#he increased it from 1 to 2 recently when redoing his will

[irkens]

man.

[sunnybunnyy2]

Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right

Daryl Dixon x platonic!reader

Negan Smith x daughter!reader

WORD COUNT: 4.0k

TIME: season 7

Warnings: imprisonment, talk of rapists(briefly), talk of murder, mentions of Abe’s and Glenn’s deaths, arguments, mentions of saviours, mentions of what transpired in season six and seven, spoiler warning and bad writing.

CHAPTER 2 of the Dark Cell series

Series Masterlist Official Masterlist

This is long awaited! I'm sorry that this has taken so long but I have been making fanfics on Wattpad recently and if you are a fellow fanfic writer you understand how much unnecessary time it takes to come up with ideas and lines to make your character come to life. Thank you all for being so patient with me! Also, requests are open, and I will be redoing my master list, so look out for that. I have been influenced so yes, this is going to become a series so stay tuned! Now that I finished this part I have more motivation to actually write for this! I’d you want to be tagged in the series let me know! Thank you so much for reading<3

(if there is third person slip ups I’m sorry, I’m just so used to writing in third person :( )

The exchanges took place every night at around 1 a.m., and it had for the past seven days.

You would arrive carrying a plate or bowl of whatever leftover food you had managed to swipe from the kitchen or some dinner from the meals you would share with Negan. 

You had aimed to make the food before you went down so that it was still hot but it was risky as, there was a large chance that one of Negan's men would notice and alert your father, which would raise suspicion. 

The food consisted of Sandwiches, chicken, pasta, fish, soup and wraps. 

You wished you could do it more often, but you knew that it would largely increase the chances of you getting caught. 

You knew your punishment wouldn't be anywhere near how severe Daryl's would be. You also knew that as much as you pleaded your father would allow his pawns to have their fun in harming the long-haired man. You weren't quite sure why your father's men were so willing to starve and beat a man senseless to appear strong. Men and their egos you supposed. 

Your father could preach all he wanted about how he would do anything for his daughter, how he would move mountains to appease you. How he would kill anyone who dared to disrespect you (he had) but yet he couldn't try and be a better man. He couldn't put his rage and grieve the wicked world had caused him and help people instead of torturing broken people and turning people who wanted to survive into heartless killers. Turn them into him. 

You couldn't say you hated your father. You never could. But that certainly didn't mean you agreed with half the things he did. 

You could tell he cared what you thought of him. You were the last thing he had of your mother, but that didn't mean he listened to you when you expressed your opinion. 

You and your father were close before all of this happened, well before you found out about his affair. After that day you hated everything about him. Even when your mother got sick and he stood by her, did everything for her. You weren't sure if it was because of how guilty he felt for betraying her or because he loved her. 

Normally you would insist on it being the first but now she was at a loss. 

Since your mother's demise, your once childish but thoughtful father had turned into a power-hungry greedy man. At first you gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was grieving and was trying to find a way to cope with the loss of the woman he loved but it was as though he was forgetting that his daughter had lost her mother.

He wanted to make you happy, so he gifted you the biggest room in the sanctuary and allowed you to purchase whatever you desired without working, though you often helped with the growing crops in the back of the sanctuary. Your father never really liked the idea of her around the fence but he backed down after a heated argument between you. He did send some of his men to keep an eye on you, he tried to be discreet but his men were less than. 

You always made sure to bring a large glass of tap water from your room down to his cell, wanting to at least make sure he didn't die of dehydration. 

You knew that his physical health wasn't as bad as it was before but you knew that his mental health was still declining. He had been locked in the tiny cell for weeks on end, the only sound filling his ears was the constant lyrics of the song 'East Street'. 

The bags under his eyes were proof enough of the lack of sleep he had been receiving. The way his eyes could barely focus on one thing when you would bring him his meals was another important factor in your conclusion. 

Since your visits had become more frequent he had uttered his name quietly into the comfortable silence that had filled the cell as he hastily inhaled what was in front of him. It was so quiet that you had barely heard him, but once you realized that it wasn't your imagination you smiled softly to yourself before muttering your name as well. 

In your mind, you were friends. You knew his name, he knew yours, you would bring him food, he would be thankful and you were both the highlight of each other's day. 

Daryl- because he wasn't rapidly dropping weight as he had been before from his lack of food, which in turn kept his brain running so he could coax his thoughts into coming up with a plan to escape his captivity. Plus your company wasn't so bad he reckoned.

You- because you got to meet another survivor from a rivalling group, you had heard your father angrily ranting to his soldiers about how this mysterious group had taken out one of his many posts and killed everyone in it. 

You were shocked at how brutal this group could be but you knew that your father could be even more heartless and it was proven when a week later whispers were passed along through the sanctuary that your father had partaken in another one of his lineups and had bashed in two members of Daryl's groups heads in with Lucille. 

You knew that Daryl's group had killed countless people, saviours but at least their families and friends didn't have to see it, as apparently the people from the outpost were killed while they slept. It was a very cowardly way to kill but it was better in a way, they didn't see it coming. 

You clutched the tray of food which consisted of a slice of ham from a pig the saviours had recently slaughtered as a way to celebrate the new community they had under their control, standing with the other few that they had taken over. With a side of carrots that you had picked herself to give him some energy. 

Then finally a generous helping of mashed potatoes to fill him up, as you knew that a small sandwich was going to get him through the day. Well, you guessed it was two, as Dwight had made sure to feed him a dog food sandwich every other day to keep him going. A dark pork gravy from the brand Bisto (clubhouse is better but whatever) that was covering a large portion of the potatoes. Your father did always say that you made it taste even better when you made it.

Your eyes peeked around the sharp corner to make sure Arat was on her way to her break that she always made sure to hide, always quick on her feet to head to her room to get several strong minutes of shut-eye. 

Your eyes caught sight of Arat quietly creeping her way further and further away from Daryl's new home. You waited a couple of minutes until you were sure she was in her room, possibly already captivated by sleep. You placed one foot in front of the other as you too, crept down the hallway, the fear of getting caught burning fear into her veins.

You balanced the tray on one hand as you reached into your left pocket, to pull out the cell key that you had stolen from Laura, well it wasn't quite stealing, she had dropped it and hadn't even noticed. You could still remember her confused face when she caught you on the ground after catching you mid-grab. You smiled at her and played it off as if you were tying your shoe, which she bought as she shot you a smile and continued on with her ranting. 

You turned the key clockwise into the rusting metal, smiling in satisfaction when the lock clicked quietly as a sign that it was now unlocked.

The creak that was loudly pulled from the door as it was opened left you cringing as you quickly shuffled into the room, closing the door until there was only a fragment of it for a little bit of light but it wasn't large enough to draw suspicion towards your meetings. 

You could already see Daryl gazing up at you as you pulled the door closed, before lowering yourself to the floor, holding your hands out as a sign for him to take the plate which he did. He had loosened up a large amount since you had started being him food a week ago. 

He was still stand-offish and didn't like to talk about his group which you didn't blame him for, you were with the enemy, you were his daughter. You weren't sure if he knew of your status at the sanctuary but if he did, it didn't come from you. It had already taken a great amount of effort to gain his trust and you wouldn't want it broken just because of who your father was. 

If he brought it up, you would talk to him about it, but for now, you didn't want to risk losing one of the only people that didn't just suck up to you because they wanted more points or because they were scared to face your father's wrath if they hurt your feelings. 

"Hey, sorry I was late, Arat took longer than usual to hit the deck." You quickly explained as expected the food in a curious glint in his eyes. "It's ham. Sorry, I didn't know if you liked it but they just killed a pig and me and my-... I had some for dinner earlier, it was good... and there's potatoes obviously, there's some cheese in them too with carrots and gravy." His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you in question just as he had been since you had almost slipped up. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned well... at least I hope it isn't because I ate the same thing but I guess we'll find out."

He let a harsh breath out of his nose that sounded similar to a laugh before he picked up the metal fork before shoving a large bite of potatoes in his mouth, a barely audible groan fell from his lips as he continued to inhale the food, not even bothering to use the knife that you had brought to cut the meat, opting to just pick it up with his hands. 

If it was anyone else you would find the wild eating disgusting, but you understood. He was being starved as a torture method to force him into submission. You had seen this countless times, but nearly all had caved within the first few days. It was shocking to you how strong he was. If it had been you... you weren't sure how long you could last if you were in the same position. 

From how wild he was eating you could only assume today wasn't the day he got fed from Dwight. 

You assumed you did well with the amount of food you had given him. 

You kept your eyes trained on the opened part of the door to make sure the coast was clear still. Normally this side of the sanctuary was almost always deserted, but since Daryl as been held here, you had noticed a lot of working people wanted to catch a glimpse of one of the Alexandrians who had killed numerous soldiers. You weren't sure if was from fear or awe. 

"Why are you doing this." He asked as he looked up from his half-eaten plate of food, to examine you while you spoke as if to see if you would lie to him. 

"I don't like how he's handing this. I mean... what your group did was wrong. Really wrong. But what he's doing to you isn't right. No one should have to deal with this. I mean other than rapists, pedophiles, or child killers. I mean murder is really bad but there are some ways to excuse it, like self-defence but I mean the worlds over. People kill each other every day to survive. Don't make it right but it makes sense. You did what you thought you had to, to 'save' your group." You ranted slightly as you looked down.

"So you're doing this because I deserve better?" Daryl asked with a quiet snort as though he couldn't fathom the thought of someone actually thinking he was a decent guy. 

"Everyone deserves better in some way. But no, some people just need a little help sometimes. You do, so I'm trying to help you." You said as watched him proceed with eating.

He looked up at you after he took yet another bite of his food. "I ain't need no help." He dismissed with a huff as he finished the last of his food.

"Obviously you do. Everybody does. You're no exception." You disagreed as he watched for any signs of Arat possibly returning earlier than usual.

"So why ya helping me? I'm sure the big man has more bitchs." He all but growled as he thought about your father causing your face to drop slightly as he kept your eyes away from him, in hopes of him not being able to see your full life story from just the shine in your eyes. Daryl looked like the type to be able to, you thought.

"He has some other... people in cells-" You were cut off by Daryl as he let out a dangerous scoff that should have had you scared. You were in a closed space with someone who wanted your father dead, I mean sure he didn't know that you and the man he hated most shared the same blood but it didn't matter. You were a Smith and that would never change. No matter how much you hoped and prayed that your father would suddenly turn a new leaf, it never seemed to happen. So at some point, you just saved your previously wasted breath. 

"Ya mean prisoners?" He spoke sharply, his words not a question but a statement, showcasing how enraged he truly was with her father. 

"Yeah...prisoners. There is some down here, yes. But they deserve it." You said while shaking your head as you thought about the awful people that were locked down here.

"Ain't nobody deserve this shit." He said with his whole chest as his eyes scanned your face with a mixture of hate and disgust at your words. You couldn't blame him though, he was locked in a cell and you had just said that the people locked in them deserved it. 

"They're awful people. Rapists, child killers, people who kill without reason-"

"I ain't no rapist and I ain't no child killers. Me and my people had every righ-"

"Nobody has a right to take someone's life. Who made us god? When did we get to choose who got to live and who got to die?" You argued as you furrowed your brows at the man's words.

"How bout' ya tell yer buddy that? He killed my friends." He raised his voice louder than necessary which earned him a dirty look from you as you peeked out of the sliver of the door that shined light into the cell and once you were sure no one was coming with guns raised you turned back to face him. 

"You killed dozens of his men while they were sleeping. You do realize that, right? I'm not saying what he did was right either, but you're lucky he didn't kill more of your people." You ranted slightly as you looked at him in confusion, he was so stuck in his own misery that he wasn't thinking about how other people were affected by his and his group's actions. 

"Lucky? He bashed my friend's heads in." He said angrily but it was quiet. As if trying to scare you into submission but you didn't back down.

"And I'm sorry for your friends. I really am. But you couldn't have thought that your group could get away with slaughtering- and it was a slaughtering,  his men and get away scot-free. You killed his soldiers. He takes that shit as a personal attack. So when I say I'm surprised he didn't kill more of you I mean it." 

"One of my friends' wives was pregnant' ya think she deserved ta see that? Now tha' kid's gonna grow up without a father."

"Of course not. That's awful and I'm so sorry...but some of the men and women you slaughtered had kids. Wives. Parents. They had people who loved them too. One of the men, Mike, had a pregnant wife at one of the other outposts. She was eight months and gave birth to her baby girl two days after he died. Alone. And a woman, Mel, just got married to the man she loved, they were trying for a baby... He killed himself last week. Hung himself in his room all alone." You paused for a moment to see if he was going to speak up but when he didn't, you continued.

"An-and a woman named Willow had a baby at another outpost. Now that baby has to grow up without a mother. Another man named Carlos was an only child and had to work for points to provide for his parents. They're old and can't do it themselves. Now they're barely eating and are so depressed that their health is deteriorating, we're not sure how long they have left. So I'm sorry that your friends lost people they cared about but you didn't just get your group hurt with your guy's actions. You guys ruined so many lives that night." 

You finished your rant as you shook your head, looking up at him only to see him looking down at his hands, his overgrown hair hung low to cover his eyes, masking his true reaction.

"I'm not trying to say that your friends' deaths don't matter but you can't just go around acting like you didn't kill people either. Like everyone else's pain doesn't matter to not feel guilty. But it does." You said quietly before deciding you had spent long enough in the stuffy cell. You reached over, grabbing the plate from in front of him before pulling yourself to your feet. You waited for him to speak again but he didn't bother and once you turned around he noticed that he hadn't moved from his place. 

"Good night." You shook your head before he pulled the creaky door open a little more so the gap was large enough to fit your body through, closing it until you felt the metal clank quietly against metal. 

You pulled out the key and shoved it into the lock, twisting it quickly before you heard quiet footsteps walking down the hallway from where Arat had left from. It seemed like you had left at the perfect time, you supposed.

You quietly but hastily quickened your pace until you were at the same corner you had looked over from around fifteen minutes prior. 

You watched as Arat ran a hand over her short black and bleached blonde hair as she let out a yawn, swaying on her feet slightly from the over-tiredness she was experiencing, which was probably in full swing by the shortness of her sleep. 

You let out a quiet sigh of relief before you quietly made your way in the direction of her room, the plate held tightly in your grasp as you walked past the mostly deserted sanctuary, sending a small smile to some of the saviours on watch duty. Most sent one back your way, while others seemed annoyed at the fact that they had duty at all, leaving them too aggravated to bother.

You were about to turn the handle of your door when you heard a voice stop you.

"Baby? What are you doin' up? It's late." Your father's voice stopped you in your tracks. A part of you wanted to run into your room and pretend that you had been sleepwalking but you knew your father knew you better than that and could almost always tell when you were fake sleeping. It was an odd talent if you were to be frank. So you turned around with a smile and spoke.

"I couldn't sleep. Decided to take a walk." You lied.

"With an empty plate of food?" He asked with raised eyebrows a sarcastic smirk on his face.

"...I got hungry on the way. Just heated up some leftovers from dinner. Didn't know that was a crime, Dad." You huffed in an attempt to sound believable.

"It's late. You could have woken me up. I would have walked with you." He said as he studied you. 

"Seriously, dad? Literal armed guards are crawling the place. I think I'm okay walking to the kitchen. Plus you barely sleep as it is." You rolled your eyes at his mindset.

"I always have time for you, hunny... so who's the boy? Or girl. I don't discriminate. Hell, ya could be in love with a goddamn pumpkin and I would still approve. Maybe a little weirded out but hey, we all have our kinks." He smirked but his nose scrunched up slightly as he realized he was talking to his daughter and not one of his henchmen. 

"Oh, wow, you figured it out. His name is Donteatmyseedsplease. I didn't want to keep it from you but I don't think you would approve. I'm so very glad I have your support, father dearest." You said in an overly happy voice even your eyes rolled with almost every word you spoke. You turned back to your door and turned ten knob, not going in as though to not give your father the opportunity to join you.

"You'll have to bring him over for dinner sometime we'll have squash." 

"That wasn't funny Dad." 

"Damn, you know how to wound a man's ego. Good girl, I taught you well." He said in a proud tone.

"I'm exhausted. Can we talk tomorrow? I wanted to talk to you about something actually..." You spoke as you pushed your door open even wider than it had been and started to make her way into your large room.

"That's never good." He groaned before he leaned over to land a kiss atop your head. "I'll see you tomorrow, baby. I'm busy but I always have time for you." He pulled away and sent a smile your way which you returned before closing the door and leaning against it. A sigh of relief left your lips as you realized you were in the clear.

TAG LIST: @cult-of-norman @book-place @ilovespiderpeople @kazunish @mysouleaten

(let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list for the future chapters!)

[sonkitty]

The Sideburns Scheme Post #7 Redone

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 1, The Arrival, crossing street with Aziraphale

Sideburns Check

The sideburns are still short. The coffee shop was a human space. The street is a human space. Crowley hasn't crossed the threshold of the bookshop yet, unaware that Gabriel is inside.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

For the brighter more saturated red streak of hair, it's more topside than usual, I would say, but it is there. The above image has streak indicators.

...

Hairstyle Changes

For the hairstyle, it is not flaring up as much and seems to have wavy tendrils going from above his left eye toward the right of his face, then curving back to the left again.

I quite like this style. I think it looks really good on Crowley.

His hair overall looks to have brightened and increased in saturation compared to his initial arrival with the car.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects)

Aziraphale holds the plate for most of the scene but eventually passes it to Crowley.

Leaving the coffee shop, Crowley opens the door for Aziraphale though his touch on the doorknob itself can't be seen.

Maggie is holding an earthly object with the plastic bag holding the record and calls out to Aziraphale by name.

Let's check in with the Tied Hands because they're being even more visibly active together than we've seen up to this point. I think they are retying themselves to help confuse me on the incoming first touch of the The Sunglasses Trick in the next scene.

They are so cute.

Note the strikes of one of the clasps—a thumb joint—on the lapels.

This particular strike is my current top suspect for a key part of retying:

A human pocket user can be seen visually behind Crowley when it happens this time.

Aziraphale gets another earthly object touch with the keys near the end of the scene. His hand touches the doorknob to his shop too.

...

Story Commentary

Neither Aziraphale or Crowley are seen paying for their orders. The same goes for everyone else in Nina's coffee shop even though prices are shown on chalkboards.

If one takes the time to look, both Crowley's and Aziraphale's reflections can be found in the window panes of the coffee shop and then the bookshop.

There is a reality edit that seems to ensure Maggie has no reaction to Crowley's presence. I wrote about it more on the post linked here.

Both Crowley and Aziraphale are obscured at times as they enter the bookshop and people walk by in the street.

Since I've noticed how many times Crowley is not first at crossing thresholds with Aziraphale, I was recently surprised to be reminded that in this particular scene, he does fully cross the threshold of the bookshop first. Admittedly, Aziraphale's partly crossing it first because of him opening the door, and this scene is specifically for entering the bookshop. Most of the other places I've taken note of the pattern are actually outside the bookshop. The Heaven entry is the one that has me on a strong alert as breaking that pattern with Crowley making sure to enter first.

Crowley will actually cross the threshold first to the private room later in this episode as well.

Oh, I actually found the red in the back of the collar of the jacket again.

Crowley's jacket brushes against the door panel when he enters the bookshop. He's generally deliberate about his own touches onto his jacket—especially with the pocket mechanics I am often mentioning, so that jacket touch on the door is interesting to me.

...

That's it for this post. Way back when I started to track these things, I did have a tendency to update even these posts, so that could happen again, just FYI.

The next post will be quite the adventure in trying to write it out because I had so much fun with already redoing it before.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

...

Past version of this post:

Post #7 (crossing the street from the coffee shop to the bookshop)

[freyayuki]

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Dimensions’ End Transcendence Tier 1 New Team

I’ve already cleared the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1 quests in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game. But I decided to redo some of the fights here. Why?

Lufenia quests are Level 200 while Lufenia+ ones are Level 250. These used to be the hardest kind of fights in DFFOO but they’ve basically been powercrept by now.

Now the hardest kind of fight in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia are the Shinryu quests. These are Level 300.

If you bring a char equipped with a Burst or BT weapon to a Transcendence battle, the entire party’s stats will be enhanced.

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1 Old Teams

For the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 1 Lufenia quest, my team was Paladin Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV, Arciela V. Adoulin from Final Fantasy XI, and Ardyn Izunia (Ardyn Lucis Caelum) from Final Fantasy XV.

For the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 2 Lufenia quest, my team was Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII (#ad), Keiss from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, and Dark Knight Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV.

For the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 4, Reckoning Level 220 quest, my team was Cloud, Keiss, and Paladin Cecil.

I talk more about the above fights in this post.

It was a long time ago when I cleared Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 4. Now Tier 12 just arrived in the Global version of the game. The Japanese version has up to Tier 15 now and IIRC, Tier 16 is coming soon there.

Since Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 12 came out, we got a time-limited mission that wants us to clear the Reckoning quest of said Tier with Seymour Guado from Final Fantasy X in our party.

