#it’s not as bad as when the anime started but he gets reduced in dimension a lot

[a-land-lacking-sleep]

So, something interesting that I realized about the Shapeshifter chapter - No one (except maybe Senshi) sees Laios for who he is, but he sees them for how they are. Everyone is immediately able to catch who the fake Laios’ are because two are caricatures and one has the wrong (but similar) face, while Laios’ perceptions of Chilchuck and Senshi are only caught by details.

Chilchuck has a poor opinion of Laios that spawns from his social ineptness, which has only gotten worse with the open monster obsession since Chapter 1. So, even though there is some mutual respect between the two, the Laios that Chilchuck produces is so wildly dumbed down that the other two could pick it up in an instant as not being the person they know. Conversely, if Laios hadn’t assumed that Chilchuck wore a scarf, he likely would’ve made the most convincing Chilchuck. He worse almost the same expression the entire time he was on screen, and acted similarly to our buddy Chil.

Marcille gave us the most obviously wrong Laios out of the group, giving us a gangly yet blocky beast of a man who looks out of place with reality. All of this comes from how she has an ideal state for Falin and sees Laios as completely different for multiple reasons (male vs female, melee vs mage, uncaring and foreign vs kind and familiar, and most importantly, he took Falin away). Comparing the two is a quick way to anger her since she idealizes Falin, as we saw with Senshi’s view of Laios (which is next, don’t worry!). Conversely, Laios has probably the most solid view of Marcille, definitely the most out of the group. The magic book was wrong, but it was still a magic book because of his studies; Marcille’s hair was down, but she has done that before for various reasons; Fake Marcille had conviction that was outwardly strong, even if the real Marcille’s conviction is often hidden by her nerves.

Senshi and Laios, oddly, have the most realistic views of each other. Senshi sees him as feminine, yes, but that’s in comparison to how dwarves normally see tallmen (Senshi actually sees everyone most based on racial stereotypes, which is fitting at the oldest and most isolated member of the party). The only bit of Sensaios’ personality we see is quiet confusion as he observes the situation, a trait we see often in Laios, though it’s often accompanied by his internal monologue. Conversely, outside of the missing holes in Senshi’s helmet, Laioshi (I hope that’s not the ship name) looks almost exactly like Senshi (just with smaller eyes), and acts a lot like him too! Autistic monster-eating buddies know each other well.

I just really find it interesting that Laios is heavily misunderstood by his party and the fandom (don’t think I don’t see how people go around and characterize him like Chilchuck does, or make him obsessed with eating everything in sight, or reduce him to being overly weird about monster/demihuman girls), but when it comes to how he sees others? For the most part, it’s pretty sound. He makes some mistakes, sure (If he did a Toshiro shapeshifter, it would definitely be more friendly than the real thing but also much more taciturn), but the people he’s around are people he knows, and he makes sure to know them.

[theoutcastrogue]

The Origin of Monsters

“Various causes give rise to monsters. The first is the glory of God. The second is His wrath. The third, a superabundance of semen. The fourth, an insufficient quantity of it. The fifth, the imagination. The sixth, hypertrophy, or the reduced dimensions of the uterus. The seventh, an incorrect way of sitting on the mother’s part, for example when she is pregnant and spends too much time sitting with legs crossed or pulled up towards her belly. The eighth, on account of a fall or as a result of blows to the belly of the pregnant woman. The ninth, hereditary or accidental illnesses. The tenth, putrefaction or corruption. The eleventh, the mixing or blending of semen. The twelfth, deceit on the part of wicked scoundrels. The thirteenth, demons or devils.”

— Ambroise Paré, On Monsters and Marvels (1573)

Ambroise Paré was a French barber surgeon who served several kings, and is considered one of the fathers of surgery. The “monsters” in this passage are, of course, humans with congenital malformations, i.e. birth defects of some sort, although that treatise (Des monstres et prodiges, second volume of Deux livres de chirurgie) also talks about fantastic animals and monsters of legend. 

This attempt at explaining natural phenomena seems terrible from our perspective, but in context it’s an improvement: at the time, the reaction to such births was often “a terrible portent!” and/or “god’s punishment!”. Paré doesn’t quite preclude that (he does mention “wrath of god”), but the first cause he gives is glory of god, accepting that anything unusual in nature remains part of nature, and as worthy as the rest of it.

I am especially intrigued by the “deceit on the part of wicked scoundrels”. I have no idea what it refers to, exactly, but I suspect it’s something terrible. (From everything I’ve read, such language in early modern Europe is mostly used to describe vagrants and beggars, the urban criminal underworld i.e. destitute people amassing in the cities and waiting to graduate to lumpenproletariat as soon as there’s a proletariat to compare them with, persecuted minorities, or a combination thereof.)

I tracked the original and I’m none the wiser:

méchant = bad, wicked, bélître = scoundrel (or beggar), and I have no idea what that Middle French loſtiere is. I found one instance in a 1611 comedy, it looks relevant:

The line, which translates roughly to “go, beggars [de lostiere], gather your things and get out of here or I’ll cripple you!”, is spoken by the antagonist, a gentleman, to the protagonists who are currently disguised as “Bohemians”. There it is. But I still don’t know what the word means.

And another instance in the same book (On Monsters and Marvels, ostensibly a medical book), in the much less scientific part about magic and monsters of legend. There’s a chapter titled  “Example de l’ artifice des méchans geux de lostiere”, translated in 1649 as “Of the Cozenages and crafty Tricks of Beggars”. This is vanilla rogue literature at this point, evil beggars scamming you, robbing you, and using black magic on top of it. Look at that, I started from monsters and ended up with Rogues.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #155

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're going back to the Servant Universe to preserve the Saber Empire, thanks to Mysterious Heroine X Alter! This mysterious heroine is a Psi Warrior Fighter for her legally-not-a-lightsaber skills and some legally-not-the-force, and a Bladesinger Wizard for more saber skills and legally-not-the-force lightning.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Once again, we came so close to making a build at an appropriate time. Oh well, he’s not one for the spotlight anyway.

Race and Background

You might come from another dimension, but you're still Human (er, servant), giving you +1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution, Acrobatics proficiency to help with the impractical swordfighting style you specialize in, and the Mage Slayer feat to ruin the original MHX's day. If a creature within 5 feet of you casts a spell, you can use your reaction to attack them. Your damage also causes concentration checks at a disadvantage, and you get advantage on saves against spells cast within 5 feet of you. MHX is pretty far from a mage, but this will interrupt her saber-tracking efforts.

That being said, you're still about as Far a Traveler as you can get, giving you proficiency with Insight and Perception.

Ability Scores

You are renowned for your ability to knock back sweets, and it's really hard to poison someone who literally has a reactor for a stomach, so we're gonna make your Constitution number one here. After that is going to be Intelligence, you did come from a science fiction world after all, I'm sure you know more than the average bear. Following that up is Dexterity, your armor is at most light, and no matter what form your sword takes it's still a light saber. Your Charisma isn't too bad, you've gotta be able to talk people into buying you mochi after all. Staying under that kotatsu all the time means your Strength isn't great, but we're dumping Wisdom. You want more saber faces in the world, if anything an 8's too much.

Class Levels

1. Fighter 1: First level fighters get proficiency in every weapon, and considering your sword can turn into a chainsaw I'd say that'll come in handy. You also get proficiency with Strength and Constitution saves, as well as two fighter skills. Intimidation matches your dark knight schtick, and Survival will help you cook up some sweets when you're left on your own.

You also get a Fighting Style. Your light saber comes in a variety of packages, but most of them are one handed. That means Dueling will be the most useful for you, giving you +2 on damage rolls while using only one one-handed weapon.

You also get the bonus action Second Wind, letting you stuff yourself with sweets to heal a bit once per short rest.

2. Fighter 2: Second level fighters get an Action Surge, letting you add an action to your turn once per short rest. You spent so much time lazing around, you were just... saving up for when it counted. Yeah.

3. Fighter 3: If you want to be a sith knockoff, you can't go wrong with being a Psi Warrior. When you take the subclass you gain Psionic Powers, powered by psionic dice. They're d6s (that grow when you level up) equal to twice your proficiency bonus that recharge on short rests. Currently, you can use them in three ways.

Your Protective Field lets you spend a reaction and a die to reduce the incoming damage a creature near you is taking by the die roll plus your intelligence modifier.

A Psionic Strike adds the roll + int mod in force damage to a weapon attack to light up your saber once per turn.

You can also use Telekinetic Movement to move a large or smaller object/willing creature up to 30 feet. You can do this once per short rest for free, or by using up a psionic die.

4. Fighter 4: Use this ASI to bring up your Dexterity so your sword skills aren't as bad. You're a saber after all, you've gotta be on your A game! You are a saber, right?

5. Fighter 5: Fifth level fighters get an Extra Attack. It isn't exactly rocket science, but it is very useful.

6. Wizard 1: Moving over to wizard now nets you an Arcane Recovery, helping you recover a couple spell slots on a short rest once per long rest.

Speaking of, you also learn Spells. So many spells. They use your Intelligence for casting and preparation. You get stuff like Shocking Grasp for a cheap force lightning, Mage Hand for some telekinesis that doesn't use resources, your standard gish setup, Mage Armor to make your hoodie worth something, and Absorb Elements to put that magic reactor in your chest to good use.

And that's only some of the spells you could use! Check the character sheet for more.

7. Wizard 2: If you want to blur the line between nerd and sith lord like we do, Bladesinger is a pretty good choice. You get Training in War and Song, which gives you a bunch of proficiencies you already have from fighter as well as Performance. Foreshadowing!

You can also perform a Bladesong proficiency times per long rest if you aren't using heavy armor or two-handed weapons. The song lasts a minute and uses a bonus action to start. While active, you add your Intelligence modifier to your AC and concentration saves, your walking speed goes up by 10, you have advantage on acrobatics checks.

You can also Cause Fear as part of your membership with the Dark R.O.U.N.D.S., and you also get some sci-fi gadgets to Detect Magic.

8. Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells, with Magic Weapon making your light saber a bit fancier and Dragon's Breath for a more dramatic (and consistent!) use of your lightning powers.

9. Fighter 6: Bouncing back to fighter for a bit nets you another ASI to bump up your Intelligence for stronger spells and telekinesis. Again, not flashy but very useful.

10. Fighter 7: Seventh level psi knights gain two new ways to use their psionic dice thanks to being Telekinetic Adepts.

You can use a Psi-Powered Leap once per short rest or by using a psionic die to gain a flying speed equal to 2x your walking speed for the turn for big anime jumps. Dramatically launching yourself at your foes for air combat framed by the moonlight has never been easier.

Alternatively, your Telekinetic Thrust empowers your Psionic Strike, forcing a strength save (dc 8+proficiency+intelligence mod). If they fail the save, you can either knock the target prone or push them 10 feet in any horizontal direction.

11. Wizard 4: Back in wizard for a bit. This level gives you another ASI, so grab the Telekinetic feat, which increases your Intelligence by 1, lets you cast Mage Hand without making it obvious and with an increased range, and you can make telekinetic shoves as a bonus action, pushing a creature 5 feet away or towards you if they fail a strength save.

You also learn the cantrip Green-Flame Blade which makes your saber give off a bit more light and the spells Enhance Ability to activate your true power that's been sealed away for millennia. You also also get Levitate to force choke some people. They don't take damage from the spell, but it opens them up for you walloping them, so same difference.

12. Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells, Haste lets you run anime fast for up to a minute- you also get advantage on dex saves and +2 to your AC, but after the spell ends you have to take a nap. You also get the big guns- Lightning Bolt. 100 feet of range, dealing 8d6 lightning damage to creatures that fail a dexterity save. An elegant lightning spell from a more civilized age.

13. Wizard 6: Sixth level bladesingers get something very special: an Extra Attack! It still doesn't stack with your fighter one, but now you can use a cantrip in place of one of your attacks! Roast them with lightning then hit 'em with a sword!

You can also use Fear to be an intimidating presence to multiple people at once, and Catnap to pull out the kotatsu.

14. Fighter 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity once more for even better weapon attacks and AC.

15. Fighter 9: Ninth level fighters get Indomitable, letting you re-roll a failed save once per long rest. Don't even bother with the wisdom saves, it's not going to happen.

16. Fighter 10: Tenth level Psi Knights have a Guarded Mind, letting you resist psychic damage and burn psi dice to end effects that are charming or frightening you at the start of a turn. See? Told you you didn't have to worry about wisdom saves!

17. Fighter 11: Congratulations on yet another Extra Attack! To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how that stacks with your bladesinger attacks, but that's a headache for your DM to figure out!

18. Fighter 12: Another ASI, bump up your Int again for more AC, Spells, and telekinesis.

19. Fighter 13: Thirteenth level fighters get a second use of Indomitable per long rest, and it's totally not because WotC was running out of ideas, no sir!

20. Fighter 14: Your capstone level is another ASI, which we'll use to get your bond CE thanks to Servo Crafting! You use Find Familiar as a ritual to create a little robot buddy who acts mostly like a normal familiar. Aside from that, you can see and speak through the servo as long as it's on the same plane, and you can ignore one of your own attacks to let the little buddy attack instead. Honestly this probably would have been more useful way earlier, but it's a bond CE, what did you expect?

Pros:

Your various forms of telekinesis give you a great deal of battlefield control, helping you manipulate the positions of enemies and allies to your advantage.

You also have great saves with two of the big three: dexterity and Constitution. Add on the fact that you can shut down the biggest problems caused by failed wisdom saves practically at will, and you're a big threat for magic users.

While your physically aren't great at burst damage like assassins or paladins, you make up for that with gobs of consistency and longevity in melee combat. You've got almost 200 HP, and an AC of 13 + your dexterity mod (4) and your intelligence mod (4). 21 AC in a hoodie is not bad at all!

Cons:

While you can shut off the worst of it, your Wisdom saves are atrocious, and will still cause you problems against illusions.

While it doesn't come into effect until very late into the build, the weirdness surrounding how your extra attacks mesh will have to be addressed eventually

Servo Crafting really doesn't do anything for your build. Not only is it not useful, if you were willing to get rid of it you could invest more into wizard levels and get Bigby's Hand for a real force choke.

[fallout-4-freak]

Hi, Winnie! (Cute name, btw!) I was wondering if you could write Fallout 4 reactions to a Sole that is BOUND AND DETERMINED to clean and fix up every single road she encounters - clearing up debris, chopping up fallen trees for resources, making bridges, filling in large cracks in the tarmac with cement until a better solution comes along, making signs and setting up better lighting/security points with Minutemen guards. This is basically me with mods and console commands, lol. It's a pet peeve.

Are... Are you me?? Half my mod load order is settlement/cleanup/etc mods...

