#i have a legit base game and university life and that's IT

[sailorlucidsims]

about to empty out my sims 3 cc folder...again...

[sonnet009games]

I just finished reading the new chapter - a tiny bit late for once since I was busy with stuff - and damn... I'm actually sitting here and legit crying.

I know you won't be able to respond to it for a few more days for spoiler reasons but...

Yeah, it was such an awesome chapter. I love how it was as expected when it comes to the detective, and that the appartment - in the case of mine - became even more empty and sterile than before. And it was just so... incredibly emotional to just see that spark of life come back in the morning, at the end of the chapter.

Also, I really enjoyed the gorta fight! AND the fact I managed to deduce who was the culprit, even if I didn't know the full truth about what was happening. It was the fact Flea mentionned he disappeared right when HE came into the picture that tipped me off! But back to the fight, it was really cool to see that with time, the detective DOES become better at fighting demons. And that "oh shit" moment with the blood? Brilliant. The slight moment of delay between the "well that's a hunger demon for you" and "DAMN we know just WHAT are the effects of incubus blood" was perfection!

The whole tone of the chapter was so so bleak, especially with a detective who feels so extremely guilty and is so openly depressed about the whole thing. I guess the tone is quite different for a detective who betrayed Flea, but mine didn't so it was just plain awkward but without "true reason" (well, obviously there are a lot of reasons for the awkwardness, but neither Flea nor my detective did anything bad per se).

One thing that amuses me to no end is to imagine the sheer shit Ted is going to give the detective when he learns about Flea actually moving in. I'm sure he'll go feral over it with the teasing. Though I imagine he'll be happy too.

Oh by the way, I have a question this time - a proper one, not only gushing over the new content! It's a bit of a random one though, not directly related to this chapter's content (I don't mind waiting for the moment you can actually post this though). So, we know incubi and succubi are called different words depending on gender. But so far, it seems it isn't the case for the other demon types we've met. Now, obviously I imagine from a writing PoV you just did it that way because these are demons we know and "it's like that" in reality. But I wonder if in the setting of your IF, some other demon types are called different names based on gender, or is it exclusively an incubus/succubus thing. Yeah, it's the most random of questions, I know!

Anyway, just thank you for this chapter (and this whole IF, really)! I can't even begin to describe just how many emotions each chapter brings me. It's without any doubts one of my favorite IF - and even one of my favorite games I've ever played!

I was thinking about tropes I really love and if/how I might be able to fit them into the game, and ‘sex pollen’ was right up there on the list. I’m glad I got to use a variation on one of my favourites. ^_^

As for your question: You’re right that having incubi/succubi separated by gender was an out-of-universe choice based on the recognisability of the terms. In-universe, sex demons (all demons, in fact) are on a broad gender spectrum that will at times defy binary classification.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful messages and kind words! <3

[fountainpenguin]

Zombiewood, my beloved...

Man... thinking about how much I love Double Life Martyn & his interactions with Cleo again. There is... so much silliness going on there. Legit, they can barely hold a conversation without giggling. And the drama... Just existing together under the drama umbrella makes them fantastic story material. 10/10 soulmate pair.

Martyn's terrible game show flop. Devastating. Him getting in a fistfight with Cleo at the end of it. That little fast-paced vent he does while ranting to Jimmy about how Cleo is really into building bridges with Scott but not him, which pitches up into a scream. I love how 'into character' he gets there; it's so good...

The entire hilarity of Martyn building a giant heart in front of Cleo in an attempt to win her back, which she loathes and ignores while he spends the series fighting with the HOA for the right to keep it. Everyone constantly yells at him for dropping their property value. All he wants is Cleo's attention and Cleo just... is not impressed. so funny.

"It's small, but it's enough. Just like me." - Martyn, what??

The way Martyn builds his base "in Cleo's front yard." That's so nuts. From an in-universe perspective, I love that swivel from denial and anger in Episode 1 to bargaining in 2.

So many good tidbits throughout their 5-episode relationship... Martyn peeping at Cleo through his spyglass at night and muttering "She seems safe; she seems happy; she seems healthy" before zooming in all "Wait, she has to use the furnace OUTSIDE?? Take it inside! Look, he's ruining you!" Like... Okay, Martyn.

"This is all her fault, 100%!!" He's a needy, angry man grasping at straws. I love dumb roleplay drama. Ugh, the commitment to the bit is so glorious. What a great arc.

The way Martyn thoroughly convinces himself that Scott's the shoulder devil who swayed Cleo away from him, so he shows up to speak his mind ("We can be real, proper soulmates, but right now you're being really selfish. You let him speak in your ear! You let him tell you that I was off not caring about my soulmate! I was providing!" and Cleo hits him with "Martyn... I was the one who brought it up first."

Just... idk, the way he freezes right then is great. The "emotional damage" clip he plays right then just makes it for me. That right there is the moment that Character Martyn splinters. It's so good. And yet he doesn't give up?? astounding.

I really enjoy how Pearl took the divorce quartet situation and spun it into clingy 'crazy ex' roleplay with Scott, and Martyn went the complete opposite route and tried to woo Cleo over with grandiose gestures of affection, really playing up the "I'm a provider; I didn't want to show up emptyhanded" angle. They were so different in how they handled the break-up and I still think that's cool. They did such a good job. Fantastic season.

Martyn: I care about us! I bring the skill; you bring the vibes- That's what I was signing up for! Cleo: If you look at it this way- You don't have to watch out for me. I've got somebody else who's willing to lay down their life for me.

Like??

Martyn wants someone he can share affection with. Cleo wants stability and trust. The whole "This is better for both of us" is so good... Hilarious.

The part that really makes it for me is Martyn starting to protest "So this is what we're doing?" and Cleo softly shushes him, just like "Shhh... They're coming over."

They kick off a secret alliance they don't discuss in public... Cleo apologizing for misjudging him and extending a hand. Martyn playing the part of jealous lover who's got an open door waiting for him if he'll meet her halfway, which he can choose to do at any time if he swallows his pride... It's SO GOOD... What a set-up!

Martyn & Cleo, my beloveds... Where else can I find the goofy 'jealous ex with a flair for art and drama' + 'Annoyed ex who moved on with their life and got a new partner and a home' health-sharing soulmate combo with this much commitment to the anger and grief and forgiveness and regret... They're great.

Martyn: I don't know where I stand with her. She sort of seems to be looking out for me but absolutely wants nothing to do with me. It's all very confusing... and maybe Cleo will come back to me one day.

Well, I've got good news and bad news, boss...

Cleo giving Martyn a heart-to-heart and he quietly wanders back to his base, turns to look at them, and tells the audience "Maybe me and Cleo are more on the same page than I initially thought" while in Cleo's POV a moment later, she's like "Look, sometimes you just have to speak to him in a way he'll understand" [gameplay strats] ??? slkdjf

Cleo sending Martyn on his way with his first diamonds of the series to craft a sword with... the "Don't die" / "I promise; I'll do us proud- Don't you worry" / "[Sigh]... Do yourself proud" exchange just kills me. Martyn swivels to his softer 'serious roleplay voice' to 'pledge loyalty' to her and Cleo just Is Not Having It With Him and shuts that down so fast.

Cleo: You don't need to worry about me. I've got my partner. Martyn to the audience, so Cleo can hear: She's saying that even when there's nobody around. I am VERY confused."

Two dead, many injured.

Cleo tossing a flower in his inventory when he wasn't looking. Cleo offering to let Martyn stay with her after his base gets griefed. Also ??? Martyn and Cleo getting a house together when they were constantly fighting?? why did they do that.

Cleo and Scott on their bridge above the ravine, doing their daily axe crit to the chest... Martyn in Ep 3 whips around and yells "Do you two mind??" Cleo tells him it's their way of showing affection and Martyn immediately gets out his enchanted axe and goes for her. He looks Scott in the eye and says "At least I've got a heart" and Scott's instant reply is "Do you??"

