#Influence Map 2025

[betomirandaart2]

This are the artist that help keep me inspired!

[parasolemn]

X7 Acts 1-3 Summaries transcription

note: all things i am uncertain about are now in italicised square brackets bc they were bothering me

I encourage everyone to look at the screenshots or video themselves to see if they can read something themselves more accurately than I have. (Video has been removed via copyright strike from ZA/UM, however drive links are available.)

(Updated as at 5/04/2025 at 10AM AEST)

Act 1 - The Murder

Summary

Size: Small Playtime: ~1 hour Energy: High Emotional tone: Panic & Survival 30% Talking; 70% Action 30% Comedy; 70% Darkness

"The first Act introduces Locust City's protagonists, Cuno and Cunoesse. The game starts inside Cuno's subconsciousness, in the special Locust Dream sequence, from which he is violently awakened by his father's abuse. We find Cuno in his living room at the Capeside Apartments, where he must fight to survive Beast de Ruyter's violent rage. Brought to near death by his father's overpowering strength, Cuno is rescued by the [pursuing?] Cunoesse, but their escape attempt is thwarted by the Beast's relentless pursuit. Finally, the children are cornered into brutally murdering Cuno's father on the Capeside boat dock. The act is witnessed by the [urgent?] Call Me Mañana, frightening the children into fleeing Martinaise for good. Cunoesse sets the destination: Hämärä Maa, her ancestral land, thus setting the events of the game in motion. Lastly, before moving on, the player needs to go back and explore Cuno's apartment to collect a few key items before setting off on their journey. (See the Miro board for a detailed overview and storyboard.)"

Player experience

Immediate parallel to Disco with the interior psychological opening of the Locust Dream

The extensive multi-phase animation-driven action sequence between the kids and Cuno's father should give the impression of an ambitious technological upgrade over Disco

Kicking off the game with a refreshingly faster, more higher-stakes pace, establishing the tonal difference of the story

The opening Act is necessarily linear in its major outcomes (Beast is murdered, murder is witnessed, kids flee Martinaise) but on a smaller scale, the Player and the roll of their dice can influence the way in which the Beast dies, as well as the inventory, Health and injuries the kids walk away with.

The more curious Player should understand through environmental storytelling and reading between the lines that the Martinaise strike is still ongoing. Streets are barricaded, and Mañana is still an agent of the Union. The kids might not understand it, but on some level (for any subsequent playthroughs) the Player should understand that Mañana doesn't truly intend to report the children to the cops, he merely wants to get them out of Martinaise because they've witnessed him where he shouldn't be.

The Player will internalise some of the key gameplay mechanics, character [switching], and refreshed Skill, Inventory, Consumable and Thought Cabinet systems.

Act 2 - The Escape

Summary

Size: Medium Playtime: ~2 hours Energy: Medium Emotional tone: Impatience & Paranoia 70% Talking; 30% Action 50% Comedy; 50% Darkness

Themes (top to bottom, left to right): BLUE: Being in transit; Clocks ticking; Neither here nor there; Maps, networks; Wanting to leave, not being able to; Running from your past; People who live in between places [The in-between economy] -> (Yellow) Beggars, homeless PINK: The "strong" vs. the weak; Cushioned childhood vs. street childhood; Loss of childhood naïvete GREEN: Guilt; Paranoia; Looking over your shoulder; Being bound in blood; Depending on each other

"The Second Act finds the children arriving at Jamrock Central station, having walked all the way from Martinaise. It is 07:30 in the morning, and Cunoesse insists they must board the 14:44 train to June Cite. Time at the station is limited, and there are several progression paths through the area. If the kids can obtain two train tickets, they can board legally, or otherwise smuggle one another in a pet carrier, potentially create a diversion (?) or, if all else fails, leap aboard the departing train, likely losing health, inventory supplies, etc. During their time at the Station, the kids notice they are being followed by Petit Hercule, an impressionable little schoolboy whose naïve nature can be put to good use in stealing one ticket. In the process, it becomes clear that the kid is traveling unsupervised and has one ticket already on him, resulting in Cunoesse urging you to lure him into the men's room and try to mug him, testing your conscience and the power balance between Cuno and Cunoesse. Otherwise, the kids can take up the advice of the Beggar King and begin the painstakingly slow process of scraping together barely enough coins to buy one ticket, thereby receiving an introduction into the game economy system."

Player experience

Being thrust into the bustling train station following the gruesome murder should leave the player feeling like a fugitive on the run trapped in limbo, eager to depart but forced to pretend everything is normal.

The indifferent reality of the train station will provide a contrast to the post-murder emptiness, a reminder that the world is still moving in its tracks. The clocks are still chiming. People are drinking coffee. It's almost insulting. Don't they know someone's world has just come crashing down?

Time at the station is limited to mere hours, adding to the sense of impatience and pressure to move on, so that the player would not lose momentum after the high-action opening Act and fall into a slump. They are still not safe -- this is no time to relax.

This Act will challenge the Player's problem-solving abilities, as finding all the ways to gain passage aboard he train will require speaking to a variety of characters and following up on several strategies.

This Act will also put the Player's motivations at odds with their conscience, presenting them with a layered and difficult choice between Little Hercule and Cunoesse. This confrontation sets up Cunoesse's frightening, manipulative nature.

The Player will be introduced to Co-operative Checks, the game economy, the map(s), and receive a greater variety of items and consumables to experiment with.

Act 3 - The Journey

Summary

Size: Large Playtime: ~3 hrs Energy: Low Emotional tone: Mundanity & Temporary Relief 90% Talking; 10% Action 80% Comedy; 20% Darkness

Themes (anything I can read): PINK: Social contrast BLUE: [Deception?] -> Trip as Peter Pan -> Never growing up

"The third Act, entirely aboard the Azure Sans-Détour train line, represents a breather in the tension and a break in the overall darkness. Whether they like it or not, Cuno and Cunoesse have no other option but to stay on this fast-traveling metal tube for three entire days before they've reached their destination, so they might as well make the most of it. The key character of Trip the Train Conductor will serve to induct them into the ephemeral but vibrant social microcosmos of the train, a temporary society on wheels. This is the Act where we have the opportunity to introduce the largest social spectrum of characters, involving the petit bourgeois hops entrepeneurs Vincent & Agnes, wrapped up in a (consensual) love triangle with Trip, as well as other train staff and passengers from social groups Cuno and Cunoesse have never had the chance to interact with before, such as a scientist.(?) This Act will contain another Locust Dream sequence, as well as one-off sequences like the Ghost Station, the Biggest Meal, and Two Kids in a Trenchcoat. The catch of the train journey however, which Cunoesse doesn't tell you until you've already boarded, is that the place where you need to get off the train is actually in between two stations. For this, you're going to have to do Trip's bidding in order to have him pull the emergency brakes on the third day to let you off, or you might have to risk jumping off the moving train to move to the next Act."

Player experience

Here we want the Player to relax a little bit and indulge in Cuno & Cunoesse's mischievous and comedic side. The Train is removed enough from both the immediate stress of the murder and from the impending dread of arriving at Hämärä Maa that it is able to have a more lighthearted tone than the rest of the game.

The Player should feel as though they are really covering ground on their journey, as evidenced by the daily changes to the Train map and the dynamic scrolling background.

The characters the Player gets to interact with on the Train can be very thematically diverse and unconnected by background or life experience, joined only by this shared journey. These characters can deliver all kinds of stories from all corners of the game world, expanding on Elysium worldbuilding and lore.

