you’re too tired, or you took a really painful or unexpected hit that shattered your focus, because you’re panicking or furious.

i think tock’s semblance is in the same ‘family’ as hazel’s and ironwood’s in that it puts her into a state of intense focus by blocking out anything that might shake her—with hers being far, far more potent than theirs but so potent she can’t maintain it for longer than sixty seconds, and possibly needs the ticking clock to ‘anchor’ her focus.

(fic stuff again, because tock’s alive in TDT for butterfly wing flaps reasons: sixty seconds is not a hard limit of her semblance; she can and on one occasion did go for much longer. to project an aura field you draw aura out of your reserve, which is the aura that naturally ‘pools’ around your soul; if that runs dry and you’re desperate enough, pushing hard enough, you can wring more aura out of your soul. blood from a stone. it hurts a lot, it will mess you up, and it can do permanent damage similar to what the aura transfer machines do to pietro. sixty seconds is how long it takes for tock’s semblance to drain her aura reserve, rounded down to allow for a margin of error.)

so. yang.

i think, mechanically, when the average person with aura training gets hit, their aura burns up to disperse most of that energy. (<- when they’re swatting gunfire away, the bullets bounce; the energy is reflected.)

but yang’s semblance absorbs energy—which is to say, if you had a ball throwing machine shoot a tennis ball at yang and someone else with equivalent training from the same distance, it would hit yang harder because her aura is less reflective; more of the ball’s kinetic energy flows into her body. then, like a battery, her aura converts that energy into some other form that can be stored.

sort of like dust, in fact. dust has a lot of potential energy, which is released when the material reacts with aura. given the literally explosive firepower yang gains from burn, i think that she’s storing this absorbed energy in the same form as occurs naturally in dust, which would put burn in the same ‘family’ as coco’s hype or arrastra’s equilibrium…

…and would also mean that this statement:

some prefer to use dust in its raw form: elegant, yet destructive. those who choose to wield dust in this state must possess a certain level of discipline to ensure that their resulting powers do not break free of their control.

is true of burn, too. and that tracks with who yang is and how she uses her semblance—even in V1-3, yang takes a more head-on approach to fights and tends to soak up more damage before exploding bigger vs her increasingly nimble and even acrobatic style post-beacon, but her control over those massive volcanic eruptions is immaculate.

the way burn works in general requires that yang be very, very in control of her aura at all times because she needs to balance between absorbing energy to charge up her semblance while reflecting enough to prevent injury, and this is one reason why i think yang is probably the best out of the cast when it comes to using aura. ren might have her beat on the more spiritual, extra-sensory perception side of things, but yang has to keep her focus while getting hit harder than anyone else Because Physics.

and that brings us to neo one-shotting yang’s aura. here is what happens: cinder is gloating from atop a pillar of fire while people scream and run in a panic all around them, and out of the corner of her eye, yang sees a glint of steel and realizes that neo is about to stab her unsuspecting baby sister in the back, she’s too far away, she can’t get there fast enough—burn is, in that moment, a reflex. instinct. she panics and hurls herself in between neo and ruby without even thinking about it because the only thing in her mind is GET TO RUBY NOW.

and that’s why her aura just shatters. it requires concentration—you practice until it becomes instinctive, until you don’t need to think about it, muscle memory. but it still takes focus. intention. yang has incredible self-control and thus incredible control of her aura, but everyone has limits, and hers are “holy fuck that guy stabbed blake” and “neo is going to kill ruby go go go.”

her semblance in itself doesn’t make her defense any weaker—but when she’s terrified enough for burn to activate reflexively like this, her aura will break if she gets hit because she’s freaking out.

[bamfkeeper]

Hey, so i have a few head canons for my oc, Cloudstrike, aka Ethan Grey (also, when I made him, I completely forgot Jean’s name is Jean Grey. Im sorry Jean 😭. So rn it’s just a coincidence, but maybe I’ll change it, or maybe make them distantly related? Idk this is my first oc anyways :p). I submitted him before for a different ask you did (I don’t expect you to remember that ofc tho lol), and he has wind powers, to be able to control wind, turn into a gaseous state, use some lightning, etc.. Also, since X-men ‘97 is what brought me into X-men, a lot of my ideas are based on that universe in the show. So anyways, here’s some head canons I have for him 😊

Sometimes, Ethan likes to turn himself into his gaseous stage and go into the vent system in the mansion, and be shot around the place like a roller coaster. He finds it to be a fun way to pass the time. 😊

Like how Bobby/Iceman can use his ice powers to chill drinks, Ethan can use his powers to chill or heat anything up (though he can’t chill anything quite as good as Bobby). So, the other X-men like to have him around during freezing days for him to be their portable hand warmer lol

He likes to play video games, especially competitive ones, so he hangs out and plays with Jubilee a lot, Roberto too sometimes, but since he’s more inexperienced, they won’t play as competitive of games as to not make Roberto feel as bad 🥺

He loves to cook, and to experiment with unique dishes, so he loves to get recipes from the other X-men; German recipes from Kurt, Cajun from Gambit, and several African recipes from Ororo. 🥘🥧

While Ethan has a bed and sometimes sleeps on it, he prefers to instead sleep while hovering in his gaseous form in his room. He finds the lack of pressure or gravity to be comforting

When he’s goofing around, he’ll sometimes give the person a small static blast (doesn’t hurt, just tingles), which is especially affective against Kurt and Hank because of their fur.