Seymour is the main featured char for Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 12. When said Tier showed up, a banner featuring all of Seymour’s weapons appeared as well.

Was able to clear the aforementioned mission as well as all the quests in Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 12. I talk more about that in another post.

IIRC, future Transcendence Tiers will also have the aforementioned time-limited mission for their featured char. Let’s see. The featured chars for the following Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tiers are as follows:

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 13 - Dark Knight Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 14 - Kurasame Susaya from Final Fantasy Type-0 

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 15 - Rem Tokimiya from Final Fantasy Type-0 

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 16 - this Tier hasn’t come out yet but it looks like they already announced that Setzer Gabbiani from Final Fantasy VI will be the featured char here

So I want to free up Dark Knight Cecil from Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1. While I’m at it, will see if I can also free up more chars from this stage.

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Reckoning Quest

The Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Reckoning Level 220 quest has 2 waves. The mission requirements include winning within 95 turns and taking 15k or less HP damage.

To increase the Lufenia orbs in the first wave, you need to inflict 2 or more debuffs in 1 turn.

For the second and final wave, the counts of the Lufenia orbs will be paused when “player HP at least 100%”. The orbs will be paused as long as at least 1 char in your party has max HP.

I recently saw a video of this fight being soloed by a Level 90 and Crystal Level 90 Cloud Strife. IIRC, that Cloud was fully built as in his BT has been Greened, his High Armor’s been Blued, etc.

I wanted to see if my Cloud can solo this quest too even though he’s not fully built. If my Cloud can’t solo this fight, then I’ll have to see about pairing him with another char or 2.

Anyway, right now, my Cloud has his 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and BT fully MLB. He’s at Crystal Level 90 and Level 90. He doesn’t have his Force weapon or Force Enhancements yet, unfortunately.

Have Cloud’s Bloom Stone. He has triple perfect Artifacts and triple real Spheres. All of his Summon Boards and Character Enhancement Boards have been completed.

He has his High Armor and it’s been Realized to 0/3. His Burst weapon has been leveled to the max so I have its passive but what I haven’t bothered to do is Realize it and Green it. Also opted not to Blue his High Armor.

Since my Cloud isn’t fully built, it’s been a long time since I last got to use him. This fight’s been powercrept by now though so hopefully, Cloud will be able to handle this on his own.

I actually have a Level 5 of 5 Greatsword Ultima Weapon so for now, I equipped this to Cloud. This will help to further increase his damage output.

Brought my Level 40 Alexander as my summon for this fight. Alexander raises the max HP of chars by 15%. Once a char’s HP falls below 80%, Alexander will give them an HP Regen buff that will last for 10 turns. When summoned, Alexander restores the party’s HP back to full.

Cloud can’t heal himself which was why I chose to bring Alexander. If I didn’t need healing in the last wave, I would have brought one of my Level 50 summons instead for more damage.

The Call ability I equipped to Cloud was Rydia’s from Final Fantasy IV. Rydia’s regular Call imperils enemies with the water element while giving the party a water enchant buff that lasts for a few turns.

Rydia’s LD Call gives the party a buff that will allow them to evade 3 attacks. This buff has no duration. It will only disappear once a char has evaded 3 attacks.

Cloud is a physical, non-elemental DPS. He has a low chance of paralyzing 1 enemy with his Cross Slash skill. The upgraded version of this skill is guaranteed to paralyze 1 enemy.

Cloud can initiate launches with his Finishing Touch skill. After using Finishing Touch, his Cross Slash ability will be upgraded to its plus version.

Blade Beam, Cloud’s LD ability, can delay all enemies by 2 turns. Meteorain, Cloud’s Ex ability, charges really fast. This allows Cloud to alternate between using one of his skill and his Ex ability.

As soon as the battle started, made use of Rydia’s LD Call already. Then I used Cloud’s LD to delay the enemies.

By turn 2, the enemies were down to 73% and 57% HP. Welp, this fight really has been powercrept by now.

Once the enemies dropped below 79% HP, they gained thousands of brave but wasn’t worried at all since Cloud does have the buff from Rydia’s LD Call. Plus, the enemies weren’t even set to move yet thanks to Cloud delaying them.

Cloud was able to deal a lot of damage every time he moved. Used Cloud’s LD again but I eventually had to let the enemies move since I wanted to save the rest of Cloud’s Blade Beam for the final wave.

Thanks to Rydia’s LD Call, Cloud was able to evade all the attacks of the enemies.

Eventually, the Lufenia orbs showed up. Cloud can’t debuff the enemies but the orbs weren’t really a problem since Cloud was able to finish off the enemies before the counts could go down to 0.

By turn 7, the enemies were down to 21% and 12% HP while the Lufenia orbs were at 12 and 7.

Had used Cloud’s Additional Ability earlier and it was still active now. His Ex was charged so had him use that. This attack was enough to finish off one of the enemies already.

The last one was left with 1% HP. LOL. Too bad Cloud hadn’t been able to finish off both enemies at the same time. Ah, well. Anyway, IIRC, had Cloud use his HP Attack++ to end the first wave.

The enemies in the second and final wave have this annoying flames aura that they tended to put up upon reaching certain HP percentage thresholds. This aura will cause them to restore a lot of their HP every time someone moves.

This aura will also sap a bit of the HP and brave of chars every time they move. To get rid of this aura, each enemy needs to be launched.

Cloud can easily launch the enemies but I still found this aura really annoying anyway. It’s such a hassle to deal with the enemies healing themselves and Cloud’s HP being drained every time he moved. This is why I need the healing from Alexander.

Just like with the first wave though, the enemies here were easy enough to deal with. This entire quest has been really powercrept by now. LOL.

Just made sure not to let the enemies here get a turn since I’d already used up all of Rydia’s evasion buff on the first wave. So I used Cloud’s LD to delay the enemies. Made sure to use his Finishing Touch every time the enemies got their flames aura.

When the enemies were down to 66% and 79% HP, activated Cloud’s Burst mode already. The Lufenia orbs were at 7 and 10. They showed up once the enemies dropped below 80% HP.

The Lufenia orbs weren’t much of an issue even though Cloud wasn’t currently at full health since the counts started at a pretty high number and they only went down by 1 each turn.

It also helped that Cloud was able to deal a lot of damage every time he moved so the HP of the enemies was quick to go down.

Anyway, by the time Cloud was about to cast Omnislash Version 5, his finishing Burst move, the enemies were down to 3% and 63% HP.

Cloud was only able to deal 4506458 total HP damage during his Burst phase which is really pathetic. But it was only to be expected considering he wasn’t fully built and he didn’t even have other chars supporting and buffing him.

Had Cloud target the enemy with 63% HP with his Omnislash Version 5. The boss with 3% HP ended up dying thanks to the splash damage from said attack.

A few turns after the end of Cloud’s Burst mode, summoned Alexander already. This instantly brought Cloud back to full health.

The last boss was down to 12% HP. So Cloud’s attack was more than enough to finish off this enemy already, ending the battle on turn 15.

Got the score and all the other mission requirements. Really super pleased that I was able to solo this quest with Cloud.

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 2 Lufenia Quest

The Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 2 Lufenia Quest has 1 wave with 2 enemies.

As part of the mission requirements, you need to win within 75 turns and you need to have a Blue Crystal char in your party. To increase the counts of the Lufenia orbs here, you need to launch the enemies.

Since I was able to solo the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Reckoning Level 220 quest with Cloud, I thought I’d be able to solo this Crucible too.

Cloud is a Blue Crystal char who can easily launch enemies so he’s perfect for this fight. Still had Cloud equipped with Rydia’s Call. But this time the summon I brought was The Brothers who is at Level 50. This summon raises the party’s MAX BRV by 30%.

This fight was as powercrept as the Tier 1 Reckoning quest. Basically just had Cloud spam his moves. The Lufenia orbs weren’t an issue at all since Cloud can easily launch the enemies whenever he wants.

The enemies got to move a few times but they weren’t able to harm Cloud thanks to Rydia’s Call so it didn’t matter even if they got thousands of brave.

When the enemies moved, they were able to buff themselves but this didn’t matter either because Cloud can also dispel buffs.

When the enemies were down to 44% and 41% HP, activated Cloud’s Burst phase already. The Lufenia orbs were at 12.

By the time Cloud was about to cast Omnislash Version 5, the enemies were down to 10% and 13% HP and the Lufenia orbs were at 20.

Cloud was able to deal 5293113 total HP damage during his Burst mode. Still very meh but slightly better than his total damage on the Tier 1 Reckoning quest.

Cloud’s finishing Burst move left the enemies at 8% and 2% HP. The enemy with 2% HP was currently paralyzed so I thought I might as well have Cloud paralyze the other one too.

So had him use Cross Slash+ on the enemy with 8% HP. Now that enemy was down to 1% HP. So Cloud’s next attack (IIRC, it was either his LD or Ex) finished off both enemies at the same time, ending the battle on turn 10.

Didn’t even get to use my summon. Heck, my summon didn’t even get fully charged. LOL.

Got the score and all the other mission requirements, which also got me the Perfect.

Yay! So glad that I was once again able to solo a quest with Cloud. And doing this let me free up Keiss and Dark Knight Cecil so I can use them for future Tiers, if needed.

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 1 Lufenia Quest

The Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 1 Lufenia Quest has 1 wave.

As part of the mission requirements, you need to win within 65 turns and you need to have a White Crystal char in your party. To increase the Lufenia orbs here, you need to deal holy damage.

Since I was able to solo both the Reckoning and Crucible 2 quests of Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1, I thought I’d try and see if I can solo Crucible 1 as well.

I remember hearing that Arciela can solo this quest. My Arciela isn’t fully built but I decided to give it a try anyway.

After all, I was able to solo 2 of the Tier 1 quests with Cloud although mine wasn’t fully built. So maybe I’ll be able to do the same with Arciela.

Have Arciela’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. Her Ex has been Purpled. She has her High Armor. She’s Crystal Level 90 and Level 90. She has her Bloom Stone.

All of Arciela’s Summon Boards and Character Enhancement Boards have been completed. She has 0 Force Enhancements. She has triple perfect Artifacts and triple RF Spheres.

Arciela is a support slash healer slash debuffer slash buffer. She provides pretty good party-wide buffs and auras. She can afflict enemies with a number of debuffs, including HP attack disable.

It’s been a while since she was last updated though and she doesn’t even have a Force weapon and/or Burst weapon yet so she’s been powercrept by now.

Arciela’s weapon type is special or unique so I was able to equip her with my Level 5 of 5 Special or Unique-type Ultima Weapon. Brought The Brothers as my summon.

The Call I brought was Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca's from Final Fantasy XII. Arciela deals non-elemental magical damage so in order to deal with the Lufenia orbs here, I needed to bring a Call that can enchant its user with the holy element.

Ashe’s LD Call imperils enemies and enchants the party with the lightning and holy elements.

Like the other fights in Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1, this quest has been powercrept by now.

Even though my Arciela wasn’t fully built, she was still able to deal a lot of damage per turn. Having a maxed out Ultima Weapon definitely helps.

Didn’t have any way of delaying the enemies so they got to move pretty often. This wasn’t really a problem though since I always made sure that Arciela’s HP attack disable debuff was on them before letting them have a turn. So they were never able to deal any HP damage to Arciela.

The main issue I found on this quest was with the Lufenia orbs. They appear on battle start and they can’t be cancelled. Every time an enemy takes holy elemental damage, the count is increased by 5. The max count is 15.

Each time a char moves, the orb counts will tick down by 1. Each time an enemy moves, the counts will tick down by 2.

Only Ashe’s LD Call can enchant the party with the holy element and this only lasts for like 6 turns.

Maybe if my Arciela was fully built, this would be enough but since mine wasn’t, I found that sadly, I couldn’t finish off both enemies before the orbs became a problem.

Was able to get the enemies down to 35% and 37% HP before I had no choice but to just quit the fight because the Lufenia orbs were down to 2 and 7.

I’d already used up Ashe’s LD Call earlier so didn’t have any more ways to get the orb counts up. My summon wasn’t even fully charged yet so couldn’t use it to buy some more time.

Checked out a vid of Arciela soloing this quest to see if I could get some ideas or something. The vids I saw all had Arciela equipped with Enna Kros’s (from World of Final Fantasy) Call.

Apparently, both of Enna’s Calls can enchant its user with the holy element. Sadly, I don’t have Enna’s LD (actually, don’t have most of her weapons at all).

I could try changing my summon to Alexander since, when summoned, he will enchant the party with the holy element, but in my previous try, wasn’t even able to summon The Brothers.

IIRC, both summons charge at about the same speed so it looks like I really need Enna’s Calls if I want to be able to solo this quest with Arciela.

Ah, well. It sucks that I can’t solo this quest with Arciela, at least not right now but at least I was able to free up Keiss and Dark Knight Cecil from this Tier.

And at least I was able to solo 2 of the fights here with Cloud. If I ever manage to get Enna Kros’s weapons, I’ll try soloing this fight again with Arciela.

Conclusion

So, how ‘bout you? Which characters did you use to clear Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1? What do you think about the quests in this Tier? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account

[phantomtutor]

SOLUTION AT Academic Writers Bay Evidence-based answers to questions on anxiety disorders1. The DSMIV category of Anxiety Disorders is very different than the DSM5. Describe how the DSM5 is different than the DSMIV. Be sure to include disorders of anxiety, OCD, and trauma in your answer. 2. Think and write about your own countertransference with a client and describe how that was generated. If you did not have a countertransference reaction, make one up and then describe how that might have been generated. 3. Case Study: JenniferJennifer, a 6 ? -year-old girl currently in Kindergarten, was referred to you by her family NP because of a long-standing pattern of shyness and behavioral inhibition that had become dramatically worse on her entering school. She expressed fear that her mother would be harmed or become ill and had several times come home early from school. She had tremendous difficulty separating from her mother at the start of school and would become upset on leaving the car. She had never been willing to take the bus with other children on her street. When left at school, Jennifer would quickly begin to complain of a headache. She often left the classroom to go to the nurse?s office because she felt nauseous and was afraid she would vomit in the classroom. Her academic abilities were at age level. Her teacher was concerned that her degree of difficulty with separation and numerous physical complaints were taking a toll on her peer relationships and would eventually impact her academic progress.Her mother noted that Jennifer had a history of anxiety-related difficulties, only falling asleep when one of her parents was in bed with her. She often woke during the night and would come into her parents? bed complaining of nightmares. Although he would play with children in the neighborhood, she wanted her mother around. Her parents had difficulty leaving her with a babysitter. Her mother had a history of anxiety-related difficulties as a child and described herself as like Jennifer with many worries about the future.What is your diagnosis of Jennifer and why?How would you conceptualize this case and why?What comprehensive treatments would you provide and why? 4. Case Study: TommyTommy, a 1 -year-old boy currently in 7th, was referred by his PCP to you. Tommy has a long history of being a worrier but the degree of worrying has recently ?increased exponentially.? Tommy?s parents report that he is a bright and academically successful boy who has always been a worrier since toIDlerhood. He worried about bad things that might happen. He was very meticulous, wanting his projects and school work to be perfect. He constantly sought feedback on his performance and would repeatedly check his work. With the onset of adolescence, Tommy had become extremely worried about his appearance and cleanliness. He wanted to have a girlfriend but was worried that his body odor (not notable to anyone else) would turn them off to him. Now, as he recently entered 7th grade, he is experiences a more challenging academic load. He has to deal with many teachers as opposed to just one. Now, even small mistakes in his work result in his redoing his assignment. He has become more meticulous about his clothing and more withdrawn and preoccupied. He seems to be taking longer and longer to get things done.Over two evaluation sessions, the psych NP discovered that Tommy had a number of obsessions and compulsions and is preoccupied with cleanliness because he feels dirty most of the time. He is become very stressed in his new school. Although always a perfectionist, he now realizes that it had begun to interfere with his school work. He is aware of engaging in a number of rituals, including counting the number of drafts of each paper, which often was more than 10, showering a minimum of 3 times/day and staying in the shower more than 30 minutes each time. He is worried that if he does not engage in these acts, his life would ?fall apart.? He also shares with

the psych NP that he has been picking his face, sometimes staying in front of a magnifying mirror for an hour at a time. He has very small, almost unnoticeable skin lesions on his face. He states that after he does it, he cleans his face well and applies Neosporin ointment to avoid infection. He has tried to stop but can?t seem to do so. As a result, he does not like to socialize as much and he refuses to go to places where there are bright lights.A family history revealed a maternal grandfather with depression and a paternal uncle with Tourette?s syndrome. His father is very intense but does not have any diagnosable disorder.What is your diagnosis of Tommy and why?How would you conceptualize this case and why?What initial treatment would you provide and why?If the initial treatment failed, what might you further do?If you have prescribed a medication and the client only experiences partial relief, how might you augment? “Looking for a Similar Assignment? Get Expert Help For A 100% ORIGINAL PAPER!” Evidence-based answers to questions on anxiety disorders nursing assignment tutor.   “” CLICK HERE TO GET A PROFESSIONAL WRITER TO WORK ON THIS PAPER AND OTHER SIMILAR PAPERS CLICK THE BUTTON TO MAKE YOUR ORDER

[mionemymind]

Chapter 3: The Harsh Treatment

Fake Memories

Series Summary: After Y/n is caught cheating on Wanda with Carol, Y/n would do just about anything to get Wanda back into her life. But was it even Y/n’s fault that she cheated? Or was it the new enemy set on revenge?

Chapter Summary: What will happen to Y/n as the team pushes her past her limits? 

A/n: I lied, I decided to be nice and post it now. Honestly, the amount of support that I’m receiving from this fanfic has literally made me smile so much. I really love all of you who read and/or comment. You mean the world to me. Let me know what you think. :) (Not my GIF)

Warnings: Starvation, harmful thoughts, curse words, self-doubt, mentions of blood, injuries, angst

Word Count: 5k

Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |

Y/n abruptly woke up at the feeling of pressurized gas coursing through her body. She quickly sat up, unable to see anything in the white fog. The cold feeling only lasted a couple seconds before F.R.I.D.A.Y stated, “Fire has been contained.” Y/n hugged herself for warmth as she waited for the fog to disappear. This was the 13th time this month that she was woken up with pressurized gas. At first, it was foam but someone in maintenance had changed the system after the 5th time she woke up. 

Y/n looked at her surroundings and sighed at the damages to her sheets. There were burn marks along with small amounts of frostbite from the gas. “At this rate, I won’t have money for food.” With a grim face, Y/n got up from her bed and proceeded with taking everything off her bed, a routine she unfortunately started to learn. 

Y/n didn’t know when things got worse. If she had to guess, maybe it was after the whole fiasco with Wanda. The team had been on edge ever since then. “They probably thought I hurt her,” Y/n thought at the time, but it was far from the truth. She had wanted to explain herself to the team but dismissed those thoughts with, “What’s the point in trying? I’ll always be guilty to them.” 

As for Wanda, the still heartbroken girl didn’t dare to speak to the team about that night. Even she didn’t quite know what happened. Since that night, she only lied to herself stating that maybe Y/n had done something. It would probably remove the guilt she had when she thought of the blood running down Y/n’s face. But even the lie couldn’t repress the truth from her thoughts. 

After she collected her bedding, she threw it away in the trash can along with the other damaged beddings. Y/n grabbed her wallet off her night stand and opened it. She couldn’t feel it, but her heart dropped at the sight of the lack of money she had. Only a $20 dollar bill as well as a couple ones were left. She closed her eyes and tried her best to keep herself calm, to try and act like the world wasn’t closing in on her. It was a couple minutes later when she opened her eyes and looked at her wallet again. “This was supposed to last me for the rest of the month.” Y/n rubbed her forehead, feeling the overwhelming stress from her lack of funds. 

One might ask, “Aren’t you an Avenger? Shouldn’t you make a shit ton of money.” And at one point, Y/n would say yes, she did. But it all came back to that night. A week after, she had overheard a conversation that went…

“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this to her.” Y/n was about to go around the corner, but decided to wait at the sound of Steve’s voice. “It’s simple Rodgers - unless I have to remind you why we needed to redo the glass in the conference room.” Steve sighed at Tony’s simple minded actions. Y/n could practically feel him crossing his arms in a disapproving manner. 

“Well she did work fair and hard for her money Tony - this just feels wrong.” Y/n heard a couple clicks before Tony replied with, “This is for Wanda. Anything to get Y/n out of here by her own means is worth it. If you have a problem with this, you must not care as much for Wanda as I thought.” Steve sighed again seeing as he was morally put in an awkward position. It was either care for Y/n or care for Wanda. “That’s what I thought.” Tony left with a smug look on his face as he clicked more on the screen in front of him. 

It didn’t take long for Y/n to see the effects of Tony’s decision. Her pay day was the following day and the overwhelming sense of panic and anxiety rose up within her as she only had $400 to survive until the next pay day, which was a month later. Since then, her food portions have been small to say the least. Y/n learned that she only had enough money for the month to eat at least once a day and even that was cutting it. The dramatic changes to her diet had slowly affected her powers but it recently had an exponential increase. 

