#the jury is still out on Salazar

[m0thisonfire]

Getting into AfK Journey:

Me: Oh boy! I can't wait to customize my avatar and upgrade Silvina and Thoran and Niru and the other lower tier heroes! I am so excited for Erionn and Vedan-

Me:

Me: wait. Vedan? Where's Vedan?

Me: WHERE IS MY GUY? MY DUDE? MY BABYGIRL? MY USUAL FIRST LEGENDARY DRAW?

Sees Salazar: WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?

[ellecdc]

A Man With a Plan.5

prologue // p1 // p2 // p3 // p4 // p5 // p6 // p7 // p8

Remus Lupin x whimsical!reader - Hogwarts Era (no Voldemort) - Soulmate AU

CW: swearing, self-deprecating thoughts, James losing his ever-loving mind.

“Okay. Start again, from the beginning.” Remus heard James say as he made his way back down to the common room with the Marauder’s Map held fast in his iron grip.

Regulus sighed something that sounded a lot like for Salazar’s sake, Potter as he looked at the ceiling of the Gryffindor common room for patience; jury’s still out on whether he found any or not.

“She was supposed to meet me in the library after the game to study.” He muttered plainly.

“Right.” James said as he paced near the fire, arms crossed and one hand up near his mouth as he chewed on his cuticles. 

“She never showed at the library, but I didn’t think anything of it as she often gets-”

“Distracted, right.” James agreed readily.

Regulus had lowered his head and was now looking at the floor. “I still had her books though, so I went to bring them to her dorm, or at least drop them off for her. Her roommate-”

“Which one?” James interrupted.

“What?”

“Which roommate?”

Regulus scoffed and levelled James with an incredulous glare. “I don’t know, Potter. Why would I know her roommates? The lot of them are tosser’s anyway.”

“Did Reggie just refer to someone as a tosser?” Sirius stage whispered to Remus. 

“Was it Mary-Ella?” 

“I don’t know who that is, Potter.”

“Did she have glasses?” James tried again.

“No.”

“The red head?”

“No.”

“Okay so it was Jill, then; the blonde.”

“Fine. Yes, Jill,” Regulus started, obviously antsy to get this conversation over with. “Said she had packed a small bag and said, and I quote,” he emphasized, obviously already having gone over this with James, “it’s better that she stays away from the castle for the weekend.”

James had since stopped his pacing and stood in front of the fire as he pieced the facts together.

“Okay...” he started as he looked to Regulus again. “One more time.”

“Potter!” Regulus shouted at the same time Sirius whined “Prongs!”

“This is awful. This is just awful.” James said as he resumed his pacing.

“Okay, well, relax Potter. She’s more clever than people give her credit for – I’m sure she’s fine.” Regulus said as he rubbed his temples.

“I know she’s more clever than people give her credit for.”

“Then why are you so wound up?” Sirius asked. Big mistake.

“Because, if she’s not here, who will stop the nargles, Sirius!?” James shrilled. 

“What the fuck is a nargle!?” Sirius shouted back.

“I don’t know! All I know is that Y/N’s not here, and now the nargles are going to steal my stuff!”

Remus was fully convinced that dogs two counties over could hear James at this point.

“Guys? Has anyone seen my shoes?” Peter interjected as he stood from his spot on the carpet where Sirius had abandoned their card game. “I swear they were just here.”

“Oh gods, it’s starting.” James cried miserably.

“Oh relax, Potter. The nargles aren’t interested in smelly running shoes.” Regulus added with derision. “They’d much prefer a nice wizarding pair of dragonhide boots.”

Suddenly, realization seemed to dawn on Regulus’ face as he turned quickly and exited the Gryffindor common room.

“Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods.” James muttered as he resumed his pacing.

“Alright, are you going to tell him? Or should I?” Sirius said as he turned his sights to Remus.

“Tell me what?” James said immediately, looking between his two friends.

Remus’ face was pale and clammy while Moony was screaming in his mind at the thought of you being gone, not being safe, being hurt, hiding.

“Tell me what?!” James asked again.

Remus just shook his head.

“Remus.” Sirius warned.

“What did you do? What did you say to her?” James accused, immediately on the offensive as he stalked towards him. Lily stood swiftly to block James’ path.

“I...I can’t...I-she’s,” Remus stuttered miserably.

“Oh, for Godric’s sake.” Sirius muttered as he stalked up to his dorm room. He returned swiftly with the book Hairy Snout, Human Heart and tossed it to James who caught it easily. 

“She is his soulmate.” He said simply.

“SOULMATE!?” Lily, Peter, and James all guffawed in unison.

“I thought that was just a myth.” Peter muttered as he took the book from James’ hand and began flipping through it.

“Apparently not.” Sirius muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. “It’s had this guy wound up for weeks.”

“Holy shit.” Peter muttered as he held the book out for James and Lily to see as well. “It’s true. It’s here.” 

“How do you know it’s her?” Lily asked Remus.

He snorted and shook his head as Moony shouted MINE.