Since he has somewhat similar powers as Storm, she helps him in the danger room to train. They form a bond from their similarities, and even practice fun combos they could do in fights.

He has a small crush on Kurt (because who wouldn’t lol, plus Ethan’s bisexual), but he isn’t acting on anything yet. Though, he can’t help but blush whenever Kurt compliments him 💙

He would consider Jubilee to be his best friend. Also, they bond over being raised for adoption (I changed this one part of his backstory, to where he was abandoned by his original family for unknown reasons, but was adopted by this nice and caring human family who didn’t mind that he was a mutant). In XMTAS, she has foster parents too, so they bond over this. 🥰

He isn’t that keen on Logan atm, as he finds him to be kind of a jerk, but Kurt keeps telling Ethan that Logan is cool if you get to know him, so Ethan’s keeping an open mind. Though, he can’t help occasionally making some jokes at Logan’s expense with Scott.

Ethan has an interest for science and engineering, and sometimes likes to nerd out with Forge (whenever he’s around) and Hank sometimes.

Anyways, that’s my ramble for now. Again, he’s my first oc so I have some things I need to refine and expand on, but this is what I have so far. I’m not even skilled enough if an artist yet to draw what he exactly looks like. Also, I’m completely open to any critiques, ideas for improvement, or other fun ideas that I could incorporate! I hope you enjoyed my rambling 😊

Of course I remember Cloudstrike, I love him!

I think wind powers are super cool. And turning into a gas is super useful! I wish that more mutants who had elemental powers utilized this. I also love how he sleeps in this state for comfort, it makes sense! I love seeing domestic sides of ocs too.

I love his relationships you mentioned! Jubilee and Roberto is a cute trio with Ethan, and cooking with Kurt and Ororo? Sooo sweet.

The shock! Kurt and Hank puff up!! That's so cute. Like rubbing a balloon on them and watching it stick 😂

You know Kurt the flirt is gonna be complimenting Ethan. He'd be so fascinated with his powers and I think he'd ask him a ton of questions about them, especially about when Kurt teleports and he asks Ethan about his brimstone smoke cloud. Can he control it? Does it have a taste? A smell? A feeling?? So many questions.

HA I love how Ethan doesn't really like Logan, he can be kind of an ass at first.

I love all the relationships he has with the team, it really feels like he's part of the group! He's fleshed out really well, and the connections makes him feel more real. He's sweet! Thank you for sharing him with us 💙

[and-justice-for-zoisite]

𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕐𝕠𝕦 (Shang Tsung x Reader)

Official Masterlist

Summary: you have made it to the end of time, and everyone you once knew was gone - everyone but the evil sorcerer who enchanted you and gave you everything you could've asked for. But...was this what you really wanted?

-

A/N: so this one's just short and sweet, I got this idea randomly in my head so I artistically spewed all over my laptop and you guys get to read the mess!!

I wrote this based on the song Within you by David Bowie as well as the scene after the song in the movie Labyrinth. You'll notice the direct quotes from the movie, and all credit goes to the writers of labyrinth. I'll link both videos just below:

I just thought that the song and scene fit Shang Tsung's character so well and I simply couldn't help myself. So, enjoy! <3

-

How you turn my world, you precious thing, You starve and near exhaust me.

Here you were, at the very dawn and end of all time. Standing before you, was no one other than Shang Tsung.

Everything I've done, I've done for you, I move the stars for no one.

You had started to question your judgement a long while into his scheme, having had it prepared from the moment he escaped the hourglass with you, Fujin and Nightwolf. Ultimately, you had been loyal to him, and you never made it a habit to question him.

'He knew what was best for the two of you,' you'd tell yourself.

You've run so long, you've run so far, Your eyes can be so cruel, Just as I can be so cruel.

But was this what you really wanted?

Everyone you ever had a connection with, everyone you had ever known...they were now all gone, their lives extinguished by Shang Tsung's insatiable hunger for power. The weight of their absence bore heavily upon your heart, and the realization that you had become a pawn in his sinister game began to gnaw at your soul.

As you stood face to face with the embodiment of your servitude, doubts and fears welled up inside you like a tidal wave. The once blinding allure of power and control had faded, replaced by a deep longing for freedom and the restoration of the life you had lost.

Shang Tsung, sensing the turmoil within you, smirked knowingly, his eyes gleaming with a predatory glint.

"Come now, (Y/n)," Shang began, his tone tempting, "is this not what you wanted? Together, we can reshape the realms to our liking. No longer shall we be bound by the constraints of mortality or the fleeting connections of a fragile world."

His words hung in the air, seductive and dangerous. The temptation to embrace the darkness, to let go of the pain and forge a new existence, tugged at the edges of your consciousness.

"...this..." you said, just above a whisper as you shook your head, "...this isn't what I wanted. You...you took away so many innocent people, removed them from existence after giving them an agonising death. I wanted us to rule together, sculpt the sands of time by both our hands but..."

You shuddered, refusing to look at him.

"...had I known you'd kill so many innocent people, I would never have gone through with this scheme of yours."