This was her fourth month of hardly eating when her powers started to flare at night. It has gotten to the point that Y/n couldn’t control them in her sleep leading to F.R.I.D.A.Y having to deal with her fireside. But her powers weren’t the only thing that has changed. If anyone were to actually look, they would see that Y/n had gotten skinnier. Her literal glow was getting duller and duller the more time passed.  

However, Y/n refused to feel sorry for herself. The sentence “I deserve this” was burned into her head. The brain tricks she puts herself through even allowed her to convince that Tony's decision was right. That Wanda didn’t need to tell the truth to the team. That Steve didn’t need to defend her. And that the team certainly was allowed to make her feel like nothing. Because to Y/n, if she didn’t deserve this, then why would you possibly treat a person like this? Just why? 

Of course, Wanda didn’t notice these changes at all. The girl was trying her best to avoid Y/n as much as possible. She always had exit strategies in place in case she were to be in the same vicinity as Y/n. However, Wanda also didn’t notice that lack of Y/n’s presence. Much to her dismay, Y/n’s efforts were the reason they didn’t see each other much. 

What Wanda did notice though was the slow and gradual decline of snacks in her cubby. It left her to question whether Natasha was done doing these small favors for her. But her reports were still getting done. 

The red head didn’t have much room to think though as she got slammed down on the mat from the other red head. “Take a ten - you’re distracted and we can’t keep going like this.” Wanda grumbled at another failed attempt to flip Natasha over. Hand to hand combat was one of the few subjects that Wanda hated the most. With the help of Natasha, Wanda got up and walked over to the waters on the other side of the room. She was gulping down the remaining when Natasha’s words caught her off guard. “What happened?” 

Wanda cocked an eyebrow while still drinking her bottle, needing more elaboration. Natasha faced Wanda while hundreds of thoughts racked her mind. Luckily for her, Wanda had trained her on how to make them quiet enough that Wanda wouldn’t be able to hear. When Natasha found the right words, she said, “I am not doubting you. I am doubting her…” Wanda closed the bottle and looked around the room to avoid Natasha’s eyes. This had been the first time that anyone from the team had remotely even asked her about that night. To be frank, she hadn’t expected Natasha to be the one to break the ice. Usually it was Steve that would act like the team’s counselor. Guess things change. 

Wanda sighed and recollected her memory for the night that continued to haunt her. “One minute, I left to get a drink from the bar. - she said that she needed to go to the bathroom. The next minute, I come back to see her all over blondie.” Wanda’s grip on the bottle tightened at the words she was going to say next. “I thought it was a mistake - that she could have been too drunk that night - b-but her thoughts were so - loud.” Wanda slammed her fist at the table in front of her, tears already falling down her cheeks. “A-a-and I saw everything-” 

The broken hearted girl didn’t have much energy left in her to continue. She dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands. Natasha kneeled beside Wanda. She pulled the poor girl into her arms, trying her best to physically comfort her. But nothing could really make Wanda feel better. What could you say to a girl that saw every moment where her girlfriend has cheated on her? Nothing - you say nothing. 

“It’s quite pathetic actually,” Tony said as he spun the rod, causing his player to score in foosball. He was currently versing Steve as the two decided to quietly speak about Y/n’s actions for the past couple weeks. Going on the defense again, Steve shot back but Tony was quick to block. “She’s probably just trying to get her money back.” Steve huffed from the sudden slap shot as well as Tony’s rude words. 

For the past couple weeks, Y/n had gone from trying to win Wanda back to trying to win the whole team back. The first thing they noticed was all the completed mission reports and the continuation of it. Clint was the first to jokingly comment, “Bruce must really love mission reports.” But the genius bore a confused look before replying with, “It wasn’t me. Even I haven’t had anything to do in my stack for a couple days.” Bruce had a displeasured look on his face. Clint just assumed it was either he wanted to do his stack of reports or the comment was actually true...or maybe both. 

When it was time for the meeting, Clint had asked everyone in the room, minus Y/n, on who was completing the mission reports for everyone. “Well, I’m doing Wanda’s and mine,” Natasha claimed as she sat in her usual spot. No one was able to detect her lie, but then again, Natasha was always good at lying. 

Clint was quick to figure out that the only person remaining must have been the person responsible. With a straight forward voice, he explained to the team that Y/n had been completing everyones, besides Wanda’s and Natasha’s, reports. Still, Natasha sat there, copying the confused looks on everyone’s faces. She didn’t care to tell them the truth, it wasn’t worth it. However, the meeting proceeded with little comment on Y/n’s actions. She wasn’t worth the mention. 

“What if she actually is trying to say sorry to us?” Steve couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for Y/n, but Tony’s words made the guilt go all away. “Oh - so miss Hydra over here actually wants to apologize - hilarious Steve.” With that, Tony quickly spun the rod and scored the final point, making him win the game. What the two failed to realize was the fact that Y/n had overheard their conversation. She no longer felt hungry for the day and had retreated back to her room, feeling overwhelmingly numb from the confession she heard.

It was a new and different day for Wanda. She had managed to want to try and sit in the common room with her team seeing as sitting in her room no longer gave her the same satisfaction anymore. Scrolling through the tv, she was about to pull up Bewitched when the following words appeared on the screen:

Bewitched is longer provided on Netflix. Please see related tv shows. 

“What do you mean it’s no longer available?” Wanda frustratedly questioned. And here she was trying to have a good day. “Sorry kid, I guess Netflix took it off their streaming service,” Clint said as he leaned over the couch. “No why would they do that?!” Wanda said with an exasperated look. Clint simply shrugged, Netflix did have an awful reputation for getting favorites removed or canceled. “No clue, but you could try other shows.” Wanda crossed her arms and huffed at his suggestion. “I was really feeling Bewitched today.” Ruffling her hair, Clint left after saying, “Try to feel for something else.” 

However, Wanda had failed to feel anything but angry for the remaining of the day. It wasn’t until she sat in her room for the night, aimlessly finding shows in her room when she noticed Bewitched on her home screen. She quickly clicked on it noticing that all eight seasons are there for her own viewing. Her mood immensely increased for the night as she fell asleep in the middle of season two. 

Outside of her room, Y/n had been cleaning up the compound for the night. It was getting harder and harder to clean the kitchen when everything in her wanted to just take a couple of snacks for herself. Her hunger was constantly on her mind as well as the stupid flashes that have sporadically appeared more and more everyday. But she wanted more than anything to prove to the team that she is a good person. Stealing, no matter how minor, was probably the last thing she needed to be labeled as. 

When she completed for the night, she returned to her room but paused outside of her door when she heard the Bewitched theme song loudly play in Wanda’s room. A small smile appeared on her face as she walked back into her room and slept on the floor tonight.

“Did it ever occur to you that I love you - like a lot?” The couple were laying in Carol’s room decorated with punk rock posters and pictures of their team. Small plants were placed around the room while Malcolm in the Middle was used as background noise. 

“Nah. I haven’t heard you say it in approximately - 10 minutes?” Carol laughed as Y/n glanced at her watch. They laid on their sides as they faced each other, their faces being only inches away. “Well I do.” Carol cupped Y/n’s cheek as she soon grew mesmerized. 

There are words to always describe feelings with someone but they all felt overused or incomplete. Because everything felt like this daydream colored borders with warm tones and retro filters as she glanced at Y/n. She felt like she was watching a show that she would never get tired of. Even if the show was in color or black and white, new or old, slow or fast, she would watch just to see her. Just her. 

“You do what?” Carol flicked Y/n’s forehead at her response. “Kidding - kidding.” Y/n said as she rubbed her forehead. Carol rolled her eyes and kissed Y/n’s head as she cuddled into her arms, legs tangled within the sheets. “I do love you.” Y/n kissed her hair as she combed it with her hand. “I know,” she whispered, hoping Carol would pick up on the secret reference. Because to Y/n, yeah, she’s worth a whole galaxy. 

It was the middle of the night when Steve woke up from a nightmare that shook him from his slumber. Rather than staying in bed to force himself to sleep, he got up and headed to the kitchen for a late night snack. 

Heading into the pantry, Steve pursed his lips noticing that Y/n’s cubby had been empty for weeks it seems like. The guilt that was slowly forming inside him kept building and building. Although he knew he could try to do something about it, the loyalty he had to his family - to Wanda. That was something he didn’t want to break. 

The relationship with Wanda and Steve was something similar to a father and daughter relationship. Steve had always wanted a kid of his own and Wanda had lost her father. The irony of it all just happened to work for the two. Even though Wanda nor Steve would admit it out loud, they viewed each other as the roles that needed to be filled in their lives. They needed each other regardless of titles.

But then there was Y/n. The troubled girl that made Steve absolutely nervous with how quick her and Wanda seemed to like each other. It absolutely didn’t help Steve’s case when the whole team found out about Y/n’s past. His anxiety had practically skyrocketed. It eventually led to a one on one talk with Wanda about how sometimes we need to protect ourselves before letting people in. 

But Y/n was still there. Breaking down Wanda’s walls. So just like any Dad would, Steve watched over. Making sure his girl was always happy and safe. So while Natasha may have refilled Wanda’ cubby and did her reports, Steve had carried Wanda to bed during nights she couldn’t sleep. He made her tea for times that she didn’t want to talk, which was often. He tucked her in at night and cuddled with her when she needed a shoulder to cry on. He was just there. 

But so was she. She was there whenever Wanda cried at night. She was there when Wanda would sometimes forget to eat after busying herself all day. She was there to take care of Wanda. She was there when Steve wasn’t. And that meant everything to Steve. So why couldn’t Steve be there for Y/n? 

There were a lot of unanswered questions roaming around Steve’s head. Rather than pondering more about them, he walked around the tower, eating a pack of cookies for himself. Just as he was turning the corner, he glanced towards the conference room to see Wanda asleep in front of her reports. However, the more alarming part was the girl that happened to be right in front of Wanda. Steve quickly grew on high alert and observed Y/n’s actions. However, after a couple minutes of harmless actions, Steve forced his shoulders to relax. “She’s just doing reports - calm down,” Steve thought. 

But he couldn’t calm down. The guilt had maneuvered it’s way back up to his throat as he actually noticed the pale state of the once bright girl. For someone that had literal fire abilities, she lacked the glow of any raging fire. Feeling nothing but guilt all over, Steve felt compelled to say something - anything. But he froze. He didn’t know what to say. 

However, the opportunity soon was lost as Y/n finished everyone’s stack of reports. Steve hid around the corner as Y/n passed him. Hearing a door close was when Steve stepped out of hiding. He glanced towards the direction of Y/n’s room, feeling every need to go to her. But his footsteps led him to Wanda. He picked her up and carried her to her room. Wanda will always be first in Steve’s heart. And nothing could change that. 

“We have to stop this treatment Tony.” Steve waltzed into Tony’s lab the very next day. For once, he couldn’t sleep for the remainder of the night. Y/n was all over his mind. The guilt was practically eating him alive. 

Tony rolled his eyes at Steve’s dramatic fashion for entrances. “Oh - good morning Tony - how are you - I’m actually pretty good.” Steve rolled his eyes as he stood in front of Tony, a hologram in between the two. 

“Cut the crap Tony - I’m being serious.” Steve crossed his arms. This needed to end. “And you think I’m not Rodgers?” Tony was quick to respond, already growing irritated by the conversation. 

“This isn’t right - none of this right.” Steve wiped the hologram to finally get a clear view of Tony as he grew frustrated by the second. Tony simply swiped it back, not wanting to deal with the issue. “Well maybe if she just quit - we wouldn’t need to worry about anything. It’s not my fault Fury hired Ms. Hydra - and if he finds out I fired her, he would not allow it at all.” 

“But can’t you see that your stupid plan isn’t working? All we’re doing is abusing the girl.” Steve wiped the hologram again but Tony simply walked to a different station and continued his work. Angry with his response, Steve walked around the table and stood beside Tony. 

“This needs to end Tony,” Steve said through his gritted teeth. The man was clenching his jaw so hard, it almost looked as if he was going to break his teeth. However, Tony quickly glared at Steve at the mention of his threat. 

“Don’t you fucking dare. Can’t you actually see that I’m trying to protect Wanda.” Steve tilted his head at the awful reasoning for his actions. “How is this protecting Wanda? Why are you even trying to protect her?” 

Tony slammed his fist into the table, feeling his anger rising by the second. “We - no - I need to protect her Steve!”

“Why Tony? Why?” 

“Because I’m the goddamn reason her parents and her country is dead. I’m the reason that everything she ever loved is gone. I’m the reason for her sadness. She, of all people, deserves happiness. And I sure as hell won’t let anyone else hurt her anymore - no more Steve.” Tony didn’t give Steve a chance as he walked out the facility needing a day drink more than ever. 

It was lunch time and all Wanda could think about was the need to cook paprikash. She didn’t know when the last time she had actually cooked. And seeing as the majority of the team was on missions, she could actually cook without interruptions or lingering eyes. 

Walking into the kitchen, Wanda tied her hair up and started to take out the necessary ingredients for the meal. It was when she was talking the spices out when Vision had appeared out of nowhere, nearly scaring the girl. “Vision!” 

Sensing a slight rise in her heart rate and anger, Vision had quickly apologized. “Sorry Wanda.” Wanda shook her head and quickly resumed prepping. “I will try to work on making my presence known. If I may ask, what is it that you’re doing?” 

“I’m making paprikash.” Vision’s mind grew curious at the word and quickly searched his database for it. “I see. A traditional Sokovian food.” Wanda didn’t realize it, but she had felt a little annoyed at the synthezoid’s presence. It wasn’t anything he did, but Wanda desperately wanted alone time for herself. 

Before she could ask, Vision had said, “Good morning Y/n.” Wanda’s quickly grew wide as she avoided glancing in Y/n’s direction. She hadn’t stayed in the tense position though as Vision announced, “Oh - it seems she had left before saying hi back.” 

Feeling ever more frustrated with people’s presence, Wanda was about to ask him to leave but noticed the confusion written all over his face and didn’t hesitate to ask, “What is it Vision?” Vision pursed his lips and contemplated his words. It was visibly obvious to see that he was trying to wrack up what to say. “I think...it’s just…” He sighed knowing that this was going to be a sensitive subject to the witch but knowing everything she's been through, lying was not the best option. “It’s just that Y/n-” Wanda quickly cut Vision off in desperation to know what Y/n had done to Vision. If the girl were to even lay a finger on him, she was sure to deal with it herself.  “What did she do? Did she hurt you? I swear-” Seeing her eyes turn red, Vision immediately explained himself. “-No no no. It’s not that, the complete opposite actually.” Wanda’s eyes slowly turned back to normal. When Vision saw that her heart rate was close to normal, he continued. “It’s just that...Y/n’s vitals have been decreasing in a fluctuating matter. Some days it would be a small decrease, but some days it would be a big decrease. Overall, her health has been poor.” Vision looked back at where Y/n once stood. If he hadn’t quickly analyzed her, he wouldn’t have noticed that today’s vitals was record worst. “Although she does have physical injuries, she seems to continue to radiate pain throughout her body even when those injuries have healed. It starts through her head and it spreads like a radio wave through her nervous system. I’ve done my calculations and the leading cause could be migraines...” Vision soon was in deep thought, trying to recalculate just to make sure what he was about to say was correct. “...but it doesn’t make sense.” 

Wanda tilted her head. Processing this information was hard seeing as at her darkest moments, she wanted nothing but Y/n to be hurt. She deserved it for all the pain she caused her to go through. But hearing it now? That was a different story. It was like an internal conflict was going through her. Should she even care about Y/n’s health? “What doesn’t make sense?” Vision looked hard into Wanda’s eyes as he said, “Migraines shouldn’t cause her heart to stop multiple times.” 

Wanda stared at Vision, processing the information that the love of her life is practically dying. “A-are you sure?” Vision slowly nodded. “However, after some calculations, I do believe she will be okay. She only needs a good source of food for her healing regeneration to fully heal this.” Wanda relaxed at Vision’s words. Although she has been through immense pain through these past couple months, having Y/n gone from her life like that would hurt more than anything. 

Before Vision could continue his explanation, F.R.I.D.A.Y stated, “Emergency alert. All available Avengers please head to the quinjet per the request of Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers.” Quickly, the two headed to the plane as the important part of Vision’s explanation was missed. Little did Wanda know, Y/n would not heal any time soon. 

The trio arrived on the quinjet and wasted no time trying to figure out the mission that was ahead of them. There was a serious feel in the atmosphere sensing that this had to be bad. There was no way that it couldn’t have been. Because if it wasn’t, they certainly wouldn’t have invited Y/n to this mission. 

Lately, the girl has been assigned to only solo missions. Y/n couldn’t quite remember the last time that she was on a mission with any team member nevermind the fact with the whole team. 

“Backup is needed immediately after touch down. Vision and Wanda, meet up with Steve and Sam at the Northeast corridor. Y/n, you are assigned to the entrance,” Tony stated through the intercom. 

The feeling in Y/n’s stomach worsened. Not only was she hungry and sleep deprived, she didn’t also have a partner with her. It also didn’t help the fact that the flashes have gotten worse. Y/n couldn’t help but pray for a miracle. After all, they were dealing with the very people Y/n hated - Hydra. 

Y/n couldn’t quite tell when things on the mission got to shit. Maybe it was the fact that as soon as they touched down and went to their assigned positions, Y/n received a massive swarm of Hydra agents. It didn’t help that her health regeneration was not at its peak or these agents actually were decently trained. Or was it during the third wave, that was currently happening, where Y/n tested the limits of her body. 

Seeing the onslaught of agents coming her way, Y/n decided it was time to test out her new ability. She rapidly swung her right arm, building momentum as the fire within her right side blazed. As soon as the enemies were close, she released a fire tornado in their path. It had managed to take out at least half of the wave, but more and more kept coming. 

Pressing her comms, Y/n said, “Can someone send back up my way?! There’s too many for me to handle.” Y/n kicked back the agent that was about to stab her in the back, but was too distracted to the point a different agent was able to cut her leg. “Fuck.” 

Y/n quickly released an ice wall that at first glance, appeared to be the same height as the Great Wall of China. She hoped the barrier would give her enough time for her backup to appear. Focusing all her energy on her fireside, Y/n aimed at any agent near her, using her arm as a flamethrower. 

However, worry immediately grew when no one had responded to her call within a couple minutes. Before she could request again, Nat had spoken bitterly in the comms, “On my way.” Sighing in relief, Y/n continued to fight off the agents the best she could. 

But no matter how hard she tried to buy herself time, it seemed that Natasha was taking forever to come. It had gotten to the point that multiple lashes already appeared. Her healing regeneration couldn’t keep up at all. Not only that, but her body was either giving up from exhaustion or blood loss. It was only during the last couple agents when Natasha had shown up and quickly killed the remainder. 

Y/n glanced at the assassin and noticed the lack of any injuries on her and it was as if she barely broke a sweat. “What happened? I almost got killed.” 

Natasha glared at Y/n as she responded with, “I helped Bucky and Rhodey on the way, they needed it.” Y/n swallowed the lump in her throat knowing the redhead in front of her had practically lied. If backup was needed, it was always voiced through comms. 

Even if Y/n had wanted to confront Natasha about it, she couldn’t. Natasha had already left to head to the quinjet. Y/n simply limped a couple feet from her. When Y/n arrived, it seemed that everyone else was already prepared for take off. Feeling ever more guilty, Y/n simply sat at the closet seat to the entrance that was away from the team. But something inside her broke even more noticing the lack of any questions or concerns from the team in regards to her injuries. 

Not even bothering to buckle up, Y/n sulked in her thoughts when she realized, “Why doesn’t anyone care about me?” 

Tag List: @halobaby​ @arelyitsherec8​ @blackxwidowsxwife​ @cristin-rjd​ @madamevirgo​ @trikruismybitch​ @paradiselost916​ @mmmmokdok​ @morbid-gaymer​ @dailyavengering​ @itsnottilly​ @helloalycia​ @randomshyperson​ @tomy5girls​ @daenerys713​ @ensorcellme​ @lezzzbehonesthere​ @imagine-reblog​ @sighsam​ 

[the-mercurial-star-o-vesper]

Fallout Themed “Get to Know me”

tagged by @emiratexaaron. Blast, I didn’t even realize I got tagged!

FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH FALLOUT:

Ye gods, I was maybe... We’re gonna go early teens. I remember watching Fallout 3 on my father’s computer, and having been someone who had played Oblivion to death, the graphics were amazing.

And then I got a hold of it, and didn’t immediately put God Mode on, and actually learned how to play a Bethseda game for once.

NAME OF FIRST CHARACTER To be honest, I don’t honestly remember. I was a kid who tended to blunder into games like nobody’s business. So I really can’t remember my first.