Martyn later refusing to use the bridge because it would be "awkward"... Martyn sneaking around Cleo's house and getting upset that she joined the HOA, immediately followed by her chasing him out of her yard insisting that she didn't. Martyn's swap into bubbly music when he's in the panda reserve. "The admission fee is love!" / "Oh, I come with buckets of that because somebody isn't accepting mine."

On the way out the door, Scar tells Cleo and Martyn that he'll find more romantic music to play the next time they visit and Martyn doubles back and says "Yeah, if you could." Love that for him. All the man wants is a partner who doesn't want to kick him in the teeth. What a great episode.

I love how Martyn and Cleo interact on their weird stepping stone bridge above the ravine... He keeps pushing for "I'll take your gear and go down to the ancient city to get your enchantments sorted out," trying to kill two birds with one stone and play up that role of being "the provider," and Cleo just... keeps trying to reel him back.

"No, no, no! You don't even have to do that! All you have to do is say 'I'm sorry for abandoning you on the first day.'" / "Mmmmm... I don't understand." sldkfj. "All it takes is an apology, Martyn." / "You're not getting one. We both know you're not getting one."

Delicious self-inflicted drama. Cleo's so willing to bend and he's so dang stubborn. I love them...

Personal highlight for me is right after Martyn kills both Cleo and himself by punching them off a cliff. Scott puts himself between the two of them while Cleo seethes and Martyn apologizes profusely and he just keeps saying "You have ruined every chance of ever being with her as your soulmate. You have lost every opportunity." Cleo following it up with "Remember when I said Martyn would be a good person to have on our team?

Yeah, just drive that sense of "Nobody wants you" into the one guy who's been so desperately roleplaying affection... topped off by the fact that when they're alone, Cleo drops the loud angry voice and cracks up laughing. Your honor, they are literally just some guys.

The fact that Cleo had to save him from an enderman while he shrieked and buried under her bedroom floor. I cannot get over the mental image of "Take me back, babe" immediately followed by them almost dying twice in 5 minutes. Martyn literally runs inside and hides under Cleo's bed... they can't stop giggling. Yep. He's here: the perfect man.

DL!Martyn is so funny to me... He explicitly uses the phrase "I'm breaking up with you too" when he dumps Pearl at the end of Episode 1, and then he does it AGAIN when Ren says they should bring Pearl into the Broken Hearts club.

The whole "Uh... I broke up with Pearl, so this might take some convincing" bit just cracks me up. Ren so wanted this alliance to work and Martyn is like "... ah. Yeah, about that..."

Semi-related, but thinking about that one Reacts clip where IRL Martyn said "See, this is why me and Cleo are soulmates" while listening to them talk about his LimLife finale betrayal...

idk; that's funny to me- I like the in-universe image that character Martyn is still hung up on Cleo (and/or the mental image of character Martyn hanging out with her at a post-LimLife party, trying to study her and figure out why they were paired).

Martyn and Cleo are on the same page in so many ways... but they have different communication styles / preferences and they crashed and burnt so hard... Ah, the sweet tragedy of it all. I'd have loved to see how well they could've fared together as a team.

Cleo losing their Yellow life because Martyn scrambled towards her begging her to eat and she forgot she was drowning as she opened inventory to check her pockets... His "Leave her alone!" and "Cleo, we good? We good?" during the ancient city fight. Cleo inviting Martyn into her Red Life base. Yeah. Them... Messy to the end.

Anyway, they're hilarious. GG to them on the improv and the commitment to it, even though the break-up was probably a scary roleplay / gameplay choice...

Also that moment where Bdubs casually says hello to them while they're walking home from the panda reserve and they immediately go for their weapons and start threatening him "Your money or your life" is so perfect... Love me a couple improv troublemakers in total sync. They're my favorites.

I love them and their silly donkeys Glen and Schmoobles... Nothing like two soulmates both picking the same companion animal without coordinating and both giving them silly names in the complete opposite directions from each other. They're great.

I love them...

[emthepotatocat]

I talked about this during the live discussion but my theory for the reason the RatGrinders where so interested in the Thistlespring Tree and the soil is because by infecting the soil, they can infect the pollen of the plants of Elmville. Then, that infected rage pollen would be used to make the Devil’s Honey that Gertie was talking about. It will then be used to infect the whole school through the food trucks. In their state of rage infection (where they worship the rage god), the devil’s honey would cause their worship and belief to be much more stronger as the infected will have no doubt that they ever worshiped anyone else and will start believing the lie.

I agree with most theories that the party died in the Mountains of Chaos and were brought alive by the rage god, but I find it more interesting how this god is operating. I’m not too sure if they’re directly controlling the actions of the RatGrinders or if it’s by proxy and the RatGrinders can control themselves to some degree, but the theme of loopholes and fairness is still prevalent in this plan. We have seen other gods be changed by their followers, like Cassandra and Tracker’s goddess, but what happens if the followers are essentially mind controlled into worship a certain god? especially one that is unnamed and largely unknown? Their plan is to actively shape the identity of their followers into being rageful and make those followers believe in the lie that they have always worshiped this rage god. Is this a loophole to the way worship in the FH universe works? Because based on what we have been shown, all worshipers were in some degree willing participates in their worship of any specific god, only social pressures and manipulations to keep them worshiping rather than being literally forced. So is this god trying to essentially build a brainwashed rage army to worship them in order to become a powerful god rather than building up followers? Is this rage god buying bots to artificially inflate their follower count rather than posting good-quality shit posts and amassing a loyal fan base?

Going over the whole villain plan so far: KettlePitty CopperFucker already has preexisting rage and jealousy toward the Bad Kids and specifically Riz. Her rage stems from her understanding how she’s an NPC in a DnD game. She’s essentially she’s an incel, wanting the world to revolve around her but not doing what’s necessary and thinking her conflict free life is boring and wanting the trauma of the Bad Kids. The idea of it all was much cooler in Kipperlilly’s head than it actually was for the Bad Kids, and the Bad Kids actually were able to work through that Trauma, leading them to be who they are. Anyway, Kipperlilly is a vulnerable teen who got too lost in her own emotions, and drove herself insane with her own jealousy, making her into the easy target for the Rage God. The Rat grinders’ treck into the mountains of chaos was most likely KipperLilly’s attempt at replacing the Bad Kids’ cool adventures but something went wrong, they weren’t prepared as they lacked experience with big threats, causing themselves to die. They all then chose to be revived by Rage God (TM), minus Lucy who stayed dead and who they hexed into never going into the afterlife as revenge(?) for not following the Rage God. (Begs the question of why they brought her to the Elmville forest rather than leaving her behind?). Anyways they go back to Elmville and slowly begin their plan, consisting of 2 steps.

1. Expel the Bad Kids as revenge.

2. Make everyone worship the Rage God.

The second step is much easier to explain. Kipperlilly sets up the food trucks and establishes them as legit. Then, at Frosty Fair, Ruben was supposed to infect all of Elmville’s soil through his ritual at the Root Guardian, being the Thistlespring residents. As discussed earlier, this would have caused all the soil and thus pollen and thus Devil’s Honey to be corrupted with Rage God and spread amongst the Aguefort student body. This creates a super army of Angy Bois who would all worship this one god. Now I’m not to sure if the ritual actually worked, but this sure seems like the original plan. Also somehow all of this is related to Ankarna and Cassandra and their marriage but I’m not sure how specifically. The Rat Grinders going back to the Mountains of Chaos might be for a ritual or meeting of some kind and we might get to see the Rage God in action as the RatGrinders report how their plan is not doing great, especially with the Bad Kids catching on and surviving. Also the Sky Engine stolen from Fabian’s basement might have something to do with the expulsion plan, but I’m leaning toward it relating to their trip to the Mountains of Chaos.

