#unleashed my whole brain power to do this

[meangirls-imagines]

Best Friends?

Description: Leighton and Reader have been best friends since forever and both fall in love with each other. Tension rises when Leighton gets back with Alicia and Reader finally reaches the breaking point.

WARNINGS: ANGST like a mf.

leighton didn't know what to do.

her best friend was ignoring her. y/n hadn't talked to her in three days. and leighton was absolutely clueless. 

she had tried to reach out to y/n's roommates to figure out why she wasn't talking to her but none of them could tell her either. the blonde was picking her brain for everything she might have forgotten. 

birthday? nope.

friendiversary? nope.

she couldn't think of anything. she had even talked to alicia about it and her girlfriend just shook it off to y/n going through something. alicia reassured her that she would be fine and offered to take her girlfriend out for the weekend to cheer her up. as much as leighton didn't wanna leave, maybe this is what she needed. so, her and alicia packed a couple of bags and drove to new york for the weekend.

back at essex, y/n was in the weight room. it was well past midnight but y/n's thoughts were racing. she kept curling the barbell in her hand. 

all she could think about was leighton. 

how she smiled when y/n made a bad joke. 

how she cuddled up to y/n when it was their weekly movie night.

how she always gave y/n the first cookies when they baked together.

y/n usually wouldn't be thinking this hard about the blonde but something made her feelings go all over the place. 

or, more like someone.

alicia.

it wasn't that y/n didn't like alicia. it's more like alicia didn't like y/n. the girl didn't like y/n the first time her and leighton dated and she doesn't like her even more now that they are out. she never shows her disdain for y/n around leighton though. she doesn't want the blonde to know. 

y/n began to run on the treadmill when a text came through on her airpods.

from bestest friend in the whole world: hey, we haven't talked in a minute. i just wanna check in on you. you're worrying me. alicia took me to new york so if i don't hear from you by the time i come back, i'm hunting you down.

from bestest friend in the whole world: i just saw your location...why are you at the gym this late? you only do this when you're really going through something.

from bestest friend in the whole world: do you wanna facetime and talk? alicia is asleep but we can stay quiet.

y/n got tired of the messages and turned her phone off. 

so much for a peaceful workout.

that became y/n's routine for the weekend. sleep most of the day, workout most of the night.

she received multiple texts and calls from leighton but they all went ignored. luckily for y/n, when monday came around, leighton couldn't come kill her due to her being busy. she managed to hold out until thursday, a whole week since she had talked to the blonde last. 

leighton was a storm that was just waiting to unleash her power. y/n still hadn't talked to her and of it wasn't for alicia taking her on a date every night this week, y/n would've already faced the wrath. 

y/n was in her dorm watching youtube, doing her homework when there was a loud knock on the door. groaning, she got up and out of her room, fully expecting one of her roommates to be on the other side.

boy, was she wrong.

leighton stood on the other side, angrier than y/n had ever seen her. the girl gulped audibly as the blonde pushed her way into the room. "oh, sure, invite yourself in why don't you?" the blonde turned her death glare back to y/n. "yeah, it's the least i can do after my best friend practically ghosted me for no reason for a week!" 

y/n rolled her eyes and went to go back to her room when leighton stopped her. "what is wrong with you this week? you haven't talked to me, you've actively avoided me, and whitney told me that you seemed tired in practice all week. care to explain yourself?" y/n sighed. "no, i don't care to explain myself leighton. wasn't aware you had gone low enough to get your roommate to spy on me."

leighton scoffed. "can you blame me? now, i'm calling for a mandatory sleepover so i can pick that brain of yours and figure out what's going on." y/n shook her head. "don't you have a girlfriend to attend to?" leighton looked at y/n confused. "no, she's at the center tonight doing slam poetry. why would i have to attend to her?" 

y/n shrugged. "i don't know, just seems like you guys are attached to the hip and she refuses to let you do anything on your own." leighton's jaw dropped at y/n's words. did y/n always feel this way? had leighton been a bad friend?

"what do you mean? are you jealous of our relationship? i told you i could hook you up with someone, y/n. why didn't you tell me?" y/n avoided the question. "leighton, i have a ton of homework to do. go back to your dorm." leighton shook her head. "no, we need to talk this out. are you jealous of me and alicia?" after a few minutes of back and forth, y/n finally snapped.

"you know what leighton? yeah, i am jealous. i'm jealous that alicia is the one who gets to hold your hand in public. i'm jealous that alicia gets to take you on dates. i'm jealous that she gets that smile of yours that you used to only reserve for me." leighton stood shocked but y/n kept going.

"i'm jealous she gets to kiss you and sweep you off your feet and treat you like the princess you are. but most of all, i'm jealous that she had the courage to ask you out before i did." y/n had tears streaming down her face, as did leighton. the blonde's voice cracked as she tried to walk towards y/n. "y/n..i-i had no idea. i-" 

y/n held her hand up. "just go leighton. i can't do this right now." and with that, she turned, walking into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her, leaving a crying leighton in the common room.

the blonde grabbed her purse and went back to her dorm.

both girls cried themselves to sleep that night. y/n because she thought she ruined her friendship with leighton. 

leighton because she finally realized she was in love with y/n.

[ryttu3k]

So I got up to the Mystra scene in my Gale Origin run and I have A Lot of thoughts, most of them boiled down to "FIGHT ME, MYSTRA", but also a theory on Mystra orchestrating the whole thing with the Orb. Few too many caps to post all of them, so I've typed them up. My comments in parentheses.

Narrator: "Just as Elminster promised, you stand before no ordinary idol. Beneath the silent stone surges a relentless current of purest Weave. A summoning channel, the kind commanded by Mystra herself. How many times have you dreamed of this moment? An audience with the goddess who loved you. Who abandoned you. All you have to do is reach for it…"

(Shift of expression here - from fear to determination.)

Halsin: "Speak your mind, Gale. Let go of that weight you have been carrying for Mystra."

(I loved Halsin speaking up here! Unsure if it's a romance-only line but it felt very sweet and appropriate.)

Reach out. Go to Mystra.

(Expression of dread. He looks like he's being sent to the gallows.)

Mystra: "Gale of Waterdeep. You look well."

Gale: "You break up with me, cut me off from the Weave, leave me to die, and that's all you have to say? You look well?"

(First response to seeing Mystra after a full year of pain and suffering. He looks anguished seeing her again, and how... dismissive her response is.)

Mystra: "I did not come here to suffer a mortal's admonitions. Certainly not yours. I've been watching your journey here. Your triumphs. Your temptations. Your doubts. You discovered what lies at the Heart of the Absolute - the Crown of Karsus - and you disobeyed my instruction. Why?"

(1. The 'certainly not yours' feels especially callous. 2. The way she phrases this implies that she knew what it was already. She wasn't sending Gale to kill himself to destroy a new god, she was sending Gale to kill himself to destroy an elder brain wearing a Crown that has previously threatened her personally.)

Gale: "Because my life isn't yours to throw away. You had no right to ask that of me."

Mystra: "You were my lover, my Chosen, yet still you know so little of me. I hoped hindsight would help you see what you could not perceive before. Do you understand why I severed our connection?"

(The hell is hindsight supposed to do? This is one of the biggest things that gets to me with the whole Orb thing - how was he supposed to know?)

Gale: "I let you down. I was a fool, and fools don't deserve the love of a goddess."

(Expression - he looks so hurt here. He absolutely blames himself.)

Mystra: "The past cannot be undone with self-pity, nor can a future be forged. Only with the truth will you see the way ahead. The fragment of magic you tried to return to me was not of my creation. It was the Karsite Weave. It is a corrupted, half-born magic wrought in the brief moment Karsus ascended to godhood. It hungers for power just as he did, and it can never be sated. You unleashed something that would consume all magic in existence, and yet you thought only of preserving yourself."

(So she blames him for unleashing the Orb. Again, how was he supposed to know? Probably the only ones who know about Karsite Weave were Karsus himself, Mystra, and probably Ao. How was a thirty-four-year-old mortal human dude supposed to know of a completely new and unknown form of magic that existed for the approximately six and a half seconds Karsus was a god for? Elminster points out at one point that Mystra is omniscient. Gale is not. How was he supposed to know? Second, 'you thought only of preserving yourself'. She left him to die! And the minor issue of if he did die, he'd take out Waterdeep in the process!)

Gale: "I never intended to do harm. Only to prove myself worthy of you."

Mystra: "You were already worthy. What you lacked was patience, and it cost you dearly. When the Karsite Weave entered your body, your gifts were the first things it consumed. The only reason the 'orb' sleeps is because I have allowed it to feed on the true Weave - a temporary measure, but one that will not be enough to save us. With each day that passes, the elder brain threatens to become a new kind of god, its worshippers a scourge of soulless illithids. If you will not use the orb to end this abomination, then you must find a way to separate Crown and host. When you've done this, you must surrender the Crown to me. Perform this service, and I will see you cured. You will be forgiven."

(1. 'Your gifts were the first things it consumed'. Sorcerer Gale, natch. 2. So that more or less implies that she could have stablised the Orb at any time. Even if she couldn't - for whatever the reason - warn him about it ahead of time, she could have still prevented the year he spent in pain, the year he spent weakened, desperate, isolated, and depressed, the year he spent thinking that one wrong move would not only kill him but destroy all of Waterdeep with him! She didn't just risk him out of spite, she risked a two-million strong population!)

Gale: "You're the mother of all magic, the Weave incarnate. Can't you just destroy the Crown yourself?"

(His expression is downcast for most of the conversation. Here, he finally looks up. Beseeching. Not just, "Why couldn't you do this?", but also, "Why couldn't you prevent this?")

Mystra: "It is not my place to destroy another god's creation, however temporarily he joined the pantheon. It must be you, Gale. You are the one who carries Karsus' power within you. You are the only one who can."

(But of course, it's entirely her place for her Chosen to do it for her. Will get back to this point in a moment.)

Gale: "Very well. The next time we meet, I'll be bringing you the Crown."

Mystra: "Thank you. May the Weave's light guide your purpose, and its wisdom guide your hand. The future of magic rests on your shoulders, Gale of Waterdeep. I promise you - it is a burden you are strong enough to bear."