“Just a hunch.” He muttered miserably.

“Is this why you’ve been so upset, recently?” Peter asked quietly. James scoffed and shook his head angrily.

“So upset... to have such an odd girl as your soulmate, Moony?” James spat furiously.

Remus felt the colour drain from his face as Moony started arguing angrily in his head. IS MINE. IS MINE. MINE, GOOD. MINE, GOOD. 

James scoffed and threw the book onto the table. “You know, out of everyone, Remus, I thought at least you’d be more understanding. That perhaps maybe you would know what it’s like to be different from everyone else – treated differently than your peers.”

James looked down his nose at his friend as he began to stalk out of the room. “Turns out you’re just as bad as the rest of them.”

Remus felt a tear fall as he turned back to regard his friends.

“Sirius.” He whispered miserably.

“I know, Moons. I know that’s not why; I’ll talk to him - but I don’t blame him for being angry.” Sirius offered solemnly before he followed James up the stairs.

“You know...it makes a lot of sense.” Peter mused aloud.

Lily and Remus turned to face him with matching expressions of bemusement. 

“A witch who believes in nargles ought to believe in soulmates. She’s probably the perfect person for you.” He said simply with a shrug.

Mine. Miss. Missing. Where? Mine. Moony whimpered.

James was officially missing one half of two pairs of socks, his watch, his school tie, and his new quill set that his mom had sent him.

Oh, and also his sanity if you asked Sirius. 

Sirius was starting to feel like he was losing his sanity too, between Remus’ brooding over your ‘disappearance’ (which sounded so dramatic considering you told people you were leaving and that you’d be back after the weekend), James’ (and admittedly, Regulus’) fussing over nargles, auras, and something other entity Sirius has never heard of, and Peter’s complete lack of help with any of the above. 

“All this over a bird.” He muttered to himself as he handed James one of his extra ties.

“Moony, up. We’re going to breakfast.” He barked over his shoulder. Remus just shook his head.

“Get up.” He demanded. 

“M’not hungry.” Remus muttered petulantly.

“Don’t care, Moons – we’re going to breakfast.” 

“Leave me alone.”

“Oh, for fucking fuck!” Sirius said as he stomped his feet. “Lupin, I swear to fuck if you do not get your arse down to the Great Hall right now and eat - because I know you won’t eat later and then you’ll have the moon tonight and then you won’t eat tomorrow morning which will have meant you haven’t eaten in over 24-hours – I will find your bird and bed her myself.”

Sirius felt ridiculous for a) his temper tantrum and b) threatening to steal his best mate’s girl – but it appeared to have its desired effect when Remus stood abruptly from what Sirius had officially dubbed the brooding chair with a growl and stalked out the dormitory door, shouldering Sirius as he went. 

It was going to be a long day.

Unfortunately for Sirius, it was an even longer night. 

James and Remus still weren’t speaking as the four of them made their way to the Shrieking Shack for Moony’s transformation. Peter, the poor sod, kept trying to make conversation, though it was all in vain as Remus was still too broody to engage and James just offered the occasional grunt of acknowledgement. 

And unfortunately, Moony wasn’t in better spirits.

After Remus’ transformation, Sirius – now Padfoot – had the unenviable task of watching a Werewolf in mourning.

The Wolf spent most of the night making pathetically sorrowful howls at the moon, and when he wasn’t crying, he was trying to gnaw angrily on his ankles. When Padfoot tried to get him to stop, or encourage a playful romp, Moony snapped at him.

Padfoot huffed to say “fine, you sod”, but his whimper as he laid on the opposite end of the room betrayed his haughtiness – Padfoot’s heart was breaking.

It was breaking for his Moony – his pack – and it also broke for Remus. Remus, who finally had a shot at something wonderful but let it slip through his fingers because he was too full of self-loathing to accept an opportunity. Remus, who deserves love and compassion, because lord knows he doesn’t give enough of it to himself. Remus, who found probably the most openminded and understanding person in the world. Remus...who found his soulmate. 

His soulmate.

Moony found his happy ending.

And Padfoot was not going to let him lose it.

Remus blinked against the harsh brightness of the infirmary the following morning – his body aching in ways it hadn’t since before the boys started joining him for the full moons. As he stretched, the bandages that pulled at his wrists and ankles explained why.

Moony had been angry. And he’d taken it out on Remus.

Remus couldn’t blame him. All of the floundering, grasping at ridiculous straws, the planning he’d been doing all week. For what?

To use a poor girl for sex and distractions? To cheat Moony, and himself, from what he really wanted? To fight and argue with his friends, his pack? To have you take off for two nights?

He hated himself.

He hated himself, he hated himself, he hated himself.

And Moony hated him too.

Remus groaned as he pushed himself up in a sitting position.

“Feeling better?” James muttered as he fluffed Remus’ pillow for him. His face and tone remained angry despite his kind gesture.

“No, not really...” Remus admitted.

“Me neither.” 

“James, I’m sorry.” Remus sighed as he settled back into his pillow. “I swear I...it’s not her, I-”

“It’s not you, it’s me. Really, Moony?” James sneered.

