#considering elite upgrade

[callooopie]

Modern!Davos Blackwood headcannons (pt. 1?)

— SFW —

I’ll hit it from the back, just so you don’t get attached — i like the way you kiss me // artemas

I can definitely see myself making more of these. Adding to the modern! Davos lore. Not proofread. LMK if y’all have other ideas or headcannons too!

Benjicot Davos Blackwood. People call him Davos. Only close friends call him Ben. Only you can call him Benji. Although, he goes by his middle name usually. Now, bloody Ben? That’s a story to be told later on how he got... (There is no story. It’s just people saying “Shit.. there’s bloody Ben..” or something like that. There’s no violence to the name, only pure exasperation when people see him)

This is the boy you need to hide away in your closet or under your bed when your parents come checking in on you randomly. You could’ve been working on homework, or just hanging around. And somehow this “annoying” guy appeared outside your bedroom window—and you just had to let him in. “C’mooon, let me in sweetheart.. you think I can’t climb up there? Stand back, I’ll show you.”

He is the type of person to rant about how the education system is rigged, set up to fail students, or rant about it in general and as a whole. Anyway he’s got a 4.0, and makes it onto the dean’s list every semester in college. However he is always late to class—complete with either a Monster or Red Bull drink in tow.

He invites you over to his place like a gentleman. Ignore his “annoying fuckass” roommate.. (it’s Aeron.) He does the whole (“it’s a little messy :3”) as he leads you down the hall of their apartment. “Hello MTV, welcome to my crib.”

He cooks at that desk, game-wise. Faceit level is between 5-6. CSGO rank is Master Guardian II (He does tell you he once hit Global Elite. But he stopped the grind to focus on school, not because he’s washed or anything—maybe you could be his Valorant duo? Or be his support in League; he’ll have you know he makes a mean ADC.. do you do overnight discord calls?—)

If you play more casual games (Minecraft, stardew, etc) he will play with you, HOWEVER, he will either ruin the aesthetic of the minecraft world via automated farms OR speedrun the mines in stardew (he passes out so much it starts to affect the money you’re trying to save for farm upgrades). Every time he goes fishing in either game he puts on a country accent and makes “gone fishing, getting away from my bitch wife” jokes. “I’ve uh- carved out an area for the iron farm. Nothin’ too big—just something to get started.” (Shows you an utterly decimated and leveled biome)

Davos Blackwood fun fact no. 43; he does rallying (rally racing). He went to a rally school for fun over the summer. Ignore the price tag; yes he saved up for that! no it’s not dangerous! Regular driving wise he does donuts in empty parking lots, and takes corners way too fast. He is the type to street race a random ass pickup truck or some other car that pulls up beside him. It is thrilling, and he knows you enjoy it too despite your protests and how you grip the handle above the seat. “No it’s fine.. pfft—don’t worry don’t— I’ll smoke him. Just watch.”

Speaking of cars. Do not complain about his car. This is his baby. His one and only. It’s an old car; it’s so old it’s bordering not being considered street safe anymore. Ignore the anime girl stickers with their tits and ass out, that was there already he didn’t do that. “It’s safe don’t worry—I’m getting the bumper and everything fixed like Monday I swear.. no I did not hit anything why would you say that-“

He’s oddly in-tune with his emotions and emotions of others despite appearances. He’ll KNOW if something’s bothering you. Maybe you’re just a little too quiet, you laugh at a joke a little too late or even if it sounds unenthusiastic. Whatever it is, Davos is on the case. A hug, some pep talk, he’ll let you punch his palms to get any anger out. He’s your ride or die, of course he’d do anything for you. And maybe if it’s a person who upset you he might pay them a visit.. “Who was it this time? Oh—that bitch? Ugh. I’m sorry about that… I have a gun just saying—“

Needs your hand in his. Or some part of you touching him. Whatever works. If he does not get a modicum of affection in 5 minute intervals he shrivels up like a plant—no he’s not being dramatic. Is the type to whine loudly about it regardless of where you’re at. On occasion he lets out bloodcurdling screams as a joke, lamenting about being denied tender love from you. You think it’s funny in private, you do not think it’s funny in public. Which is why he always does it in public. “Gimme your hand. Wha? What do you mean ‘it’s too hot out’? I wanna.. I wanna hold your hand… I don’t care if you’re sweaty—LET ME HOLD YOUR HAND”

I do believe his brain would be.. a little rotted. He sends you tiktoks, niche memes, shitposts. He will watch twitch streams or league/csgo content creators on YouTube. His vocab is normal, but does consist of slang from the gaming community. This can be good and funny, or sometimes bad if he uses it during serious moments. However he’s at least a normal human being and knows when to talk ‘normally’. He says joever unironically

Shadow boxes you. No matter what’s happening or where. You could be looking at something in a store and you just see slow, dramatic punches going toward you. He makes the whooshing sound too. This is how you know he’s bored. He’s also the type to tackle you to the bed. Not in a sensual or cutesy way but in like a WWE way that initiates a caged fighting match between you two.

Regardless of your mastery level of skateboarding he will hold your hands and pull you around on his board. Late at night when the parks or lots are empty, you both will be there. And he’ll be a smiling goof as he gently steers you around on the board. He usually says fuck helmets (his one big flaw), but carries one around just for you. His safety be damned. Yours? No question about it, you’re wearing all the gear required.

Smoker. Red flag. Marlboros, sometimes he uses zyns. It’s bad. Yes he knows he’s going to get lung cancer and succumb to nicotine. But he just can’t help it—it helps him relax. It’s why there’s a plethora of gum and also a cologne bottle in his car. Does it help? That’s to be determined. Does not smoke near you however if you don’t like that, he’s not that bad of an asshole.

[gx-gameon]

Some reasons why the DM cast would not like the friends Jaden made during school:

Syrus: In the dub, it's clear that he doesn't have the best relationship with his brother Zane so he projects the perfect brother figure onto Jaden. The minute Jaden doesn't fit the ideal, he abandons Jaden at the toss of a hat. From trading his bed/eating his breakfast shrimp to the Dark World, Syrus was never as loyal as Joey. Only reason he got the Ra Yellow promotion duel was because of his brother and it's hinted that he was given his Obelisk Blue rank as a 'thank you' for helping against the Light of Ruin since he was at the final battle (even though all he did was hold Aster). Didn't truly improve until Season 4 and his deck upgrade came from his brother. Literally rode coattails to where he is at the end of the series.

Chazz: He was a jerk at the start, but mostly due to his brothers putting pressure on him. When Jaden tried to bond with him, he was mostly rebuffed and while he could see Duel Spirits, he never reciprocated Jaden's attempts to bond over it. Despite everything he went through with Jaden, he didn't hesitate to rejoin Obelisk Blue in a heartbeat come Season 4.

Bastion: Season 2 did this man no favors. He lost on purpose to join the Society of Light to get recognition and respect, which he never got anyway. He did give Jaden the wake up call he needed to get out of his Dark World funk to at least beat Yubel/get Jesse back.

Alexis: RIP her development in GX because her archetype didn't do well in the real life sales, because having a Ritual Expert would have been great. When Jaden returned, she tried to act like nothing happened and tried to force Jaden into activities, which only made him angry because he wanted to be left alone. She only moved into the Slifer Red Dorm because Crowler was trying to make her into a pop star with her brother in Season 2 so she can't be blamed too much for leaving.

Atticus: After getting his memories back, all Atticus did was become comic relief and tried to hook his sister up with guys. Never did he duel with his own original deck against the villains (Red Eyes deck is hinted to be the deck he was given as a Shadow Rider, not his original). He's one of the few that can beat Zane since he was part of the Obelisk Elite but never showed it. It's his fault that the Sacred Beasts woke up because he stole the keys for his plan to get Alexis to hook up with Chazz. Literally tried to force his sister into stardom against her will because he's an overly dramatic theater kid.