(Yeah, the Weave's guided him great so far. No pressure!)

So, there's a couple of questions here.

First, what did Gale believe he was doing?

He believed he was restoring a fragment of Mystra's lost Weave to her. He knows that Karsus' Folly was the crux of it, but all he knows - all he possibly can know, at this point - is that magic was restored except for one fragment. He wanted to be seen to be worthy of Mystra, and so believed that restoring that fragment to her would be both a symbol of love and devotion, and also something that'd be of tangible help to her.

Indeed, he thought he was carrying out her mission. "The goal of Mystra's faithful is simple: that magic be preserved and promulgated throughout the Realms." Was it perhaps a sliiight sign of hubris that he wanted to do it to prove himself worthy of her love and admiration? A little, yeah, but what else did she expect? He had been groomed since childhood to be the greatest wizard he possibly could. He was thirty-four, he was Mystra's Chosen and lover, he knows mortals can be elevated to higher powers. This very incarnation of Mystra only became so in 1358, after being one of Mystra's followers!

Ambitious, yes. But he never wanted to supplant her. He wanted to be seen as worthy and perhaps achieve apotheosis, which is exactly what she did herself.

Second, though, and more importantly, is what did Mystra see Gale doing?

She is, per Elminster, omniscient. She can sense any magic being used. She knows when Gale just reads the Annals of Karsus. She had to have known that what her Chosen was about to unleash was Karsite Weave, and...

She opted to do nothing, let Gale nearly be killed by the orb, let him suffer for a year, then tell him to fix it by killing himself, only when the Crown itself came back into play.

Think of it from Mystra's perspective. The year is 1491 DR. She's spent a good chunk of her actual godhood dead and has only relatively recently been restored, although she has, at this point, indeed been fully restored to all her powers. One of her Chosen is a young human wizard named Gale, who she's also taken as her lover. Gale is ambitious - of course he is, he's an insanely talented Chosen wizard - and actively wants to please her.

The Crown of Karsus is sealed away in Mephistopheles' vaults. The Orb of Karsus is sealed away in a book. (Who knows where the Sceptre is.) She knows it's a threat, but one that's currently under control.

She sees her Chosen approach the book the Orb is sealed in. She must realise that her Chosen has no idea what's in it, because she's well aware he's never read the Annals of Karsus, and he certainly wasn't there at the time. What's the more logical response here?

Tell your Chosen that what's sealed in the book is an extremely dangerous form of anti-magic that is an immediate threat to you, to him, and to everyone around him, and that if he isn't willing to just leave it alone, he should instead destroy it for you, or

Let your Chosen unleash it without warning him, nearly killing him and posing a very real threat to two million people until it's stabilised, which you can do at any time but don't?

She must have been thrilled when the Crown was stolen, right around the same time. Suddenly, she has a way to rid herself of the blight of Karsus - use one artefact to destroy the other! Never mind that one of those artefacts is currently lodged in the chest of her Chosen and doing so would kill him and a great many others, she's got rid of a greater threat.

The Crown was stolen and Gale was hit by the Orb around the same time, a year before the game. Which came first? What if the Crown was stolen first, what if Mystra grew worried about it because look at what happened last time, and, knowing that one of the only things strong enough to destroy the Crown would be another of Karsus' artefacts, she deliberately guided Gale to it? What if she intentionally abandoned him in order to prime him to want to do anything he could to gain her forgiveness, which she could conveniently grant if only he used the Orb to destroy the Crown?

Either way, it was cruel. If it was just sheer neglect that saw her fail to warn him, it was also stupid. She's omniscient. She could have warned Gale any time. She could have stablised the Orb at any time. Why leave him to suffer? Was it petty sadism, or did she always intend to use him as a tool to destroy the Crown, and never mind the consequences?

She's already willing to sacrifice half the Sword Coast to an illithid invasion if it means getting rid of the Crown. What's one more life?

Hashtag fight me Mystra, hashtag Gale deserves better.

[imustbenuts]

the hundred line coming of age route thoughts about the narrative and eito. (general spoilers)

the guy's officially multiplied inside my brain. anyway.

this route made me laugh a lot. thinking about how eito was defeated with the power of friendship that he helped curate gives me the giggles.

but thats not the real intersting bit for me. i found it interesting on a game mechanical level how much this route mirrors the beat of the 2nd scenario (that branches into truth and rebellion routes), but consistently refused to let me/the player pick decisions for takumi at the parts where he should.

in effect here, eito has hijacked the decisions for takumi and the latter willingly lets him subconsciously or not. takumi seems very happy to have the old eito back that he just. throws everything he knows about the actual eito out the window. sure he still wants eito to be happy but this isnt proper understanding, its one sided imposing of his will.

thanks to that whole dynamic though theres the very cool part of him coming up with the plan of cutting himself in half to banzai on veshy and also the not at all cool (and very evil actually what the actual fuck man!!) idea of brainwashing eito to keep him in check.

takumi does not see the real eito in this route and does not seem to meaningfully care about him here. this is like. mundanely evil shit. he does things just heroic enough to get the girl but in doing so makes everything (the truth, the reality, the nuance of the war) a farce for his shounen plotline.

takumi was this close to getting eito on his side if he just showed concern and understanding about his condition, but he just kinda went 'eh, sirei can brainwash this away no big'. the can of evil he just unleashed unto this route with that decision is so fucking absurd that im actually glad eito went final boss on takumi.

because fuck you takumi, you dont deserve the full good ending on this route actually. the friendship hardwork victory tropes? pweh.

understandable.

takumi ends this route either by mutually killing himself and eito, or he does the heroic thing and gets the girl but with eito just quitting the plot. i cant even blame eito for offing himself. ...i kinda feel terrible for him actually. this route is torture on the guy.

they also... do not make it to day 100, and the exodus project is probably still ongoing. they lack critical information that immunizes them to further manipulation from both sides. eito pulls off the ultimate pallete corruption here at least for me. its great.

with what i mentioned in my eito meta appreciation thoughts post im adding "eito can also be the judge jury executioner of the mc", but as a little bit of that as an extra at least in this route.

its very fun but also very fascinating at what happens if takumi just does his own things instead of the player braincell input

also me at eito in the final battle: "why are you here why are you even bothering to fight i can delete you in 2 turns!!! why did you engage in wave 3 like this?! what did you come here for?! go home!!!!!"

also also. shion saying "the power of hemoanima is omnipotent (万能bannou)", and then having takumi interpreting that as "erractic (出鱈目 detarame)" is killing me. detarame implies 'asspull' or 'complete bullshit' in this context.

EDIT:

this cg in the Best Friends ending is also. mwah. the way its framed is so one sided. the handle of the scythe seperates the two. interpretation ahoy but i see this as takumi's footing (social power context) being higher, and he can just force his ideals to eito, but doesnt fully go to his level to understand him. eito seems to be just on the ground waiting for death and dragging takumi with him. neither is willing to compromise their position to seek full mutual understanding

...until takumi lowers himself by giving in to his anger and hate, forcing himself and his whole deal onto eito

lowkey wondering if this whole plot was just some kind of long winded suicide plan by eito too.

[gallusgalluss]

please unleash your inspekta thoughts

your art is amazing i cant stop looking at it

i hope you have a happy new year!!

end of jan edit: when i wrote this i only really played through the game once :V after playing the game a few more times some of my thoughts n analysis parts of this have changed a lot. not gonna go in an change it all cause I Dont Have The Time. but just a heads up ig 👍 inspekta is still the evil worm that lives in my brain at all times

happy new year anon n thank you :]!!!!

also ur so evil ur letting me unleash my Inspekta thoughts,,,,how cruel how cruel

im going full yapper mode + there's spoilers so Watch Out

I like Inspekta, he's a little freak and a really interesting character to think about. While, for me, the twist with him wasn't totally a surprise (I did Not trust his cuteness the second i saw him lmao), I REALLY liked the way his character progressed throughout the game. He's your buddy! He's your pal! Don't worry about all these posters and weird plushies and standees and propaganda of him everywhere and how he keeps being called “the one and only god”, it's Fine it's Fine! He's sillay :D!!!

I'm generally just obsessed with characters who are put into leadership positions who absolutely Should Not have that amount of power over people, and I think Inspekta's a perfect example of that type of thing for me.

He had his own fears, loneliness, and jealousy cloud his judgment and that resulted in some Really Fucked Up Stuff. As a mortal he wanted to be special in the eyes of the public, so he gained enough popularity to get elected to be a god! Yay! But now he's scared of being forgotten and there's a new possible god being elected, wuh oh! Time to ruin Literally Everything because what's the easiest way to be remembered, worshiped, and loved by all if there's no more competition for your rule? Empty heavens, baby!!! Let's bring in an apocalypse!!! Yay!!!!!

Bro's fucked up and I like that.

I love how despite it all he still tries this whole Cute Buddy Friend act, even at the end with this Worm Form. Cause he KNOWS the other gods would trust and believe him and the lies he's spread about King's shocking letters, cause why wouldn't they? He's just a silly lil cutie pie! They all trust him! He's the God of Leadership! How could a Leader lead others astray? And he knows the Bizzyboys will follow him as well since he's been leading them pre-godhood for several years. He's a role model to them all, starting from nothing and now he's a god! He's just so trustworthy and sweet and will totally save the day!

Also I just wanted to include this somewhere. I really like this section (after Chapter 3, I think???)

He has this brief moment of vulnerability/sincerity/something that made him drop his “Cutesy Voice”. Like aside from this scene, near the end of chapter 5, and i Think a few parts i'm 100% forgetting, I don't think we actually see this more contemplative n genuine side of Inspekta.

He does instantly goes into gloating about himself and how he's Clearly the MOST IMPORTANT GOD OF ALL (before correcting himself to include the other gods, of course, of course).

Like if he didn't have that Ego-the-size-of-the-galaxy + Saddest Scaredest Loneliest Most Jealous Withdrawn Loser combo, all he had to do was to just Talk To People. He could've Talked to people about his Fears and Insecurities. Even the other gods; after all he's done, were still there for him! Like “Hey dude this is fucked up, we all already love you dummy, you can talk to us ya know you're allowed to feel scared!”

He's just the cutest most moe creature with soooo many issues and problems he needed to figure out.