(Also thank you! I’m honored you think it’s a cute name~)

Ada:

She’s quite pleased with Sole’s efforts to beautify the Commonwealth. It’s ridiculous that most folks haven’t bothered to tidy up their homes-- especially considering how much useful stuff can be found in the debris. She’s also proud of Sole for trying to make things safer for the people of the Commonwealth.

Ada will help Sole clean up, picking up the bigger items. If there’s something good that can be repurposed, she’ll make sure to let Sole know!

Cait:

It never bothered Cait, the state of the world. It’s what she grew up with, after all. She gets annoyed when Sole spends so much time picking up trash and fixing stuff. Cait will complain and beg Sole to move on, wanting to do literally anything else.

If Sole insists on cleaning the Commonwealth, Cait will wander off to make her own fun. Or trouble.

Codsworth: 

He’s over the moon. Frankly, he’s sick of his cleaning subroutines firing off every time he and Sole explore the world. It’s about time somebody did something! How could people live like animals in such filth?

Codsworth will congratulate Sole on their efforts, and do everything he can to help them! 

Curie:

She didn’t think much of the state of the world, until she noticed how Sole would go through an area and clean it up. Perhaps she was just too preoccupied with her research, or maybe she didn’t realize how the dust and grime affected her non-body. But Curie sure took notice of how nice things looked compared to the rest of the land!

If Sole wants/needs help, she’s glad to do so. Otherwise, she’ll just keep them company and discuss research or other interesting things to pass time.

Danse:

He admires their dedication to improving the world. As long as Sole doesn’t get sidetracked during missions, he’s fine with it. Most civilians don’t seem to have the discipline to keep things tidy, which annoys him... It’s a bit of a pet peeve, if he’s honest. After all, life is terrible enough. Why make it worse with piles of garbage and broken structures?

Danse will help Sole keep things clean, using his expert organizational skills to do so. 

Deacon:

He’s always joked about starting a maid service after he retires from the Railroad. So naturally, when Sole began fixing and cleaning everything they could get their mitts on, he was fully supportive.

Granted, he doesn’t have a lot of time to help Sole... But he’ll try and keep them company if he’s free. Deacon will also find a way to put a team together for Sole, to help them get more done.

Dogmeat:

Any time spent with Sole is good time! He’ll happily run about as Sole works tirelessly, chewing on a baseball or teddy bear occasionally. Dogmeat will occasionally beg for pets or attention, but tries his best to keep out of Sole’s way. 

He’ll bring Sole some cool treasures he finds in the trash, too-- a colorful hat, a stuffed animal, a locket, and whatever assorted goodies catch his eye.

Hancock:

Another companion who’s fine with the state of things. It never bothered him much before, but he understands why it would bug Sole so much. Hell, post-war America must feel like a totally different dimension to Sole. He’s supportive, though, and hangs out with Sole while they do their thing. 

He also tries to keep his residence a bit cleaner from then on, out of consideration for Sole. 

Longfellow:

He doesn’t get it, and he’s ‘too old’ to start caring at this point. While he might tease Sole about their penchant for home improvement, it’s all in good fun. 

Longfellow will usually make use of the downtime and hunt, or drink. If Sole requests help, though, he’s kind enough to give it.

MacCready:

The guy lived in a cave town for years. Does he really care how things look? 

No. 

That being said, he eventually learns to appreciate the changes. It’s nice to not trip over huge cracks in the road every five seconds, y’know? MacCready will also help Sole pick through more promising piles of junk for ammo or valuables, earning the nickname ‘rat man’ in the process.

Nick Valentine:

He vaguely remembers what the world used to look like, and appreciates it immensely. So, when Sole decides to bite the bullet and improve the world, he’s pretty happy! It seems to mean a lot to Sole, so he does whatever he can to support them.

As long as there’s no active cases to work, Nick will help Sole and chat with them to pass time. He hopes that their work inspires others to take better care of the Commonwealth.

Piper:

Initially, she thinks that Sole is just trying to bring the old world back... Which is a clear waste of time. But Piper comes to realize that they aren’t trying to revert the Commonwealth-- they’re simply trying to improve the lives of others. She feels a bit ashamed, that she had so little faith in them. 

Piper would never tell them that, of course. She’s happy they’re trying to move on, and that they’re making the world a better place. 

Porter Gage:

Can’t be assed with this. It’s annoying, especially considering how many other things Sole could be doing. They’re the Overboss, for fuck’s sake. The safety improvements and raider checkpoints are the only thing he appreciates, because they reduce the chances of dying. That’s it.

He’ll take care of business while Sole is busy... Or spend time cleaning his weapons for the next job. 

Preston:

He’s inspired by Sole’s efforts. While he’s never really had a chance to clean things up himself (considering how he and the last Minutemen were on the run for months), he’s wanted to for awhile. Preston never liked how dirty things were... Plus, the cracked roads and unsafe structures were pretty bad.

Preston is happy to help Sole, and organizes spare Minutemen into shifts to help them out. He’s hands-on, too, though. What sort of friend would he be if he had Sole do all the work?

Strong:

Bored to tears as Sole works their magic. Super Mutants don’t exactly care about how the land looks. Their living areas are full of trash and gore, after all. And safety??? Who cares???

Strong wanders off, and doesn’t understand why Sole is enjoying this.

X6-88:

He must admit, Sole’s work definitely improves the Commonwealth. It’s not nearly as clean as the Institute, but it’s something. While X6-88 doesn’t necessarily enjoy the Commonwealth, he has to spend plenty of time there whether he likes it or not. So, he’ll take what he can get. 

X6-88 isn’t keen on helping Sole, but if they ask him to, he’ll obey. Usually, he spends the time tinkering with tech or, surprisingly, reading. 

[splicejunction]

Please tell me about shatterstar's Childhood

oh my god anon okay I’m assuming in context of what I’ve recently posted you want like... my version of events rather than what’s canon but just in case I hope you know that there’s basically zero canon material that actually describes his childhood/young adulthood beyond “I was a warrior born” or whatever the fuck. if you want to know about that idk go on the fucken... marvel wiki page or something

also--I hate that I have to put this out here and I doubt anyone would actually do this but just in case--I have spent like 1 million hours thinking about this because I have brain disorders and it is very close to my heart so please do not A) use this in fics, etc without letting me know/getting my permission in advance or B) reblog this post

anyways. this is a can of worms so I’m going to do a cheeky lil

first we have to get something out of the way: I hate the “shatterstar’s his own grandpa” paradox. I am sorry if this angers people but it makes me mad so I ignore it. the reason it bothers me is because it means alison blaire essentially married her grandson, which is A) weird and B) bad from a genetics perspective.

in my version of canon ‘star IS the biological child of longshot and dazzler but longshot wasn’t cloned using ‘star’s DNA because..... oh god... another whole separate post can be made about this but... in my head, on mojoworld the way genetic engineering works is not really the same as it is here. here genetic engineering generally means taking an existing genome and inserting or deleting genes. this is how they make, for example, animals that glow, or confer pesticide resistance to plants.

but on mojoworld I think the way they genetically engineer is more like... the way we mechanically engineer. like the entire organism is built from the ground up. there’s a master genetic blueprint which is essentially the “minimal genome” required for a functioning humanoid. this was created by study of Earth humans by arize and the other genetic engineers. they can then go in and customize by adding elements to the genome that code for the signals/building blocks that control things like height, strength, hair color, eye color, having hollow bones etc. so in my head longshot was sort of... designed with ‘star as the inspiration, but not directly cloned. that wouldn’t even make sense anyways because A) different hair color and B) LONGSHOT HAS 3 FINGERS ON EACH HAND and shatterstar has 4!! thats NOT HOW CLONES WOULD WORK!!!!

(side note, the concept of a minimal functional genome is a real thing in biology! some scientists have taken a bacterium that already has a small genome and reduced it to the minimum size required for viability. here is a wikipedia article on it and here is the original paper (DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5447.2165) which I can explain in more detail because I took a class on synthetic biology which this technically falls under and I had to read this paper very closely).

fuck I’ve written 4 paragraphs and not even talked about his childhood yet. I am so sorry. anyways. so the way I think they raise the gladiators on mojoworld is they create them in batches of 5 to 10 identical copies of a certain “model”, place each copy in a different “class” with a set of 2-3 mentors/teachers, and train them to fight until they are 13 or 14. until this time the only names they have are the names that identify the “model”--like for shatterstar that would be gaveedra-seven where the model identifier is “gaveedra” and he is (in the lore that I have come up with) the 7th of 8 total.

the reason they create multiples and put them in different classes is each mentor is going to have a slightly different style of teaching which is going to work better for some and worse for others, so it allows them to have more mass production while increasing the chances of creating a truly great champion. it’s classic nature versus nurture--the genetic engineers create your nature, but you don’t end up exactly the same as others of your model. maybe you get an edge, maybe you don’t.

another thing that happens is different mentors believe in different ways of raising the kids in their care. shatterstar specifically was raised in a class where there was absolutely zero emotional development at all and no attachments allowed beyond fighting alliances. that’s not the case in all classes, and it also had the effect of making him somewhat of an outsider even within the other gladiators as he got older.

at 13 or 14--and yes I realize this is very fucked up but dude its fucking mojoworld idk what you expected--they start participating in fights. the first ones aren’t to the death and they’re as teams and they’re not usually televised they’re more like high school sports games that are attended by scouts (here, they’re “sponsors”--I think that’s a canonical term but I honestly can’t remember) and if you get sponsored you leave your class and join a new “team” that’s really just a bunch of people who all have the same sponsorship. this is where things can get interesting because they’ve all been raised with slightly different fighting styles but more importantly, slightly different degrees of Personhood.

also at this point I should mention that by this time, there are usually only 2, maybe 3 of each model left. either they died or were recognized as not having talent so they were sent to eventually fulfill other roles in the network. in ‘star’s case there was just him and gaveedra-five. once you get to the stage where you’re sponsored and you’re actually fighting to the death one of the first people you’ll fight is any remaining members of your model group.

by the time you’re the only one left of your group, you’re also eligible to earn a stage name. this usually happens if you have a particularly epic fight with a lot of viewers, you win and the commentators will typically say something like “Let’s give this crowd a real name to cheer!” and they’ll have a few candidate names and they’ll kind of just pick one. AUGH I actually have this scene written out in story form but its too long so I think I’ll save it.... :) 

after you get a name you also get a cool outfit and usually some kind of mark or tattoo that serves as a brand. this brings me to another important point--shatterstar inherited the X-gene from alison and therefore he IS a mutant. his mutation is the swords vibration thing and the glowing eye. the star mark is a tattoo and teleportation is benjamin russell’s mutation (how he fits into all this is... for another post). basically after he got his name the costuming department guys were like “hey your eye glows, you look like the Legendary Warrior of Old, Longshot, we’re gonna pattern your look after him” so they gave him the star tattoo and the outfit that’s literally inverse colors of longshot’s.

also this brings me to another aside: you’re probably wondering “if he’s the biological kid of longshot and alison how are there 8 gaveedras?” when the genetic engineers got a hold on him as a baby they were like Sick! free baby! free genetic material! thats our job done for us! so they cloned him (in the traditional sense) and made 7 copies. this was also to kind of conceal his identity as technically being from outside mojoworld, which would make him stick out and thus be a target. they DID edit out the x-gene in the other gaveedra models though. this wasn’t a problem for ‘star because his mutation didn’t manifest until he was already sponsored.

I think that’s .... pretty much it for macroscopic lore on what it was like to be a kid gladiator on mojoworld. now let me give you some Tidbits of his life specifically:

like I said he was raised in a particularly cold and ruthless class. the mentors that raised him are like well-known by everyone to produce some of the best warriors but also there’s discourse on mojoworld because some people say perfectly emotionless killing machines aren’t as fun to watch. when he was sponsored there were 4-5 others in the same sponsorship and they were like Theres Something Wrong With You LOL

they speak earth languages on mojoworld because they’re imitating the broadcasts they (the spineless ones) used to hear from earth. however, most of the lower-class as well as almost all arena fighters and other television personalities speak cadre or other languages which are native to the planet. the stage names are all vaguely in english, but the gladiators don’t really understand them at first.

shatterstar got his name before he got the glowing eye, and when he learned what stars are, and saw his eye as a little star, he was like wow :) this is Me :) which is why that name is so important to him. it’s also one of the first things that wholly belonged to him.

(you can’t see stars on mojoworld because of light pollution and also because it’s a pocket dimension and there just aren’t that many stars to see)

I hate to bring up the s**ley miniseries but I do think it would be interesting to have him have a sort of ... mentor/first friend, similar to the concept of gringrave but they were NOT in a relationship. it was more like... another kid who was a year or so older than him got a soft spot for him and helped him not be so clueless. she didn’t make as much progress as xforce did, obviously. but they were.... something like friends.

unfortunately she was used by spiral to get shatterstar to murder the first rebel guy who tried to get him out of there. then she got switched sponsors (this can happen) and he had to kill her, and he was like well I will simply never develop any kind of attachment to anyone ever again.

he almost didn’t make it out of the first training session with his sponsorship group (this is semi-canon--there’s a reference when he’s teaching terry to swordfight to almost not surviving the first time he was in a gladiator class or whatever it was).

the closest he ever came to losing was the day he got the name. that’s why the crowds loved it so much.

the double-bladed sword was a gimmick weapon but when he got his mutation they realized it works way better if there’s resonance between two parallel blades so they redesigned it as an actual weapon.

(forgot this but I feel like I should include it) at 17 he escaped the arenas and joined the cadre alliance. two years later he came to earth and joined xforce.

I think that’s going to have to be it for now because it’s literally almost midnight and I have work tomorrow and I did NOT intend to stay up this late but I did. thank you for this opportunity anon :) feel free to ask me any other questions and also I realize a lot of this probably makes no fucking sense and that’s because I am not a writer or anything I’m just a biochemist with brain problems that cause me to obsess over stupid shit

[liya4kar]

Liyada’s Pokespe AU Masterpost

I decided to do a Pokespe AU Masterpost because I have a lot of them and unfortunately never get to speak of them with anyone because nobody knows them. And doing a master post with also help me to actually keep track of all of them.

I’ll also probably do one post for the more developed AU where I can develop them fully, as I’ll try to keep this post short.

If you want to send me an ask about any of them, please do! I’d love to speak of them more~ If you want to know more about a character in an AU, or how some events happen, I will love to answer you!

Also, every work relate to those AU will be tag on my blog, you can find the tag name at the beginning of each AU, as well as the related fics if there are any!