“Yes, Prongs. You know this.” Remus stressed. 

“Uhm, no. What I know, Moony, is that you are a wonderful, caring friend who loves his people so strongly, and has more love to give, and certainly deserves more love than he allows himself. That’s what I know.

“I also know that I have a very wonderful, lovely, caring friend who deserves the same amount of love she gives to everyone else, and you wouldn’t even give her a chance!”

“James. I know.”

“And anoth- what?” James stopped in his tirade. 

“I know.” Remus repeated as his eyes welled with tears. “I tried to fight it because I didn’t want to drag anyone else into my mess; I didn’t want anyone else to feel responsible for me. I’ve already damned my mum and dad, I’ve already dragged you three into this – I couldn’t do it again. I thought I was strong enough to ignore it, but I can’t.”

“Rem, you didn’t damn your parents. That’s what happens when you have a kid; the kids’ job is to be who they are, and the parent’s job is to love them regardless. And we chose to help you through this Rem – and it was the right thing to do!” James cried as he lifted his hands in the air.

“I just don’t want you guys to regret it one day or decide I’m too much. Then what would I do?” Remus admitted quietly.

“Oh, for- You know what, Lupin? Only way you’re getting rid of me is through death. Got it?” James said with all the sternness he could muster.

Remus huffed a laugh and nodded. “Okay Prongs.”

James deflated and offered a curt nod. “Good. ‘Cause I need your help finding Y/N. I cannot risk losing another one of my quills – my mom is going to kill me.”

Padfoot felt like he may have scrapes on his nose from how long he’s been out here following your scent. But he knew it would be worth it when he found you and got you back to Moony.

His ears perked up when he heard movement, but he swiftly hid behind a large oak tree when some Centaurs stepped onto the path.

“Now, if you continue West from here, you should find the rest of your path to Hogwarts unhindered. Stepping off the path brings the chance of new adventures and grave danger.” A centaur proclaimed.

“Thank you very much, Firenze. Best of luck on your search for the Snidgets.” An airy voice called back. 

Padfoot knew that voice! That was Moony’s soulmate! Padfoot tried to hide his excitement (i.e., he tried to stop his tail from wagging) until the centaurs all left.

Suddenly, Padfoot shifted and bolted out from behind the tree to stand in front of you.

“Y/N!” He shouted as he grabbed your upper arms in his hands, scanning you from head-to-toe for any signs of injury. 

You seemed surprised by his appearance, but not startled. Sirius figured you probably should have been startled – it was a pretty startling thing for him to do.

You had no injuries, but a few branches and leaves were caught in your hair and on various parts of your body. You were also not wearing shoes.

“Well, hello Sirius. It’s very nice to see you.” You said plainly.

“Nice to see me? Are you- where are your shoes?” He decided to settle on first. Not the most important question – but it took priority in Sirius’ mind.

You looked down at your feet like you weren’t fully aware they were bare. “You know, I’m not quite sure. Not to worry, though; I’m sure they’ll turn up. Lost things often have ways of finding their way back to us, if not always in the way we expect.”

Sirius had no idea how to respond to that – so he didn’t. “Do you have any idea how worried everyone has been?” He sputtered at you.

Your eyebrows furrowed at that, and you almost seemed upset as you responded, “Oh dear, I didn’t mean to concern anyone.”

Sirius immediately regretted saying anything; now he could see why James was so sweet on you.

“Well, let’s go to the castle and tell them all that, then.” He acquiesced as he hooked your arm in his and began the path back to Hogwarts. You did not seem concerned nor feel the need to object to his manhandling you. But Sirius knew he would not be letting go of you until you were back in the castle – maybe not even then. He was not going to deal with Remus, James, and Regulus like this again.

“Regulus was perhaps most concerned.” He lied, knowing very well he was far from the most dramatic through all of this. “Very worried about the nargles in your absence.”

You hummed in acknowledgement. “As he should; they’d be quite interested in his dragonhide boots.”

“You don’t say.” Sirius murmured, unadmittedly becoming increasingly concerned with the state of his beloved Doc Marten’s stowed in his school trunk.

“Better hurry then.” He said as he all but dragged you up towards the castle. 

Remus tried not to get too caught up on the fact that he was sitting in the infirmary with James and Regulus Black of all people as they scanned the Marauder’s map for any sign of you. He also pretended he didn’t notice the fact that Regulus was holding a duffle bag that appeared to have everything he owned jammed inside it.

“She said she’d only need to stay away from the castle for the weekend, right?” James asked as he continued to scan the parchment.

Regulus rolled his eyes. “Yes, Potter. Like I said.”

“Okay, I can’t look at this anymore – I’m going cross-eyed.” James moaned as he leaned away from the map and rubbed his eyes from behind his glasses.

Remus felt awfully guilty. He didn’t know how you would know - though he wouldn’t put it past you at this point - but he didn’t think it was a coincidence that you left for the full moon. He doesn’t think he’d ever forgive himself if something happened to you because of it.