NOW WITH HECTOR

Most of my Inspekta Thoughts can just be applied to him but slightly modified. I think it's interesting how he chose to go back to being a regular person, it makes sense cause he's like Aware of the amount of damage he's done/could've done. While he certainly won't be forgotten after Everything he's done, he isn't going to be as Grand and Powerful as he wished to be.

He's just a guy in his 50s who's trying to get over his God Complex of 33 years and also attempt to gain back the trust and respect of the Grove’s people. He's definitely going to be bearing the weight of what he's done for the rest of his life probably, but it IS interesting thinking about what he'd do to actually improve himself now, learn how to be a person again n such.

He’s also a sad miserable booboo beast of a man and i think him suffering in anguish is awesome!!!!!!! yay!!!!

This turned into more a character analysis of some sorts instead of solely my own personal thoughts, whoops. Anyways i think his designs, all 3 of em are really fun to draw. He's cute n stretchy and marketable, as all gods should be.

so ya basically inspekta/hector sucks, i hate him, and we should kill him with hammers. now. thank you 💖💖💖

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

Okay so I know this is a silly ask but like—there are so many interesting things with certain episodes that would change if Stanford/bill was around in them. So I wanna ask about things from certain eps and stuff! Just a few simple ones(I really love this au btw it’s so interesting!!)

—How did bill respond to Mabel dating Gideon?? Or did it not happen in some way cause of him?

—Does he help Stanley scare kids on summerween? Or does he do trick or treating instead?

—So like- Did the sock opera bill plot never happen or was it just a somewhat normal play? Did he end up helping out Mabel?

I love the silly asks so much. For as messed up as the au is when you think about it, it is also still Gravity Falls, and there’s a lot of wacky hijinks afoot that I also love to think about!

— Bill was so close to adding assaulting a child to his criminal record. Mabel is his favourite out of the two at this point in time, with his relationship with Dipper still being tense at best, and he hates to see her free and chaotic spirit held down by a nine year old who’s more hair than flesh. I mean seriously! Shooting Star is a Star that needs to shine bright and unleash her boundless energy onto the world. She can’t do that if she’s being made miserable and boring.

I can see him arguing with Stan over the whole arranged couple thing, try and snap some sense back into his old, sagging brain.

I got my own Book of Bill today finally, and so a bit of this is based on the Vinegar Pete section, which, historical inaccuracies regarding one of my special interests aside, did show a pretty interesting to side to Bill, and how he is willing to give people power in the name of freeing them of their chains, alongside causing entropy. This is kind of like that, in a way.

Thinking more on it, he might even end up being there during the final confrontation — for a few reasons. Not sure which route is most plausible yet though. Either way, it’d probably be the first time he actively protects the kids from danger, namely because A) He likes Mabel B) Stan would go into a state if anything happened to these kids, which wouldn’t benefit his situation at all.

He isn’t super attached to them yet, so he lacks the same vulnerability his future self will have.

— I mentioned this in a previous ask today but Bill and Stan have a tradition of who can scare kids the most on Summerween or Halloween, so he’d be at home with Stan doing that. He’d be annoyed to know he missed the Summerween Trickster. The guy owed him money. And he missed out on eating him too? His night is ruined (he’s being dramatic).

— I haven’t fully worked out Sock Opera yet, but I do have a thing in mind where Bill is desperately trying to sabotage Dipper’s attempts with the laptop, because he really is getting way too close. His issue is he has to be more careful about it. Not really his forte. I’m not sure if that’d work alongside the original plot of that episode, or if I’ll have to scrap it and come up with something else. I’ll have to come back to this I fear.

[atwas-gaming]

People who complain that Sonic's character is "static" must have never played Unleashed or Black Knight. Or they did, but they didn't understand them.

I think one of the reasons why Unleashed and Black Knight are such fan favorites and stick in our memory so well is because the entire theme of both games is about taking Sonic out of his element, taking away things that he has relied on for so long- speed, jumping, spindashing, boosting, homing attacks- taking all those things away from him, and seeing how he does.

And he still shines. Even without all the abilities that he has relied on throughout his entire life, he still manages to beat the Big Bad.

(Please note that I haven't finished either game yet and I'm just drawing from what I've been spoiled on.)

As the werehog, Sonic is not able to curl into a ball at all (we're ignoring the mobile games for this post), and his greater height and weight, probably due to a larger bone structure, as well as heavier, thicker fur, keeps him from being able to run as fast or jump as high as he's used to. He now how to resort to fighting styles he has never used before, including several forms of martial arts (aided by his Dark Gaia-powered stretch abilities). Perhaps the most unusual of all is how he has to get down on all fours to run.

In addition, Sonic describes his werehog form as "pretty ugly." Sonic thinks of himself as good-looking, and this is a part of his personal identity, which is part of why he was upset that Amy didn't recognize him (no matter what feelings he may or may not have for her). The werehog form also seems to be physically uncomfortable and taxing on Sonic's body due to the heavier weight, as the werehog idle animations include Sonic stretching in an exaggerated way and forcibly rotating his shoulders (motions I, myself, have learned to use after years at a desk job that has ruined my neck and upper back). Sonic's idle animations also include him being jumpy and looking around every few seconds- basically, the werehog never fully relaxes.

All in all, Sonic is very uncomfortable as a werehog, and prefers not to be seen in this form. But the reason why is not fully evident until he thanks Chip for protecting him and keeping him from turning evil. To this, Chip replies, "I haven't done anything, Sonic. You're too strong to lose yourself."

On top of this, Amy doesn't have a problem with Sonic's appearance. She still loves him. Tails also doesn't care what Sonic looks like. Neither does Professor Pickle. Neither does ANYONE. Even if they're startled by the werehog's appearance at first, they all seem to go, "Oh, it's just Sonic. This is just what he's like at night."

The entire story of Unleashed was about Sonic coming to realize that he is not who he is because of what he looks like or how he is built.

Black Knight takes this a step further. In Unleashed, Sonic wasn't able to run, but he was still able to use his body as a weapon. In Black Knight, Sonic can run again, but nowhere near as fast as his normal speed. All of Sonic's abilities to fight with his body are stripped from him, and he is forced to use an actual weapon, instead. And Sonic hates this. He even says it: "I wish I didn't have to use this dang sword!"

Sonic has never used a weapon before in the games (as far as I am aware, anyway). His weapon has always been his own body: his feet, his fists, his whole body via spindash and homing attack. Now he's having to train himself to fight with something outside of his own body. This requires not only the creation of new muscle memory, but also a complete shift in the way his brain processes information to fight. He always has the option to just crumble and say, "I can't do this, it's not what I'm used to, I give up." He never does that. He complains a bit at first, but eventually rises to the occasion and excels at swordfighting.

Please bear in mind that I haven't ever gotten past the King Arthur battle. I presume Sonic is forced to kill him, and then I believe there's another half a game after that. But so far, it seems that Sonic's character arc in Black Knight is about him learning that he is not who he is just because of what he can do.

What makes Sonic Sonic is not what he looks like or what he is able to do, but about who he is inside. Sonic is someone who cares, someone who is strong, someone who doesn't give up, someone who sees a difficult situation and, no matter how much of an inconvenience it may be, turns it around and finds a way through.

[dark-corner-cunning]

Do you have any advice for someone who has a hard time with concentration, but needs to focus a large amount of intention and energy for a working?

Good morning! Apologies for the delayed response—I’m currently battling a cold that came with a charmingly annoying little cough as its sidekick.

Ah, focus—such a fickle friend, isn’t it? Especially when you’re trying to channel a ton of energy, and your brain is doing the mental equivalent of chasing squirrels. If you’re anything like me (hello, ADHD club), concentration can feel like trying to herd cats. Focus? Patience? Staying on task? Let’s just say it’s an ongoing magickal adventure!

The first thing everyone always says is, “Have you tried grounding?” Cue the eye rolls, right? Like, we haven’t heard that one before! Don’t worry— let me share 3 ways how I plan ahead and work with my natural flow (chaotic as it may be) instead of fighting against it. Sidenote #3 is my favorite way.

--------

Simplify Your Working: If focusing for long stretches feels like a Herculean task, don’t sweat it—simplify your working! Break it into smaller, bite-sized steps. Sometimes, less is more when it comes to channeling energy effectively. Think of magick as more of a slow-brew tea than a microwave dinner. It’s not about dumping all your energy into the cauldron at once—it’s about building intention over time, in a way that works with your natural rhythm. You can always put in some energy and focus during the working, take a breather, and then jump back in when you’re ready. It doesn’t have to be a nonstop, all-or-nothing thing. Magick flows in waves, and sometimes giving yourself space to rest between bursts of intention can actually make your energy even stronger.

Okay, here’s something I do: instead of going full throttle preparing & during the working, I like to ease into it by charging my tools and ingredients beforehand with energy that activates or releases during the working. Sometimes I’ll even do these days before—I mean, why rush? I like to think of my tools as little magickal batteries, just soaking up energy until it’s time to unleash all that power in my working. And seriously, forget the whole “hold your tools dramatically, chant something intense, and try to visualize every single detail” thing. Try something way more fun, like blasting music that matches your working’s vibe. Whether it’s a broody instrumental or “Money” by Cardi B for your money-working, let the music help you weave the energy in. After all, it’s magick, not a marathon—you’ve got all the time to make it your own and have a little fun with it.

Incorporate Movement Into Your Working – Movement is a powerful way to channel energy, especially when you’re feeling scattered. Many traditions, like those of hedge witches and folk magick, used movement to raise and direct intention—whether it’s dancing, circling, or even just walking the land or around your space. The physical act of moving helps to ground that restless energy, so you can focus without needing to hold still for too long. You can sway, dance, or even use something rhythmic like drumming to guide the energy, turning the working into something more dynamic and connected to the natural flow of your body and the world around you. It’s kind of like that iconic scene from the movie The Proposal, where Sandra Bullock and Betty White turn “Get Low” into a chant during a ritual. Seriously, if you're feeling it, channel your inner dance witch and let the magick flow—no matter how ridiculous you think you look. Lil Jon is optional, but let’s be real—it’s highly encouraged.