Now the first step is much more complicated and visible. First time, they try to expel them using the robit principal and catching the Bad Kids doing drugs at the Frosty Fair. This fails due to robit murder. This also leaves a power vacuum and due to Aguefort’s dumbass and Aguefort (the schools) lack of plan Cs, the Class President becomes the true principal in case of emergencies, leading Kipperlilly into furiously campaigning for President to become principal. I’m not sure if this is because she wants to expel the Bad Kids herself, a gun for more power, or something relating to the Rage God plan, or maybe all three? Idk. She is also most likely colluding with Jace Stardiamond, who we can assume gunned for Kristen to be failed for step 1 and for the bot not to be rebuilt for the above. The failing of Kristen also forced them to the Last Stand-ard Exam, where Buddy was probably planted by Stardiamond at the request of Kipperlilly and where Buddy and the Bad Kids were probably were going to be left for dead, hoping they may take the Rage God’s deal for life in exchange for worship and further indoctrination. Stardiamond is may be rage-compromised or is just being manipulated idk.

[kingscourthouse]

This is a Ren Cinematic Universe moment

Did a quick update on my Ren designs. Note: King RenTheKing isn't included because I don't see him as someone separate from ren himself. Grimm (Demised RenBob) is my own mini au I guess? Don't really know what he would be, but I like to imagine him n Grim are a team in killin'.

If anyone cares, details on them below!

Base things on all of them: All of them have some sort of enchanted band on them with protection. If they were to remove it, they would just be some big dogs. (This way I get both Ren and dog Ren >:D)

Have you seen those glasses without the arms just pinch to your nose bridge? Yeah, they kinda need them. Dog ears lol.

They all have diffrent versions of Ren's facial hair. Obvi Grimm's is based on Renbob's and the others are based on Ren's. Example, Red still has the same shape of stubble like ren, but his is much thicker and a bit messier like his hair.

Their hand nails are all diffrent too if that counts.

Ren: Legit just basic Ren Diggity Dog. Pan flag colours on his ear peircings. Leg coverings are layers of leather that button in the back to keep them from being too damaged while working. Prot band is on his left arm. It's made of netherite so it can't be destroyed...unless he runs into a cactus. Very fluff, is a good boy.

Red (King): Still grey from the death games and curse, but has a bit of colour unlike the demised. His hair is much messier and a bit longer than Ren's. Ears are more pointed like a wolf. When Ren was King, Red made his crown and cape for him. Red still thinks he's better though. Slacks are tighter fit around his knees for movement. ROYAL BLUE BABY- Not a chestplate, but has gold plating around his neck and shoulder that holds his cape. Gold cuffs on his feet because he hated the lack of movement with full leg coverings. Gotta protec those toe beans. Cape is pinned to his sleeve so it moves with him. Very elegant. Prot band on his left hand is a gift from Martyn. Has his symbol so he may always protect his king in some form. Martyn also learned the hard way that Red's cape is basically a giant weighted blanket. How the hell does he carry that?!

(Ren) Bob: Sometimes the hermits call him Rob. Basically a Timmy/Jimmy situation. Again, just basic RenBob. Very flowy clothing. His necklace is a crystal gifted from Impulse back in season 6. He also has earrings made from Grian's feathers he'll wear. They tickle sometimes though, so it's not often. No leg protection. Wants to "Be connected to the world" or whatever he said. Most of his jewlry is wooden. The wooden earrings pull his ears down a bit, but he likes the floppy ears anyway. Prot band is wooden braclet on his right arm. He has a wide variety of goofy cardigans. The egg one is one of his favourites.

(Link to the actual cardigan if you want it)

Grim (Dog): Demised Ren. Kinda like the life games, he has a thirst for death. Maybe not as intense, but he'll sometimes be in a hunting mood. There are tallymarks on his arm are a count of how many he's killed. He's very grateful for the respawn system, he can play these games forever now! Loves very outgoing deaths. Explosions and fireworks are his favourite. NEVER TRUST HIM WITH A CROSSBOW. Prot band is a choker hidden by his hood. Died from fall damage. In death, he invent footwear better than featherfalling to keep him from perishing like that again. (Think long fall boots from Portal. They're shock absorbers.) Has a fear of heights, but he'll never admit that to you. Eyes may look like pure white, but you'll see his iris in a dark room. The iris and pupil glow white, the sclera don't. And yes, his glasses are the shape of coffins.

Grimm (Bob): Demised RenBob! (Rob???) Also gets the urge to kill but prefers not to. When he does, it is much quieter deaths like drowning or suffocation. Grimm prefers to follow around Grim and tend to the dead. Arranging graves, leave flowers, tag you with how you died, that's all him! Died by suffocation. Nobody knows how but Grim. Doesn't talk very much. The most you'll hear is him muttering prayers to the dead. Sometimes he'll also just say a single word and scare the daylights out of somebody. Prot band is a choker beneath his hood aswell. Eyes are just like Grim's; You won't see his iris, but it's there. May not have the weird cardigans like his counterpart, but a few hermits are a fan of his glasses. Tango loves the X glasses. Reminds him of cartoons!

That's all I can think of right now. Any questions? Feel free to ask!

(Suggest more silly cardigans for renbob and I might draw them)

[bubblewonderabyss]

Mod talk Category: Quality of life

I know my way around the starbound workshop better than most so I figured I'd share the love and talk about the mods I have installed, the category for this particular post being quality of life, as that's probably the most universally liked one. Quality of life means anything that adds ease of access to certain features, new mechanics, or simply more variety

Are these mod recs? Not necessarily. Read carefully, make an informed decisions, and back up your save file beforehand if you do want to try some of them out. Happy modding!

Disclaimer: The lore compliance subcategory contains only my best guess, there's always a chance I missed something

"Extended block crafting" by HaxoFelyne Summary: Adds crafting recipes for 32 uncraftable blocks because fuck uncraftable blocks Usefulness: 10/10 Cheating?: Brains are the only really broken block in the game and this mod doesn not add them, so balanced Lore compliance: N/A

"Why is this not printable?!" by Cthonyxa Summary: Makes more items printable Usefulness: 8/10 Cheating?: Things like art and major artifact clues remain unprintable which makes sense Lore compliance: yes

"Hop On Shops" by Argle Bargle Summary: Adds platform collision to various outpost objects Usefulness: 2/10, good for immersion Cheating?: No Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla

"More idle poses" by Argle Bargle Summary: Unlocks more combinations of arm, leg, and head positions at the character creation screen. Also applies to npc's. Usefulness: 8/10, starbound HEAVILY relies on its roleplay elements so this is super useful, I honestly have no idea why it's not in the base game Cheating?: No Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla

"Show item names!" by Silver Sokolova Summary: Shows the in-file name in the lower left corner of the description window Usefulness: 4/10, it can sometimes provide insight the game itself does not like the species tag, usually helps you deduce what mod the item is from, and can make building in admin mode easier. I just think it's neat Cheating?: It could be under some circumstances, like if an item is meant to be mysterious and the name gives it away for example. Lore compliance: N/A

"Shadow/Fenerox Crewmember Dialogue" by Achromatic Summary: Replaces the above species default dialogue with something more suited to their vanilla speech patterns Usefulness: 10/10 Cheating?: No Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla

"Learn Blueprints on Scan" by (cat emoji) Summary: The outpost now sells a matter manipulator addon that allows you to learn the recipe of every craftable item you scan Usefulness: 9/10 Cheating?: It absolutely is, but it's arguably justified since blueprints are rare and some can't even be found through legit means like certain items in the lunar set for example Lore compliance: Seems like something S.A.I.L might be able to

"Wooden furniture reskin" by Bubblywandering (me) Summary: Makes the wooden furniture set slightly more visually interesting in my humble opinion. Twas originally made for personal use but some people wanted it for their game so I uploaded it Usefulness: Non-applicable, it's just a matter of taste Lore compliance: No?