Zane: Zane is a one trick pony with a pretty powerful beat stick. His entire deck revolves around getting out Cyber End Dragon via Power Bond. Anyone in the pros can shut that down quick and instead of trying to improve he just kept with his old deck and fell into the underground, rejecting any help due to pride. Literally almost rage quit his final duel with Jaden because Jaden was trying to duel around a brick opening hand and had to think instead of having fun on the fly.

Aster: Multiple posts already on this for this blog, was manipulated because of tunnel vision concerning avenging his dad and didn't care who he hurt as long as he got his revenge.

Hassleberry: This boy literally has a dinosaur bone in his leg which gives him dino powers, got his spirit sent to space to save the world, and still will talk smack about Jaden behind his back and call his Duel Spirits 'imaginary friends' despite having met Neos.

Axel: He saw that Jaden's monsters were forced to attack Brron and how it wasn't truly Jaden's fault that his friends were sent to the stars, but still turned his back on the boy and told him that he was on his own. Despite his tough guy act, he ran when the Supreme King challenged him the first time. Redeemed himself by beating the Supreme King in Sesaon 3 and in Season 4 by helping Jaden though!

Jesse: Jesse is a all around sweet guy, he really is! The fact that he considered making himself a martyr to save the school was fulfilling his dream probably doesn't sit right with some of the DM crew because of how Jaden blamed himself for not being strong enough to save his friend.

Exception to this cause would be Jim. He saw that something was going down at the academy and investigated. the minute he saw Jaden as the Supreme King? In the original Japanese he outright asks if Jaden was tricked into being a ruthless warlord. Only reason this man did not return in season 4 was because his Japanese voice actor retired. Chumley is in this camp too because he stayed a solid friend with Jaden after Season 1.

Okay I thought I was the Gx friend groups number 1 hater but I take my cap off and pass it to you. Way to eviscerate all of them.

Here’s the thing. The DM cast are big friendship people. They forgive people for things they probably shouldn’t as long as the offended party says it’s okay. But they are also loyal.

In Duelist kingdom Téa holds a bit of a grudge against Mai until they get to know each other. Joey and Tristian are very protective of their friends. Yugi is warm and welcoming to all but he won’t stand for anyone messing with his friends and loved ones. Atem is protective. He loves his friends dearly and will do anything to keep them from harms way. And Seto is a dragon, he hoards that which is precious to him and protects it viciously.

I don’t think they would tell Jaden they didn’t like his friends. Nor do I think these adults would hold grudges against children (Seto might but he’s Seto Kaiba he held a grudge to the afterlife) but they aren’t fans of all of Jaden’s friends

Syrus

Syrus for all the reasons you stated, they just don’t like him. Syrus tries to force Jaden into a preferred older brother role instead of his best friend and equal. If Jaden fails that glorified image even a little bit Syrus loses all faith in him and interest in their friendship besides whining until Jaden full fills the role again. He’s a fair weather friend. I don’t think he’s a bad character or person but he needs to grow up. But because he is sheltered by both Zane and Jaden (from hiding behind him and Jaden’s hero complex) he doesn’t have to. Hopefully he matures after school.

But from a parents perspective this is not the person you want your kid relying on. He’s the friend who expects you to always be there for him but won’t be there for you in a hard time. Yugi’s good at reading people and from the stories Jaden tells them (which put all of his friends in a much better light) he and the Sam cast are not impressed. Téa and Joey especially don’t like the kid. Mai to. She felt with a lot of fake people in her life time. But how do you say that to a kid like Jaden who is so excited to have friends? Yugi is hopeful that Syrus will mature one day. After all his mom had similar worries when he became friends with Joey. But as time goes forward he’s proven wrong and Joey is a little offended by the comparison.

Chazz

I haven’t seen season 4 so I can’t comment on it. I’m almost done with my rewatch of season 1 and Chazz grows a lot in that season. I can see the DM cast being wary of him in the beginning because Chazz does start off as a bit of a bully. But after the school duel and Chazz starts truly hanging out with the cast I think most of those fears are put to rest. With finding out about his family and he is fairly loyal to Jaden. It’s not Joey levels but he’s not suppose to be (he’s not the designated best friend though he does a better job then Syrus)

I think by the end of season 1 they like him. (They haven’t met any of these kids and only have Jaden and school reports to go off of) the kid did stand up for the whole school against his brothers using a completely different and “weak” deck. He’s impressed them, and he at least tried to help. He took down one shadow rider.

In season 2 they are probably worried about him with the cult running around but I don’t know how much Jaden has told them about said cult. Chazz is also a real winner in that season of I remember. He goes out and beats all the members of the cult and wins the Gx tournament while Jaden deals with the leader. That should be the job of the “best friend” but Syrus and Hasselberry were mostly cheerleaders. It sticks that most of it is off screen but at least he’s helping. The cult can’t gang up on Jaden if Chazz is mowing them down.

Season 3 is a mess for Chazz. He’s sideline like most of the cast and it doesn’t help that he is one of the nay sayers. I know it’s a spell and Jaden is being selfish and rushing ahead. But this is a rescue mission that you chose to go on. I need to rewatch this season because how did Chazz and the others get captured? How did they not fight back? I don’t remember them taking part in one duel in the dark world. Like they were just following, complaining, and dying. It sucks how much the writers sidelined the cast like I love the exchange students, it think they are better characters over all, but the way the og cast is handled is t the best.

In conclusion, I don’t think the DM cast disapproves of him, it’s just a complex relationship between him and Jaden. I have them becoming Chazz’s pseudo family by the end of the au. Him and Jaden started on a ruff foot but they got there eventually.

Bastion

It’s almost funnier to say they forgot Bastion existed. He’s so fun in season 1 even though he’s a simp I love the energy he brings. But he’s the e first of the cast to get hard sidelined. I have to watch season 2 again. I always felt bad for the kid. Arthur and Solomon would have loved this kid. I’m going to play with his story a lot because he just wants to be acknowledged and seen as an equal to his friends and is constantly dismissed. Like he willingly joined the cult. He’s going to get a DM parental figure. One that probably doesn’t want the nerd following them but will grow to love their newly acquired duckling. I need to rewatch season 2 and think through the DM cast.

Alexis

Is that why her development gets thrown in the garbage?? Her archetype didn’t sell well? No she’s the ritual expert. And you’re right that would have been super cool. She’s still not a good friend. She’s alright in season 1 and at least takes down one of the Shadow riders. In season two she has a mini arc as the ice queen and they do a nice job of if I remember correctly. But she’s also sidelined in season 3 and I’ve heard season 4 is not great for her. To focused on her crush on Jaden and his past and her idolized version that she can’t see the Jaden in front of her is in need of help.

I don’t think the DM cast hate her but I think she rubs them the wrong way in season 3 and 4.

Maybe I’ll extend post cannon because I can see Alexis with a mentor and learning how to navigate her own feelings becoming a real power house. Ritual decks are rare and I wish we saw them more. Atem has two ritual monsters he uses in Black Magician of Chaos and Black luster solider. I’m not saying Atem’s her mentor but she just needs a chance to grow and stand on her own. Post cannon is going to be forcing these characters to stand on their own two feet, letting them fail, and watching them build themselves back up again.

The og friend group relies on Haden way too much to solve their problems.

Atticus

Atticus is a disappointment. He’s so fun and a goofball which is very different from his shadowrider persona. And I’m okay with that. It’s not his personality that upsets me. (Joey and Tristan have a can can dance when they beat an enemy and sing “can can we kicked it in the can can” like they would love Atticus and I love that goofball energy)

No where Atticus is a disappointment is that he never wins a duel on screen. He’s built up as this amazing duelist. He wins against the tomb keepers duel spirits to get his half of the shadow medallion. He’s part of the obelisk elite like Zane (I always wondered why their uniforms are different and now I know) yet he never wins an on screen duel.

I’m okay with him being a jokester and having fun with his kid sister and her friends, he’s behind his class by two years so he’s got to make new friends and Alexis and her crew welcome him. But I wish we say more of that.

Serenity join the DM cast in Battle City works this really well. She’s new to the group but already has connections because she’s Joey’s sister. She doesn’t know the rules and learns over time. Shes not the strongest but she’s helpful (saving Joey from the anchor) she doesn’t take center stage but we care about her.