Shang Tsung's facade of amusement faded, replaced by a flicker of annoyance. He had expected compliance, not resistance from you. His eyes narrowed, his voice tinged with irritation.

"You dare question my methods now? After all we've been through, all the power I've bestowed upon you?" he spat, his words dripping with venom.

You took a step back, the weight of his anger pressing against you like a suffocating force. But you stood your ground, drawing strength from the memory of those who had been lost.

"...you...you used me for my divine status. You corrupted me," you quavered, feeling tears prick your eyes though you would never give this man the satisfaction of tears. "I should've listened to my brothers when they told me to stay away, and...now they're dead, gone."

"(Y/n), beware. I have been generous up until now. I can be cruel," Shang warned you. "Generous?," you questioned him, your brows furrowed. "What have you done that's generous?"

"Everything!" he snapped, grabbing you roughly by the wrist as he made you look at him, "everything that you wanted I have done. You asked that I remove the obstacles of our love, I removed them. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you!"

His expression softened, as did his grip on your wrist.

"I am exhausted from living up to your expectations. Isn't that generous?"

You stared at Shang Tsung, his words echoing in your mind. Even if you could go back now, your brothers would never forgive you for courting with this beast of a person. Being a protector of Earthrealm and a water goddess, you failed your duties to safeguard the innocent and maintain the delicate balance of the realms. The weight of your failures crushed upon your shoulders, and a deep sorrow washed over you.

As much as you loved this man, as much as he had lulled you into a false sense of security, was there for you when you were at your lowest points, when you were hurting, when you were lonely...you couldn't help but think, did he do that because he cared? Or was it all part of his scheme? From the very beginning?

Though, at this point, what other choice did you have?

You were far too late.

"I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."

He was under your skin, and there was nothing you could do about it.

In submission, you leaned into him, allowing him to wrap and arm around your waist while the other wielded a powerful magic, one which served to shape the sands of time to his liking.

How sick you were for loving this man so.

-

[valleyfthdolls]

Movie!Cassidy is an Afton - an entirely speculative theory

(CW FOR DISCUSSION OF CANON TYPICAL HARM AGAINST CHILDREN)

A starting note

I do believe our little boy in Golden Freddy is named Cassidy, because Cassidy in the game universe is not confirmed female. Again I remind you all that Scott does not confirm fuck about these games. Fans have a tendency to claim their headcanons or whatever new fanon theories get popular have been confirmed to be canon. This is basically never true. Look at the semi-recent "Gregory is Scott's favorite" ordeal for an idea of how this information is shared in good faith and gets twisted nonetheless. Look at the comments under a fnaf au gacha life video for an idea of how people just straight up lie about that.

Cassidy in the games refers to himself as "he" and "him", we never see his physical appearance enough to make any judgment calls on his gender- any idea of his appearance is totally speculative, just like this theory- and most importantly, Cassidy is not exclusively a girls' name- it's actually a unisex name that started as a masculine one! It derives from the Irish surname Caiside, then became a masculine forename, then as it became anglicized as Cassidy it became unisex. In both modern day and the 80s, it is and was applicable as a boys' name.

Now, with that in mind, on to actual discussion of the Afton theory, and why I think movie Cassidy is one.

They look strikingly similar

Compare, for a moment, the appearances of Vanessa, William, and Cassidy. I'm using pictures of their actors because the pictures of them I could find online SUCKED.

William: Light skin, straight(?) brown hair, blue eyes. Vanessa: Light skin, straight blonde hair (though it's wavy in this picture, it's definitely straight for Vanessa), blue/maybe green eyes. Cassidy: Light skin, straight blonde hair, blue eyes.

The movie does suggest that Vanessa colors her hair blonde from brown (see: the brown roots), however, when she shows the photo of her childhood self and her father off to Mike, young Vanessa clearly has blonde hair as well.

And notably, her roots are just as blonde, suggesting that blonde was her natural hair color, but that it darkened as she got older, only for her to begin bleaching it back to its original color.

Now, blonde hair and blue/green eyes are both quite rare, but not rare enough that it's a dead ringer for a genetic connection. Hell, the Chica girl has blonde hair and blue eyes. However, Susie in the games has blonde hair and blue eyes, and Cassidy in the games very clearly has brown, and likely dark hair as well.

This makes the change to blonde with blue eyes very noticeable, and very noteworthy. And it’s a set of traits that he shares with Vanessa, as well as the notable blue eyes with William, as well as appearing to have a similar face shape.

Cassidy is inexplicably special

Cassidy is the first person who shares the image of Afton as Spring Bonnie with Mike when asked about who took Garrett. He seems more aware than anyone else of William, Garrett, William’s crimes, and what they’re doing.

When Mike asks who took Garrett, Cassidy responds by drawing a rabbit in the dirt- Spring Bonnie. (I will come back to this momentarily.) While the other kids believe Spring Bonnie is their friend, Cassidy seems to know the truth. He knows Garrett is dead, and offers Mike the chance to essentially see his ghost in exchange for Abby.

Furthermore, Cassidy doesn’t ever attack Abby, he doesn’t respond when William tells the children to wake up and go after her, and most interestingly-

Look at this image.