... I can remember that I tried to create the Fonz at one point in FO3. So High Charisma, wears the Tunnel Snakes Jacket, good Repair and Speech skill.

DUMB WAYS TO DIE, SO MANY DUMB WAYS TO DIE: I. Hate. Reaver Ghouls.

Falling off Bridges

How bout opening up a can of AcciDeathclaw in Fallout New Vegas?

Pissing off Legion at the wrong time.

NEW VEGAS. LEGENDARY. BLOATFLY.

Trying to make a run North of Goodsprings.

Trying to run away from North of Good Springs...

Geckos in Fallout 2.

Talking Pig Rats in Fallout 2.

Rats in Fallout 1.

Really, the list could go on.

WHAT WOULD I IMPROVE IN FALLOUT 4: *cracks knuckles*

Where do I start.

For one thing, Bring back the Dark Comedy that Fallout is known for. Fallout 4 is too damn bleak, made bleaker by its poorly executed message of “Never give up Hope”.

Cut out half them settlements. A few of them you can’t even build anything on (LOOKIN AT YOU COSTAL COTTAGE).

How about fix those Character plot-holes? Like what was Nick’s take on the Ghoul Removal from Diamond City. He’s been there for nearly 60 years.

Where are the Fallout ZAX?

Add Centaurs. Yes, from the Concept art. Fallout 4 wants Bleak? We’ll make it bloody horrific.

How about more lore-backing to the cap system, hm? Original Fallout, it had been the water traders and their show of force. Here is... cos they want to? You can dig a thing anywhere for clean water, so maybe the trade off could be food. Or maybe make it more mafia theme’d, like its Triggerman enforced or something.

Speaking of Which, can we have more revelance to the Triggermen? We have a Detective with all the Perks for the gods’ sake. Make something of ‘em. Fallout 4 is clearly Fallout Noir to New Vegas’s Fallout Western, let’s go all out.

I want to build a Synth.

How about the Minutemen? What they could’ve done is expanded it more than just from the Castle. Look, all other Factions have bases and set missions from bases that apply to their respective storylines. The Minutemen’s stops at getting a base. Why is that? Why not bring in that Minutemen-Gunner war? How about having the end of the Minutemen Quest be “Taking Quincy Back!”.

Speaking of which, let’s redo that Minutemen Intro a bit. How about... Billy the Ghoul’s Family! Yes, I mean the Ghoul kid. Remove that stupid Fridge quest, and add them to the original roster of Settlers that Preston Garvey is protecting. It’d introduce your character to Ghouls right off the bat without issue (Since there wasn’t a bloody introduction to ghouls).

How about where the Hell the rest of the Minutemen groups were when Qunicy was attacked. The only two you run into were recently Gunners, or turned Raider years ago.

WHAT ABOUT THOSE TIMED MISSIONS BETHSEDA.

How about a bit more interaction with the world from the Companion’s side? If you take a look at Outer Worlds, made by the creators of the original Fallout, the Companions do have an impact when they’re around and it affects and changes the world around them. When you have a Companion in Fallout 4, they’re more like Ghosts with tiny but ultimately meaningless interactions here and there. - I want to be able to call out Piper on her Yellow Journalism, and actually see an increase in News papers around the Commonwealth if I help her. Plus, not just earn her perk, but also gain the ability to create News Paperstands / Printing Presses in Settlements in order to help build the infrastructure of News. You can even add missions about gathering Paper or Printing Parts. - I want to be able to have trading interactions with Goodneighbor, thus giving a reason to have Hancock as a successful companion outside of him being a real cool ghoul. - If you let Danse survive, how about not just letting him grow out of his bigotted views, but let him train Minutemen in weapons, in armor, and in tactics and having a command. - If you help Curie, imagine the improvement of Health for your settlements. Imagine who she could teach for Doctors and Medics, and actually give the Commonwealth a Healthcare system again. - PRESTON IS YOUR BATMAN (I mean the military term, but its funnier if you don’t know the alternative meaning). - Y’know, I would’ve liked to have seen Duncan.

For Companions: -

And the Fucking Institute. An attempt to be the Big MT, and failing that. They could’ve done wacky mad science and still been 50s B-Movie levels of seriousness, y’know? We got so many hints on what they’re like, and they failed to live up to it! We have the visual evidence and dialogue that Gen1 and Gen2 tend to literally dissect / pull things apart by their bare hands. We could’ve seen more of that. What do they do to all those people they kidnap? ... Where did they get the Super Mutants from. How about the Synth v1 Gen3s? Y’know, the one’s that Look like Gen 3s, but have machine parts inside. There could’ve been more mad science, more B-Movie levels of sholy hit. Grossly mutated animals, brains in jars, unique robots, the works!

How about we have something akin to the Master directing the Super Mutants. This was a problem / thing I had with FO3 too. The original Super Mutants had a Psychic Master entity, so why not the East Coast mutants?

How about an explanation as to why the Assaultron is only in Boston.

Where the hell is the Rest of Boston.

How about being capable of directing Minutemen groups to weed out or scavange an area? I don’t have time for all this Missions Present, we have a Castle Now, SEND SOMEONE ELSE.

How about instead of going after Kellogg, Kellogg comes after you. The Director is dying, and you’re the Backup. This would associate you with the Institute just as early as the Minutemen, Maybe. And then, you can take the game into whatever direction you want. - Explore the Glowing Sea by yourself, we’re busy.

Mix Pickman’s Gallery and Cabot House... As one mini-storyline.

Add more cases for Valentine, such as Diamond City Blues and Mystery Meat... Possibly even Cabot House.

Where on Earth is the Brotherhood getting all those Vertibirds... Do they have a factory? Those things blow up if you look at them wrong--- WHERE ARE THEY GETTING THEM.

Replace most of the Generic Raiders with named Raiders, not unlike Fallout 1. Have more Gunners, Rust Devils, the Nuka World Parties; more development at Libertalia.

How about more branching options to deal with Kellogg.

Add a bit of a reputation system for Cities you can’t make a settlement from. Boosting faction or trade routes or really, anything other than sitting there.

... So to sum it up.

I’d do practically a rewrite of Fallout 4.

... ye Gods.

Not tagging anyone cos, well, I don’t know that many people who play fallout that weren’t already tagged...

[thearkhound]

CGWorld: Dark Souls III interview

The following is a translation of an interview with graphic designers that were involved with the development of the 2016 video game Dark Souls III that was published by the website CGWorld Entry. The interview was originally published in two parts in 2018, with first part being published on January 31 and the second part on February 7. I decided to combine them into one interview for this translation

This was part of the same series of interviews as the previously translated Metal Gear Survive and Monster Hunter World interviews from the same website. Unlike those interviews though, the developers in this installment were kept anonymous and are primarily referred by their job titles, with the manager and the motion designer being the only people who allowed themselves to be photographed.

The interview focuses mainly on two bosses that appear in “The Ringed City” add-on content, with the first part focusing on how the character model for the Darkeater Midir was created, while the second part focuses on the motions for the Demon Prince, but also discuss a bit on the worldbuilding of the Dark Souls universe and how the characters were created.

You can find the original Japanese articles on the following links

Part 1:https://entry.cgworld.jp/column/post/201801-c-from.html

Part 2: https://entry.cgworld.jp/column/post/201801-c-from-2.html

Profiles

Manager (M) - Joined From Software in 1997. Started his career as a modeller and now oversees the 3DCG department. Involved with the recruitment of new artists.

Design Manager (DM) - Joined From Software in 2001. Performs production work while leading the design department. Also involved in the recruitment of new artists.

3D Graphic Artist (3DGA) - Self-trained in CGI while majoring in economics during his college years. Despite graduating with a different major, he joined From Software in 2014. After modelling environments for over two years, he was promoted to work on character models.

Motion Designer (MD) - Joined From Software in 2014 after studying 3DCG production at the Amusement Media College in Osaka. He’s been assigned to do character animation as a motion designer.

From Software - Originally a developer of business applications, they joined the videogame industry in 1994. They have planned, developed and produced many games, including the Dark Souls trilogy and the Armored Core franchise. When it comes to the worldview and creations of characters that appear in their games, their emphasize their sense of realism. In addition to their headquarter in Shibuya, Tokyo, they also have a studio in Fukuoka City.

Dark Souls III: The Fire Fades Edition - An all-in-one edition of Dark Souls III that contains the original game, along with the additional content “Ashes of Ariandel” and “The Ringed City” in one package. In this article we’ll be introducing modelling work of the Darkeater Midir in the first part and the motion work of the Demon Prince in the second part, both characters who appear in “The Ringed City” add-on.

If the Director can be surprised and satisfied , then so can the players

First of all, can you tell us about the organizational structure of From Software when it comes to the staff involved with character creation?

M: When it comes to the people involved with character creation, their work can be divided into three broad categories. There are designers, 3D graphic artists and motion designers. There are other occupations beside these, such as UI (user interface) designers and VFX (visual effects) artists, but because the subject is way too broad, I would like to limit our discussion to the three aforementioned categories.

DM: I served as the leader of the design department, which currently has around 30 employees. We design characters, environments and props such as weapons based on concepts and ideas from the directors and planners. Designers have also been becoming more specialized in recent years due to the ever increasing standards for game graphics. Along with that, the design department is now divided into two: with one division working on the characters and the other division on the environments.

3DGA: We currently have around 50 artists specializing in 3DCG. We produced all the 3DCG in the game based on the concept art provided by the designers. I am currently working on character models after having been assigned to working on environments for around two years. Our department is also divided into a characters division and an environment division, but depending on the CG artist’s aptitude and desire, some individuals might be assigned to work on both.

MD: There are currently 20 motion designers in the company who are assigned to animate the models created by the 3DCG artists. Some of them even create the real-time cinematics, otherwise known as “cutscenes”. I have been consistently working on character motions ever since I’ve joined the company.

So a character is created by relaying the data from the designers to the 3DCGI artists, and then to the motion designers in that order.

M: That’s pretty much the gist of it. But game development isn’t a one-way street. There are many cases where the data moves back and forth.

Could you explain the flow of character creation more clearly?

DM: First of all, the directors and planners write an “order” to create a certain character, which contains the keywords and concepts that serve as astarting point for the commissioned design. The designers then draw a concept sketch based on that. Not just characters, but environments and props are also designed in this same matter. In the case of key characters, various concept sketches are drawn by different designers and submitted to the director in order to choose the most suitable one based on a wide range of ideas and images.

In other words, you do an internal competition over which one to choose? On one hand, that means that some designs will adopted, while others will be rejected.

DM: That’s correct. To avoid preferential treatment, we give the drawings to the director without the identifying the artist so that the design most suitable for the game can be chosen. There are many instances in which we choose not just from one artist’s design, but combine multiple designs from various artists. For example, we might create a new illustrative image by combining “this part from proposal A” and “that part from proposal B”, polishing the combination and then create a finalized image. Because more than half of the characters and environments are made by combining ideas and images from various people, very few of the designs can be attributed to a specific artist.

If that’s the case, how many people contribute their ideas to a single character?

DM: If it’s a key character, probably around 10 or so people. We then show it to the producers and public relation people to our partner company who will be publishing our game and then take into consideration their opinions. If we spent too many months without a decisive design, we tried to put it on the sidelines and then we do a 3D model based on the rough design and then redo the design based on the 3D model.

M: At one point a 3D model we only intended to use as a placeholder during development caught the attention of the director and he ended up making a design order because “it looked interesting.”

DM: Because of things like that, our work isn’t exactly a one-way conveyor belt. The designer’s job isn’t to reproduce the director’s image 100% accurately. Using the written order as a base, the role of the designer is to exceed expectations in order to surprise and satisfy the director. That way players will also be satisfied. I don’t think a game that is only built around a given frame will work in today’s age. It is our department’s policy to have designers work together to strengthen their proposal power and incorporate various ideas and value.

What happens after the design work has been completed after so many twists and turns?

DM: All the designers, the director and the leaders of all the departments involved with the game (planning, 3D graphics, motions and sound) gather in a room to brainstorm ideas. We look at the concept art and discuss ideas for around 30 to 60 minutes per character such as their origin, what kind of lifestyle they have, what kind of fighting style they’ll use, how do we use this character in the game and what kind of feelings we want the players to have about them. If we consider the character’s design to be lacking in the end, then we redo the design. We very rarely completely redo a design though, but it’s normal that some fixes are made at this stage.

M: A new design order might be issued for reasons such as “these characters need to be parent and child” or “a new weapon might be needed.” But if the designer accept every request such as “I want this” and “I also want that”, their workload will exceed their limits, so it’s important that they also convey their opinions such as “if you want to add this part, then we must cut out this other part.” In such cases, not only must you add and subtract when working on a specific character, but also with the game in general. We might, for example, put more work on one character over many others since he or she might be essential to the game, demote an enemy character from its boss status if it’s not too interesting for the gameplay, or change a character’s design if it looks too similar to another character we already came up with.

A game’s worth is not judged by the completeness of a single drawing, but by prioritizing the completeness of the game as a whole. If the concept art reflects the results of the brainstorming, does that mean that you’ll immediately start working on the 3D models without any hesitation?

DM: Correct. The modellers go on to work on the character while the planners start figuring out a list of motions. The people involved with the sound and visual effects will then start working based on the premise of the 3D models and motions conceived during the brainstorming session. Nonetheless, design modifications will still occur, even after production has began.

The process does not end there? (sweating)

M: There are cases that after we create a 3D model, added the motion and put into the game, it will still be redone because it didn’t match the worldview or it wasn’t as interesting as we thought it would be. Since many From Software games have challenges that the player must confront many times before they eventually overcome them, if they end up too annoying and bothersome, the player’s good will towards the game might end up fading away. Everyone desperate think about creating images, working to increase the sense of immersion and then carefully proceed through the creative process. You could say that our process of game development is a series of repeated trial and error.

Employing a Self-Trained 3DCG Artist

We would like to know about the workflow of a 3DCG artist, using the Darkeater Midir as our example. But before that, can you tell us about your work history prior to joining From Software? We’re curious how someone who majored in economics ended up working as an artist.

3DGA: After my first year college, I really wanted to make CGI for video games and started learning on my own by using a program called Blender. After that, I started using a version of Maya aimed at students, but since From Software was using 3ds Max at the time, I started learning to use that too once I was accepted by the company. I use Zbrush now as well.

It’s amazing that you were able to learn how to create 3DCG on your own.

3DGA: I’ve always been into video games since I was child, spending several hours playing them, so I was able to be immersed into 3DCG with the same passion. If you really like something, you’ll end up doing it while losing track of time. Even now, I still do a lot of independent work after returning home from work.

That’s such overwhelming passion. When did you start job-hunting?

3DGA: It was during July of my fourth year at college. It was a particularly late period to job hunt, so I started wondering what I was thinking. But since I’ve always been a fan of From Software, I’ve applied to their company from the beginning and was quickly accepted.

You didn’t waste much time then.

3DGA: I didn’t know the proper etiquette for job hunting, so my portfolio and interviewing skills were really rough. In retrospect, I think I might had come off a bit unprofessional. The submission guidelines at the time said that you must provide a comment of your submitted work, so I ended up printing my work using a convenience store’s printer, only to write my comments on a separate pieces of paper and stapled them together. As a result, I would adjust the printer’s colors many times and if I didn’t like how it turned out, I would return home, adjust the contrast and such, and then return to the convenience store one more time to print them again. I put all my efforts in a completely wrong approach.

M: I was wondering if he even knew how to make a portfolio. But despite being a self-trained 3DCG artist, his work was surprisingly on par with artists who were actually trained by specialized schools. He submitted a wide variety of 3D models such as characters, environments and hard surfaces, so I thought I might give him a chance with an interview. When he entered the interview room without knocking first, I thought “this can’t be good.” (bitter smile)

DM: I remember that day clearly. (bitter smile)

3DGA: I’m really sorry for that. (sweating) I watched a video guide on proper interviewing etiquette the day before, but I forgot to practice and memorize anything.

M: I was kidding about the knocking thing. (laughs) In fact, I could sense your genuine passion for modelling during our interview, which is how you ended up with your job.

DM: Career recruitment tend to focus on whether a potential employee might be ready for immediate action, but when it comes to recruiting new graduates, we don’t just consider their current skill level. We also consider how far they’re willing to grow. Especially important is the person’s willingness to do what he wants to do. People who can only answer with “somehow” will only mature up to a certain point. But those who a strong desire for a particular thing will be able to achieve it by practicing it steadily and will eventually expand to do other things too.

3DGA: In my case, I said I wanted to “make something compelling.” The characters and world building in games by From Software always have an elaborate backstory to them that provides most of their appeal and immersion. I wanted to make something like that when I’ve joined the company. I’ve also said that I wanted to be involved with a fantasy work.

Carving scales one-by-one with Zbrush

It took a while to get here, but now we want to discuss the modelling work that went into Darkeater Midir.

Concept art of Darkeater Midir

3DGA: The Darkeater Midir was conceived as a dragon of destruction, so it was a particularly tremendous setting. We based the model on the concept art, have the leader of the 3D graphics department inspect it several and then proceed while consulting. We showed the model to the designer when were able to and then put the finishing touches while receiving points on how the overall shape should look. While there was never any need to have the designer redo the design, it still took 2 months to finish, including drawing the textures for the skin and preparing the game data. Originally the model was scheduled to be completed in one and a half month, so we went two weeks over-schedule.

Why did you went over-schedule?

3DGA: The short answer is that I was obsessed with my attention to detail. I wanted to put my skills to the limit, so I carved each scale one-by-one using Zbrush. If you use a duplicating tool, it will break the flow of the scale and it will no longer look convincing. I wanted to prove the limit of details that I could express on the creature by controlling each part one by one. While it might take some time, it will eventually be perfect if you continue carving it that way.

How long does it take to carve out a model?

3DGA: Around a month. This includes processes besides Zbrush, such as building a rough model.

That amount of energy that goes beyond the norm is pretty expected from From Software, but did anyone tried to stop you while on the way?

3DGA: I kept bowing my head down to be allowed to continue my sculpting. However, because my passion could not be communicated to the players, I felt I spent too much production time focusing on parts that were not very cost-effective. Still, there was a sense of my work finally being done at the end.

M: He was so obsessed with his sculpting, it became difficult to get him to work on another assignment. There’s this mentality that if you failed once, you got a lot to learn. But if you repeat the same mistakes more than once, then it becomes an issue.

3D model of Darkeater Midir (full body)

3D model of Darkeater Midir (head). Every scale was carved one by one using a tool called Zbrush by the 3D graphic artist.

3DGA: There are various kinds of dragons made by different artists. I became irritated about that, wondering if I had the skills to make such a creature or how much detail I could express in it. I wanted to hone my skills, so I challenged myself to see what I was capable of. The sculpting itself was not all that important. After sculpting, you can improve the quality of the model up to a certain extent, so the real challenge was to overcome that limit in order to find out how cool of a dragon we can make.

If you could do another like that, what would you do differently?

3DGA: I believe the finer details can be improved by using materials scanned from real objects or such. Based on previous experiences, we can now identity which parts we should focus on and which ones we should not put that much importance, rather than simply focus on everything, based on the premise that we can make a quality product within the planned period.

M: Since it takes around three years to make a single game, it’s easy to think that we might get bored along the way, but I’ve never seen any sign of that. Our enthusiasm lasts all the way until the end. On the other hand, because we’re learning about cost-effectiveness, if we gradually gain experience under such condition, then perhaps we might do a better job in whatever new title we currently have in development. That’s what I’m hoping for. I think you must know when to stop when you’re in a trance and forget to eat once in a while. (bitter smile)

Darkeater Midir, as it appears in the game. Multiple 3D models of different sizes were placed on a map during development before the most suitable one was chosen. “It isn’t simply a matter of making the dragon big” says the manager. “If you can’t see its face while fighting, it won’t look as cool. Therefore, the finalized size was determined by looking at the 3D models placed in the game” “Since it is a big dragon, it must be displayed within the game with a particular perspective” says the 3D graphic artist. “Since the hind leg will look small when the camera is close to the dragon’s face, we decided to make the dragon’s face smaller and its hind legs bigger in order to create a good balance when looking at it.”

A year of studying 3DCG and six months of animation before job hunting

I would like to know how you join From Software and then explain the flow of a motion designer’s work.

MD: I thought about working for the video games industry since I always loved games. So I studied 3DCG at the Amusement Media College at Osaka. On the other hand I really love moving my body and I’ve been doing track & field since middle school, so I also wanted to become an animator. I thought my experience with short and long runs, as well as spear throwing, might provide me with a certain advantage.

When did you start job hunting?

MD: Since it was a two-year program, I’ve started looking for a job around the time I’ve entered my second year. Since learning to create 3DCG took me a year and animation took me six months, I didn’t have enough time to make good work, so I didn’t have much for my demo reel. It was pretty difficult to look for a job in Osaka, so I expanded my search to include game companies located at Tokyo and I was eventually recruited by From Software. I was wondering if they somehow made a mistake in hiring me, so I’m pretty lucky in that regard.