Make An Energy Charm For Workings – Alright, small witchy confession time: I adore clear quartz. Seriously, it’s like the Swiss Army knife of crystals—so versatile and, best part, it's super affordable. You don’t need some fancy, pricey chunk of it either—a $4 piece from your local witchy shop will do just fine. Clear quartz is like the energy sponge of the crystal world—it absorbs, stores, and amplifies with ease. I love to grab a piece and start feeding it energy and intentions for my workings in the days leading up to it. It's like I’m charging up a little magickal car battery! Then, when it’s time to work my working, I just incorporate it into the working. It’s like giving me the fuel for my magick when I need it most, and then letting me run wild with whatever quirky, chaotic idea pops into my head!

So, here’s how I might charge up my crystal energy charm in the days leading up to a working (there is no order to this). I might let it bask under the full moon to soak up that sweet lunar energy (trust me, the sun is not the vibe—I’ve literally set things on fire before, not cute). I might sing and dance with it, because why not? Throw it on a Bluetooth speaker and play some frequencies that align with my intention (Youtube has a frequency for everything). There have even been moments when I’ve screamed at it, cried over it, or poured out all my anger and frustration—because, honestly, giving your charm all those heavy emotions is amazing when you’re prepping for a big working that may require a lot of energy. It clears your head, and, bonus, it’ll amplify whatever you give it. Just make sure you tie your charm to your working. You can totally just hold your charm, walk or circle it clockwise around your working, and casually remind it what you’re asking it to do. Like, “Hey charm, feed this working, please and thank you!” Simple, but effective.

You don’t have to use clear quartz, of course—that’s just my go-to. Pick what feels right for you! But I’m just sharing this as a simple, powerful, and ridiculously effective way to help others who may find concertation hard at times. Trust me, it works like a charm (pun totally intended).

---------

Well, I hope you found some inspiration in the ideas I shared here! Magick is all about finding what works for you, so feel free to take what resonates and leave the rest. And remember, even when it feels like your focus is a little... well, all over the place, that’s still part of the magick. Keep weaving your intentions, one working at a time—you're doing great! Now go forth and make some witchy wonders happen! ✨🖤

[witchofthemidlands]

i know, i know realistically that because tales of the tardis is making it's return that “the one who waits” or whatever “the big bad” is that shall be giving the doctor & UNIT grief in the finale will probably be that villain from the pyramid serial that was, in fact, the first proper classic who serial i ever saw because it was on the sarah jane adventures dvd but up until the new tales of the tardis instalment was announced, i was so deep in the theory that this is all leading up to the trickster's greatest comeback of all time: ruby is an element of the pantheon & seeing as i've clowned too close to the sun i'm unleashing the insanity that's been occurring in my brain since “the devil's chord”

so basically the doctor said 8 words about maestro & i haven't been sane since.

“that thing must be part of the pantheon”

that was it for me then, i was CONVINCED that this might be leading up to have something to do with the trickster because in “the wedding of sarah jane smith” the doctor & the trickster/the pantheon talk about how they heard about one another through legend:

& from the spreading of the salt this era of doctor who has been all about myths & legends breaking their way through into the universe & the first half of the finale is titled “the legend of ruby sunday”

THEN maestro attacked ruby & the music played from within ruby is VERY similar to the score played in “whatever happened to sarah jane smith” when sarah jane was giving maria the puzzle box which protected her (& then later alan) from the trickster's power & this was the first time the trickster ever came into the whonivese & whilst i thought i was reaching here, i was CLEARLY not the only one who thought that the score progression sounded similar.

https://youtu.be/ARVTQ91P5RE?si=_TD41qhQ_PbQ-8kp

after “the devil's chord” i didn't want to say anything because i thought i was going to sound absolutely crackers but it was simmering, the thoughts that whatever ruby is COULD be connected to the trickster or the pantheon. honestly even if it turns out to be nothing to do with the trickster themself but just another element of the pantheon that's at play & what everything is leading up to, i'd consider that a win.

the full downward spiral into madness began after i witnessed the horror that was “73 yards” which both scared me for life & after like no doctor who episode has done in a VERY long time because not only was i actually scared of ruby sunday & was thinking WHAT IS THIS BEING but it also unleashed this:

deep down, my rational brain KNOWS it's not what my unhinged brain thought it were but in fact what it literally was which was a story filled with elements of welsh folklore BUT my brain said:

to my brain, “73 yards” reminded me of the doctor in “turn left” saying:

and whilst i was in my post 73 yards state of horror/being genuinely afraid of what ruby was there's was two options my brain was throwing out:

1) ruby could be one of the pantheon/the trickster’s brigade she's one of the changelings like the time beetle because life WAS changed in tiny little ways & this was literally probably one of ruby's worst case scenario: that everyone would leave & she'd be alone all her life & her fears manifested in her potential trickster/changeling power & made a whole new reality for her that she enabled herself to stop. it was all just her & the extent of her powers which could be used for very bad.

2) and this is the one that i latched onto like a person deranged:

ruby is a creation of the trickster, the trickster is “the one who waits” because the trickster has been “waiting” for a way to break into the universe & then i just went wild with this theory of mine because of the sarah jane adventures.

in the (devastating) final season of the sarah jane adventures, sky smith was left on the doorstep of sarah jane's house when she was a baby, similarly to how ruby is left on the threshold of the church on ruby road. now that's a reach, yes but HAD the sarah jane adventures series 5 finished the way it was intended to be finished, sky smith would have turned out to be the trickster's child in an finale called “the battle of bannerman road” & her trickster powers would have been awakened by the trickster. sarah jane would apparently have been considering this to be true because she'd gotten jo jones to research “trickster myths” sky would have returned to herself but would have evolved into an entity that would banish the trickster from reality & guard him in a prison forever:

The Battle of Bannerman Road (unproduced TV story) | Tardis | Fandom

honestly i started to imagine that a similar situation could happen with ruby because this story was ultimately never made & whilst i am probably clowning to the highest degree here, i thought about jo & clyde's segment of “tales of the tardis” & how clyde's story is left open ended as if it could possibly be continued & what better way to continue clyde & rani's story then to bring them back during a potential battle with the trickster? there is also the fact that the other unnamed episodes of the sarah jane adventures WERE actually made into stories for a fantastic show called “wizards vs aliens” specifically, “the thirteenth floor”

so perhaps rtd could be using the bare bones of “the battle of bannerman road” for the conclusion to the mystery of ruby sunday.

as i said, i went rather deranged with this one & it's probably going to be the greatest comeback for sutekh, who will probably turn out to be “the one who waits” possibly the head of the pantheon & the creator of ruby but my brain has decided to throw one more twist:

✨sutekh x the trickster✨

i'm kinda glad that this will all be over soon so i can be proved wrong & can enjoy a peaceful state of mind again, finally set free from my trickster theory 😅

[lura-valentine]

World of My Hero Academia / Boku no Hero Academia

random AU where Dabi is still alive. According to tradition, Kaji would barely know Dabi.

🔞 +18 only 🔞

With the exception of Rain and Kaji, all characters belong to Kōhei Horikoshi

➡️ click for Rain's profil

➡️ click for Kaji's profil

Please note that English is not my first language. So forgive me for mistakes.

Warning signs would be helpful

The sky was an endless expanse of deep black, streaked with isolated stars that sparkled like cold fire. Between them, a figure glided silently through the night, its black wings spread, radiating ice-blue cold. Kaji flew high above the city, his body a shadow play against the silver moon.

The wind tugged at his hair, playing with the black strands, while the white strand on his forehead shimmered in the light. His turquoise eyes focused on the dark streets below him, but his mind was still on training with his uncle Shoto. The frosty air was nothing compared to the cold he and his uncle could unleash. Today they had worked on new combinations, on even more precise attacks. But now Kaji just wanted to go home, his muscles burned with exhaustion, and the only thing he could think about was a hot shower and sleep.

With a powerful flap of his wings, he dived down, heading straight for his family's apartment. His window was open, as always - a habit that made it easier for him to get in quickly. He glided through silently, dropped to the floor and stretched.

With a practiced movement, he ripped his bag from his shoulder and threw it carelessly onto his bed. His coat followed shortly after, landing over the chair at his desk. He ran his hand through his disheveled hair and stepped out into the hallway.

“I’m back!” he called, but there was no answer. 

His brow furrowed. Unusual. Usually his mother was the first to greet him, or his father at least mumbled something from the couch. But now – nothing. Just silence.

A strange feeling crept up inside him as he slowly walked down the stairs. There was a light on downstairs, warm, inviting light shining from the living room. Kaji exhaled. Maybe they just hadn't heard him come in.

His steps were quiet, almost cautious, as he entered the room. And then – he froze.

His eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat. A sudden wave of heat shot across his face, turning it bright red. His head felt like it was about to explode.

His parents - naked. His father, Dabi, pinned his mother against the wall, his scarred hands holding her legs up as his hips bucked against hers with unmistakable intensity. Rain's arms were wrapped around his neck, her breathing heavy as she squirmed in his grip.

Kaji's brain refused to work. "...Oh damn..." He stumbled backwards, almost hitting the door. His heart was racing, his whole body was so tense it hurt.

Dabi's movements stopped, his turquoise eyes, which sparkled almost unnaturally in the warm light, turned to the door. A shadow in the doorway, frozen like a deer in the headlights.

Kaji. 

A dark smile twitched across Dabi's lips, and instead of hastily pulling away or even looking surprised, he pulled Rain even closer to him. His grip on her thighs remained strong as he tilted his head slightly.

"Tsk..." A quiet snort, half amusement, half mockery. "Well, my son? Don't you like the sight?"

Kaji looked away, but the burning image was already burned into his brain. His parents – In a way he never wanted to see. His stomach clenched, his face burned, and his body was tense, as if he was preparing for a fight.

"Dude, what the hell?!" His voice nearly cracked and he ran his hand through his hair as if he could somehow distance himself from the situation. "Can't you do this somewhere else?!"

Rain was breathing heavily, her cheeks also flushed - not out of shame, but because of the state she was in. She pressed her forehead against Dabi's shoulder, as if she wanted to block out Kaji's existence for a moment.

“Maybe… you should go away for a moment, Kaji,” she finally said, a hint of amusement in her voice, but also a clear request.