When Abby shows the missing kids what happened to them (in a scene I actually loved, btw, and I will take absolutely no criticism), you can see Jeremy in blue, Gabriel in the top hat, Fritz with the hook hand, Susie with long blonde hair, and… what I believe might actually be Garrett with dark hair and a red shirt. Because one thing is clear- that is not Cassidy.

Cassidy is not being controlled. He is fully aware, and he is angry. Hell, if you listen to his tone when he says “we want Abby,” it’s angry. Forceful. “We. Want. Abby.”

Again, Cassidy knows what is happening. He is angry and vengeful, and he’s the only one. So… why?

Well, honestly, this was my big qualm with the movie. Why was Cassidy special? In my eyes, there are four answers to this. He has a direct connection to William, a direct connection to Fazbear, a direct connection to every missing child that is unique to him, or he was the first or last of the missing kids. These would all set him apart. But we have no reason to believe he has a connection to FE, he was the fourth of the five missing kids as seen in the opening, and it seemed like the five of them were a group of friends. So what makes him special? He obviously knows or has something that sets him apart.

The imagery

Let me rewind now to when Mike first gets his answer about who took Garrett. He finds Cassidy in the woods and asks him for help remembering Garrett’s kidnapper. Cassidy responds by showing Mike a drawing of Spring Bonnie. Again, he knows that Spring Bonnie is evil, but more importantly here, he knows that Spring Bonnie took Garrett. Now, there are three ways he could know. One, process of elimination- the rabbit took him, so it took Garrett too. Two, assuming a relation to Afton, he saw or knew when this happened. Three, it was a matter of association.

Well, I actually doubt it was either of the first two. (You will see why this is not self contradictory in a second.) One, if it was because Spring Bonnie took Cassidy, well, Mike asked about Garrett, not Cassidy. For someone as obviously aware as Cassidy is, this is an obvious logical gap I doubt he’d make.

Two, Vanessa- Afton’s known daughter- didn’t know what happened to Garrett. When Mike asked- "asked"- if she knew, she said "not about Garrett." And while we don't have a clear timeline here (thanks Vanessa for your very ambiguous "in the 80s, kids went missing", we. we know), this was likely Afton's first kill. Meaning Cassidy was even younger then than he was when he died.

So, what do I mean by "it was a matter of association"? And how is this not self contradictory?

Well, assuming Cassidy didn't just. know Afton did it, what might have happened instead actually works even better with the idea that he knew Afton.

Compare the imagery here to that of the photo Vanessa shows Mike.

Spring Bonnie and the toy plane. If he saw Spring Bonnie and Vanessa with Garrett’s toy, seeing Garrett with that toy, he could assume that Spring Bonnie got it from him. Therefore, Garrett was taken by Spring Bonnie- Vanessa and Cassidy’s dad in the costume.

Their relationship

This one I’ll keep short. We only see Cassidy and William interact once. And it’s a very bizarre scene.

William is struggling, clinging to life, and Cassidy is standing, watching. Someone else said he was crying here, but I didn’t see it. Maybe, maybe not. I’m leaving that there. Either way, William reaches out to Cassidy, seemingly for help, and Cassidy shuts the door on him.

Watching the movie back and realizing Cassidy was never under William’s influence, this scene is… confusing, to say the least. Why would William reach for the help of the one child who was never under his thumb? What is he trying to appeal to? And why does Cassidy get the moment of being the one to shut the door on him?

Well, it’s obvious to see through Vanessa and the four missing children under his control that he is very clearly abusive to his children. Which isn’t a surprise to most, but anyway. Through the few minutes he and Vanessa are together, he berates her, strangles her, stabs her in the stomach and leaves her for dead, and Mike remarks that William “really messed [her] up”. He similarly berates and insults the missing kids, calling them pathetic and small. At the same time, however, he relies on his children to back him up. Vanessa is supposed to keep Mike from knowing anything and kill him if he gets too close. The animatronics are supposed to kill children and adults alike on his command. He leans on them. They are supposed to back him up.

And this would extend even to the one who he never controlled entirely if Cassidy was his son. His daughter let him down. His victims turned on him. But he still has one child left who hasn’t let him down. One who wasn’t there for him, but should be. Because that is the job of William’s children.

He reaches for Cassidy, the boy shuts the door on his murderer. The man who abused, betrayed, and slaughtered him all while he was meant to be his dad. William’s son is not going to clean up his messes now. He’s going to make him pay for them.

(ENDING DISCLAIMER THAT THIS IS ALL SPECULATION! I know there are many other explanations. This is just the one I like and I wanted to share it!)

[criolla-star]

Overwhelmed(Vinny x Garmadon) part 32

(I suggest you check out parts 1-31 if you haven't already)

"Nah we can wait and plus I wanna see this" Kai said before taking another sip of his drink, Vinny gave him a thumbs up before gently grabbing Garmadons' hands and the controller. The oni was listening really well mainly because he trusted Vinny, "What is the purpose of this...video game?" The oni asked curiously, making Vinny chuckle softly, "It's fun" "And it's relaxing!" Kai and Cole both spoke out.