The Man from Jamrock Station throughline will present the players with a parallel plot which bridges the seemingly unconnected locations of Acts 2, 3 and 4.

The Player should have the freedom to decide how they will navigate the special puzzles of the Train, affecting the fate of Trip and his love affair.

The location itself should provide enough exploration incentives to keep the limited train space feeling fresh, including gaining access to various cars and compartments, new Orbs and situations appearing every day, and people and luggage changing location daily.

[demifiendrsa]

DISPATCH | Official Reveal Trailer - Extended Cut (HD)

 Dispatch will launch for unspecified console(s) and PC via Steam in 2025.

Overview

About

From the writers and  directors of Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us, Dispatch is a superhero workplace comedy set in modern day Los Angeles.

You play as Robert Robertson, AKA Mecha Man, whose mech-suit is destroyed in a battle against his nemesis, forcing him to take a job at a superhero dispatch center: not as a hero, but a dispatcher. In charge of rehabilitating a group of ex-supervillains, you must manage your roster while navigating office relationships and rebuilding your suit for a shot at revenge.

Key Features

Shape Your Story – In Dispatch, every decision you make influences the unfolding narrative. From banter in the breakroom to life-or-death situations in the field, your choices affect your relationships with the heroes, their allegiances, and the path your own story takes.

Deploy Your Heroes – Use the strategy map to review ongoing emergencies and deploy the right (or wrong) heroes to deal with them. Balance the risks and rewards as you make tactical decisions, knowing that each choice can have lasting consequences for your team and the city.

Manage Your Roster – Managing heroes sometimes goes beyond their powers. Each hero comes with quirks, flaws, and baggage you’ll need to navigate to keep the team together. Upgrade their skills and unlock abilities to boost their effectiveness in the field.

Blending narrative, strategy, and humor, Dispatch explores what it means to be a hero, whether you’re wearing a cape or behind a desk.

Meet the Misfits

Featuring an all-star cast from every corner of entertainment, including:

Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Westworld, Black Mirror)

Laura Bailey (The Legend of Vox Machina, The Last of Us II, Marvel’s Spider-Man)

Erin Yvette (Hades II, The Wolf Among Us, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon)

MoistCr1TiKaL (Charles White)

Jacksepticeye (Sonic Prime, River City Girls, River City Girls 2, Bendy and the Ink Machine)

Travis Willingham (The Legend of Vox Machina, Critical Role, LEGO Avengers)

Alanah Pearce (V/H/S Beyond, Cyberpunk 2077, Gears 5)

Lance Cantstopolis (Karate, Dancing, Actor)

Joel Haver (Filmmaker, Actor, YouTuber)

THOT SQUAD (Musician: Pound Cake, Hoes Depressed)

Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Overwatch, Resident Evil 6)

Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction, The Batman, Casino Royale)

[fishnapple]

PICK-A-CARD READING LIST

Here you will find all of my PAC reading that I've done so far. Enjoy~

Feedback is much appreciated. Feel free to send me messages.

🎐 About me | Masterpost

🎐 If you find my reading resonated with you and want to book a personal reading, visit my KO-FI (Visit this post for details : PERSONAL READING)

🎐 An ask where I explained my reading method : #ask

Ultimately the answers are always within yourself, I just provide an interpretation to help you find your way into the answers.

The readings are not meant to substitute medical or psychological treatment.

About you :

THE MAP TO YOUR SOUL

The purpose of your life, why you're here

Your biggest strength

Your biggest weakness

What is lurking in your shadow ?

The part that you neglected

Your hidden fears

How to feel more secure in yourself

What should you cultivate more in yourself ?

Describing your inner home

Your energetic field

What messages come to you through dreams ?

How do your past lives influence your current life ?

What kind of people are you attracting into your life ?

Your superpowers

Getting in touch with your creativity

Your inner child

How to grow more confidence in yourself

People's first impressions of you

How to love yourself better : A letter from yourself (Channelled letter)

What people secretly find attractive about you

People's assumptions about you

What can bring true satisfaction to your heart?

Your successful qualities

What makes you attractive

How your admirers view you

What you should embrace more within you

Relationships :

What kind of partner does your soul need right now ?

How does a healthy love for you feel like ?

How you can find love

Describe your future lover

Future friend, who are they?

How will you meet them? The first meeting

First impression of each other : you vs them

How they will pursue you (Channelled letter)

Who will you marry & your married life

What they love about you (Channelled letter)

What you love about them

Things they wish to tell you but find it hard to (Channelled letter)

The moment they fall in love with you (Channelled letter)

The moment they feel desire for you & their fantasy (channelled letter) - mature content, 18y/o do not interact)

How they act towards you vs other people

Signs that they are the one for you

Random facts about your person

Their desires, fantasies and style - mature content, 18y/o do not interact)

You in their eyes, how do they view you

How they proclaim their love for you

How they comfort you - Their love languages

How will they protect the relationship

How do they love you

How do you pursue them

Your affect on them

Career & Study & Success :

What kind of career suits you best ?

The career of your choice, how will it be ? (Part 1), (Part 2)

What new skills should you learn

Lucky signs, blessings, the path :

What would bring you good luck?

Signs that you are on the right path

Guide for direction

Guide for current situation

Predictions for the next 4 months

Messages from the universe to you

Where should you travel

Positive changes coming into your life

12 months forecast for your 2025

WHAT I DON'T DO READING ON : my readings focus mostly on promoting self development and self awareness. So I don't do readings that :

Can breach other people's privacy, mean to harm, abuse others

Reading about celebrity

Religious, world issues

Health, legal matters (please seek professional help for these matters)

Yes/no questions (you could ask "how" instead) 

Specific time

[mysticstronomy]

DOES DARK MATTER REALLY EXIST??

Blog#473

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025.

Welcome back,

In April 2023, scientists from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration created a map of the universe showing the detailed distribution of dark matter, a mysterious form of matter that makes up around 85% of the total matter in the universe.

While creating any accurate map of matter distribution across the cosmos is an impressive feat, it is particularly extraordinary for dark matter, which does not interact with light and thus cannot be seen directly with telescopes or other instruments.

So, if dark matter is effectively "invisible," how can scientists map it? And how do we even know dark matter exists? Put simply, to detect dark matter, astronomers look at its indirect effects on gravity and how it impacts other objects with mass and light.

All galaxies are believed to be wrapped in an invisible halo of dark matter, and this envelope is vitally important; galaxies are rotating so rapidly, that without dark matter, they would have been torn apart long ago if they were held together only by the influence of their stars, gas, dust and planets, according to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

As such, this mysterious substance must have played an important role in the evolution of the universe.

Everything we see around us on a day-to-day basis is made up of "ordinary" matter, known as baryonic matter, meaning it's composed of baryons (such as protons and neutrons). According to the Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, cosmic objects made of baryonic matter include clouds of cold gas, planets, comets and asteroids, stars, neutron stars and even black holes.

Most of these cosmic objects (as well as Earthbound objects, such as tables, cars and cats) can be seen because baryons interact with the electromagnetic force, one of the universe's four fundamental forces. When electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, falls on baryonic objects, they absorb photons and reemit them, or simply reflect them, so these objects can be seen. Even dark clouds of cosmic gas that do not shine brightly absorb photons of light at certain wavelengths, so they can be seen by their interaction with light.