Summary:

The Magical Dexholders AU

The Magical Pokémons AU

Humans Gods AU Number 1

Humans Gods AU Number 2

Kagepro AU Number 1

Kagepro AU Number 2

Kagepro AU Number 3 (Though the only link between this AU and Kagepro is the idea behind Ene)

Yorozuya no Lack-Chan AU

Legendary Dexholders AU

Blond Family AU

One Piece AU

Natural Spirits AU

Ducktales AU

1. The Magical Dexholders (Will have a special post)

(Fic for it: The Magical Dexholders)

Tag: #The Magical Dexholder AU

A canon-compliant AU, where all the canons adventure has already taken place, and when a new adventure arises. Except that this time it’s not an Evil Team but the Darkness Force of the Evil that is so Bad that They stole the Snack of a Four Years Old Child, and that the Dexholders are not fighting with their Pokémons but with their Magical Powers they obtained from some random strange sassy colorful creatures, and they fight with the power of Friendship, Anime, and Protagonist on their side.

Aka a total self-compliant Magical Girl AU where I put whatever strange idea I have. 

In this AU, you can find:

Sassy little creatures

Characters being dumb

Diamond and Silver bonding over their passion for Proteam Omega while fighting The Darkness of the Evil that is blabla Snack of a Child blabla.

Blue and Yellow kicking ass.

Hippie Celebi (oops this one is a spoiler)

Not all the characters are Magical Holders right now but they will all appear up to Sun and Moon at least. Maybe SWSH if I or someone finds a way to incorporate them. (Though if you ask for the destiny of any specific character of this AU in an ask, I’ll surely answer!)

Some people bonding over their friends being dumb (Or how Pearl, Green, Crystal, and Y ended up in a group chat with a Satanic God) (Ooops Spoiler again)

2. The Magical Pokémons (Will have a special post)

Tag: #Spe Magical Pokémons AU

This AU, though created before the Magical Dexholders, is actually linked to the Magical Dexholders. Technically, they happen in the same setting and meet at one point. But of course, when I wanted to write a fic for it alongside the Dexholders, I realized I actually have no time to write it! Ahah-

Basically, still a Magical Girl AU, still a parodical AU where the only goal is to have fun and laugh, but this time it’s not the Dexholders that are the Magical Boys or Girls but their Pokémons! Well, not all of them. Two per Dexholders. Do you realize how complicated it’s to manage all the DH? So all their Pokémons? No way- So only two Pokémons per DH.

Warning, this AU happen before Black was released from the Light Stone. But Sun and Moon are already out of the Ultra-Dimension. Respecting the timeline? It’s my AU I do what I want. (Mainly cause this AU was created back in 2018 actually)

In this AU, you can find:

Pokémons doing dumb sh*t when their trainers are not in sight.

Black being the only humans having powers because he was in the Light Stone when Reshiram received powers, and now he can sometimes go out of the Light Stone when the situation is desperate enough.

Also when Black activates his power he wears a white wedding dress.

Yellow also joining sometimes?

3. Human Gods AU Number 1

Tag: #Spe Human Gods AU Number 1

I always found weird there were only Pokémon Gods in the Pokémon Universe. So what did I do? I created not only one, but two Humans God AU! And here we go for the first.

So. Once Upon a Time, there were Human Gods. But they were not really nice. Actually, they wanted to destroy all the Pokémon Gods and to at best, reduce Pokémons as slaves, at worst killing them all. Of course, the Pokémons Gods did not agree, and after a (little) war, the Humans Gods were sealed by the Pokémons Gods and erased of mainstream history. But of course, things are not that easy, Humans Gods still have secret followers and are planing for their return.

Centuries later, when those followers are finally close to getting back their Gods and need to steal some old parchments for that, they are noticed by Cynthia who asked the help of the Sinnoh Trio. Of course, nothing works like expected, and when the Human Gods finally break their seal, they need bodies to reincarnate in and it’s really convenient that Diamond and Platinum are just right there. Now, the Humans Gods free and ready to put their reign of terror in place, it’s up to Pearl (who saw his best friends lovers possessed in front of him yeah!), the other DH, and the (for once) united army of the Pokémon Gods to stop them before it’s too late. Oh, and also maybe get Diamond and Platinum back.

In this AU you can find:

AnGsT

Entourageshipping

Epic fights

I mean there are powerful Gods so EPIC FIGHTS

Even more angst

Maybe Major Character Death. To see.

Development of Pokémons and Humans relationship

Did I mention Angst?

4. Human Gods AU Number 2 (Will have a special post)

Tag: #Spe Humans Gods AU Number 2

And yeah, there is a Number 2- They are not the only AU that ends to have several versions of it at the end.

So. Basically, like in the previous AUs, thousands of years ago there was a war between the Pokémons and Humans Gods, each other judging the other being invasive and dangerous to the other being. Normal Humans and Gods also participate in this war. But on both sides, some start to lose faith in this conflict and believe that cohabitation is possible. Things become more complicated when Gods from both factions start to bond. Together, they decide to end the was so everyone can live peacefully together. If the Pokémons Gods accept it pretty well, the Humans ones don’t, especially after one of the most vehement deity simulated a Pokémon attack, and they decide to end the war by using a magical machine to destroy the Pokémons Gods (the one used in the Kalos war is a less-powerful derivate of it).

 As the Humans Gods working for the peace don’t have much time left before the arms use, they take an extreme measure and seal their fellow Gods to the price of their own life. The Pokémons Gods then decided to end the war and to let the Pokémons and Humans live together without interfering with them anymore. They also used a bit of their power to grant the last wish of the Humans Gods who sacrificed themselves, who wanted to see a world where everyone can cohabitate. The said Humans Gods, no longer Gods, reincarnate as normal Humans once in while, still having a little fragment of their powers, 

Thousands of years later, the seal finally breaks, and the Humans Gods come out, some planing their revenge, some wanting to see how the world has evolved in their absence before taking a decision. Obviously, the DH gets involved. Either by meeting the gods and decide to help or fight them depending on the situation or by being one of the reincarnated Gods themselves.

What do you find in this AU:

Angst, surely

Some DH in God versions with cool designs

Human and Pokémon relationship development

Lore created from crap by me, with some inspiration from the real world but with also a lot of invented stuff, because hey it’s my AU and I do what I want

Magic. Everywhere.

5. Kagepro AU Number 1 (Aka the Fidel to the Kagepro Plot)

Tag: #Liya’s Spe Kagepro AU 1

I used to be in Kagepro a lot last, so OF COURSE, I ended doing an AU of it. Wait, not only one actually- I’ll list them by “How close to the Kagepro plot they are”.

So, in this first one, it’s basically “We replace the Kagepro characters with Pokespe characters”, though some things change, depending on the personality of the chosen characters. But they still have the same powers as the originals Kagepro cast.

Here the main cast!

Red as Ayano

Green as Shintaro

Blue as Takane/Ene

Yellow as Haruka/Konoha

Prof Oak as Kenjiirou (Ayano’s father)

Platinum as Kido Tsubomi

Diamond as Seto Kyousuke

Pearl as Kano Shuuya

White as Momo

Whi-Two as Mary

X as Hibiya

Y as Hiyori

What you can find in this AU:

Angst, I missed you!

Family relationship between several characters because ships are great, family is better.

Major Character Deaths. Like, they all die at some point but come back to life because of time loops reason!

Damn, there is so much angst possible with this one.

6. Kagepro AU Number 2 (Aka I take a lot of liberty from the original plot but you can still see the Kagepro influence) (Will have a post)

Tag: #Liya’s Kagepro AU 2

So... How to explain this one... 

It’s my most developed Kagepro AU, and so my more complex one. Too complex to even summarize it in this post (I try and stop when it became longuer than all the previous AUs combined ahah-), it’s why it’ll be the first one to have its post. Please be patient, I’ll link it as soon that I'll post it!

It also follows the canon, though some events/characters interactions change.

What can you find in this AU:

Angst, to change

Four DHs that are not all related being a found family because I can.

Major Characters Deaths. Once again.

Friendships too. Friendships are great.

7. Kagepro AU Number 3 (aka there is nearly no link to Kagepro by this point)

Tag: #Liya’s Spe Kagepro AU 3

So. In Kagepro, I always loved Ene. And all the angst include by everyone believing you are dead while you are transformed into a virus/computer program.

So basically, there is a crazy scientist organization that is doing all sorts of experiments on humans, to get immortality. Those experiments are killing nearly all the people who go through them, the rare survivors being broken beyond repair and not immortal at all. If they took random people at first, they end up taking more different people, from all backgrounds with all kinds of lives, to see if there is any difference. They tend to socially isolate their prospect guinea pigs before simulating their death in an accident.

One of this experience include separating the soul from the body: they transform the brains data into informatical data and transfer it in a computer. Like any of their experiments, there is a lot of death. But for once, it succeeds, and they end up with one person with their body in a coma while their “soul” is on a computer. Thrilled by this success, they do other attempts and end up with two other survivors. All of them are determined and stubborn people who have some people they hold dear to see again. At some point, the organization decides to try to kill the bodies to see if the informatical data stay, and the three of them decide to run away on the Internet, so the scientists can’t try this new experiment. They change of appearance, name, and end up in the computer of the BW Agency, and after some misunderstood, end up working for them.

White is glad to have three artificial intelligence helping with her work, she did not remember her software supplier having programs that powerful.

On the meanwhile, Pearl, Shauna, and Green are glad to not be experiments anymore, nor do they mind helping White with her work, though they would like to get their bodies back one day.

And far from the Agency, Platinum, Blue, and X, after a rather strange meeting, end up investigating their friends' mysterious deaths of their friends with the help of Lack-Two.

What do you find in this AU:

When was the last time I saw you; Angst?

Pearl, Shauna, and Green are doing shenanigans. And also end being close friends/found family?

White is also joining them in shenanigans

Funny and light with White and the three “Yes yes we are AI, absolutely not humans!” while the others are more on a dark, crime movie atmosphere

Also, some characters don’t cope well with their friends' deaths

Do we tag Major Character Deaths when someone believes someone else is dead even if it’s not the case and that the reader knows it?

8. Yorozuya no Lack-chan AU

Fics for it: Dogwalker Lack and The Begining of Yorozuya no Lack-Chan

Tag #Yorozuya no Lack-chan AU

Got a drabble request once and ended up doing a whole AU of it because meh why not? Like you can say with the title, it is somehow Gintama inspired.

So basically, at the end of BW2 Lack-two got fired from the International Police and start doing odd jobs for a living. He even created an agency for it, who do any work from you as long that you pay. He even has two employees, who he doesn’t really pay, aka Whi-Two and X. Yeah.

What do you find in this AU:

Furry Neko Sun

Characters being dumb

Do you wanna laugh?

Characters doing odd jobs

9. Legendary Dexholders AU (Will do a post about this one)

Fic for it: Giratina

Tag: #Legendary Dexholders AU

Being an immortal god can be boring after a few thousand years, especially when nothing had happened for a while. And one of the advantages of being a God is to left a copy of yourself while you are wandering around in a human body.

Aka several Legendaries Pokémons decide to just reincarnate in humans and, of course, they had to end up becoming Dexholders and have a complicated life. Well, at least they did not have that much fun since the last drinking contest between Kyogre and Lugia five hundred years ago.

What do you find in this AU:

An AU firstly created to be funny but the only fic I wrote about it ended up being a character study fic

But at the end, the Legendaries Pokémons are just doing shenanigans

Arceus is so done with them

Also feature mainly the main Sinnoh Legendaries Pokémons because I love them but there are also a few others

10. Blonde Family AU

Fics about it: Don't listen to others confessions or you'll end as responsible as them and To be a Cousin

Tag: #Spe Blonde Family AU

What if several blonde characters were related? Aka the AUs where Yellow, Pearl, Bianca, and Y are all cousins, and Emerald is the son of Palmer but neither Em nor Palmet know it until Ruby and Sapphire decide to investigate what happened to Emerald’s parents.

In this AU, you find:

Yellow, Pearl, Bianca, and Y are cousins, pretty close to each other, but when they see each other it usually ends up in a catastrophe

Emerald could not care less about his father because he has a found family but Ruby and Sapphire still decide to investigate (notably to kick their b*** if one of them is still alive and abandoned Emerald).

To Palmer’s defense, it was an adventure before he met Pearl’s mother, and Emerald’s mom ran away without telling him she was pregnant

Either cousins doing dumb cousins stuff together or Ruby and Sapphire going on a hunt to kick Palmer’s a** while Em and Pearl look and eat popcorns.

11. One Piece AU

Fic about it: Bonding on the Grand Line

Tag: #Liya’s Spe One Piece AU

With this AU, we arrive in the AUs that don’t take place in the canon world! The other AUs where all somehow link to the canon world and the canon adventures of the DH, except for the Kagepro number 1. But starting from this one, they all take place in other worlds!

This AU was created for the Pirate Summer Event of the Pokespe Art Community Discord and but I like it so I’ll probably write more about it if I find time to.

So basically, your One Piece AU, that happened 20 years before the death of Gold Roger (so 40 years before Luffy & Co.). To protect his best friends, Pearl ends up becoming a pirate, captain of his own crew (with the Sinnoh Gym Leaders!). And being a pirate on the Grand Line is not always easy.

What do you find in this AU:

Pearl's and Cheren's friendship. I’d die for it.

Pearl, Cheren, and the Sinnohan and Unovan Gym Leaders doing shenanigans

But also a bit of angst because hey, you know me now

Also other characters but I need to plan more their role in this AU

12. Natural Spirits AU (there will be definitely a post about this one)

Tag: Spe Natural Spirits AU

There are two beings on Earth: Humans and Natural Spirits, magical beings close to nature, each one of them being connected to a natural concept. The Natural Spirits stay hide in their cities, with only a few humans knowing their existence, and tend to despise the humans, destroying the planets at a ridiculous rate. But the Natural Spirits society is complicated, and as the human society, is far from perfect.

X, a prodigy Spirits, can’t take the pressure anymore and isolate himself far from his city, near the human town. Whi-Two, another Spirit, have a strange fascination for the humans but never go through the forest and the human town frontier. Until the day when they each meet one human, and befriend them, despite the warnings they had heard since they were children. Hiding that they are not humans, they end up joining their two new friends to a rather strange place call High-school. 

Pearl and Sapphire have rather normal lives. School, homework, friends... But since they met two new people in the forest, things start to become more interesting. Especially with the wave of people trying to take over the world... Wait, what?

What do you find in this AU:

A friendship between four characters who never met in the canon

But all the other DHs and several secondary characters have their roles

And some of them are also Natural Spirits

High-school life

Magic too

Both Humans and Spirits teams trying to take over the world and the four friends had to stop them every time

Also, the Natural Spirits society is like humans one, very far from perfect

Secret identity problems like hiding to your human friends that you can actually speak to mushrooms.

13. Ducktales AU (Will have a post because there is so much to say about this one)

Tag: Spe Ducktales AU

Ducktales, Woo-Ooo!