"One moment?!" Kaji made a helpless gesture towards the two. "I came in here to live, not to die, damn it!"

Dabi laughed softly, a dark, throaty sound that only made Kaji angrier. "Well, you should have knocked then."

Kaji glared at his father with a mixture of anger and absolute horror. "Knock?! I still live here!" he hissed, throwing his arms in the air in a desperate gesture.

He turned on his heel and stomped towards the stairs, but his voice didn't stop. "Honestly, this isn't normal! You're my parents! I should come home, have some damn peace and not— EH!" He threw his hands over his face as if that would drive the burning images out of his head.

"At least a warning! A sign on the door! Warning! Don't come in, we're fucking it like rabbits!" He gesticulated wildly, the indignation evident in every movement. "But no! Of course not! Instead I'm going to burst into the middle of a scene that will haunt me forever! And then I'm supposed to leave as if nothing had happened?!"

His steps quickened, his heart still racing, as he staggered up the stairs. "I need therapy. Holy shit, I need a lot of therapy!"

With a loud bang, the door to his room slammed shut, and then... silence.

Dabi listened amusedly to the chaos Kaji had left behind before his gaze slid back to Rain. His grin grew wider, darker, as he gripped her legs tighter again and pulled her against him.

"Well," he murmured harshly, his breath hot on her neck. "Now that he's gone..."

Rain placed a hand on his neck, her lips brushing his ear.

"Then go on."

Dabi's lips curled into a dark grin as he slid agonizingly slowly, almost out of her. His fingers dug lightly into her skin. His breath was hot against her lips as he murmured softly, almost commandingly:

"Say that again."

Rain trembled slightly, her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as her lips touch against his. Her voice was a sensual whisper, a command and a request at the same time.

"go on."

Her words hit him like fire and without further warning he rammed into her again with full force. A strangled sound escaped Rain and she threw her head back as her fingers pulled at his hair.

"Say it again, Rain," he demanded, his tone blazing like the flames burning within him. "Say it again."

My moral supporters

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I mention accounts that my works ❤️ and 🔄. If someone no longer wishes to be mentioned, please write it.

[babacontainsmultitudes]

Hmmm... So the whole thing about Zhouzel's mother having to eat 1000 souls might explain at least part of why the initial (failed) ritual was set up as a boxing match (immediate souls to be fed after she's eaten the warrior offering, albeit probably not nearly enough but a start), and Zhouzel supposedly being a god-slayer that fights the other entities explains why the man in the trophy store described Zhouzel as "brave", though he also described it as "rising in the light of Adothi" and I wonder now if Adothi is simply the name of its mother or something else entirely.

-> Okay below is a lot of random, loosely connected thoughts that have been circling around in my brain regarding the happenings of the world and its entities, but please note before venturing further that 1. A lot of it is quite out there, incredibly speculative (if not full-on conspiracy), and likely to be flat-out wrong and 2. I haven't like relistened to the episodes properly so there could be plenty of important details I'm forgetting/missing. So please, feel free both to refute any of the theories being proposed here if you think that evidence exists to the contrary, and feel free to share your own thoughts and theories (no matter how "out-there") on the mysteries of Peachyville and everything beyond it, I'd love to hear them.

OKAY. Speaking of the trophy guy, flame has been playing an interesting role in the narrative thus far. The trophy gu- oh Hal that was his name- Hal wields it in an attempt to spare both himself and the party from whatever fate Peachyville is apparently destined towards should the powers that lie beyond the veil (Zhouzel included) be unleashed, then we learn from the book Trudy finds [did it have a name? I can't remember] that the being unleashed from the failed ritual (presumably this was also Zhouzel's mother) is weak to fire, then related to and following that we have that pretty horrifying scene where the flamethrowers come out through a portal (more on that in a moment) and kill everyone who was trying to escape, then in this episode the ritual room has fire extinguishing foam prepped and ready to go. So what's up with that? Are all the entities weak to fire (unlikely, since The Doodler does not appear to be)? Is it just some of them, or really just Zhouzel's mother? Could there be some other entity associated with flame in some way or another? One that inspires its own kind of madness, as in the case of Hal?

The flamethrower scene is quite interesting and raises a number of questions. The goal was almost certainly to do away with the entity in the ring, but whether that was with the goal of reattempting the ritual down below or fighting the ritual entirely is unclear. The latter case is rather interesting, because it implies that there are people other than Moth Jesus (and Relish Wet?) and the PCs actively trying to prevent The Bisons from summoning Zhouzel, and that these people may be quite powerful and dangerous in their own right. Moreover, in his phonecall with Trudy (who he believed to be Tucker), Dr. Man actually suggests exactly this: that there are people working against those still involved in Project Heartland (or whatever's become of it now) and that betrayal within the organization has already occured. So who then? Actually *one* of these enemy factions we've already known for a while now: the soviets. Everything that "Penny Picket" had to say to Tony in episode 4 and that which E.B. White had to say about her in episode 5 (describing her as the "former KGB occult operations officer") suggests that 1. the soviets are aware of and against the plan to summon Zhouzel, and 2. the british are most likely in favor of and associated with it and Project Heartland alongside the americans. So maybe the portal and flamethrowers belonged to the soviets, but are there more possibilities than that? Well, Mama Anderson (I can't remember her first name if it's been said), as you may recall, wanted Kelsey to win against The Bison's chosen warrior, which as we saw of course fucked with the ritual, so it seems likely albeit not certain that she and the Anderson gang are enemies of The Bisons and against Zhouzel's summoning as well, possibly responsible for the flame thrower incident, though the extent of their intentions remains unclear (they could just be a gang mainly concerned with money, of course, or things could go much deeper than that).

Leaving that there and instead returning to the topic of flame, I ask again, could there be some entity associated with flame and fire? It's a farfetched theory at the moment, but not entirely out of the question. Of those mentioned, Zhouzel and Adothi (if Adothi is the name of an entity at all and not just something else entirely) are most likely out of the question, as is The Doodler of course, and I highly doubt either The Maggot Whore or "The Cloud Thing" would be. Daegon perhaps? [Okay, now we're getting into real conspiracy theory territory for a moment or several] The only "Daegon" I could find (with that spelling at least) is the mortal combat character hehe, but in all fairness to the theory that guy is a demi-god and does have fire-related abilities. Not connected to Daegon specifically but still to the possibility of a fire-oriented entity, when Trudy reads from her book she reads the following passages:

In 1503 I saw through the veil And cried 666 words in a wail Ask me a question and draw out 3 cards And with them I'll show you the fate in your stars

For our purposes right now, it's the 666 portion that's of particular interest, since it alludes to more classical/biblical notions of something demonic/devilish and hence associated with fire. Guillermo Campos' accounts and existence may nod to the existence of a more devilish entity as well (referring mainly to his ties to catholicism, sins, and the inquisition). As a small and mostly unimportant sidenote, though I don't have any real evidence to support this, I somehow feel as though these passages may be related to the "Testimony of the Unknown Pagan", referenced in episode 9. Also, both Trudy's and Guillermo's books suggest that contact with all that lies beyond the veil far precedes Project Heartland.

As a small, final note tangentially-related to that last point, books also seem to be a reoccurring and important matter, as evidenced by the individual books mentioned as well as the existence of the archives themselves. The Maggot Whore, moreover, is said to read from The Book Of Many Eyes (and this book is mentioned again by someone talking to Dr. Man in the hospital in episode 7), which kind of makes me wonder if we'll finally encounter her(?) at the archives, though to be honest the zoo feels just as likely to me (something something rotting flesh). This reoccurring motif of books above all else has me wondering what's in store for Peachyville's happiest and snappiest schoolmarm, and that's not even getting into the implications and consequences of the decision she made today.

...

Okay okay one more thing that absolutely doesn't matter and never will but the implication from the episode 3 intro that the film "four father's in fantasy land" was used as part of a failed experiment orchestrated as part of Project Heartland (that failed experiment of course being what happened to Hildy/what we saw footage of in Oakvale) makes me wonder if there's an original version of the film, and hence of the S1/S2 universe, before its tape was altered by the Heartland experiment, where the doodler isn't released and S2 of course goes very very differently. OKAY THAT'S ALL GOODNIGHT PEACHYVILLE, GOODNIGHT.

[dead-lights]

pathfinder -> tess the psychic, keisha the oracle, flora the sorcerer, ethren the wizard, and maria the druid

i was feeling nostalgic about my old tabletop group and couldn't sleep last night, so I made pathfinder versions of some premades. ADHD is giving me some trouble today and i forgot to take my meds until it was too late, so i got a little carried away while i was supposed to be doing other stuff >.>

This isn't really a workable party - aside from Maria they are all extremely squishy - but my partner is willing to DMan adventure with them, or at least a few encounters. tabletop groups are fun, but we do really enjoy just having him DM while I play multiple characters.

seriously this party definitely needs stronker friends tho just oh dear. A psychic, an oracle, a sorcerer, a wizard and a druid??? Tess, Flora, and Ethren are untrained in all armor, Keisha is only trained in light armor, and Maria is a good and loyal friend who would never abandon her party even though her medium armor and larger health pool might otherwise save her. They're all super dead, is my point.

very long under the cut - just me copypastoing parts of the rulebooks with info about their character builds. i might post actual character sheets later idk i'm kinda lazy and haven't filled out anything past level 1 for them.

tess // half-elf psychic (the one who sets shit on fire with her brain)

background: magical experiment (resistant skin)

At some point in your life, powerful people performed magical experiments on you that changed you permanently. You still bear the marks, as well as the abilities. The experiments rendered your skin tougher and resilient to cold and fire damage.

idea here being that Tess was badly injured in a potion making accident, and received an experimental healing procedure to save her life. hence the lack of eyebrows and vampire skin.

class: psychic

You rely on your collection of psychic cantrips as a mainstay, choosing where and when to amplify them for maximum effect. You weave your more conventional spells into the fray where more complex magic is needed, unleashing your mind's full potential in a blaze of power when the time is right.

you can play psychics as either an int- or charisma-based class. i went with int for Tess to represent her genius trait. i don't like dealing with spell slots, so I tend to favor cantrip-focused casters like psychics or dnd warlocks rather than idk wizards.