Scientists know that dark matter is distinct from ordinary baryonic matter because whatever particles dark matter comprises either don't reflect, absorb or emit electromagnetic radiation or if they do interact with light, they do so incredibly weakly. This means dark matter can't be seen in traditional ways that rely on electromagnetic radiation.

Although dark matter does not interact strongly via electromagnetism, it does interact with another fundamental force: gravity. It is through the interaction with gravity that astronomers were first able to discover dark matter and, later, accurately map it.

The first hints of dark matter were observed in 1933 when California Institute of Technology astronomer Fritz Zwicky used the Mount Wilson Observatory to measure the visible mass of the Coma Cluster of galaxies. Zwicky, later dubbed "the father of dark matter," found that single galaxies in this cluster were moving too fast for the cluster to remain together based on the gravity of the visible matter alone.

Zwicky suggested that an as-yet-unobserved type of mass — "dunkle Materie," or "dark matter" — might explain this disparity, but the concept wouldn't be widely accepted for decades to come, until after his death in 1974.

While studying the rotational dynamics of galaxies, Carnegie Institution astronomer Vera Rubin became the next scientist to infer the presence of dark matter with observations that helped to cement it as an accepted element of the universe. Rubin saw that the stars at the edge of spiral galaxies far from their dense centers were moving as fast as stars closer to the galactic heart, according to the American Museum of Natural History.

Originally published on https://www.space.com

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, January 25th, 2025)

"WHAT ARE DARK STARS??"

[saywhat-politics]

Feb. 16, 2025, 3:00 AM MST

By David Ingram and Bruna Horvath

Billionaire tech executive Elon Musk has encouraged right-wing political movements, policies and administrations in at least 18 countries in a global push to slash immigration and curtail regulation of business, according to an NBC News review of his political activity over the past two years.

While Musk has received widespread attention for the upheaval he is causing in the U.S. government, as well as for his growing role in Germany, where he recently told voters to “move beyond” Nazi guilt, the tech tycoon is making his influence felt in a long and growing list of other countries.

[biowaredisasterbisexual]

Davrin Week 2025 - Ficlet Series

So, my final offering for @datvcompanionweeks #davrinweek2025 began, partially, as joking between me and some of the other mods ( @thedissonantverses and @basedonconjecture are some of my favorite bad influences) after I posted Rook’s notes on Davrin. It became this, which is outside my “canon” universe, but could I see it happen in AU soooooo easily.

(The perils of being a multi-shipper whose primary Rook is a bisexual disaster that spent the recruitment phase going: but how are ALL OF THEM hot?!)

So, uh, here we go…

Day Seven: Free Day

“Alright, I think anymore of thissss would be a mistake,” Rook laughed as he set down his drink. Davrin couldn’t help but smirk as the leader of their little band of experts and lost causes haphazardly tried to gather up the paperwork he’d abandoned when Davrin and Lucanis had offered him his first drink of the evening.

That had been hours ago, now, and Lucanis had long since begged off. To the pantry. A choice that still made absolutely no sense to Davrin, regardless of choke points and exits.

Surely one of the fearsome Crows should be able to fend off an attacker in a room that didn’t smell like onions.

But maybe that was the bourbon talking. The three men had enjoyed their fair share of it, and the light of the fireplace to his eyes was softer than usual, and Rook was pleasantly blurred around the edges.

There was something comfortable about Rook, and Davrin didn’t take it for granted. He could, and would, work with anyone as needed; a Warden didn’t always get to choose his siblings in arms. So he hadn’t expected the easy camaraderie he’d discovered at tbe Lighthouse, or the way it warmed him from the inside out when the same man who led them almost recklessly ever forward finished his fourth drink of the night and became a clinging vine. Warmth, the smell of citrus and pine bath oils, and lean muscle surrounding his usual victim, Davrin himself.

As Rook scooped his work back into a single stack, or tried to, several pages fluttered to the floor. The clumsiness — off the battlefield and without adrenaline to focus him — wasn’t surprising, even if Rook hadn’t been drinking. In truth, none of them was all that far gone; Davrin for his part acutely aware that things changed on a moment’s notice, and emergencies wouldn’t wait for them to sober up.

Not to mention dealing with Assan while fall-down drunk seemed like a recipe for disaster.

Davrin knelt to pick up the pages while Rook tried to get the edges of his stack even, seemingly oblivious to the loss. A map of the Hossberg Wetlands, hand-drawn seemingly by the man in charge. Notes on observed phenomenon involving the Blight.

And a page labeled Davrin.

“Keeping notes on me, Rook?” He teased, turning it so it would be easier to read. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected the other man’s response to be but the flush that rose up his neck to settle in cheeks already pink from alcohol was interesting.

And intriguing. Davrin smelled citrus and pine almost against his will.

Disturbingly good at wearing a half-open shirt, was written in precise Trade script, but had been crossed out. He smirked and couldn’t help preening a little, as though a proud griffon himself.

Davrin wasn’t unaware of his appearance or its effects; false modesty would’ve been just that, false. “Got a thing for me, Rook?” He half-joked, and Rook’s blush, far from fading, seemed to intensify. “Like my shirts?”

Rook muttered something under his breath, and Davrin grinned. “What was that?” He needled.

Rook’s eyes narrowed on him. “Hey, you wanna show off, it’s not my fault if I notice.”

Davrin set the papers on top of the pile, stepping into Rook’s space and enjoying the way his eyes widened and his breath sped up. The sweet scent of bourbon mixed in with Rook’s bath oils and the ink he’d been working with earlier, and Davrin’s pulse beat harder in response.

Rook was an attractive guy, or he could be. And there was no future there — Davrin still had an arch demon to kill, and Rook was more likely than any of them to end up a sacrifice to the good of Thedas, even leaving aside that Davrin doubted either was emotionally capable at the moment of supporting any relationship beyond the ones they already had — but that didn’t mean attraction didn’t exist. Davrin had been a Warden long enough to know that sometimes you just needed the touch of another person, that rush of physicality and lust, to get through. Even if it never went beyond that.

Rook bit his lower lip, seemingly unconsciously, and something in Davrin’s chest burned.

He set a hand on Rook’s shoulder, guiding him back towards the stone beside the fireplace, and smirked at how Rook let him.

In the field, Rook took charge as easily as he breathed. And it made the experience of his easy acquiescence all the more powerful as Davrin pinned him against the wall.

“What do you notice now?” He asked, surprised at the rough edges of his own voice. Rook’s pupils had blown wide, only the thinning ring of hazel surrounding black, as his breath came fast.

“You’re a lot stronger than the last guy I did this with.”

“Did what—” Davrin didn’t get to finish his knowing question before Rook’s lips met his. Calloused fingertips rested on the back of Davrin’s neck, and sparks seemed to arc from where they touched. Rook’s kiss was curious, an exploration, but not tentative as he opened Davrin’s mouth with his own and slid down the stone wall to bring their height into better alignment.

Rook may not have worn his clothes the way Davrin did — why hide what you were proud of — but Davrin could feel his lean muscle hard against him through the soft linen of his tunic. Rook moaned softly as Davrin pressed in closer, effectively pinning him in place, and Davrin bit Rooks lower lip before swallowing the needy sound.

Later, Davrin wouldn’t be able to remember how long they stayed there, exchanging heated kisses and swallowing noises that were beautifully obscene in deference to the public location. He wouldn’t be able to say with certainty that they wouldn’t have further without that natural social barrier, either.