I love Ducktales. I have been hyperobsessing on it recently, so of course, I had to make an AU out of it! Special thanks to Vex who supported my random brainstorming in her DMs.

So... Basically, once upon a time, the richest Duck of the world, Prof McWak, had four grandchildren, two pairs of siblings: Green and Blue, and Red and Yellow. Like any normal family, on their weekends they used to go on ancient temples with deadly traps and fight monsters to get new treasures. When Prof McWak died, the four cousins, now young adults, continue to go on adventures, while Red, Yellow, and Green found their own families. But everything ends one day when, following some disastrous event, Yellow disappears, more likely to be dead. The three left cousins argue and end up splitting up, Blue founding her own company, Green becoming the CEO of their grandfather empire, and Red leaving with his new-hatched son and Yellow’s egg, never contacting his cousins again.

Ten years later, Diamond and Pearl, two cousins who grew up as brothers, accidentally break into the infamous McWak Enterprise CEO manor and met his oldest daughter, Platinum. After she brought them in a self-proclaimed adventure, when the trio became good friends, they have the surprise to find that first, Diamond’s Dad/Pearl’s “Uncle” Red and Platinum’s Father Green are actually cousins and that since they blew up Red’s houseboat during their adventures, they now get to live in the McWak Manor.

What happens next is history.

What do you find in this AU:

The Kanto quartet, the Sinnoh Trio, and Moon being all relatives because FAMILY TROPE YEAH

Pearl and chibi sassy Moon investigating Yellow’s disappearance

Family, Humor, Adventures, Angst AU

Red and Green need to learn how to communicate

Also, Sinnoh Trio adventures because those three are too precious

It’s all for the moment! I’ll probably add more AUs as I’ll inevitably create more. Thank you for reading this AU Masterpost!

[celticat21]

Echoes of the Past Day 8: Familiar

@arcana-echoes

Alessa: Her familiar is a blue little dragon named Burnie! She found him after the events of the game, and after she had already had children. He had been abandoned in the forest by his thunder so she took him in, not realizing he was her familiar until later. He helps amplify her magic, which can be a bad thing as they both have pretty bad tempers and are closely connected to fire magic. What could go wrong? 

Tabitha: She found her familiar when she was young. It is a happy old sea turtle named Keoni. She found him alone on the beach one day and went over to talk to him, as she was feeling upset and alone. She did not really expect him to start talking back, but she didn’t put it together that he was her familiar until her parents explained it to her. She just thought it was a magic, talking turtle!

Freya: She has a happy seal familiar named Ingrid. Ingrid is small, round, and white with a happy disposition! Unfortunately Ingrid does not do very well in the Vesuvian climate, so she is still in her tribe being looked after by her parents. Freya had found her in her young adulthood after hearing Ingrid calling for help. She had gotten stuck in a trap and Freya followed her cries to help her. Ingrid generally helps with the clarity of Freya’s “visions”, but her magic is not too tied to her, hence why they can be apart for long periods of time. 

Winona: It was as if they were meant to be with Asra, as they have a snake familiar named Dante! Dante is green and yellow and often more of a voice of reason for Winona. They can be very impulsive, so Dante will have to get them to take a minute to think about things first. Winona found Dante when they both pretty young after they woke up and Dante was just in their tent. Like, he just showed up as if he owned the place, and Winona let him. Really, their relationship is very sweet and they work well together. 

Zira: I completely forgot the name for her familiar if I’m honest, because it was a made up name, from a made up dimension. However, the new name shall be Jamison (hoping I can remember that) and they are a little, octopus-like creature with plants growing out of their head. They have the ability to mimic sounds, including voices, and Zira ended up learning to do this from them. Jamison was a gift from Zira’s father when she was a teenager and she was luckily able to bring him along into this dimension. A good thing, too, since he is very good at calming her and Masha down if they start to get overwhelmed. 

Katarina: Their familiar is an Eagle named Pietro, named so because Kat calls him their “rock”. Pietro is not just a familiar, but a service animal as well, similar to Jamison. He can sense whenever Kat is getting distressed and goes over to try to calm her down and reduce her anxiety. He also can screech very loudly at anyone bothering Kat and get them to leave. Kat had found him as an egg when she was little and helped protect him until he hatched. Ever since then he has been looking after and protecting her. 

[aweebwrites]

Move on Dragons Ch 15

"Any luck yet Sensei?" Lloyd asked from the bridge of the Bounty, watching Little G eat his fill from the small bowl of wild berries in his palm, the others next to him.

"Yes and no." Sensei Wu admits, something akin to frustration in his slitted golden eyes. "I managed to get closer this time but your father is a slippery man who insists on not being found. He has taken traveler's tea to leave the realm so I must follow him." He told them, shifting the view of the device to the sight of the small camp with an empty teapot there, the outed campfire still burning.

"I will still have to figure out just which realm he escaped to but there are only so many he's willing to visit. I may be unable to contact you all for some time longer." He forewarned them.

"That's cool Sensei. Everything's pretty chill on our side still. Nothing too major has come up and our tech team is getting closer to figuring out how the device works." Cole says as he glanced at Zane, Nya, Pixal and Jay close by.

"Indeed." Zane nodded at the screen showing their Sensei. "We've already learned how to turn it on and off but we're getting closer to figuring out how to activate its interface." He reported.

"That's good. Having a direct line to Vortica will prove to be most helpful." Sensei Wu nodded then looked to Kai who was a little jittery if his shifting wings and flicking tail wasn't enough indication. "Is something the matter Kai?" He asked him and Kai blinked then shrugged.

"Nothing's actually wrong but…" He says then grinned. "Wu and I will be checking the Dragon Dimension today. We hit the 2 month mark since the dragons left so we're gonna see how things are doing. We aren't expecting much progress so quickly, even though 5 years have passed there, but we're looking for small signs that the planet is recovering." He told them.

“It won’t be in its best shape but… I’ve missed the place, you know?” He added with a shrug and the others could relate.

They haven’t been there for long but it really was beautiful.

"I see. Be careful however. Extinction usually brings forward evolution in both animals and plants alike." Wu warned him and Kai nodded.

"I will be. We'll let you know the news of what's up next time we chat." He promised and Wu nodded.

"Then I will contact you once I am able to." He promised them.

With that, their conversation ended with well wishes and goodbyes.

“This infernal device is highly frustrating.” Pixal says glaring at the small device she held in hand.

“But it’ss pretty fun to sssolve! It’ss kinda like a rubix cube!” Jay grinned, taking it and looking it over, his flicking tail almost tripping both Zane and Cole, all of them used to he and Lloyd’s tails to know to stand clear of the area behind them.

It took a lot of adaption to work around their individual changes, especially both Jay and Kai’s changes as theirs was permanent. It didn’t bother either of them much anymore- Kai didn’t have a problem with, too used to it as he was- but there were days when they did miss being human and on days like that, their much bigger family was there for them.

“Are you ready Kai?” Wu asked, looking down at the team’s ship from where he sat near by.

Somewhere in the past week, they began being able to speak like them. Zane knew better than to question how they were able to what with the structure of their mouths. Pixal knew better not to as well, not after almost short circuiting trying to figure out how Zane too got the ability to shift. Both nindroids decided to call it magic and left it at that.

“Yeah.” Kai says as he walked over to the edge of the ship, pulling out the dimensional crystal.

“Don’t forget the camera so we can keep track of the planet’s progress.” Nya called and he turned around catching it with his tail.

“Thanks sis. I’ll get all the footage you guys need.” He grinned then hopped over the edge of the ship, using his wings to catch him.

“You guys sure you don’t need us to come along?” Lloydie asked, stepping forward from where he and the others stood.

“Nah. It’s just a quick in and out. We won’t be more than 5 minutes tops.” Kai reassured.

“Just make sure to stick close to my father.” Morro cautioned and Kai smiled, flying over to stroke his snout, bumping his forehead against his.

“Don’t worry Mor-bro. We’ll be fine.” He reassured and Morro wasn’t ready to admit he needed the reassurance.

He knew their world was in a bad state, knew it was dangerous to go as they weren’t even sure what the oxygen levels were like right now and with both Kai and his father going there… He blinked once Kai held the crystal out to him.

“Why don’t you send us off huh?” He grinned and Morro blinked at the pink gem then balanced on his hind leg and accepted it, the crystal tiny in his paw but he picked it up between his claws and glanced at Kai as he flew back to where his father was. “Just hold it up and it’ll do the rest- but make sure not to do it twice or else the portal will close.” Kai warned and Morro nodded before holding up the crystal as instructed, a large portal opening up close to the two as he did.

“Sit tight. We’ll be back in a jif.” Kai winked before he flew in as Wu walked through.

The first thing Kai noticed once he stepped through was that the sun was setting- which was good since the air was uncharastically hot. That combined with the obvious decline in air quality made it a little difficult to breathe. He glanced up at Wu as the dragon looked around at what once was a lush, bountiful planet, now reduced to desolence, nothing but broken and dead trees standing around the base of the mountain they called home. The sky held a noticeably redder colour and it was quiet. So uncharastically quiet. Kai turned the camera on, moving forward still, looking for any signs of life thriving here. There were bones of animals passed, decomposing still and fungi. Well. At least they were clear signs of life.

“We won’t be able to ascend the mountain. The air gets thinner the higher you go and it’s already difficult to breathe at sea level.” Wu spoke up as he too walked around, keeping his pace slow and his breathing even.

He couldn’t afford to get even slightly winded. As a dragon of his size, his lungs demand a large amount of oxygen with each inhale, amounts that the planet could no longer satisfy. He couldn’t stay for very long still, else he collapses from oxygen deprivation. But their future depends on any signs of life. Fungi was a good start but he was hoping that more complex life survived the decline in the planet’s environment. If not, then they would be in Ninjago for far longer than he originally thought.

“Nothing. Maybe we should try in a different area? This is still kinda on a slope so maybe if we head to flatter land…” Kai suggested, turning to Wu.

“Perhaps.” Wu says in consideration. “However-” He was cut off by a cough that quickly descended into a coughing fit.

“Wu!” Kai yelled, alarmed as he flew over.

“I’m… Afraid I cannot… Stay any longer here…” He rasped, barely able to prevent himself from coughing further.

“Then go back!” Kai urged, looking back to the portal and he nods, heading towards it. “I wanna look around for a minute longer but I won’t go far.” He told Wu as he paused to see if he was coming.

“... Be careful.” He warns and Kai nodded, watching as he returned to his world.

Kai looked up, the moons, rings and stars in the night sky holding a reddish tint from the oxygen deprived atmosphere before he looked around again, hoping for even the softest glow of an insect but finding none still. He sighed, turning the camera towards himself from where he had still been filming.

“Five years past here and no signs of complex life. I’d look around a bit longer but it’s not exactly easy to breathe here, despite my body needing less oxygen than the dragon’s. It’s dark but it’s still pretty hot out and the air is thick and heavy. Maybe things will be in better shape after five more years. We could probably even chek different locations then.” Kai shrugged at the camera recording him. “Might as well head back now.” He says quietly, looking at the reflective lense before he frowned, spotting something strange.

He glanced back and up, looking at the sky suspiciously. Strange. He could have sworn he saw some kind of light- It flickered in again, growing brighter and larger this time. Kai’s eyes widened at the familiarity of the phenomenon in the sky. No way… He turned the camera towards it without much more thought, on the defense as he narrowed his eyes at the swirling multicoloured vortex above. Suddenly, two figures came tumbling out and Kai’s eyes widened before he darted forward, dropping the camera and catching one- then two, before they could hit the ground. Oh man were they heavy! A small sound from one of the two figures caught his attention and he really looked at them.

“Oh boy.” Was all he could think to say.

Wasn’t this a situation.

Outside the portal, Morro was fussing over his winded father, creating a gentle but oxygen filled airflow around his head as he caught his breath.

“Kai’s still in there. What’s taking him so long?” Cole says with a frown, wings out and opened, ready to perform a rescue mission if he must.

“If he doesn’t come out in the next minute or two then we go in.” Lloyd says, looking across at Cole and he nodded.

You better be ok Kai…

____

“Ugh!” Pixal growled in frustration.

“I agree! This is hopeless! Almost two months and we’re hardly any close to figuring this thing out!” Nya yells, resisting the urge to throw it down to instead place it on the table.

“I feared we wouldn’t be able to uncover the mysteries of this advanced technology. It appears this is becoming reality.” Zane says with a tone of frustration as well.

“I don’t know guyss, maybe we’re overthinking thingss.” Jay spoke up and they looked at him, both parts unimpressed and curious.

“Have you even interacted with this device? I think overthinking is quite necessary.” Pixal pointed out.

“No no.” Tempest says as he took over, Jay on the back burner. “I think Jay’ss got a point. Doess Vortica ssseem like the type of persson to use anything overly complicated? Doesn’t matter if complicated is within her knowledge basse, I think ssshe’d use sssomething that only takess a touch or two to activate.” He says as he used his tail to pick it up and bring it closer.

“Maybe turn it on then swipe?” Tempest mumbled as he did so, sliding his thumb against a pink panel before he blinked once a holoscreen and keyboard popped up, an image of Vortica sticking her tongue out at the top, making it clear this was a messaging interface.

Tempest smirked at the surprised, borderline angry looks both Nindroids and Nya wore, Jay yelling up a storm in the front of his mind.

“Well. I’ll be damned. Looks like the mystery is solved at lasst.”  Tempest huffed.

____

“Alright. Let’s go in.” Lloyd says as he walked forward, Cole on his tail.

Before they could get any closer however Kai walked through the portal, struggling with the weight of the figures in his arms.

���Is that-” Blaze says with wide eyes as he and the others walked over.

“They are…” Wisp whispered, not sure if he should go on the defense or assist.

“Well. There’s two faces I never expected to see again. Especially like this.” Mist spoke up as Morro closed the portal.

“... Indeed…” Was Wu’s contemplative hum.

Perhaps… This was for the best.

____________ (I'm trying for updates every 2 days now for this fic. Also I cannot write the name Green Bean/Greenie and take it seriously so I updated Dragon!Lloyd's name to just Lloydie. They still call him Greenie and he's still annoyed by it but that's kinda in the background. Can you guess who came through the portal? ;)Thanks for reading!)

[heyheyitsstillgay]

I'm literally begging you to spill the tea on b*tch h*rtman why does everyone hate him

Me?? You're leaving this responsibility to Me?? Oof.

Aight.

Season 3 bad

Butch is very much an ideas person. After Steve Marmel left the show just went downhill. There was one writer that wanted it to go the grey ghost angle and another who wanted amethyst ocean and it just didn't work and then it got cancelled so the end relationship was so rushed it was terrible.