M: Many new graduates have that mentality. Like I’ve mentioned earlier, we don’t just look at the applicants’ current skills when hiring them, but rather we consider their potential for growth. In the case of the Motion Designer, while his portfolio was indeed small, he managed to convey a serious and earnest attitude in his work, so I thought we could expect tremendous growth from him in the future.

At what point did you started conveying what you wanted to do?

DM: When I was just starting doing animation, I said that I wanted to do many things, regardless of whether it was a humanoid figure or a creature.

The most time-consuming process

Can you explain the process in creating the motion for the Demon Prince?

Concept art of the Demon Prince.

MD: While the Demon Prince was conceived to be the “strongest demon”, he also has a rotting body, so he doesn’t look like a powerful foe. But because the design order said that they wanted a powerful foe, I was conscious of adding a sense of liveliness by making a strong movement while attacking, and at the same time adding a sense of weakness at various key points. I thought I did my best at the time, but in retrospect I think there are elements that could’ve been expressed a bit better.

M: Since Dark Souls III is the third game in the series, there won’t be any novelty if we keep reusing the same motions as the previous games. Since you’re working from the difficult position of trying to exceed the previous games, I believe you did the best you could.

The motion for the Demon Prince’s howl during heat-up as rendered on 3ds max. The movement is a mixture of weakness and strength.

The motion for the Demon Prince’s mow down and throw, as rendered on 3ds max.

MD: Since the Demon Prince has wings, I was ordered to make it fly, but I told them that the map was too narrow and he would constantly collide with a wall if he did that. I suggested that if you wanted the Demon Prince to fly, we would need to enlarge the map. But we couldn’t enlarge the map, so the flying motion that the commision wanted ended up being discarded and he now regains his composure a bit by doing a little jump. It was necessary to create over a hundred motion patterns, including ones that were discarded, so I was only able to complete in around a month and a half with the help of other people. If I had done all by myself, it would’ve likely taken two months. The more time you spent, the greater the quality, but the amount of time you’re given is limited, so the challenge is to raise the bar as far as you can under such time limit.

Which was your most time-consuming assignment?

MD: When I’m given the order to redo something I’ve made and the moment I must deal with it. Once I’ve finished a motion pattern, we apply it to the game while under development and then verify things with the game’s director and leaders of each department. Around that time, a redo might occur twice on average, with up to three times at most.

Motion for the Demon Prince’s leap attack, as rendered on 3ds max. “In order to create an impression of fear just before the Demon Prince performs his leap attack, we adjusted the way its raises its back, the angle of its chest and the position and angle of its arms several times.” says the motion designer.

Motion for the Demon Prince’s arch leap swoop, as rendered on 3ds max.”Usually I only want to express things by motion only, but occasionally I may scale the character momentarily in certain circumstances such as if the hands are too small or the arms are too thin.” says the motion designer. “In the case of the Demon Prince, he has a motion where his wings are enlarged for a moment in order to make his silhouette bigger.”

You said earlier that there are elements that you wish could’ve been expressed better now. Which parts do you want to fix specifically?

MD: I wanted more mobility from the torso. When you swing your arms for example, you’re likely create a stronger centrifugal force if you use your whole body and move from the waist, rather than just your upper body. This results in a more powerful motion.

M: I was surprised to find out he was not satisfied with the final state and is trying to improve for the next time. We’re both looking forward to working together on our next project.

Almost everyone in management position is a playing manager

What kind of career path do you want to follow in the future?

3DGA: I’m interested in creating characters, not just as a specialist on one side, but also as a leader. The amount of character you can make as a single modeller is limited, but as a leader you can reflect your thoughts and essence on various characters through your feedback. I feel that my work could have a huge impact on a project, so I want to be able to create characters as a modeller while also serving as a leader.

DM: Nearly everyone who has a management title in From Software is a so-called “playing manager”. Since the technology for game development progresses quickly, you will become quite anxious if you can’t keep up with it. The leader of the 3D graphics department is an example of a playing manager. He creates 3D models himself while overseeing the modelling and motion work of other artists. You hope for something like that in such an environment. There are no fixed career paths in From Software. In addition to their desires and suitability, each person forges their own career path by consulting their managers and human resources, while also taking into consideration the timing of a game’s development.

MD: In my case I would like to gradually educate myself in rigging and simulation, in addition to further exploring motion work. Let’s say you want a  character to have a certain function whenever they move. The more knowledge you have at such a moment, the deeper the discussion you will have when you consult the people in charge of doing the rigging and simulation. I think the motion work can be improved if you can make the adjustments yourself.

M: Currently From Software has no artists specializing in rigging. Staff members who are assigned to do the models or motion design are the ones assigned to do the rigging as well. But because the technique and knowledge required for rigging is becoming more sophisticated throughout the years, I think we might no choice but to hire a rigging specialist in the future.

The rigging of the Demon Prince as rendered on 3ds max. Biped mode (which is used for bipedal models like humans) is used for the body, while CAT mode (a plugin for character animations) is used for the wings and tails. While Biped can be used to create a rig for the wings and tails, CAT is used since the movement of the torso greatly affects things. “Because the wings will tilt greatly whenever the spine is twisted, if you create the rigging using only Biped mode, it takes a considerable amount of time to adjust them if you want the dragon to attack while flapping its wings” says the motion designer. “As a result, the tails and wings are equipped with separate riggings using CAT. That way it’s easier to pierce the tail into the ground and move only the torso.” Apparently such a combination of BIPED and Cat are frequently used on other character models as well. When switching between riggings, a UI is immediately loaded under the character. The UI seemingly allows the developer to change the ratio of the rigging, even while the character model is in motion.

If you intend to merely create “characters for a game”, then they won’t feel like living people

Finally, can you imparts your wisdoms to readers who are wondering about how they could improve the quality of their work?

3DGA: I’m always conscious of why I’m designing something in my case. For example, if you create a dragon without thinking about it too deeply, you’ll end up with a 3D model that has very little emphasis of the joints.

What do you mean by “emphasis of the joints”?

3DGA: If you are conscious of the silhouette and skeleton, you will create a compelling 3D model that expresses details such as a subtle bulge on the pelvis or the root of its tail. You must understand realism first if you wanted to achieve something that. I suggest that instead of starting from a concept art, study reptiles like crocodiles or lizards or the skeletons of extinct dinosaurs, and from that point follow the procedure on how to create a dragon by adding your own design and style to it. It’s the same deal with designing armors. It is important that you first study actual armors that were used in real life, and then drill their shapes and structures into your head if you want to design your own armor. I believe your skills will improve if you practice that habit. Many of the designs that are spread around the world were only made after much elaboration. Because players are used to such designs, it will feel unnatural or bad if they somehow detect a failure in their structures.

MD: I believe having a purpose is important too. Although it might sound a bit too similar to the previous story, but with animation you will not be lost if you’re set on your purpose. Even if the motion you came up is different from what you had in mind, you will immediately understand what you did differently. For example, if you add a motion for walking, the way the character walks will differ depending on whether the character is just walking for no particular reason, walking to transport something or walking to get somewhere. Enthusiasm is also important. When I started doing animation, my work wasn’t moving enough despite my best efforts. But as I gained experience, I gradually started seeing minor improvements in my work. I want you to move things as much as you can when you move it with a bang

DM: Terms like “structure”, “motive” and “enthusiasm” has already been brought up here, so I would like to add “functionality” to the mix. When designing a weapon for example, it must have a functionality such as cutting or stabbing. Depending on which of these functionalities you pick, the design of the weapon, the way that you hold it and the attacking motion might differ. Even the act of just walking as was mentioned earlier, good motions cannot be applied without understanding the essential functionalities. For example, the act of walking could said to be a repetition of the act of falling down towards the direction you’re heading combined with the act of putting your foot out to keep you from falling. Once you understand that, you can compose a way of walking. If you don’t do that and thinking of walking as simply putting your feet out and then adding motion, you will be told that it doesn’t look like a walk. You could think of structure, purpose and functionality, as well as the role, as workers within the game who take shape by relaying orders from the director. That’s how games are made.

It seems there’s way to improve the quality of your work if you can summarize and understand each of those four aspects one-by-one.

DM: Even now, I still submit some half-baked shallow character designs and the director will scold me by telling me “don’t make a character for a video game.”

But you’re making a character for a video game…

DM: It sounds like a contradiction at first, but we’re not trying to make polygonal dolls, we want to make characters that feel they’re a living person. If your plan is to make a game character from the beginning, it won’t feel like a living person. For example, if you create a character who is a priest, he will not be very convincing unless you also depict his strong belief in God and convey that in the character’s design. In the case of the Demon Prince, he is a contradiction in the sense that he is said to be the strongest demon, but he also half-decaying. The players can imagine various backstories in their mind, such as “I only won at the last moment because he was already decaying. If I had fought him during his prime, I would’ve never won.” Because it’s not a simple backstory, like “he’s a fire-based creature, so use water-based attacks”, it helps you get immersed deeply into the game’s universe.

DM: Real people are complex and filled with contradictions. You can’t comprehend them if you only know one side. When creating a character we think about their complexities and contradictions by at least one level, two levels if possible and three levels if we really think about them deeply. By doing so, we end up with a fascinating character that attracts players.

It seems you need to understand people deeply in order to create deep characters.

DM: All the previous directors employed by From Software have been mysterious individuals that were not easy to comprehend, so that served as a good motivator. Among them, there were two who claimed that back in their grade school days, they read every book in the shelves of their local local library in alphabetical order. The average person, when they start reading books, they usually start with their favorite genre. Those two were completely different in the way they gathered information and how they perceived society.

DM: Even if we can’t imitate them completely, I think there’s a way to becoming open to new experiences by coming into contact with new people and information as much as possible. There are many cases where a person can express themselves in a unique matter for the first time by using their knowledge from a specialized field while exploring another field. For example, the 3D graphic artist majored in economics, but I don’t think there are that many other people employed by From Software who studied that field. That’s why he has a unique perspective nobody else in the company has. I want more people to deepen their understanding of the world through every form of research and experience they can acquire.

The Demon Prince, as it appears in the game.

[tentativi-vani]

5 Movies From the 80's That Should Be Remade

Have you at any point needed to see a portion of your preferred motion pictures from the 80's revamped? Indeed, on the off chance that you are in any way similar to me, the appropriate response is, NO!

There have been such huge numbers of changes and reboots of films from the 80's that it is beginning to turn crazy. It additionally doesn't state much for Hollywood journalists, that they can't consider anything unique https://putlocker-online.com/golden-collection/movietube  I surmise however, as a great many people we simply feel nostalgic about the motion pictures we cherished growing up. What's more, in the event that you are an offspring of the 80's as am I, at that point you realize that there are a great deal of works of art that just ought not be contacted. In any case, then again, there are likewise a few motion pictures that weren't blockbusters, however they were as yet well known, even to the point of increasing a faction following. These are the sort of films I think would be ready for the picking. The ones that could profit by current CGI impacts. They are additionally the ones that won't have armies of fans set up to brawl, over having their preferred film repeated. These are only 5 of my picks for films that need the Hollywood makeover treatment. I attempted to get a bit of something from every class, except as you will see, I will in general lean towards satire.

5) Battle Beyond The Stars...1980

This was one of the first in what might be a long queue of films attempting to capitalize on the accomplishment of Star Wars. Best case scenario it would have been viewed as a B-Movie great. The story goes this way. A malevolent Overlord concludes that he needs a little planet called Akir, all to himself. So the legend, (Shad) takes the planets just spaceship and goes off looking for others to help guard his planet. In his movements he discovers 6 hired soldiers to go into fight with him. The plot of this film is extremely fundamental, however its the various outsiders that Shad groups with that make the film intriguing. There is some silliness, and for the time and financial plan, not very pitiful embellishments. In any case, I could see this being a vastly improved film with exceptional CGI, and some better entertainers.

4) House...1986

With each other blood and gore flick establishment being rebooted. Friday the thirteenth, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street. Why not discover one that truly wasn't too incredible, yet could be revamped into something better. I for one loved House. Indeed, even the tag line....ding dong, you're dead. This wasn't so much a Horror Movie, as it was a satire. What's more, that would be a similar heading they could go with, should it be revamped. To watch it presently, House is somewhat moderate paced, and a portion of the impacts are simply elastic veils. The plot goes this way. A ghastliness essayist named Roger Cobb who is upset by the vanishing of his child, and the ongoing self destruction of his Aunt, moves into the Aunts house to compose his most recent novel, a record of his time in Vietnam. Natually the house is spooky, and begins utilizing the scholars inward devils to torment him. Presently I don't know whether this film was really intended to be amusing, yet it was. A reality that wasn't lost on the individuals who made the continuation, which was unquestionably made to be a satire. I could see this film being an unexpected hit with the correct on-screen character appended to it, and somewhat quicker pacing.

3) Big Trouble In Little China...1986

I truly don't have the foggiest idea how to portray this film to anyone who hasn't just observed it, other than to state that its ridiculously, unusual. It stars Kurt Russell, and was coordinated by John Carpenter. The plot, if there truly is one, is that Jack Burton (Russell) a trucker, ends up in the Chinatown segment of San Francisco. In the wake of delievering his payload, he gets together with an old companion named Wang Chi. In the wake of winning a wager, he consents to go with his pal to the air terminal to get his better half before he gathers. At the air terminal the sweetheart gets seized. Also, along these lines the fun, and abnormality starts, as Jack and Wang attempt to get her back. En route they need to battle....Well, this is a kung fu film, with Mortal Kombat type villians in it, so utilize your creative mind. For me, this film is right absurd with weird, and is depicted best on the site quick rewind.com. A great 80's film for its kung fu activity, noteworthy whimsical lines, strange beasts, blowing up individuals, and a multi year elderly person who clucks "Without a doubt" Yep, best to watch it when you're tanked. However, this film could be revamped, and significantly more clever today.

2) Adventures In Babysitting...1987

This was an extraordinary, silly kind of parody that truly characterized the 80s style. It originated from author/chief Chirs Columbus, and featured Elizabeth Shue, as Chris Parker. This film takes an all around utilized plot gadget and goes for it. Parker is the sitter, who is compelled to take the children she is viewing, with her to focal Chicago to attempt to protect a companion out of luck, and obviously is diverted each turn, and winds up in funny circumstances. For what reason would it be a good idea for it to be changed? Bunches of individuals view this as one of their preferred films of the 80's, yet it is likewise one that numerous others have never at any point known about. In this day and age of GPS, Social Networking, and phones, this story could be told as an innovative round of tag. Add a major name to utilize it as a lifelong gadget, someone like Miley Cyrus maybe, and this old great could be a goldmine.

1) The Running Man...1987

That's right, I am cleaning off an old Arnie great. It's difficult to accept that this film is now over 20 years of age. For those of you that don't have the foggiest idea about the plot of this one, its very basic. Not long from now, there is an unscripted TV drama where crooks can battle for their opportunity by contending in The Running Man, where they are placed into a gauntlet of sorts. It is an enormous lattice, or labyrinth, that the Runners need to haggle to win their opportunity. In any case, en route, they need to move beyond, The Salkers. A brilliant gathering of individuals with names like Subzero, Buzzsaw, and Dynamo, that are attempting to murder them. Obviously there is a whole other world to this story, yet I don't need get excessively profound into it. This is basically all you have to think about Running Man. It was an Arnold Schwarzenegger film. Which implies he gets the opportunity to slaughter individuals, explode things, and utilize jokes. Be that as it may, why redo it? I imagine that with unscripted tv being what it is, that refreshing this film could be entertaining. Include a smidgen of social discourse, and a couple of more giggles, and who knows, it could be superior to the first. Furthermore, let's be honest, will anyone truly cry foul over this Arnie film being revamped? Dislike I'm stating redo The Terminator here.

Along these lines, those are my picks.

[zephyjay-blog]

D&D 5th Edition Aarakocra Rework

This is a redo of the Aarakocra race created for the 5th edition Elemental Evil Player’s Companion. In no way do I take credit for the race or stats listed in this document. The stats and racial traits are the original creation of Wizards of the Coast.

A bit of a preface. I’m picky about my character backstories, like, very picky. So often when I see a race I think is cool, I’m often left disappointed in said race. My DM, gods bless him, allows me to rework the race to better fit my perception of them, allowing me to get more creative with choice of weapons, clothing, and even the backstory. One race I took a very polar stance on is the Aarakocra. I feel WotC came up with an amazing race as far as looks and stats go, but the backstory was really weak in my opinion. Some of it is pretty solid, but then it turns into what can only be described as kender with wings. So anytime I play one (which is a lot) I redo the backstory to fit the world. That is the purpose of this document.

………………………………………………………………………………….

 Fresh out of training and they sent most of us into the heat of combat against the undead. “Forged in the fires of war” they said. But I didn’t see any of my commanders around. Skeletons and zombies left and right, my friends and fellow soldiers at my back, but no leadership. “don’t worry, it’ll all be fine” they would tell us, but how is this fine? Sure, one of us could kill five of them, but when we are outnumbered 10 to 1 and as we died we got up to fight alongside the legions of undead, how do we handle that? Training did nothing to prepare us for this.

That’s when I heard it. A cacophony of ear shattering screeches from above. I saw easily a dozen creatures falling through the sky like arrows, lightning flashes causing light to reflect off their rapiers. About 45 feet above the ground, massive wings spread from the shapes as a dozen birds landed behind the army of the undead. From the left and right I could see even more. Easily 3, maybe 4 dozen landing in all sorts of vulnerable spots behind the undead. Through the jungle of limbs and weapons I could catch a glimpse of the avians slaughtering the undead with a merciless efficiency I have never witnessed in my life.

It was like a healing potion for our morale. We had to show these warriors what humans were capable of. I raised my sword in the air and we charged through, cutting the undead down. It felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than two minutes before we were converged in the center, fighting side by side with these warriors. Crows, ravens, blue jays, and magpies all dawning light and ornate armor, brandishing precision cut rapiers. None had shields. They fought with bloodthirsty aggression. No holding back, no hesitation. They threw themselves at the battle as though it were their last day on the mortal plane.

Just like that, it was over. The undead lay slain around a necromancer, who was bound and on his knees looking over all of us with defiant arrogance. He looked at each bird, then at me.

“Hey, thanks for the soldiers. You should bring more next time.” He spat in my direction.

The most decorated of the birds, a scarred and older looking raven, looked from him, then to me. He squawked an order to his men who formed a circle around me and the necromancer, threw a knife on the ground between us, and cut him loose…

The fact that I’m sitting here telling this story clearly means I survived. The necromancer? I’m not sure there is enough of him left to prove he was ever alive. That was the only time I was ever proud to take a life. But this story isn’t about me. It’s about the Aarakocra.

While they rarely stand higher than 5 feet tall, they are some of the most intimidating individuals I have ever met. Razor sharp talons on every finger and toe, 15 to 25-foot wingspans, and beaks that could rip flesh from bone so quickly it’d put a hungry orc to shame. But they had a warrior’s code. They believed in honor in the battlefield. If you prove your strength and show respect, they will return said respect. They are a proud race of warriors and when their city fell, the whole world felt it. They knew what was coming and ordered the elderly to flee with the young. While the remaining men and women died, allowing the race’s lineage to escape. They are scattered and without a land to call home. Many seek revenge, some seek to find a new home and rebuild, while others seek to carry on the history of the race.

My only advice if you meet one is to never show pity or sympathy. Do not try to share in their anger either. Bow when you greet one, and show respect.

………………………………………………………………………………….

The Aarakocra are a prideful race of warriors and laborers. They often aren’t physically imposing but they are alarmingly fast. They come from the recently fallen city of Oksanen, where the Temple of Air was located. It was a bridge between the mortal plane and the element of Air. When the city fell, the Aarakocra sent a lone messenger in and destroyed the portal, permanently severing the connection between both worlds. It is estimated of the 1500 Aarakocra in Oksanen, only about 100 remain. Nearly all of them enlist in the military and take roles of scouts or messengers due to their unmatched mobility and speed.

               Every Aarakocra fights as though death is seconds away. It may seem desperate and chaotic to a casual bystander, but to some who knows combat and knows battle, they are fighting aggressively but every move is a calculated attempt to demoralize and overwhelm their opponent. They settle their differences with duels, and even those sometimes end in death. There is no heaven or hell to the Aarakocra. Only Purgatory and Valhalla. If you live a life of honor and die with honor, they believe you will be guided to Valhalla by a Valkyrian. Otherwise, you awaken as an invisible spirit forced to wander the plains in disgrace. They are devout worshippers of the Norse pantheon.

STATS: These are the official Wizards of the Coast stats for this race. The only change is that the Talons trait can be used with dexterity or strength.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Aarakocra reach maturity by age 3. Aarakocra don’t usually live longer than 70 years.

Alignment. Most Aarakocra are lawful. Very few believe in “good” and “evil” in the traditional sense. Only the honorable and dishonorable. They act in the best interest of their flock, causing a more neutral leaning alignment.