But the difference between making her a side character/cheerleader and Atticus is Atticus is hyped up to be a good duelist. If they just showed him winning a duel or even talked about how he was win off screen I wouldn’t be as mad but the boys is a joke. He’s older than the rest of the cast and while he can be a goofy older brother he should also be a mentor or at least protective of the group. What was he even doing during the Gx tournament/Alexis’s cult time. I honestly forget. His kid sister spent a season looking for him and fighting to save him and the writers could let him return the favor. No Jaden has to save her.

(Like let him attempt. Maybe he can’t win in his own and Jaden has to take over or switch it and have Jaden start the duel but he’s not getting through and then Atticus steps in. It would be like Arem taking over for Kaiba bs Noah, where he takes Kaiba’s life points and deck and still pulls out a win. Do you know how good that would have made Atticus look if he took over Jaden’s duel using his deck and was able to beat Alexis. He’s a great duelist and to win using someone else deck is always seen as an impressive feat.)

I’m going to play with him to. I think most of the DM cast would love him. The Gx writers really just dropped the ball on their side characters.

Zane

Way to kick Zane when he’s down. Honestly sounds like something Kaiba would yell at him.

To be fair, if Zane is a one trick pony it’s also a fault with the school. They held him up as the best of the best and never forced him to change or adapt. The pro league is far more aggressive and he should have been prepared for that. If none of the students could beat him that’s one thing but a teacher should have pointed this flaw out. Maybe they did and he was to prideful or thought they were wrong because no one had ever stopped him before.

In know the Cyber end deck is a good deck. It still sees play today and has a lot of legacy support. So I don’t think it’s that his deck is bad. I think he just needs to change up his strategy.

But in topic. Ever already discussed the DM cast feelings towards him. He’s talented and good to Jaden in season 1 but they can’t help him in season 2. One they have their own things going on and two they can’t reveal their connection to Jaden. In all honesty they probably don’t know about Zane’s underground dueling until Jaden does. By then it’s too late to get the kid out.

Aster

I’ve already talked a lot about asteroids and his relationship with the DM cast and how they feel about his actions so we will move forward.

Hasselberry

I haven’t rewatched season 2 but I remember preferring Hasselberry to Syrus

They thing that drives me nuts though is that they both act like Jaden is crazy talking to spirits. Syrus has had multiple encounters with duel spirits since season 1 and Hasselberry has turned into a cartoon dinosaur and fought beside Neos. The man has no room to talk. We are all suppose to believe in your Dino DNA but you think Jaden talking to spirits is crazy.

Hasselberry is far more helpful than Syrus but it’s the Jaden is crazy talk that drives me nuts. Like he draws the same short straw as everyone else in season 3 and I want to do a deep dive on who got what negative emotion because some fit the character way more then others but we will talk about that later.

Over all I think the DM cast would like Hasselberry. If he’s away from Syrus. They get really toxic together trying to prove who is Jaden’s “true best friend” and he follows Syrus’s lead of putting Jaden on a pedestal and then getting upset with him when he falls off. (I wonder what their friendship could have been without Syrus?)

Axel

Okay I have to defend my boy here. Yes he sucks for abandoning Jaden. He’s also the “most experienced” when it comes to missions like this. I need to rewatch season three to figure out exactly where everything g went wrong. Yes Jaden is selfish and moving to fast but it’s also understandable where he is coming from. And everyone else invited themselves on the mission.

I saw someone say season three is meant to show Jaden what will happen if he keeps bringing his friends into dangerous situations and loses. Um I’m sorry. Jaden didn’t ask them to come. He does in season 1 ask for Syrus and others to come and support him but he doesn’t in season 3 he knows this is dangerous, stupid, and reckless, he knows he’s going to do whatever it takes and he tells them that up front. And then they get mad at him for doing exactly what he said he was going to do. And I can see the Duel Academy kids getting upset because they’ve spent 2 years with Jaden holding their hands but Jim and Axel? They did so well in the other dimension and Axel knows what this kind of mission intels, move fast. They have a short window of time to not only save Jesse but to move without Yubel knowing they are there. They have to keep moving.

Now in his defense. If my friend (and let’s be honest Jaden, Jim and Jesse are probably his first real friends) just accidentally murdered/was forced to murder our other friends I’d be upset to. And you have to blame someone even if that blame doesn’t go to the right person. Syrus was running (both his mouth and his legs) and he’s the weaker of the two. Jaden, in theory, can take care of himself. Should Axel and Jim slip the responsibility and in go after Syrus and one stay with Jaden yes. But they are teens and no one expected Jaden to spiral like that.

So here Axel is, his whole life has been a war zone. He finally has friends and they are dropping like flies but he’s still going strong. Until the supreme king is revealed to be Jaden. Jaden the silly sweet kid who welcomed him even after the way he acted. Who has always dueled with honor. Who he abandoned and lead to this monstrosity before him. And he just killed Jim. Him who only wanted to help him and is all around a great guy.

I don’t blame him for having a panic attack. He reached his limit and freaked out. He also over came that and still came back to help Jaden. Risking his life to do so.

After season 3 and 4 the DM cast love him. I don’t think he would ever run from a fight again. I think he’s started down the worst that could happened and over came it. He shows his loyalty (from what I understand) in season 4 and I believe is one of the few life long friends Jaden made at school.

Jesse

My boy. I think the DM cast is more worried about him than anything. He does have a self sacrificing tendency. But then so does Jaden. I think that’s the thing that worries them the most about the two of them traveling together post cannon. They know Jaden won’t let Jesse get hurt. But what will Jesse do if Jaden gets hurt protecting him? And the opposition is true to Jesse won’t let Jaden get hurt and we’ve already seen the lengths Jaden will go to if Jesse gets hurt protecting him.

Over all the DM cast likes him (with Seto Kaiba being huffy about it, only because he’s scared he’s losing Jaden to his future boyfriend/husband. He’s got big over protective dad fears going on)

Jim and Chumley

No notes. They are great friends and very helpful in their seasons.

I already decided Chumley finds out in between season 1 and 2. He’s just a good guy and I wish we say more of him.

I wouldn’t put it past him to figure out Jaden’s identity on his own. But still need to rewatch their season and see how things play out.

As of right now.

The DM cast likes

Chumley (finds out post season 1)

Chazz (the drama with his family solidifies his placement in season one but he doesn’t find out until post season 4)

Jesse (finds out during season 3)

Jim (finds out post season 4/ maybe mid way season 3)

Axel (same as Jim)

Aster (ruff starts but he and Jaden end up close and he finds out post season 2)

DM cast are on the fence about

Alexis

Atticus

Zane

Hasselberry

Bastion (I forgot him when I was first making this list and that is actually hilarious)

They got some ground to recover. The DM cast don’t openly dislike them. But they don’t know if they trust them with the Jaden.

This person is on thin ice with the DM cast

Syrus (is anyone suprised)

[quackityquackquackquack]

Hey Inanimate Insanity fandom, want to hear a crazy theory I came up with while thinking about episode 16 in the shower? (spoilers under the cut)

As you know, the latest episode reveals that all of the contests (except Bot, probably Bow, and maybe Dough) were actually created by MePhone4, and it's all-but-stated that this is the in-universe explanation for the gradual change in how they look over the course of the series; MePhone simply kept upgrading their models, so to speak, and making them look better. Now, here's the thing about that: There is one major character (other than Bot) who we can say with absolute, 100% certainty was not created by MePhone4, and that's, of course, Steve Cobs. After all, he's MePhone's creator, and you can't create your own creator (unless you're pulling some kind of weird time travel shit). However, consider the following: This is Steve Cobs in his debut episode,

this is Steve Cobs in the gemory flashbacks in episode 13,

and this is Steve Cobs now.

His design has changed, too. If the design-changes are an in-universe result of MePhone4 upgrading the appearance of his creations and not just out-of-universe artstyle evolution, then shouldn't there also be an in-universe explanation for how Steve Cobs' design has changed?