Changed the lore of his show half way through

So this is mostly Nick's fault, they thought the show being about ghosts was too gritty and they agreed to change it from being about real dead people who were once alive to monsters from another dimension. This is the change that Steve marmel was fired over iirc. Now we have ghost tornados. You can't just change lore like that half way through. Some people think that because he was born again midway through dp that he wanted this change to the lore so the dp universe wouldn't go against the bible's teachings. We don't know that for sure though.

Like JK Rowling returning with needless headcanons except they're not even an attempt at rep it's just "Jazz replaced her life and ambitions with being a lonely woman in a chair, while Maddie becomes a ghost pimp and Jack replaced half his body with robotics."

Remember how he destroyed Vlads character in PP? He still does it. It's like he doesn't remember his own show. In a 10 years later video, Jazz is completely out of character and the family is just okay with Maddie walking around with ghost slaves on leashes. The Fentons are genius' in their own right. And he's reduced them to Danny's sidekicks.

Doesn't appreciate his employees

See these quote tweets when fop was given a reboot he toasted to himself and God while surrounded by the artists that massively helped him to make the show.

Voted trump

He apparently regrets it but still follows trumps family and a collection of far right people

Transphobic

In 107 facts about Danny Phantom fact 94 at 17:00 sticks out like a sore thumb. At the time, trans Danny theories were making the rounds on Tumblr. He'd already denied it was true. A lot of the theories draw Danny in his swimwear because his vest looks a lot like a full length binder and he's the only guy at the pool not showing his chest. The fact states he's said before that it's because of sunburns. It was in an audio interview a while ago where the interviewer suggested that that could be the reason and he decided it was canon then and there. It wasn't true while the show was being made. It's a question of if it's a coincidence that this video was released around peak trans Danny theory time.

There's also this screenshot of a deleted tweet that he never apologised for.

And the episode of fop with reversed gender roles treats men doing traditionally feminine things as a big joke.

Evoked ship wars that made fandom a space for arguements and anger

To summarise, he had a blog platform where people would post art. Most ship stuff was amethyst ocean and then p*mpus p*p existed, he scolded people not because it's an underage ship but because it made him look bad. People responded saying he was just homophobic. It split the phandom in half.

This shows recounts of the war

And this is a summary

Oaxis scam

Oaxis was a family friendly streaming service that he started a Kickstarter for. Here's a good post that went around at the time that talks about it. In the end he surpassed his goal last minute thanks to thousands of dollars donated suddenly by Christians and Churches.

People who didn't realise what they invested in were unable to get their money back and are still waiting for their promised cameos in original shows according to high tier rewards.

The 'family friendly network' (that was all the info given) was actually going to be a Christian streaming service combining Netflix and YouTube. You can upload your own content or stream original content. If the content you upload isn't Christian Approved(tm) then real people would take down the video.

Here's a video of when he went around speaking to churches and actually explaining his thoughts and goals with Oaxis. Hes also disrespectful of mental illness in this video, claiming that violent media is to blame.

Big headed

He's just so full of himself, I watched 1 of his shows, that wasn't my whole childhood. Most animators draw themselves jokingly and then he is very flattering towards himself. He changed his name from Elmer to Butch I mean what more do you need. He thinks God put him on Earth to spread the Lords message via his media following.

He made some of those racist Ugandan knuckles memes

He did edit a video of people doing a racist Ugandan impression, I can't find it I think he deleted it without an apology. I did find this though.

He steals tweets from people

A dp meme page he follows

This even has the exact same tv photo

Then this was followed by this

Refuses to take criticism

He thinks that people call him out because they're trying to take him down.

He only accepts critique from people who have similar accomplishments to himself

'Jokingly' blamed Tara Strong for her best friends suicide

Tara was friends with Mary who previously voiced Timmy Turner, here Elmer says that Mary killed herself because Tara replaced her.

Supports the idea that autism can be cured

He and his wife held a seminar with a collection of people who had mental or physical illnesses that they believed were cured by God. One of them was someone who apparently used to be autistic but is all better now thanks to the Lord. Stuff like this supports the idea that autism is awful and needs to be cured, this is harmful to autistic people.

Doesn't pay his artists and uses friendship to get cheap labour

KurotheArtist collaborated with butch for a while, animating some of his videos and providing ideas and helping with scripts for ones like the draw my life story. Butch is in breach of contract and owes Kuro $1400 for his work on the ImagiNathan project that was later cancelled. Kuro made a video about this which also mentions the whole "curing autism with prayer" as his reason for finally talking about it publicly.

Was caught tracing someone else's art for a $200 commission

His commissions are a minimum of $100. Which is a lot, most of its just for the price of his signature at the bottom tbh. It's $200 for full colour. This video came out, overlaying a picture of the character he was payed to draw over the commission image. Even using an image reference, it lines up far too well.

[queenofcats17]

i could see hell's studio joey accidentally fusing henry's soul to bendy's soul and body and it taking joey a week to undo the what he did

That’s certainly interesting. Linda’s gonna kick his ass.

———————————————–

Alright, so, Henry’s streak of not getting involved in shenanigans had officially been broken. First, there had been the fusion thing and now there was…this. Granted, with the fusion thing, Henry had agreed to it. This…This he had not agreed to. And now he was stuck occupying the same body as Bendy until Joey got this fixed.

Backing up, it had all started a few days before. Joey had been trying to figure out ways to reduce the stress on the toons’ bodies. They sustained themselves through ink and magic, but strong emotions tended to disrupt the magic holding their bodies together. Case in point, every time Bendy got stressed and started dripping on the floor. Bendy had tried to dissuade Joey, but Henry had backed his friend up for once.

“It would be good if Joey managed to find a way to make you more stable,” Henry said. “I mean, it would certainly make Wally’s job easier.” He laughed.

“Joey doesn’t need to mess with black magic for that,” Bendy grumbled.

While he did like the idea of having a more stable form, he absolutely didn’t trust Joey to not screw this up. Joey was a good man. He meant well. But he was basically the human version of Murphy’s Law. If it could go wrong with him, it would. But…he trusted Henry. So, if Henry thought it was alright, he’d go along with it.

In retrospect, neither of them should have agreed to it.

Joey’s idea involved using Henry’s blood to form a connection between Bendy and Henry. Since Henry was Bendy’s creator, Joey thought that having a connection to Henry’s soul would make Bendy’s body stronger as a result. If it worked, he could try linking Alice and Boris’ souls to people who had strong connections with them.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Bendy announced as he and Henry sat in the circle. Because of course Joey had to draw up a circle. At least he’d started using chalk instead of paint. That was only really after Wally had thrown his mop down and announced he wasn’t going to clean up the paint anymore.

“Oh, it’ll be fine.” Joey waved a hand, opening up his spellbook. “This spell is perfectly safe!”

“That’s what you always say.” Bendy gave him a deadpan look.

“I mean, it’ll probably be fine.” Henry was getting a bit nervous himself, but it was far too late to back out.

“Don’t encourage him, Henry.”

After a few more minutes of preparation, Joey pulled out a knife from his desk.

“Alright! Now you both need to cut your palms!” He announced brightly.

“Joey…Has that always been in your desk?” Henry asked slowly.

“Oh no, it’s a recent purchase,” Joey said, holding the knife out to the two of them.

Henry and Bendy both stared at him for a little bit before Henry took the knife. He chose not to cut his palm, (because that would have really hurt) instead pricking his finger. Bendy cut his palm because he was committed to aesthetics.

“Alright, now press the wounds together,” Joey said. They did as he asked and Joey began to chant. The candles began to flare, the air getting heavier. Both Henry and Bendy started to feel strange, and get the distinct impression that something was very wrong.

However, before either could say anything, they were consumed by a bright light. The fact that there was a bright light should have tipped everyone off that something was wrong, because every time one of Joey’s spells had gone wrong it had been preceded by a bright light and the candle flames flaring. Joey still hoped everything was alright, though. Until the light faded and Henry was gone.

“H-Henry?” He asked, eyes widening as panic began to rise in his chest. Had he just killed Henry? Or banished him to another dimension? Oh, gods. Linda was going to kill him.

“I’m right here.” To his surprise, Henry’s voice came from Bendy’s mouth.

“Henry?” Bendy frowned, looking around. “Where are you?”

“What are you talking about? I’m right here.” Henry said. “Where are you?”

“No, you’re not!” Bendy turned around.

“Uuuh….” Joey laughed nervously. “You two…might want to see this.” With shaking hands, he held up a small hand mirror.

Both Bendy and Henry screamed when they saw what was reflected back. It was Bendy but dressed in Henry’s clothes, and with one human-looking eye. For an unbearably long time, the office was silent. Joey’s hands were shaking so much he nearly dropped the mirror multiple times. Finally, Henry spoke.

“Linda’s going to kill you.”

.

Linda did not kill Joey. She did, however, give him the lecture to end all lectures. Joey feared no god nor king, but he feared Linda Stein.

“You fix this.” She said once she was done yelling at him.

“Yes, ma’am.” Joey squeaked.

“Good.” Linda turned back to the strange amalgamation of her husband and Bendy. “Why don’t you take some time and rest while he figures this out?”

“Yeah, of course,” Henry said, despite knowing full well that neither he nor Bendy would be resting.

The fact that they were now one entity made things more difficult for both of them. Bendy had to be everywhere, supervising everyone. Henry stayed in one position and drew for hours on end. Henry conceded to allowing Bendy to go about his duties, although he did insist upon stopping every so often so he could draw. He got fidgety when he couldn’t. But he wasn’t allowed to be drawing frames. Those took a lot of time that Bendy didn’t have.

Luckily, they weren’t on a deadline, so Henry wasn’t absolutely needed. They had other animators that could cover the slack while Henry was out of commission. This did nothing to ease Bendy and Henry’s stress. They were very stressed at being in this situation. Bendy’s form did seem more stable, though, so that was probably a plus.

“So, how are you holding up?” Sammy asked at about day 3.

“Everything is awful and I hate my life.” Bendy groaned, face first on his desk.

“What about you, Henry?” Sammy craned his head a bit to see if he could notice a change in expression to signal the shift in who was speaking.

“His stress is making me stressed,” Henry replied. “I want my body back so I can hug my wife.” Sammy nodded. It had been a bit jarring, hearing Henry’s voice come out of Bendy’s mouth. And the fact that Bendy and Henry argued a lot now that they shared a body was weird. But weird was par for the course in this studio.

“I finished the songs for today, by the way.” Sammy pushed the papers toward Bendy.

“Thanks, Sam. You’re the best.”

Sammy couldn’t help but smirk at that. “You’re welcome, boss.”

Thankfully for everyone in the studio, Joey had it figured out by the end of the week. He’d worked extra hard because he didn’t want Linda to murder him.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll figure something else for Boris and Alice.” He promised before disappearing into his office. Wally found him passed out about an hour later, curled up on the couch in the corner of his office. Both Bendy and Henry took a few days off after that to just relax. Linda hadn’t been about to let Henry back in the studio for a few days anyway.

[legendaryobservationpuppy]

The Most Effective FRESH DOG FOOD DELIVERY IMO: HEALTH AND CONVENIENCE FROM THE FARMER'S DOG

At an occasion years ago, I talked with somebody who was a quite pet-savvy person. We spoke about dog food, as well as I mentioned adding fresh veggies-- carrots, beans, peas, etc.-- to the young boys' food. She looked aghast. "I don't feed my dogs individuals food," she said. "I don't want to transform them into beggars."

OK, the habits issue apart, when she stated "people food," I could not assist yet question: Well, what is dog food made of otherwise ... food? A minimum of, shouldn't it be constructed from food, genuine food, like the kind individuals eat? If a bag of kibble states it has carrots in it, exactly how's that various from providing your dog a carrot?

The discussion seemed ridiculous to me, and now, say thanks to benefits, it's come cycle ...

THE FARMER'S DOG FOOD REVIEW

WHY FRESH DOG FOOD?

This is the large, underlying concern: Why feed your dog fresh dog food?

At the end of the day, food is food is food is food. What makes one meal different from another eventually comes down to just how it's made, right? Take the carrot example. Boiling and also steaming both prepare the carrots, however steaming protects its nutrients while steaming sheds 60% or more of the carrot's nutrients. Eating a raw carrot may not be best, either, though due to the fact that study shows that some food preparation techniques may really boost the carrot's antioxidant power. Basically, a steamed carrot is a carrot, a boiled carrot is a carrot, a raw carrot is a carrot, a dehydrated carrot extruded right into kibble form is still a carrot ... however they're not all nutritionally equivalent. I believe we can all settle on that, as well as I believe we can all concur that there's absolutely nothing grosser than a boiled carrot. (Actually, perhaps steamed asparagus is grosser?).

Anyway.

If you're mosting likely to eat food, which of course you are, and also if you're going to feed your dog food, which of course you are, wouldn't you want it to be the most nutritionally-rich food readily available? Obviously you do! We all do! And the advantage to our dogs is that they don't have to pick between, claim, a smoked poultry bust vs. drive-thru chicken nuggets because we make the decisions on their behalf. So, it stands to factor that if we know fresh food is best, as well as we're in position to make a decision the most effective food to feed our puppies, we 'd wish to go fresh, yeah?

There are a TON of fresh foods hitting the market (more on that particular in a minute), however we've found The Farmer's Dog to fit our way of living, spending plan, and Coop's belly peculiarities.

Backing up one fast action: When I wrote about The Farmer's Dog previously, we switched foods after getting the results of Cooper's allergic reaction examination. At the time, I really did not write a complete review due to the fact that I wasn't certain how handy it would be given that I was so focused on food allergic reactions. We were so pumped to find a recipe that really did not include a single allergen from Coop's list, and also while he's restricted to among the three solutions for that extremely reason, it's made measurable, obvious distinctions in his stubborn belly. I wanted to sing that from the roofs! However, SO numerous of you have actually connected with details concerns I really did not answer in that blog post that I believed I would certainly draw them together in a full evaluation nevertheless!

Note: Because I assume turning proteins is so very vital, we're still rotating in The Honest Kitchen due to the fact that 2 of the three solutions from The Farmer's Dog do include irritants on Coop's list.

The other large point is that our food manufacturing system is deeply flawed. Romaine lettuce, any person? I'm certain you've all seen the congeries as well as gobs of dog food remembers as a result of tainted active ingredients, too. Actually, there's a significant one underway as I kind this: FDA Alerts Pet Owners concerning Potentially Toxic Levels of Vitamin D in Several Dry Pet Foods.

It's critically essential to me that we're feeding Cooper a food where the active ingredients are properly sourced as well as the production is smaller range for much better quality assurance. I fully recognize that no food manufacturing system is excellent. For that, we would certainly have to expand as well as make our very own, which allowed's be straightforward, isn't taking place.

THE VERY BEST FRESH DOG FOOD DELIVERY.

I assume we can all concur that fresh food is the method to go, however that's not without a substantial list of pros vs disadvantages when it concerns pet food. It's not like you can stroll right into the produce area of your local pet store and also pick up a fresh dish, ya understand? Let's take a look at a few of the evident advantages and disadvantages of fresh dog food as well as fresh dog food delivery services:.

Price: Equal parts PRO/CON. I enter into this carefully below re: The Farmer's Dog, yet these services are definitely more costly than getting an average store bag of kibble (though there are several superior kibbles that are similar or even more costly). I do assume it's worth taking a look at the expense of health-related issues from fast food vs. wholesome foods. However you men understand me: I'm NOT somebody that says in a covering declaration kibble is bad. It's not. Although I advocate genuine, whole food, these solutions could not fit your budget plan. #noshame It's my viewpoint that The Farmer's Dog is priced at a reasonable worth. It's most definitely a stretch if you've been feeding normal kibble, however not if you've been feeding premium or, as we were, a dried alternative like The Honest Kitchen.

Packaging: PRO! Alright, you guys. You know I'm consumed with searching for green remedies to every animal care problem. Well, The Farmer's Dog can be found in recyclable packaging AND the insulation is corn starch that you liquify in your kitchen area sink! The brand is dedicated to sustainability, as well, so you can trust that their production techniques are gentler on the setting.

Website/ordering: CON. You can not see the formulas till you create an account. I feel like that's a disappointment for those people that have dogs that are SO sensitive to active ingredients that we can't choose till we see every last active ingredient.

Ease: PRO! Extra on this below, yet having the food automatically shipped is a life saver.

Small-batch manufacturing: PRO! For all the factors mentioned above. And also each packet comes identified particularly for Cooper.

THE FARMER'S DOG VS OLLIE (OR NOMNOM NOW, PETPLATE, ETC.).

Fresh food + shipment is the future, y' all.

Hopefully by now you're on board with the fresh food item, yet shipment?

OK, so I know that you're busy. I'm hectic, you're active, we're all essentially extended so thin it's difficult to maintain. Grocery store pick-up has actually changed my life! I truthfully can't stand entering into the shop-- really, grocery buying is my single most despised chore-- so buying online then driving over and having a person tons it right into my auto is, in my opinion, the best invention of my life time.

At the very least it was.

Till ... Delivery!

Distribution is the next wave of convenience foods, which is SO much better than "comfort" foods like McDonald's or microwave meals since you can pick all your very own healthy and balanced foods and have them given your doorstep. My neighbors, who have 5 youngsters, obtain their groceries provided, and also I'm certain it's altered their lives right! Well, that's just how I really feel regarding fresh food distribution for my pets. I think more people are demanding delivery for more and more things (I have 3 different apps on my phone for takeout/delivery services ...) so you can expect to see tons of fresh dog food shipment brands appear to fulfill that requirement.

After my previous article, I got a lots of inquiries regarding exactly how The Farmer's Dog compares to Ollie. Truthfully? We've never attempted Ollie. I did Google a bunch of the brand names that are currently around, and also almost everything I read placed The Farmer's Dog towards the top for convenience, expense, and also alternatives. Right here's a testimonial from a food blog site I like if you want to check out some particular contrasts.

Just How Much DOES THE FARMER'S DOG COST?

It varies. It depends on the dimension as well as age of your dog as well as his or her everyday calorie requirements. Let's say you enjoy a sedentary pug. Well, your price is going to be reduced-- and also appropriately so!-- than my high-energy, perma-pup Am Staff mix. He needs a great deal of calories in the day to stay up to date with his skittering as well as cat chasing!

That said, they do supply arrangements to do the dish as a mattress topper, which I believe would be an ahhhhhmazing means to blend whole foods right into a kibble or dehydrated diet plan in a cost-effective method.

My recommendations? Try it at 50% off as well as see. It's either going to work wonders for your dog as well as his diet plan (which I truly do think it will certainly) or it will not! But, it can't hurt to try, specifically at such a reduced cost.

ALL-TIME LOW LINE.

At the end of the day, every person wants to do what's finest for their pup. That's it. All of us do the best we can with the criteria we have. No, this isn't mosting likely to be for everyone. It might not be a square meal option for you, either, yet the topper situation might work. Or, possibly you're ready to dive into something brand-new. Everybody's doing their ideal, and as long as you're caring your pet dogs, you're doing terrific. If part of that includes attempting The Farmer's Dog fresh dog food shipment service, I would certainly enjoy to assist you start with a discount: Click below to try it for 50% off!

What rocks have I left unturned? I attempted to answer the inquiries I had obtained via email as well as DM, but in case I missed something, or if an additional question cropped up for you as you were reading this, please leave them in the remarks! I 'd love to supply as much info as feasible, and if I do not understand the solution, I'm always satisfied to connect to the business to find the right information!

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 273

Okay, so this episode kind of sucks.   At some point, I want to go back and put together a top ten worst Dragon Ball episodes list, because I think it’s kind of an interesting topic.   I dig this anime a lot, but out of 444 episodes, it stands to reason that some of them aren’t so hot.  

I don’t know if DBZ #273 necessarily makes the cut for worst ten, but it’s got some serious problems.  Chief among them, Majin Buu has defeated everyone, so he just sort of runs around on an empty planet with nothing to do.

Kibitoshin is upset, of course, because Vegito was doing so well, and then Buu absorbed him.  However, the Elder Kai notices that Buu hasn’t transformed after absorbing Vegito, so maybe there’s a glimmer of hope here.

As for Buu, he celebrates by flying into the nearest empty city and smashing up buildings and cars. 

Then he start bombarding the landscape with pink ki blasts, which... would be kind of scary or exciting, or something, if there were anyone left alive to care.  

The only people left on Earth are Mr. Satan and Dende, and they never interact with Buu in this episode.   Mr. Satan desperately pleads for Dende to do something, but he’s not a fighter, and it’s beyond his power.  

Meanwhile, Buu notices that he hasn’t changed after absorbing Vegito, but he doesn’t much care.   Maybe it’ll take longer, but even if he doesn’t gain any powe from the absorption, he’s still secured his place as the mightiest in the universe.

Then he rips off his shirt and tosses it away.   I always wondered about this, because I assume his clothes are made up of his flesh, which is how he’s able to regenerate them along with the rest of his body.   Maybe he transmutes some of his body into clothes when he does that?   I’m just wondering why the shirt didn’t grow a new Super Buu after they finally beat this guy.

All Super Buu seems to care about is becoming the strongest in the universe, so that no one can stop him from enjoying the death and suffering of other beings.  I get the impression that these are Majin Buu’s two principle directives.  Be stronger than everyone else, and kill everyone and everything he can find.  The different forms and personalities of Buu may vary in priorities, but everything seems to come back to those two things.   Fat Buu tried to give up killing people, and that’s why he turned into Super Buu.    His violent nature was re-asserting itself against his newfound conscience.

Meanwhile, Vegito is inside Buu’s body.   The Kais are delighted to discover this, because it means that he tricked Buu into absorbing him on purpose.  Somehow, Vegito’s ki barrier protected him from the absorption process, but it still allowed him to be drawn into Buu’s body.   It also shrank him down, but he’s still alive and able to act upon Buu from within. 

Vegito’s plan is to search for Piccolo and his children, and remove them from Buu’s system.   I don’t understand why he would go to such lengths, though.   Would it not be simpler to just kill Super Buu, along with all the people he absorbed, and then wish Piccolo and the boys back to life with the Dragon Balls?   Maybe he was worried that they wouldn’t be separated from Buu, even in death.

Anyway, the moment Vegito drops the barrier, he defuses into Goku and Vegeta.   Neither of them understand it, since the Potara Fusion was supposed to be permanent.  Goku suspects it might be because of the bad air in this place, but Dragon Ball Super established that Fusion by the Potara is only permanent when used by a Kai.   When mortals use them, it only lasts about an hour.  

I’m not wild about that explanation, but it fits the facts.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense for Buu’s body to undo fusions, since Gotenks was able to exist inside Buu for some time.   I don’t think the Vegito/Buu fight was supposed to have lasted a full hour, although that would be well within the runtime of Episodes 269-272.  And there’s precedent for very powerful fusions wearing off sooner than expected.   Super Saiyan 3 causes Gotenks to separate after about five minutes.     In Dragon Ball GT, Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta separated after about ten.   In Super, Vegito Blue dissolved in about 15.    So maybe Super Saiyan Vegito took a toll on the Potara, and they just happened to give out at this moment.

On the other hand, the Elder Kai was fused with a mortal witch millions of years ago, and that fusion was quite permanent. Maybe it’s only temporary when both participants are mortals.   At any rate, there seems to be an effort in modern Dragon Ball lore to de-emphasize fusion an instant solution to beat powerful villains.     It was never easy to do in the first place, but the stronger you get, the shorter it lasts.  In Movie 14, Goku ruled out fusing with Vegeta to beat Beerus, because he didn’t think Gogeta would be strong enough to win, and it’s looking like Super Saiyan Gogeta is about as strong as a fusion can get before it becomes unstable. 

In any case, Vegeta is grateful to be done with fusion, and he crushes his earring to ensure that they won’t re-combine once they leave Buu’s body.    Goku is horrified by this, because the last thing they need to do is reduce their available options, but Vegeta would sooner die than accept any more fusion.

So Goku crushes his own earring in frustration.   Okay, now that I get a good look at it, I see that the Potara use a threaded clamp to attach to the ear.  I always wondered if Goku and Vegeta had to pierce their own ears right then and there to use these things. 

So this is the start of the final leg of the Fusion Saga, which is just Goku and Vegeta trying to make their way through Buu’s interior.   The next three episodes are pretty good, but this one doesn’t offer nearly as much.   After a few minutes of walking, they step into some quicksand-like surface and get pulled down....

... into what passes for Buu’s stomach.    There, they find giant cakes and eclairs that Buu has eaten recently.   Also, that orange liquid is his digestive fluid.  I’ve never understood how Majin Buu could even have discrete organs like this, since his body is constantly getting shorn apart and rearranged.  Maybe this internal structure exists in another dimension.  

Anyway, they climb up on a candy bar or something, and then they drift towards a whirlpool, which I guess leads to the rest of Buu’s digestive tract.  For some reason, they seem to have forgotten that they can fly or jump.   At one point, they get surrounded by other food, and they act like this cuts off their only chance of escape.  

Then they fall back in the stomach acid, which burns their clothes but not their eyes...

And Vegeta finally blasts a hole in Buu’s stomach lining so they can escape.   Well why didn’t he just do that in the first place?

Outside, Buu feels a slight pain in his gut, and he wonders if he’s having indigestion from absorbing Vegito.

Inside, Goku complains that Vegeta may have given their presence away with that stunt.  Vegeta doesn’t care, since the alternative was to get digested.  

Then they wander around for a while.   So if they’re out of his stomach, why is all this cake here?   Anyway, Goku warns that if Buu eats nothing but sweets, he’ll get fat, which is dumb, because Buu was fat, and now he’s pretty lean. 

Then all these green blobs show up, which I guess are some sort of digestive organelles, and they burn Goku like the stomach acid did. 

They try to fight the things, but Goku gets swarmed and they somehow immobilize him.

Then this thing shows up.

Vegeta doesn’t help him, he just shouts instructions from the sidelines.   What a trooper.

This right here is dumb.   Goku could shake these green things off in like two seconds, if he wanted to, but we’re supposed to think this is a cliffhanger? 

So yeah, not a good episode.

[quarantineessayseries]

Issue #1: Food Timelapses

He fires his hyper-jets and blasts off into the fifth dimension, into a world beyond human comprehension, into a world where time has no meaning.

- Calvin and Hobbes, 06/08/1986

Entering a world where time has no meaning hasn’t been half that exciting. There was no blast-off, and there’s not really that much to comprehend. There’s a virus, and people have been giving it to each other, so if we don’t want to get it or spread it we have to stay inside. It’s very simple.

What’s not simple is remembering what day it is. Holding on to a daily routine is hard when you can’t conceptualize the future. These past several (I think between four and seven) weeks have evaporated, and it’s impossible to say how many more will be subsumed by the quarantine before we can get out and do whatever it was we used to do all the time.

Fortunately, I’ve been keeping track of all the shit I’ve watched on the internet to make these weeks fly by the way they have. If I can’t glean at least one essay from each subgenre, then I might have to face the fact that I’m spending too much time on YouTube. That doesn’t sound fun at all, so here it is: the first issue of the Quarantine Essay Series. It’s about food timelapses.

This is not a niche thing. There’s not a lot to explain, either. A fade-in to a slow zoom on a banana slice, an accelerating timer in the corner, and a mass of ants that rush in and steadily reduce the banana to a tiny pile of crumbs. Another slow zoom as the footage plays again in reverse, and the video is over. With Temponaut Timelapse, you know what you’re going to get, and you get it in high quality, within an efficient, comforting format, and with some top-shelf stock music underneath. This is why 317,000 people have pushed the thumbs up button underneath the title Ants vs Banana Timelapse.

Other bright stars of the Temponaut stage include mold and maggots. Mold is the best. It’s vibrant, unpredictable, and just as efficient as the ants, without all the chaos. Mold goes through stages- on bananas it goes for surface coverage, but with a papaya it will start on the inside and grow its way out. On pineapple, at least three distinct colors of mold battle for dominance, and in a smoothie tiny spores grow like soft trees. In the channel’s third most-viewed video, green mold sucks down a whole glass of white wine. It’s awesome.

If I had any control over the flow of time, quarantine would be over and I wouldn’t have to waste so much of it online. Fortunately, I do have control over YouTube’s playback speed, and the “2x” option not only smooths out the motion but makes the royalty-free instrumental bangers infinitely more manic and interesting. My other recommendation is not to watch any of the ones with raw meat. In the best case scenario, it appears to cook on its own for a few days before shrinking and turning colors that my animal instincts tell me are very, very bad. The worst case is when the mysterious, gloved owner of the Temponaut studio lets in a couple flies, and a roiling family of maggots jostles and drags the cut around the table like a fucked-up little car. It sucks.

The best thing about this channel is that reverse at the end of every video. It would still be popular without it, because if people didn’t have an innate need to see things happen at different speeds the Slow Mo Guys wouldn’t have a bus ad. But that quick reverse- the reliable, perfect undoing of a steady, natural process- creates a weird kind of happy ending. I don’t know about everyone else, but seeing a caprese salad wasted without it coming back to life at the end would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I don’t think I want these essays to function as recommendations, but this is a channel I’ll vouch for. There’s no distracting human element, no wasted time, and there’s a giant back catalog you can blow through at double speed. Surrender to the stock music and the mold will suck up your time like wine.

Next on the Quarantine Essay Series: To Catch a Predator

[svynakee]

Promare thoughts/impressions

Watched Promare. Overall, enjoyed it very much and it was everything I expected it to be (extremely TRIGGER, basically). A visual feast that definitely satisfied my shonen action hunger. In summary though, I really wish it’d been a 12 ep anime.

Spoilers ahead.

LIKES

Visuals: Loved the stylisation. The vivid, pastel flames and the polygonal ice made a nice contrast and it looks so different not only from other anime films but also from other animations by the same studio? Brilliant.

TRIGGER being themselves: Illogical story with a grand scope, bombastic action hero, easily distinguishable character designs.

Hiroyuki Sawano: His music is just what you’d expect from someone of his calibre. Absolutely floored; also, quite a range in the soundtrack! I remember especially when Galo starts talking about the Japanese firefighters the music shifts to something more traditional.

Galo not being racist: Well, not being prejudiced. While its pretty par for the course to have a protagonist learn to overcome his prejudices in this sort of story, the fact that a person in the rescue ops doesn’t, you know, hate the victims who cause the disasters he’s meant to respond to is very logical.

Kiss follow-up: The no-homo fake out. Not gonna lie, they had me in the first half when Galo recoiled and seemed disgusted. But it would’ve made no sense because like he said, it was a medical procedure he’s been trained to do. Putting his mouth on anyone, regardless of gender, should not have grossed him out. And it didn’t! Being unhappy that he ‘started a fire’ makes more sense because his entire job (passion) is about stopping Burnish. There’s a real lack of hetero-signalling here actually. Promare’s not afraid to let its viewers decide how Galo swings.

Female gaze: Yeah sure there’s that shot where Aina’s butt is on display but the camera sure seems magnetised towards Lio’s crotch.

Lio’s refreshing morosexuality: Once they start working together in earnest, Lio is quick to just indulge in Galo’s quirks. He trusts the guy easily but not to the point that he stops calling him out for stupidity. Very movies end with me knowing that characters from opposing sides have a strong friendship ahead of them. Promare is one. I might talk more about Lio’s match with Galo more elsewhere, but for now, I do like how he isn’t shutting Galo down/constantly arguing which is what you usually see when a serious character has to work with a boisterous one.

DISLIKES

So most of my dislikes come from the fact that it’s a movie. There’s no way they could’ve done otherwise in a 1:51 timeframe, but knowing what the studio’s capable of, I can’t help but wish I saw their full potential.

Character development: Nobody really grew. Not every story needs it and not every character needs to change, but the lack of flaws addressed hurt Galo and Lio’s memorability I think. I kept expecting Galo’s impulsiveness to bite him in the ass. Didn’t see it much except for his confrontation with Kray. I even thought the ‘don’t pose and focus’ thing might come back, notably during the Lio de Galon fight when Kray keeps justifying his robot’s weaponry as terraforming equipment. Galo and Lio are just the type to shut him up and point out ‘If it’s being used to hurt people, it’s a weapon! If you hurt others, you’re a villain! Nothing can justify that!’ since it fits thematically into that fight as well.

Streamlined plot: TRIGGER has been shown to have a good grasp of story pacing. It can feed you one bit of ridiculousness at a time until they bring out something awesome but extremely stupid, knowing that they’ve tempered you enough it’ll just be epic. In this timeframe, that just didn’t happen. Not enough foreshadowing, too many crazy concepts introduced too late, and there was more than one Deus Ex Machina if you know what I mean. Instead of a proper build up that ended on a strong final note, it felt like a brief but sudden blaze that flickers out to leave darkness.

Less dynamic camera: Made it hard to follow the action sometimes. In a way it’s like the plot; too much momentum and not enough time to process it. A good spectacle is worth nothing if there’s no chance to digest it.

Flat supporting cast: Again, this is because TRIGGER’s animes have been strong in this aspect. The movie timeframe means limited screen time, but Mad Max Fury Road had only ten more minutes and managed to set up its supporting cast well. In Promare, they’re mostly reduced to archetypes. What are their relationships? Motivations? They feel more like talking props, like the NPCs you have milling about the map shouting flavour text. There might be more in the supplementary material but for the movie itself, I didn’t like most of the characters not named Lio or Galo. In fact-

Don’t like Galo: Or rather, don’t find him compelling. Unlike Ryuko or Simon, I don’t think he could carry a series. He lacks depth and drive beyond ‘I am a firefighter’. Sure, he’s stupid and loud, but those are personality traits, not a personality. Being nice, determined, having a love of pizza…these all feel so generic and TRIGGER is capable of so much more. Galo feels like an alright lead in a movie where a lot is happening, so he doesn’t have to carry anything in terms of emotion or drive, but he’d be boring in a full-length series. Or even a movie trilogy.

Don’t like Lio?: While I don’t agree that every conflict has two equal sides, I dislike how squeaky-clean Lio is. He feels more like the shonen protagonist than Galo sometimes. He’s caring, skilled, honourable, intelligent, determined. His flaws? If you shoot him then try to commit genocide he’ll knock on your door and ask to fight you. It’s unclear if there’s any casualties during his rampage, which makes sense because we know his flames can be harmless (by his choice) and he was specifically threatening to destroy Kray’s city unless Kray listened. On the other side you have Vulcan and Kray. He could’ve afforded a bit more ruthlessness and still come out clearly heroic. It would have given him more intensity to better contrast Galo.

WHAT I WANTED

In summary? Promare as an anime instead of a film. I’d give up smooth fights and shiny CGI any day for stronger writing and characters with impact.

Longer timeframe in-universe: The plot essentially takes place over a week, which limits how much development characters and relationships can undergo. Lio feels too ready to trust Galo. Galo can’t process Kray’s betrayal. The sisters’ story is just kind of shoved on you like unwanted vegetables spooned out by a health-conscious mother. Dr. Exposition suddenly comes in and starts tying up loose ends so abruptly I had to check my phone to see if the movie was almost over. The short timeframe means Promare feels like a marathon-length sprint.

More moral ambiguity: The Mad Burnish are still righteous and try to minimise damage. However, their plans don’t always work. They leave escape routes but fail to account for impaired mobility. Young Burnish lose control while they’re on the run, endangering ordinary humans. Lio is forced to make tough choices. He becomes more jaded, which leads up to the betrayal where he can truly break and begin rampaging. I’m not saying he needed a full Satsuki Kiryuuin thing, but damn do I miss her sheer badass aura. Lio lacks that dangerous feeling. You know he’s apologising inside if he steps on you.  

Galo’s popularity: Galo is shown to have great PR and love playing the crowd. Kray has good PR. The Burnish have bad PR. Instead of Prometh looping a vid with his hacking powers, Galo could’ve convinced the city of Kray’s evil the traditional way: a big speech about humanity and believing in yourself (and not Kray because Kray is evil).

Promare: Lio tells us the fire is alive. Interesting. Prometh says the fire is actually aliens from a parallel dimension whose prime directive is to burn also they feel pain if the Burnish are hurt. My reaction is like Galo’s: I sleep. The entire concept of the promare…I just don’t like it. Maybe I don’t like how they al disappear at the end and fix the Burnish.

In my ideal Promare, the things I love TRIGGER for would all be present. Strong supporting cast. Multifaceted characters. Build up that just gets more ridiculous and epic at a steady pace. Good fights but also quieter breather moments. More jokes.

More Promare, basically.

[osmw1]

Dimension Wave   Chapter 29 — Dimension Wave: Conclusion

—?!

It wasn’t clear who landed the final blow, but Cerberus let out as if he had been torn apart. At the same time, a flash of white light blinded everybody in the instance as they braced themselves for the next attack. The light dissipated and revealed white clouds on a backdrop of blue… just as the skies had been before all of this happened. White petals blew across the battlefield; we were now in a field of flowers in full bloom.

“We did it!”

Everybody was in high spirits and some were crying out from our shared triumph.

“Good job, team.” “Well done!” “That was a doozy.” “Hell yeah.”

A victory fanfare played in the background—this is an MMO, so of course it did. I sat down on the bed of flower as both my—as both Kizuna†Exceed’s body and mind were exhausted. The tension and anxiety I was holding back crushed me all at once now. It was extremely stressful avoiding getting hit as a Spirit.

—The first wave of Dimension Wave has been defeated!

The game popped up a message in my vision. There was also a ranking of who contributed the most. Let’s see where I placed…

—Overall rank #77: Kizuna†Exceed

Looks like I’m 77th place among all other players. There were a few other rankings as well.

—Total damage given rank #1: Tsugumi†Exceed

No surprise there. That scythe was great for crowd control.

Oh, there’s a ranking for resources contribution as well. Alto and Romina were in the top 10. They did a lot to back us up, eh?

Another category was “Everyday”. I assume that’s for like activities, like cooking and other roleplaying elements? I’m at #542 for that.

“Holy! Look! There’s someone who took 80,000 points of damage!”

That guy was #2 for most damage received, but who’s #1?

—Total damage received rank #1: Kizuna†Exceed

… hey, that name looks familiar! I fell prostrate on the ground. Now that I look at myself, my clothes had been unequipped, leaving me in my underwear.

Name/ Kizuna†Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 19,550 Mana/ 8,100 Serin/ 46,780

Skills/ Energy Production X, Mana Production VII, Fishing Mastery IV, Hate & Lure I, Gutting Mastery IV, Cleaver III, Speed Gutting III, Naval Combat IV, Transmutation I

… well, that makes sense.

“Required level to equip… Energy, in my case…”

I never knew there was a level requirement for my clothes. They got unequipped because I don’t have enough Energy now, I assumed. Guess I don’t have much of a choice but to use my old equipment. I’m glad I kept everything in my inventory. I clicked out of the rankings and looked through other information.

—Buffs and item usage

There were patch notes for new skills, equipment, and other changes as well. More weapon types were added too. Something I was just talking about is the new specialization for scythes, called war scythes; dual blades derived from one-handed swords; and katanas from two-handed swords. I can’t tell for sure unless I check with the next one, but I’m sure there are new items and skills that are affected by each Dimension Wave.

Oh, hey, it said that fishing rods can now be equipped with reels. I’ve gotta get me one of those. I kept scrolling through the notes.

“Racial powers unlocked?”

That line caught my attention while I was skimming. First off, lemme see what’s in store for Spirits.

—Stone of Mediation implemented.

A crystal that allows its user to project their soul. Or, at least, that’s what this Spirit-exclusive rock claims to be able to do. Every Stone of Mediation has a different effect. Some may shorten the amount of time needed to produce Energy or reduce skills’ Energy usage.

Finally, it looks like we all get something from participating in Dimension Wave. Ranks 1-5, 6-100, 101-1,000, 1,001-5,000 all get different items.

And since I’m number 77, I should be getting something pretty decent. I clicked Yes on the dialog box asking me whether I’d like to receive my reward. Then, a slot machine with numbers and fruits on its reels popped up in my vision. After a quick spin, three icons of souls lined up in the center.

—Energy Blade obtained.

It looked so fitting for a Spirit like me, though the description looked far from normal.

Energy Blade Weapon type/ Not applicable Attack/ 0 Prerequisites/ Must be a Spirit User must have at least 2 Energy to equip this weapon. The user charges up the blade with Energy then unleashes all of it in one single blow. Beware that all charged Energy will be expended upon making an attack, regardless of its success.

All that’s there to the weapon is just its handle. It’s reminiscent of old movies and anime, like how the blade part would only appear if the sword chooses its wielder. It sounds cool and all, but I’ll hold off judgement until I try it out. Personally, I don’t have strong feelings either way. Since it’s a Spirit-exclusive weapon, it’s quite the oddball. I bet it’ll be tricky to use as well. At the very least, it’s not an option for me in my current state. It won’t be long until I’m back in business, so I’ll just keep it safe for now.

“Kizuna.”

Shouko showed up just as I had finished stowing away the Energy Blade into my inventory. Just like everybody else, I congratulated her with a “Well done out there”. But even though we’ve defeated the Dimension Wave, she looked less than happy. I couldn’t help but worry about her.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” “No, it’s just that… I overdid it out on the battlefield, causing you to suffer such terrible damage…” “Oh, that’s what’s bothering you? Don’t worry about it. The true winners in games are ones who enjoy themselves, isn’t that right?” “Still—”

Shouko seemed to be bothered about me losing my Energy. I had been swarmed by the mob, hurt myself in trying to protect Tsugumi, and nearly lost my life when I was drawing the boss’ aggro. Even if I had voluntarily done all that, she must be feeling guilty about all of the damage I faced. But I knew. I knew Shouko had tirelessly used her counterattack skill to protect me. Still, the fan-type weapon needs to be charged so, of course, she couldn’t block 100% of Cerberus’ attacks. Nevertheless, it was touching to hear that she had been thinking of me the entire time.

“More importantly, the sea! I mean, I’d love to head back out onto the water, but with the little Energy I have left, I’ll just be dead weight.” “Nonsense. I will help you reach… no, rather, I wish to be by your side and reach beyond the horizon together.” “I couldn’t ask for anybody better. I knew that before, but seeing you out there today, I’m even more sure of it.”

I can’t forget how graceful of an acrobatic Shouko was when facing Cerberus. And frighteningly, she’s as skilled as Tsugumi. Even though her prowess suits the frontlines much better, knowing her and her personality, I’m sure she’ll choose to stay with me. But I know better than to outright ask her to return to the frontlines.

“It’s been a long day. Let’s head back to the First and get some rest.” “Oh, but…” “Hmm?”

Shouko pressed her index finger to her lips, cueing me to stay quiet. Then, she looked over at Cerberus’ corpse. I get it now… gutting, eh? I was going to tell Roz and his party about the power of gutting-type weapons, but I didn’t get the chance to do so. I definitely had a hard time keeping cool back there. I mean, it’s only natural to get mad when someone insults you and your friends, right?

We made our way over to where Cerberus fell and eyed the other players. Many of them were already teleporting out of the instance since the raid was finished. The thriftier ones were walking home while the frontliners didn’t even bat an eye when they used their Tomes of Returning. Some of the braver ones were even saying how they’re headed off for the next battle. There were still too many people around for me to start gutting—that is if I still wanted to keep this a secret.

“Shall we stay here for a while? It’d be a waste to not enjoy the scenery.” “… yeah, why not?”

The bed of flowers was simply fantastic—both in the sense that it was beautiful but also unrealistically so. It’s almost as if the devs put it in here for us players to relax after the raid. Well, Cerberus’ corpse lying there kinda spoils the view though.

“Miss Kizuna!” “Oh, hey, Yamikage. Good work back there.” “I thank ye, but I bear exciting news.” “Ooh, what is it?” “I am now the highest ranked Spirit!” “Number one in the Energy rankings, eh?”

It’s no surprise for someone who has accumulated a total of more than a million Energy. I bet Circle Drain contributed a lot to her growth too.

“Where’s Sheryl anyway?” “… I have been here the whole time.” “Agh! Don’t scare me like that.”