“Oh, thank Godric.” James finally breathed as he stood from his chair.

“Godric had nothing to do with it, Prongsie.” Sirius called out as he waltzed into the infirmary – your arm in his. 

James all but shoved Sirius aside as he enveloped you in his arms. “Where have you been!?” 

You smiled sweetly – that damned dimple making an appearance to taunt Remus – and patted your friends back.

“Oh, I wasn’t far Jamie.”

Sirius let out a pfft from where he was now leaning against the wall at the end of Remus’ bed. “Not far she says. I found her with a herd of centaurs.”

“CENTAURS.” The three other boys shouted, earning them a dramatic shushing from the matron.

“Y/N, centaurs are very hostile towards wizard-kind.” Regulus spoke severely, albeit more quietly for Madame Pomfrey's benefit. 

“I don’t agree.” You said simply as you turned to look at Remus. “Are you feeling much better?” You asked him.

Your voice was so tranquil compared to the conversation with the boys, and even with Madame Pomfrey – Remus was sure if he was hooked up to a muggle heart monitor, his blood pressure would be dropping just from listening to you speak.

Keep smiling at him like that, though, and it might pick right back up.

“I am, Y/N. Thank you.”

You sighed in relief as you sat on the edge of the foot of Remus’ bed. “Oh good. I figured it’d be easier if I was gone.” 

Sirius and James’ necks looked like they might have snapped as they turned to look at you. The room fell painfully quiet as Sirius, James, and Remus all looked at each other and then to Regulus. 

Regulus seemed to understand his intrusion. “Uhm, right. Well, Y/N L/N, you are to never take off like that again without informing me. Got it?” He said severely. Remus is sure most people would have cowered, but you smiled sweetly and brushed his cheek.

"Okay, Reg."

Regulus offered you a curt nod and left the infirmary. Remus supposed that was likely as loving as Regulus Black could ever get. 

“What would have been easier if you were gone, Y/N?” James asked quietly.

“Well, the moon, of course.” You responded.

That muggle heart rate monitor? It’d be showing no signal at this point.

“I’m terribly sorry if your bond to me is causing you problems, Remus.” You offered solemnly. Remus thought this might be the most emotion he’d ever seen from you.

“It’s...it’s not your fault.” Remus croaked.

“Y/N, how much do you know?” Sirius asked.

You considered Sirius for a moment before responding. “About what?”

Sirius looked between the you and Remus before arching his brow at the latter. Remus grimaced and leaned forward to tap his finger against your hand that was closest to him to bring your attention to him.

“How much do you know about me?”

 “Well, I know your name is Remus Lupin. You’re from a town outside of Cardiff. You’re a Pisces, a Gryffindor, a werewolf, and a prefect. And you have a magical connection to me, it seems.” You said all too simply, head tilted as you searched his face for something.

Remus’ mind was reeling; it was reeling that you apparently knew he was a werewolf, and it was reeling at the fact that in a list of things you knew about him, that fact fell between him being a Gryffindor and a prefect and was not as important to you as his birth sign. 

“What’s his name?” You asked suddenly.

Remus shook his head as if to wake himself up. “I’m sorry?”

“The Wolf; what’s his name?”

Remus looked to Sirius who was staring at you with a terrified sort of awe, and then to James who looked both proud and smug that you’d figured it out.

“It’s Moony.” Remus whispered.

You smiled greatly at that. “A wonderful name.”

Sirius smirked at that – clearly chuffed his hard work was appreciated. 

“It’s fitting too – should have seen him mooning over you this weekend – this month even!” James said.

Remus threw a chocolate wrapper at him from his bedside table.

“I’m sure it’s difficult, feeling tied to someone so odd.” You offered quietly, and any friendly banter drained from the boys immediately.

“Y/N, that’s-” James started, but Remus interrupted.

“I’m so sorry to have made you believe that Y/N, but it’s just not true.” He said emphatically.

You tilted your head at him in intrigue. “No?”

He shook his head. “No. I was trying to keep you away from...Moony, from my infliction.” He admitted shamefully.

“Hm. Well, that didn’t work very well.” You said plainly, causing Sirius to bark a laugh.

“Most of his plans don’t, dollface.” He said through a chuckle.

“Oh, plans aren’t always a bad thing: it’s good to be prepared. But it’s important to plan to be spontaneous as well.”

“Plan to be spontaneous?” James asked incredulously.

“Oh yes,” you said severely. “I get my best work done that way.”

James seemed to consider this as Sirius sighed. “Yes, and, if you plan too much, auror’s throw around words like premeditated.”

You nodded in comradery. “Very true, Sirius.” 

Continue to chapter six here.