Well, let's put a pin in that for now. There's another mystery to discuss before I present my theory. It's a mystery that, unlike Steve Cobs' design changing, is one you've likely actually thought about: What is Me?

Despite Steve Cobs saying he got bored of Me, it's highly unlikely that Me isn't important. Too much attention was drawn to it, it doesn't resemble any real Apple product, and a person in the audience during the musical number describes it as "groundbreaking, world-shaking mythology", indicating it must do something really impressive. More to the point, though, its name is highly peculiar. Why just "Me"? Either Cobs is out of ideas for names, or there's something very significant about Me to warrant such a strange name, and the most obvious reason I can think of for why Cobs would call it that... is if it somehow literally is him.

My theory is that Steve Cobs is not actually the glasses-wearing corn cob man we know him as. At least, not anymore. He has uploaded his consciousness into whatever Me is, and the "Steve Cobs" we see throughout the series is just some kind of puppet body controlled from a distance by the real Steve Cobs, aka "Me". That's why his appearance notably changes over the course of the series; just like the people created by MePhone4, this fake puppet Steve Cobs started out not looking quite right, and its appearance had to be upgraded over time. Furthermore, I believe the Steve Cobs seen in the gemory flashbacks is him before uploading his consciousness into Me. That's his original body, hence why it looks better than the Cobs seen in episode 8 despite predating it timeline-wise. By the time of episode 8, he had uploaded himself into Me, but the technology was still flawed and not able to render him quite right, hence his notably different appearance in that episode. When he says that he "got bored of it", that's a sort of technical truth used to obfuscate the real truth. Yes, he's "bored" of it - because he has been Me for years and, knowing him, is at this point probably craving to upgrade to something even greater, but that doesn't mean Me isn't still something very important to him. And now, he's trying to make this Me technology commercially available to the public, which could mean one of two things; either he's giving other wealthy elites the power to also upload themselves into their own personal Mes (plausible, but from a writing perspective such a plot point wouldn't really serve much of a clear narrative purpose) or all of the Mes he's selling contain his consciousness and he's trying to spread himself across the whole world in some kind of world domination scheme.

[kef-meister]

Metroid Prime .... 4!

While they aren't Star Fox or F-Zero fans (I see you), the fans of the Metroid series have had their patience tested multiple times over the series' lifespan. On June 13th 2017, Metroid Prime 4 was announced to the world. Now, June 18th 2024, Metroid Prime 4 has been given a release window: 2025.

It's been seven very long, very interesting years. But instead of dwelling on that, it's time to go frame-by-frame on the release trailer and give some notes on why that particular part stands out to me. I've gotten so hyped I've gotten analytical. This is what it means to go even further Beyond. ________________ 1. "Cosmic Year 20X9 Galactic Federation Research Facility" Metroid (1986)'s manual states that the Galactic Federation was established "in the year 2000 of the history of the cosmos", and that the original story of Metroid starts in 20X5.

Given that the Prime games are allegedly happening in the story-lines between Metroid and Metroid II … there's a continuity error with the main series, which I'm hoping is addressed rather than hand-waved.

Metroid II: Samus Returns (2017) has a trailer claiming it took place "less than a year" since the previous adventure. So that'd be in either 20X5 or 20X6 - the latter of which would place it in the same year as Metroid Prime: Federation Force. If that's the case, then Super Metroid would take place in 20X6/20X7 … but Prime 4 takes place in 20X9???

That this sequence takes place on a Galactic Federation Research Facility is VERY interesting though, especially considering the Big Reveal later on. 2. Samus' Gunship!!! I've watched this frame-by-frame and I'm convinced that the ship which is landing is pre-rendered, whereas the stationary ship allowing Samus out is the actual model. It's an incredibly clever trick to save on resources.

The ship itself is the Hunter-class gunship from Metroid Prime 3! What stands out here is that Samus is leaving the ship from the TOP panel - where she previously would enter and exit this ship from the bottom lift just behind the cockpit. I think it's also missing the Ship Grapple upgrade. Then there's the recreation of Metroid Prime's intro with Samus' space jump; the music; the zoom-in; HUD turning on ... Uuugggh, 11/10. Give it to me now. Put it into my veins and make me a weird hybrid.

3. Samus' Power Suit! It's Metroid Prime 3's Varia Suit, right down to the missile launcher design. This makes me feel VERY certain this story is going to take place very shortly after Prime 3's conclusion - like how Super Metroid follows up almost immediately after Metroid II.

The Morph Ball seems to behave almost exactly like it does in Prime 1 with its wonky physics. Loving this, seems to suggest the Prime 1 Remaster had a very solid engine ready to re-use. Prime 2/3 remaster when? 4. The Heads-up Display The HUD actually matches Samus' actual visor design! After Prime 1, the visor changed shape but the HUD didn't - now it has the extra notch at the top. It's higher contrast; Energy goes into the top notch, and the Map (now all blue!) has directions on it now.

Missiles take up one of the four slots on the left is weird. Maybe there's less Beams. The HUD doesn't seem to react when Samus switches between Beam and Missiles???

The Combat Visor makes a great distinction between which things are friendly, which are hostile and what you're locked onto on its little mini-map in the top-left.

The Scan Visor isn't intrusive with its overlay - and shows 2D images instead of 3D ones. Seems to make a better distinction between things you have and haven't scanned yet.

Going off of Metroid Prime Remastered, I legitimately think there's a team at Retro Studios doing their best in regards to (visual) accessibility. Love that. 5. Space Pirate Action Scenes! These tube-tastic dipshits keep looking more and more like Halo Elites and it bothers me, but they're here and awful! Blowing up a door!

Around 1:05 there are Galactic Federation humanoids wheeling away a thing. We like things here. We also have some friendlies fighting alongside Samus here, but they're most clear on the minimap.

6. The Big Reveal Later On Holy shit it's Sylux MetroidPrimeHunters. Holy shit, it's about time this fucker showed up instead of being a 'secret ending' cameo. I am absolutely loving the guitar riff in the background for the stinger here.

I'm very convinced those floating jellies are Mochtroids - not Metroids. It'd explain why they aren't latching onto anything. The biggest question is whether Sylux used the egg he stole in Federation Force - or this GF facility has been making Metroids. The GF will never learn. 7. To Go Even Further Beyond Samus has left the building. In this shot she's still in the Varia Suit. These avians on-screen have longer necks and brighter plumage than the 'birds' we've seen on Talon IV; there's no other creatures on-screen.

BONUS: The logo looks like the rendering of a black hole. That's probably not important at all.

Okay thank you for reading. See you next mission!

[threehuskiesinatrenchcoat]

ask and ye shall receive. the fight is homoerotic i promise

lore under the cut

basic outline:

alejandro isn’t a fan of enhancements but had to get stuff that military absolutely demanded + to keep up. leads one of the rare units that still try to do what’s right and not what’s most profitable. but they have a reputation and they do their job, so they don’t get much shit for it from any higher-ups. alejandro had to refuse offers laced with underlying threats more than once tho.

shadow company soldiers mostly get hired by corporations (elite stuff), enough money and reputation to afford expensive and exclusive stuff. also the reason their work is mostly borderline illegal and unethical jobs. hard to stay ethical when you work for corpos. they’re not pushed to go beyond what the field requires in terms of cyberware but most do anyways.

alejandro has a firm belief that the more complicated something is, the more it's prone to malfunctioning (which is not wrong). he's confident in something that he's used to and which reliably works. he thinks that whatever base required implants he has is enough, rarely upgrades them, and relies more on rigorous training. has more of a brute force head-on fighting style.

graves is on the opposite side of the spectrum, he takes and embraces the risk for the high reward. he won't even consider something objectively obsolete. relies on stealth, speed and quickhacks. can keep up in close range but prefers to keep his distance. one can probably say he’s overreliant on his cyberware.

tbh they're kinda like... a brick nokia and a flagship samsung. one is old, can only do basic functions, but very reliably, and probably will punch through a concrete wall and keep working. the other can basically do whatever your heart desires, but be ready for it to get turned into nothing but a pretty accessory with a bad update.

graves really wants a fun fight out of him, which is why he kind of throws ideas and friendly advice at him while they’re still on the same side, knowing what’s to come. see, graves is arrogant and overconfident in his abilities, but so is alejandro, and he never fought someone fully decked-out with expensive high-end stuff head on, he will lose if he’s not careful. so graves goes easy on him the first time they fight, as a little training session of sorts. next time he won’t, tho, so it’s on alejandro to learn from that and find weaknesses to exploit. and by all means, he might be arorgant at first, but he’s not stupid. he will.

assorted ideas:

- graves tries to hack ale to get the idea of what he’s working with and he manages to do it so fast he’s literally baffled and drags him to get better stuff. bitch you live like this

- makes him punch himself before he does tho. just to prove a point.

