#straight up there with the ones Outsider gives in Dishonored (like time control and short range displacement)

[lordsovorn]

I love it when stories approach familiar generic concepts and, without subverting anything, specify a few details to shape them into something very particular and interesting.

For example, out of recent favorites, how Dandadan does telekinesis. On the surface it's all the usual "doing physical things with your mind", but in practice has at least two very specific and memorable varieties:

1) Momo has basically invisible immaterial arms, that nonetheless function exactly like arms - she doesn't merely *move* things, she grabs them, with all the physical implications;

2) Serpo, on the other hand, can't grab shit. They very quickly and very forcefully *push* things though - if we take their own wacky names for their "psychokinesis" literally, it maybe works kinda like a powerful localized change in gravity. But details like holes appearing in their fingers, the angle of this push force changing depending on the gesture, a subtler kind of psychokinesis that influences the nervous system, keep their abilities from far being just a "psychic blast" - while, again, being very recognizable. If a shadowy figure strikes a pose and you're instantly pressed into a crater in the concrete wall, that's a Serpo.

[ginanosakka]

You’re Wrong

Masterlist

The Scars You Hide | Next

You tried to focus on the words of the textbook in front of you, but after an hour of studying, it was becoming hard to care about what stops you from flying out of a car when you turn and how to create a math equation out of it. It didn’t help that it was late in the night that you finally found time to study, your mother dragging you out on a shopping spree where you were forced to smile and nod at whatever she wanted you to wear.

‘I don’t understand why everyone likes shopping so much,’ your thoughts ran off as you looked at the new clothes that laid in the bags sprawled across the floor for your maid, Jun, to put up while you were at school tomorrow morning.

When your phone dinged you jumped at the sound, but before you could even check what the message was and who sent it, something hard smacked against your window. With your unchecked phone in hand, you crept towards the window, cursing your parents for giving you the room on the first floor of your enormous home. Pulling the curtains gently as if whatever had come knocking wouldn’t notice you, you peeked outside and immediately let out a breath of relief.

“What are you doing here?” You whispered after throwing your window open and pushing your curtains to the side.

Katsuki stood outside your home, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants paired with those combat boots he seemed to love more than life. He looked nuts, and maybe he was if he decided to jump your gate and throw things at your window, but the look on his face told you that this wasn’t a time to give him shit on his matching skills.

“Just let me in, dork.” He grunted, and you complied silently by stepping to the side.

That was the first night of many nights when Katsuki couldn’t bare to be alone with his thoughts and came to you to fill in the silence with nonsense. He’d let you complain about your mother, your father, and your maid with only short responses and noises of acknowledgment. When he’d finally jump back out your window at an absurd time, something you worried about since Mina told you how he had a set bedtime for himself, you’d lay in bed with your heart full until you could finally sleep.

Maybe it was how much you talked and complained about your superficial problems. . maybe that’s why everyone hated you.

“You have to talk to her!” Mina huffed, tailing behind Katsuki on his patrol, both of them on duty protecting the city.

Obviously, Mina was more worried about rekindling a fire that was never truthfully lit than stopping a mugger.

Katsuki was doing his best not to shout at her, after the restaurant incident, he’d been forced to do damage control on his image. The reports wasted no time making a story out of it, calling him a temperamental monster for yelling at you. When he watched the video back on a popular tabloid site, Katsuki couldn’t help but agree as he saw the look in your eyes. Still, that was probably nothing to how you looked when he walked away all those years ago, but it’s not like he looked back then.

All it took was meeting you again for you to start taking over his life again, not only conquering his media image in hours, but also his mind with all the hypotheticals. It was hard for Katsuki to see himself as a father, but he’d been one for six years without even knowing. He wondered what your son looked like now and how he acted. Did he have a short temper? Does he even have a quirk?

That was another thing that bothered him; the fact that he didn’t feel any emotions about whether or not his child was quirkless. His whole life he saw people without quirks as weak — he couldn’t count the times he mentioned you being quirkless, let alone Deku — but it was like he couldn’t draw any anger or disappointment at the thought of his son being perfectly average. After looking at that picture, all he wanted to do was get to know his own flesh and blood, and he was still pissed that you took that away from him.

“I don’t want to talk to her and I never will. I’ll take her to court to get my kid if I have to, but I want nothing to do with some spoiled princess.” Katsuki spat, and Mina was beginning to get fed up with how he refused to listen.

She snatched him by the arm, forcing him to turn around and look at her. Even now Katsuki’s glares still sent a shiver down her spine, but she was much more frustrated than scared right now. His red eyes went against her black and yellow ones, neither of them being acknowledged by bystanders who moved around them on the assumption that this was just two heroes discussing something they had no business listening to. That was only kind of correct.

“Her dad threw her out when he found out! She had no one but herself, Katsuki! . . . I don’t even know how she’s surviving, and by talking to her and helping her, you’ll be helping Ryu.”

Katsuki’s glare melted at the last word she spoke and he found himself whispering, “his name is Ryu.”

The tension had vanished into thin air at the mention of his son’s name, the warmth that engulfed his body not being one he’d ever felt before. He’d never even met the kid and he already had Katsuki wrapped around his finger, and Mina knew it. A grin spread across her face when she realized it, and with that, the first phase of her plan was complete. Neither of you may know it, but the son you two shared could bring you two together.

“How was school?” You asked Ryu as you both walked home from his daycare, the school being a small walk from your cozy home and quite safe due to being in the less populated area of the city.

“Boring,” he snorted and you couldn’t help but chuckle at his displeasure. “No one cares about my quirk because stupid Nora can glitter in the sunlight!”

“Does it matter? You like your quirk, don’t you?” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. . Did you ever get bullied for not having a quirk, mom?” Ryu looked up at you, his big e/c wide and curious for what kind of answer you’d give him.

‘Why do children have to ask tough questions? What happened to why the chicken crossed the road?’ You sweat dropped, and quickly tried to come up with a soft but honest answer.

You didn’t lie to Ryu about things, not even about why he was now your only family, but you didn’t present him hard truths that you didn’t think he was ready for. Basically, you gave a blanket answer; a broad answer that wouldn’t hurt him. He was only five after all, why the hell did a five year old need to know about dishonor and abandonment?

“Well, no,” you started gently. “My dad, your grandfather, kind of made sure that didn’t happen and I didn’t know that I was a thing until I was older.”

Until I met your dad.

You ran a hand through his hair and pulled him closer as you walked, “and now I definitely don’t need a quirk when I have you to protect me, right?”

Ryu smiled a smile so bright that you wondered if he could rival the sun, and it warmed you to the very core. That smile was what you lived for, it was the reason you found yourself and wanted to be better. You couldn’t imagine where’d you’d be right now if he hadn’t changed your whole world, the thought of living in your father’s shadow being unthinkable now. You’d trump him, you’d trump his entire company, and you’d trump everyone who used you.

‘I’m strong because of you.’

“Of course, I’m your hero!” Ryu cheered.

“That’s right,” you chuckled.

You came up on your house, and the smile and warmth you once had was taken from you so suddenly that you stopped in your tracks a few feet away from your door. Ryu gasped from beside you and you heard his bag drop to the floor, but you knew his shock was the complete opposite of yours. Both of you were looking at the tall blonde man that stood in front of your door, leaning against it staring into space until he heard the bag drop. His red eyes fell on the both of us and you stopped breathing, not sure of what to do, or better yet * what he’d do.

“You’re Dynamight!” The first words were spoken by your son, his high pitched voice nearly yelling those words as he took a few steps forward.

You watched Katsuki’s reaction carefully, trying to prepare yourself to get Ryu away from him if he even so much as snapped at him. This wasn’t how you wanted them to meet — you didn’t want them to meet at all — and from your last interaction, you weren’t sure if he even wanted to meet Ryu. Yet all you could do was watch for the time being.

Katsuki looked him dead in the eyes, his usual resting bitch face, but there was something soft about it that shocked you. He was in his hero uniform, probably coming straight here from whatever hero work he was doing, and there was no question on who told him your address.

You’d most definitely be strangling a certain pink pixie later.

“Yeah, you’re Ryu, right?” Katsuki said, talking the next few steps towards him and bending down to be his height.

Ryu’s face was out of your sight, but you could imagine he was exploding with happiness. “Yeah! How did you know? Did you come to recruit me for your agency?! Mom, did you know?”

‘If I knew he was coming I would have sent you across the country.’

“I didn’t, but why don't we invite Mr. Dynamight in? He’s probably tired,” you suggested.

“Oh yeah! Come in, we can talk about hero stuff and I can show you my toys!”

Ryu took Katsuki’s hand as you walked past them, brushing Katsuki’s shoulder gently and ignoring how your body yearned to feel that warmth more closely. You unlocked the door and let Ryu lead him in, closing the door behind them and taking off your heels. Both of you were technically still in work attire, yours being business casual while his was. . hero official?