Taglist: @hanniejji, @y0urm0m12, @c0nsc10usworld, @aphrcdites, @starsval, @thepunisherfrankcastle, @anuncalledbridge, @unstablereader, @rai-strangebr, @klazina-couch-potato, @cancelledkaley, @fandom-crashlanding, @ttulipwritezz, @boo8008, @daisiesformylove, @frostooo, @myriadmoons, @aremuslupinsimp, @simars3, @stargurl99, @dreamingofts18, @iwannabeinthesequalmrghostface, @agent-tempest, @xxrougefangxx, @serenadingtigers, @adhxmoony, @spokenfolk, @hufflepufffangirlqueen, @thebiggestnaturaldisaster, @urmomw4ntsme, @b4tm4nn, @jamieolivia27, @stqrgirlies-blog, @loving-and-dreaming

[munchbuddi]

Spent most of my day making a roster for a hypothetical Marvel vs. Capcom game where none of the playable characters from any of the other games in the series are allowed on the roster. So like, no returning characters at ALL. A fun lil exercise.

25 characters from each Marvel and Capcom, and honestly isn't as awful as I would have expected (but would still be the worst MvC roster, lol)

(The cast isn't imbalanced, I just have Reed and Sue as a single character, where Reed does the main attacks, and Sue comes out for Blocks/Grabs and some other animations. I played too much Mortal Kombat as a youth to let an invisible character exist on the roster. PLUS, combining Reed and Sue let's you make a 3v3 team with the whole Fantastic Four, which is cool)

my main takeaways are that:

MvC has already used most of the good villains from both companies. (and the remaining villains are either very passive trickster types, or too massive and cosmic to exist as a fighting game character outside of a boss fight)

It's fucked up trying to make a roster for an MvC game when basically all the Avengers and Street Fighters are off the table. I ALSO did not want LUKE as the main SF protagonist representation, but he's definitely the closest to a "main Street Fighter character" that hasn't already been used in MvC.

A lot of the popular Marvel heroes that are not already a part of MvC are fucking LAMEEEEEEEEE. I don't care how obscure we have to get, I'm not putting fucking Namor and Ant-Man on my fucking fighting game roster.

It was really hard to narrow down the Street Fighter cast, but I feel pretty good with Hugo as our big body grappler and 3rd Strike rep, and then having Juri from 4 and Rashid from 5. I like these Street Fighters a lot.

The fact that MvC hasn't had Punisher, Fury, Luke Cage, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, Nightcrawler or honestly just a LOT of these characters on their rosters yet is a lil mind blowing. I like these characters, I think they rule. ALSO FUCKING BLADEEEEEE. I think Capcom hates money.

Capcom has a lotta good fighting game rosters that have never popped up in an MvC game as well. The designs for the Red Earth cast, as well as the casts for Rival Schools and Power Stone are fun as hell. Also, Picking Darkstalkers representatives is hard as hell, because despite MvC already using like, half the DS characters in other MvC titles, the remaining half of the DS roster ALSO kicks ass.

It was really hard to find enough Marvel characters I liked to keep up with how many Capcom characters I wanted to add, forcing a few heart breaking cuts on the Capcom side. I would've really wanted another Rival Schools/PJ character, Victor (or honestly any other remaining DS character), Saki (using her TvC moves), as well as one of several SF characters. Ultimately I couldn't really add more to the Capcom side without having to start adding some real duds to the Marvel side (like fucking Namor)

No Dead Rising characters because all their characters outside of Frank suck ASSSSSS. I do not like Chuck. I almost cut Ace Attorney as a series as well because I had a hard time imagining a character who would work as well as Phoenix and Maya. Ultimately I thought having Ryunosuke and Herlock (who would unintentionally attack people while showboating) felt like the best option. (Although Franziska would have been fun too, or an Apollo & friends character)

Mr. X, Birkin, Lady D, Saddler, and Salazar are nowhere as cool as Nemesis and Wesker (I kinda like Berkin mutation #2, but 🤷🤷). Ultimately I could not think of another RE character that fit the roster as well. I thought about having Leon as a gun mcshooty like Chris, and then having Rebecca or Claire with a missiles/zombie summoning moveset like Jill in MvC2, but that felt like a copout to just have MvC2 Jill again. +Although I kinda still like the idea of Rebecca with a healing support assist type thing, since she's a medic.) Ultimately I just went with Leon as the lone rep (with Regina acting as a second survival horror representative character, summoning Dinos the way MvC2 Jill does with Zombies)

Gene Godhand is finally on the roster (as he always should have been) as the sole representative for all the Clover Games, since Amatarasu and Viewtiful Joe were already used. If you haven't played God Hand, please do, it is very good.

I could not imagine good enough movesets for JJ Jameson and Edgeworth to justify adding them, despite thinking they are both very funny. I also cut Moon Girl because I didn't wanna imagine any of these characters beating the shit outta a lil girl, no matter how smart she is or how kick ass her dinosaur is. Also couldn't think of how Xavier would fight, since even whenever he does take a rare combat role, it's all telepathic tricks and such. Same with Mystique.

Also, no Red Skull because his ass is just a nazi, and I didn't want to imagine any of these characters collaborating with his nasty ass. Which is a shame because he would definitely be a much needed additional villain, and I think he could have a funny moveset of constantly summoning goons like his fellow fighting game nazi Parasol who summons her egrets.