conscious mind: the oscillating wave

At the heart of all things is energy. Though it may change its form or resting place, it is eternal, fundamental, the purest of building blocks. Your powers let you shift energy - either concentrating it in a single point to explosive end or freezing objects by plundering it away - in an endless oscillation of temperature.

translation: her whole thing is setting shit on fire. also ice. very untamed of her.

subconscious mind: precise discipline

Determine intended outcome. Align thoughts. Identify and resolve distractions. Manifest. Intentional focus is the key to unleashing your abilities, whether that's because your power naturally tends to precise, discrete effects, or because you've adopted strict discipline to ensure your mind can change the world only when you intend it to. Your thought components are calculations you make to determine the forces you need to call upon. Perhaps you mentally weigh the mass of an object against the force of gravity to levitate it or you might determine exactly how much energy is needed for an object to combust. Calculation components tend to impart ordered visual and auditory effects to your spell manifestation, such as regular tessellations of light, mathematical spirals, or harmonic tones.

this is meant to capture her perfectionist trait. i also gave her the "natural ambition" feat just for good measure.

some spells associated with the oscillating wave go from powerful to devastating if you can cast them at melee range, replacing d4s with d6s and d10s with d12s. Psychics are squishy as fuck and there's only so much I can do to mitigate that, but I'm working on a build or strategy that will make at least occasional melee attacks feasible bc tess deserves to burn the world to the ground if that's what her heart wants :D

keisha // human oracle (the one who can kinda temporarily turn people into werewolves once she hits level 10, ish)

background: false medium

There are people in this world who possess the ability to pierce the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead, allowing them to communicate with spirits. You… are not one of them. But you know enough about the occult, as well as cold reading tricks and various practices from local religions, to scam your way into people’s coinpurses. Unlike a through-and-through charlatan, there’s some real occult methodology behind your flimflam, but that’s likely cold comfort to the people you swindle. Whether you decided to take a more righteous path, were caught and pledged to make it right, or still slip in a few “séances” between adventures, you’ve taken to an adventuring lifestyle as you move from place to place.

the idea of Keisha as a grifter-truned-oracle is very appealing to me. while she does have powers now, they have nothing to do with contacting the dead - she's more fortune teller than medium. doubt that will stop her running séances to earn a quick buck tho.

class: oracle

Your conduit to divine power eschews the traditional channels of prayer and servitude—you instead glean sacred truths and great mysteries embodied in overarching concepts, whether because you perceive the common ground across multiple deities or circumvent their power entirely. You explore one of these mysteries and draw upon its power to cast miraculous spells, but that power comes with a terrible price: a curse that grows stronger the more you draw upon it, which you might uphold as an instrument of the divine or view as punishment from the gods.

mystery: cosmos

Celestial bodies great and small exert influence on you, giving you sublime cosmic power. Perhaps you see the glittering stars as a divine blessing, or perhaps you feel drawn to the infinitely dark spaces between. You might uphold deities who represent the sun and the moon— or you might draw power from dark entities from beyond the stars.

curse of the sky's call

Your body is drawn toward the heavens, making you lighter and less substantial than you should be. Your eyes glow with starry light, and your hair and clothing float and drift around you.

flora // changeling sorcerer (the one with the asshole mom)

I think making her the daughter of a blood hag is a good alternative to making her a vampire. she could always take the vampire dedication at a higher level, but i like her as a changeling hanging with Tess and Keisha.

background: magical misfit

You don’t understand folks who claim that magical talent is some sort of burden or great responsibility; you’ve always used your magic to cause trouble and to escape the consequences. Whether becoming an adventurer is your attempt to make amends or just a new way to make some mischief, you’re excited to see where it takes you, and you still delight in using your skills to get out of trouble.

class: sorcerer

You didn’t choose to become a spellcaster—you were born one. There’s magic in your blood. Self-reflection and study allow you to refine your inherent magical skills and unlock new, more powerful abilities. The power in your blood carries a risk, however, and you constantly face the choice of whether you’ll rise to become a master spellcaster or fall into destruction.

heritage: changeling // bloodline: hag

Your mother was a hag. Your eyes' heterochromia is the most obvious signifier of this parentage, but you likely also have a slighter build, paler skin, and darker hair than most members of your other parent’s ancestry. You gain the changeling trait. You also gain low-light vision, or you gain darkvision if your ancestry already has low light vision.

ancestry: veil may

Born of a blood hag, a fiery blood drinker hidden behind a false skin, you have one blood-red eye and the ability to slough off your appearance in an instant.

I gave Flora the self-assured, genius, and mean traits in-game, so for this I put her in a charisma-focused class and boosted her int score, as well as giving her some mean spells. I played a smart warlock focused around intimidation in my last dnd campaign and think that sort of playstyle would work really well for her.

ethren // human wizard (the one with a real job)

class: wizard

You are an eternal student of the secrets of the universe, using your mastery of magic to cast powerful spells. You treat magic like a science, cross-referencing the latest texts on practical spellcraft with ancient tomes to discover and understand arcane magic. Yet magical theory is vast, and there's no way you can study it all. Most wizards learn through formal schooling, with their curriculum informing a specific rubric, although particularly driven researchers sometimes piece together their own theories.

arcane school: civic wizardry

You've learned that the fruits of arcane studies—like any other field—should ultimately help the common citizen. You’ve learned the humble art of construction, of finding lost people and things, of moving speedily among buildings and moats—yet these same arts can be turned to demolition, and the constructs you animate to build bridges can just as easily tear them down.

the civic wizardry thing comes from some specific headcanons I have about ethren - namely, that he was involved with the building of the tunnels under Forgotten Hollow/Glimmerbrook/Moonwood.

i'm strongly considering rebuilding him as a druid - i really like the association of mischief/charisma, untamed/intelligence, and practical/wisdom, so I don't love having him in an int-based class. i can have him kinda multiclass to let him keep some of the civic wizardry stuff. that would also let me rebuild Maria as a witch, since he could take over healing duty.

maria // human druid (the one who gets to wear real armor)

characters can become werewolves starting at level 2, but I think Maria would spend a little more time as just a spellcaster before taking that step - I thought about making her the oracle rather than Keisha because of the lunar aspects of Keisha's mystery, but decided against it because I don't want maria in a charisma-centric class. if i decide to redo Ethren as a druid, i will probably make Maria a witch instead - it's an intelligence-based class that focuses on the use of a familiar, so it seems kinda perfect for her as a familiar-owning untamed spellcaster. I'm not unhappy with her as a druid, though, and she can get a familiar like that too. and i like seeing her in scale mail!

class: druid

The power of nature is impossible to resist. It can bring ruin to the stoutest fortress in minutes, reducing even the mightiest works to rubble, burning them to ash, burying them beneath an avalanche of snow, or drowning them beneath the waves. It can provide endless bounty and breathtaking splendor to those who respect it - and an agonizing death to those who take it too lightly. You are one of those who hear nature's call. You stand in awe of the majesty of its power and give yourself over to its service.

druidic order: untamed

The uncontrollable call of the natural world courses through your body. You might have been raised by a wild animal, or you might have come to reject the artifices of cities after growing up in one. Now, primal magic grants you the ability to wear the form of an untamed creature.

background: astrologer

Astrologers look to the stars for signs and portents, using their positions in the heavens to chart courses for those living beneath them. As the celestial spheres move, so does fate itself. You studied the stars and learned to divine your path based on their guidance. Whether the stars directly called you to a life of adventure or you use the stars to guide your wanderlust, you're living out the stars' guidance in a life of adventure.

the astrology thing ties in with her mooncaster stuff. dnd druids have the option of the circle of the moon subclass, which I do like better than the untamed order she joined here, but ya know - this is pathfinder, she gets pathfinder powers.

[cramopener]

@epicfroggz

You brought up so many good points that it’s making my brain do backflips and I had to make a whole ass post about it to get my thoughts out. Well played.

SO I’ve seen people have a few different interpretations of this sentence, and I’ve even looked into it myself recently, and it seems the general consensus is that what Melina is saying is that a Tarnished who is guided by a Maiden will one day have to face Maliketh and restore Destined Death back into the Elden Ring. While Melina’s whole thing is specifically being the kindling Maiden, we know for a fact that with any Tarnished and Maiden pair, the Maiden must be sacrificed. We know this because of Vyke, the Tarnished closest to becoming Elden Lord before us, because he was so against sacrificing his Maiden that he tried to circumvent fate and ended up losing not only himself, but his Maiden in the process.

Now, this can actually parallel Messmer a little bit. He is destined to one day be completely consumed by the Base Serpent within him. In the beginning, him and Marika actively fight against this with every means at their disposal. However, just as Vyke failed, so too did Marika and Messmer. Marika realized first that she couldn’t do anything to help Messmer (if only they had had Miquella’s Needle back then…) and began to fear his power, and so locked him away in the Land of Shadows where then Messmer also gave up after many, many years of being alone and with no hope in sight. Then we show up and Messmer finally succumbs to the Serpent. Despite his best efforts, he met Destined Death anyway, as once he destroys the grace seal, even if he had managed to kill us, he would be shortly completely consumed by the Base Serpent. One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.

This could mean what Melina is saying does apply to both herself and Messmer, especially given they’re siblings. There’s even evidence to suggest that they’re twins, so their fates would be naturally linked in some way.

As to your second point, I’m so glad you brought that up!! I even left a comment on Bonfire’s video noting that Messmer looks like he’s in so much unbelievable pain once he unleashes and turns into the Base Serpent. I was chewing on this earlier and I think Godwyn’s and Messmer’s afflictions are different, but also similar. Godwyn becomes this awful bloated corpse because it’s essentially an empty vessel that continues to grow without end. In Messmer’s case, he’s been fighting against the Base Serpent more or less since birth, and I think because of that suppression, the Base Serpent has been growing unrestrained within Messmer until he inevitably gives in and unleashes it which is why there’s so resemblance between Godwyn with all the eyes.

It’s said the Base Serpent is incredibly malevolent, and I think being locked away within Messmer for so long made it resentful and in turn that resentment made it grow. As soon as it’s free, you can see it’s tearing Messmer’s body apart with little thought or concern. Messmer’s muscles are completely bursting with snake scales and flesh, covered in blood.