Katsuki was probably unnerved by Ryu’s talkative nature, but you simply went to the kitchen like you usually did when you got home and rummaged the cabinets for your tea. As long as they were both in close range, you could take a second to pull yourself together so you don’t throw your child’s idol and father out of your home if he so much as breathes in a way you didn’t like. If you were to act out now, you’d really have to sit down with the boy, and if you weren’t ready for them to meet, you certainly weren’t ready for that.

Your tea kettle didn’t even get to whistle before you took it off the stove, pouring the piping hot water into a cup with your tea and adding the sugar. The noise had died down in the living room where you could hear Ryu tell Katsuki all he knew about him — which was a lot — and you were staring to become concerned that Bakugou had possibly said something that hurt his feelings or kidnapped your child, but those theories were put to rest when footsteps came into the kitchen.

“He talks as much as you did.” Those words affected you more than you’d like to admit, not expecting him to want to make any connections between you and the son you both shared.

“He’s my son,” you stated the obvious. Turning around to face him with your tea in hand, taking a small sip of the burning hot liquid as you gazed at him with cold eyes.

Katsuki didn’t know what else to say, he had no plan for what he’d do once he got here, only getting your address from Mina and refusing to ask for advice. He had never walked on eggshells with someone before, it was usually everyone else trying not to piss him off. He didn’t know if he was scared of you, or how wrong he was about you. He didn’t have a clue that you were living a normal life, and once he came across your house in such a small neighborhood without gates and security, he felt even more guilty about yelling at you in that restaurant.

“When I told you to tell me when you’re ready to meet him, I didn’t mean just show up at my house.” You said, and as calm as it sounded, he could tell that you were picking your words wisely. She obviously didn’t want Ryu to know who he was yet, and he didn’t think he wanted to either with how happy the kid was to see him as his idol.

How would he see him if he knew he was his dad?

“How did you do it? . . I mean, what do you do now?” Katsuki asked, choosing to ignore your initial statement and get the answers he was seeking.

You were getting tired of being questioned, but this is what you get for reaching out. “If you’re asking how I’m able to take care of us, it’s because I started my own business with the money I had saved up. Next question,” you answered casually as you continued sipping your tea.

“. . Why did you tell me now?”

He noticed that question seemed to break your composure, your cold and aloof expression turned sorrowful and your eyes stayed glued to your cup. Katsuki didn’t understand why he felt his stomach drop at the sight of it, but he blamed it on the guilt he already felt.

“Ryu started asking about you more. . and I thought maybe it was because I wasn’t spending enough time with him. . but the more time we spent together the more questions he’d ask about you. I had to face the facts that I can’t play the part of mom and dad, and he deserved to meet his real dad even if we never get along. He deserved to get to make his own impression of you,” you admitted.

Katsuki was once again speechless, but the spotlight was quickly torn off of him.

“He’s my dad?”

A/N: Annnnd we have a new chapter! I hope you enjoy, and thank you all for all the love on this book 🥺! I appreciate all the comments and revolves so much! Muah!

Taglist <3 : @fandomgirllover @cloudsgathering @that-bipolar-renegade-romantic @jazzylove @that-chick212 @bonbonthedragon @misssugarless @insomniac-nerd-posts-things @bakugous-bakahoe @pinkykookie17 @animexholic @arielting @samkysnks @simpforeveryone @saucey-kneecapzz42020 @damnirina @fireworkemoji102 @deneuves @tsumuuumiyaaaa @ladybeautiful18 @vintage-teddyxo @mirakeul @regalmigraine

[emo-floof-child-writes]

The Sword of the Solstice.

Chapter Thirteen: Duel of the Two Clans.

The gate looms over them. Eijiro shudders. To him, the walls surrounding Loyaci seem to be alive. Like if he wasn't careful, they'd materialize into cracked, mossy, stone hands, and squash them into jelly. The gate itself is made of a black metal, and unlike everything around them, Eijiro can't find a sign of decay on it. Certainly there was no rust. Above them, the dark clouds thicken, to the point that the reddish sky above is nearly impossible to see.

"Well, how are we going to get in?" Izuku asks, looking at Shoto. Momo lifts her fingers up, her index and middle finger touching, and makes a triangle in the air, a trick paladins use to ward off evil. Shoto proceeds to repeat the gesture, and sighs. "Well, this is a rather rash plan, I fear we will be walking into a trap. But we also do not have many options." He unsheathes his sword, and lifts it above his head. The power that you've given me, O lord of the Morning, I ask that you need your humble servant, and grant me this one request. He squeezes his eyes shut. I beg that you would send your Light, and be with me as I cleanse this great Evil from this world.

He winces, as he feels pain slip through his right hand's finger nails, like someone was peeling them off one by one, leaving his nail beds exposed. He drops his sword, and Izuku jumps out of the way, to avoid decapitation. "Shoto! What's wrong?" Izuku asks, his voice shaking. "My lord!" Momo says, as Shoto inspects his hand. He hears a bone chilling cackle. "Thought you got rid of me, did you?" Dendar's hissing, raspy voice taunts. Shoto looks down at his right hand. He sees black tendrils sliding under his nails, and covering his fingers in darkest black. "My lord?" Momo asks, her voice shaking, as she grabs hold of his hand.

Shoto grimaces. "I'm fine." He says, and Dendar's cackle returns. "You are absolutely not fine. You are turning into another of my lovely little puppets!" Her raspy voice sounds almost sweet, but it made Shoto feel woozy. He wraps his arm around his stomach, trying to alleviate the queasiness that settled in there. I will beat you. Lathander is with me. Dendar's presence giggles, which really makes Shoto shudder. "Lathander may have helped you earlier, but I'll keep coming back. I'll suck you dry and leave nothing but an empty husk to complete my true purpose." Shoto gasps. And that would be? "FOOL! You think I'm going to tell you?! I know better than that. The only way you'll know is if you join me willingly." Shoto swallows. Never.

"Oh well, can't blame a Primordial Deity for trying!" Shoto ignores her, making that gesture again over his hand, in an attempt to stop the pain, and the blackness that now covers half of his right hand. Dendar scoffs. "Give up, I'll soon have what I want." Shoto grabs his head, trying to squeeze her presence out of his skull. "Lady Momo, use your magic!" He cries, as he grits his teeth. She gasps. "And do what? The Command spell only works a short time!" She says, and he swallows. "Do you know the Geas spell, by chance?" Shoto asks, remembering that last he saw Momo, she was studying some of the more challenging spells.

She groans. "Unfortunately, that one has eluded my grasp." Izuku looks at Eijiro. "What's the Geas spell?" Izuku asks, looking down at the Solstice Sword. Shoto sighs. "Doesn't matter, we can't use it." He says, and Eijiro shakes his head. "No, what were you hoping to do with that spell?" Eijiro asks. Momo sighs. "The Geas Spell can make someone forced to do your will, or pay the price of a slow painful death." Momo explains. Izuku pulls out the Solstice Sword. Hey, Solstice? Could you cast that spell? "I could doeth that, but that spell will draineth me again." Izuku looks at Shoto. Is there no other way to fix this? "Besides to smiteth thy friend... but even if I casteth the spell, it mayhap not worketh. It is too risky, Bearer." Izuku growls. "Yeah, well, risks are a part of life, cast it." Izuku says, out loud, pointing the sword at Shoto.

The sword makes what sounds like a sigh, and golden yellow encircles the sword. "What doth thou wisheth to maketh thine friend's affliction doeth?" Izuku swallows. Make it obey Shoto for as long as it can be allowed. The sword hums in hand, and the golden light shines out like a beam towards Shoto, who is grimacing as the darkness covers the left side of his face, making his teeth look sharp and fanged. The light engulfs Shoto, and he gasps. The darkness pauses, and Shoto hears a shrill scream. "CURSE THAT SWORD!!!!" Dendar screams. Shoto takes a deep breath, as the pain subsides.

"Sir Izuku, what did you do?" Momo asks, looking at trembling Shoto. "I uh, asked Solstice to cast that spell you mentioned." He says, and Shoto chuckles. "You say that so nonchalantly. Only a select few can cast that spell effectively. It's not as rare as the Lathander's Lightning, but it isn't an easy task." Shoto turns to the gate. "Now that I can control my body again, we need to open the door." Izuku sighs, and looks down at the Solstice Sword. "Perhaps Solstice can help?" But even as he suggests it, he can tell he used all of the sword's energy. Shoto shakes his head. "No need, perhaps now that I'm back in control of my body, I can summon Lathander's power. Lady Momo? Care to join me?"

She smiles. "Indeed, my lord." They plant their feet, square their shoulders, and lift their hands in a gesture that Izuku has come to associate with paladins channeling their power. I can't do anything to end the spell on myself, or the magic barrier, but perhaps— Eijiro sighs, and pushes on the door. "No, don't!" She cries, as the black door makes a loud rumble, and black tendrils shoot out of the metal, wrapping themselves around Eijiro. Shoto lifts his sword, and slashes the restraints. The blade bounces off of them, as Eijiro starts to get pulled into the door.