Sheryl suddenly spoke up from behind me. I had no idea she was with us. It’s almost like she concealed herself or something. Well, I’m probably unperceptive because I’m just too tired.

Near the end of the raid, Sheryl was still fighting the mob to not get in our way. It’s boring, but someone’s gotta do it. Or rather, it shows exactly how considerate and attentive Sheryl is. Like that time with the bird-type monster who tried to run from us. She’s always there to back us up and to take care of loose ends. Anyway, it looks like we’re all back together now.

“I don’t think I need to explain much, but let’s enjoy the garden here while we’re waiting to do that thing I always do.” “‘Tis a splendid idea!” “‘kay.” “Yes, let’s.”

I’ll be honest. I’ve never sat around in a park to enjoy the cherry blossoms or anything like that in real life. But perhaps I’m still feeling the adrenaline rush from the fight, this was a little exciting. … I mean, as exciting as looking as flowers can be.

“It’s a little boring to sit around with nothing. I’ll make sure I take up cooking next time, so we can have a picnic or something.” “Will it not be straining your Energy reserves, Miss Kizuna?” “You’re right, but it’s something I should learn sooner or later. It’ll be useful for our voyage on the seas.” “That would not be a bad idea. We bring some food on board, but if we run out, we can rely on cooking.” “Since we have Shouko and Yamikage as specced purely for combat and Sheryl for crafting. I guess that leaves me as the team’s cook.” “… only if you’re okay with it.” “It’ll synergize well with my weapon type too.”

I’ll catch and cook our meals. Now that I think about it, I don’t do much with the fish after I catch them. Why didn’t I take up cooking sooner? The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Hmm? It sounds like someone’s running up to us. It was Tsugumi and Roz’s party.

“Big brooooo!”

She barreled towards me and squeezed me tightly in her arms. Maybe because I’m low on Energy, but I didn’t have the strength to pry her off of me.

“That was some amazing support there, Kizuna.” “You too, Roz. Almost all of you are ranked in the top 100, right?” “Ah, we were just lucky.” “You guys wanna join us? We were just about to celebrate our victory.”

Roz looked like he thought about it for a quick second. Well, I don’t blame him for being hesitant in front of total strangers.

“I hate to say no, but we’ve got to get going.” “You guys heading out for more grinding?” “Nah, but we’ve gotta figure out our equipment and skills.” “Frontliners sure have it rough. Well, good luck with that then.”

They’re throwing themselves back out onto the battlefield right after a huge raid battle. Honestly, I’m ready to pass out already. Frontliners are just so impressive. Well, I mean, I’ve been in their position before too. I know just how addictive games can be. Roz didn’t look like he was here just to say hi.

“Anyways, I was hoping to talk to the girl with the fan.” “Yes? What is it?”

Shouko looked at him with suspicion. He’s gonna ask her to join their party, I bet. Well, after seeing Shouko perform like that during the raid, everybody should be begging her to join their parties.

“I was wondering if you’d like to join—” “No, thank you.”

She cut Roz off before he could even finish his sentence. Yamikage and Sheryl looked like they wanted to say something but judging by how quickly she rejected him, I don’t think anyone could change Shouko’s mind. It was a bit of a shock, frankly speaking. I wouldn’t have expected her to flatly reject him like that, given how considerate Shouko is. She was quick to understand what he wanted as well. But even for being such an upright and proper lady, Shouko has her brash moments too, I guess. To refuse him like that is not unimaginable. Rosette seemed a little taken aback as well.

“But with your skill, you’d be perfect for the frontlines.” “I will follow Kizuna no matter what.”

… I’ve knew from the get-go that Shouko is like that, but still, that’s super embarrassing for me. I can still remember how politely she bowed to me when we first met.

“I see… sorry for trying to poach your party member like that, Kizuna.” “No worries. That’s just how Shouko is.” “Yeah, I can tell… those bastards have no idea what they’re missing out on.”

I’m guessing he’s referring to Shouko’s previous party members. It’s easy to judge us Spirits by the rumors that surround us. A lot of people fall into a bad habit of blindly listening to whatever strategy sites or wiki pages instead of seeing it for themselves. It really is a shame for them. I’ve really hit it off with Shouko. Not only is she a great person, she’s real skilled at combat too.

“Alrighty, then we’ll be heading off.” “Gotcha. I can’t wait to fight alongside you guys again.”

Roz and his party waved goodbye before teleporting away. But my sister, Tsugumi, is still clung onto me like a koala.

“Listen…” “What’s good, bro?” “Your party’s gone already, y’know?”

Tsugumi looked over her shoulder to see no traces of her teammates anywhere. Then, she shook her head and looked at me.

“What’s up?” “… big bro, are you guys going to sit here and chill for a bit?” “That’s what we’re planning to do. What about it?” “…”

For some reason, Tsugumi was staring straight into my eyes. She only looks like this when she’s really concentrating at her games. She must be thinking long and hard about something. No one—not even Kanata—can break her concentration. It’s like Tsugumi gets into some sort of a trance. Shouko gets into a hyper-aware state like this sometimes too. But Tsugumi? She only gets like this when she’s doing something she likes… that is to say when only when she’s gaming. And seemingly as if she’s figured it all out, she beamed with a smile.

“Alright! I’ve made up my mind! See ya, big bro!”

Then, she disappears after using a Tome of Returning. What was that all about?

“Anyway. Let’s go enjoy the flowers, shall we?”

We sat around chatting until everyone around us had left.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /ch012/ /ch013/ /ch014/ /ch015/ /ch016/ /ch017/ /ch018/ /ch019/ /ch020/ /ch021/ /ch022/ /ch023/ /ch024/ /ch025/ /ch026/ /ch027/ /ch028/ /ch029/ /next/

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Power Rangers Thunder Summary

Once again there are spoilers Story: Lord Zedd is back having survived his last battle with the Rangers, and assuming physical form again. He banishes Rita for her failure, and takes control of their forces with new Z-Putties, and new monsters created by infusing random Earth objects with dark magic. His first act is to destroy the Dinozords then hold the Rangers hostage in the Dark Dimension where he recreates the Green Candle, and creates new Red, Black, Blue, Yellow, and Pink candles to drain the Rangers powers, and place them in the dark power crystal. Then he kidnaps Bulk, Skull, and their friends Rocko, Cindy, and Laurie, and brainwashes them to be his evil Dark Rangers using new Ranger powers created by the dark power crystal, and piloting the Dark Zords new Zords created from the remains of the Dinozords. Now the Rangers must save Bulk, and the others, and use the power of thunder to turn Zedd's evil powers, and Zords into the good Thunder Ranger powers, and Zords, and stop Zedd's new super monsters. And what of Zordon's own master who brings a prophecy that yet another Ranger will inherit Zordon's own Ranger powers to help the Rangers defeat Zedd, and his minions. Rangers: Jason Scott Ranger Form: Red Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Swords Zord: Dragon Age: 17 Bio: Jason is still practicing martial arts, and playing on Angel Grove high's sports team, he starts volunteering at helping young children with sports, and martial arts, and starts practicing with Ryan when he shows up. Zack Taylor Ranger Form: Green Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Mace Zord: Lion Age: 17 Bio: Zack is still the cool kid of the gang. He is finally going out with Angela which often forces him to hang out with her little brother Phill, and while they initially don't get along they put aside their differences for Angela, and later helps Millenia when she returns, He later starts hanging out with Rocky when he shows up. Billy Cranston Ranger Form: Blue Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Nunchucks Zord: Unicorn Age: 17 Bio: Billy is still the resident nerd of the team but is a lot more confident, and is still dating Margret which has gotten him involved in helping her in art, and with her, and Kim's Angel Scout troop. He also starts hanging out with Adam when he shows up. Trini Kwan Ranger Form: Yellow Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Whip Zord: Griffin Age: 17 Bio: Trini is still helping with various clubs, and charities in Angel Grove. She is now dating a boy named Richie who is working at the Ernie's, and later starts hanging out with Aisha when she shows up. Kimberly Hart Ranger Form: Pink Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Spear Zord: Phoenix Age: 17 Bio: Kimberly is still the most popular girl at school, and is still practicing gymnastics. She also volunteers to help Margret with her Angel Scout troop, and starts hanging out with Aisha when she shows up. Ryan Steele Ranger Form: White Thunder Ranger Weapon: Saba Zord: Tiger Age: 16 Bio: A new kid who moves from Stone Canyon to Angel Grove. He befriends the Rangers, and starts practicing with Jason. He starts having visions of becoming a Ranger himself which are realized when he finds Zordon's old weapon Saba, and inherits his previous powers as the White Ranger to fight Zedd's new monsters. Allies Zordon of Eltar Age: 30,000,000(looks 60) Bio: The Ranger's mentor he helps them convert Zedd's evil Dark Ranger powers, and Zords into the good Thunder Ranger powers, and Zords when his own mentor Bookalah returns he reveals that he was once a Ranger himself in his younger days, and accepts Ryan as the heir to his powers. Alpha 5 Age: 10,000,000(acts 12) Bio: Zordon, and the Rangers' robotic companion he still runs the command center for them. His friendship with the Rangers, and their friends inspires him to try to experience life outside the command center but this sometimes puts him into danger from Zedd, and his minions. Rocky DeSantos Age: 16 Bio: One of Ryan's best friends from Stone Canyon he and their friends Adam, and Aisha are kidnapped by Zedd but rescued by the Rangers at the cost of learning their real identities. He is fun loving, and loves to eat, and starts hanging out with Zack Adam Park Age: 16 Bio: Another one of Ryan's friends from Stone Canyon who is also kidnapped by Zedd, and learns the Rangers identities. Like Billy he is initially shy, but later gains confidence from hanging out with Billy, and practicing martial arts with the others Aisha Campbell Age: 16 Bio: Like Rocky, and Adam she is one of Ryan's friends from Stone Canyon who learns the Ranger's identities after being rescued from Zedd. Like Kimberly she loves fashion, and she loves animals like Trini which leads to the three of them hanging out. Bookala Age: Unknown Bio: Zordon's own mentor he comes to Earth to inform that he has restored Zordon's previous Ranger powers, and to give the Rangers Saba, and the Thunder Daggers, and later gives them the Power Cannon, and Tor the Shuttle Zord Millenia Age: 30,000,000 Bio: A kind, and powerful sorceress she returns from the mystical forest to help the Rangers fight Rita when she returns. Being trapped on the Island of Illusion for millions of years makes her tempted to get revenge on Rita but the Rangers help her make the right choice. Villains Lord Zedd Age: 10,000,000(looks 40) Bio: Zedd has survived his previous battle with the Rangers, and returns assuming physical form. He uses his dark magic to create new Z-Putties, and new monsters by infusing random objects with dark magic. He later has Squatt, and Baboo bring back Thrax, and when Rita returns he falls in love with her again. Goldar Age: Unknown Bio: Zedd's strongest minion he still fights the Rangers alongside Scorpina though he sometimes takes time to help her raise their son Glork though that hasn't lessened his ruthlessness or power, and is still a force to be reckoned with Scorpina Age: Unknown Bio: Goldar's wife, and his other most powerful minion. Like him she has to take time to raise their son Glork but is still a powerful adversary who can give the Rangers a run for their money. Finster Age: Unknown Bio: Once Zedd, and Rita's monster maker he is now reduced to focusing his energy on making Z-Putties for Zedd now that Zedd makes his own monsters, and is starting to feel obsolete around the palace. Squatt, and Baboo Age: Unknown Bio: Zedd's bumbling henchmen they accidentally discover the gate to the Underworld which allows Zedd to resurrect Thrax again. Thrax Age: 10,000,000(looks 10) Bio: Zedd, and Rita's son he is resurrected again by Squat, and Baboo around the time Ryan becomes the White Ranger after Zedd discovers the gat to the Underworld. Still as nasty as ever he enjoys treating the Rangers as his personal playthings to destroy. Rita Repulsa Age: 10,000,000(looks 30) Bio: An evil, and powerful sorceress, and the wife of Zedd, and the mother of Thrax she is banished by Zedd for her repeated failures to destroy the Rangers, and Earth. She later returns rejuvenating herself, and uses a potion to get Zedd to fall for her again Mondo the Magnificent Age: 10,000,000(looks 40) Bio: An old ally of Rita, and Zedd's from when they first turned evil. He is strong, and powerful but overplays his strength, and intelligence which leads him to his plans being undone by the Rangers. Changes: The Rangers switch over to the Dairanger suits when they get the Thunderzords. Lord Zedd is Shaddam from Dairanger but his actual suit from the show is used as a power armor he wears to fight the Rangers in American footage. Thrax, and Rita return as Akomaru, and Galra respectfully. Bookala is more of a recurring ally, and takes a position similar to Grandmaster Yufang from Dairanger Kujaku is adapted as a new form for Millenia The Mutiny, Green No More, and Missing Green are merged into a single 2 or 3 part episode that has Pipe Brain as the monster with Tube Monster being an upgraded form of Pipe Brain for the Megazord fight. Ryan Steele is the White Ranger in reference to how Brad Hawkins was originally going to be the White Ranger before they brought back Tommy Rocky, Adam, and Aisha don't replace Jason, Zack, and Trini because I liked it when they were friends of the Rangers who knew their identities, and I want to save them being rangers for Zeo. Bulk, and Skull's friends Rocko, and Cindy are based on a nameless girl character who showed up in Teamwork, and Food Fight who I thought could be an "evil" Kimberly, and a nameless guy character from Food Fight who I thought could be an "evil" Zack. Laurie is based on the actual Dark Yellow from Power Rangers since I thought there should be an "evil" Trini. Mondo The Magnificent who was a one time monster from Power Rangers based on Shadam is adapted into the American version of Zydo though he would still be voiced by Mike Reynolds, and he shows up around the time Rita comes back. Like in Dino for Zyuranger monsters that were good or became good in Dairanger are also good or become good. There will be chapters/episodes for unused Dairanger monsters. Certain episodes will be split into two episodes, or changed around. For instance Two for One is split into two episodes a Billy focus episode where Pursehead is the monster, and a Kimblery, and Ryan focus one where Lipsyncher is the monster. The Power Rangers version of Bird Cage Vagabond is the monster of Blue Ranger Gone bad because his Dairanger episode was a Tenma Ranger focus episode, and Vase can have a different episode. All the various time travel, and alternate dimension episodes are condensed into my version of The Wedding, and all the Dairanger monsters from them will have their own stand alone episodes. There will be a season finale based on Dairanger's finale about Lord Zedd getting his hands on a magic crystal based on the Great Earth Shaking Jewel to give himself, and Serpentera unlimited power. The Cotpotros are adapted as the Z-Putties because I wanted to adapt them, and I didn't like the actual Z-Putties because I thought their weakness of getting hit by a Z on the chest was kind of dumb.