"Tweaked Asra Nox Vanilla Sprite" by The Blasphemer Summary: Replaces Asra's portrait and character sprite with a slightly altered version Usefulness: I love most of the portraits in the game but Asra's portrait always gave me a weird vibe so this is a welcome alternative. Her character sprite is given visible sclera which is not in line with starbound's art style though so mixed feelings are mixed Lore compliance: Sure why not

"More Metal Wood" by LazerRay Summary: Makes those metal trees in snow biomes drop metal coated wood Usefulness: 7/10 Cheating?: Makes metal coated wood both farmable and available early on, this has no practical application thought, so no Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla

"Extra Zoom Levels" by Patchumz Summary: Allows you to zoom out a couple extra times Usefulness: 10/10 if and only if you regularly screenshot your builds Cheating?: Yes, it allows unnatural levels of insight into what lies ahead of you. If you have self control you'll be fine Lore compliance: No?

"Varied Bounties" by Kais Summary: Allows max level bounties to spawn at stars other than fiery Usefulness: 10/10 Cheating?: Criminal stats scale with bounty level so not really Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla

"Weapon stats" by Tripod Summary: Displays the stats of weapons (vanilla or modded,) including DPS Usefulness: 10/10 Cheating?: Nope Lore compliance: N/A

"Hat Mask Fixes" Summary: Fixes some hats so they don't block facial features such as beaks and beards Usefulness: 10/10 Cheating?: No lol Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla

"Race Traits" by Oмεяυıп Summary: Gives the different species custom stats, for example florans have increased hunger and hylotl take longer to drown, can be turned on or off, most modded species are supported and you can toggle it on and off whenever Usefulness: 6/10, adds variety Cheating?: A few thorns and poison resistances here and there but otherwise pretty balanced Lore compliance: I'd say so

"Non-playable NPC Race Quests and Crew" Summary: Makes the nonplayable races give quests and become crew members naturally, with custom dialogue to match Usefulness: 10/10 why is this not in the base game?? Cheating?: No Lore compliance: Yes

"More Tenant Species" by NimbleJim Summary: Allows additional species options for tenants and corresponding dialogue Usefulness: 8/10, additional customization options are always useful Cheating?: No Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla, species =/= interests lol

"Unisex [Novakid/Human] Hair" by (cat emoji) Summary: Just what it sounds like, all hairstyles are available for either body type. Note: There is an apex version as well but it's broken Usefulness: 10/10, it makes no sense for futuristic humans or living stars to give a shit about gendered hairstyles Cheating?: No Lore compliance: Arguably more-so than vanilla

"Diverse Weather" by gay moth aunt Summary: Adds new weather patterns and allows more types of weather per planet Usefulness: 5/10 adds some nice variety Cheating?: This increases the game's difficulty overall so no Lore compliance: The gravity fluctuation weather is a little out there but other than that, yes

"Novakid Codices" by jss2a98aj Summary: Are you salty that the only codex that references the novakid is just some hylotl missionary being racist (read: a missionary?) Then this is the mod for you! Adds a variety of novakid codices that can be found in novakid villages Usefulness: 10/10 Cheating?: No Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla

"I'd Like To Sit Here" by vampycat237 Summary: Adds an invisible 1x1 chair type object that you can place anywhere with platform collision Usefulness: 4/10, niche immersion usage Cheating?: No Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla, I guess

"Rogues Out Camping (and also the Miniknog)" by Refolde Summary: Adds bandit-style encounters of all vanilla species Usefulness: 2/10, variety Cheating: Makes the game slightly harder so no Lore compliance: Arguably more-so than vanilla

"Crew Size Unbound" by SerpentsBlight Summary: Allows vanilla ships to skirt regulations and have more than 12 crewmembers max Usefulness: 6/10 Cheating?: Absolutely Lore compliance: Yes (you monster)

"Corbent's Interactive Crew" by, you guessed it, Corbent Summary: Allows you to direct your crew (to a degree,) ups a few of their stats, allows them to swim, adds some dialogue, and some npc's will randomly ask to date you rather than you hiring them Usefulness: 10/10 Cheating?: Makes crew members somewhat better, but not too much better imo Lore compliance: Makes crewmembers say random dialogue lines instead of one, making them feel less individual :/

"NPCSpawner+" by Depression Hurts, Eat More KFC Summary: Allows you to create an npc of any species, color scheme, type, personality, and clothing Usefulness: 9/10, good for porting crewmates over to new player characters, skirting gendered hair style restrictions, giving certain npc's impossible color schemes, and putting an oc in the game without having to play as them Cheating?: Let's you get free crew members so yes, something something self control Lore compliance: Definitely not

"Job Offers" by this is a profile name Summary: Adds craftable tools that allow you to recruit any friendly or neutral npc for the indicated job, including merchants and other ordinarily non-recruitable npc's Usefulness: 9/10, we've all had that one merchant we really wanted to recruit but couldn't amirite Cheating?: Totally bypasses the need to do quests to recruit crewmembers for all the benefits thereof. You'll need good self control to avoid abusing this mod's power Lore compliance: Eh

"Ever[Frogg/Lana/Penguin]" by Star-X Summary: Makes the indicated outpost shops sell all their stock at all times no matter what Usefulness: 4/10, you could just be patient/find the relevant blueprints but eh Cheating?: Oh yes Lore compliance: No

"CityScaper - Building Made Easy!" Summary: Let's you build a colony prefab style, for a price Usefulness: Depends on who you are Cheating?: It's expensive as shit to use so I'd say no Lore compliance: N/A

"Item Frame" by Peassly Wellbott Summary: Adds an item frame bench where you can craft two types of item frames, one which shows the icon and one which shows items at full size. Works on both vanilla and modded items. Note: Some items will not display correctly Usefulness: 10/10, WHY is this not in the base game?? Cheating?: No Lore compliance: N/A

"Aging Alien Alcohols" by Lilegite Summary: Allows you to craft a fermentable version of drinks and a few other items which will eventually turn into alcoholic beverages Usefulness: 5/10, some utility but it's mostly just for fun/roleplay purposes Cheating?: Adds some non-perishable hunger-restoring items via set-it-and-forget-it means so it does have an effect on game balance, but only slightly Lore compliance: More-so than vanilla

"Sapling merger!" by Silver Sokolova Summary: Lets you create unnatural trunktype and leaftype combinations, what has science done! Usefulness: 4/10, it's just for aesthetics Cheating?: Barely even counts lol Lore compliance: It's just grafting right?…Right?

"Craftable Seeds NEW" by RevvEmUp Summary: Allows you to craft seeds out of crops, also adds some saplings (including a red apple one) and makes the three dye-making flowers, mushrooms, and thorn bushes farmable Usefulness: 9/10 Cheating?: God yes Lore compliance: It seems reasonable

"The Game Hunter" by Wellbott Summary: Allows you to turn entities into decorative objects, this includes npc's (you monster) Usefulness: 5/10, purely cosmetic but really cool Cheating?: No lol Lore compliance: You can do so many messed up things in starbound, what's one more?

"Weapon assembly" by alberto-rota Summary: Adds the weapon assembly station which lets you break down (most) randomly generated weapons into parts and mix and match them into new ones, also adds the weapon painting station which allows you to dye the parts individually Cheating?: In the sense that it makes your randomly generated weapons less random, but otherwise no Lore compliance: Yeah

"More Planet Info" by Erisss Summary: Shows the dungeons and biomes present on the surface of the planet, the underground remains a mystery Usefulness: 8/10, a time saver Cheating?: In the sense that it somewhat reduces the randomness factor Lore compliance: Seems like something S.A.I.L would be able to do

"Detailed Ship Encounters" Summary: Functions like More Planet Info but for ships Usefulness: 8/10 Cheating?: Reduces randomness Lore compliance: More or less

"Betabound!" by Silver Sokolova Summary: Adds outpost npc quests, re-implements scrapped bosses and their corresponding codices (but no other codices thank god,) adds a new tech slot and many new techs, lets you switch out your matter manipulator for any other digging tool, makes food stack, reskins a couple food items, adds many weapons, adds new tools and makes digging tools repairable, adds furniture crafted from high tier ores, adds new ores, adds more fuel options, adds more cooking recipes and alters the buffs of many food items, adds upgrade kits for weapons, makes it possible to copy books and even write your own, makes some weapons dyeable, lets you copy and craft blueprints, and adds some monsters. Be aware that it does alter random weapon generation and changes a few vanilla sprites though Usefulness: 8/10, makes your character more customizable Cheating?: Drastically alters the balance of the game in the player's favor Lore compliance: The boss codices reference explicitly non-canon characters and events, other than that it's perfectly fine

[ryukang1995]

These characters have a larger focus in my version of Mortal Kombat (2021) and its universe.