Black Cat, JJ, Kingpin, Kraven, Spider Gwen, and honestly every member of the Sinister Six because I did not want the whole Marvel cast to be "Oops, All Spiderman". Spiderman really has a monopoly on all the great marvel villains who aren't either cosmic level deities or X-Men villains.

Some characters just don't feel right without their counterparts. Like, I feel like adding Red Hulk without Hulk would be a bit fucked up. Or Hercules without Thor. JJ without Peter Parker. Killmonger without Black Panther. Franziska or Edgeworth without Phoenix. Ya know?

I thought about adding The Arisen and a Pawn from Dragon's Dogma, but I don't know how interesting the moveset could be. Also, the main feature I always think about from the DD games is climbing like a jackass on all the enemies, and I cannot think of a way to add that to a fighting game that wouldn't be miserable.

lastly, some characters were totally chill to add, but went against the SPIRIT of the exercise. Stuff like Evil Ryu, Violent Ken, Captain Carter, Red Hulk and Carnage (who are both way too close to the secret characters Orange Hulk and Red Venom), Zero (from the Mega Man Zero series, as opposed to Zero from the Mega Man X series, even though I really think Zero from MMZero is very cool in SvC Chaos), the very cool and mysterious Paper Bag Man, and the 10000 cases of "character takes up a mantle that used to belong to a other person". Obviously I ended up making exceptions to this thought process for Miles, Gwenpool, and MegaMan Volnutt, but I honestly think these characters would end up having different enough movesets to differentiate themselves from Spidey, Deadpool, and Rock or X. (and also I just really like them so boo hoo)

Ultimately, I think this would be a pretty terrible roster when compared to the other MvC titles, but it was a fun thing to think about. Thank you for reading all this if ya did read it, lol.

[nhacly]

Alex Jones Trial: Plaintiffs bring in psychiatry expert on day five

Alex Jones Trial: Plaintiffs bring in psychiatry expert on day five

Day five of Alex Jones’ defamation damages trial started out with a couple of video depositions, one of them being Infowars employee Adan Salazar. Lawyers are still making their case to the jury as to why Jones should be ordered to cough up $150 million in total damages. Mental anguish is one of those reasons they are arguing for. Hence, they brought in a psychiatrist. “It’s a pretty traumatic…

[bithewayiam]

I can't believe in a TV show supposedly targeted towards a gay audience and in the middle of Pride month, I'm rooting for the straight couples more than the gay ones. Like how....

Get your shit together Hulu

[benrleeusa]

:@WilliamBaude: The Supreme Court's Continuing Immunity Crusade

Today's "dog bites man" story from the Supreme Court is a summary reversal in Kisela v. Hughes, the latest reversal of a Ninth Circuit opinion that had denied qualified immunity to a police officer. An Arizona police officer shot a woman who was holding a kitchen knife because he (seemingly mistakenly) believed that she was a threat to her roommate, who was standing about six feet away. In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court held that the police officer could not be held liable for the unreasonable use of deadly force, because it was "far from an obvious case" in light of the urgency of the situation and the woman's strange behavior. By my count, this is the fifth such summary reversal in the past four years. (It also means that a list of qualified immunity cases in an article I published in February is already out of date.)

However, I was somewhat heartened to see a dissent by two Justices (Sotomayor and Ginsburg). The dissent argued that the majority had "misapprehend[ed] the facts and misapplie[d] the law," and that a jury could have found that the use of deadly force was clearly unreasonable. The dissent also went on to make a second point, however, one that I think is quite important to emphasize:

For the foregoing reasons, it is clear to me that the Court of Appeals got it right. But even if that result were not so clear, I cannot agree with the majority's apparent view that the decision below was so manifestly incorrect as to warrant "the extraordinary remedy of a summary reversal." Major League Baseball Players Assn. v. Garvey, 532 U. S. 504, 512–513 (2001) (Stevens, J., dissenting). "A summary reversal is a rare disposition, usually reserved by this Court for situations in which the law is settled and stable, the facts are not in dispute, and the decision below is clearly in error." Schweiker v. Hansen, 450 U. S. 785, 791 (1981) (Marshall, J., dissenting); Office of Personnel Management v. Richmond, 496 U. S. 414, 422 (1990) ("Summary reversals of courts of appeals are unusual under any circumstances"). This is not such a case. The relevant facts are hotly disputed, and the qualified immunity question here is, at the very best, a close call. Rather than letting this case go to a jury, the Court decides to intervene prematurely, purporting to correct an error that is not at all clear.