When they separated, Rook looked debauched. A pretty flush ran down his neck, disappearing beneath the half-open top of his tunic. The soft curls at the top of his head were visibly mussed, and his lips red and kiss-swollen. Davrin knew his was no less effect, as his chest heaved and his pulse pounded in his ears.

“Not sure how to add that to the notes,” Rook joked breathlessly.

“Make sure they’re complimentary. We all know Neve’s gonna read them,” Davrin said, and Rook snorted.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

[ms-scarletwings]

Aberrant Fish

Updated February 2025

The first hint many an angler will get of the dark, insidious secrets these waters hold,

and yet, they are the first thing to be accepted as only another flavor of mundane.

The game text calls them grotesque. The fishmonger calls them corrupted. You get to call them a bonus. Rather than fear and revile them, tradesmen will pay a shiny extra penny to add them into their stock. They are gestured to and spoken of, but never truly elaborated on by the townsfolk. They have probably been here long before most of them, and so will be here long after they are gone. They were certainly here before you. Maybe you don’t need their answers, and yet if you are like me, you still witlessly question and keep dredging for more.

Like many things pulled from those cursed depths, they whisper flecks of madness from an impossible voice. What messages do they carry, and what forces do they play vessel to? Are they the lingering embers from a long-extinguished calamity, or are they harbingers of the next one to come?

I believe we have already seen signs of fire with our own eyes- impossible, great beasts that prowl the four (now five) coasts, the dying cult, gibbering fog…. That damned book. These tortured creatures are but another form of the same smoke.

To the question of where they came from, if your fisherman pokes around enough and braves the darkness, he may have already found a response in one of the many obelisks scattered around the map. Specifically, I refer to this.

This would suggest the aberrants themselves are what leaked in through the cracks that the largest of all monsters wants to rend apart? Not entirely, but in part. For the researcher at the Stellar Basin came to her own conclusion I want to factor in.

Her words give credence to the possibility that it is actually those greater beasts themselves at the heart of the corruption. I think she was half onto something, because what if these twisted forms, both large and small, were blooms along the same set of festering roots?

The more dark stones you disturb in the frenzy of your own madness, the more you learn about the age before your arrival, about the islands, and especially about their current guardians. The Mindsuckers- carrion puppet masters given a home, the Basin creature- a spore that miraculously survived its dive to the abyss, and the Serpent- lifeless stone made animate and malicious, all had their creation remembered in great detail by the obelisks. Some hints point that their emergence was rather recent, relative to even more powerful beings, such as the leviathan.

Maybe there are even more unseen horrors far below, blessedly out of our reach, for now. My view is that the malformed beasts are the aimless children of such unfathomable things waiting beyond the veil. With them came its influence, and its corruption, and from them it continues to spread to all life surrounding. The smaller rifts were always a transformative disease upon the harbor’s fish, but with the rise of the new monsters, the sickness runs farther and less avoidably than ever. Whether these aberrant spawn are a gift to the worthy, or another deceptive evil that leads to madness remains left to be seen.

I have given a spotlight to each of these fascinating specimens at the back of Dredge’s encyclopedia, including those found in the Pale Reach and Iron Rig expansions, for further comment, ponderance, and appreciation.

[#104-109]

[#110-115]

[#116-122]

[#123-129]

[#130-135]

[#136-141]

[#142-148]

[#149-154]

[#155-159]

[#160-164]

[#165-168]

[#169-172]

[#173-180]

[#181-187]

[#188-194]

[#195-198]

[#199-202]

[#203-207]

[#208-212]

[#213-218]

[#219-224]

[#225-229]

[#230]

[Bonus I. Night Angler]

[Bonus II. Serpent]

[Bonus III. Basin Creature]

[Bonus IV. Mindsuckers] (WIP)

[Bonus V. Unseeing Mother] (WIP)

[Bonus VI. “Narwhal”] (WIP)

[Bonus VII. Gleaming Goliath] (WIP)

[cleolinda]

Weekend links, March 16, 2025

My posts

Silent Hill 2 update: The good news is that the tornadoes that swept through the Midwest and Deep South missed my house. The bad news is that my wifi was so unstable for a couple of days as a result that I couldn't upload the second commentary that is completely finished oh my god just let me upload it. Like I don't want to OBTAIN A DAMN ETHERNET CABLE AND GO PLUG INTO THE BASEMENT ROUTER BUT SO HELP ME IT IS COMING TO THAT.

In the meantime, have a preview clip of James flawlessly fighting his way to Wood Side Apartments, I don't know what else to tell you.

I'm having my third pain block procedure on Wednesday, so I'm either going to be getting a lot of things done before then, or you're not going to hear a word from me for several days. It's hard to say. 

Unrelated: Are these anxiety dreams familiar to you?

Reblogs of interest

Manul Monday: Meet Borys Beebopovich

Happy birthday to el chupacabra!

Happy anniversary "old as balls" gifset!

Enemies to glovers

"when you’re autistic and you learn how to smalltalk it literally feels like you started hacking real life" (it does tho)

"reminder that 30 isn’t old, it’s very normal to not accomplish everything in your 20s, and that it is never too late to learn that thing you’ve always wanted to learn. you’re always growing. that’s a good thing."

“If you’re challenging yourself in the way you should, there’s always a doubt about if you’re going to be able to pull it off."

Medieval Nubian Fashion Brought to Life

Four Horses, details from a 17th century Persian manuscript

Sculpture of a seated man with two dogs, Veracruz, Mexico, 400-800 A.D

Charles Darwin: The man, the myth, the mood

Werner Herzog is also a mood, just a much weirder one

Alaska's Passive-Aggressive Map of the United States

There is no law on the moon

"here’s your regular reminder that if you consistently, regularly get headaches, you are almost certainly having migraines, not regular headaches"

"The Lincoln Assassination is really just wild if you think about it for a moment"

"Devastating to have more evidence that done IS better than perfect"

A lovely answer to "What is everyone's fuss with Vincent Van Gogh?"

"Interesting…my mom claims cake is not for breakfast..."

I love picker wheel polls, but I don't know how to feel about switching lives with Loki

Art: "Saint Guinefort, 13th century folk saint and guardian of children. The ultimate Good Boy."

Art of birds being observed and their reactions

I've always loved this Marie Antoinette-inspired Dior

I love stories about interactive theater, but Shakespeare in particular yields great ones

I don't know what Chicken of the Woods is and I've only vaguely heard of Jerma, so I don't understand a word of this but I'm so happy for everyone involved

Thanks to this gifset, I remembered to recommend The Women when "What are some good movies from the 1930s" came up in conversation

"Student explaining to me (after getting 55) that when reading a novel ('Ulysses' in this case) he likes to skip 'passages and pages' so as 'to get his own idea, you know, about the book and not be influenced by the author'." And then you see which professor wrote this down

"every time i see something on the internet that makes me mad i just think to myself 'people in real life: hey man how’s it going'"

Beneficent Chain Posts: The Potato of Luck

This is either Three Cat Moon or a very unorthodox Animorph

Nom de plume

Video

Wet Beast Wednesday: A sopping wet muskrat

Types of cat engines

Mushroom playing keyboard (my dog did not like this at ALL)

Personal tag of the week

Ides of March. I wasn't able to reblog anything new, but fortunately I had my favorites queued up (well, the boops are new):

Southern Mark Antony talks at Caesar's funeral

Happy birthday, Chocolate Guy!