Liu Kang (played by Ludi Lin)

The undisputed main hero of the lore, and he deserves better than how Ed the Baboon and folks have treated him.

Instead of getting his abilities from killing a human trafficker, I changed it to where he's a descendant of The Great Kung Lao, much like his depiction in the 1995 movie. Liu Kang is destined to be the greatest champion that will defend Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat, but all he wants is revenge on Shang Tsung for orphaning him by killing his family.

Eventually, he puts his vengeance aside and embraces his destiny as The Chosen One. Liu Kang still yearns for a normal life, especially after developing a strong bond with Sonya, but he recognizes that his realm's safety comes first and foremost.

Sonya Blade (played by Jessica McNamee)

The first lady of the franchise, who is also deserving of such a huge role and focus in this film universe.

She is still the voice of reason among the group of heroes, but I restored her motivation to capture Kano. Initially, Sonya is hellbent on killing him if she has to, but she eventually chooses to arrest him. Along the way, she opens her circle of trust, particularly to Liu Kang, whom she develops a romantic bond with (much like my general works based on MK).

Said bond is also a huge driving force behind both characters and their growth in this universe. Plus, with both of them said to be sidelined in the upcoming sequel (which is set to be a Johnny Cage/Kitana-centric movie), I might as well make KangBlade a thing in my take.

Kung Lao (played by Max Huang)

Another character that got done so dirty, not just in the movie, but also in a lot of the recent incarnations (mainly the NRS games and the Legends animated films).

He is still Liu Kang's cousin, but now, he's the one who wants to honor their fallen ancestor while Liu Kang is in it for revenge. Their partnership is also a huge driving force behind the whole story, so much that they end up fighting Shao Kahn together in the 2nd installment.

And no, I won't kill off Kung Lao, let alone make him a Revenant. He deserves to live on and reform the White Lotus Society alongside his cousin...maybe he can get to hook up with Li Mei in this timeline too, lul.

Shang Tsung (played by Chin Han)

The big bad guy of the first installment...at least that's what the movie implied because he has very little to do in it, and he came off as underwhelming.

Shang Tsung is a legit threat who also has hints of being misguided due to Shao Kahn corrupting him. He is Liu Kang's greatest enemy, not just because of him being Outworld's overseer, but also because of what he did to Liu Kang's family.

Despite being Shao Kahn's underling, he also has ambitions to conquer Earthrealm himself, so much that not even the emperor himself trusts his own sorcerer.

There are other characters in this universe who have more significant roles than what they had in the movie, such as Raiden and Goro, but these are the main ones that I could think of.

That's all for now.

[happyk44]

hi dude you're hermes/hades posts made me go insane and was wondering if you're aware of the portrayal charon/hermes (i think you'd dig it from the way you desribed the concept of hermes/hades) in the supergiant hades game (the sequel has even lore lore about them?? but i haven't caught up with it). anyway both of the ships are insane i love them

I have played Hades before! And I plan to buy and play the sequel when it gets its full release to the switch. Barring the few updates I've seen through people with early access discussing patch releases and gameplay, I don't know much about the sequel so I'm not sure what additional lore has been written for the two of them.

That being said one of my worst traits when it comes to video games is. Not. Paying attention to the story. 😂 I just like making progress. I get a general understanding for every plot-based game I've played, but I always rapid press through dialogue and cutscenes. For me, the plot is "get to the end of the game".

The first game I remember playing with a storyline was an old gameboy Mario game where he and Luigi are in space or something and I cannot recall the plot for the life of me. As a kid, I was obsessed with Super Paper Mario, which I only played at my granny's, and it wasn't until I replayed it in my early 20s that I even recognized the storyline existed. Did I care about it once I realized there was a deeper story? Not in the slightest. The goal was fight these guys and save the world and that's legit all I cared about 😂

So I don't have much on Hermes/Charon as it is shown in the game or popularized through fandom. I think they're cute though! But I also headcanon Charon to be aroace in my own Greek mythos universe so while it's a cute ship, I don't think much of it. Similarly with Zag, Thanatos and/or Megara. The ship is cute no matter how you splice it, but I pair Zag with Menoetes, and I am so much more invested in the part of the game where I spam the attack button that the pairing(s) provide little entertainment other than the achievement they provide.

Honestly if it weren't for the fact that I've seen it mentioned a few times, I probably wouldn't even notice that Melinoe doesn't like humans once I play the game myself 😂

[charlie-and-brown]

I chatted with my brother about Naruto. He had followed the anime and manga at that time. And he thinks Naruto’s a little weird.

My brother’s word: “If I am Naruto, who the fxxk Sasuke is? I wouldn’t care about him after he declares he wanted to destroy the village. I am more Kakashi. If you want to stay bro with me and wander around, I wouldn’t follow you or kill you. That’s your life. Who the fxxk do I think I am to tell you what you do? But don’t bring my home into your shit.”

Even as straight as he is, he finds the dynamic of Naruhina and Sasusaku weird. He isn’t opposed to the idea that Naruto and Sasuke remains single and travel the world.

Two guys traveling together as brothers is a common concept in Chinese Martial art novels. Jin Yongs’ are really great. He knows how to write brotherhood without making them gays and how to write good female characters that could move the plots smoothly. His female characters are the best. They have show-comings but all of them are charming in their ways, even villains.

The reason he thinks Naruto wants to be with Hinata is her breast, the same reason with Ichigo in Bleach, which, based on his personal opinion, is legit and reasonable.

In his words, “Guys don’t care that much. You bring me food, clean my house, raise our kids well. You are good. We would protect you, support you and raise our kids.”

Sakura is not bad but he doesn’t think Sasuke likes her. He thinks Sasuke is more a single type, who never marries and he thinks he is too rebellious to obey the whole social system about parents and kids. She would be good fuck buddies because she is too obsessed with him. It wouldn’t waste any efforts. (That’s just so, so, so straight.)

And Danzou is a bitch. A universal idea.

He likes Senju brothers and thinks Madara should be the final villain.

And Kaguya shit is just for money. A universal idea.

As for being fathers, he thinks Naruto is a good father. He brings food to the table, so what is Boruto complaining about? Not enough attentions? Find some books to read or some games to play. Boys should start to find their own habits to focus on at 12.

He thinks Boruto is too old to bitch about his father working all the time and Naruto is a good father to tolerate his shit.

In his words, “find a hobby. That guy is just too bored. Our father would never tolerate this kind of disrespect.”

For Sarada, he directly says Sasuke just isn’t into family. He doesn’t want kids at all. That’s sometimes natural for guys like him.

When guys talk about Naruto, the whole discussion would literally be about who is the strongest and who can beat whom, for an hour. That’s so fun.

And some really, really straight guys could literally read the same stories in completely different ways.

By the way, my brother is never a sexiest. He just talked about his feeling about those ships and the reasons why all of them might align with the reality. I just consider those opinions funny and post his ideas here because those are just too straight. So straight and different to a point that I can’t believe we read the same stuffs. And men should have this right to talk about their ideas about women because we women also have rights to talk about who would be good husband and why. That’s called gender equality.