"That is like the worst explanation you two could have done" Vinny sighed out to the two ninjas. "What do you mean? It works with others" Kai replied smugly, "And who are these others?" Vinny asked knowing what answer he was going to get. Kai paused for a moment, "People?" The fire ninja said earning a exactly look from Vinny. "Okay okay sorry geez I get your point go ahead and explain it to him, clearly he understands you better" Kai said out in a defeated tone making Vinny giggle and Cole chuckle out.

Vinny looked at Garmadon, "Well everyone enjoys different things and have different preferences for enjoyment and relaxation or well to get away from responsibilities some do art, write stories, some like cleaning, playing sport and or like playing games like this, but they all bring some sense of enjoyment eventually, like finishing a drawing, a game, winning a sports tournament, a story, or finishing cleaning a mess that has been a pain to look at just like how I tell you about finally finishing a shift at work" Vinny explained as he gently held Garmadons' hands.

"Damn he's good" Cole whispered to Kai who nodded, the oni thought for a moment, "That...makes sense..." Garmadon responded earning a smile from Vinny. The cameraman looked back at Kai before sticking out his tongue, "I said I was sorry!" Kai responded in a childish tone. The two ninjas began playing their game again while Vinny continued to teach Garmadon how to play. Eventually he got the hang of it and they slowly began playing.

The group began having to do specific tasks like kill someone or kidnap them, "How come when I did this to people it was bad but it's fine in video games?" Garmadon said making Kai laugh out and Vinny let out a sigh, "The game isn't real living people and plus some people play these games to let out anger that doesn't harm living people" Vinny responded while Kai and Cole laughed quietly.

Eventually they had to kidnap someone surrounded by guards, "We need a plan to get to them?" Cole said as they looked at the character surrounded by guards, "Ambushing?" Garmadon suggested he really enjoyed the game Vinny was right it was sort of relaxing. "No, don't have that of weapons" Kai sighed out before looking at Vinny who was thinking really hard."Ambushing wouldn't work even if we had good weapons they have guns and we don't" Vinny said, earning a nod from everyone, they were all throwing out ideas while Vinny thought hard.

"We could kidnap the guards and then kill the person due to being defenceless but that could be a situation that is really risky it can escalate quickly..." Vinny said out, while everyone listened carefully. "I suggest we kidnap one of the guards and torturing them for information......If verbal torture doesn't work, electric shocks and bamboo torture is very effective....castration is painful too" Vinny said before looking back at the others. (This part was inspired by a meme I saw ages ago)

[wazzappp]

Alright I figure since Lisa gets her little redux / refresher so does Gabe!

Just a quick refresher so you don't have to scroll all the way back down that tag: Gabe was really REALLY sick and Robbie was getting desperate. The Connections (bioweapon company. A rival to Umbrella Corporation) reached out under the guise of a group wanting to test a new experimental medical treatment. Robbie hates the idea of being away from his brother but Gabe is DYING and they aren't even asking him to pay anything. So they ship Gabe out, do their testing with exposing him to the E series mold (they want to see if Eveline can manipulate the biologies of other people so they introduce him as a friend who needs help. Eveline is so excited to have a real friend to run around with, so she makes him able to run around. His mental disabilities remain but his physical disabilities are basically gone.) and he's better than ever! They get him back on the ship (new facility for more testing. They aren't really planning on returning him to Robbie i mean Robbies just some kid what the hell is he gonna do [<- lol. lmao]). When Eveline throws her tantrum and crashes the ship. Theres about a three month period (instead of three years. i really don't know what would happen to Robbie if he went that long without Gabe) until Robbie pieces together stuff from their video calls and news of a crashed liner in Louisiana and GOES. Thats where the games plot starts.

In the actual RE7 part of this AU Gabe is having. A BAD fucking time. Essentially being Mia's replacement he gets the great privilege of being forced to slam his brother into walls, stab him and cut his arm off (for the small small price of an axe to the neck some shots to the chest and a lifetime of trauma).

(That blood loss is hitting hard buddy you don't look so good)

During the opening I think Robbie is just thinking that if he can get them out of there then things will be ok and thats what keeps him going instead of just breaking completely.

Gabe is having a much better time in RE8. He's a bit wary of his abilities (basically Rose's in reverse. He creates little bulbs and if they have enough time to grow he uses them as an anchor to develop independent mold colonies that he can manipulate). Eventually (after just. a LITTLE freakout [which I kind of want to draw]). He eventually reasons out that this isn't so bad because 1. he is very much in control of this rather than being controlled and 2. It allows him to protect his brother. You cant tell me Gabe wouldn't feel SO BAD about what happened while he was being controlled. Every time he looks at the scars from Robbies spontaneous amputation via chainsaw he feels so absolutely terrible about it.

In RE8 Gabe's big thing is that he wants to KEEP ROBBIE SAFE and BE USEFUL. He absolutely hates seeing him get hurt, inevitable as it is. He doesen't trust Lisa until he sees Lady D go down (she was telling the truth about how to kill her own MOTHER that must mean something). But he doesen't really end up liking her until he sees how well she covers Robbies back. The verdict for future judgement is still out but for now the best path is to trust her.