He digs his heels into the dirt, while trying to squirm out of the tendrils grasp. He growls, puffs of smoke and small flames shooting out of his mouth and nose. Shoto groans, and slams his sword down on the tendrils again. Eijiro spits fire at the tendrils, but its grip on Eijiro strengthens with every attack. Izuku charges, lifting Solstice over his head. "Why did you have to touch the obviously evil door?!" He says, stabbing at the black ooze. The coil makes a squish! as the sword punctures a hole in it. Izuku pitches forward with a little too much force, making Izuku slam into the door. His blade arm, however, goes straight through the door.

Eijiro lands on the ground, with a shaky laugh. "Guess that's why no one could get in." Momo helps him stand. "What part of my story about me being the only one left alive did you not understand?! Be more careful!" Eijiro sighs. "Understood. Uh, Izuku, you good?" He asks, as Izuku stands, frozen. He takes a breath. "I'm fine, I just got a little shaken up." He slashes the door, and cuts an opening up. He walks through, and the others follow him. The city around them is obscured by purple mist, and an unearthly silence resides. "This isn't spooky at all." Eijiro comments, as he picks at his scales.

Shoto lifts his sword. "Last chance to turn back." Momo says, and the others shake their heads. "We need to keep going." Izuku says, and Eijiro bars his teeth. Momo sighs. "Very well, let's go." They trudge through the mist, until a cackle breaks through the dead silence. "Finally, the pieces are coming into place. If only the Girl could make it today." A male voice says, as a silhouette of a humanoid figure pushes its way through the mist. The figure has glowing purple eyes. Like what Tsuyu said the strange folk people had seen abroad had. Izuku remembers with a shiver. But what does he mean by "the girl"? Izuku sighs. This can't be good.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Later that night, Katsuki walks into his tent, and takes a deep breath. Tomorrow morning I'll have to duel for the honor of my clan. I can't lie, Round Face makes a point. He beat MOTHER. What if I fail, and I cause a much worse fate for our clan? He grunts, and kicks a clump of dirt. "What did that clump of dirt do to you, Son?" Masaru asks, and Katsuki turns to face him. "I challenged Neito Monoma to a duel..." Katsuki says, in a whisper. Masaru sighs. "Are you sure that is a good idea?" He asks, and Katsuki shakes his head. "He dishonored Mother. I can't let him get away with that." Masaru nods. "Just be careful, Son. Don't get reckless—" Katsuki scoffs. "Says the guy who's never had to fight a day in his life!" Masaru groans. "I may not be the true hero you wish I was, but I'm still your father. I worry about you."

"I don't need your worry, Father." He retorts. Masaru frowns. "You didn't see what happened in your mother's duel. She was in pretty bad shape." He says, and Katsuki growls. "Maybe so, but I have to beat him. This is my fault. If I hadn't been out fighting for other kingdoms and peoples, we wouldn't be in this situation." Masaru groans. "KATSUKI BAKUGO!" He scolds, which catches Katsuki off guard. He NEVER raises his voice! Katsuki thinks in amazement. "This is not your fault! The error falls on my shoulders." Katsuki frowns. “Father?” He says, and Masaru sighs. “You’re right about me, son. I’m a coward.” He says, and grabs Katsuki’s shoulders.

“It should be me fighting for our clan’s honor, but ever since I saw what he did to your mother—I can’t—” He squeezes Katsuki’s shoulders, and sniffs. “Please don't die, son.” He whispers, and Katsuki nods. “I’ll bring that sniveling coward down, Father.” I can’t worry about failure now, I need to win for Mother and Father. They need me to win. He grits his teeth. “He’s as good as defeated.” Katsuki adds, with a smirk. He lies down, and sighs. Well, let’s get some sleep before this fight everyone’s so scared about. He has an injured leg, so there’s a huge advantage—right?

The next morning Katsuki walks out of his tent, to see Ochaco standing outside, twiddling her thumbs. Katsuki chuckles. “You wouldn’t be worrying about me too, Round Face?” She scoffs. “You wish.” She responds, not wanting to admit that she got no sleep the night before out of worry for his well being. He scoffs. "Well, watch my back, okay?" He asks, and she frowns. "Aren't these duels like the most honorable things?" She questions, and Katsuki sighs. "Yeah, but you were right. He did seem too confident." She bites her lip. "Okay, I'll watch him." She says, and Katsuki grins. "Knew I could count on you, Uraraka."

She smiles. "You called me Uraraka, not Round Face." She comments. He chuckles. "I know what I said." He says, as he walks over to the arena. Ochaco grins. He trusts me! He's willing to put his fate into my hands. Better not mess this up... She takes a deep breath, and follows him into the arena. She sits down in the stands, and Mitsuki walks up to her. "You can sit up in the booth with us, if you want to, dear." Mitsuki says, and Ochaco shakes her head. Mitsuki didn't seem to take "no" for an answer. "Oh, but you're a friend of Katsuki's!" She says, and Ochaco sighs. I may not be able to see any foul play if I'm up there, but I can't just say no to her! She's intimating... Ochaco laughs nervously, but nods. "I'll still be able to see the match well from there, r-right?" She says and Mitsuki nods. "Best seats in the house!" She assures Ochaco.

They climb up to the booth, and thankfully, she could indeed see if any foul play was going on, perhaps better than before, with the overhead view. Katsuki walks to the middle, with Neito limping in. Please don't die. She thinks. Aizawa (the tired man that works in the employ of the Bakugo Clan), walks in between the two fighters. "Alright, listen up because I'm only going to say this once. The rules of engagement are as follows..." He goes off about being able to kill your opponent, or get them to yield. Weapons will be provided for the fighters, and you cannot use any other weapons. Mitsuki explains that is so they don't use poisoned blades or the like. The final rule surprises Ochaco; "absolutely no magic." If these were not followed, disqualification was the result.

So if I see him use magic, he'll be disqualified... She leans forward, and squints down at them. She sees Katsuki grab a scimitar. Neito grabs a handaxe. "Alright, with that, you may begin." Katsuki smirks, as he charges towards him. He swings and slashes him, and Neito just barely blocks to keep his arm. Ochaco watches Neito, and notices that in-between blocks, he is mouthing something. She growls. Despite my vantage point, I can't hear what he's saying! Mitsuki notices her irritation. "Are you okay, dear? Katsu is doing well." Ochaco bites her lip. "N-nothing." She mumbles.

Katsuki kicks Neito's bad leg, and Neito falls down. Katsuki points his sword at Neito's throat, calling for him to yield. Neito uses his axe to yank the scimitar out of Katsuki's hand, and the force of it sends Katsuki forward. Neito shoves his axe into Katsuki's left side. Mitsuki grunts, and Ochaco gasps, as she sees a familiar purple mist escape from Katsuki's wound. Neito pulls his axe out, and Katsuki's body doesn't move, as if he were petrified. "MOVE IT, KATSUKI!" Mitsuki yells, as Neito lifts his axe again. No... it can't be... Ochaco thinks and swallows audibly. Power Word Stun..!?

She climbs onto the railing of the booth, and jumps down to the arena below. Dendar, now would be a good time for that levitation spell! Ochaco says, as she falls towards the ground. A cushion of air slows her fall, and she sighs. Power Word Stun is such a powerful spell, I don't know if I can dispel it! On my own, at least... She looks at Katsuki, who is leaving a puddle of blood on the ground. If I don't dispel it, Katsuki will die! She takes a deep breath, and with a yell casts Dispel Magic, and she forces out every ounce of magical power into the spell. Neito stops his blow short, as he hears Ochaco speak the words of dispelling.

She sighs, but Katsuki doesn't move. She groans. A cackle resounds through Ochaco's head. "The only way you're getting him back is if you use my power." Dendar's raspy voice says. Ochaco grunts. "And you'll only get that through willing servitude! Oh dear, quite the dilemma, huh?" Dendar taunts, and Ochaco whimpers. There's no other way... I can't save him on my own... She closes her eyes. "Do it." She whispers. "S-s-say it." Dendar hisses. "Say you accept my whole power willingly." Last chance to think of something else, Brain! No?

"I accept." She says, and a rush of raw power escapes her, and sends a purple energy towards Katsuki and Neito. Katsuki gasps, and reaches for his wound. Neito collapses to the floor, and whimpers. "I-I yield!" He says, and starts to crawl away. Ochaco lands, and rushes to Katsuki's side. "Katsuki!" She says, as she inspects his wound. "What just happened? One second he got a hit in, and then you were floating. And what was that purple light?" He asks, and Ochaco frowns.