- their fighting styles are each other’s weaknesses

- the fact that graves is usually stealthy and just darts around to find an opening for a good hit allows him to ramble endlessly which makes ale so mad

- graves absolutely flirts with ale when they fight (50% to stall for time by shocking him 50% because he actually has a crush)

[viktoriakomova]

i feel like a big thing (to be clear im not saying this is inherently Bad or a morally rotten approach to gymnastics, in fact i think this is quite #relatable lol) with simone is that """easy""" gymnastics [for her] really bores her.

one thing i respect the most about her, looking at her career and development over the last decade, is that she continues to push herself even when theres really nobody chasing her. its not like bars where there are 3-4 top girlies at any given time and theyre all pushing each other to upgrade and clean up execution etc. simone stands alone and she has stood alone for practically her entire senior career. the only competitors who have realistically come close to catching up with her, when both of them do AA and hit, are iordache in 2014 and andrade in 2021-23. other than that, she has essentially been competing only against the standard she has set for herself, which is a bar that has moved up every time.

because of her energy and her enthusiasm watching her teammates, everyone says she was made for NCAA. i really dont agree, now that we've had years to mull it over. i think college gymnastics would have bored her rather quickly. elite gymnastics has the double incentive of letting her push the envelope and being mathematically rewarded for it. even somewhere famously performance-oriented and nationally competitive like UCLA where she was originally committed, she still would've had that structural ceiling/cap keeping her well below the stratum of what she can comfortably do. it is clear that pushing the bounds of what is considered "possible" in womens artistic gymnastics, and doing it well for that matter, is what is driving her onward and upward.

[3416]

hey emma! do u mind expanding on mitch’s utilisation this post season and how theyre not maximising him at what hes best at so he can contribute elsewhere where the team is lacking like you mentioned in your post? fairly new to hockey so im a bit behind :( thank you!!

i'm not an expert on this but lfksdj i can rant. jonas siegel dropped an article today about mitch's playoff impacts, so i'll drop some screenshots you can read here if you don't have an athletic sub.

and there is also this video from yesterday that essentially breaks down the way mitch adjusts his game to the playoffs vs the regular season and the way mitch adjusts to play more conservatively (which, despite the 'best playoff performer' narrative, still makes him better than most players on our team. by not a small amount lol)

but mitch has been put on the second line this postseason to essentially shut down the bruins biggest offensive threat in david pastrnak and they've done that extremely effectively. his line has taken a vast majority of their shifts starting in their own dzone, meaning they aren't immediately set up for success bc they have to win the puck back away from david & co and are tasked with making their way back down to their own ozone and trying to make an offensive impact that way .. which has allowed auston's line to already start their shifts set up in their ozone 80% of the time apparently. in that way, i don't think the first line's been very effective bc they're sitting at a net neutral rn despite scoring 'the most' goals for us.. meaning they're getting scored on as much as they're scoring, lol. (auston himself is actually at a +2 but bert and domi are getting caught out and prayed on so they're at 0 +/- wise lol)

leafs have a real problem creating offense in the post season, and instead of being able to load up and let mitch do the elite playmaking he can do by being a little LESS defensively responsible and more quick w his hands and thinking on his feet on the rush, they've been forced to play mitch in a more defensive position bc other forwards can't take that spot on the second line and effectively shut pasta/bruins down. essentially, mitch doesn't get room to do what he's best at (help draw attention and make room for the best shooters on this team and then pass to them) bc he has to worry abt making the smart and safe plays to keep the puck away from the bruins scary offensive threats and it's making him look like he's been neutralized... when REALLY.. he's being used in a position that is not favorable to the best offensive parts of his game but rather relied upon for his ability to be responsible. even if he WERE putting up points with auston, people would say they don't matter since they're not at Clutch moments so lol. this team is just built weirdly and domi and bertuzzi are liabilities defensively so they've been put with our most responsible forward on the top, but so far they're not making a huge difference. it is what it is, and willy coming back will certainly help with some off the rush offense probably, but willy is also a defensive liability but he's being played with holmberg and calle who are both way more solid in that way.... luckily the bruins 3rd line isn't as dangerous as the top 2 so maybe he and the swedes will be able to feast on them 🤞🤞🤞

we will see what game 4 holds tonight... i think this team could be so much better with some actual upgrades on d, but we will have to SEE what treliving does this summer. it is very annoying to watch magical mitch marner with real creative vision have to take on a more under appreciated role as a defensive bedrock of this team, but idk what i expected considering we were LITERALLY playing him as a defenseman this season, lol. i have way more fun watching him play globetrotter and put up points but he is basically an elite jack of all trades. siegel's article talks abt the key to that line's offense being him shooting more, so we'll see if that's something he personally incorporates, but a lot of the critique of him this year in the postseason has been so unfair in comparison to the position he's being put in.

[transmechanicus]

so for your dream admech kill team, are you envisioning them as a skitarii derived unit or as a unit of tech priests? Since the codex still has its binary split down it

My absolute no holds barred admech kill team is a Tech Priest explorator in an exoskeleton, an apprentice or alt skitarii marshal, and a mix of gun servitors and void grade skitarii for the remaining 8 models in a 10 man squad. If Admech get something Brand New i expect it would be a servitor squad or a new kind of elite skitarii. If we get an upgrade sprue there is no doubt it’ll be for Rangers/Vanguard. I expect Cult Mechanicus as a sub faction to basically never get an update except maybe more robots someday, considering it’s an eclectic dumping ground for anything Not Skitarii.

[some-loser-called-jab]

Do you have any tips loadout-wise for getting the true ending in Picayune? I must help the space blorbos have a happy end

okay some tips i have in no particular order

make sure you're at max level and have the bonus points from overdrive 1-5 for more nodes, but that should be obvious

remember to actually use your black holes! they are meant to be used, don't be afraid to use one if you think you're about to take a hit! for this reason it's a good idea to at least take the node that makes bosses drop black holes when they die, so you have at least one guaranteed free usage per 5 mortality. i also used the node that increases max black hole count per boss kill

having extra movespeed is good for dodging certain boss patterns, or outright invalidating some of them if you get fast enough. thus the +movespeed per mortality level and +movespeed the longer you don't get hit nodes are very useful.

the node that turns rainbow elites into chain grenades on death is super helpful for making the between-boss sections more manageable, since it can potentially clear out a huge wave if you're getting overwhelmed. and conveniently one of the nodes on the path to that one is the -20% boss hp node, which is obviously nice to have to make bosses a little less dangerous

not related to loudouts, but consider playing at different overdrive levels! sure the stronger enemies from higher overdrive makes the early-game harder, but the higher xp means you get to the "critical mass" where you become an unstoppable killing machine sooner. you'll also have a lot more upgrades for the later bosses, which can potentially outweigh their scaling hp and melt them faster than lower overdrive levels. i got my flawless run on overdrive 3, but play around and see which works best for you!

(i'll add more if i think of anything else)

[rimeiii]

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it despite my fear of getring backlash:

I am not a fan with how WHB handles the usage of Solomon's Tears.

(Rant post, feel free to skip over, rest under the cut. I just needed to get this out of my chest.)