This unwarranted summary reversal is symptomatic of "a disturbing trend regarding the use of this Court's resources" in qualified-immunity cases. Salazar-Limon v. Houston, 581 U. S. ___, ___ (2017) (SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting from denial of certiorari) (slip op., at 8). As I have previously noted, this Court routinely displays an unflinching willingness "to summarily reverse courts for wrongly denying officers the protection of qualified immunity" but "rarely intervene[s] where courts wrongly afford officers the benefit of qualified immunity in these same cases." Id., at ___–___ (slip op., at 8–9); see also Baude, Is Qualified Immunity Unlawful? 106 Cal. L. Rev. 45, 82 (2018) ("[N]early all of the Supreme Court's qualified immunity cases come out the same way—by finding immunity for the officials"); Reinhardt, The Demise of Habeas Corpus and the Rise of Qualified Immunity: The Court's Ever Increasing Limitations on the Development and Enforcement of Constitutional Rights and Some Particularly Unfortunate Consequences, 113 Mich. L. Rev. 1219, 1244–1250 (2015). Such a one-sided approach to qualified immunity transforms the doctrine into an absolute shield for law enforcement officers, gutting the deterrent effect of the Fourth Amendment.

The majority today exacerbates that troubling asymmetry. Its decision is not just wrong on the law; it also sends an alarming signal to law enforcement officers and the public. It tells officers that they can shoot first and think later, and it tells the public that palpably unreasonable conduct will go unpunished.

It is important to remember that the Supreme Court hears only a small and dwindling number of cases -- less than one in 100 of the cases that it is asked to hear will ever get a determination on the merits. Most of those cases, according to the Court's rules and practices, will be cases where lower courts are divided on the law or an important legal issue is otherwise unsettled. These summary reversals are a notable, and sometimes explicit, exception. The Court takes a comparatively large number of factbound cases that present no lasting legal issue other than whether the Ninth Circuit got it wrong again.

I have criticized the Court's qualified immunity doctrine at length, but I do understand that one might disagree, especially if one believes in evolving judge-made law (see this draft response from Hillel Levin and Mike Wells) or might think the issue so settled by stare decisis that my critiques are merely academic. Still, it is worth noting that the Court treats qualified immunity not just as ordinary settled law, but as an area of law so important that it is worth deciding a series of factbound cases that would never earn the Court's attention if they involved a different legal issue. Moreover, the Court seems uninterested or unable to find such cases where a lower court wrongly denied relief to a person whose constitutional rights were violated.

I remain unconvinced that this special legal treatment has a good legal basis.

[amazestuff]

First artists confirmed for A MAZE. / Berlin 2017 - 6th International Independent Games and Playful Media Festival

Call for Games: still open until March 5

Only a couple of months to go to A MAZE. / Berlin – the 6th International Independent Videogames and Playful Media Festival.

From the 26th to the 29th of April 2017 A MAZE. / Berlin invites general public visitors and professionals to explore the best new independent videogames, Virtual Reality experiences and Playful Media projects. In public exhibitions visitors will discover the 25 nominees for the A MAZE. Awards, engaging with with new technologies and ways of digital storytelling.

The accompanying three day conference program presents a space for interested publics to join artists, game developers and academics in a conversation on new trends in digital media and independent videogames.. For the first time the festival will feature a whole track of talks, discussion rounds and workshops concerned with experimental, artistic and critical approaches towards Virtual Reality (Other Realities Track). Cutting edge creators will highlight the platform’s possibilities outside of the context of business ventures.

An evening program of concerts and performances is rounding up the festival experience.

The first confirmed artists are:



Fakhra AlMansouri, Henrike Lode, Jan Willem Nijman Jenny Jiao Hsia Jim Crawford, Kitty Calis Mel Croucher, Pierre Corbinais , Pietro Righi Riva , Shawn Alexander Allen, Vaida Plankyte

Other Realities Track 
(VR)

Alfredo Salazar-Caro , Isaac Cohen , 
Marshmellow Laser Feast , Simon Wilkinson , Miyö van Stenis , Jessica Palmer

Open call for new award categories:

A MAZE. is still looking for games  - projects can be submitted for the A MAZE. Awards until March 5th, 2017  https://award.amaze-berlin.de/

“A lot happened in the last couple of years: new platforms, new technologies and tools, diverse journalism, new publishers, new creators, thought-provoking play, interdisciplinary projects.

Our new categories are now open for all kinds of playful media. Our new award categories aim to be as balanced as possible in order to reflect the current state of the game landscape. We won’t adhere to separations made by technical platforms and hope that our awards will foster more out-of-the-box productions”, says festival director Thorsten S. Wiedemann

More about the new categories and the award jury here: https://award.amaze-berlin.de/

http://amazestuff.tumblr.com/post/157159818839/a-maze-berlin-2017-awards-jury


 Tickets: https://amazeberlin2017.eventbrite.de

PR Contact A MAZE. / Berlin 
 Nike Wilhelms
 press@a-maze.net


Press accreditation starts beginning of march 2017.

[lenaglittleus]

7 Things About Sweat That Will Surprise You

Contrary to what fitness Instagrammers would have us believe, sweat is not your fat crying or pain leaving your body. Sweat exists for two reasons: to regulate body temperature and to humiliate us on days we forget to wear deodorant.

Our optimum core temperature is around 98 degrees Fahrenheit. If our internal thermostat notes the metaphorical mercury rising, it’ll take steps to rectify that through perspiration. Cooling results when drops of sweat evaporate on the skin’s surface.