Size. Aarakocra are about 5 feet tall. They have thin, lightweight bodies that weigh between 80 and 100 pounds. Your size is Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Flight. You have a flying speed of 50 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Talons. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit. Dexterity or Strength can be used for these attacks.

Language. You can speak, read, and write Common, Aarakocra, and Auran

[junker-town]

The 5 most fireable NFL coaches of this season

Jason Garrett’s days with the Cowboys are likely numbered after a disappointing 2019 season.

Whose seats are hottest after disappointing seasons? The answers ... probably won’t surprise you.

The NFL’s most embattled head coaches have just one week left to state their cases. Dec. 30 will be the last day of employment for most of the playcallers who wind up fired.

This year’s Black Monday may be a slower day than usual. While last year’s preferred firing day claimed six head coaches, some of this season’s least promising sideline generals have already earned support from team ownership. The Jets will keep Adam Gase around for year two. Matt Patricia’s done enough in his 3-11-1 season to oversee a third year in Detroit. Even Doug Marrone, now free from Tom Coughlin’s tyranny, could get another chance to restore the Jaguars to “not bad.”

Before we get to the list, let’s deviate from the way we’ve sorted these coaches in the past few weeks. Typically, “fireable” doesn’t mean a coach is necessarily going to be fired. It refers to how poorly those coaches performed in a given week and any recent trends working against them. For example, Frank Reich made last week’s list after the Colts allowed Drew Brees to have the most accurate game in NFL passing history. He’s not getting canned, but Reich’s team has failed to live up to its potential while coming off its fourth straight loss.

This time, in honor of the upcoming season finale, we’re looking at all-around resumes on top of what happened in Week 16. Let’s zero in on the five guys most likely to be looking for employment. That means coaches who probably deserve to be fired, but won’t (Gase, Patricia), escaped the final rankings. Secure coaches who brain farted their way to a loss on Sunday are safe as well ... until we come back to these rankings next fall.

So who’s on the chopping block after a trying 2019?

5. Dan Quinn, Falcons

Atlanta was 1-7 after Week 9, good enough to give Quinn the shortest odds of a midseason firing in the NFL. Since then, he’s gone 5-2, including wins over two of the NFC’s top teams (the Saints and 49ers). That hot streak added another victim Sunday when the Falcons dispatched a sputtering Jaguars squad.

It’s been a significant turnaround on both sides of the ball. The Falcons’ offense has become more efficient, while their defense has tightened up to create opportunities over the last seven weeks.

So what will team owner Arthur Blank do about his head coach? No one’s really quite sure!

Quinn has three factors working in his favor; the recent surge that shows off his ability to adapt, the continuity that comes with standing by a five-year veteran at the helm, and a locker room that, per a former Falcons’ public relations executive, still listens to, believes in, and respects him.

On a plane back to LA and just wrote this. I’m gonna share it bc a couple years back @ZachKleinWSB did something similar and this is my 2019 version to everyone who’s followed me over the years. I’m sure I’m gonna get a lot of great comments but I hope it gives you perspective pic.twitter.com/iCJ1zT3Et9

— Brian Cearns (@BKCearns) December 23, 2019

Quinn’s put in the work to keep his job over the back half of the season, even if 2019 will be remembers as a letdown for a talent roster. The question is whether his late-season progress will be too little, too late.

4. Doug Marrone, Jaguars

Will Marrone be held accountable for his team’s continued collapse from 2017’s lofty perch? Or will Tom Coughlin’s firing give him the leeway needed to earn another year in Jacksonville?

That’s the question owner Shad Khan will have to ask himself this week. Marrone got the Jags closer to the Super Bowl than all but one other coach in franchise history ... and that was Coughlin. The old-school disciplinarian oversaw a franchise that was responsible for one-quarter of the grievances filed by the NFL Players Association in the past year. He chased away talent like Jalen Ramsey (traded for two first-round picks) and had issues with Jaguars both former and current.

This limited what Marrone could do as a head coach, but Jacksonville’s issues go beyond mismanagement at the top. This year’s team has only been marginally more efficient through the air than it was in 2018 when Blake Bortles was playing his way out of Florida. Leonard Fournette’s stellar start to the season (791 yards, 4.9 yards per carry in his first eight games) has ground down to mediocrity without the threat of a high-impact passing game (361 yards, 3.5 YPC in the seven games since). A defense that had been a top-10 staple now ranks 29th in defensive efficiency, per DVOA.

Khan was mum on Marrone’s future after Week 15. That non-endorsement gave way to reports he’d be retained for one last go-round to see what he can do free of Coughlin’s influence.

From @NFLGameDay: There is a "good chance" #Jaguars coach Doug Marrone and GM Dave Caldwell return in 2020 following the firing of EVP Tom Coughlin, sources say... and Tony Khan could take on an increased role. pic.twitter.com/85Jw7YE4MX

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 22, 2019

Marrone led the Jaguars within one quarter of Super Bowl 52. That bought him a redo after a disappointing 2018. Now he may get one more if Coughlin truly is the scapegoat he’s made out to be.

3. Pat Shurmur, Giants

Shurmur got what he needed from Daniel Jones Sunday: a historical five-touchdown performance and a win over Washington. Under his guidance, Saquon Barkley had the best day of his career and one of the most productive games of 2019 (279 total yards). So why is Shurmur back on the list despite a two-game winning streak?

Because ...

a) it came against Washington and

b) the Giants’ issues outside of their inconsistent offense may be too much for him to overcome.

New York gave up a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, allowing Case Keenum to go 99 yards on Washington’s final drive of regulation to tie the game at 35. While Jones was able to rectify that problem by leading his team to a game-winning touchdown, Week 16 failed to dispel the fatal flaws that could lead to Shurmur’s ousting after two years.

The Giants let Keenum and Dwayne Haskins — who left the game with an ankle injury — throw for three touchdowns and nearly eight yards per pass (a 125.1 passer rating). That undermanned defense has given up more points than all but three other teams. It also ranks 29th when it comes to opponent passing efficiency.

That’s all led to a 4-11 record lowlighted by a nine-game losing streak in the middle of the season. New York’s only wins have come against 3-12 Washington (twice), the 4-11 Dolphins, and the 7-8 Buccaneers.

On the plus side, Shurmur’s built camaraderie within the Giants’ locker room — he’s even got Jones and Eli Manning partying together in the dorkiest way possible — and appears to be every bit a players’ coach.

Shurmur on the Giants night of flip cup celebrations: “they’re grown men and they look after each other and they were celebrating a victory, they should have invited me!” *laughs*

— Madelyn Burke (@MadelynBurke) December 23, 2019

Though the team’s dream of adding Chase Young to its pass rush probably died with Week 16’s win, defensive help is still likely on the way. If the Giants believe they can patch up the blocking and secondary issues that have plagued them, Shurmur may get one more chance to prove he can turn Jones into a legitimate franchise quarterback.

Of course, owner John Mara could just look at his 9-22 record over the past two seasons and decide to gamble on a different quarterback whisperer instead.

2. Freddie Kitchens, Browns

Cleveland had the ball and a 6-0 lead at the two-minute warning in the second quarter against the Ravens. Kitchens found a way to turn that into a 14-6 halftime deficit.

Granted, some of that collapse was thanks to Lamar Jackson’s otherworldly play, but Kitchens did his offense few favors with too-cute playcalling and some regrettable clock management. His halfback pass on third-and-1 fooled nobody, and the fact it went for an 8-yard loss may have been the only thing that kept him from going for it on fourth down from his own 28.

Freddie Kitchens on the sequence at the end of the first half, throwing on third-and-10. (He also confirmed that the Hunt third-and-1 play the drive before was a halfback pass, and that they would’ve gone for it on fourth-and-short) pic.twitter.com/aiQ87JLdcm

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) December 22, 2019

The Ravens, out of timeouts, scored on the following drive. And they scored on the drive after that because three straight incompletions only ate up 18 seconds of game clock, effectively daring Jackson to burn them once more. It was another brutal gut-punch in a season full of them for the erstwhile AFC North favorites.

Confusing clock management is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kitchens’ problems. The first-year head coach’s promotion was predicated on his ability to turn Cleveland’s turgid offense into one of the league’s most dangerous units. He made Baker Mayfield look like a borderline MVP candidate after taking over as interim offensive coordinator. Then he took that team and added All-Pros Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt (for half a season).

And the Browns have gone from ranking 12th in the league in weighed DVOA in 2018 to 23rd in 2019.

Beckham, still fiercely committed to the team that freed him from New York last spring, took notice — one week after Jarvis Landry had a similarly public discussion with his head coach over playcalling.

I'm sure OBJ is fine pic.twitter.com/o7t8hywE0l

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) December 22, 2019

Kitchens is losing on the field and potentially losing in his own locker room. That all spells disaster for his hopes of returning for a year two. But maybe team owner John Dorsey will chalk this all up to rookie mistakes and give him the runway to learn from and fix those issues.

1 Jason Garrett, Cowboys

Garrett may have seen his last shot to keep his job march off the turf as the Eagles celebrated the 17-9 win that moved them to the top of the NFC East. The underachieving Cowboys, stuck in a feedback loop of botched calls and big, meaningless performances, dropped to 7-8 and out of the playoff picture.

That may signal the end of the Garrett era in Dallas. The 10-year veteran is staring down what could be only his second losing season as the Cowboys’ head coach, but the lingering sense he always could have done more will ultimately be his undoing. None of his teams embody that more than the 2019 edition.

Even though the Cowboys have all the talent of a contender, the combination of a tough schedule and a crippling inability to step up a big stage has dropped them to the periphery of the playoff race. By most metrics, Dallas should have clinched its division in a down year for the NFC East. It ranks first in the NFL in total yards, eighth in scoring, and eighth in yards allowed per play.

Advanced stats love the Cowboys. Not just DVOA. They're a top-ten team by DVOA, by @pfref SRS, by EPA. But the point of the game isn't to do well in advanced metrics. It's to win. And they didn't do that enough.

— Aaron Schatz (@FO_ASchatz) December 23, 2019

Instead, Jerry Jones’ team needs to beat Washington and hope the Giants upset the Eagles in Week 17 just to sneak into the postseason. Sunday’s loss in Philly dropped Garrett to 2-6 against teams with winning records in 2019.

Dak Prescott’s breakthrough season — he ranks among the NFL’s top five in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and QBR — is about to go to waste on the worst team, by record, of his career. A defense that got its best-case scenario in terms of injury (only Leighton Vander Esch has missed more than four games this season among the team’s starters) held the Saints, Patriots, and Eagles to 17 points or fewer this season and lost all three of those games. It hasn’t been all roses for that unit, which ranks 20th in defensive efficiency, per DVOA, but it still has given the ‘Boys several opportunities to win big games.

The gap between potential and production in Dallas is sizable. There’s one man who’ll shoulder the blame for that disparity, and it’s the same guy who has come under fire each time the Cowboys make an early playoff exit or struggle down the stretch. Garrett can still save his job by carrying Dallas to a surprising postseason run, though he’ll need the stars to align.

And if he does, all signs point to the Cowboys blowing it. That’s what they’ve done throughout 2019.

[housebeleren]

War of the Spark Reprints & New Art

I can’t believe we’re already on the brink of Core Set 2020 previews! Before we go there, I”ll wrap up my thoughts on War of the Spark. Today, some reprints & the new art that accompanies them. This is always one of my favorite things, to see how staple cards are reinterpreted in new contexts.

Starting with a bang, so to speak, is this redo of limited staple Gateway Plaza. To me, this was an ingenious design on the part of the creative team. By giving us identical art two sets in a row in Guilds of Ravnica and Ravnica Allegiance, they created a sense of constancy, of permanence on this world. Blowing it up was the most evocative way to start this war, and to make clear the sudden and violent change the plane is to experience. In a set that was somewhat hit or miss on the “war” tone, this was one story moment that was perfectly executed.

Sung Choi has a fairly small pool of Magic art so far, but all of it is excellent. His work first caught my eye with the fantastic Molten Rain reprint in Modern Masters 2017, and recently blew it out of the water with the Ultimate Masters Life from the Loam. This Gateway Plaza does a phenomenal job of conveying this powerful story moment, and is a highlight of the set.

All Versions:

War of the Spark

Guilds of Ravnica/Ravnica Allegiance

Ajani’s Pridemate has been a staple since it was first printed in Magic 2011, and it’s great to see it back here as Ajani’s signature spell, errata and all. The existing version by Svetlin Velinov has been the only version til now, so it’s exciting to see a change.

Sidharth Chaturvedi got 4 cards in War of the Spark, and for good reason. The set has a very animated, comic book style about it, and Sidharth’s style is a perfect fit. He tends towards this illustration-esque feel, with stark but narrow color palettes (basically just blue & yellow here), and a sense of visible brushstrokes. It fits in beautifully with the feel of the set. My only wish is that the setting were a little more visible, putting this in the context of Ravnica, as he did on Pouncing Lynx. 

War of the Spark

Magic 2011

Augur is another staple from core sets of yore, and a fantastic reprint for Standard, though I wish we had more context for this character. Who is this merfolk defecting to Bolas, and why? But that’s neither here nor there.

What I love about this depiction is it really conveys the sense of this creature being an oracle or seer of sorts, where the existing artwork is more generic. The water in particular is done amazingly here, conveying the motion surrounding the character while still giving us a perfectly clear view. The colors are beautiful, and the details are precise but not overwhelming. Alex Konstad is excellent, and I love the piece. I’d check out his Coral Commando & promo of Deeproot Champion as examples why it made perfect sense for him to get this commission.

War of the Spark

Magic 2013

Another signature spell that made perfect sense to bring back. As much as I love the original version of this, charging at the viewer, this one is simply phenomenal, and I’m so happy they had Aleksi Briclot do it. He’s done a huge number of Magic cards, going back to the Kamigawa days, and often gets major commissions, including all five of the original Lorwyn Planeswalkers. He does Chandra and fire so phenomenally well. Just look at Stigma Lasher and Ravaging Blaze for a sense of what he can do with fire. And, of course, the original Chandra Nalaar is beyond iconic.

This piece, a Common whose art will often go unnoticed by drafters, shows just how incredible the quality of Magic art is.

War of the Spark

Kaladesh

This is one of those spells I always feel like has been around since... I dunno... Tempest or something. But it’s actually only the second time it’s been printed since its debut in Khans of Tarkir. Obviously, the dream is to draft it in the same deck as Feather, the Redeemed, but I’m not sure how often that is actually going to happen. Either way, it’s a fun cantrip & utility trick for Limited.

Gabor Szikszai is great at these action shots, frequently illustrating for the Boros or other combat-oriented individuals. His pieces are full of energy, and always feel like the very apex of the moment, like the shots you’d see on a storyboard or in a comic. This style is a perfect fit for War of the Spark, and this piece does a great job.

War of the Spark

Khans of Tarkir

Demolish, on the other hand, has been around for a long time, going back to Odyssey, and it still shows up as a perpetual inclusion. It’s always not good enough for standard, and most of the time it’s not really playable in Limited either. That said, it’s the kind of effect that needs to be around, just to serve as a baseline. Probably its best inclusion, from a Mel perspective, was in Kaladesh, where artifact removal was maindeckable, yet the rate made this far from overpowered.

As for the art, this may be my favorite iteration ever, since it’s possibly the only version ever to actually depict destroying both an artifact and a land, whereas most versions are more typical artifact destruction designs. This also goes deeper, as the building being destroyed is the Interplanar Beacon, first hinted at on Steam Vents in Guilds of Ravnica. The fact that they went to so much effort to seed these important story moments for War of the Spark is above and beyond awesome, and I’d love to see more of this in the future. 

Adam Paquette needs no introduction–he’s Magic art royalty at this point. But I would like to point out that he did a huge number of lands for this year on Ravnica, including the aforementioned Interplanar Beacon, another of my favorite pieces from the set, and several of the evocative basic lands. It’s amazing to get to see so many different angles of the same buildings & locations, and was one of the highlights of this incredible year in Magic.

War of the Spark

Ixalan

Kaladesh

Theros

Avacyn Restored

Zendikar

Odyssey

Awwww look at the goodest boy! Mowu is here serving good boy realness, and I’m all about it. I love that they were able to print this spell and use it effectively as a signature spell to demonstrate Jiang Yanggu’s magic. I’m always a little surprised to see this spell reprinting, since it feels like Wizards is perpetually unsure if this is too powerful or not, toying with making this effect cost 2 mana or making it slightly less of a buff for 1. Either way, I’m happy to see it back. Obviously, this card goes back to the genesis of the game, and is one of the only iconic spells from that era that would still be printable these days.

I didn’t immediately recognize Dmitry Burmak’s name on this card, but one cursory glance at his card history and I immediately recognized a number of his pieces. His first Magic pieces were from Unstable, including two of my favorites: Lobe Lobber & Willing Test Subject. On Ravnica, he’s done a bunch of pieces for the Rakdos & Izzet, including Captive Audience, Electrodominance, and Light up the Stage. His pieces have tremendous energy and more than a dash of whimsy, and I am here for it. I’d love to see more of this energy in Magic art going forward.

War of the Spark

Return to Ravnica

Tenth Edition

Ninth Edition

Seventh Edition

Fifth Edition

Ice Age

Alpha

From the very old to the much more recent, New Horizons is one of the increasing number of land ramp enchantments Wizards has been pushing in recent years as an alternative to land fetching. To be clear, these effects have been around for a while, but they’re much more frequent than they used to be, and land fetching doesn’t show up quite as often. It’s a cool effect, and I do like it. I just hope they keep land fetching as well, since both effects are useful in different ways.

Eytan Zana is a name that may not be super familiar, but you’ve definitely seen a ton of his works, and that’s because the vast majority of his Magic artworks are lands. One of my favorite Forests of all time is his, the idyllic deer & stream Forest from Avacyn Restored. It’s his mastery of landscapes that makes this New Horizons art so good. For all intents and purposes, it is a land art, just themed on a spell. I love the subtle ruins of the city in the foreground, and the majesty of the great trees growing out of the main structure are absolutely breathtaking. Well done.

War of the Spark

Ixalan

Ahhh, Primordial Wurm. Herein lies the proof of just how pushed creatures are these days. Back in Alpha, this casting cost got you a 6/4 Craw Wurm. Now it either gets you a 7/6 Primordial Wurm, and it’s still basically unplayable. I look forward to ten years from now, when we get a 10/10 Wurm for this exact casting cost at Common, and it still doesn’t see play.

Anyhoo, this is a fun piece. Svetlin Velinov is another piece of Magic art royalty, who needs absolutely no introduction. What I love about him is the vast array of types of cards he does. Sometimes it’s a high-profile Mythic Legend like Roalesk, Apex Hybrid. Sometimes it’s a goofy limited trick like Maximize Velocity (with goofy Viashino to match). And sometimes it’s an absolutely gorgeous land. But no matter what, his style shows through and makes something totally memorable. I’ll remember this Wurm chasing down bite-sized eternals, even if I forget if it’s a 7/6 or a 6/6 or a 6/4 or whatever the hell size Wurms are these days.

War of the Spark

Dominaria

One only need look at the original version of this art by Karl Kopinski to get a sense of the art direction for this set. What was once a somber, pensive piece is now action, in full comic book mode. And I’m totally here for it. I do love how the Nicol Bolas statue was used as a prop in this set.

Obviously Daarken is a legend. Suffice it to say, he’s done everything, but definitely has a talent for darker, more sinister pieces (and occasionally, the exact opposite). This piece is great, though I will say I don’t quite understand the Nahiri quote on here. I would really have rather seen a Sorin quote here and had them use this one on Nahiri’s Stoneblades. But what do I know?

War of the Spark

Magic 2012

Last but not least, it’s Totally Lost, everyone’s favorite card they wish cost 1 mana less, but couldn’t really without being a little too powerful. Honestly, I love that they brought back Fblthp for this, though if they do it a third time, then they’ll never be able to do a version of this card without him ever. Think about that carefully, Wizards. Probably my favorite thing about this card isn’t even Fblthp on top of the Bolas statue, but actually the flavor text reference to his Easter Egg in Captive Audience from the last set. They really went deep this time around.

Aaron Miller does a huge variety of cards, from high profile works like Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, to cards you probably already forgot existed, like Honed Khopesh. He seems to really enjoy these interesting perspectives, looking up or down at his characters from unique vantage points, and creating stylized pieces that have character, but still fit into the Magic universe. I enjoy that this card made it into the set, and I think this depiction of one of the game’s favorite memes, high over the spires of the city, is a perfect place to close out this post.

War of the Spark

Gatecrash

[freyayuki]

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Dimensions’ End Entropy Tier 4 New Team

Here’s yet another fairly recent old draft that I finally finished editing.

I’ve already completed the Dimensions’ End Entropy Tier 4 Chaos fight in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (#ad) (DFFOO) mobile game, and yet I decided to remove my Perfect to do this quest again. Why?