[laciere]

Bo Ruberg: In making video games about queer and trans characters, like We Know The Devil, do you draw from your own personal experiences? Aevee Bee: Yes, but it's more complicated than that. I've been thinking a lot about this idea of "empathy games." You're supposed to be able to experience what it's like to be this other person, right? To me, that sounds very similar to the confessional writing that a lot of queer artists get pushed into. It's like, "Tell us about your queerness" rather than "Create a new experience for yourself." I'm wary of confessional work, but also confessional work is just hard for me to do. I have other ways of getting at similar things. We Know the Devil is super autobiographical, but it's also about me unpacking that autobiographical history and finding alternative avenues out of it. A confessional story about my own childhood would be this static product, like, "Look at this. Here is a thing that happened. It's tragic and bad. Empathize with it."Instead, the game offers alternatives. It says, "Here's a thing that brings you in and allows you to both experience queer suffering but also to escape from it." In making a game like that, you can control and process your personal truth instead of just reproducing it. Rather than give an outsider ownership of whatever queer story I'm telling, I feel like I'm giving other queer people the ability to reclaim and control their own stories and their pasts. Maybe that's too idealistic, but a lot of people have interpreted We know the Devil as being about how they were able to process, understand, or control a queer narrative. The game has these tragic endings but then it has this really powerful, subversive final act that allows you to break through. I think that's part of the game's success. Ruberg: You make an important point about the value of designing queer games for queer players, rather than for the mainstream. Are you also interested in straight, cisgender people playing your games? Bee: I'm not trying to make games for straight people. At some point, I had the revelation that I didn't need to make work that was accessible for as wide an audience as possible. I was like, "oh wait, I can make this stuff for a niche audience and be successful." That was informed by my journalism around #GamerGate, because I was like, "Why are we making stuff for these people who don't understand, who don't want to understand, or who are actively trying to attack us for doing this sort of work?" We don't need to talk to them. Rather than putting all your energy into trying to convert the one person who is really angry on the internet, why not take that time and create work for people who actually matter? With that said, with We Know the Devil, I wrote a very honest and personal story that was true to myself and that is inherently accessible for others. The game is about women in love with other women, but a lot of folks who don't identify in that way still really relate to the narrative. If you're interested in making games, you should be thinking about it that way rather than trying to create something for some other person. Instead, be like, "I am creating this thing for myself and you are invited to participate. I am asking you to open yourself and leave behind certain assumptions." That's what good stories do. They invite you in.

"Aevee Bee: On Designing for Queer Players and Remaking Autobiographical Truth", in The Queer Games Avant-Garde: How LGBTQ Game Makers are Reimagining The Medium of Video Games (2020, Duke University Press)

[thisisyourauthorspeaking]

Would like to resolve a debate with a roommate :)

How likely is it that a random person with no previous flight experience could land a plane in the event the pilot became incapacitated?

How about a 747 vs a small aircraft? (Since commercial airliners now have so much automation and can practically land themselves)

What about a 747 if autopilot stopped working? How likely could someone with good hand eye coordination (and can drive a car well) land the plane by manual control only?

Say you took control and attempted to land, hit the runway odd and broke the landing gear, causing the plane fuselage to hit the ground and slide to a stop. Are planes resilient enough that everyone would still be alive? What are the chances of casualties in this case (and at what speed thresholds)?

If you've played Battlefield or such games, how close are the flight controls there to flight simulators or actual flight? Video games are obviously designed for player experience and realism, but if you are used to those controls, would you have ingrained bad habits trying to learn to fly an actual plane?

And finally, according to my roommate (who has no flight experience whatsoever but provides me infinite entertainment with claims that he can fly a plane): "when you land, you can't shallowly glide into the runway for a landing because you'll lose too much airspeed. You need to approach, take a sharp dive, and then level out before you land". Please rate that statement on a scale of 0 to flaming make-shit-up.

Thank you very much!

Alright, I'll break this answer into a few sections:

(Full disclosure, I don't fly airliners, but I am still certified as a commercial pilot and am drawing conclusions from my professional knowledge.)

Layperson saving the day by landing the plane:

In an airliner? Not a chance in hell. While there is an element of truth to the belief that an airliner can "land itself", the process to set it up is highly complex, and one wrong step can screw the rest of it up.

First, you need to get into the cockpit. For the sake of this ask, let's say the flight attendant knows about some super-duper-secret-hypothetical override to open the door from the outside. Otherwise, this plan is dead in the water.

With autopilot

Misconception number one: Autopilot flies the plane for you.

Autopilot doesn't know your intentions. Autopilot has no self-preservation instincts. The only thing autopilot knows is the course that the person at the controls programmed in, qualified or not.

Autopilot will keep you on course, but it's the pilot's job to make sure that the course being set doesn't send the plane into the side of a mountain, or in the completely wrong direction.

There is a sliver of truth to the idea that an airplane will "land itself", but in order to set it up, it requires a few steps from a qualified pilot that knows what they're doing.

Now, in order for autoland to even work, it has to be paired with a set of antennas on the ground at the desired airport, called an Instrument Landing System, or ILS for short. In order for the autoland system to receive the signal from the ILS, the pilot must tune the navigation radios to the frequency published on a map that looks like this, in addition to setting courses and programming the navigation computer.

Needless to say, if you're not trained to read these, then you'll have a hell of a time setting up the approach.

Additionally, you need to then configure the autopilot to pair with the ILS.