"I accepted Dendar's power." She says, using her healing magic to seal his wound. His eyes widened. "What?! Why?!" He says, in a panic. "He used Power Word Stun, one of three Power Words. The strongest spells known to warlocks. I needed to dispel it, but I couldn't on my own innate magical power. I accepted her power because it was the only way to save you." He sighs. "Right, so what, you're like a stronger warlock?" She shrugs. "Maybe, but I'm definitely not on the good side anymore..."

Katsuki grabs her shoulders. "You saved me, that's enough for me to believe you're good." She backs up. "No, you don't understand, Katsuki. I'm in her service now. I have to obey her now." Katsuki scoffs. "I refuse to believe that. You can fight it. You've got quite a strong will." Ochaco smiles. "Okay. I suppose I'll try." She says, and Dendar growls. "You can't—" She starts, until a man runs up, panting. "We spotted a dark beast in the forest, and have captured it. What do we do, Chieftain?"

Ochaco pokes Katsuki. "That's you." Katsuki walks over to the man. "May I see it?" The man nods, and walks outside the arena to where a cage lies. A humanoid creature is huddled up inside it. "You said you found it in the forest?" Katsuki asks. The man nods. "It was asking for you, and your elf friend." The humanoid creature turns. "Are you Katsuki Bakugo?" She asks, and Bakugo kneels by the cage. "Yes?" He says, and she sighs. "I was told, 'go to the bridge, and the forest, and find Katsuki Bakugo'." Ochaco frowns. "Who told you this?" She asks. "He said 'Deku'."

[wellknownwolf]

I want to move into a new phase in my relationship with fandom, as I mature with new experiences. I'm not sure what exactly that looks like though. What is your take on the parasocial affection inherent in an RPF like Rhett & Link? Or even the deep attachments that can form with fictional characters? Or a desire to emulate fantasy worlds? I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable with all this, it's just that it's been a long time coming, and once I got started I couldn't stop. - Natasha (5)

First, let me post the full question, since it came in 5 parts:

Hey, it's me again. Your 'mystery inquirer', as you so adorably dubbed me. You're right, I had forgotten I'd sent in that ask. Just now, I couldn't help but think about a scene from Life After, as I am wont to on a frightfully regular basis, which is what got me back here. When you said you pondered over my seemingly simple, banal question for a good while, and wrote out a beautifully thoughtful answer like you always do, it made me happy.

Your narrative voice is similar to my own, and it made my chest ache in a certain way to have gotten such a response to what felt like a random shout out into the abyss (though it obviously wasn't, I sent it directly to you, I guess it's more what it felt like taking a chance on a conversation with a random stranger online). And now I'm cringing a bit at how melodramatic all sounds. But I'm committing to it, anyway. That's the beauty of anon, eh?

Wolfie (is it presumptuous to call you that? Please do forgive me the liberty I'm taking), I must admit. I'm quite envious of this community you have with @missingparentheses, @lunar-winterlude, and other wonderful people. Since childhood, I've been head over heels in love with fandom. Not a specific fandom, I've been a traveller through dozens, but fandom in general. I've read probably thousands of fanfics, spent countless hours daydreaming about beloved characters and their stories.

To the point where, in my most recent and worst depressive episode, it may have been for the worse, if I'm honest. Escapism and yearning to the point of impairment, engendering a sense of constant bereavement. But it's taught me so much about life and its wonders, I can't write it off as just some damaging habit. It's such an integral part of who I am, a deeply curious soul (shout out to my Enneagram Type 5-ers out there!). But I don't anyone to share it with, and it can get quite lonely.

I want to move into a new phase in my relationship with fandom, as I mature with new experiences. I'm not sure what exactly that looks like though. What is your take on the parasocial affection inherent in an RPF like Rhett & Link? Or even the deep attachments that can form with fictional characters? Or a desire to emulate fantasy worlds? I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable with all this, it's just that it's been a long time coming, and once I got started I couldn't stop. - Natasha

.....................................................................

Thank you for giving me so much to respond to, Natasha.  Thank you for continuing to reach out.   I accidentally wrote something like a paper in response to your thoughtful question.  I even conducted a little research and cited a source.  ENGLISH TEACHER, ACTIVATE!

Also, for what it’s worth, I feel at times that I communicate exclusively through shouts into the abyss, so it’s a language with which I am at home.  In fact, it is this very technique, this experiment with intense vulnerability at the hands of a virtual stranger, that earned me one of my absolutely most-treasured friends: @missingparentheses.  I have poured out a great deal of my own melodrama to her, and she has received it and reciprocated it in a way that, three years later, continues to teach me how to be a better friend.  In short, I’m a firm believer in diving straight in when it comes to new friends.  Cringe not; I’m on board.

So let’s dive.

R&L is really only the second “fandom” with which I’ve been involved.  Third, if we count my preteen obsession with ‘N Sync (and considering how much wall space I dedicated to their posters and self-printed photos, we probably should).  My point is, while I don’t have much experience with the community facet of fandom, I do relate to your feeling of near-obsession.  Or clear obsession.  

I know the feeling of escapism you’re describing, and I know the yearning and melancholy that can come on our worst days, where we feel like “real life” will never measure up to the color and brilliance of the worlds we spend so much time considering. These worlds, these characters and their relationships, their challenges, victories, and defeats all seem so purposeful: they’re the plot points we use to craft the stories in our heads (regardless of whether we’re writers at all).  It can be much harder to view ourselves as protagonists worth analyzing, viewing and reviewing through new lenses, perhaps because we’re warned against navel-gazing, perhaps because our self-perception just won’t allow for it.  Maybe a little of both.

But yes!  It teaches us!  We DO learn about life, other people, love, risk, all kinds of things through what we consume in these fandoms, so I would never classify it as a “bad” thing.  We hone our imaginations and learn to pay attention to our own emotions as we recognize feelings from our favorite shows, games, books, and characters arising in ourselves.  

I used to be a little afraid of the fact that I was always telling myself stories, internally imagining myself as someone else, a player in the worlds I often loved more than my own.  I suspected that someday, somehow, I would be caught playing pretend all the time in my own little ways.  I was a bright and ambitious young woman, so why would I give so much of my mental energy to such frivolous pursuits?

In my first semester of graduate school, though, I learned from a Lit. Theory professor who intimidated the hell out of me that we all do this.  We’re all telling ourselves stories all the time, some of which are true and close to objective reality, some of which are more subjective to whatever fantastical (or fandom) material we last consumed.  I’ve whispered my own dialogue in the shower, but so have you whispered yours in your head (if not also out loud in your shower!).  And through this act, however it is performed, I have made those worlds part of my own.  So have you.  In this way, they are real, and I no longer feel fearful of being “found out.”  

When we have those moments of doubt, though, when we wonder whether we’re going too far, it probably stems, at least partially, from the “us v. them” divide between fandom and mainstream society.  We love our little worlds, but we also feel that twinge of anxiety that we might be bordering on obsession, that our guilty pleasure might be discovered and we will be socially punished for it, namely, as Joli Jensen writes in “Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization,” because “the fan is characterized as (at least potentially) an obsessed loner, suffering from a disease of isolation, or a frenzied crowd member, suffering from a disease of contagion. In either case, the fan is seen as being irrational, out of control, and prey to a number of external forces” (13). According the consistent covert (and overt, at times) messages of the mainstream, “[f]andom is conceived of as a chronic attempt to compensate for a perceived personal lack of autonomy, absence of community, incomplete identity, lack of power and lack of recognition” (Jensen 17).  Yikes.  That doesn’t feel good to admit about ourselves, does it?  

Luckily, it’s bullshit.

Treating “fans” as others (outsiders, people who can’t form relationships or find fulfillment in the “real world”) “risks denigrating them in ways that are insulting and absurd” (Jensen 25).  Those who take this stance, who see fans as victims of hysteria or desperate loners, do so in order to “develop and defend a self-serving moral landscape.  That terrain cultivates in us a dishonorable moral stance of superiority, because it makes other into examples of extrinsic forces, while implying that we [members solely of the mainstream] somehow remain pure, autonomous, ad unafflicted” (Jensen 25).  In short, that us/them thinking just makes people feel better about themselves by pointing out an easily-identifiable “other.”

 I have also grappled with the concept of parasocial affection, particularly with R&L.  I was well into writing my first Rhink fic when the thought crossed my mind, “Oh my god, what if I actually met these people someday?  How would I look them in the eye?  I’d feel like a crazy person (again)!”  From the safety of the Midwest, I laughed off the thought.  And then a year or so later, they were announcing their first tour. And I was still writing, here and there, still deep in my affection for them, sometimes wrestling with the thought that I’ve devoted so much energy to people who would never know I exist.  

It doesn’t matter that the attachment was in the most obvious, tangible ways only one-sided.  As an adult who is ever-learning how to navigate the worlds of her own creation and the ones over which she has far less control, I view my intense attachment to characters both real and fictional with deep fondness.   And while I may not receive affection or attention directly from the sources (R&L, fictional characters, sports teams, who/whatever we build fandoms around), I am still earning some very real rewards for my involvement: Because of them, I found my way to a participatory culture in which I was supported and encouraged to express my creativity.  This gave me the push and interest that I needed to hone skills that have not only made me a better writer, but also a better teacher and mentor.  With fandom comes the ability to immediately strike up a conversation over shared interests. With fandom comes a sense of belonging in what we have proven is an awfully divisive world.  