[kimberlyannharts]

LAST TIME ON RANGER ACADEMY: Sage is fully committing to the high school life, even if there are some obstacles like bullies, hard classes, her friend's tragic backstory, and the discovery of the Chamber of Secrets.

But there's no time to dwell on that, because it's time for the Morphin Trial, where kids are dumped in a hostile landscape to be color-coded by some weird old alien cult. Sounds legit!

It's Ranger Academy #4!

Before we begin let's take another look at that Katie cameo. Sure she doesn't do anything but drive the bus and I still have no fucking idea how these cameos work when they're appearing in-person vs those inter dimensional tubes but it's at least nice to see her

ANYWAY. Time to drop some children off to die

= So some lore stuff established already is the Bandorian Monks reside on the planet "Chromia" specifically in the "Zeo Chamber" in "Prism Peak." It only opens for a limited amount of time once a year. From what I can remember none of this, except the Zeo Chamber I suppose, was in Eltarian War's established lore, but I guess that can be chalked up to Ranger Academy being its own thing. (And for what it's worth, the Zeo Crystal itself is not in the chamber.)

= yes yes guys we get it you want that video game/RPG adaptation

= This is so valid of Theo but unfortunately for him I know what happens to PR characters with his kind of jokey, charismatic personality

= So are they going to be the book's main romance or not. I'm calling upon protection spells against sisterzoning

= NO NONON ONONONONON NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DON'T DO THIS

= So.....okay. Here it is. Here's the line

So obviously there are colors missing from the Academy and at the very least Theo's dialogue is implying that's on purpose. Which makes me hopeful for my old "Camp Half-Blood" theory that this book will end with more color campuses being added. And obviously, Theo's source isn't telling the whole story or getting facts wrong.

But. Look.

Even if Lindy's dialogue is only saying that Green and Orange Rangers don't exist in the Academy rather than the universe as a whole, the entire concept of certain colors being forbidden or unknown is ridiculous when this is a school that fully encompasses itself in Ranger history. Sage mentioned in a previous issue learning about Jen and why their library is named after her, so their adventures must be part of the curriculum. Even if it isn't, their teachers are Ranger alumni. ONES THAT HAD GREEN RANGERS ON THEIR TEAMS. Their bus driver was KATIE! She can't talk about Trip, her best friend? Crueger never brings up how Green is the third-highest ranking ranger at SPD? I think this wouldn't even annoy me so much if they weren't equating Oranger Rangers (of which there have only been three official ones in the franchise, with others being so-so canon) to Green Rangers (of which there's only been. four seasons, I believe? where there was no Green at all). I know Power Rangers wants Green to be special but it just simply doesn't work because by definition, it isn't.

I think this would only work for me if a) we establish that the present of Ranger Academy is set either extremely far in the past or extremely far in the future, where Rangers either barely exist yet OR it's been so long that the canon we know has been shrouded in legend or b) we didn't have the alumni ranger cameos and we establish this school is completely cut off from the established canon we know. And the last one doesn't work because they clearly want the cameos to be one of the main gimmicks of the series. So idk. It's probably Ranger Academy's biggest headache for me

And just in general I don't know how "forbidden colors" work when the students' color is just chosen based on what the Monks see inside them. It should be unique to them, not based on a criteria that can pick and choose or throw out different options.

ANYWAY. The trio finds Kartyr and Maev and, unsurprisingly, these children are about to die

= what's with Green Rangers having to rescue their rivals that suffer broken ankles. Oops, spoilers

= Sage has only been part of this school for a few months and she's already indoctrinated into their religion

= Kartyr is such a hater for no reason. You should be connecting with your green-haired brethren

= Also I just realized that Kartyr is most likely a Xybrian yet he doesn't follow the naming motif that Trip and the Supersonic Rangers did. I won't hold it against the author as the Supersonic Ranger origin story is pretty obscure but still, it's funny to me.

Though wait if he's a Xybrian shouldn't he know about Trip and how he's a Green R [I am yanked offstage via a giant hook]

= Okay guys I get we're using MMPR theming but are really trying to say Pink Rangers are good pilots? Because what, Kim had flying zords? That's getting a little ridiculous. What's next, Pink Rangers are all amazing archers?

= Maev becoming Yellow was a little surprising since Mathis is already a major character who's yellow, but at the same time I'm really not sure.....what the guidelines are to what color each person becomes. It feels kind of arbitrary at this point tbh. Though maybe it's just because I don't really know Maev as a character yet compared to Theo, who fits the Black Ranger archetype like a glove

and speaking of which

= Lindy not being able to morph genuinely pissed me off like. Again. What are the guidelines here. What about Lindy isn't ranger-worthy. Can I just call the Bandorian Monks racist for denying a Black girl the chance to morph because I think I'll just do that

= SHAME SHAME SHAME SHE HAS THE MARK OF THE DEVIL (her novelty lightning bolt coin turned green, a color that has never existed before this)

[crascet]

Recent Comics I've Read Pt. 2 (Marvel-Ultimate 2023-Ongoing/6160)

Now for the reason I started collecting comics, being with the creation of the new Marvel Ultimate Universe. Back in 1999, Marvel decides to make a brand-new universe separated from the mainline universe that new readers can jump into and enjoy, with Earth-1610 aka the Ultimate Marvel Universe.

The universe opened with Ultimate Spider-Man done by Brian Michael Bendis and art by Mark Bagley and it was pretty good! A nice jumping off point for new readers that want to know about Peter without reading the previous 30 years prior to Ultimate that goes over the massive events in his life. It wasn't perfect given how dated it feels at times and there are moments that feel off, but it was still good. Also, the Raimi Spider-Man films were based a bit on them as well as the original comics, or the first movie at least.

Then there were two other Ultimate books launched around that time with the original Ultimate X-Men and the Ultimates who are the Ultimate Universe's Avengers, even though I don't know why they could just call them the Avengers and title the books as the Ultimate Avengers. Both series were written by... sighs Mark Millar. They... are not as held on high regard as Ultimate Spider-Man, except for Ultimate X-Men #41 since that's the only one I heard was good. But yeah, they were both not great and sort of lead into the downfall of the original Ultimate Universe. There was also Ultimate Fantastic Four, but I only know a few things about it with the four being much younger, the introduction to the Marvel Zombies universe (which I'm not into personally), and the introduction of a character that's relevant to the new Ultimate Universe. Ultimatum was a god-awful event that served as the nail in the coffin for this universe. It still continued after it, but interest in it died (as well as the multiple characters within Ultimatum). It was years later when this universe fully ended with the comic event Secret Wars with the Ultimate Universe being sort of assimilated into the mainline universe with only two characters coming into 616: Miles Morales aka Spider-Man, who I'm pretty sure everyone at least knows now be it comics, the Spiderverse movies, or even the Insomniac games, and Reed Richards who turned evil and is calling himself the Maker.

Jump to 2023 and the announcement of Marvel bringing back the Ultimate Universe has left people including myself questioning why, but more details were revealed as the opening arc showing the creation of this new Universe and how this universe is only similar in name alone. Will this new Ultimate Universe be better than the old one? Well, that's what I'm figuring out.

I have already read Ultimate Invasion #3 and the Ultimate Universe one-shot, but I'm focusing on the titles released at this time, but long story short: the Maker makes a new universe where he controls everything since he hates how he keeps losing all the time and in this new universe he made sure to run it without interruption by stopping the origins of a lot of superheroes and getting villains and other Marvel characters to join his secret cabal in running the world. He was going to recruit Howard Stark, Tony Stark's dad, but Howard refused, and a fight ensued between them which ends in Howard getting killed and the Maker being trapped in the Impossible City for 18 months, and now Tony, now naming himself Iron Lad, assembles a team of superheroes now created in this new world to stop the Maker when he gets out.

Alright, with that out of the way, let's get this started!