Here's an exercise for you and your roommate: without looking it up, find the radio panel and autopilot control in the cockpit of this Airbus A320, one of the most common airliners today:

Let's say you do find it - what buttons do you push, in what order? Do one of them wrong, and it won't work.

Misconception number two: Air traffic control can help you fly the plane.

ATCs are not pilots, and they can't tell you how to set it up or what buttons to push. All they can do is tell you where you are, give you headings to fly, and give you landing priority due to your emergency.

How do you configure the airplane? How and when do you extend flaps? What's the maximum safe flap extension speed? How and when do you extend the landing gear? What's the maximum safe gear extension speed? Autopilot won't do that for you.

TL;DR: Sure, the plane could land itself, but that requires a series of inputs that a layperson is highly unlikely to know how to do.

Without autopilot

Let's say you accidentally push the wrong button on the stick while trying to declare an emergency. Congratulations! You are now flying the plane manually!

Now it's up to you to manage airspeed, power setting, altitude, pitch attitude, vertical speed, heading, and course.

ATC can still give you headings to point the nose in, and they may even get you lined up with a runway, but it's up to you to slow down to a safe speed, and configure the plane for landing.

Misconception number three: you can slow an airplane down just by pulling the throttle back.

Step one of slowing down is to reduce engine power. But, if that's all you do, then the airplane will keep the speed it's trimmed for, and just nose down to maintain it. The second piece of this puzzle is to pull back on the stick, just enough to maintain altitude.

But, there's a catch: At slow enough airspeeds, you enter what's called the "region of reverse command", wherein the controls seem "backwards" - you're adjusting your pitch (angle of nose up/down) to manage your airspeed, and you're adjusting your power to manage your altitude. This is highly counterintuitive to someone with no training, and when done incorrectly, can cause the airplane to stall and dramatically nose down.

Echoing above: How do you configure the airplane? How and when do you extend flaps? What's the maximum safe flap extension speed? How and when do you extend the landing gear? What's the maximum safe gear extension speed?

If you extend those at the wrong time, then they'll do far more harm than good.

If you're too fast on final approach, you'll sail right past the runway and end up crashing into whatever's behind it.

If you're too slow on final approach, you'll stall before you reach the runway and crash into the ground.

TL;DR: Hand-flying to a safe landing is a skill that needs to be honed and practiced regularly, and a layperson would not be able to do it without help.

Small plane

There is only one one case I know of in which a layperson managed to land a small plane, but this was only possible because of a few factors:

It was a clear day, and the man was able to navigate by landmarks on the ground.

There was no door between the man and the cockpit.

It was a small plane with simple controls.

Air traffic control knew a pilot, and relayed that number to the man in the plane.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Like I said above, air traffic controllers are not pilots. Additionally, there is no "hotline" that passengers can call to get talked down to a safe landing. This was just an extremely lucky "I know a guy" situation.

TL;DR: It can only happen if everything goes perfectly.

Gear-up landing

Let's say that somehow, your roommate managed to get the airplane to the runway with everything going exactly to plan, and with no help. But, oh no! The landing gear is broken!

No biggie. Gear-up landings happen all the time, and they're perfectly survivable. I actually know someone who was in one (in a small plane), and the biggest thing was how embarrassed he was. In the case of an airliner, the primary threat is getting everyone off the plane due to the possibility of a fuel leak.

Video games/flight sims

Games like Battlefield or Ace Combat are not at all accurate to the real handling of an airplane, and have no value as a training tool. However, they're inaccurate enough that the skills don't translate over, and you don't really get any bad habits from playing them.

What really trips people up when learning to fly are games like MSFS or X-Plane, because they're just realistic enough to mimic how planes actually fly, but the way that they're presented and controlled can teach tons of bad habits, such as:

Focusing too much on the instrument panel, and not looking outside at the horizon

Not using rudder or trim (important for smooth, coordinated flight)

Not preparing them for emergencies (ever notice how just about every MSFS flight has clear skies and perfect visibility?)

Exacerbating the dunning-kruger effect by presenting the games as hyper-realistic and good for training, when that is not the case

Because most MSFS players are attracted to the airliners, there is the chance that what they're "learning" about flying is not applicable to the fundamentals, which have to be done in a small plane.

Because of this, I actually discourage students from using home flight simulators to practice maneuvers, because not only are they not getting an accurate feel for the airplane, but they also may be doing the maneuver incorrectly and letting it go unchecked.

Simulators which are used specifically for flight training have to meet a specific set of regulations, one of which is to have an "instructor station" where the instructor can monitor the student's performance, and also practice scenarios that the student themselves cannot predict.

Landing flare

Your roommate's explanation is mostly incorrect.

When an airplane is on final approach, it is approaching the beginning of the runway at an angle of approximately 3 degrees, and following a system of lights called a VASI (visual approach slope indicator) to keep it on this 3 degree glide slope.

So, it is a rather shallow angle. Once the airplane has followed the glide slope and is now a few feet above the runway, the pilot executes a maneuver called a "flare" in which they pull the nose up in order to bleed off the rest of their speed.

When the pilot flares for landing, the airplane was already at a nice, slow speed for landing. If the pilot attempts to keep their speed up, then it will take much longer for the flare to bleed off their airspeed and make the airplane touch down gently.