Right now, I’m consuming far less fandom-related material than I did a few years ago.  I don’t really watch GMM anymore and I’m on a break from Ear Biscuits (though I still love it), Gotham ended over a year ago and I’m not in the habit of reading fics right now, and I can’t yet play the remade Final Fantasy 7, so that’s out for me, too (though I know I will fall deep into that well once the game is in my hot little hands).  This all happened by itself.  I never consciously moved away from these sources; I just floated on to other interests and other levels of interest, knowing that if and when I wanted to dig back in, I could always come back.  

I used to feel quite sad at the thought of someday “moving on” from these intense interests.  I couldn’t fathom somehow falling out of love with those bands, actors, or video games.  But for me, the transition into wherever I am now has not been painful in the least.  I’m glad I knew the intensity that I did, and I’m happy with the distance I have now. And there’s a good chance I’ll be fanatic about something else someday.  I’m looking forward to it!

 Here are some responses that I couldn’t organically fit into my essay:

Yes, you can call me Wolfie if you’d like.  That name started with @missingparentheses (her second appearance in this answer!), and quickly became a reminder to not take myself too seriously.  

Second, I don’t think I know any other Type 5s!  I’m a type 8. 

Also, here’s my MLA formatted citation for the Jensen source:

Jensen, Joli. “Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization.”   The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, Routledge, 1992, pp. 9-29.

[less-than-hash]

Holes in the Firmament

Every dev I know has at least one dream game - stuff that they'd love to be able to make some day. The more ambitious these get - the more complex or long - the less likely they are to get made. And in a collaborative medium like games, the more people (and the more money!) involved in a project, the less control any given individual has over it.

This isn't intrinsically bad. (It can also be wildly valuable to a project and rewarding personally.)

But we devs still dream of those games we'd make if we had, say, the resources of a two hundred person studio, the backing of a major publisher, and absolute freedom.

Three of mine are behind the cut.

As a note, none of these reflect upcoming Obsidian projects. Nor are they projects Obsidian would likely ever make. They don't fit the studio's brand. Which is why I'm dreaming about them here, and not pitching them internally. 

So, first up!

A Squad-Based 1st-Person Firefighting Game with a Robust Relationship System and a Branching Narrative

I don't understand why there aren't more games about firefighting - though if I had to guess it's largely because making fire look good in-game is extraordinarily difficult. As is making an environment decay over time (though I suspect there are probably some pretty good, easy solutions for this using dev sleight-of-hand).

There are actually a Iot of interactive sim games about firefighting for training purposes. Much like war and flight, firefighting is something best trained without risking real life and limb.

Firefighting appeals to me as a gameplay space because it's actively protective - it's about limiting destruction and saving lives. But it can very easily be modeled with similar gameplay loops to shooters - ultimately both are about emptying rooms of danger - here it's just with water instead of bullets.

I could be water!

In short, firefighters engage in almost unequivocal good. They're heroic. They’re human. They’re flawed. And they brave dangers every day. But our industry basically ignores them.

Firefighting would give us the opportunity to set games in the modern world with people who, during their off hours, experience much more relatable struggles than your average freedom fighter, super spy, or elite soldier - relationship difficulties, debt, children, and the like.

So what would this game actually look and play like? It would likely be mission-based (calls come in of their own accord, after all), make use of movement and environmental hazards (not unlike a cover-based shooter), and have simple companion-direction mechanics similar to the Mass Effect trilogy or Spec Ops: The Line.

(Alternatively, the action could be dialed down a bit to focus on positioning a la Valkyria Chronicles.)

The gameplay would be focused on keeping your squad alive while saving as many people as possible.

Between missions you hang out at the station, or the bar, or at home - or try to balance all three, a la Catherine. You build relationships, helping your squad perform better together. You never recruit anyone, but your companions, your fellow firefighters, can die in missions, altering the narrative in both tone and content.

tl;dr: Mass Effect 2 meets Rescue Me with some dashes of Catherine

Next!

Narrative-Focused Urban Fantasy RPG/Immersive Sim

How does this not exist yet? Where's our Dresden Files or Hellblazer inspired RPGs? Or even The Magicians or Harry Potter, for that matter?

Where my Chilling Adventures of Sabrina RPG?

There's Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines, which, while fantastic, is 13 years old.

While I'm looking forward to Necrobarista, that seems like a pretty tight, focused experience.

We've plenty of games with magicians in fantasy realms or in space - AKA BioWare's entire oeuvre - but few in the AAA space set in the modern world.

Unless you count superhero magicians.

Wait. Did Dr. Strange even get a game? Google suggests no. What’s going on here, videogame industry? Why won’t you suffer a witch to live?!

Honestly, I get to an extent why this is. There's a reason there've been Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse games, but no Mage games, either for Ascension or Awakening. Magic is broad, and often (especially in games) wildly destructive, which can be at odds with a modern setting (or rather what makes a modern setting interesting).

Art by Jason Chan, from Reign of the Exarchs by White Wolf.

But it doesn't have to be.

The flexibility of magic actually allows for a lot of different gameplay styles. You can do straight up first-person action like The Darkness or stealth survival like Last of Us. If I were to adapt Phonogram, a comic I love deeply, you can bet your ass there'd be beatmatch spellcasting.

A lot of gameplay mechanics we take for granted are actually damned-near magical. 

Maps that point you where to go and tell you where your enemies are? 

Dropping from a second story window without difficulty? 

Regenerating health? 

Items that make you smarter, stronger, or more likable? 

Bullet time? 

Rewinding to an earlier point in time to avoid death or a bad decision? 

So that's another question a developer has to answer: if magic comes in so many shades, what color is yours? What are you hoping to accomplish?

For me, the presence of magic in the modern world demands a layer of secrecy that implies other layers of secrets. A modern world in which magic functions immediately deepens. What else lurks out there? Where are the other magicians? How are they using their abilities?

Additionally, magic is surreal. Bend and twist reality, and you're forced to look at it from new angles. If you can tweak people's emotional responses to you, how do you know the relationships around you are real? 

And that's before you realize your dreams literally might come true - especially the nightmares. Is the face in the mirror a reflection, or something sinister and jealous? Is the ghost haunting you your literal past reaching out to reclaim you?

My dream modern magician game is an open-world immersive sim in an urban setting. Drop Prey, Dishonored, or BioShock style gameplay into a sprawling city filled with physics objects ripe for transmutation and NPCs waiting to be enchanted. Add an otherworld accessed by stepping through mirrors (the entire map within is reversed).

It's about what power can accomplish, what justifies its use, and what its limits are.

Populate the world with a few powerful magician NPCs with their own agendas; dozens of NPCs to chat up, learn more about, seduce, and manipulate; and a threat that could consume reality's very soul if someone doesn't step up to deal with it. Shake. Serve.

tl;dr: Dishonored meets Vampyr by way of Hellblazer and Hellboy

And finally!

Friendship Simulator 2019

My favorite parts of the Persona games and Catherine are the things outside of the core gameplay loops. The bits where you're hanging out with your friends, chatting with them, finding out more about them, and guiding and supporting them (or tearing them down).

Or hiding in the toilet to text your significant other.

One of the things I love about Persona 5: Dancing Star Night in Starlight is that the narrative is almost solely in this mode. It's entirely about learning more about your fellow Phantom Thieves.

Lest you think I uncritically and unabashedly love it, P5D has some major narrative problems - it entirely fails to pay off its initial premise, for example, and there's no persistence to the player choices or (player-driven) reactivity within the narrative.

Nor does the way the player "progresses" the narrative make a tremendous amount of sense within the fiction of the world.

Sorry I got distracted.

Point is, from a narrative perspective it's a game about getting to know people better - literally exploring their lives - and then supporting (or undermining, if you're terrible) them.

Similarly, nothing the player says in Persona (or, for the most part, Catherine) has any impact on the game. The player might progress a Social Link more slowly by being an ass to the protagonists' friends, but they'll still increase that Link over time, provided they put time into it.

And I don't want to be dismissive here. Time management is one of the major ways in which the player engages with the Persona games. Outside of combat and maybe monster-training, it's probably the most important mechanic at play. Taking longer to max out a Social Link means you're missing other content and missing opportunities to increase your stats. Or maybe the Social Link doesn't get completed at all. (Sorry, Haru.) Or maybe you’re not powerful enough to overcome the next Shadow in time and your game ends. Those are non-trivial consequences.

But the story of the Social Link, or the story of the game, will never change based on (the vast majority of) the player's interactions with their buddies.

Despite that, the games give the player a lot of freedom as to when (or whether!) they approach those relationships.

On the other end of the spectrum, Life is Strange (and Before the Storm) does a fantastic job of letting the player get to know the characters around Max (and Chloe) and responding logically to the player's choices.

The kid who has a crush on Max (Warren, I think?) remembers what the player promises him and then responds to whether or not the player follows through on it.

If Chloe plays A Game That Absolutely Involves Neither Dungeons Nor Dragons with her friends, they'll refer to it excitedly later and ask her to join in another round.

The TellTale games are also pretty good at this, especially Wolf Among Us, but that'll take me a bit far afield.

What Life is Strange does not provide the player is any control at all over the flow of the narrative. When the player completes a narrative beat within a scene, they're rushed along to the next scene, which is never one of their choosing. There's plenty of flexibility within the relationships (and within many of the smaller subplots), but little within the game's larger structure.

Ultimately, Persona provides little variability, while Life is Strange provides little narrative control.

I want to make a game that grabs the strong aspects of both of these while jettisoning their weaknesses.

(Far, far easier written than done!)

Basically, I want to make a game focused on the exploration of relationships. Where the personalities are the mysteries to unravel, and the interpersonal relationships between characters the dungeons to be navigated. Where the inner demons are the beasts in need of slaying - not through mystically entering the subconscious and doing battle with the Shadow, but through conversation.

I want a game about building a community, a family, and helping it come to support itself.

I think that one essential change that would make this significantly more doable is discarding the larger threats to the characters, especially those supernatural in nature. The relationships among the cast of Persona 4 are propping for the story of the Midnight Channel Murders. Arcadia Bay's pending apocalypse distracts from the relationships that seem to be the actual core story of Life is Strange.

(I find Before the Storm a stronger narrative than the original Life is Strange in large part because it's not being torn in multiple directions.)

Which isn't to say that there can't be threats, obstacles, and dangers. The world presents all manner of difficulties. Most of them requiring far more challenging and interesting solutions than "stick a sword in it."

That's a lot of abstraction, so what would this game actually look and play like?

Well, as I mentioned above, I think the Persona games, esp. Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 already do a fantastic job of providing the player the framework for exploring a space and approaching relationships at their own pace.

Add into this characters that the player can engage with in order to learn more about them (not unlike Vampyr), help with their problems, and build (or break!) relationships with them or others, and you have something of an open-world interpersonal relationship game. 

The narrative of these relationships would change based on the player's actions (both in regard to how they interact with the character and how they deal with (or fail to deal with) the character's problems). So would the player's reputation, which impacts their interactions with other characters.

(The reputation system is actually one of my favorite ideas in Pillars, but I think we sometimes fail to use it to its full potential. I certainly know I do.)

Side note: in this dream game, the relationships I'm describing are not expressed in a systemic way. They're not ranked like Social Links, and they don't have reputation bars like in Dragon Age or Tyranny. It's much more akin to Life is Strange here, with each character containing their own narrative(s) to be navigated.

Over time, you bring some of these characters closer to your protagonist, recruiting a tight-knit circle that helps you face the game's primary conflict. These relationships bounce off of one another. You can never make everyone happy, after all, and some people will never get along. Late game play requires that the player balance these relationships and help forge friendships or avoid catastrophic fallings out.

Yeah, but what is that primary conflict? 

Potentially anything the world could throw at a person. A lot of television shows have provided us a framework we can borrow from. Veronica Mars comes immediately to mind. (Or one of my favorite films, Brick.) Then there's Lost, which is overtly about building communities and relationships in order to survive. The Wire is another possibility. (Imagine playing as a Stringer Bell type trying to build a crew while maintaining relationships with rival crews.)

My point being that we already know what these kinds of stories look like. We just have to be brave enough to make a game that's focused around understanding other people rather than shooting them.

tl;dr: Life is Strange meets Persona, minus the strange and the personas

And that’s three glimpses into my brain. Into my dreams.

You may have noticed a few through lines. I'm pretty clearly interested in making games:

Set in the modern day

That tackle modern, realistic (and I use that term extremely loosely) concerns

That are largely non-violent

With non-linear narratives

That involve exploring the lives and feelings of non-player characters

And give those interpersonal relationships systemic narrative bite

Obviously, the projects I've been involved in recently don't check off every one of those boxes on my wishlist. That's generally how it is, if you're making games with other people.

But if you're very, very lucky, you get the opportunity to work on projects that scratch at least one or two of those itches.

I've been very, very lucky.

Cheers, <3 <3 <#

[jensmindunwinds]

Dove Chocolate & The Comforter - A Look at The Holy Spirit

Who loves FaceBook Memories? I love when I get the notifications for those everyday. It's sometimes hilarious, sad or intriguing to see what I posted in the past and how things in my life are either different or the same now. Well, today I opened up the notification and started scrolling through my memories to see this...

Ha! I'm such a nerd! Then, I opened up to read the comments and saw that I had mentioned to a friend that I had planned on posting a blog about how to identify the real comforter. So, seven years later, friends. Here we go!

Many of us go to chocolate, t.v., food, drugs and alcohol, sex, social media or any myriad of other things for comfort when only one thing, or one person rather, is needed. John 14:26 in the Amplified Bible says:

But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.

There are definitely more than these three ways to identify the real comforter in our lives, but for today, these are three ways you'll know and recognize Him:

He'll always point to or remind you of God's truth

You'll see fruit in your life

You'll always feel you have a choice

The Holy Spirit Shines Jesus

The Holy Spirit will always point to the love and light of Jesus. The Holy Spirit will always remind you of the truth of Jesus (John 14:26). This is real comfort! Jesus is the way the truth and the life (John 14:6)! Elsewhere in the Bible we read that the truth will set us free (John 8:32)! What can possibly be more comforting than that?! Does chocolate, sex outside of marriage or social media point you to that truth? Nope! That's why even though they may give the appearance of comfort for a little while, it's shallow and short lived. This is how addictions begin. The fix doesn't last long enough and you need more and fast.

The Holy Spirit Produces Fruit in Your Life

Galatians 5:22 says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If you do not see these manifested in your life, then it's a real solid indicator that whatever you have "comforting you" is not the Holy Spirit.

If you're experiencing actions, thoughts and attitudes in your life more along the lines of anger, sadness, anxiety, impatience, rudeness, meanness, hopelessness and you always feel out of control, then consider getting down to the root of what could be feeding all of that and cut it out straight away. And you must depend on the Holy Spirit to help you (Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:16-17).

The Holy Spirit is Not Controlling

Remember as stated above that the Holy Spirit is a Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) No where does it say He is a dictator, manipulator, controller or will wielder. His fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. He is not malicious or crazy.

Fake sources of comfort make us feel we have no choice in anything. I have to eat this chocolate or food because it'll make me feel better. I have to have sex to feel loved. I need to drink to numb the pain. Social media is where my "real" friends are. You believe the lie so you keep going back to those false comforters.

The Holy Spirit will never make you choose Him and Jesus.  Rather, He's gentle with you and woos you like someone after the pure beauty of your heart (2 Peter 3:9). I John 4:8 says God is love and 1 Corinthians 13 says "love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Friends, the Holy Spirit is not controlling. He loves you and wants you to choose Him of your own volition. No body wants someone to be forced to choose or love them; neither does God and the Holy Spirit.

So, although, I often go to chocolate such as Dove when I'm feeling blue, and it's a definite bonus to read the little things inside the wrapper, I always go to the real comforter who was manifested as a dove (Matthew 3:16) for the real thing. However, this time I might just give a little more weight to that little inspiration in the wrapper...

You're right, Dove. It is my call...and although you'll always be my chocolate of choice, my comfort of choice is the Holy Spirit.

[gamersonthego]

Chase Koeneke’s Top 10 Handheld Games of 2017

2017 represented a big shot in the arm for handheld gaming. As the Vita clings desperately to life support, Nintendo has graced us with the Switch, and with it, a bevy of AAA titles not normally seen in the handheld space. Maybe it’s not fair to pit Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey against something like Iron Marines, but hey, this is the shot across the bow. It’s time to step up your handheld game in 2018.

Honorable Mentions: The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Puyo Puyo Tetris

Personally, I never feel good about double dipping on a game come GOTY list time. I love The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth on the Vita, and Afterbirth+ is even better on the Switch, but it’s pretty much the same game. The same can be said about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Dragon Quest VIII is excellent, but it’s a straight port of a 13-year-old game, and even if it’s one I experienced for the first time in 2017, I can’t in good conscience count it here on this list (though watch me do just that for my #3 game this year). And while Puyo Puyo Tetris got its stateside release this year, I’ve been plugging away at my imported Vita copy for the better part of two years. It’s an essential Switch title, but I didn’t play the game much in 2017 and to put it in a list of my favorite games this year doesn’t really make sense.  

Dishonorable Mention: Fire Emblem Heroes

I think I played more Fire Emblem Heroes than any other game this year. I know I spent more money on it than any other game this year (and probably more than any other game ever). And while I really enjoyed my time with it, its money-sucking greediness became too much for me to bear. I had to quit the game cold turkey and delete it from all my devices. It’s a truly special game, completely marred by bad business tactics, and that is heartbreaking. And while it has been disqualified from this list, its impact deserves some sort of recognition, even if that’s in the form of a warning..

And with that out of the way, let’s get to the top 10!

10. Monument Valley 2 (Mobile)

While it didn’t quite grip me as hard as the first game, Monument Valley 2 still manages to put together stunning visuals with simple, but effective puzzling. And man, it’s really fun to make those kaleidoscope/snowflake things. Make sure you listen to the GOTG episode about the series with Bobby Pease too.

9. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Switch)

I laughed right along with the rest of you when the images for this leaked out online before E3. This seemed like a bad idea from the start, and I didn’t much trust Ubisoft to execute the idea. But Kingdom Battle is a surprisingly strong strategy game. With simplification where you want it and depth where you need it, there’s a lot to like about the way this game plays. Forcing you to keep a Rabbid in your party at all times and less than interesting puzzles outside of combat keep this from greatness, but this a great foundation to build upon.

8. Iron Marines (Mobile)

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Kingdom Rush and its developer Ironhide Games. And I’ve been waiting for Iron Marines to release for years after playing a demo at PAX East in 2015. Now that it’s here, I can say that yeah, it was worth the wait. It’s the best RTS game on mobile and builds on Ironhide’s strong tower defense roots. And if you need to hear more, I spoke with two of the developers earlier this year for GOTG.

7. SteamWorld Dig 2 (Switch/Vita)

I’ll be honest, I had misgivings about SteamWorld Dig 2. I loved the first game for its condensed experience. Hearing that the sequel was going to be much bigger worried me. Was Image & Form about to bite off more than they could chew? Thankfully, my worries were completely unfounded. SteamWorld Dig 2 is fantastic. A solid platformer through and through that lives up to the SteamWorld name. Now we just need a SteamWorld Heist 2 on Switch.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)

I am notorious for my inability to get through Zelda games, and Breath of the Wild is no different. But even in my relatively short time with the new game, I’ve come to realize how special this series really is. There’s a transcendent quality to exploring Hyrule, taking in this massive world that feels so natural and yet is so densely and elegantly packed with life and mystery. I don’t like the weapon degradation and I think the combat is a little too simplistic, but those are small gripes when you consider how this game makes you feel on a moment-to-moment basis. It’s not my favorite Zelda game, but it is the best Zelda game. Maybe one day I’ll finish it.

5. Golf Story (Switch)

I. Love. Mario. Golf. Specifically, I love Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color, which smartly combined RPG mechanics and a thin, but enjoyable story into a golf game. Since the GBC release, Mario Golf has become increasingly generic, dumbing down the RPG mechanics and losing what made it special. Golf Story is the second coming of Mario Golf GBC. The writing is top notch, it brings back the RPG mechanics I’ve been missing and dammit, the golfing is pretty good too. For Sidebar Games’ first release to be so strong out of the gate, I’m just so impressed. Now let’s tackle a baseball RPG please.

4. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

Nintendo really knocked it out of the park this year. First they launch the Switch with the best Zelda game ever and then they follow it up with one of the best Mario games ever. Super Mario Odyssey manages to be a love letter to both 2D and 3D Mario games of old while simultaneously raising the bar of what a Mario game can be. Everything is just so inventive and imaginative. The simple act of moving Mario around the different kingdoms is sublime giving you the freedom to do some spectacular platforming if you dedicate yourself to mastering the controls. And some of the later kingdoms are too good to spoil here. You really need to experience them for yourself.

3. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)

Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates were my favorite games of their respective years of release and I expected Echoes to be in a similar conversation this year. And it absolutely lived up to those lofty expectations, but not in the way I initially thought. Echoes is way more than a remake of an NES game. It deftly weaves in the story, themes and mechanics of that game into a modern video game, managing to feel faithful to its source material while never being tied down by it. Whereas Awakening and Fates are built from a rich history of mechanics from past Fire Emblem games, Echoes is almost experimental by comparison. Not all of those experiments pay off, but enough of them do that I truly hope the next new Fire Emblem game takes some notes from Echoes (and I hope more Fire Emblem remakes of games that never made it stateside appear in the future. May I suggest The Binding Blade so we can all see what our Smash Bros. friend Roy was up to?)

2. Sonic Mania (Switch)

While I’m a Nintendo kid through and through, I’ve always preferred Sonic to Mario when it mattered. Sonic 2 beats Super Mario World any day. But Sega has continually missed the mark on giving fans the good 2D Sonic follow up we’ve been craving…until now. With the help of Sonic’s most hardcore fans, Sonic Mania is the perfect sprint down memory lane. Remixes of old stages and music, brand new ideas that would feel right at home on the Genesis and some incredible references and callbacks to even the most obscure Sonic games and lore, Mania just nails the Sonic experience from top to bottom. My only complaint is those damn blue sphere bonus stages plucked straight from Sonic 3. Those were terrible then and they’re terrible now.

1. Monster Hunter Stories (3DS)

This one was a surprise to me. I’m not a Monster Hunter fan. I just can’t get into them. But a traditional JRPG using Monster Hunter’s cool creature, armor and weapon designs intrigued me enough to give the demo of Stories a try. Over 100 hours later, and I think it’s fair to say the game hooked me. The combat is the star here. While you fully control your character, your monster partner has a mind of its own. Only by gaining kinship during battle can you call out specific attacks for your monster to do. Whether you or your monster are calling the shots, the action takes place in a rock, paper, scissors style battle, but unlike Pokemon’s type advantages, each monster has certain tendencies, and picking the right move can cause additional damage to the enemy while taking minimal damage in return. But sometimes monsters go against their tendencies, making each fight a unique chess match that stays engaging throughout the experience. Like Dragon Ball Fusions last year, this game came out of nowhere and blew me away. As developers continue to embrace the Switch, this may be one of the last great RPGs for the 3DS.

[trbl-will-find-me]

Every Exit, An Entrance (8/?)

There are two (and only two) possibilities: either she led XCOM to victory and they are now engaged in a clean up operation of alien forces, or XCOM was overrun, clearing the way for an alien-controlled puppet government to seize control of the planet.

She’d really like to figure out which it is, but asking hardly seems the prudent option. Read the rest here

To say the call with the Council does not go well is an understatement.

No matter how she approaches the matter, there is no escaping her rather glaring oversight. That, combined with her continued refusal to hand over the weapons research, leads to a very pointed questioning of her fitness to continue as the project’s Commander.

So, with two hours until her shift starts, yes, she feels justified in playing darts in her office.

Someone knocks on the door as she’s yanking them out of the board for another go. “Come in!” She calls.

“I’m taking it your meeting went poorly?” Central asks.

“Let’s see,” she says, chucking a dart at the board. “No funding, no Fog Pod, and oh, maybe no more commanding.”

“What?”

“Uh-huh,” she says, chucking another dart. “You heard me.”

“Why?”

“Because,” a third dart. “And I quote ‘you were recruited for your strategic aptitude and expertise in biological defense procedures.” A fourth. “If you no longer meet those requirements and you are unwilling to honor other sections of the charter as signed, then,” she hurls another dart, missing the board entirely and wedging in the cork tile underneath. “It may be time to reconsider your command.”

“They’d have to have the backing of the other senior staff. They’ll never get it.”

“Not you or Shen,” she says, yanking the darts from the board again. “But Vahlen?”

“You’ve put your foot down once. I still think you made the right call on that, by the way.”

“Yeah, but if they don’t?” She shakes her head. “Anyway, it can’t be our focus now. We’ve got a bigger problem. Who are we still on good terms with?”

“Country-wise?”

She nods.

“Peru, Chile, Italy, Ireland, Kenya, Morocco. Belgium, Switzerland. Probably more, but that’s who comes to mind.”

“And every one of those countries, except for Belgium, saw alien activity, yeah?”

“I believe so.”

“Good,” she says, stepping back and readying another throw. “My next question is strictly off the record.”

“Understood.”

“How fucked are we if we go behind the Council’s back?”

Central considers this for a moment, crossing his arms and leaning back against the door. “There’s nothing that strictly prohibits it. But they’ve probably got a close eye on you.”

“So, we’re out of luck.”

“I didn’t say that.”

She pauses mid-throw. “Are you … are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“I’m not on the Council’s radar.”

“If they catch you, that’s a dishonorable discharge at best, a court martial at worst.”

“Let me worry about that.”

“Central---“

“Commander, you do your job. I’ll do mine.”

Her shoulders slump. “It’s an awful risk.”

“Think I’ve earned getting to say I’ve survived worse. Besides,” he shrugs. “What’s the point of an intel officer who can’t handle a covert op?”

She offers him a small, worried smile. “You’re sure?”

He nods. “Give me a few days. You’ll have your Fog Pod.”

“What do we tell Shen and Vahlen?”

He laughs. “Come on. When has Vahlen ever asked where something came from?”

“Fair. But what about the Council? What do we tell them?”

“Who says they have to find out?”

--

A storm rolls in just after dinner, low, deep rumbling and the promise of a good soak. The air is hot and muggy, settling heavy over their corner of the universe, making her head throb a little worse than usual. She’s settled herself on the Avenger’s ramp, mug of tea in hand, to watch the show.

“Commander?” A voice calls from behind her. “’m I intruding?”

“Even if you were, pretty sure the errand I sent you on today would earn you a pass, Royston.” “I guess asking if you’re okay is pretty dumb, but ---“ she shrugs. “It feels weird not asking.”

“I’ll be fine. It’s all long enough ago --- sorry to dump that on you, by the way. Wasn’t exactly fair. How’d he take it?”

“He took it … okay is probably not the right word, but he didn’t throw anything,” she offers, sitting down. “And last I heard from Jane, he’s not passed out on the bar.”

“How did Kelly get babysitting duty?”

Royston brushes her hair behind her shoulder. “Well, originally, it was me and Lily and Lily’s dad who made up the entirety of the list of people who could reason with Central. Dr. Shen’s gone and I’m pretty solidly not on that list anymore, so that left it to Lily, which is sort of a tall order. When Jane showed up, she was fresh from fighting her way halfway across the US. She was smart and capable and completely external to the history everyone else had with each other. Throw in the fact that she’s a good shot and was willing to trust him, and well. The list of people who can reason with him when he’s drunk is now Kelly and Shen, and Kelly’s farther from burnout.”

In the distance, thunder rumbles, low and insistent.

“Hell of a job,” the Commander offers.

“Don’t envy her.”

It’s then that the Commander really registers the younger Royston’s legwear. “Sally, not that I’m complaining here, but what’s with the fishnets?”

Her face lights up. “Snatched them out of a house somewhere in … Missouri, I think? They drive Central nuts, but he let Thomas into the field in a pair of leather booty shorts, so he can’t complain about these.”

“Weren’t they … a little less colorful earlier? A little less … neon?”

The girl grins. “Yeah, but these are my off duty ones.”

The Commander laughs, burying her face in her hands. “Sartorial passive aggression. Clever.”

“If I ever wanna see the field, it’s not like I can openly flout his authority again. Besides, he’s had, like, four years to build up a tolerance to them.”

“You must’ve given him a run for his money, growing up.”

She nods. “Yeah, I could be a pain in the ass. “ Slowly, the smile fades from her face. “Uh, Commander, is that open door policy---“

“Out with it, Sal.”

“What were you two like before the Invasion? Were you, y’know, happy?”

It’s the first question to really catch her off her guard. “What makes you think there was ever an ‘us two’?”

Royston bites down on her tongue, trapping it between her teeth. “If I tell you, are you gonna kick me off the ship?”

“That’s a hell of a lede.”

“Are you?”

“No, but I’d really like to know where this is going.”

Thunder booms in the distance.

Sally groans. “He always said I’d overplay my hand one of these days.” She shakes her head. “Okay, so Papa had the gift, yeah? Maman developed it when she was pregnant with me. So, surprise, surprise, I’ve got it too. But, after what happened to him, and with what happened to other people who had it, well, Maman was adamant about my hiding it -- It’s why she wanted to make sure I wasn’t on my own when … you know.--  so I’ve got almost no control and, well, you would be amazed how much people just … broadcast.”

The Commander can feel her eyebrows rising towards her hairline. “Oh.”

“Yeah, that’s not it. I mean, it’s not just that. I’ve, um. I’ve got memories that … aren’t mine? I mean, they’re my parents’ so it’s not totally foreign, but um. Yeah. Please don’t kick me off the ship. It’s the only home I’ve got. And I’d worry about Central.”

“I’m not … you may be grounded, but you’re still an XCOM operative. Who else knows about your situation?”

“Just Central and Lily. And even then, I think it’s really only Central who knows the full scope.” She shrugs. “He kind of had to field a lot of questions about ‘whose memory is this’ after Maman. Well.” She shrugs.

The Commander nods, considering the admission. “I’m not kicking you off the ship, Sally. This is home. And, about your question,” she sighs, biting her lip. “It’s hard to give you a straight answer. There were always … complications. But yeah, I’d say we were happy.”

Outside the ship, rain begins to fall.

Sally nods. “I think … I think he’s gonna come around. I think he’s still gotta pout for a while because he’s himself, but ---“

“I don’t pout, Sally.”

“It’s always nice to announce yourself,” she grumbles, twisting to face him. “How long have you been lurking there?”

“Long enough. Scoot,” he says, gesturing back into the ship,

She rolls her eyes, but there’s not the hostility that usually accompanies the gesture. “Good luck,” she says to the Commander, standing. “Throw’im off the ship if he’s an ass again.”

“I can still hear you, you know.”

“Good,” she says, stopping to pat his arm. “You’re supposed to.”

“In. And take the damn fishnets off!” He calls after her.

“Soon as you tell Thomas he can’t wear leather booty shorts into the field. It’s a combat zone, not a sex dungeon!”

Central rolls his eyes.  “Can I sit?”

She nods. “Sal’s cute.”

“She’s a pain the ass, but yeah, she’s a good kid. Gonna owe her mother a thank you one of these days.”

“Not in the near future, yeah? Don’t think anyone else could keep us running.”

Lighting splits the sky and the downpour intensifies.

“You’ve always been a quick study. You’d adapt.”

She shakes her head.

“I went through the files,” he says after a few minutes. “Pretty sure Sal did, too.”

“I … sort of told her to. I thought totally blindsiding you would be … in poor taste.”

They sit in silence again.

“Commander, I don’t know how to have this conversation.”

“We’re not yelling, so that’s a start. You feel better after what you saw?”

“Better isn’t the word I’d use.”

“You get your proof?”

“I shouldn’t have needed it in the first place.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He shakes his head. “Yeah, I got my proof.” He swallows hard. “How long did they…?” “Two weeks is my guess, but I wouldn’t trust it. I’ve got things that are missing, things that are out of order. It’s all pretty fragmented. More flashbulb than continuous. Don’t know if I’m grateful for that or not.”

“You’d rather remember it all?” She shrugs. “There might be good intel. But, no. I’d really rather not.”

They’re quiet again.

“What was it like?” “In the tank?”

He nods. “It felt real. It all felt real,” she shakes her had. “You were there. And Shen and Vahlen. Royston, Martin, Hershel, Bernard, Molchetti, everybody. I look at it now and …” She rolls her eyes. “It’s like some fucked up Wizard of Oz. Except swap out the ruby slippers for that goddamn suit and the tornado for a brain implant.”

“’m afraid Toto might have to be a Chryssalid.”

“No, thanks,” she chuckles.

Thunder rolls in from the distance.

“I’m glad you didn’t … you know. Find a way.”

“Now you sound like Sal.”

He shrugs. “Comment was over the line.”

“That’s sometimes the nature of honesty.”

He shakes his head. “Spent twenty years trying to find you. Would have been a little put off if I’d found out you’d …”

“Found a way?”

He nods.  “I would have missed you.” A moment passes. “I did miss you.” He stares out at the storm. “I’d also like to retract that statement about you having blood on your hands.”

“That … that’s arguable,” she sighs. “Base fell on my watch.”

“Kind of hard to command mind-controlled personnel.”

“Still. I should have seen something like that coming.”

“The whole point of a surprise attack, Commander, is that it’s a surprise. That’s not on your head.”

She shrugs. “Maybe. Doesn’t feel like it though.”

“You’re not … you’re not responsible for it. Or the things that happened after.”

“But if I’d been able to head it off in the first place? We might have a lot more of our people with us.” “Don’t go down that path.”

“It’s true, though. I’m sure you’ve thought it.”

“I saw what they did.”

“Like I said, if I could have headed that off…” She trails off.

They’re both quiet again.

“You’ve run damn good ops,” he says after a few minutes.

“You put together a good team. Colorful, but a good team.” She chuckles. “Where did you pull Thomas from, though?”

He grins, sheepish. “Some bar in a haven outside of Montreal. He got tossed out on his ass --- literally.”

She nods. “Somehow, that’s fitting.

The rain hardens into a downpour.

“Commander,” he asks, turning to look at her for the first time since he sat down. “How do we … how do I unfuck this?”

She meets his gaze, considering him for a minute “Well, you’re talking to me. Wasn’t sure we’d even get that far.”

“Yeah, neither was I.”

“I’m guessing I probably have to re-earn your trust, for starters. That’s fine. Nothing gets fixed over night. We both know that. Just … do me a favor, and don’t cut me out like that again, alright?”

“Deal.”

“Good,” she says, letting out the tension she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.