In this way, I think the Base Serpent is also feeding off of Messmer’s emotional pain and anger in that moment. Messmer at this point in the fight realizes that his mother completely, totally abandoned him. She left Messmer to rot and the one purpose she did give her son, she gave up on a long time ago. That kind of betrayal would be the perfect thing for this evil snake god to use. Even though it’s a snake, it’s very parasitic in a lot of ways. It’s using Messmer’s body as a skin suit until he unleashes it, upon which it’ll devour him until there is no Messmer left. What better fuel than the combined anger of a malevolent deity and the anger of the one it’s possessing to then use that to consume its host entirely

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

Inspired by the "we had King and Lionheart on 8tracks" post going around and prompted by the latest work by Lyv, a musician doing fan songs for BG3 characters, who reached Dame Aylin and (very correctly) concluded "yeah, this one needs to be a 7-minute metal track" - here's my personal selection of things I listen to to instantly hop into my Aylin mindset. I mean, I loved 8tracks and I have King and Lionheart on all my playlists forever, but here I think I'm going for an older feel, when we had LiveJournal posts of pertinent lyric extracts with mp3s of the songs and YouSendIt links expiring in a week.

Aylin, for me, tends towards bombastic and cheesy symphonic/power metal, with lavish guitar solos and dramatic lyrics about fighting dark lords and riding dragons and seeking magical swords, lovingly crafted labyrinthine fantasy lore stretching over and across albums, often delivered in somewhat awkward English. But also just a lot of big, loud feelings that I love listening to metal for. She was made to grace album covers, is what I'm saying.

Without further ado, under the cut I give you my 8 Metal Tracks To Fly Around And Smite Your Father-In-Law To (but it's actually 16 because I provided an alt option for each song).

Seeking Vengeance by Unleash the Archers

Like a wave of death, I wash over all who stand in my way, there's no redemption now

Self-explanatory in all things, I'd say. Big, powerful vengeance song with moments of nuance, in that we get "I am the falling blade" and "Who have I become? I know not where I've gone to" both packed in there. And also, the song just slaps.

Alt: Afterlife, the song that provides a counterplay with "I won't waste my freedom, vengeance will not make me whole". And also some killer instrumentals.

2. Spillways by Ghost

All your faith, all your rage, all your pain It ain't over now, and I ain't talking about forgiveness

Dealing with anger and darkness that exist within you and needing to find an outlet to stop it all from overflowing? Say no more. Ghost is a fave of mine but most of their stuff wouldn't really fit here, theme-wise. This song is perfect though.

Alt: Hunter's Moon is another one of my go-tos to ponder some inevitable violent vengeance.

3. Where Angels Fear to Fly by Battle Beast

They say the darkest hours are just before the dawn That we must die to be reborn I'm still alive, I'm ready for the pain When I fall, I'll rise again I spread my wings and like the midnight sun I will be rising

Five million years ago I saw these guys open for Nightwish and sing about Guts and Griffith from Berserk and got hooked. This is a far more recent offering, and it's both a banger and super on the nose for what I'm looking for here.

Alt: Wings of Light which hits the spot in a very similar vein.

4. NightSky by Kamelot

I'll stay with you all through your pain Blood of my blood Remember your name 'Cause when the night sky is coming down I'm watching over you And when the darkness falls Just close your eyes Remember your name

This is unironically my Selûne song and my brain loves tying it into the whole "Nightsong was only ever a curse" thing.

Alt: Silent Goddess prompted by that one kickass fanart that quoted it.

5. Rain of Fury by Rhapsody of Fire

Rain of fury my blade, like wings in the mist Hold my breath in the shade, both my hands on the hilt A thousand sparkles collide, igniting the cave There's nowhere to hide, I'm the valorous, the brave

These guys won my heart a couple of decades ago when they first sang about winning the dark lord with an emerald sword and they never fail to get me pumped. Some classic stuff to really get you going, get you on that quest, get you through that dungeon.

Alt: March Against the Tyrant, primarily for the gentle farewell-before-battle "Let me feel once more how much life you have on your lips" opening.

6. Charcoal Grace I: Prey by Caligula's Horse

I could bind my heart to anger And hold my breath for bliss that was promised me While the desperate hands of vengeance demand to deliver me

I actually have a very hard time picking between Part I and Part IV (and I usually don't listen to one without the other) - in fact the entire very heavy suite about reckoning with a horrible father is… something else. This is absolutely an outlier style-wise and genre-wise as it's pure prog, but it really taps into a specific brand of anger for me and I love it.

Alt: The aforementioned Charcoal Grace IV: Give Me Hell aka "Give back the years you stole and beg me".

7. Amaranth by Nightwish

Caress the one, the never-fading rain in your heart

Listen, this one is here purely because I imprinted on the music video with the wounded angel when I was 15. But also there's a couple of amaranth-as-tied-to-immortality "never-fading" references in it so it stays.

Alt: Sleeping Sun for a calm, sad, yearning time.

8. The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight by Blind Guardian

Proudly it stands Until the world's end The victorious banner of love

A non-angry one to end things on! Blind Guardian is one of my favourite bands ever and so they were bound to be here. It's been really hard to stick to one two songs per artist. Anyway, I wouldn't go with this one as super directly applicable lyrically as it's a Tristan and Isolde song, but the chorus gets me, I love listening to it, and I maintain it has the correct Vibes.

Alt: When Sorrow Sang, aka the Beren and Luthien song off their Silmarillion album, for all the obvious mortal/immortal reasons.

[castlebyersafterdark]

it's killing me not knowing what henry wants from will yet! i can just imagine the tense energy between them when they finally meet. it's such a long time coming

We talk so much about Byler this aspect often gets forgotten! Or, when talking about Henry it's the focus of "Vecna visions" and tormenting Will and Mike with each other - and, hmmm. Maybe we are surely getting some of that. But I don't think we're going to get as much of the now common fanon tropes as we thought over the last few years. I think we'll see divergence somehow from the Pennywise/Freddie Kruger style nightmare visions again, we've already done that. Some, but it's not going to rehash season 4 completely. It feels like most think Henry's going to be spending all his time playing Mike and Will off each other with constant visions and taunting and I just think Henry's got other shit going on other than playing sadistic Sims with the resident queers for his own amusement.

I'm really confused as to what Henry wants now that we have the Holly factor, to be honest. It's thrown me and I'm not sure what my theories are now with her in the mix, since we've seen Holly in that fancy dress as Henry appears to her in young, human form on set and with whatever happens in the scene in her bedroom.

Setting that aside because this is an admitted gap in my theories - I think it's safe to assume that Will is going to meet this version as well. What a waste if not!! It's so chilling for Will to learn it wasn't truly just some monster - that was a man. It's always been a man. I'm sure that's incredibly disturbing for someone like him, who he is, the things he's always been told/heard about himself. Wondering how far the implications will go in season 5. What a conversation will mean. Henry was after El's power as we saw in season 4, real time and flashbacks - but then Will comes into the picture in between. What did he see? Why was Will specifically targeted? What power does he hold that Henry wants? There's gotta be more. The whole theory of his victims becoming "part of him" and how in season one we saw Will kidnapped and held near death with the vine in season 1 - what is the plan, man???? Henry killed the others, but does his plans long term mean he's going to keep Will alive? It seemed Will was close to death in season one, and all the others were killed, but in season 2 through the possession it was very clear "Not me. Everyone else." Is Will to be a host, a new human form?

I still feel like Will can create things in ways that Henry or El cannot. I think Will is the Bridge, maybe?? That's an episode title, right? The link between the real world and the Upside Down, and Will is going to be what Henry uses to come into the real world and unleash what ever hell he plans - what is the plan? What physically is he going to do to the real world? He can mentally manipulate perceptions of reality and create mindscapes and control the monsters? Is Will going to be able to control the monsters as well? How would something like the shadow form of the Mindflayer work in the real world? Is this where it's going to appear like some giant dragon, or is there another creature entirely? What can that Vecna version even do on earth now? Blending the dimensions? My brain is a hurricane. I've read a lot of wild theory and cool, interesting analysis and part of my problem is that I don't necessarily agree with much I've seen, even if highly intriguing, but while having only vague ideas myself.

Anyway. On the specific. Need Henry monologuing and bothering Will. Need him haunting his visions. Need him taunting him as the attractive younger version of himself, getting into Will's head, making him promises and threats and doing so in such a way that it's agonizing, but it is tempting. I need Will to be conflicted and disgusted but he's so self-sacrificial that he does get close to caving to protect his loved ones, but he doesn't, but oooh, he might. Just. All over the place. And people constantly there to bring him back to the light, to valuing himself, learning the extent of how he's loved. All that great stuff. Mental battles between Will and Henry. He's tied up, mentally trying to break away but frozen in the real world. Need Will possessed again and the worst he feared happens - that he's a threat, he's a danger, he tried to do something to hurt - but everyone proves he's worth saving over and over, always. There's so much mileage we can get with this concept.

Do we remember all those scenes we got early on in filming I think at the radio station with the screaming and yelling run and how in the feature video we had the directors having Will go into a choking position? Forgot about all that until right now. Ready for it ready for it ready for it...

[mochi-munchies]

AU/Fic Idea: Ragnarok *Title Still in the Works*

This one has been in my brain for a while and I thought I'd just spew it out on my board just to get it out and not forget it. But anyway-

An AU where Ink and Error were the original menaces to the multiverse. As the two most powerful entities with the personalities of toddlers, they were fucking destroying everything, leveling entire AUs in their clashes and tantrums and impulses. Until the other deities finally had enough.

Core Frisk, Reaper, Life, Fresh and Gaster all get together and are like, "Yeah. We can't keep letting them do this, the multiverse is gonna break." So they devise a plot to get them to fight, and then when their balance of Destruction/Creation was at a sweet spot, took them by surprise and sealed them away. Error in the anti-void, and Ink in the Doodlesphere, where they are promptly put into a deep slumber as long as their balance is not disturbed. *1

Fast forward to present day with Nightmare and Dream having their little war. All the other entities aren't pleased with it, but are neutral to the conflict as they see it more as a childish spat.

Until it wasn't.