Thank god they've made a statement about the availability of Tears, but in my opinion, their way of handling this is the equivalent of slapping a bandaid on a gaping wound - it fails to address the root of the issue that's making Tears such a necessary material in the first place, it being several aspects of the game design.

There have been several design choices that confuse me when it comes to WHB, which I would chalk up to WHB being PB's very first game that purely isn't otome. But these design choices often involve game balancing issues, which for me personally directly impacts my enjoyment of the game. And it is these design choices that immediately impact the need for Tears, and why the initial update changing the availability of these Tears sparked so much controversy.

But before that, I have some menial complaints that can be chalked up to me being spoiled by other games. First of all, the large amounts of filler stages, while normal for a gacha, still doesn't make it a fun experience to play through - especially when there are barely any changes to the stage layouts. The only reason why Plants vs Zombies were able to do this is because of the way their stages are set up:

Stages 1, 3, 6, and 8 introduce a new mechanic/zombie

Stages 2, 4, 7, and 9 are harder stages that test what you knew from the previous stage

Stage 5 is a minigame stage

Stage 10 is a conveyor belt boss stage

Every stage gives you a new plant, oftentimes one that is relevant to the new mechanic/zombie at play/about to be introduced (for example, Puff Shrooms upon ending 1-10, a 0 Sun plant with shorter range that helps in earlygame because the next world is nighttime, which means no Sun from the sky)

As for the other TD games in the market? Arknights has different maps for each story stage. So does Path to Nowhere, from what I recall. If there are filler stages, they're very few and far in between. It's why Granblue Fantasy changed their story chapters to no longer have a solo battle at each segment - it hinders the storytelling.

One of the most baffling things in my opinion is the fact that the game has the same upgrade requirements for all units regardless of rarity. This is such a weird design choice for me because in most games, lower rarities are cheaper when it comes to upgrade costs.

For comparison's sake, some screenshots I took for promoting S and A+ ranks.

Belial, an S-rank Marksman, requires 22k Gold, 22k Books, 10 Tears, and 22 Fire Jellybeans.

It's the same for the A+ Healer Morax, save for the elemental jelly beans which is changed to his element, Light. And this is the same amount needed for upgrading L characters as well.

This design choice isn't particularly good, in my opinion. It bottlenecks players and puts them in a mindset position of "upgrading anything apart from Ls and some choice S/A+ ranks is a resource sink". It makes people think that building anything except the strongest of units isn't worth it, which in turn renders the existence of lower rarity/weaker units moot, especially considering the scarcity of the Tears in the first place. Because why would you raise them if you're going to gain more of an advantage from building these high-rarity units? You're going to get a more immediate and significant power boost by upgrading Ls in the first place.

This is even more pronounced in WHB specifically because in most gachas, lower rarity units tend to require less to upgrade. Take a look at the E2 requirements of three Tactician Vanguards in Arknights, in which Elite upgrades are the closest approximation to promotion in WHB.

Beanstalk is the lowest rarity of the archetype at 4*, and her E2 material requirements consist of two types of tier 3 materials (Coagulating Gel and Manganese Ore, both with blue borders), Vanguard Chip Packs, and LMD.

Then you have the 5* Blacknight, whose material requirements now include a tier 4 material (Incandescent Alloy Block, with a pink border) in addition to a tier 3 material (Loxic Kohl), Vanguard Dualchips (crafted from Vanguard Chip Packs and Chip Catalysts, both of which are farmable regardless), and more LMD.

And finally, the 6* Vigil, whose material requirements are now a tier 5 material (Crystalline Electronic Unit, with a yellow border) and a tier 4 material (Optimized Device), more Vanguard Dualchips (4 to Blacknight's 3), and even more LMD.

Yet in other games, I don't mind raising lower rarity units - for several reasons, depending on the game. In Granblue Fantasy (despite my complaints about how quickly the meta evolves and how lim-centric it is), SR units serve as the stopgap for party comps until you can fill out your roster with SSR characters, and some of these SR characters still see use like Lyria. In other games like Fire Emblem Heroes, Memento Mori, and Princess Connect: ReDive, all units gain the potential to hit the highest rarity - I have a Yukari (originally a 1* unit) ready to hit 6* in PriConne, while I have a +9 merged 5* Fallen Takumi (farmable unit at 3*/4* base) in FEH. Arknights' case is more nuanced, where it's partly the same case as GBF, but also the fact that lower rarity units can fit into niches that high rarity units don't fill.

With these other games, I never feel like raising a lower rarity unit is a waste of resources. The costs of uncapping characters in general is negligible in GBF, except for the Eternals and the Evokers - those of which are reasonably time-gated because of their sheer meta impact and how strong they are compared to all other characters. Except for particularly egregious cases like Tsukinogi, every single Arknights Operator has their uses, and they often see use in Integrated Strategies.

And let's not get into the debacle that are skill levels, because of course you need more materials for that. I don't mind having high costs for optimizing skills - Masteries in Arknights works like that, after all. Pictured below is the cost of M3-ing Bagpipe's third skill.

That's right - a tier 5 (Bipolar Nanoflake) and tier 4 (Oriron Block) material. And luckily, you can farm for all of these skill upgrade materials outside of events, crafting the higher tiers as necessary. There is less opportunity cost for me to E2 my 4* and 5* units because I can just farm the materials again anyways - and even then I some Masteries on these units are amazing. S1M3 Myrtle (4*) is probably the best DP generator in the game, while S2M3 Lappland (5*) also helps with her skill uptime.

Then you go back to WHB's skill upgrades, which mind you is also the same cost between rarities, and guess what else you need?

Yep. Tears. A ludicrous amount of it, considering its availability. And let's not even get into the Tears required for the Unholy Board, if that matters to you (and it does, because it also gives buffs for your L units).

This skews the game balance towards the L units even more. Ideally you'd be raising skill levels once your units reach high levels, because everything is percentage based and the lower your base stats, the lower effect these skill levels have on your skills. But that just means you'll still need Tears because, well, you still need to promote. And remember the opportunity cost again, because all rarities have the same skill upgrade cost, further incentivizing you building Ls and ignoring everything else.

It's ridiculous.

And the added nail in the coffin: the reduced rewards that basically halved the amount of Tears you get.

I seriously, genuinely hope they take the availability of Solomon's Tears as well as game balancing into consideration when performing the next balance patch. Because otherwise, I can't see this game being an enjoyable experience for me moving forward.

Unless, this was the intended way the game was designed, in which I just...I have no more words to say.

[thisonelikesaliens]

Song Shuffle Game

Rules: put your music library on shuffle, then list the first 5 songs that come up in a poll to let people vote for the one they like the most! 🎶

tagged by @twig-tea (thank you friend! 💙)

I'm doing this with what i have on my phone so it's what's survived phone upgrades and memory purges. the elite of the elite lol

been mostly off tumblr this week so idk who has or hasn't done this. if you see this and want to do it please consider yourself tagged!

[dzthenerd490]

Addendum X-68

The following is a detailed list of all the discovered SCP-AJA variants.

***

SCP-AJA-1: Peashooter - A pea pod plant that only has one large pea pod with eyes on it. This single pod looks around for enemies and undead like a sentry gun and shoots them with peas. These projectiles are not very fast but carry enough force to push a regular human back and even blow the limb off of an undead zombie. A lot like a physical kick or punch a single one can hurt but a lot from different directions can cause serious and possibly fatal damage. Often mass produced and never placed in a defensive area alone.

SCP-AJA-2: Sunflower - A seemingly normal sunflower that has a smiling face on it. Creates solar energy that seemingly powers the plants and seeds they produce allowing production of all SCP-AJA variants to grow faster. Consider the batteries of the ecosystem. 

SCP-AJA-3: Cherry Bomb - Highly hazardous, seemingly overgrown Cherries that once picked form their plant they must not be placed down. Once they are placed down, they will explode in a 2-meter radius. The blast doesn’t cause much damage to all materials but can badly burn living organisms. Shockingly when around undead anomalies it completely vaporizes them. 