Ultimate Spider-Man #1-5, 7-8 (Hickman, Checchetto, Messina): I legit started collecting comics by how I heard how good issue #1 was and MAN THEY WEREN'T KIDDING! This whole run is great, probably the best thing I've read from Marvel, and ensures my trust with Hickman as a writer. I'm not just saying this as a fan that wants the Peter that I know have the great life that he deserves, but how this run incorporates the Spider-Man mythos and essentially remix it in a way that is brand new. First thing, Peter, not having bitten by the spider when he was a teenager, is now in his 30s, married to Mary Jane, and has two kids. Not only that, but Ben Parker is still alive in this universe, although May died during an attack back in the Ultimate Universe one-shot. Now the first arc (#1-5) is essentially about Peter finally getting the spider to bite him after being delivered to him by a Tony Stark from the future and him being acclimated in being this new hero and introduce new versions of characters, with J. Jonah Jameson being friends and coworker to Ben, Harry Osborne and his wife Gwen Stacy, and Wilson Fisk still being the Kingpin of New York. I just love how Peter's family and friends are so closely connected to his hero origins here: Peter's daughter coming up with the new suit design and MJ coming up with the Spider-Man name. Hell, the "Great Power" speech is not given to Peter by Ben, but instead by Harry in issue 4. Two issues into the second arc and I'm already hooked on the how it'll turn out: Harry having his dead father as the A.I. in his Green Goblin suit who is still dismissive of him, which is all kinds of messed up, Peter's suit being sentient in its black form being a more technological version of the symbiote which makes me excited in how this new Ultimate version of Venom would be like, and the creation of the Sinister 6 which sort of reminded me of the 90s animated Spider-Man series in how the Kingpin created the team instead of Otto, like in the comics and in Spectacular Spider-Man. Please read this series, it is really that good!

Ultimate Black Panther #1-2, 4-7 (Hill, Casselli): Now I haven't read any Black Panther story before, with me only watching the MCU movies, but I am open to any BP recommendations. So, with that said, this is probably my least favorite title, but that doesn't mean I hate it, since it's still good, but I feel that not much happened in the first arc and there were times that I've debated on whether or not I want to continue. However, there are still some interesting parts here: I like this version of Khonshu and the Moon Knights being devout followers and soldiers of Khonshu, while Ra is just... there. Storm and Killmonger look great here, especially Storm having another awesome design, but I feel that they don't do much either except in the early issues and recently in issue 7. T'Challa is good, but god that mouth opening on his BP suit is really off-putting, that could be due to how the suit always covers his entire face in 616, but I really want that opening covered, maybe in an updated suit later in storyline. I like how this series would go into the origins of Wakanda with how they use Vibranium and how the element is connected to the life orb that Ra and Khonshu have. Again, not much in arc 1, but there is a possibility that things will improve in arc 2 with the war between T'Challa and Khonshu starting, while Storm and Killmonger go out of Wakanda and into the rest of the world. So maybe we could see them in a future issue of The Ultimates.

Ultimate X-Men #1-5 (Momoko): I have heard how not everyone is into this version of the X-Men in how different it is, but I absolutely adore this run right now. I just love this horror manga feel to it that has a really good mystery at the center of it, while still having the main core of the X-Men which is "In a world that hates and fears them including their own families, mutants can find love and hope within each other." The characters are great here in how they're not the main ones in 616, with Armor being the main character here and featuring the original character, Maystorm. There is also a little column after every story that goes into parts of Japanese culture that was also in the story, and I like how they contribute to the story. A fair warning in that this series does go into heavy topics like suicide, depression, and abuse, so heads up to anyone reading it. A really good series and my second favorite title in the universe.

The Ultimates #1-3 (Camp, Frigeri): Now the Ultimates is what I consider to be "the meat" of this entire universe in terms of worldbuilding and in how I sort of see this universe's main story being Tony's. The starting lineup here is already solid: you have this version of the big three with Tony, Thor, and Steve, and two newcomers with this universe's Reed Richards who is now Doom, and Lady Sif who I'm not sure was a member of the Avengers before. In issue 1, we see Tony start this new group by sending out messages to potential heroes without their origins and telling them who they were meant to be. This method was not entirely successful as most either just walk away not wanting to be said hero or just dying when they got their powers with the only successful participant being Peter. So Tony, now with the help of a recovered Steve Rogers, develop a more personal way of recruitment by simply going to them, as they begin to recruit Hank Pym and his wife, Janet. The interesting part here is that Hank already received Tony's message and hid it from Janet because of him looking into his 616 self and his horrible actions (i.e. hitting his wife and creating Ultron) and dreading what he would become if he accepted it. However, with a little pep talk from Steve in how Hank is still his own person in this universe, and he can make his own decisions not based on an alternate version of himself to become a better person than that version. Nice moment that shows why Steve is great. Issue 2 goes into the alternate history of the US in the Ultimate Universe and how much it was altered by the Maker and how Steve is dealing with this massive time shift in a country that's not the US anymore, essentially not only making him a man out of time, but a soldier without a country. I like Midas here, even if I never heard of him before, although he is pretty talkative in the story, and I can see some people put off from it. But in the end, the Ultimates save America. Issue 3 is the most disturbing issue of the story with Tony, Thor, and Sif going to an irradiated island in the Pacific to recruit this version of She-Hulk after dealing with the dangerous fauna of the island. This also where they meet with the other villagers of the island and how horribly mutated they were from the nuclear tests. What makes it worse is that these villagers are actually children with their parents already dead from radiation poisoning and how excruciating the process was with it being explained by She-Hulk. Seriously messed up stuff here that is based on how Pacific islander have been affected by these tests in history. She-Hulk then decides to join the Ultimates on the condition that Tony fixes the island and making it more bearable to live in again for everyone, which he agrees to do. Issue 4 seems to go into the origin of Doom and how the Maker impacted him, so I'm interested in how that issue would turn out.

So overall, this new Ultimate Universe seems to be an improvement over the previous universe in terms of stories, especially with Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men. Already hooked to see how this universe would turn out going into the return of the Maker in about 13 months and if they would continue afterwards.

[ledenews]

Joe Myers: Living Life with a Love for the Subtle Things

It might be the most fatal filtering system in place in high school baseball. There have been Hollywood films about it. Men have made millions throwing it and others have lost careers because of it. It’s mysterious with its bite and impossible when its bottom falls out. Some call it, “The Kid Killer,” and others know it as the “ole bender.” IT is the curveball, a breaking pitch most fathers and coaches disallow for players in the younger leagues, but once it’s introduced the “deuce” immediately creates a contest between the cans and the can’ts. And Joe Myers couldn’t. The curveball was his Kryptonite. Swing and a miss most times.

Myers has learned a lot from his mentors in life, and that includes Dr. Carl Anderson. The Bishop Donahue first baseman was slick at the bag and he played through high school, but that was it. For playing, that is. By the time his younger brother Mike was putting up Hall of Fame careers at John Marshall High and the University of Charleston, Joe had become a local sportswriter and – that’s right – baseball was his beat. A dedicated husband, father, grandfather, AND community member, Myers was called into coaching, too, and he’s evolved into one of the most dedicated sandlot instructors in Marshall County. Joe has a scout’s eye, so he sees those rare and raw talents most kids don’t even know they have, and he helps those players develop into prospects with legit dreams. The vast majority of kids on his teams, though, will never be big leaguers let alone college athletes, and many of them come to the ballfield only to escape the troubles that exist outside the foul lines. And that’s just fine and dandy with Coach Joe because he believes every kid should get the chance to take their swings, even when life is slinging those curveballs.

A young player named Landis Dean recently reminded Myers how beautiful the game of baseball can be.

Why, in your opinion, is baseball the greatest game?