I initially perfected this quest using the following characters:

Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII

Lenna Charlotte Tycoon from Final Fantasy V

The Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy I

I was especially pleased with this clear because I was able to do it with only one purple character while the other 2 were at base Ex only.

Cloud is double purple with perfect artifacts (3 attack 108 with max brave 330). He has the following spheres equipped:

Agrias’ Full HP Boost A sphere, which raises max brave by 10% while HP is max

Faris’ Full HP Critical Poison All E sphere, which reduces enemy’s brave by 30% of their individual initial brave at the start of their turn for 6 turns when dealing a critical hit while HP is max

Cloud was the damage dealer who basically carried the other 2 to victory while they supported him via healing, auras, and battery.

After perfecting Tier 4, I thought I was never going to do it again because I was fine having these 3 locked on to this stage. Well, never say never, huh? Recently, I thought about redoing this fight because I wanted to free both Lenna and the Warrior of Light (WoL).

Lenna’s Ex will become realizable soon, and I’m actually considering giving her a Book and possibly purpling her. I thought I might want to use her in a different stage. 

I have no plans of giving WoL a Book, much less purpling him (he’s worked well enough in this state, so he might as well continue working well enough like this forever. LOL), but I thought about using him in another tier.  

And so I decided to remove my Perfect clear and redo Dimensions’ End Entropy Tier 4 again.

Dimensions’ End Entropy Tier 4 Possible Team Comps

I tried various combinations of the following characters:

Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII (#ad)

Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII

Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII

Selphie Tilmitt from Final Fantasy VIII

Jecht from Final Fantasy X

Celes Chere from Final Fantasy VI

Porom from Final Fantasy IV

However, things weren’t working out well at all. I was hoping to use only one purple character with 2 characters at base Ex only or even 1 purple character with another Ex+0 chara and 1 base Ex only chara. But I was having a hard time getting teams like this to work.

For instance, I found that Tifa and Jecht (both purple) worked really well as damage dealers for this fight. Even Celes who was only at Ex+0 was doing quite well. But they all had issues dealing with the Lunatic Chimera Golem enemy in the second wave. 

This boss likes to buff himself with framed buffs, one of which increases his defense. I badly needed to dispel this defense buff because otherwise my damage dealer wouldn’t be able to deal enough damage to kill the Chimera.

I can’t spam their moves here though because there are more waves to follow. I needed to conserve my skills while also being able to deal enough damage to quickly kill off the Chimera before he becomes too much of a problem. 

This is why I went back to Cloud. His Deadly Rush passive can dispel buffs. He can only do it one at a time, but at least he can actually do it, which is what matters.

Dimensions’ End Entropy Tier 4 New Team

I ended up getting the Perfect with the following characters:

Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII

Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII

Rosa Joanna Farrell from Final Fantasy IV

Rosa is double purple with perfect artifacts (3 attack 108 with Devoted White Mage Boost★★). I didn’t want to use her here, but I couldn’t get the Perfect using the likes of Porom (fully MLB, but at base Ex only since her Ex can’t be realized yet) as my support. 

Well, not if I’m also bringing a base Ex Sephiroth to the fight. I’ve tried, but he can’t be carried by only one purple character and another at Ex+0 or at base Ex only. 

He has all 6 of his Summon Boards completed. He even has pretty decent artifacts - 1 attack 108 with max brave 330 and 2 attack 108 with max brave 200. But he’s still absolutely terrible at base Ex only. For starters, he doesn’t even get an HP+ move. Yup, he’s still stuck with a regular HP-only attack. Epic fail.

On top of that, his Ex charges slow. Well, at least, he gets a free skill use afterwards. But since he’s at base Ex only and we’re dealing with Chaos-level enemies here, his attacks weren’t hitting hard at all.

His Jenova buff raises his speed and lowers the speed of all enemies. However, to be honest, I really can’t tell if this actually makes a difference or not. I don’t know if or how it’s actually helping. I haven’t noticed a significant difference in the speed of the enemies while Jenova is active. 

Cloud did very well, as usual. Heck, he did even better with a purple Rosa supporting him. He couldn’t paralyze the enemies since they were immune to all debuffs, but he still did a fantastic job anyway. His Ex charges fast. His dispel is a godsend against Chimera, allowing me to get past that wave ASAP.

Overall, I’m glad that I was able to lock a base Ex only Sephiroth to this tier. However, I do feel disappointed that I ended up using my purple Rosa here. 

I think I’ll be trying this stage again at a later time. Maybe with more stats from more Summon Boards, Cloud might actually be able to carry 2 base Ex only characters to victory.

So, how ‘bout you? Which characters did you use to clear Dimensions’ End Entropy Tier 4? What did you think about this Chaos fight? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging this post.

Notes:

pics are from Amazon.com; links shown above

screenshots are from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account

[comicteaparty]

July 27th, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on July 27th, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Aether Eternius by Novasiri.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Aether Eternius by Novasiri~! (https://tapas.io/series/Aether-Eternius) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~! With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yay!

Novasiri

Oh boy, this outta be fun. <3

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

let's see...

I like that part when Mak throwed a temper tantrum and turned red

Novasiri

Dawww, when they got pissed at Aion?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yes

I wonder how many colors can they be?

Novasiri

I had a lot fo fun planning, and eventually drawing that scene too. Originally Mak didn't change color, that was a more last minuet decision.

They change color based off feeling extreme emotions. So, all the colors of the rainbow. -uo(edited)

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

gah i have to look up names >.>

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

ooooh would love to see that

her hairstyle changed a bit too

really cool aesthetics there

XD

RebelVampire

i hope mak never has a crush on someone and becomes green with jealousy. thatd be very embarrassing

Novasiri

I'm glad ;u;

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LMAO

that would be so obvious

Novasiri

Oh my gosh

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

XD

Novasiri

There's always Evny. -uo

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

mine is any scene with isilmo in it... all the extra dialog and little thought bits were very amusing

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I hope all the colors will be shown eventually

Novasiri

they will.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Isilmo is so cute

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

especially the "no licking" lol

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LMAO

RebelVampire

i liked the scene with madda-rakt cause i felt it was a mix of being both intimidated and underwhelmed cause madda-rakt was so polite

Kabocha

I pretty much love any scene with Aster. Gimme giant awkward starry person -- they're pretty nifty, I think.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL that

XD

wishjacked

Haha that temper part with Mak was my fave, too!! It had all the best things-- fun colors, snarky Ira, jerks getting mauled

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

poor them

Kabocha

Also Ira is pretty fun too.

Novasiri

I'm glad I got an underwhelmed vibe with Madda-Rakt. It was the ideal point. Since their focus isn't supposed to be intimidating.(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yis Ira

also Nova, I'm glad you made the texts larger in the recent pages. One of the reasons why I took so long to read was trying to consume all the texts. XD

Novasiri

Yeah, it's a big reason I also plan to redo the first two chapters; increase text size.

wishjacked

BUT ALSO, OH, I love all the scenes with Umbrage!! They're kinda dadlike with their dialogue but also. So strong. Love it

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yeah i had to zoom in on every panel in the beginning

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

totally glad I took the time to re-read it yesterday

Kabocha

I didn't find it too much of a problem, but I also read stuff on a huge-ish monitor?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

legit took me 2 hours

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

its easier for me to read on my phone... since i normally binge read before beds

Novasiri

I'm glad you like umbrage, Chloe. They're very much the big, intimidating, dad character

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Umbrage is so adorable

Kabocha

(also, Isilmo? The dragon? more please)

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yus!

Novasiri

there will be more isilmo soon. XD (And he's getting his own side comic)(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I never expected them to be so nice since you know, the initial description is that they maul people

RebelVampire

i agree with the others that the pages were a little smallish for text. not unreadable by any lengths. but it did take a while to get through.

Novasiri

They did maul people tho. :3

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yeah but only bad people

Novasiri

Yeah, it's definitley on the list of 'needs rework'

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

but let me say what i've said a million times before... nova you have the BEST character designs!

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

they were so nice to Mak

Novasiri

sdjfhjkl

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yus

totally adore those character designs

and the sparkels

Novasiri

Thank you so much

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

even inspired me to do better with mine

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

so far my fav is Umbrage, Ira, and Mak

would totally love to be buddies with Umbrage

wishjacked

SAAAAME the character designs are all SO UNIQUE AND APPEALING,,,,, hashtag goals

Novasiri

Umbrage would be good buddies, just not Aion.(edited)

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

would give umbrage all the hugs ^^

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yeah

Aion is jerk

RebelVampire

i like how the elemental types are all really unique in design but also share thematic similarities

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yis

Novasiri

Ah, you noticed that? I'm glad.

Kabocha

STAAAAAAAARS

wishjacked

I was a lil surprised by how good and kind Umbrage was, too, but I actually really liked it?? Like, PLOT TWIST, this fella mauls people BUT they're also totally a good guy! surprise!

Loved that

Novasiri

Each element has it's own aesthetic, but there are things that fit them together as a species.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

ALL THE STARZ

Novasiri

Voids and their staaarrsss. XD

Kabocha

Sorry, I rather like stars, so y'know

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yus

Novasiri

ilikestarsalottoo

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yisss

stars and sparkels

Novasiri

Umbrage was a big twist of a character. I wanted to keep their personality in the dark, so when we finally met them, it was a shock.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

well you did a good job there

Novasiri

Just like how we thought Aion would have been the good guy, but turned out to be a total sleezeball

wishjacked

I think it really worked!!

Novasiri

It's also a parody of the whole Light = good, Darkness = Bad

RebelVampire

im not sure i assumed aion was a good guy because arrogance is not exactly a positive trait

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

not really I really thought Aion is a jerk from the start

Kabocha

@RebelVampire I agree. XD But then again, you could be a jerk with a heart of gold

I'm glad that wasn't the trope in play

Novasiri

Interesting, cause a lot of people liked Aion at first XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Umbridge is I thought really some kind of monster who mauls random creatures

Novasiri

Nah, Aion ripped the gold out of themself(edited)

Kabocha

lmao umbridge

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I see

I read that XD

Novasiri

Umbrage is an interesting one though, but I'm glad you guys like them over Aion.

Means you'll hate me less in the coming chapter

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

RebelVampire

in the coming chapter where theres a happy ending for everyone and they all use mak's color changing ability to have a rave party?

Novasiri

Pfffffhh XD

Ah, a happy ending would be nice.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Mak turns into a disco ball

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol rebel

Novasiri

We'll get to see Mak strobe eventually, in Act 3. It's a while off, and its more trauma induced

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

don't kill umbrage

Novasiri

:3

Kabocha

... o_o

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i also love how easily it is to get immersed in the world

the backgrounds and scenery really pulls you in

Kabocha

Strobing? like... is this going to be animated

Novasiri

I'm going to attempt it. Yes

Kabocha

>:D

EXCELLENT.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

something like this

Novasiri

More like glitching trainbow

Kabocha

I'm imagining a single page of Mak on a black or transparent background. just.... all the colors

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

would be awesome

XD

Novasiri

But it'll be cool, horrifying, but cool.

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I forgot this started around this time

Novasiri

But expect animated bits, at least gif wise in act 3(edited)

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I love the comic, still reading it so I don't know much and am slow at reading it

wishjacked

I can't believe nova is threatening her characters right here in the chat and nobody is screaming yet

Novasiri

Awww, take your time~

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

So far the characters are very expressive

Novasiri

Chloe... you have no idea the horrors that await

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

screms

Kabocha

eh, everyone threatens their characters

and if Draco's around, spoilers get dropped

Novasiri

XD

Kabocha

It is the way of comic tea party. :3

Novasiri

I'm keeping it as vague as possible~

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

its in the by-laws xD

Novasiri

But i may drop a few hints if anyone has specific questions

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

draco = spoiler

the elf

Novasiri

Phineas?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

he's shuspishus

wishjacked

LALALALALALA NOPE THEYRE ALL GOOD THEYRE HAPPY THEY LIVE IN A BIG HAPPY HOUSE TOGETHER NOVA

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yis

Novasiri

Good

-pats chloe-

Cause he's gonna get a rather large reveal here very soon

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

that part when Madda Rakt talked to him. There's something going on.

Novasiri

So you may hate him more, or feel really bad for the guy

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LEGASP

wishjacked

ohhhh

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i am just very suspicious of him

Kabocha

Phineas is responsible for the entire plot

Novasiri

Mmmmmm rrrrrr.... You're on the right-ish track.

Kabocha

OH NO

Novasiri

But he's not personally responsible

Kabocha

I was just guessing o_o

Novasiri

But something involving him is.

Kabocha

oh dear

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

Kabocha is best guesser

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

OGM

Kabocha

Apparently lmao

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Kabo is scary

Novasiri

But it also has to do with a character showing up soon.

Kabocha

So he's prolly partly at fault for the trauma Mak's gonna go through ain't he

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

legasp x2

Novasiri

The hint is already in the comic, more so on ch4's cover page. As for Mak, no, the trauma comes a bit later and for a different reason.

Kabocha

(now for the out there part) ...Mak is secretly Phineas' future son.

Novasiri

And it has to do with Gavin, who was mentioned by Aion.

Nope. XD

Kabocha

I had to throw a really bad one in there.

Novasiri

Lol it's okay

Tbh that'd be so much nicer/happier than what Mak's background actually is.

Kabocha

I look forward to learning more about Gavin a bit more though.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

cheks the cover

Novasiri

We'll get a lot of it soon.

Kabocha

It's kind of interesting seeing how much of a hot-button that is for Mak. It's like, dude.

Mak, it can't be thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat bad can it? (clearly it is)

Novasiri

For them it is, of course. XD

Mak's insecure enough as it is, after all. :3

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. At the beginning of Chapter 2, the Matter Lord, Madda-Rakt, pulls aside Phineas. In their private conversation, they refer to Phineas as a “magister” and accuse Phineas of potentially tricking Makumbo. While Phineas assures Madda-Rakt he isn’t “working for them” anymore, Madda-Rakt’s suspicions are not allayed. Who or what do you think magisters are? Why would this cause Madda-Rakt to assume Phineas was trying to hurt Makumbo?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

awww poor Mak

Novasiri

Speaking of which

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Yis Phineas is suspicious

squints

Kabocha

Don't trust elves, yo

Novasiri

Pffh

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I think their intention is to kill null primordials

Novasiri

it isn't, anymore.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

personally i think he was one of those undercover spy types who betrayed somekind of useful information at some point

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

legasp\

O_O

wishjacked

wHat

Kabocha

Mak also doesn't want phinease touching him? WHAT DID YOU DO PHINEAS

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

oh yeah

Novasiri

Mak's got personal space issues, and doesn't enjoy being touched in general. But Phineas... Mharz is on the right track, but something happened to make that change

Kabocha

wow I can't type

@Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies -- welp.

Novasiri

And such a job wasn't personal choice either.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I think Phineas is an assassin who's mission is to kill Mak

Novasiri

I could have been, but something happened~ :3

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

nah i actually think he's trying to right his past wrongs now...though im still suspicious

Novasiri

good deduction AE~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

maybe he was tasked to kill all the nulls

Novasiri

Not nessicarily just nulls, but there is a reason for that.

And it has a lot to do with 'Them'.

Kabocha

dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

legasp x3

Novasiri

XD

RebelVampire

i feel like the best assumption is that the magisters were partly responsible for the shattering

Novasiri

Bingo~

Kabocha

So, is Casmir just not so fond of Aster because of Aster's silence?

or is there history

Novasiri

there's history between the two.

Which will be shown eventually

Kabocha

>:3c

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

wonders what that book thing Madda Rakt gave to Phineas

Novasiri

-whispers- it's actually a tracking device.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

gasp

huh interesting

Kabocha

nobody trusts phineas

Novasiri

And nobody should. :3

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

wow

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

he's absoulutely suspicious

Novasiri

As I said, the coming pages will determine most peoples outlook on Phineas. you'll either hate him outright, or feel bad for him.

Cause there's blood on those hands.

RebelVampire

i trust phineas.....to put some pizza rolls in the microwave for me to eat.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh no blooooood

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

waits for a couple of months... screms

hopefully he didn't poison the pizza

Novasiri

XD

Kabocha

:3

the pointier the ears, the less you should trust 'em

Novasiri

Pffffh

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Kabo, your Aster has pointy ears..

Kabocha

:3

WELP.

Novasiri

XD

But yes, I'd personally say trusting Phineas is typically not the best solution, at this moment in time.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL nope

wouldn't trust him to carry stuffs

Novasiri

XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

or anything really

Novasiri

But his past will come back and bite him in the ass, eventually.(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

hopefully Kana keeps him in check or something

Novasiri

And it's still up in the air if he lives or not

-minor spoiler-

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

ooooo

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

gasp

totally looking forward to eet

RebelVampire

phineas has to live long enough for his past to be revealed

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

gonna wait for the pages to pile up

Novasiri

Mhmm.

He will live long enough for that. XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yeah it will be the life flashing before his eyes type of thing XDDDD

Novasiri

Hahaha nooo, it'll be slow.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

OMG

Novasiri

and grueling

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Nova so sadist

LOL

Novasiri

:3

RebelVampire

i felt a bit sad that after dragging phineas and kana with, mak had to end up alone anyway

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yeah

Novasiri

Mhmm, part of it was to show Mak's actual self away from the rest, the other part was also to give some material for the side comic(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I'm also curious how Kana is related to Mak when she's human and Mak is primordial

Tho Ira did asked before how old is Mak when they "died"

Novasiri

Well you don't need to be blood related to be family~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

true

Novasiri

But kana met Mak after they had died.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I'm curious how did Kana wound up in the shattered lands

Novasiri

She actually followed Makumbo there.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

oh

I was thinking the outsiide world is lilke earth

where there's no magical mumbo jumbo happening

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol read 'mumbo' as 'makumbo'

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LMAO

RebelVampire

hmmm

then who is this older brother that kana mentioned that gave mak timo?

Novasiri

the Earth Kana and Mak come from actually does have magic, infact it's canonically the Earth in my friends comic, #Wafflefry

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

oh

Novasiri

The older brother is actually a secret. -uo(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

huh interesting

Novasiri

Yeah, I'm a sucker for interconnecting worlds.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

me too

Novasiri

As for the older brother, their name is actually Theodore. They will not be freatures by name or image in the comic however.

This is due to the fact that Kanami is created by a friend of mine, who gave me full permission to use the character. Theodore is also owned by someone else, but they did not give me permission to have him in the comic. Simple as that.

So they're more mentioned in passing.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh wow

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

that's really cool! wow

Novasiri

Many threads, yus~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

must be real nice to have webcomic friends that you can connect universes to

XD

Novasiri

But a lot of the past between Kana and Mak will be explained in act 3 specifically

As with the reveal of why mak died

And what caused the Shattering to begin with

So.. lots of bomb shells

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

ogm and we're still in act 1

wishjacked

Hey, made it back, sorry!!

Novasiri

Welcome back Chloe~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

how many chapters in an act?

Novasiri

at least 4-5 chapters

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I see

Novasiri

Act 1 is exactly 5 chapters

wishjacked

Oh, I'm SO INTERESTED in knowing how the primordials and afterlife work in this world....

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yus!

Novasiri

We'll get a lot of that Chloe, in the next act

A lot of that

but if you have specific questions, you can ask about it

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i wonder what the null lands looked like

Novasiri

with the rework of ch1/2 we'll see breif glimpses of what it is now, AE.

wishjacked

the worldbuilding seems to be built a lot on death and I really want to know how it ties together hahaha.

Novasiri

Cause i'm adding a scene or two

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. The comic’s world is vastly characterized by the Shattering, which greatly damaged the Planes and resulted in Null being wiped out completely. Despite Makumbo being reborn as the new Null Lord, though, there is still much chaos present. Why do you think Makumbo, of all people, became a Null? Does the Shattering have anything to do with why seemingly new primordial types are coming into existence? What do you think happened to the All-Father who was partly responsible for the Shattering?

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yay

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

maybe mak is a reincarnation of the All-Father ./shots

Novasiri

Ooohhh man...

Nah Mharz, that lazy ass is still around somewhere

Kabocha

...in pieces?

Novasiri

Noooo ouo

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

huh I see

Novasiri

I am curious to hear the theories tho.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

really a lazy ass?

Novasiri

The All Father's identiy has been hinted at, you jsut gotta read between the lines a bit. -uo And put together some dots

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

for some reason i feel like null has some kind of bigger purpose in the grand scheme of things...something more than the other primordials....something that is contrary to what we think when we think of the word null

almost like a balance

Novasiri

Good guess~

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

or constant

Kabocha

IT'S PHINEAS

wishjacked

well I hate to keep beating my death horse this but my theory is that the null lord creation has something to do with type a of death

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

damn

XD

Kabocha

(no, I know it's not)

Novasiri

Chloe

on the nose

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Mak was a human initially before turning into a Null lord

Novasiri

A lot of primordials are, however. Including Dunkan. But he's a Void. -uo

but Chloe is on the right track, how, when, and why you die make a BIG difference

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

that's very interesting

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

wut 0.0 omh

omg*

Novasiri

I'm actually alowed to spoil this, as it's world building, not so much integral completly to the story.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

wishes I can make stories as twited as that

Novasiri

Primordials are created from a certain type of soul.