If Mark Antony was Gen Z

He'll only et two

“Oh, not you as well, Brutus!”

And here's a new one that slipped in under the wire: "i really wonder what Julius Caesar would think of a bunch of neurodivergent rats huddled in a circle chanting ides of march ides of march ides of march and then cheering loudly on the 2067th anniversary of his assassination?"

[the-lion-guard-88]

Happy New Year 2025!

Since this is the start of a New Year, I wanted to acknowledge a few people who I hold dear and appreciate

@blue-doofus

Thank you for being a friend of mine! I always love watching your stupendous works and I just wanted to thank you for sharing it. You have made me smile so many times and I thank you so much for that.

@valentinbelleyh505 @spinnysocks @devilsrecreation @tired-lamb

Thank you for sticking with me in 2024. Although we haven’t talked that much, it was nice to be friends with more Lion Guard fans on Tumblr because I barely saw any.

@astro350 @lego-man75

I just wanted to say thanks for helping me throughout 2024. As you know, this year was very chaotic and challenging for me, but you two got me through it and I am forever grateful.

@hplonesomeart / @hp-lonesome-actual-art

I’m happy we met in 2024 after you signed up for the MAP. I always love watching and viewing your amazing art pieces of Mr. Puzzles and I have saved almost all of them, haha! But thank you for making such amazing art, so I can look at and appreciate.

@fenicearts420

We haven’t talked that much, but I wanted to say thank you for sticking with me throughout this year and making great Mr. Puzzles art that I have kept.

@gdlol83

Thank you for listening to me when I made my vents and thank you for accepting me in Richard’s server.

@scimagic

Thank you for making amazing art of Mr. Puzzles for me to view and enjoy throughout the year, it’s helped me through tough times like all these arts I have seen of Mr. Puzzles and thank you for being a kind person.

And now…the one who has influenced me the most this year…

@jelloapocalypse

First off, if you’re reading this, I apologize for the numerous number of times I have pinged you and apologize if you have been annoyed, but oh…I just have so much to say

I just wanted to thank you…so so much…for voicing an amazing character that has gotten me through this disdainful year. This year was incredibly challenging for me to deal with, but thanks to all the talent you have put in to voicing the beloved Mr. Puzzles, it’s helped me cope with mental struggles. Just hearing Mr. Puzzles or even seeing him has made me smile throughout the whole year and has been my way of coping through the struggles, especially since the vibes you give off with voicing him reminds me of someone who was very dear to me who passed away this year. I know it sounds extremely weird, but it just reminds me of him so much. I just wanted to thank you. Thank you so much for helping me throughout this year by voicing Mr. Puzzles, it’s helped so much, I really appreciate it and will forever be grateful for your talent in the character that has helped me cope throughout the year. I can’t thank you enough for this. Just…thank you for being amazing. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you weren’t voicing this beloved character. I’m just so thankful for everything you did for voicing Mr. Puzzles, because of that, I have been more indulged into your channel such as watching Epithet Erased and playing In Stars And Time

I apologize if this is too much or if I’m being weird.

Just…from the bottom of my heart…thank you…I wish I could tell you in person…

Happy New Year to everybody!

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 18, 2025

Dialogue mechanisms between astrocytic and neuronal networks: A whole-brain modelling approach. Ali, O. B. K., Vidal, A., Grova, C., & Benali, H. (2025). PLOS Computational Biology, 21(1), e1012683.

Dorsal hippocampus represents locations to avoid as well as locations to approach during approach-avoidance conflict. Calvin, O. L., Erickson, M. T., Walters, C. J., & Redish, A. D. (2025). PLOS Biology, 23(1), e3002954.

Individualized temporal patterns drive human sleep spindle timing. Chen, S., He, M., Brown, R. E., Eden, U. T., & Prerau, M. J. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(2), e2405276121.

A synapse-specific refractory period for plasticity at individual dendritic spines. Flores, J. C., Sarkar, D., & Zito, K. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(2), e2410433122.

Rescaling perceptual hand maps by visual‐tactile recalibration. Fuchs, X., & Heed, T. (2025). European Journal of Neuroscience, 61(1).

A solution to the pervasive problem of response bias in self-reports. Grimmond, J., Brown, S. D., & Hawkins, G. E. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(3), e2412807122.

Nonresponsive Neurons Improve Population Coding of Object Location. Haggard, M., & Chacron, M. J. (2025). Journal of Neuroscience, 45(3), e1068242024.

Saliency Response in Superior Colliculus at the Future Saccade Goal Predicts Fixation Duration during Free Viewing of Dynamic Scenes. Heeman, J., White, B. J., Van der Stigchel, S., Theeuwes, J., Itti, L., & Munoz, D. P. (2025). Journal of Neuroscience, 45(3), e0428242024.

A combinatorial neural code for long-term motor memory. Kim, J.-H., Daie, K., & Li, N. (2025). Nature, 637(8046), 663–672.

Spontaneous slow cortical potentials and brain oscillations independently influence conscious visual perception. Koenig, L., & He, B. J. (2025). PLOS Biology, 23(1), e3002964.

Coordinated representations for naturalistic memory encoding and retrieval in hippocampal neural subspaces. Kwon, D., Kim, J., Yoo, S. B. M., & Shim, W. M. (2025). Nature Communications, 16, 641.

Geometry and dynamics of representations in a precisely balanced memory network related to olfactory cortex. Meissner-Bernard, C., Zenke, F., & Friedrich, R. W. (2025). eLife, 13, e96303.3.

Recurrent activity propagates through labile ensembles in macaque dorsolateral prefrontal microcircuits. Nolan, S. O., Melugin, P. R., Erickson, K. R., Adams, W. R., Farahbakhsh, Z. Z., Mcgonigle, C. E., Kwon, M. H., Costa, V. D., Hackett, T. A., Cuzon Carlson, V. C., Constantinidis, C., Lapish, C. C., Grant, K. A., & Siciliano, C. A. (2025). Current Biology, 35(2), 431-443.e4.

A recurrent neural circuit in Drosophila temporally sharpens visual inputs. Pang, M. M., Chen, F., Xie, M., Druckmann, S., Clandinin, T. R., & Yang, H. H. (2025). Current Biology, 35(2), 333-346.e6.

Central amygdala NPBWR1 neurons facilitate social novelty seeking and new social interactions. Soya, S., Toda, K., Sakurai, K., Cherasse, Y., Saito, Y. C., Abe, M., Sakimura, K., & Sakurai, T. (2025). Science Advances, 11(3).

Tactile edges and motion via patterned microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex. Valle, G., Alamri, A. H., Downey, J. E., Lienkämper, R., Jordan, P. M., Sobinov, A. R., Endsley, L. J., Prasad, D., Boninger, M. L., Collinger, J. L., Warnke, P. C., Hatsopoulos, N. G., Miller, L. E., Gaunt, R. A., Greenspon, C. M., & Bensmaia, S. J. (2025). Science, 387(6731), 315–322.

Understanding the neural code of stress to control anhedonia. Xia, F., Fascianelli, V., Vishwakarma, N., Ghinger, F. G., Kwon, A., Gergues, M. M., Lalani, L. K., Fusi, S., & Kheirbek, M. A. (2025). Nature, 637(8046), 654–662.

The integration of self-efficacy and response-efficacy in decision making. Yang, Y.-Y., & Delgado, M. R. (2025). Scientific Reports, 15, 1789.