I am sure that baseball is the greatest game for me. I could ramble on about its parallels with life itself: Following the rules, working well with others, dealing with failure, etc.  Instead, I'll share a story: I still help coach Little Leaguers, and last summer I helped develop pitchers on a team of 9 and 10-year-olds. Mustang League limits pitchers to two innings per game, so you need three guys. But I like to use more than that.  So, I started working with a youngster named Landis Dean, who was extremely raw but willing to learn. He worked hard and at long last got a chance to pitch in our eighth game. My starter had lost the plate, walked two guys, so Landis was debuting with runners and first and second, nobody out in a tight game.  "Go get em, kid," indeed.  The first batter worked the count full before looping one off the end of the bat into no-man's land between the mound, first and second base. In Mustang League we call that a single, unless somebody kicks it -- then we call it a double. The two runners were off to the races. This one time, though, my second baseman raced in, dove and caught the ball. We threw it smartly around and, sure enough, turned a triple play!  I'll not forget the look of joy on Landis' face when he came running to the bench. I doubt he'd ever heard the term triple play before that day, but all of a sudden, we had another pitcher.  There's just a subtle magic to baseball that I don't find anywhere else.

If you could suggest one thing for a young player to do daily to become an above-average ball player, what would it be and why?

Catch the ball. If you can catch the ball you'll be in the lineup of any rec league team. Find a buddy to toss with, or just bounce a ball off a cinder-block wall. Have the ball in your hand at night while watching the Pirates and smack it into your glove. Feel the ball, be the ball.

Joe had the chance as a sportswriter to cover his younger brother, Mike, when he played for John Marshall and the University of Charleston.

Should Barry Bonds be in baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown? Why or why not?

I wouldn't vote for him. He's actually represented in Cooperstown with various artifacts -- record-breaking baseballs and bats -- but he knew the score when he decided to use performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds basically eliminated himself from induction.

What is your favorite sports movie and why?

Bull Durham. Funny and spot-on from a baseball standpoint, and a love story thrown in for the ladies. The mound visit scene was classic.

Family, of course, always comes first with Joe, and they do love to root for the Mountaineers together.

What’s the best thing about being a grandfather?

Grandparents have it made. It's our reward for raising kids that somehow lived to adulthood. My grandson Emmett is the best part of our world right now, and I can't wait to see what the future holds. May he be a pitcher? If only ...

The Myers family, including his wife, daughter Angela and son Joe Jr., enjoy a lot of functions around the Upper Ohio Valley. Read the full article

[automatismoateo]

Are religious people actually delusional? via /r/atheism

Are religious people actually delusional? Whenever I tried to debate with religious people, usually of the Abrahamic tribe (Christian’s Jews and Muslims) they all sound clinically insane to me, let me explain. Someone is hearing voices in their head that says they’re god, they have schizophrenia. Okay, what about Mohammad or Jesus? No, no they are legit. Why? Because God said so. Well so did God tell Jimmy from New Orleans that he’s the new messiah but people locked him up in a psych ward. But Jesus Moses Abraham and Mohammad are different. How’s so? Because God. Like wtf? If I tell someone that I believe that dinosaurs were an advanced race that ruled the planet and they used their magical powers given to them by the four Devine gurus of the universe to transmute their DNA to disintegrate and to evolve into higher lifeforms eventually creating us humans. I am viewed as crazy. But sure, God creating humanity from clay and shitting them out onto a planet 4000/6000 years ago and creating the literal and physical manifestation of evil to test humanity is somehow viewed as “normal” and clinically sound. And the parallels that they draw is baffling. My problem with religion is that it’s the worlds longest game of telephone based on nothing but hear say. He said, she said. But I am viewed as the crazy one for not believing in the supernatural and all powerful space wizard that created the universe. “But Chocolat, just because you’re angry with your mother doesn’t mean you should deny her existence” completely disregarding the fact that I can actually touch and talk to my mother and interact with her. If I start arguing with the wall in public and tell them that I’m arguing with Jesus I’d be put into a psychiatric hospital. Or another argument I just love to hear all the time: “If I tell you the painting behind that glass enclosure is wet why do you have to touch it to believe it?” Again, completely disregarding the fact that the painting in this example is tangible and a very verifiable statement. But if I say that on my secret island there is an atomic bunker where I have managed to harvest the dna or a dinosaur from a fossil and clone it and now I own a real life triceratops, source: “trust me bro”. I’m somehow taking the piss and I would need to show them to believe it. So are these people actually delusional? I find it hard to believe that there are actual people out there that genuinely believe in such outlandish bullshit. Submitted February 16, 2024 at 06:39PM by Chocolat_Melon (From Reddit https://ift.tt/r9zyFlN)

[ryukang1995]

My latest Mortal Kombat drawing showing off an alternate timeline within my multiverse based on the franchise.

Here, we have Kuai Liang/Scorpion and Kitana, who are lovebirds in some of my works, pondering over their siblings and archenemies - Bi Han/Sub-Zero and Mileena (respectively).

While fans have their opinions over the changes made within New MK1's story and universe, I personally don't mind Kuai Liang being Scorpion, or even Mileena legit being Kitana's sister, though I do have a problem with Tarkatans being reduced to a disease, but that's besides the point. There is actually a lot you can do with those ideas, but I do feel that the game's story barely touched on them since it was so absorbed into doing more multiverse shenanigans like MK11 rather than making the story work on its own.

I still love Kuai as Sub-Zero, and he will stay that way in certain timelines as well as my roleplay with my gf, but I don't mind incorporating him as Scorpion in my works. However, rather than hooking Kuai up with Harumi, like New MK1 did, I would indeed pair him with Kitana while Hanzo Hasashi gets to live a peaceful life with Harumi and their son Satoshi. Of course, Liu Kang gets to be with Sonya Blade, but you know that already.

As for Mileena, she won't be infected with Tarkat. However, I did think of legit making her Kitana's biological sister who is either cursed or mutated into being half-Tarkatan. This would also create a sympathetic quality for Mileena, who would struggle with being a half-breed while also feeling jealousy towards Kitana.

That's all for now. If you don't like any of these ideas, it's all good. Let's be civil about it.

[katra-applesauce]

I wanna add here that while one can definitly argue about the name being uncommon or unusual and maybe, even with best intentions, coming across as missguided as transwomans name in the context of the first trans character in the HP universe, it is worth noting that Sirona is a legit womens name. The name also does fit thematically, because it is the name of a celtic goddess associated with healing and letting go of pain. Additionally, her attributes are snakes and eggs. Snakes are reptiles and a small subset of reptile species can change sex later in their life. (and at least 1 species changes *gender* in that it alters its physical appearance to be perceived by other snakes of its species to be different from that assigned at birth) Again, while the argument can be made that its an unusual name to chose or even go as far as it having been chosen intentionally for malicious reasons, that would also be a fairly shallow assessment given the history and meaning of the name and how it very strongly resonates with theme of being trans and it would be difficult to find a name that could convey more support for the concept of being trans, regardless of its acoustic perception or wether someone can see the word sir in it and jumps to the notion that the name was chosen specifically for that-because that would be in direct contrast to the meaning and origin of that name. So maybe, its worth seeing this as a name chosen by someone supportive of trans individuals, trying their best to find a name from the language that would be sensible for a HP based game (celtic or english) that isnt just a shallow pretty name slapped on but one that has intrinsic meaning to the character it belongs to. And given that Trans individuals have infact worked on this game, including pushing for non gendered character creation options, and Sirona's VA being Rebecca Root, a transwoman herself, this take is probably not far removed from the truth. Just my 2 cents on this topic though.

[Image description Tweet from FeoUltima "Kojima would never name a trans woman character Sirona Ryan, he'd name her something like Hard Mommy and trans women all over would go "changing my name to that" in response."]

Source

[icewindandboringhorror]

that sort of video essay format on youtube where people spend 20 - 100 minutes analyzing random things is my true weakness because i am a fool and for some reason my nonsense brain is just always up to listen to people discuss literally any concept despite it usually being stuff I couldn’t care less about like a movie I’ve never seen (or even wanted to see) in my life or a sport I’ve never heard of