SCP-AJA-4: Wall-Nut - A large nut that is extremely durable, does nothing but instead acts as a living shield for other SCP-AJA instances. Horrific honestly, given that extensive attacking does eventually damage the nut leading to its slow mental deterioration as a result. 

SCP-AJA-5: Potato Mine - Potato that once planted into the ground will release a mental like pole with a spherical orb at the top. After about 1-2 minutes the potato surfaces slightly and the orb starts beeping red as if a machine. Once an undead gets close enough the potato will explode completely vaporizing the undead but anonymously not harming anything else and only leaving a small hole in where it was once planted. 

SCP-AJA-6: Snow Pea - A strange mutation of SCP-AJA-1 that for some reason has ice growing on it and induces a cold effect on whoever its peas hit. Causing not only the same amount of damage but freezing them up to the point that they slow down. How this variant exists is unknown. Acts as support fire for SCP-AJA-1 instances.

SCP-AJA-7: Chomper - A large carnivorous plant that possesses a large and vicious mouth. Can swallow zombies whole but are completely defenseless for 3-5 mines during digestion. 

SCP-AJA-8: Repeater - A more aggressive mutation of SCP-AJA-1 that shoots two peas at a time instead of one. They hit faster and stronger with greater accuracy as well, acting as more of an elite unit among the SCP-AJA ecosystem.

SCP-AJA-9: Puff-shroom - A mushroom that is only active at night, shoots tiny little spore bullets that do minimal damage alone but can prove to be quite the threat with if more than one is firing on a target. Sleeps during the day.

SCP-AJA-10: Sun-shroom - Like SCP-AJA-2 produces energy for other SCP-AJA variants but only does so in small amounts. Only increases production after being planted for at least 24 hours. Sleeps during the day.

SCP-AJA-10: Fume-shroom - heavier variant of SCP-AJA-9 that blasts a cloud of spores at enemies making any armor or defense worthless as the spores flow past it and damage the target regardless. Sleeps during the day.

SCP-AJA-11: Hypno-shroom - A mushroom that once consumed by enemies will fill them with a poison making them turn on their allies. Works even on mindless zombies who are driven on instincts alone. Sleeps and is useless during the day.

SCP-AJA-12: Scaredy-shroom - slightly more upgraded version of SCP-AJA-9 in that it has a longer range but tends to shelter itself when enemies get too close. Considered absolutely worthless by a majority of the staff. Sleeps during the day.

SCP-AJA-13: Ice-Shroom - once planted becomes a bomb that can freeze all enemies in a 20-meter radius. They will not only be frozen for 20 minutes but damaged by the ice. Used sparingly by Foundation staff as once they are activated, they are destroyed as well. Sleeps and is useless during the day.

SCP-AJA-14: Doom-shroom - Also acts as a bomb that once activated will blow up and incinerate every enemy within 10 meters. Shockingly brings no harm to anyone not considered an enemy especially other SCP-AJA instances. Sleeps and is useless during the day.

SCP-AJA-15: Lily Pad - a living lily pad that acts as a planting area for plants in water areas where planting would otherwise be impossible.

SCP-AJA-16: Squash - a squash plant with an angry looking face that acts as a guarding sentry. When it detects an enemy, it will jump up and crush them normally killing them instantly. However, tends to crush itself as well due to the recoil so must be replaced often during attacks.

SCP-AJA-17: Threepeater - a heavily mutant variant of SCP-AJA-1 that shoots three peas at three different directions, allowing it to hit multiple targets at once. Considered the ultimate of all the SCP-AJA variants in defense especially if multiple is planted in a garden.

SCP-AJA-18: Tangled Kelp - monstrous plant made entirely of kelp that lives in the water, grabbing enemies and sinking them into the water to be devoured. Shockingly when they do devour the enemy, they end up growing and dividing into multiple SCP-AJA-18 instances. Quickly start clogging and contaminating pools and water gardens they are planted in so used rather sparingly.

SCP-AJA-19: Jalapeno - Highly hazardous explosive when ignited incinerates all enemies and possibly even allies in a straight line both in front and behind it.

SCP-AJA-20: Spikeweed - a strange weed that grows out spikes in a pot of mud. Can be utilized greatly for traps as most undead are unable to detect them until it is too late.

SCP-AJA-21: Torchwood - A constantly burning tree stomp that has no offensive or defensive capabilities. Instead, it is a support plant that ignites the projectiles of other plants into flames causing extra damage to any and all who are hit. Require extreme precision and planning when planting as the projectiles must hit through the fire directly in order to burn as needed.

SCP-AJA-22: Tall-nut - even taller than a SCP-AJA-4 instance and much more durable as a result. Not only lasts longer but prevents more agile and high jumping threats from being able to pass over its defenses. Normally planted on the very edge of any defensive garden areas.

[Further data revolving around newly discovered SCP-AJA instances awaiting Declassification]

.

Go back to SCP-AJA

[starfruitbats]

GRIPS YOU

i would like to know everything about sabotage... please :^]!

HI HELLO OK SO UHH

Sabotage is based off a b2 bomber dont ask how he transforms idk i just work here

(Also he uses he/they pronouns so if you see me alternate that is whyy)

During the early years of the war the decepticons were experimenting with prototype frames. Just to see if they could create more efficient soldiers. Prototype frames are made on a small scale to test the abilities while preserving resources. Sabotage is one of these prototypes! Much smaller than most fliers, clocking in at 15ft, Sabotage was built for stealth, speed, and processing power. He's smart, he's stealthy, and he's quick. Unfortunately, he's not seeker fast and doesn't have the fire power either. In the end, Sabotage's frame was considered a 'failure' and he was stuck in communications. (Soundwave's division) They spend most of their time doing coding maintenance, engine repairs, and occasionally goes on recon missions. Sabotage can open his headphones or use his aux cables to connect to electronics. When they do they can 'take control' of electronics they manually connect to. The more complicated the technology the more difficult it is for them to do so.

Sabotage is a pretty low in terms of ranking, but wishes he weren't. He highly admires the seekers, especially the elite trine, and wishes to be a seeker as well. Sabotage is under the impression that he will eventually get an upgraded frame but it doesn't ever happen. Because he spends most his time on ship doing maintenance, he doesn't see a lot of combat and tends to spend lots of time on the internet to keep himself occupied. There he discovers human entertainment, primarily anime, and becomes very fixated on it. Sabotage loves watching bad anime and drawing fan art, but keeps it a secret from everyone. He eventually ends up befriending Thundercracker due to a mutual interest in human entertainment and creativity. They have a massive crush on Thundercracker, but do their best to keep it under wraps.

He mostly keeps to himself, but if you mention you take interest in something he likes he'll talk your ear off about it. And probably brag about how good he is at his job bc hes compensating.

[goodmode]

do u have any headcanons about hk characters and spellwork (who can use what, what's possible and what isn't, whatever) :V?

take all this with a pinch of salt as i am typing from my phone in the back of a van and i am very sleepy

anyone could learn to spellcast with Soul! in the same way anyone could become an astrophysicist. most people do not.

the Soul Sanctum, and the Pale King's use of Soul spellwork, was considered highly innovative. mostly spellcasting is something only a few people can do/bother learning, but in Hallownest the King encourages it and the Soul Sanctum is dedicated to honing the craft, which makes Hallownest weirdly ahead of the game compared to a lot of places. soul scholars were kind of like the educated elite. but also wizards. people talked

you could simplify and say you have two main schools of thought: the scientific approach (Soul Sanctum, Pale King) and the spiritual approach (Snail Shamans, Moth Tribe). the two ways of thinking are not mutually exclusive and often overlap though. both can be used to great effect

there are bugs out there who have done crazy high level things like the Soul Sanctum in less scientifically-themed contexts, definitely. this tier of fanatical spell meddling is rareish though

Soul is the word many bugs use for the life force inside all living things. and yeah, basically! it's not exactly your sense of self though that's different

Soul and Void are effectively infinite. harnessing Soul to cast spells involves channelling it through certain means and generally you only have certain limited reserves to draw from at a time (see Soul Vessels for example)