Critical Avalanches in Excitation-Inhibition Balanced Networks Reconcile Response Reliability with Sensitivity for Optimal Neural Representation. Yang, Z., Liang, J., & Zhou, C. (2025). Physical Review Letters, 134(2), 028401.

Sustained EEG responses to rapidly unfolding stochastic sounds reflect Bayesian inferred reliability tracking. Zhao, S., Skerritt-Davis, B., Elhilali, M., Dick, F., & Chait, M. (2025). Progress in Neurobiology, 244, 102696.

[mariacallous]

Ten years ago, a flood of gamers attacked developers Zoë Quinn and Brianna Wu and media critic Anita Sarkeesian. The three were part of a growing chorus of people calling for a more inclusive culture within video games. The attackers doxxed and harassed their targets, doing all they could to stifle the women’s efforts. The incident, which became known as Gamergate, illuminated the toxicity women faced in gaming spaces and beyond.

Eventually, the harassment faded from the news, but its residue was never fully removed from the internet and public life.

Gamergate articulated a particular kind of aggrieved masculinity, an anger at losing the power of being the target audience. Since 2014, it has shaped everything from the men's rights movement to the current iteration of the GOP, outlining what it means to be a man in certain corners of the internet.

In many ways, says Adrienne Massanari, an associate professor at American University’s school of communications, Gamergate presaged a broader reaction on the right toward real changes happening in American society. Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon latched onto this in 2015, harnessing the power of committed online fandoms to bolster Trump’s campaign.

Within the community, Gamergate seemingly bifurcated men into distinct camps. Men who came to Sarkeesian’s defense, for example, were dubbed “white knights” and simps. Meanwhile, the people doing the harassing saw themselves as trying to protect the space from the “outside” influences of “social justice warriors,” who threatened to take away the elements that—they felt—made games fun.

“Even though we know that a bunch of people play games, [the men involved in Gamergate] saw themselves as being the target demographic for games. When that started to shift, the reaction was, of course, anger,” says Massanari. “Now that’s reflected, refracted, and amplified by Trumpism and that kind of far-right strain of Republicanism reacting to demographic and societal shifts toward a more egalitarian society.”

This same kind of anger and resistance can be seen now in figures like J.D. Vance and Elon Musk, who both decry “woke-ism” in politics and culture broadly. In interviews, Musk has said that he was motivated to purchase X, formerly Twitter, to fight the “woke mind virus” that he says is destroying civilization. The Heritage Foundation’s political road map Project 2025 repeatedly mentions “woke” progressivism as a threat that must be eliminated, particularly by doing away with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in government spaces.

This connection comes full circle in what’s become “Gamergate 2.0,” a backlash to inclusion efforts where “DEI” is now a catchphrase. Ten years ago, gamers pushed back against critics like Sarkeesian for pointing out that many female characters in games were nothing more than tropes. In 2024, the campaigns are against video game consulting companies such as Sweet Baby for performing what some gamers believe is “forced diversification.” No matter the rallying cry, the reason is the same: Being upset that the characters in video games no longer represent your interests.

While the politics of masculine grievance aren’t exactly new, says Patrick Rafail, professor of sociology at Tulane University, “the mainstreaming of it is.”

Although Gamergate came out of a relatively niche subculture, its elements can now be found in influencers like Andrew Tate who have popularized “these very simplistic, archetypal, stereotypical extremes” of masculinity, says Debbie Ging, professor of digital media and gender at Dublin City University. A new era of podcasting, coupled with a rise in short-form video platforms like TikTok, “which are heavily algorithm-driven,” have been significant drivers of this form of rhetoric, Ging says.

Current influencers provide a sort of blueprint for a post-Gamergate masculinity, one that still contains some of the movement’s toxic ideas, repackaged to be more initially appealing. “These ‘manfluencers’ propagate a lot of the same kind of red-pill ideas, the same kind of theories from evolutionary psychology. But what they have kind of moved toward is a greater focus on financial advice, motivation, mental health,” Ging says. This kind of content is ultimately “focused on how to maintain your masculine status.”

The more mainstream topics peddled by these influencers—and a need for community—continue to pull young men in, says Andrew Reiner, a lecturer at Towson University and the author of Better Boys, Better Men: The New Masculinity That Creates Greater Courage and Emotional Resiliency.

“It's not like a lot of these guys start out on the far right saying, ‘All this has happened to me and these people on the left here are to blame,’” Reiner says. “It’s not that extreme. In the beginning, a lot of these guys are saying, ‘I’m struggling, I’m looking for support, and I don’t really know where to turn.’”

Part of that desire for community is what makes gaming or influencer fandom both deeply attractive and such a powerful breeding ground for groups that rely on masculine grievance. Male-dominated online communities, like gaming or right-wing spaces, can often be characterized by trash-talking and one-upmanship, “because that's the only way young men have been acculturated into being able to talk with their peers,” Massanari adds. That same behavior can easily spill over into harassment, partly because it’s about maintaining that masculine status.

As influencer culture and political culture become ever more intertwined, it should be no surprise that the desire to maintain masculine status—and anger at its decline—can be found in many of the ways the right codes itself. After the attempted assassination of Trump last month, a photo of the former president, fist in the air in front of an American flag, went viral. Even Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the moment “badass” in an interview with Bloomberg. Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in June, author and professor David Azerrad called Trump “undeniably manly.”

And while politics and fandom have always had an overlap (e.g., Brat Summer), Massanari says Trump and the new right represent a whole different scale. “Gamergate was really focused on fandom communities,” says Massanari. “If you think about Trump, Trump is nothing if not a fandom community. When I watched any of the [Republican National Convention] stuff, I was struck by thinking, ‘All this could be like a bunch of Taylor Swift fans.’”

Jessica O’Donnell, author of Gamergate and Anti-Feminism in the Digital Age, warns that while the ideas of Gamergate may live on in the far right and the GOP, the aggressive, harassing fandom behaviors are not limited to a political party. As some online spaces, such as Reddit, have become more friendly to far-left politics, which can have its own form of aggressive promoters (see: dirtbag left), O’Donnell says Gamergaters have followed along.

“I think a lot of people who were involved in Gamergate, you see now having more of a sort of radical leftist kind of ideology, because they’ve seen that’s where they’re going to get more clout,” she says. “It’s more about picking the winning team, rather than the team to win.” In other words, Gamergate was the internet—and it’s everywhere now.

[cytherianss]

An old Disco-Phos drawing from 2024

(pssssssstttttttt scroll downnnnnnn)

You don’t know about the amount of beef I had with that drawing at that time my iPad died around 3 times and Ibispaint crashed about 3 times too

Influence game: Disco Elysium

(I haven’t gotten the chance to play the game yet either, but I want to play it just for the art style)

UghhHhHhHhHh I’ve reached the photo limit for my phone but here are the link to the main influences for this piece:

2023 Phos drawing

Unfortunately I have only 2 WIP pics because I had to delete them because my stupid ass iPad has only 32GB of storage 💔💔💔💔

(I may or may not had been influenced by Omnoji or whatever that game was called for the art, and stole a few elements from it, never played the game)

-Also does anybody know who’s the artist for these drawings for that game? Been trying to find them but no luck for ages 😞😞😞😞

Influence game: Omnioji

This year’s (2025)

(It’s a WIP but still sHhHhHhHhHHhHhHh, can you guess which game is the influence game for this HNK piece?)