A 'Lost' soul.

A soul that's unfit for their determined afterlife

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

your allowed to spoil what you want...its your story XDDDDD (couldn't resist)

wishjacked

EEEEEEEEEEEE??

Novasiri

How they died, who they were, how old they were all play factors into what element they become

Null has very, specific, parameters

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

wow that's REALLY neat

wishjacked

OK THAT WAS PART OF MY GUESS TOO

Novasiri

Very.. grim... parameters

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yis

wishjacked

YIKES

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

flails!! more excited now

Novasiri

Because for a Null to be formed, it has to be a childs soul.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

null and void makes me think of programming. XD

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh no how sad

Novasiri

So we're talking someone has to be below the age of 10, even stillborn... and has to not just die, but their soul has to be lost to the unknown. Which is extremely rare as many 'gods' tend to shelter these types of souls.

So something usually goes 'wrong' when a Null forms

RebelVampire

hmm that does give context for why ira auto thought to ask mak how old they were when they died

Novasiri

Mhmm

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

isn't Mak 11 when they died?

Novasiri

Makumbo was no exception to the rule, however, HOW he died played a major part in why he's a Null.

And yes, he was.

But

wishjacked

My theory was that the reason null has so few souls is because the death is so rare and bizarre. But I couldn't think of why the previous null lord would be much more impressive than Mak (according to freaking Aion) if they were both children's souls

Novasiri

Again, the hows kick into play here.

wishjacked

AWWW BABY

MAK

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

huh interesting

Novasiri

I will spoil it here, but only here.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

is on the edge of her seat

Novasiri

Makumbo's parents were researchers, specifically on the element of Null.

wishjacked

someone give this Lord a cup of cocoa and a warm blanket stat

ohhhHhhooooooooooo

Novasiri

At the age of 6, he was disowned for not being adept in magic.

And then used as a living experiment

to artificially create a Null Primordial

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

WHOA

thats CRAZY

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

wow

Novasiri

Now, Primordial energy + A living body is bad, really bad.

It literaly turnes into a cancer

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Nova spilling all the stuffs

Novasiri

And eats ytou from the inside out

wishjacked

I was about to say I was really glad to be in this server so I can get all the spoilers but I just changed my mind this is the worst I'm cry

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

ouch

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

we do have a spoiler chat

Novasiri

So Makumbo actually 'died' internally, but was kept alive through artifical means.

wishjacked

nova dude

Novasiri

:3

Makumbo's actualy death was around the age of 8, but it took 3 more years for the energy build up to finally go nuclear.

Which it did.. and wiped out the complex, and his family..

And essentiallym freeing him. But he was concious the whole time.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

OMG

wishjacked

my poor baby

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

that sounds majorly tramatic

Novasiri

It's gonna be fun to depict in the comic when the time comes. But yeah.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

and traumatizing

RebelVampire

well this got dark

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Rebel brings the popcorn

wishjacked

brb I'm going to hell the beat his parents into jelly

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

it got DEEP

Novasiri

that explosion of null magic is what alerts Kana to Makumbo's location, she tracks him down, and it's how they meet; she winds up smuggling him to america to protect him.

And hilariously only reason Kana was close enoug to see it, is because she was being a brat and testing demolition tools

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

Novasiri

But yeah....

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol brats ftw

Novasiri

And to think, that's just Mak's death... It's no where near as bad as Gavin's.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

brb

Novasiri

which i will not be spoiling

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

no wonder Mak is so timid

RebelVampire

gavin melted in a pool of acid for 100 years

Novasiri

But enough about my blabing, back to the question at hand. XD

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

i think this atmosphere just inspires spoilers x3

Novasiri

XD

there's some things I won't spoil, like the All-Father's identity. That you have to figure out yourselves

As for Astrov and Zenith, aka Possitive and Negative. It does have to do with the shattering in a way.

More of a by-product of the Planes trying to 'fix itself'.

Not saying the whys and hows, but it does have to do with one another.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i love their clothing

Novasiri

Thank you, their inspiration is very heavily on 'Life' and 'Death' thematics

RebelVampire

so if astrov and zenith are a byproduct of the planes trying to fix themselves, this makes me wonder if theyll be okay if void and null are restored to proper order. since if theyre sort of fixed their existence may no longer be needed.

Novasiri

-eyebrow waggles-

And we'll get to see what happens, eventually~

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh noooo not one of those sad fading into the midst ending scenes cries

Novasiri

hahaha no, none of that

There will be fighting, and bickering, and probably some deaths

Kabocha

comes back to holy crap spoilers

Novasiri

XD

Kabocha

MAK YOU PRECIOUS LIL THING

Novasiri

It's most character spoilers, not major plot spoilers, so I'm more okay with some things coming out

Gavin's stuff is major plot spoilers, so... I be hush hush

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

spoilers are spoilers...we take whatever we can get XD

RebelVampire

as for all-fathers identity....my first guess would be ira cause despite ira calling all-father lazy for jumping ship and leaving everyone to clean the mess up, ira seems to have mysterious goals, can change form, and somehow paralyzed aion. but i feel that may be too obvious of a guess and theres plenty of flaws to the idea. theres another guess i may make but i need to check something first

Novasiri

Hmmmm~

Kabocha

I look forward to learning more about Gavin. This would probably explain why Mak reaaaaaaaaally hates getting compared.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh interesting thought rebel

Kabocha

And hm. Ira as the all-father? I'll hop on that train.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i actually hadn't thought about who it might be

Kabocha

though Ira seems a little... irate about having to clean up after him.

Novasiri

Hmmm indeed~

I'm choosing to be silent here, cause I know.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

RebelVampire

but at the same time ira is sort of cleaning up after him by helping mak

so i could argue that the all-father is cleaning up his mess just in secret sort of an in a hands off way

and in disguise cause if i was a primordial i dont think id be too happy with all-father

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i actually like this thought

Novasiri

So hard to hold my tongue right now

It's very hard

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

hahahaha

Novasiri

Please continue tho

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

hands nova superglue >.>

Kabocha

Ira's just watching, though. I dunno, I suppose we'd have to see how it goes. ....Also how likely is Phineas to get severely injured by the guy tailing them?

Novasiri

Very likley

Kabocha

Madda has NO trust in the guy

Novasiri

Almost guarenteed

Kabocha

losing a limb?

Novasiri

une is very, very dangerous.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Ira seems to have a very suspicious power they used at Aion

Novasiri

Mhmm~

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Act 1 is focused on Makumbo helping Madda-Rakt pick a new Void Lord. However, the choices are pretty slim. Makumbo can either pick the pompous Aion or the bestial Umbrage. Who do you think will become the new Void Lord? Speaking of which, what does Ira have to do with everything that’s going on in regards to Void? Is Ira just that helpful or is Ira up to something?

wishjacked

I bet the mimic is the all-father. XD

Novasiri

LOL, nawww. Timo is just timo~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

would love it to be umbrage personally

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

umbrage!

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

umbrage is so adorbs

Kabocha

Umbrage seems more fitting to do the job at hand

Novasiri

XD A fun tid bit, originally I was planning to host a Patron poll to determine who would become the Void lord, however, this has now been set in stone, and chapter 5 will be the deciding method of who gets the job. But it's not about to be on a handshake.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oooo

Novasiri

one of them is going to die.

Kabocha

plz be aion

and plz be explodey

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

was thinking that at some point Aion and Umbrage would merge

LOL

Novasiri

It will also be the first introduction on death for Primordials.

Cause it's not good.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

that would be cool to see mharz

Novasiri

You'd be on the right track, Mharz. However neither will be going down without a fight.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

omg

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

0.0

Novasiri

The death is more along the lines of the personality dying, while the other reabsorbs the power.

Chapter 5 is literaly a giant Duel.

Kabocha

well then

they get the power but not the decency

or asshattery

Novasiri

Not going to say who wins, however.

Also breif BRB, pizza just got here.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yay pizza

don't let Phineas touch it

Novasiri

I may not be back by the time it concludes, but if I don't, I'll still hang out to answer questions if you'd like to ask them

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

waits for a year for all pages to be posted

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

dont let silver touch the pizza either XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

nah Silver will just eat the pizza

all of them

if she can eat

RebelVampire

regardless of who becomes void lord, the question is will they be able to take on the eldritch horror thats consuming void.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i dont think they can do it alone

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yee

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

mak is going to have a major role in that

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I think the three of them are, including Madda-Rakt

RebelVampire

lol im not sure i could picture madda-rakt getting that involved. they seem more like a sit in the background eat popcorn and give moral support type of person XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

RebelVampire

granted im sure madda-rakt is powerful

just

if madda-rakt was so forward idk why madda-rakt didnt go reign in aion and umbrage

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

hey you two can do this, I'll just sit back right here

RebelVampire

decided "man ya know whats a great idea? asking the new null lord ive never met"

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

good point

they're pretty protective at Mak too

RebelVampire

granted im sure theres reasons besides that. XD

just madda-rakt seems more likely to leave stuff to the youngins

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

unless there is something about the situation that only a null can do

RebelVampire

yes thats a possibility too

or madda-rakt is partly testing mak

thinking that null isnt going to make a comeback if the new lord sucks

Kabocha

madda said something about not being able to interfere, I think?

RebelVampire

maybe. but i take ppl saying i cant interfere with a grain of salt XD cause i find its usually a coin clip between cant and just wont

and to be fair

the story did seem to indicate that in the hierarchy of power null beats void

so there seems to be a rock paper scissors thing going on i guess?

where elementals have advantages and disadvantages against certain types

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

huh that's pretty interesting

meanwhile nova is watching while eating the pizza

RebelVampire

assuming phineas didnt get to nova first

rip

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

dang it Phineas

but I think Null is the powerful out of all them

RebelVampire

that could be too

that nulls in general just badasses

with them strobes

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

one of the reasons why they're eliminated becos probably some find them very threatening

RebelVampire

could be although gavin seemed to be pretty respected in a way?

so since theres only 9 mins left does anyone have any closing thoughts?

Kabocha

MORE ISILMO

RebelVampire

crack theory: isilmo is the all-father

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

LOL that would be best plot twist

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

OM

Novasiri

-munching cinammon sticks- :U

Kabocha

that's it, story's over

get your fire dragons to fix the world

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I want Isilmo to grow big and strong

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

Novasiri

I read up, yes, there is a sort of power-triangle, or rock paper scissors ordeal. But.. there's also a big rule. Cause a Lord can't Kill another Lord. Madda-Rakt may be pwoerful.. but they can't go after ulhamig alone, cause they wouldn't be able to kill it even if theyw anted to.

Isilmo is gonna get big... He's jsut a baby right now. When he's fully grown, he'll be the size of a clydsdayle

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

maybe Isilmo will save everyone

Novasiri

XD

RebelVampire

so does that mean mak also wouldnt be able to beat ulhamig alone?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

also curious where Isilmo came from

Novasiri

Mhmm. Mak wouldn't be able to.

It's gonna be a combined effort.

isilmo came from an egg.. lol

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

they all are going to break the rule together?

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

Bookmarked the comic for later, but I really have to say I love the dynamic of the characters so far :3

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

egg

duh

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

wait wait

WAIT

Novasiri

Like... Isilmo is only 6 months old. Tops.

He's a babu

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

the wind lord seems to be a dragon too

Novasiri

Shit

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

hahahahaha

Novasiri

Forget I said that

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

O_o

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

applauds

Novasiri

-deleted it- :I

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

O_O

Kabocha

bwahaha

Novasiri

Wind is a big dergon~ A special type of dergon~

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i wanna dragon

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

dergon

:3

Novasiri

Yus~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

still rooting for umbrage

Novasiri

:3

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

so nice and big and adorable

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yus

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to Novasiri, as well, for volunteering Aether Eternius for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Novasiri’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on The Cat, the Vine, and the Victory by wnqs. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (August 3rd) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! Comic: https://tapas.io/series/The-Cat-The-Vine-and-The-Victory(edited)

[johnnyzest]

tfw ur anxiety tells u that u can’t answer new messages until you’ve answered ur old messages but then it also tells u that u didn’t answer the old ones in the socially acceptable time frame so now u can’t answer them at all and u just end up going ????? for approximately a month until u find the strength to finally make a mass answer post

1. in my most recent post i think i used this action, this one for the texture smoothing, and maybe? topaz clean? but all my other posts have been a bit of a mess editing wise bc i’ve been trying different things! my legacy posts used this action as a base, i think it looks nice in all the worlds and in most lighting so i would definitely recommend that one!

2. ok so i was gonna say “idk bc i’m gonna use her in a story” but then i remembered i don’t have time to do a story right now lmao and i already released another sim from that potential story anyway so it doesn’t really matter?? i’ll try to put her up when i get the chance!

3. so uhh... what are the chances this sale is still happening...... i should have posted this when i got it so that other people had the chance to see it i feel so bad omg :( but thank u so much for trying to spread the news!

4. the two blushes i use can be found on my resources page, they’re here and here! not sure if those are what ur looking for but i hope it helps!

5. the freckles are on heihu’s babychoux overlay (which i use in mine) so i’m not sure if i can get them out easily but i’ll definitely give it a try whenever i get time to revamp it!

6. i said i would! i just have to redo bob bc apparently i didn’t save him :(

7. this one made me smile so much i want to keep it in my inbox forever!! thank u!! i love u and i’m glad u like it!!

8. i wouldn’t say the CUTEST but thank u!! also my use of the word ‘dagnabbit’ has increased approximately 400% since reading this ask

9. i won’t be doing this, sorry! :( this tag has some sets with tragus piercings tho, i hope u find something u like!

10. (in reference to this post) that and thosefuckingsims’s charlie are the only charlie sims i can think of!! but someone pointed out they probably meant frankie and now i feel dumb lmao

11. this one makes me smile too!!!! i’m keeping them together in my inbox to remind me to actually revamp it.... like a 2 person fan club perhaps..... bless u and thank u!!

12. i don’t know how i missed this one i feel so bad i always try to answer questions that are off anon like right away omg :( but yes!! he always makes cute kids!! i’m a proud grandma lmao

13. i’m so happy to hear from u again omg, and thank u!! i think about this compliment every time i open cas tbh!

14. i’m writing a detailed version in an ask about my characterization of the bjergsens but *eye emoji* u guys already know about sawyer being quinn and bjorn’s kid...... so long story short apparently asking someone to break up with their spouse is an autonomous action and i never knew quinn had done it until she told bjorn she was pregnant and this asshole immediately and autonomously asks her to marry him and she fckin says yes!! before i can cancel the action!! i hate her so much omg. she had been proposed to before and turned the girl down like her noncommittal ass never even wanted to be anyone’s official girlfriend and she said YES to getting maRRIED to a recently divorced father of two i’m still screaming about it!!! anyway the happy engagement lasted like 2 minutes and then after the baby was born i sent him back to live with his (ex)wife and then shortly after sawyer aged up to a kid i sent her to live with them too so u can imagine the drama after that

15. how dare u send this on anon like i want to see this drama unfold and see ur zesty grandsimkids

16. (in reference to this post) i’m keeping this ask in my inbox specifically so that when pets comes out i can put this ask on the screencap of their new dog named Duke..... that’s the most ur getting out of me bc i can’t bring myself to name a dog after dookie..... i love and respect dogs too much to do that

17 - 19. these are the oldest ones in my inbox and i’m sure you’ve gotten ur answer somewhere else by now, but i’m finally gonna answer these anyway! sorry for the long wait, i was going to make a resource post but then.... i didn’t..... so anyway, for 17 and 19, i don’t have a palette, that was just one color that i liked and made some swatches for! however a lot of palettes have similar pink shades in them so i’m sure u can find something u like by checking out this tag! as for how to recolor hairs, i did quinn’s color using a combination of recolor actions and some of my own color editing. if u have already have a palette that uses actions, u can use this tutorial right here!

[maramcgregor]

2017 Fic Round Up

I’ve been trying to find my inspiration to finish up stuff in my WIP folder. So, here’s a look back on my 2017 writing. May I find the will to continue writing this year and next.

According to AO3′s Stats page, I have managed in 2017:

56,866 words

3034 kudos

153 comments

408 bookmarks

18674 hits

I’m going to go ahead and thank the Check, Please! fandom for these numbers! (And writing so much for the popular ship)

January 6th, 2017

Et In Aeternum

Rating: E

Pairing: Sciles (Scott/Stiles)

Art by: @scerek

Summary: Pinch hit fic for Sciles Secret Santa. 

The Pack is going off to college and it will leave them without an emissary. Stiles is determined to do something about that. The bonding of a new druid to a pack has the potential to be very intimate.

March 21st, 2017

I’ll Keep You Forever

Rating: E

Pairing: Heith (Hunk/Keith)

Summary: My first A/B/O fic and for a ship that really needs some love. 

While humans have secondary dynamics, the prevalence of alphas and omegas has dwindled as the population has increased. Galrans have always been either alphas or omegas. Allura isn't thrilled about Keith going into heat and being out of commission. Hunk wants to help, but he knows that adding pressure to an already stressed omega will not help matters in the long run.

March 30th, 2017

Jack’s Celebrity Crush

Rating: G

Pairing: Zimbits (Jack/Bitty)

Summary: Inspired by @quicklikelight pointing me in the direction of a prompt on Tumblr. Part 1 of a currently 2 part series. Part 3 is in the WIP folder.

Jack has had a long-time celebrity crush on US Olympic Figure Skater Eric Bittle. He wants nothing more than to meet his crush and maybe take a couple of pictures. He finally gets his chance.

April 5th, 2017

Eric’s Celebrity Crush

Rating: G

Pairing: Zimbits (Jack/Bitty)

Summary: Part 2 of the Celebrity Crush series.

A companion piece to Jack's Celebrity Crush. Told from Bitty's perspective, starting from when he's 15. Jack has impacted his life more than he could ever know. All he wants is to meet him just once.

June 17th, 2017

Team USA

Rating: E

Pairing: Bitty/Parse

Art by: @omgpieplease

Summary: Eric and Kent met during the Sochi Olympics. Kent had intended to talk Jack into signing with the Aces at Epikegster, but his plans get derailed when he sees Eric at the party.

Essentially a redo of Epikegster if Eric was still a figure skater, knew Kent, and completely changed the outcome of the party.

August 19th, 2017

The Writing’s On The Wall

Rating: T

Pairing: Zimbits (break up fic, though)

Summary: Written for @omgcpheartbreakfest. I got my first pick for prompt and I actually pulled over while commuting to put in my request list. Got the wrong date and did it again in the middle of a convention. Requests have been made for a sequel ... that is a thing that may happen (RIP my WIP folder).

Bitty was the first openly gay NCAA men's hockey captain. He's out and starting life with Jack after dating for over two years. But, as far as the public knows, Jack is just letting his old liney room with him. Jack's agent is determined to keep their relationship in the closet. She suggests that Jack "date" someone of her choosing for the press. Her manipulations of Jack's anxiety go deep and cause a severe rift in Bitty and Jack's relationship. Bitty realizes what he has sacrificed and how much of his life isn't his own.

I have tried desperately to demonstrate how complex their situation is and all the mitigating circumstances. This starts with an external force cruelly using her knowledge of Jack's anxiety and manipulating him. But, the fallout is everything else. Relationships are complicated. It's never just one thing.

August 30th, 2017

That Ass, Though

Rating: T

Pairing: Zimbits (background)

Art by: @omgpieplease

Summary: The Zimmermann booty is a thing of glory.

September 10th, 2017 (most recent update)

Discovery

Rating: T

Pairing: Zac/Evie (background)

Summary: Still finishing this up. I really need to finish up the last 2-3 chapters and close this one out. Problem: I keep coming up with worse scenarios to put Zac in and it’s eating my brain.

Since the public exposure of merpeople, Zac had spent every moment on tenterhooks waiting for the other shoe to fall. He couldn’t even relax in the water. Every time he entered or exited the ocean was fraught with danger as land people paid close attention to the shoreline hoping to catch a glimpse of tail fin.

The secret is out. There's no where left to hide and everyone wants to be the one to bring in another living mermaid. The pod is under direct attack and Zac is caught in the crossfire.

October 29th, 2017

Buyer Beware

Rating: T

Pairing: none

Summary: Written for @omgcpumpkins. 

Prompt: Bitty is an angry/vengeful spirit who was murdered in a house that Jack moves into.

Bitty didn't survive that night in the closet in 7th grade. He's been haunting his old childhood home ever since. Jack moves in after being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers, completely unaware of the history of the house.

November 19th, 2017

Running Shorts

Rating: M

Pairing: Zimbits (Jack/Bitty)

Summary: What inspired Jack to wear those tiny running shorts? My thoughts on how he ended up wearing almost nothing on his morning run with George. From Ngozi's September 3rd Extras.