Soul Master and the rest of the scholars were fixated on surpassing that limit. kind of a "what if humans used 100% of their brain" situation

if you actually found a way to use all of one bug's Soul at once it would be like splitting the atom - incredible amounts of energy released at once, even from an average bug who isn't a spell user in the first place. Mistakes and Follies collapsed into themselves long before they got anywhere near that level. it's basically just not sustainable or doable. (soul master voice: but is it)

spellwork is also kind of like using a certain muscle a lot. if you cast a lot of spells it'll get easier for you. if you're inherently a gifted type who has a lot of potential for spellwork, but never use it or pursue it, you'll still be pretty bad at it and get tired quickly compared to someone with no inherent ability who practices every day

Void is basically like its own version of Soul. the two are different but if you scanned a Void being and found no traces of Soul that doesn't mean they're soulless, it means they have their own version. you're looking at it. it's Void

the average bug does not contain any traces of Void by nature and thus spellwork with Void is rare and very poorly understood. those ancient bugs who worshipped the Void however would have had some in their system. how? don't ask questions you don't want answers to

once upon a time, all Void is/was, in all traces across the world, part of one unit. once in the dawn of time etc etc. the world has changed since but it's fundamentally all the same to itself.

spellwork with Void is essentially using Soul to bind and command some Void to do what you want it to do. this is why shade spell upgrades cost Soul, it's the Soul making it do that thing.

mess around with Void too much if you're a bug and it will do very strange things to the body. it stains shell, it leaks from the joints and the eyes, it puts strange thoughts in your head. Soul is easier, safer, and better understood, and also isn't partly echoing with its own collective sentience.

not that this kind of thing deters a Snail Shaman. pretty sure if a Snail Shaman was given half the chance they'd learn to spellcast with anything. magnets. active plutonium. whatever. mind your business

if you know how to see Soul inside a body, and concentrate, living things generally appear as opaque glowing white cutouts. the Soul inside a living creature is saturated to the point of looking like a white shape in space. you can't see this usually because their body is in the way and it's sort of, tied into their cells or whatever

you can use spellwork to do pretty much anything, if you're clever. the sky is the limit. flashy stuff like attack spells, subtle stuff like enhancing your senses or letting yourself see things not usually visible to the eye, defying gravity, Whatever. almost anything you can think of. the main barrier is that it's difficult and taxing. the average bug doesn't bother

oh god i haven't even done Dream. okay a short rundown: Dream is different again. it's about the self, about thoughts, about the conscious and subconscious, about the mind. you don't so much spellcast with Dream as just kind of... manipulate and explore what's around you. connect with others. influence, sometimes. mostly understand. it's not technically spellcasting though and this post is getting long so i'll leave it there for now sdffgjk

[freifraufischer]

2023 Worlds (and 2024 Olympic Qualification) thoughts that are half baked and way too early...

This is not so much a hopes and dreams rumination but more alarm bells and red flags... so take it with a grain of salt.

I feel there is a strong possibility that Team China will not qualify a WAG team for Paris. This is especially true if they decide to spread their "A" team between Worlds and the Asian games as they seem intent on doing. They made the Team Final at 2022 worlds largely on the back of their bars performance and OYS's beam.

I tend to trust this reddit user who has usually had the best grasp on the prosects of the Chinese team:

Similarly I have doubts about France qualifying. I've had questions about MDJDS's injury status since 2022 Worlds and in general she hasn't looked to be in her top form in quite some time. Aline Freiss apparently has a foot injury that is limiting her to bars at an upcoming WCC and Marine Boyer was competing sick at Euros. France does not have a lot of depth and it feels like they could collapse as well.

I have concerns about Germany but I think they're much more stable and both Schaefer and Voss coming back give them more padding. I'm still nervous.

If one or two of those countries do not qualify a team for Paris the 2024 World Cup circuit becomes a blood bath especially as I strongly suspect that's where any neutral Russians that do qualify for Paris will come out of.

Recent video of Shilese Jones makes me more comfortable about her prospects--I'd gotten concerned because she missed several camps and seemed to drop off from posting training videos on social media. I think she and Jordan Chiles will likely be the the top US AAers going into worlds. I feel like Jordan will have a Cheng by Paris but I am not sure if the time frame puts it on track for 2023 Worlds.

Jade is an interesting case and I think her stock raises or falls based a lot on other people than seems to be the conventional wisdom. She's certainly a vault and floor medal threat but no longer a certainty. Jordan is outscoring on on floor and Jade is beating her on vault by virtual of difficulty that could go away based on the timing of that Cheng upgrade. Joscelyn Roberson feels like a much bigger threat to Jade's position than a lot of people have accounted for as they are very similar gymnasts outside of the fact that Roberson is unusable on uneven bars and Jade is. When I say that Jade's position may come down to other pieces what I explicitly mean is if they have 4 other pieces that mean they don't even have to consider using Jade's bars then Roberson may overtake her. How much her decision to continue in the 2024 NCAA season impacts her 2024 Olympic path I think depends a lot on what she does. If we're talking something limited like vaulting at home OSU meets that's one thing. If we're talking about a full participation in the NCAA season as she has before I think that's ... unwise.

I do not think that Suni is competing this year. She's posting clips of training videos that don't look nearly as positive to me as others seem to view them. Kidney issues do not resolve quickly and the prospect of training uneven bars while on medication that makes you nauseous just seems daunting to me. I also question if she's had the time to rebuild the stamina needed for an elite bars routine.

Leanne is hard for me to pin down. I think that deciding not to defer her 2024 NCAA season puts her at a disadvantage for Paris but I also think that from a whole person/rest of her life point of view it was likely a wise decision. She's pre-med and taking a year off in the middle of pre-med could derail her post gymnastics life quite severely and her athletic achievements wont help her much in that career to balance out the drawbacks. I worry about burn out, exhaustion, the number of hard landings involved in a long NCAA season before the Olympic trials process and just the lack of time. But I also generally am not inclined to count her out. I just think she has an uphill path.

I've decided that I'm going to try not to talk about Konnor anymore outside of competition results as I believe she likes playing with the gymternet in deeply unhealthy ways.

I do not think SImone Biles is trying for Paris. I could be wrong but that's my feeling.

I don't think Gabby Douglas should be considered in any picture unless and until she actually competes a single routine.

Oksana Chusovitina's path to Paris is going to be a nail biter. I'm not counting her out but I think people need to brace themselves.

The British seem on track at the moment but I am dubious about the "Amanar" training videos we've seen. Kinsella's was quite frankly worrying and Achampong's clip was cut in a way that I don't think you could say anything about it. They're already qualified for Paris and I think it's just a matter of keeping their core gymnasts healthy until then.

Speaking of healthy... Italy is a mess and seems determined to break everyone early in a season for no reason. At the moment I feel like they'll qualify for Paris but I see a 2022 Worlds situation repeating at 2023 Worlds.

[creature-wizard]

I don't know what 5D is and at this stage I'm scared to ask (...like...1D but more boys? Like 3D but...more cubic????)... New Age makes no sense

So, New Age metaphysics posit that there are various levels of matter density. As far as I know, this is basically derived from of the ages-old notion that body and soul are essentially made of two different kinds of matter - the body is made of gross (dense) matter, while the soul is made of subtle (fine) matter. Rather confusingly, they use the words "density" and "dimension" interchangeably, even though this has fuck-all to do with any kind of spatial dimension. Supposedly, we live in "3D" right now, or the "third density." New Agers believe that once they receive enough DNA upgrades or "light codes", they will ascend into the fifth density, which is basically a more ethereal state of being. Now for anyone wondering where the genocide comes in, the thing is that a lot of New Agers believe that the world must be purged of "negative" entities in order for the shift to truly take place worldwide. It does depend somewhat on who you ask, but they consider everything from COVID-19 to climate change to be part of this purging process. Sometimes it goes further; many believe that the "elite" must be arrested and executed first - and with all the antisemitic and anti-science conspiracism rampant in this movement, I'm sure you can work out who that means.