If the flare is too aggressive, the airplane will "balloon" and fly higher above the runway, at which point the solution is to apply full power, circle around, and try again.

If your roommate were to "take a sharp dive, and then level out before you land", then they run the risk of either a) ballooning, or, because they gained so much speed from that dive, b) floating too far down the runway and potentially not having enough room to touch down and stop. if they really fuck it up, then they'll land nose-gear first, possibly damaging the wheel or even losing control and veering off the runway.

My overall opinion of your roommate:

From what you've said, they do seem to have a genuine interest in aviation, but they're misinformed by pop culture, aviation influencers, and MSFS.

My suggestion to the roomie: Their homework from this Tumblr flight instructor is to find a nearby flight school, and ask if they do discovery flights. You'll get to actually fly the plane, and you may catch the same aviation bug that I caught. We could always use more pilots!

[drabblesandimagines]

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Thank you to @sandwitchstories for the suggestion on my High Five drabble!

I'm also running an event to celebrate 200 followers, so please check it out and send in your requests.

Kazuki sighs, looking at the contents of the refrigerator. He’s bone tired after a long week of reconnaissance and has no inspiration of what to make for dinner. He knows Rei won’t mind, but after seeing how much instant ramen the man had packed away, he was determined to get some nutrients in him most days – especially with the exercise regime he kept to. He knew he drank protein shakes, but Rei needed to respect the other food groups too.

“Hey, why don’t we order in for dinner?” He calls over his shoulder, finally shutting the refrigerator door in defeat. Rei’s on the sofa, playing a first person shooter on the games console. The blonde remembered telling Rei he should get a hobby – he used to spend an awful lot of time sleeping, smoking and staring into space – and, after they’d moved the exercise equipment in, Kazuki thought video games might fit the bill. He knew the Suwa heir wasn’t exactly going to go out socializing, but he had to suggest something to try and bring a smile to his face.

“Pizza.” The answer comes, his eyes never leaving the screen as he pulled off a perfect head shot.

“Ugh, sure.” Kazuki agrees – he’d had a sushi place he’d been interesting in trying, but he can’t be bothered with the fight. He picks up his phone and starts scrolling to find a menu for a place that delivers. “But you’re paying.”

“Why?”

“Your idea.”

“You’re the couch crasher.”

“I buy the groceries all the time…”

“Because you insist on home-cooked meals,” Rei grunts, mashing the buttons on the controller once more and Kazuki hears the victory ding.

“Okay. Rock, paper, scissors it? Loser pays.” Kazuki suggests, continuing to scroll through places on his phone.

“You want us to fight using only rock, paper and scissors? Interesting combination.” Rei stands up and stretches, looking around to see if any of the items are in sight. There’s probably some scissors in one of the kitchen drawers, some paper too… But a rock?

Kazuki looks up at him, a sarcastic retort on the tip of his tongue but the high-five incident a few weeks prior stops him. “No, no”, he laughs, lightly, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s just a game to help you decide something. I’ll pay…”

Rei’s the other side of the counter now. “Teach me.”

Kazuki places down his phone – he feels awful every time he lets a little bit of information like that slip, though he knows Rei’s aware that he didn’t have a standard childhood. “Okay, so it’s a game played between two people with your hand. You can play three options. Rock,” he clasps his right hand in a fist, making sure to keep it close to his chest so Rei doesn’t think he’s about to sock him one. He watches as Rei easily copies his motion. “Paper…” A flat palm this time – again, keeping it down low. “And scissors.” He returns his hand to the fist position, extending out his index and middle finger to mimic the snipping motion. “Got it?”

“Yeah. Then what?” Rei looks intrigued, quickly switching between the three positions with his hand.

“So, you can play one of those after the count of three. Rock beats scissors – it’ll blunt the blades. Scissors beats paper – it’ll cut through it. Paper beats rock – cos it covers it, or something. I always thought that was the weakest one of the lot…” He shrugs.

“Okay. After a count of three?”

“Yeah. You kinda bounce your fist like this and count, and we reveal what we’re going play on ‘go.’ I know it starts off looking like a rock, but you can change it to paper or scissors… Wanna give it a go?”

“Sure,” he shrugs, but Kazuki can tell he’s intrigued enough to give it a go.

“Right. On go, okay?” Rei nods. “One, two, three, go!” Kazuki goes for rock and so does Rei. The black-haired assassin looks up at him. "Then what?" "It's a draw. So, we can again. One, two, three, go." This time, Kazuki chooses paper and Rei goes for scissors. Rei looks at him, as if waiting for something to happen.

Kazuki smiles, “Go ahead - snip my paper in victory."

There’s a little hesitation, but Rei moves his hand forward and mimics the snipping motion on Kazuki’s flat palm.

“And that’s it?”

“Yeah, we can have another go and do a best of three if you like."

“But I won already.” Rei smirks.

“Yeah, but you might not the next round. Makes it more exciting, doesn’t it?”

“Mm, nah. You’re paying for the pizza. Medium, supreme – no green peppers or tomatoes.” Rei’s already turning back to his game as Kazuki sighs heavily.

“Come on - at least do a best of three for the veg!”

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