It’s this evaporation that enables our bodies to perform efficiently when the heat is on. It’s why, for instance, we don’t die in a sauna. It’s also why in humid climates, where moisture doesn’t evaporate so readily, we tend to sweat more and can dehydrate faster if we don’t refill our fluids and salts.

But that’s just scratching the armpit. Here are seven more facts you may not know about sweat.

1. There are Two Kinds of Sweat

Perspiration is produced by two types of glands: the eccrine (located all over the body) and the apocrine (located in the armpits, groin area, and scalp).

Sweat from eccrine glands is produced when you exercise, and it evaporates quickly to cool you down. It is secreted from your pores and is made up of water, salt and potassium.

Sweat from apocrine glands is secreted from hair follicles, contains fatty acids and proteins, and is associated with emotional sweating such as nerves, fear, excitement, and arousal. This is your sympathetic nervous system kicking in, activating your fight-or-flight response. It’s why you can get leaky armpits whenever you’re at a job interview or about to give a presentation.

2. Your Sweat Doesn’t Always Smell The Same

Because exercise and emotions produce sweat from two different glands, the stench from perspiration isn’t alway the same. All sweat is initially odorless, but emotional sweat is likely to smell worse.

Sweat itself doesn’t actually smell. The stench occurs when sweat doesn’t evaporate and mixes with the bacteria on your skin. When exercising, eccrine glands bring moisture to the skin’s surface, producing an an odorless fluid that’s mostly water. It evaporates quickly because it’s trying to cool you down.

But emotional sweat doesn’t have that same goal. Coming from the apocrine glands, it takes longer to evaporate, which means there’s more time for it to react with bacteria on your skin, and that’s what gives you an undesirable aroma.

3. We May Judge People Differently Depending on How They Sweat

According to a recent study, different types of sweat may affect the way we are perceived. In 2013, researchers found the odor caused by sweating in stressful situations elicited different social reactions than sweat from exercise.

Men perceived women as being less confident, less capable, and less trustworthy when they exuded odor due to stressful sweating, but not when they smelled the stench of exercise-induced sweat. However, women’s social judgments of men were unaffected by the testing.

4. Sweat Helps With Endurance

Without sweat, intense workouts would be over quickly. While sweating itself has no direct impact on fitness, by maintaining our core temperature, it allows us to keep going for longer.

“As body heat increases, there is a higher cost of energy and lower functionality. This impacts performance,” says Dan Plante, fitness director at Orangetheory Fitness. “Sweat’s ability to cool the body allows for adaptation. It leads to gains in training, including an increase in endurance.

5. Sweating Is a Sign of Good Conditioning

Next time you see someone creating personal reservoirs, don’t assume they’re out of shape. Their body is just doing its job. People who are better conditioned are usually better sweaters.

“They produce more sweat because their bodies have been trained to cool more efficiently,” Plante says. “Elite athletes may start sweating faster and at greater volumes.”

For example, while preparing for the 1984 Summer Games, U.S. Olympic runner Alberto Salazar recorded a sweat rate of 3.7 liters per hour. That’s more than the amount of water some people drink in an entire day.

6. More Sweat Doesn’t Mean You’re Burning More Calories

The more you sweat, the more calories you’re burning, right? Not really. Everybody sweats at different rates so while you may be drenched and your friend merely glowing, it doesn’t mean you’ve burned more calories—you’ve probably just got more sweat glands.

You’ll also find you’re sweatier when it’s humid as the moisture in the air means your sweat doesn’t evaporate as quickly from your skin, and that hampers your body’s built-in cooling system. You might be lighter on the scales after a particularly sweaty workout, but a lot of that is due to water loss rather than calorie burn.

7. Sweating Out The Toxins: Fact Or Fiction?

After an indulgent weekend, it’s nice to imagine that a strenuous hot yoga class can help us detox. But does it really? Interestingly, Plante says that sweat from the eccrine glands is 99 percent water. “You’ll have traces of minerals and lactic acid in sweat, but the majority is water.”

While this suggests that sweating might not be the answer to that full cleanse we crave, the scientific jury is very much still out. A 2010 study from the University of Alberta claimed that sweating helped to detoxify dangerous metals and petrochemicals within the body.

“Many toxic elements appeared to be preferentially excreted through sweat,” the authors claimed. “Presumably stored in tissues, some toxic elements readily identified in the perspiration of some participants were not found in their serum. Induced sweating appears to be a potential method for elimination of many toxic elements from the human body.”

Certainly by keeping your body at the correct temperature, organs responsible for evicting unpleasantness—such as the liver, kidneys and intestines—are performing as they should.

The next time you’re dripping from head to toe after an intense round of CORE DE FORCE , you’ll have a better idea of what exactly is going on in your body—and what’s coming out of it. And if you like to stay looking as presentable as possible when you’re sweating buckets, check out some of our favorite sweat-proof mascaras.

from News About Health https://www.beachbody.com/beachbodyblog/wellness/suprising-facts-about-sweat