[ultrameganicolaokay]

The 2025 Near Mint Condition/Tigereyes Annual Marvel Omnibus poll is open! This is the one which is all about brand new books, not reprints! Marvel do receive the poll results and is influenced in making future choices by them, so your vote absolutely does matter!

Voting closes end of day (US time) Thursday 8th of May, so you have just over a week to get your entry in.

Voting is ranked (so put your most wanted choice first, the next second and so on) and you get ten options so, to use myself as an example, my first choice was the She-Hulk by Soule & Tamaki Omnibus. Clicking on 'Choose' gives you a drop down menu listing all the choices so it helps to know what you want to vote for first before you begin. Also be aware that you may need to search for what you are looking for. For example, my third pick was Valkyrie, Fearless Defender however that did not come under 'V' but under 'D' for Defenders. Do not vote for the same book multiple times, the additional votes will not be counted.

You can find the voting form here. To skip to voting instructions go here. Lists of the potential volumes can be found in the video, but it is a looooong live stream and so even skipping through looking for what you're interested in can be unwieldy. You would likely find it much easier to go here where Krisis has a complete list of titles and mapping information on what these books may/could/should collect. Good luck.

Update: poll is now closed! Here are the results (see the description for the full list):

[kybercrystals94]

The Defender (ch.6)

Febuwhump 2025 | Day 6 | Prompt: Forced to Stay Awake

Read here on Ao3

<< Previous Chapter | Master Post | Next Chapter >>

Rated: G | Words: 2188

Character Ages

Omega (8)

The Batch (Chronological: 4.5 / Biological: 9)

Tech watches Crosshair walk away for only a few seconds before he tells Wrecker, “Come on,” and starts down the left hall. He hears Wrecker hesitate a moment but then fall into step behind him. 

“I agree with ya, Tech,” Wrecker says. “We oughta stick together.” 

“Where was this opinion approximately thirty seconds ago?” Tech asks sharply. 

Wrecker sighs. “We can still catch up with Cross, tell him he’s outvoted.”  

“We will let Crosshair have his way,” Tech says. “Otherwise we will never hear the end of it.”

“That’s not a good reason for a bad idea,” Wrecker points out. 

Tech does not often feel anger toward any of his brothers. He knows that strong emotions left untended often, if not always, lead to impaired judgement. Tech has learned this through experience and observation. However, there are times that a strong emotion arrives with such unimpeded force that Tech finds himself swayed to its pure influence. Crosshair using Tech’s own words against him, having the audacity to imply that Tech holds blame for Hunter’s predicament…his anger is righteous and deserved.

“Perhaps it is not a bad idea at all,” Tech retorts. “Perhaps Crosshair is right that we should split up. Perhaps I am wrong.” 

“Then we’re both wrong, I guess,” Wrecker says.

“We shall see, won’t we.” 

“No, let’s find Crosshair–” Wrecker grabs Tech's shoulder, yanking him too roughly to a stop. 

Tech turns and shoves his brother away with both hands. “Leave it, Wrecker! The decision has been made, right or wrong. If there is one thing that Crosshair is absolutely correct about, it is that we are wasting time.” 

Tech does not miss, but ignores, the look of hurt in Wrecker’s eyes before he pivots on his heel and starts walking again. It is another danger of strong emotions allowed free reign: others can get hurt by them too. And now, not only is Tech angry with Crosshair. 

He is also angry with himself. 

**

Tech’s mind is exceptional. While he understands that it is a direct result of Kaminoan interference during his earliest stages of development, Tech also knows that it is by his own directive that he utilizes the enhancement well. It takes effort to employ the capacity of his mind to its full potential, to put away what is useless and nurture what is useful. Tech will admit that at times, what he finds useful might not traditionally be considered so. 

But there is one article of knowledge that is unquestionably valuable: Tech has memorized uncommon routes through Tipoca City using the map that is Hunter’s mind. 

Tech follows what he believes would be Hunter’s most logical direction in the event he was being pursued. Had Crosshair not been so obstinately insistent on splitting up, he might not be going in what Tech believes is the wrong direction. Some lessons were best taught, and some experienced. Crosshair will experience this lesson when Tech and Wrecker, together, locate Hunter – then Crosshair when the cadet undoubtedly becomes lost himself. Natural consequence, Tech thinks. Cause and effect. 

“Do you think Crosshair’s doing okay?” Wrecker asks, interrupting the flow of Tech’s thoughts. 

Tech stops to consider an intersection of halls. “I would assume he is doing as well as he can on his own.” 

“We shoulda stayed together,” Wrecker mumbles, kicking at a scuff mark on the ground. 

“Belaboring the point won’t change anything,” Tech tells him. 

Wrecker crosses his arms and glares down at Tech with a frustrated ire Tech is not accustomed to from this particular brother. “You think using those big words makes you sound smart, but you’re being really dumb right now, ya know that? Now we’ve got two brothers lost!” 

“That is not my fault!” Tech protests. “Crosshair chose to leave.” 

“And you chose to let him!” 

“So did you!” 

“I wanted to get him, and you said no!” 

“I am not in charge!” 

“Well, you kriffing act like it!” 

“Tech? Wrecker?” 

Tech and Wrecker startle at the sudden, third party interruption. Hunter is standing there in the middle of the hall, just a few paces away, staring at them. 

“Hunter!” Wrecker laughs and runs to him, wrapping him up in his arms and bodily lifting their brother from the floor. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” 

“Sorry,” Hunter chokes out, squirming in Wrecker’s grip. “I didn’t mean to be gone for so long.” 

“Why were you gone so long?” Tech asks, approaching. 

Hunter is spun around twice before Wrecker finally releases him, and he stumbles a few steps to the left before finding his balance. “Some stupid regs were chasing me,” Hunter admits gingerly, straightening out his rumpled tunic. “I had to hide in a supply closet until I knew they were gone.” 

Wrecker and Tech exchange a knowing look. 

“Where’s Crosshair?” Hunter asks, glancing around.

“He thought it would be best if we split up to search for you,” Tech says, and even though it is the truth, the words taste sour in his mouth, like an admission of awful guilt.

Hunter’s brows knit together in transparent confusion. “And you let him?” 

“Ya know how Cross can be,” Wrecker explains weakly. He sounds as small as Tech suddenly feels. As though he is the one who has done anything wrong. 

Tech cannot meet the gaze of either of his present brothers. 

“Yeah, I know,” Hunter says. “We better go find him, huh?” 

Hunter does not wait for an answer, because the answer is obvious. He takes off down the way Wrecker and Tech came from, and his brothers wordlessly follow. 

**

They do not find Crosshair.

They even sneak to the medical wing, a place typically avoided at all costs. While they do not go all the way inside, Tech is able to access the medbay’s list of occupants on a carelessly left data pad he finds at the front station. 

“He is not here,” Tech says, but the discovery does not bring him the relief he had anticipated. Tech has never given much stock to the sensation of intuition, logic and analysis being his greatest allies; however, now, he cannot shake himself loose from the immense feeling of dread that overwhelms him. Something is not right. Something is very, very wrong. 

“Maybe he went back to the barracks,” Wrecker suggests, not sounding convinced himself. 

Tech looks to Hunter, and sees Hunter’s gaze flicker briefly to the in-wall comm unit beside them. Before Tech can puzzle over it, Hunter says, “You’re right, Wrecker. Let’s head back. Maybe we’ll find Crosshair along the way, yeah?” 

Wrecker’s demeanor shifts at Hunter’s encouragement, and he smiles broadly. “Yeah!” 