One day Nightmare takes it too far and his scheme threatens to actually destroy an AU, which immediately has Reaper, Frisk and Fresh flying in there like, "Nightmare stop. You have no idea what you're doing." But they're too late, the damage is done and the AU is destroyed.

So the outcodes are absolutely freaking out, and Dream and Nightmare are super confused like, "you guys have been watching us from the sidelines for hundreds of years?? Why tf do you suddenly care??"

"You morons! Do you have any idea what you've done??!? You disturbed the balance! They're gonna wake up..!"

Then cue Error air-dropping in and absolutely making a fool of everybody and their moms. Making Dream and Nightmare realize that, oh. They were not. In fact. Among the top of the food chain.

The rest of the story then going on about the brothers being forced to finally put their shit to an end and reconnect under duress while also dealing with two overpowered children. *2

*1 - Was also considering the idea of the whole 'putting them to sleep' part failing, unknowingly to the other gods. Leaving Ink and Error completely awake in their isolation- however, due to the connection of their balance, they can speak to each other not unlike with the Creators. Over the thousands of years of only having each other, in their loneliness they come to have a codependency and low-key errink feelings coming in.

When their balance is finally disturbed and their seals are unleashed, of course the first thing on their minds are mayhem and vengeance. But after letting out some steam, the next thing is to obviously find their other half. Something that the other gods are hellbent on preventing, fearing the return of the days when they ravaged the AUs endlessly in their feud.

So Nightmare and Dream are spending the majority of the fic learning to reconnect with each other as they try to reseal the two and prevent them from meeting. However, they also notice how their behavior seems to be incredibly strange compared to what the others described. And eventually, trusting their instincts as the guardians of feelings, they let Error and Ink meet, only to discover that the two were in love and not in fact looking to settle their ancient death match. Error and Ink vow to behave as long as the others dared not to interfere with them, etc. Cue happy ending.

*2 - another alternative version for the story is for Dream to teach Ink empathy (and low-key domesticate him) as he tries to reason with him, and at the same time learn to let the past go and accept his brother as he was, instead of hanging onto who he envisioned him to be before their fallout. And for Nightmare to learn to trust with Error (as well as rehabilitating him) after failing repeatedly at overpowering the other, and at the same time coming to accept vulnerability in his life again.

At first Dream fears Ink as a soulless being and subconsciously sees him as something inherently evil (just how he sees his brother's corrupted form as evil) however, as he peeks behind the curtain of Ink's behaviors, he comes to realize that is not the case, and starts to help Ink with his memory issues, his lack of empathy, his impulsiveness, etc. Also learning along the way that just because someone's nature (soullessness/corruption) was different didn't mean they were bad.

They get close, and Ink starts to cling to Dream. Connecting the emotional growth within him with the first person to actually have the patience to guide him and understand him like this, he starts to prioritize also being there to help Dream more so than having art binges and harassing Error. Oh, and they also end up falling in love BTW.

Meanwhile, Nightmare is getting his shit rocked by Error, struggling to compete with such a powerhouse and is honestly feeling fucked up bc this is the first time he's been so powerless after his corruption. He continues to use more and more low blows and playing on any and every weakness the glitch has- desperately trying to regain his dominance (which he has been using all this time as a feeling of protection).

Nightmare is low-key tweaking at this point, until he finally discovers a way into Error's hidey-hole. So of course he sneaks in with the intention of catching the maniac with his pants down. Only to peek in during one of Error's low moments.

And then Nightmare suddenly realizes how similar the two of them really were. This whole time he was picturing Error as this larger than life, unstoppable and ruthless pinnacle of violence. When in fact.. he was just another monster, just like he was. So, he starts changing tactics after that. Reaching out to Error in the way he wished someone reached out to him back then, and they come to slowly open up together and eventually just.. tumbling into a situationship.

In the end the other gods are really uncertain about just leaving the two to the apple twins- especially with the fear they might use them in their little war. But the twins have none of it, and even have a realtalk then and there to prove no grudges remained.

[jennymay97]

Longer Turn a Gundam review/thoughts here. Again, already posted a TL;DR — this will be me rambling for god knows how long. Some major spoilers below, if you wanna check this series out and haven’t, I’d recommend just doing that. Come on back later on. If undaunted or you’ve watched it, well come on in!

Turn A Gundam floored me. I’ve been watching a bunch of Gundam series over the last year-ish. Largely bouncing around from various UC shows. Now going from 0079 to 0080 to 08th MS Team is probably not the best method of watching Gundam. But hey it’s worked for me. Now, I was originally gonna save Turn A for later. I figured I’d save it for after Zeta or ZZ, but…my local library (shoutout to the Gunpla nerd in charge of procurement, you’re like the MVP) had a copy of Turn A and I went…“well why not?” And I am so glad I did.

I will say, I do think enjoyment of this series will be enhanced if (when) I revisit it after watching some of the other Gundam series that predate Turn A. Yes I did the whole “Leo pointing at his TV” when the Borjarnon/Zaku showed up. But I need to see where (ZZ) the Kapool/Capsule hailed from. One day. Now, I’ll talk more about the original designs for this series below, but I wanna talk about the characters first.

Because the characters, the characters make this series. I’d say there’s four main characters, two hailing from the moon (Loran and Dianna) and two of the earth (the Heim sisters, Kihel and Sochie) Let’s start with our Gundam pilot — Loran Cehack. I love Loran, he’s such a fascinating contrast to say, Amuro Ray. Loran is, like a lot of other giant robot pilots throughout history, reluctant! He doesn’t want to pilot this machine. But, while he eventually takes this awesome responsibility, he remains as pacifistic as he humanly can. It’s just delightful to have a Gundam pilot who understands the burden, and tries to minimize the damage this war machine can unleash. Now let’s consider Sochie Heim. Because she’s a wonderful contrast to Loran. She’s brash, headstrong, and clearly wants to fight against the Moonrace. She has perfectly justifiable reasons to fight as well! Her father was killed in the initial invasion of Vicinity, and she has a bit of an inferiority complex. First to her elder sister Kihel (and we’ll get to her!) and then, to Loran. Especially as Loran gets to wield the White Doll. She wants that power! Even if…the audience knows, that she could not handle the responsibility. This really makes her feel like a prototypical Gundam pilot. Like, at the beginning of the war she’s brash and full of herself, but after episode 27 with the death of Gavane Goonny, she becomes far more humbled by the horrors of war. While she becomes a badass Kapool pilot over the course of the war, she is still mostly driven to triumph over her sister and Loran. Such a fascinating and tragic character. (I’ll be thinking about her ending for some time).

Now…the two main girls I’ve saved for last Queen Dianna Soreil of the Moon and Kihel Heim. Holy heck these two. Kihel who desires, so much more than her provincial life can offer her. Dianna, who is burdened by hundreds of years of rule (cyrosleep baby!), and desires a quiet end on Earth. Also these two look suspiciously alike. Is that ever explained? Nope! Who cares! It’s time for shenanigans! The first time these two trade places…we are already see the groundwork for these two merging from two into one. Dianna-Kihel and Kihel-Dianna. And as the show progresses that fusion becomes more and complete. They understand each other, and they both get what they want. Kind of. Kihel as Dianna is beloved and rises to greater heights (quite literally). Dianna as Kihel finds herself at peace, despite it all. Again, every time these two interacted after episode 27 my brain literally felt like TV static. I don’t know what their relationship is, but whatever it is I need more.

Now look this thing is already plenty damn long, but to hell with it. Let’s talk about some of the side characters. Harry Ord, Royal guard to Dianna, love interest to Kihel. Also quite possibly the best Char clone on gods green earth. God I love him so much, he dresses like a dweeb, but he’s got a heart of gold. Guin Rhineford, an industrialist and politician who tries to force femme Loran into Laura Rolla. All because he’s got the hots for him and this man is like hella repressed. (I did not stutter, this fucking guy really does spend like half of Turn A trying to force femme Loran), um anyway - peak. Then there’s so many, many others. Miashei Kune, an Earther airplane pilot. She’s spunky and like Sochie eventually becomes a major Kapool pilot for the militia. Or Lily Borjarno, a Luzianna (go with it) Royal — just a fantastic character. Snarky, lady like, and a conniving politico. She plays a great femme fatale. How about Fran Doll and Keith Laijie two Moonrace civilians who came to Earth with Loran. Fran has that newshound spunk. Keith, my man just wants to bake bread and avoid the war. And then there’s girlfailure Poe Aijee a recurring Wodom pilot from the Dianna Counter. Again, peak girlfailure. I really could keep going, but I’ll stop here. For the characters at least.

I’ve gotta heap some praise upon the greatest of all time, Yoko Kanno. Kanno has done some damn good compositions before, and Turn A is no exception for her. I’m no expert in musical composition, but again, this stuff is phenomenal. A lot genres mixed together. Some classical, waltz, folk, and even some oddball (if you haven’t see the show) inclusions! Like tribal chants, JRPG sounding choral chants, electronica. The soundtrack is available on YouTube and your various music streaming services, if you’re like, reading this review/ramble, and haven’t see the series…um. Why are you here, again? But anyway — if you are here — go listen to this ost, it slaps.

Lastly, let’s conclude this ramble with talking about — mobile suits! Deeply dangerous series, for my wallet. Because, wow, wow, wow. There’s some fantastic designs in this show. One thing you’ll see mentioned in most Turn A reviews will mention that Syd Mead, a westerner and industrial designer. He did work on Blade Runner, Tron and the likes. His designs in Turn A are stellar. He did the titular Turn A, as well its sibling Turn X. Wicked good Gundams. He also designed the SUMO and FLAT. Two excellent mobile suits. But then there’s the War of the Worlds looking Wodom. Or the Mahiroo or Bandit. So, many, good mobile suits. Again, my wallet is hiding in fear. This show is like, going to get me into gunpla. For better for worse, I suppose it was inevitable…god I should have picked a less obscure series to get obsessed with the mobile suit designs.

So, okay. That was, a lot! I might edit this down later on or so. But I just, have so much in my system to say about Turn A Gundam. It’s a truly special show. Incredible characters, absolutely blissed out vibes with the animation and ost. Wonderful mobile suit designs, some great action. Highly recommend. If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this ramble, thanks for reading!