Tech knows that Hunter’s optimism is a front; however, he still envies the easy way Wrecker leans guilelessly into the sentiment, bounding ahead when the halls become familiar again. 

“He isn’t in the barracks, Hunter,” Tech says quietly. 

Hunter’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t look at Tech. “We don’t know that.” 

“Alright,” Tech allows. “What if he isn’t in the barracks? What do we do then?” 

“We’ll get help.” 

Tech’s breath catches in his throat. “From who?” 

Hunter finally turns his head to look at Tech, to meet his eye. “Someone helped me get away from the regs,” he says softly. 

“Someone?” Tech prods when Hunter does not elaborate on his own. 

Hunter shrugs and shakes his head. “I don’t know who they are, but they helped me. They said they’ve been watching us for a long time. They’ll know where Crosshair is.”

“You trust this unknown individual?” Tech asks incredulously. 

“I don’t know why, but I do,” Hunter says. “They…it feels like they care about us. They said it isn’t safe for us to know who they are.” 

Tech absorbs the information he’s been given, skeptical as he is. Unlike himself, Hunter relies heavily on instinct. But if Hunter believes he can trust this individual, Tech will trust Hunter. 

They reach the hall of their barracks. Wrecker, far ahead of them now, activates the door and barrels inside. Tech doesn’t realize he’s stopped walking until Hunter turns back to look at him. “Tech?” 

Tech shakes his head. His boots suddenly feel as though they are made of permacrete. If Crosshair isn’t here…if Tech let him go off alone…if anything happened to him…

Wrecker comes back into the hall, his face a stark and awful reflection of Tech’s internal turmoil. “He’s not here, Hunter.” 

**

“Do you know how we can contact this…unidentified subject?” Tech asks, pretending there isn’t a painful lump in his throat to speak around.

Hunter is pacing the perimeter of their barracks. “They talked to me through the comm in the wall.” 

“Do you have any idea where they were contacting you from in the city?” Tech presses. 

Hunter shoots him a sharp look. “I would have told you if I knew that, Tech.” 

“Maybe we should just ask a trainer to help us, or a long neck,” Wrecker offers nervously from where he’s folded himself against the head of his bunk, pillow hugged to his chest. 

Tech nods. “That is likely the best course of action. It is well into our sleep cycle. Crosshair would have been returned to our barracks by now if he were not incapacitated.” 

“Unless he’s being too kriffing proud to ask for help,” Wrecker says. “He could be hiding in a closet like Hunter was doing.”

“Crosshair may be proud, but he knows that an absence like this would cause us alarm,” Tech counters. “Not even he would do that to us…at least, not willingly.” 

Hunter stops pacing and turns to look at their in-wall comm for what Tech thinks might be the thousandth time. Then he marches up to it. “Hey!” he yells. “You said you wanted to help us! So help! Where is Crosshair?” 

Tech startles at the outburst, and even Wrecker lets out a sound of surprise. 

Hunter continues to stare at the comm, as though his steady gaze alone will force the mysterious individual to speak. 

Tech opens his mouth to suggest that perhaps this helper, whoever they are, is unable to make contact at this juncture. 

“C’mon,” Hunter continues, but his voice is quiet now, pleading. “You can't have wasted your help on me…please…” 

The comm crackles to life. “Hunter,” a voice says, soft and young.  

Tech is on his feet and rushing to Hunter’s side before he realizes what he is doing. He only knows that he does not want to miss a single syllable. He feels Wrecker press in behind him. Under normal circumstances, Tech does not like being crowded. It makes him feel trapped and overwhelmed. But at this moment, he welcomes Wrecker’s solid presence in the absence of another. 

“Do you know where Crosshair is?” Hunter asks again. 

“He’s going to be okay,” the voice says. “Nala Se said he’ll be okay.”

Nala Se. Tech’s chest tightens. He is finding it difficult to breathe.  

It is Wrecker who recovers his voice first. “What’s wrong with him?” 

“He was in a fight…” the voice says, slowly, as though they are choosing the words they say very carefully. “...with some cadets. He–he hit his head. He was taken to the medical wing, but Nala Se had him brought to her personal lab so that she could monitor him. She said concussions like this can be dangerous with his enhancement.”

“We want to see him,” Hunter says. 

There is a long pause, and then, “You…can’t. I’m sorry. But Nala Se said he will be returned to the barracks once he’s recovered.” 

“How long will that be?” Hunter asks. 

“I don’t know,” the voice says. “I have to go…Nala Se is coming back. She can’t know that I’ve told you anything. I’ll give you an update when I can, I promise.” 

Silence, dense and heavy, falls on the barracks. 

Tech does not cry. Well, he likely cried when he was much younger, but that is expected as emotions are not as easily regulated when one is very young. But to his memory, he cannot remember crying. So the sensation that burns at his eyes now is surprising and strange, oppressive in its urgency for release.

“This is my fault,” he says, but the words stutter on a gasping breath. “I let him go.”

“It’s not,” Wrecker says firmly. “Don’t say that.”

 But Tech shakes his head, blinking hard against the dampness in his eyes. 

Hunter does not say anything at all, expression dull and unreadable, when he turns away from the comm. Then he sits down on the floor, back against the wall. Quietly, Tech and Wrecker do the same, sitting on either side of their oldest brother. A silent understanding between them. They will not sleep until they hear from the voice again. 

“The voice said he’ll be okay,” Wrecker says.

Hunter nods. “Then he’ll be okay,” Hunter whispers, voice flat. 

Tech wants to believe him. He wants to trust Hunter. He wants to trust the unknown voice. 

Desperately. 

He should never have let Crosshair go alone. 

There are times that a strong emotion arrives with such unimpeded force that Tech finds himself swayed to its pure influence.

Tech begins to cry. 

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Prompt: Alternate Timeline Self

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[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kelby Vera at HuffPost:

With President Donald Trump’s radical rehaul of America well underway, right-wing policy engineer Russell Vought wants you to believe Project 2025 was never meant to be his road map. During Sunday’s episode of “State of the Union,” CNN moderator Dana Bash got an icy answer when she asked Vought if the overlap between Trump’s agenda and the hyper-conservative political program meant that Project 2025 was coming to fruition. Though the president repeatedly distanced himself from Project 2025 during his campaign, second-term Trump achievements like eliminating DEI, banning transgender troops and sending the military to crack down on the southern border were all detailed in the far-right policy wish list, for which Vought served on the advisory board. But Vought, who is now Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, shot down the idea that the Heritage Foundation-helmed initiative inspired any of the president’s actions. Claiming Trump was “very public” about his plans during his campaign, the political operative told Bash it is “delusional” to think the president was not the sole architect of his executive strategy. “I’m not suggesting that he’s not in charge,” Bash countered. “I’m just saying that now it’s pretty clear that what he wants to do and what you planned are dovetailing.” Vought still refused to acknowledge the influence of Project 2025, which also laid out tactics for shuttering the Department of Education, banning abortion medication and imposing work requirements for Medicaid recipients in a 900-plus page blueprint titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.”

Project 2025 mastermind Russ Vought lied through his teeth to Dana Bash on CNN’s State Of The Union Sunday by falsely suggesting that Donald Trump wasn’t enacting items on Project 2025’s wishlist. In fact, the Trump Administration has enacted a sizable part of the P2025 agenda.

From the 06.01.2025 edition of CNN's State Of The Union: