#//DEFINITELY SOMETHING I NEED TO DO A BETTER VERSION OF IN THE CAMPAIGN

[unboundtravels]

"It seems like I've made matters worse." - lennox&one

𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 | 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 @xcedia

Lennox is sitting against a bench, her back turned toward the older woman. Together, the two stand outside a POLICE BOX sitting on the edge of somewhere distant and far away. Her hands grip her coat lapels, and she quietly looks off towards a distant peak, somewhere far away. She stands there awkwardly, silver hair spiked from a bedhead look she can never tame. Her face is caught in a more numb, yet still ever-perpetual scowl. Although she isn't scowling at anything in particular, her face just looks like that. Absent and always observant, eyes narrow and rigid, brows squeezed low in an almost intimidating manner. Like her guard is always raised.

However, her guard starts to chip a little bit at the sounds of sniffling that Lennox makes whilst her back is turned toward The Doctor. Again, very awkwardly, The Doctor fidgets in place very softly, almost timidly. She swallows a lump in her throat, rendered speechless by the very blatant sign of trust Lennox is placing in the elder by showing such vulnerability. It suddenly renders The Doctor ashamed of any prior outbursts made at her throughout the day. The breakdown paints a specific picture for The Elder

What started as a mild curiosity in an ordinary junkyard has spun into some great and wild cosmic adventure. Suddenly, The Doctor isn't quite sure she's truly realized just how much emotional strain Lennox and Niko go through on a daily basis. Or Stella for that matter. The Doctor exhales quietly and makes a reply in the form of a very awkward clearing of her throat. "A-herhm... Yes, Quite... Well..." She suddenly winces, "I mean! Well, no not quite." She sighs, frustrated by her own nerves, but she eventually sucks in a deep breath to prepare herself... and circles over to sit next to Lennox on the bench.

"No, my dear... It seems once again... perhaps I have... rather gone and made a muck-up of things, too." She scowls at the sky and shakes a fist lightly before her frown melts into a rather forlorn and sympathetic one. "All of this is my fault, my dear." She looked down at the ground for a moment, gripping softly at her thigh. "I should... never have forced you and Niko to... have to uproot your lives like that." She curled her fingers slightly as if she was gripping lightly at the air... before she made full fists and rested them against her knees. "I don't... quite know what came over me... except that... maybe I was afraid." She finally looked toward Lennox, slightly pouting.

"Stella and I... have... lost the right to return to our home. A choice I made for the both of us and I'm sure Stella resents me for..." She assumes feelings she can not back up, but clearly shows regret at such a statement before showing some somber determination, "But... There... was no choice in the matter. Perhaps one day we will return, perhaps." The Doctor cries out softly before resting a fist against her chest, "Whatever our many variety of reasons for leaving were, though..." She explains, before looking down and sighing heavily. "It was no excuse."

"No excuse to uproot either of you from your very lives." The Doctor looks towards Lennox finally, resting a hand on her shoulder softly. "I'm... sorry for that." She used her free hand to make a fist between them. "But... Now, I must no longer be scared of the mistakes I have made, because now I am confident in my new choice... my new goal;" Her gaze softens, "To return you two home.... and in order to do that... I must be brave, confident of myself and my choices..." 

She holds her free hand open, smiling softly.

"Be brave with me, my dear."

[glitteringcrab]

Evil Morty and the other Mortys

I think Evil Morty would have been a 100% sympathetic character to us viewers if it wasn't for the fact that he strapped hundreds of Mortys on a dome and tortured them endlessly.

However, my gut is telling me that, although Evil Morty is definitely ruthless, he's not... evil evil. Like, I can see him torturing hundreds of Mortys so that he gets to escape, but I can't see him torturing them for fun.

I can think of a few reasons why he might have done this.

Theory 1: Pragmatism

For starters, Evil Morty is very cautious and his signature move is making himself appear more harmless than he actually is. It's not unlikely that he considered the possibility that his plan may eventually go awry (like it did). It would be a lot more likely that he wouldn't get interrogated or summarily shot (or examined in any way) if he:

(a) made it seem that the Rick he was paired with was extremely evil with a beef against Mortys and therefore resistence on Evil Morty's part would be worse than suicidal

AND

(b) made sure there was a laaaaarge crowd of Mortys to hide in. If there were, like twenty Mortys in total, it would be a lot easier for the Citadel to interrogate each and one of them or to try to find a connection, a link among them, to determine the dimension they were from, which in turn would make it a lot more likely for Evil Morty to be found out.

So he needs to surround himself with a LOT of Mortys and he needs them alive... but that would make zero sense on "Evil Rick's" part. If Evil Morty wants to sell the idea that there is an Evil Rick who collects brains from other Ricks, it'd make little sense for Evil Rick to keep hundreds of Mortys alive and well. He'd have to put them to good use. So Evil Morty has to put them to good use.

Theory 2: Failed Morty Strike

Yeah, it's obvious that Evil Morty does not really care if he tortures other versions of himself:

At worst, he sadistically enjoys their suffering: "ah-ah-ah, Rick. Quiet. You're missing my symphony". Is this something he made Evil Rick say so as to appear deranged, or does he personally really enjoy it?

At best, he doesn't like it but does not hesitate doing it.

I suspect the answer lies somewhere inbetween. I think he's both desperate and desensitized at that point... If he has already been forced by his previous Ricks to kill and torture people, then this is just a line that has already been crossed.

...but it's also clear that he HATES Mortys. He said to Morty Prime: "you sellout Mortys kill me. I'd hate you more than the Ricks you worship if there was any point". (So he hates them... equally).

This whole thing gives me a bit of a "oh, you want to be a human shield?! Then you get to BE a human shield!!" vibe.

I mean that I get the impression that he had sought help from other Mortys in the past, or that he had participated in a rally against Ricks... but all the Mortys ended up giving up or siding with Ricks eventually. Just like Morty Prime ended up siding with Rick when the Citadel was collapsing. Just like Campaign Manager Morty was trying to convince Evil Morty to quit before the election even took place. The main reason I suspect that Mortys as a collective had let Evil Morty personally down in the past is his reply to Morty Prime when he asked for help. He answered "it would be pointless. Mortys have no chance of defeating a Rick". It's not unlikely that this is what he had been told when he asked other Mortys for help.

Morty Prime did manage to rally the other Mortys in the Morty dome but truth be told they were extremely desperate. I can totally see Mortys doing a strike in the Citadel and the strike completely fizzling out because Ricks mind blew a few Mortys, summarily arrested and expelled some others into space, or even offered some Mortys the opportunity to get paired immediately with new Ricks (forever). The latter seems quite likely given that Morty Prime's mom was instructing him to demand for Rick to treat him better and he said "no, I'm desperate" (and Rick freaking smiled). Imagine if you have NO MOM and get offered a second chance of companionship by a Rick...

This would make his offer to Morty Prime make a lot more sense: he's a Morty who (a) was sick of Rick (b) tried to help other Mortys, and (c) successfully rallied them. He'd be everything an emotionally cornered Evil Morty would ever want-- oh, wait. Actually, NO. That second seat is just a toilet.

I like this theory because it means Evil Morty is the personification of the results of the failures of BOTH Rick AND Morty. Morty constantly doing whatever Rick tells him is not just bad for him, it means he becomes an accomplice to a lot of criminal acts... And although he's a child and therefore carries a very small part of the blame, after a certain point he should also take responsibility for his own actions (I mean, he tried to ROOFIE Jessica!!)

Theory 3: Evil Morty had personal beef with the Mortys he was torturing

If the hypothesis that he is a clone Morty with no real family and that he had been passed around repeatedly among various Ricks is true, then it's possible he specifically targeted the previous Ricks that had rejected him and the Mortys that had replaced him, out of spite. I wholeheartedly hope this isn't true because it'd mean he has been passed around hundreds of times. Slick Morty, who had 5 Ricks in the past, was "top" of his class, so hopefully exchanging hundreds of Ricks is Not A Thing.

Not to mention that targetting Ricks who had a previous connection with him would make it more likely for someone to discover said connection and catching him.

Also, since Evil Morty's plan was to bring down the Central Finite Curve, it'd make more sense for him to target Ricks likely to be in the know, not Ricks he had a personal beef with.

So, no, I don't think this theory is true.

Theory 4: He's jealous of Mortys with loving families

It's possible that, if Evil Morty is a clone Morty with no family, he targeted "naturally occuring Mortys" in loving families, out of spite. Mortys who had what he never had.

Theory 5: I'm overthinking it.

He's evil. Period.

[masterqwertster]

So I made a list of possible tricks Ashton could pick up upon awakening the Shard of Ka'Mort.

This is my list of abilities I think Ashton should definitely get from Ka'Mort's Shard.

Increase to Ability Scores- Mainly into Strength. Though I don't think a little Constitution would be remiss, given Earth Elemental's have equally good STR and CON. Beef up my boi with titan strength!

Siege Monster- Given Grog barely used the siege function of the Titanstone Knuckles while owning them for a little over half of the aired campaign, I think it's safe to throw this in the pot without worrying about game balance. The worst this will do is give Ashton a really good chance of one-shotting Otohan's Echo Backpack. Which I'd give 50-50 chances he'd actually do, for "No more Echoes for her" vs "Loot her backpack!" reasons. After all, they just had an item attunement slot open up...

Earth Glide- I feel like this is what the Whitestone touching earth scene hinted at: solid ground, but also the feeling of water surface tension. Like maybe they can dive in and "swim" around in the earth.

Tremorsense- If Ashton gets Earth Glide, they're going to need Tremorsense to navigate being in the rock. I also think it's the better sensory upgrade vs Darkvision. Laudna and Chetney already have Darkvision covered, meanwhile, Tremorsense opens up some new Perception paths. Like trying to feel people through/on the other side of walls, around corners, or invisible observers, so long as they're moving on the ground.

Earth Tremor- Or more accurately, an ability to the spell's effect. Combat spells get tricky when barbarians aren't supposed to be able to cast or maintain concentration while raging. Anyways, I think an earth titan should be an earthshaker, so a small, localized quake makes sense as an ability for Ashton. Also, he might have already done this during the panic attack in Zephrah.

And a bonus few that I would like to see added to the pile:

Mold Earth- If Ashton gets a cantrip, I feel like this is the one that gets better use, because while Magic Stone is a useful bonus action, it's also a spell and concentration, neither of which Ashton can use while raging. So the utility spell of Mold Earth is more favorable for general use. And I think shaping earth (vs enchanting a pebble for a damage bonus) is more thematic for an earth titan

Conjure Minor Elementals- Give Ashton their own earth version of the Doompa Loompas!

Stone Shape/Wall of Stone- Just something strong enough that Ashton can carve out/create a little hidey-hole campsite since Bells Hells is lacking in camp making spells. It also has the bonus of potentially sparing Fearne and/or FCG from having to prepare or use such spells for travel and puzzle solving.

Guardian Pillars- I'm still really curious what extra protection this modified Bones of the Earth was supposed to offer. And my own wild fantasy version of this would channel Ashton's base rage effects into the pillars. Like a half-size radius from each pillar of the Temporal Morass, Orbital Decay, or Probability Matrix while Space maybe allows allies to walk in one pillar and out of another. But all that is overpowered, thus the wild fantasy label.

Earthquake- Of course I'd love to see the ultimate earth spell be added to Ashton's toolkit. Though if that ever happens, it'll probably be held back until they're at or much closer to Level 15, when the pure casters like Imogen and FCG get 8th Level spells.

[tmntkiseki]

Originally, I wasn't going to go public about this...

But I realized something yesterday: Suffering in silence is stupid. While it is true that there are a lot of horrible people on the internet, there are also a lot of incredibly kind people--people who may be complete strangers to you, but are more than willing to reach out a helping hand if you let them know that something is wrong, and I'm tired of pretending that everything is fine around here when it's not. So here we are.

The short version is this: Ever since I disabled anonymous asks back on the 6th of this month, I've been repeatedly stalked and harassed by an individual I've taken to calling Troll-san. Why Troll-san? Because I'm an older internet user, I've been active online since the mid-2000s, and that's what they are: a troll, and they've gone through so many URLs at this point that I have nothing better to call them.

Troll-san primarily harasses me through my ask box, but they've occasionally attempted to do what they've been doing through reblogs on my posts as well. I will give them credit where it's due because they've been incredibly persistent; every time I block one of their URLs, they proceed to delete and then remake it in order to circumvent the block feature and continue sending me more hateful messages. This also has the side effect of making reporting their behavior incredibly difficult, and that's assuming that Tumblr staff decides to even try doing something about this. (And I do not trust Tumblr staff at all.)

This is one of the only asks I made an effort to take a screencap of, sent not too long after I made my post on Friday regarding my recent ER visit, and let it be said that this is FAR from the worst message they've sent me. (They have, in fact, sent a couple of asks telling me to kill myself.)

So, at this point in their little harassment campaign, I can confirm a few key details about Troll-san.

This is indeed over the fact I disabled anonymous asks. I'm not particularly special for disabling them since so many Tumblr users do it, but presumably the reason Troll-san is so wound up over it is that if they're having a bad day and feel like being a dick someone (me), they can no longer send rude asks and avoid the consequences for it by using the anon feature. (In fact, that's the entire reason why so many Tumblr users disabled anons in the first place! Because people were abusing them to be assholes!)

I am definitely not their first victim. I did some digging around yesterday and can confirm that there is at least one other user who has also been harassed by Troll-san, and there are likely more people who may have/are dealing with the same person.

Even though Troll-san has been constantly deleting and remaking their URLs in order to bypass the block feature and continue their harassment, I am about 99% positive that their primary URL is grandangelkitty. It's one of the only URLs that they haven't deleted and remade at some point, and the other user who was harassed confirmed it was one of the URLs that they had to block. Whether it'll still exist by the time anyone reads this, I don't know, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

I realize that by acknowledging what's going on, I am potentially inviting yet more harassment and allowing this situation to drag out even longer than it needs to, but A) cyberbulling is never okay, and knowing I'm not the first person to be harassed by this particular individual makes me more angry than knowing I have to put up with it at all and B) I've never been afraid of Troll-san. They lost all my respect when they ignored my first block and I had pretty much lost my ability to take them seriously by the time they remade their URL for the fourth time. I just wish they'd learn their damn lesson already that no means no and that being horrible to strangers online is going to result in them making enemies rather than any friends.

I did finally reach out to a couple people online regarding this ongoing fiasco and while I won't be naming anyone specific; thank you all so, so much for your kindness and support. I was originally quite content to try and deal with this problem on my own, but I find so much comfort and renewed energy in knowing that I'm no longer alone and that there are people who do have my back. I'm not at all weak for having to ask for help; in fact, I'm all the stronger for it.

I am hoping that by finally acknowledging what I've had to endure for the last week that not only will I be helping to protect more users from this person, but that they'll finally get the message that this kind of behavior is not tolerated in this community. For anyone who has read this far, please, stay safe and I hope you have a good day!

P.S.

[ladyinbooks]

Have you read Mary Renault's Alexander series/if you have, do you have thoughts? I've only read the persian boy so far and just started Fire from heaven but I've always heard amazing things about how she wrote them

Hello lovely anon!

I'm going to start off with an apology in advance, because whoops! You've asked me something that's set off my inner ramblings quite happily here (in a good way). So I'm going to roll up my sleeves behind the 'read more' and get overexcited about this.

But just in case, the tl;dr is: yes, I have. And yes, I love the series (with a few caveats):

Let's start when young!Lady was a small, wide-eyed thing, all of 17, who had just lied on her Oxford application form, and said she'd read Arrian's Campaigns of Alexander. Then she got called for interview and thought 'Oh shit, I'd better actually read it'. So she did. And she loved it. And she kind of... ended up developing a little obsession with this bloke called Alexander.

Now, around the same time as this deceit was taking place, Robin Lane Fox's biography on Alexander was fairly accessible in most book stores. Possibly because it's really quite a readable biography, and thus had become quite popular. And so young!Lady snaffled that too, and read it. And Lane Fox's name kept coming up in conjunction with Mary Renault's (perhaps because - personally speaking - I think they have a fairly similar approach in their views on Alexander), and so young!Lady thought 'Hey! Let's read those books too!'

All of which, is a very long-winded way of saying: I read them, and I loved them at the time. (To be fair, I still love them. Hephaistion my beloved.) Renault's style of writing is gorgeous. I know for some people it can be off-putting, and a little difficult to parse (she's not what I call a 'light read' in that sense), but I genuinely love the way she constructs her prose.

She was also, I think, one of the first fictional writers to actively and openly tackle an explicit romantic relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion (most prominent in Fire from Heaven, but it's definitely still there in The Persian Boy), and although Hephaistion-as-a-concept had been kicking around before then, I think Renault made the relationship (and Hephaistion) more... mainstream, if I can put it like that?

Renault's historical research is also good. She does give a really interesting flavour of what it must have felt like to live in a Macedonian court, filled with intrigue and the kind of political machinations that resulted in heads rolling. She captures that dangerous, desperate element very well, and she makes Macedonian life accessible to a reader in a way I very much enjoy.

I think as I've got older, where my love for Renault's version has become a little tarnished is in my own inability to put aside my mental nitpickings (and this is no fault of Renault's writing!). Her Alexander trilogy writes about Alexander-the-Legend, not Alexander-the-Man. For me, there is very little balance to be had from her, and although this was a stylistic choice, I do find myself missing the nuance of an Alexander who is not, well, pretty much a perfect example of a living god. He's almost Achillean in the way Renault portrays him - far beyond us brief mortals! - and in some ways that makes his fictional character feel more inaccessible to me. Her Alexander is untouchable. Unknowable. Godlike in his abilities and driven by ambitions far beyond anything a non-heroic mortal can comprehend.

I also feel that Renault's portrayal (understandably) is a bit wrapped up in W.W. Tarn's vision of Alexander as some kind of benevolent conqueror (he wasn't), whose life's exploits were geared towards the betterment of mankind (they weren't). I need to add: this isn't a criticism of Renault! Tarn's scholarship and ideology was very prevalent for quite a while (see: Robin Lane Fox, who sort of subscribed to a viewpoint of Alexander along vaguely similar lines, I think).

My other gentle nitpick, is that very often Renault's women are stereotypes. Or caricatures. Olympias comes across as a vengeful harpy (interestingly, I think there is a lot or Renault's Olympias in Oliver Stone's film version). Again, I think it's fair to defend Renault with the fact that she's working with historical sources that can have the same biases - but even so, for me it's not particularly satisfying.

In the same vein...

Hephiastion my beloved. He does suffer from this too, I think. He's very much in the style of an 'Alexander-can-do-no-wrong' kind of character, and although that does fit the narrative purpose, it simultaneously makes me a little sad that we don't particularly get to see an active, competent Hephaistion in the way I personally feel he likely was. He's not completely reduced to the role of 'the boyfriend', but he is completely defined by Alexander - his behaviour, his impulses, his career are all attributed more to being 'philalexandros', than to any genuinely displayed individualistic motives. Again, it's not a bad thing, but for my Hephaistion-loving gremlin heart it can be dissatisfying if I don't turn off that portion of my brain a bit.

All of which is my very rambling way of saying: yes, I've read Renault's Alexandriad, and yes I genuinely do love those books - for what they represent, for what they do and just for the sheer joy of reading them. But I do have some slight quibbles. None of which are enough to put me off of them, only to say that I think as a reader I have to temper my expectations and meet the books where they are (for what they are). They are beautifully written, and I do think they do something rather unique for the Alexander mythos.

One other book I'd recommend - purely for the sheer delight of it - is Aubrey Menen's A Conspiracy of Women. Written around the same time, it's very different and deals primarily with a moment in time during Alexander's campaigns. It is a satire (not particularly historically motivated), and it pokes fun at quite literally everyone. Whilst not at all romantic in (either sense of the word) the way Renault's writing is, I do love the fact it takes aim at Alexander, and the Alexander mythos (along with a more generally satirical approach to the concept of empire building).

I also love Menen's Hephaistion, who is possibly the driest, wittiest takes-no-nonsense-from Alexander character:

Few men could face an angry Alexander and remain in control of themselves. But one of these was Hephaestion. He glanced at his friend the King, smiled and then said, "Alexander, if you continue to glare that way, the poor man will die of fright. Bathyllus," he said, "for the moment only His Majesty may wear Persian robes. Maybe one day we shall all do so. But His Majesty has not yet made up his mind on the subject."

This being the exact truth, it made Alexander angrier than ever, as Hephaestion knew it would, but with him and not with the unfortunate Bathyllus. Alexander turned his back on Hephaestion. "See that he is brought to my tent," he said, and strode away.

"See that you bring yourself to His Majesty's tent," said Hephaestion to Bathyllus. "I am in no mood for his imperial tantrums this evening..." (pg.19)

Or:

"Hephaestion," he said, "am I really as vain as you say?"

"Did I say you were vain?"

"You said I was in love with myself. Just now. When I boxed your ears."

"Ah," said Hephaestion. "Yes. You are."

"You must tell me when I get vain."

"I do," said Hephaestion.

"Yes, you do," said Alexander. "And I am grateful."

"You are usually remarkably cross," said Hephaestion. "But I shall go on telling you."

"It's strange," said Alexander. "We have conquered a world together, but our friendship is as strong as ever."

Hephaestion made no answer.

"You must find me very hard to bear sometimes, Hephaestion."

"Sometimes," agreed Hephaestion.

"When?" asked Alexander.

"When, for instance, you say things like 'We have conquered a world together, but our friendship is as strong as ever'." Hephaestion echoed exactly the touch of pomposity that Alexander had put into his voice.

Alexander smiled. He reached out and put a hand on Hephaestion's shoulder as they rode together." (pg. 101)

Hephaistion my beloved.

[painting-warhammer]

Lelith Hesperax in the style of Sylvanas Windrunner (Warcraft)

To date, my greatest failure painting. Commentary under cut.

The Lessons Learned

#1: Don't Base Your Model Right Away

While the nook where the skeleton lies isn't what people will pay attention to, it still needs to be covered up by paint. The way the model is tilted too made painting her left leg absolute hell, in addition to the glyphs beneath it.

#2: Citadel Paints Are Not The Best

I had twelve-year-old brain and thought gold would be much cooler than her silvery-white accents. And as if that weren't bad enough, I decided to get the Citadel version. Which by all accounts, is the worst one you can get.

Mentally, I was in a position that I wanted everything to be as "official" as possible. To get everything from Citadel meant I had to be doing something right, almost as if I could get "customer support" if my figure looks like shit.

Now that's not to say Citadel doesn't make good paint as a whole. Most of my paints are still from there. But as time went on, I branched out to some Vallejo, Stuart Semple, and Green Stuff World. More than that, there are "formulas" for mixing paints.

I would eventually get a really good gold that I'll post a sample of when I do my main army reveal, but so as not to bogart the secret, I'll drop it here.

#3: Get Rid Of Sprues, But Learn To Love Battle Damage

I didn't think much of sprues initially. What's the big deal? I was too afraid of accidentally shaving off detail. Moreover, if you look at the Vriska post (specifically the shoes) you'll notice something is missing.

Yep, that little jewel.

I was cutting this outside and really struggling to get that little nub free when my clip blazed through and sent it flying. I had been working outside, and it went right into the tall grass where I suspect it remains to this day.

While I definitely freaked out, my best friend had friends into gunpla and mini painting that told me about "Battle Damage", which is the affectionate way of describing the chips and dents and errors you made painting. It is representative of all the violent campaigns your figure has been in and it makes them more unique. In the end I was okay with it, as honestly it would have made Vriska look dumb if she had some cowboy spur on one foot.

You know what can't be explained by battle damage, though? The giant horn of leftover sprue extending Venom Snake-style out of Sylvesperax's ponytail.

#4: You're Going To Have To Paint Everything, Especially The Parts You Don't Like

So in my last post, I said that I kinda didn't dig the Harlequins all that much--at least, not enough to commit to them. But I had a good idea for all the parts involved.

To this day, the Drukhari are my favorite faction. I saw them as the fun kind of michievous and devious, although I'm quite aware they are a lot, lot worse than that. Sylvanas Windrunner is also one of my favorite characters, and so I thought I would be okay with painting up a whole army of devious space-pirate Sylvanii.

Here was the reality: The only ladies are the harpies, Lelith Hesperax, the Succubus, and less than half of any given Wyches unit.

On first glance, that's not too bad. But then I realized that they had individual guns I'd have to paint. Spears. Swords. Knives. Utility belts. Some were less important than others, if they were in scabbards. But things like swords held aloft, I couldn't get around.

With Sylvanas, I panicked because while she does have a sword (in some cutscenes) it was just a basic, boring silver thing. I thought I knew better and tried to remake the Twin Blades of Azzinoth from Illidan.

When they looked as bad as they did, I pretty much called it quits then and there.

The guns would be their own beast; with Vriska Solitaire, I at least could just make the Warhammer of Vrillyhoo to reference, but I didn't know what to do for a sudden army of all this. I was suddenly adrift because I was relying a bit much on source material and beginning to mix the things that shouldn't be. Illidan looks good holding the twinglaives, his color palette reflects that. Sylvanas does not.

It made me realize that this wouldn't be the first or last time I encountered this problem, so I decided to spend more time thinking about who my main faction would be (especially since I did and do still have some Drukhari Boxes of Shame™ in my cupboard already, and I didn't want to go deeper before it was too late.) For the time being, I would just paint what I wanted to paint and when I came up with something that I could commit to (which I would!) then I would commit to that army.

This is to ultimately say that if there is something you consistently dread doing, and it's less of a skill issue and more something like "but I don't even have any idea how to make this interesting," then don't hesitate to shop around until you find something you like.

#5: Understand How To Catch The Eye

The last brief point I'll mention is knowing how color contrast also means you should catch your viewer's eye.

You want it on the figure. The only thing I could day I did right is that Sylvesperax is very dark so you could argue she is stealthy and fast, and nothing but a blurry shadow on the orange Martian surface I placed her on. But that's a complete and total cope, lol. And I fucked up the glyphs again: I wanted a yellow glow to a reddish background, but the flow messed up and it stood out too much.

Going at this a second time, I think what I would do is try to make her brighter, i.e. less shade paint, and the ground duller; an ugly orangeish-brown clay like in Minecraft. Also, smaller detail brushes I would get in the future would be a godsend. In addition to her overly shaded blue form, you might see her eyes seem stylistically darkened when in fact, they were supposed to be red and I could never get the shader out.

So, big bummer with this one, and a step down from the Vriska Solitaire, but definitely a bigger learning experience. And a humbling moment, where I realized just how many mistakes I could make in one sitting. But no worries: the next one would have even more mistakes, and I would be a lot better at coping with them and I'd definitely start to develop more as a painter thanks to it. See you next time on that post!

[greenscreen-dress]

SO. I did not in fact have enough time or quietness (or a good setup or general knowledge of how Audacity functions) to do more than mumble into my mic while the original song's instrumental plays at a lower volume, but I swear I CAN play this on the guitar. Definitely. No matter how much of a bastard the B7 chord is ^^;

There's less than two hours to vote so if I want this to be relevant in the slightest I need to post it NOW, shoddy editing and MS Paint album cover and all. Shoutout to @quinnhills, whose delightful appearances on Joe's streams / episode + yesternight's beautiful Valentines Day concert stream served as inspiration and motivation when coming up with this silliness (also thankyou for the follow aaaa). & of course since this is the final showdown, HUGE thankyou to @/mcytblrsexymen for spawning this entire week of shenanigans. Wishing you all the best of naps (after the final data crunching & spreadsheet-ification) <3

Lyrics are below the readmore, someday I WILL record a proper version with my own instrumentals and No washing machine sounds in the background, enjoy and GO VOTE JOE FOR TUMBLR SEXYMAN.

Keep add-vote-uring :D

Scarandjoe - A blatant silly parody of ABBA's Fernando, a song about remembering being in a war.

Have you seen the polls, Scar and Joe?

They began so long ago— oh no, it hasn't been a week

You're the final fight, Scar and Joe

Something that began so small and as joke has come so far,

And for many this finale

Was the outcome they had hoped for from the start

They were close those rounds, Scar and Joe

Even wins by one percent, or less, we'd still call them a sweep

We allied ourselves with fandoms

That we'd then be forced to turn against amid tearful good-byes

And it's all been in the name

Of saying who's the sexiest of these blocky guys

There is no better way to decide

Who'll earn the title

Than fan polls

There were 96 MCYTS,

The finale:

Scar and Joe

Cast your vote, and if it's hard to choose

Listen my friend...

Let me point you to the best campaign

The win, he'll claim

That dang Joe

From the start he has been playing to win

Adventurin'

That dang Joe

Now my bias has been exposed

Looking at my URL and blog I'm sure you'll understand

That I'm asking y'all to vote Joe

Not because I'm gay and thus immune to Scar's Good Times and abs,

But because the Joe Hills Difference best embodies being a Tumblr Sexyman

There is no better way to decide

Who'll earn the title

Than fan polls

There were 96 MCYTS,

The finale:

Scar and Joe

Cast your vote, and if it's hard to choose

Listen my friend...

Let me point you to the best campaign

The win, he'll claim

That dang Joe

This whole thing has been a wild ride

The fraud, the bribes

These fan polls

Fanart as far as the eye can see

Trending all week:

A shambles

Cast your vote, and if it's hard to choose

Listen my friend...

Let me point you to the best campaign

The win he'll claim

That dang Joe

Yes from the start he's been playing to win

Check his LinkedIn

That dang Joe.

Beating the odds time and time again

Now it's the end

Vote for Joe

[420thewritersroom]

Deadly Sakura (Part 1)

~Ok, I wanted this to be SOOO much more longer than this because there were some plot and story beats that I wanted to get out of the way and wanted this to be a GRAND reveal to finally get Kung Lao back into the story. However, my anxious self just couldn't contain the amount of writing I already made, so I decided to make a part one of this chapter because I'm very much proud of the bit I made thus far. Also too, the other half that I'm making that's starring Johnny & Kenshi is getting a bit difficult for me to write and I didn't want this to sit for any longer. Hopefully you guys enjoy this! Also! Shoutout to @stabby-biscotti0152 for their art piece on one of my previous chapters. Plz go check them out, they make amazing art work! Once final thing! Congratz to those reading this now, you get to read this first before the AO3 peeps. The AO3 version will be uploaded soon, so keep a look out if you want to read it there instead!~

~Also, new & improved series summary!~

~Try as Liu Kang might, some circumstances are inevitable. Kung Lao has perished under the hands of Earthrealms enemies, leaving everyone to mourn the loss of his untimely departure. And some took his death harder than most. Raiden nearly became the very thing Liu Kang feared he would become, and out of wounded grief, opted to remove his memories and leave Earthrealm partially unprotected as he disbanded his warriors. Yet, something darker is rearing its head, and soon, Earthrealm and the realms beyond will need the help of Liu Kang's champions and some unexpected heroes. Especially when an old friend (and foe) comes back to say hello~

Characters: Raiden, Raiden's Sister (Fuji), Fire God Liu Kang, Shujinko, Reiko, MK11 Raiden, MK11 Liu Kang - Mentions of The Great Kung Lao, Kung Lao, & Kronika

Word Count: 7,961

Ships: Raiden/Kung Lao - MK11 Raiden/Liu Kang (Unrequited Love)

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Child Neglect

Previous

Sweat dripping, blood pumping, bones aching, ears ringing. Raiden's breaths were labored as he kneeled on the ground, eyes trained on Reiko, General Shao's cock sleeve.

For several months, Earthrealms protectors rushed to stop General Shao from releasing the feared Onaga, the Dragon King. It was a grueling chase that was quickly depleting their morale...Especially because this campaign cost them their dear friend, Raiden's lover, Kung Lao. It was the first time any of them had to face the reality that their line of work, the service they signed up for, could result in any of them dying at a drop of a dime. The only thing keeping them motivated was the coming destruction Onaga could make if they didn't stop General Shao.

But for Raiden, his motivation ran more fervently than simply protecting his realm and Outworld; it was pure vengeance. Since Lao's death, Raiden swore to himself that he would not let anyone close to him fall under his watch. Kung Lao's death could've been avoided if he had been powerful, more vigilant, and didn't hold himself back. Then, maybe...No...Definitely...Kung Lao would've lived.

Sweat dripping, blood pumping, bones aching, ears ringing. Raiden's breaths were labored as he kneeled on the ground, eyes trained on Reiko as the warrior positioned himself with his spear in a defensive stance. Raiden didn't bother to see which of his allies were still up; Johnny was down, Kenshi was out, and even Smoke couldn't keep up.

"Better that way. They were holding you back."

There it was, the voice again. And (frighteningly enough) Raiden couldn't agree more. With them out of the way, Raiden could get more personal with Reiko. It was his horn-headed master who killed his boyfriend, and he would hate for the weak moralities of his companions to get in the way of what he was about to do with this tattooed warrior.

Raiden took a deep breath as he straightened himself out, going into the many martial stances he learned training under Liu Kang's wing (not that they helped in any way, as petty as that sounds). The two kombatants circle each other, locked in a silent game of feeling the other out. Blue lightning sparked off Raiden, coursing through his entire being. He can feel the amulet begging to release its full potential and power, the electricity spilling from his fingertips tempting him further.

Finally, one of them decides to react as Reiko charges Raiden. Arcs of lightning attempts to meet Reiko halfway, but the experienced lieutenant was able to bob & weave past every bolt that came his way. Raiden dodges out the way of Reiko's spear attack as the warrior attempted to ram his weapon into the thunder wielder. A fierce back & forth commences as Raiden tries to keep his distance from Reiko's spear attacks, the fellow kombatant leaving little room for Raiden to land any strike on him. Reiko would finally get one good hit on Raiden as he smacked him square in the face with his spear, leaving a nasty laceration on Raiden's face. Fortunately, Raiden was milliseconds too early to lose his lower jaw.

Raiden growls as he shoots a line of lightning at Reiko, using the warrior's stunned condition to gain further distance as he hissed at the pain that grew once the adrenaline softly subsided. Raiden lightly touches the wound, the red hue bringing a sense of…Excitement to the thunder wielder.

"He dares wound us? Horrible mistake. He should've killed us with such a strike."

The voice copies Raiden's glee and thrill.

Reiko grunts as he puts one foot before the other, forcing himself out of his stunned condition. "Shame my master couldn't watch this hopeless display of kombat. He would've loved to see what face you would make once I help you join your hat-throwing friend to the afterlife." Reiko taunts.

"Shame, indeed," Raiden agrees. "Shame that your master had to leave you, his second-rate lieutenant, to finish the job that he started. What? Was he too scared to face the man he ruined the life of? I would've thought he would want to rub in my face further of how he killed Kung Lao."

Whether or not Raiden's follow-up gibe reached Reiko was a mystery; the fellow kombatant only chuckles as he circles about Raiden like a predator. "Believe me when I say that it would've delighted him to do so. But he has better things to do than waste time with a petulant child such as yourself."

"Or maybe he's embarrassed that he lost a fight with Earthrealm's chosen warrior." Raiden continues to taunt as the power of the amulet strengthens him further.

"He was pulling his punches. Need I remind you that it was a tournament that held my master back. Any other circumstance and General Shao would've ripped you apart."

"Really? Then you must still be pulling your own punches. I have yet to fall to you."

"Then let me change that for you!" Reiko shouts as he charges Raiden again.

Instead of continuing their previous dance of cat & mouse, Raiden summons himself behind Reiko through a lightning bolt, catching the lieutenant slightly off guard. But Reiko couldn't recover fast enough as Raiden hits him in the back with several fist attacks powered by electrical currents. Reiko powers through the assault and attempts a wide arching swing with his spear, an attack Raiden counters as he grabs at its shaft and yanks the weapon away from the kombatant.

Unfortunately, Reiko without a weapon didn't make him powerless. Just as quickly as he lost the spear, he swiftly replaced it with the large knife he keeps on him at all times; slashing at Raiden from his right shoulder to where his heart resided. Raiden screamed in pain, backing away, but was not able to recover himself from Reiko's assault as the lieutenant started hitting him with various fist and knife attacks; some of them Raiden clumsily countered.

Raiden teleports again in a bolt of lightning as he tries to gain distance from Reiko again, hiding behind cover and slightly recovering. He's losing too much blood, and he can feel his vitality draining from him. Raiden quickly tears pieces of his attire to serve as makeshift bandages to help slow the bleeding.

"Why must you prolong this? You're not here to provoke and tease. You're here to kill the ones who murdered Lao. Finish this before he finishes you. And once he's on his knees, we can leave General Shao a loving gift; just for him."

Right, the voice is right. Raiden cannot afford to keep pussyfooting around the battlefield. He's starting to act like…Johnny…That's what Raiden would prefer to compare himself to than…Regardless, Raiden removes himself from his hiding place, surprising Reiko with multiple lightning bolts as he rushes toward him. Reiko evades the majority of the bolts but wasn't able to react fast enough to prevent Raiden from disarming him again, knocking his combat knife out of his hands and leaving Reiko weaponless again. But, once again, this did not mean Reiko was useless without a weapon.

Reiko is quick to trip Raiden after the loss of his knife, attempting to slam his foot down on Raiden's face if it wasn't for the thunder wielder rolling away. Raiden jumps back to his feet and bends his fingers, channeling the powers of lightning into the area around them and causing lightning to spark and crackle dangerously close to the pair. Reiko grunts in pain as various shocks hit him in multiple places, and in the split second that Raiden releases his control over the lightning strikes, the thunder wielder humiliates him.

Various punches, kicks, and an onslaught of lightning were rapidly being served to Reiko, with little room for him to counter or even dodge any attacks. Soon, Reiko was slammed on the dirt floor unconscious. Raiden breathed slowly as he regained his strength despite the heavy loss of blood. His white hair and eyes dim away, his dark brown eyes returning to normal. Looking at Reiko's slumbering body, this would be the part where he would cuff him and have Reiko turned in as a prisoner…

"Finish him."

The voice encourages the very sentiment that Raiden was thinking of.

Raiden conjures ropes of electricity, wrapping them around the defeated warrior, and sitting him up in a kneeling position on both knees. Raiden approaches Reiko and slaps him a couple times to forcefully wake him up.

Upon fluttering his eyes open, Reiko is met with Raiden looking down at the warrior, eyes and hair dimly glowing while electricity buzzes around him. Reiko tries to reach for Raiden, only to realize that he's bounded by lightning.

"I wonder if General Shao will shed tears if he sees how I break his favorite boytoy."

All that fills Raiden's ears and memories is pained screams, crimson, and Reiko being pulled apart limb by limb while also being fried by Raiden's lightning bounds. Raiden beat him further, gouged out his eyes, gutted him. It wasn't until he felt someone tear him away from the expired Reiko that he was thrown off his bloodthirsty onslaught.

-

Raiden wakes up covered in sweat, breathing shallow, and eyes blown wide. He stares at his bedroom wall ahead of him as his brain quickly registers that he is not only awake but in the safety of his home. It was a dream, one of many that he has gotten over the year and a half that he's been back in Fengjian. But this one was…Horrific. It was a dream; Raiden knows it was a dream. Just a figment of scenes that his mind conjured up. Yet, he felt sick to his stomach. As a matter of fact, yes, he will indeed hurl whatever contents were still in his belly before he fell asleep last night. Raiden rushed out of bed and made a beeline for the bathroom.

…

"Raiden? Are you ok?"

Raiden snaps his head up, looking at his younger sister, Fuji, with a look of confused startlement. "Hmm?"

"You haven't touched your food, dear. Is there something on your mind?" Raiden's Mother chimes in with equal amounts of concern.

"I-I'm fine." Raiden sputters as he takes a forkful of eggs from his plate.

"Raiden," his Father speaks up, "You've been…Troubled as of late. You've been…Restless as of late. Like, you're not getting enough sleep."

"And you've been going to work late or not going to work at all recently. We're starting to grow concerned, Raiden. Is it…" Raiden's Mother looks at the rest of the family nervously, "Is it because of that…Thing that's stuck to your stomach?"

Raiden subtly writhes in his seat as he tries to establish an air of normalcy. "I'm fine, guys. Promise."

There's an awkward stillness that fills the table, which pretty much forces Raiden to finish his plate early and excuse himself from the table. "I'm, um, going to take a walk, run some errands. I'll see you guys later."

Raiden does his best to not show it, but he practically threw himself out of the house. He rubs his eyes, trying to blink away the exhaustion. He will admit though, he hasn't been getting any rest as of late. His dreams have been getting…Intense lately. So much so that Raiden is having a harder time believing that these are just dreams.

Raiden was never the type to see omens in dreams, but these past months have made him a believer. They're too consistent and (somewhat) grounded in reality for it to just be slumbering hallucinations. His sister and parents have been urging him to seek therapy, saying that perhaps talking with a professional might assist with the memory loss. And while Raiden has taken their advice to heart…He isn't sure if he's ready to go that extra mile just yet. It's definitely a soon-ish prospect, but not a RIGHT NOW endeavor.

Raiden doesn't even remember why he left the house anymore. He wandered aimlessly through the streets of Fengjian. Taking in the familiar sights, having small talk with friendly locals, and making small purchases for himself and the house. It wasn't until early in the afternoon that Raiden finally registered that he wandered into the old neighborhood where…Kung Lao once lived…Kung Lao's house was on the outskirts of Fengjian and closer to the streams and farmlands of the village. Raiden stares blankly at the residence of his past friends' abode; it's been so long since he stepped foot in there. Raiden approaches the front door. Despite his better intuition that he shouldn't enter the house, he still unconsciously grabs the doorknob and opens the front entrance.

Inside was unsurprisingly empty, yet it still caught Raiden off guard when faced with the heavily vacant home. Raiden can only let out an air of relief that the house wasn't vandalized; he would've scrubbed the place from the front to the backyard if that were the case, foolish as that may be. Stepping inside, a wave of nostalgia hits Raiden like a gut punch as he immediately remembers all the times he and Kung Lao hung out together. Admittedly, they rarely went to Kung Lao's house. It was always "hangout at Raiden's because he had food, and a cool bedroom, and all the sweet toys."

Raiden smiles as his mind reminds him of the first time he and Kung Lao met. They were both in their first year of being 10 years of age, and the pair would first meet when Kung Lao stole Fuji's backpack (she was 6 at that time). Although Raiden was under the tutorage of Madam Bo, nothing would've prepared him for the street-smarts knowledge that Kung Lao possessed. He was agile, knew the shortcuts and ins-&-outs of Fengjian, and hopped from rooftop to rooftop with exceptional ease. And while Raiden's disciplined mind wasn't able to keep up with Lao, that didn't mean he didn't learn a thing or two from Lao, either. For a week, the young lad began taking note of Fengjian's many shortcuts, how best to parkour off buildings and structures, and soon, Raiden was nearly able to catch up to Kung Lao.

Their friendship wouldn't truly begin until Raiden found Kung Lao on the outskirts of Fengjian, an area where flooding problems due to excessive rain are a constant worry. Raiden was always told by his parents to never go out to the outskirts for his own safety. But against their wishes, Raiden pushed forward to chase after Kung Lao. When he finally found Kung Lao, the pair fought for the first time, with Raiden coming out on top. But instead of immediately returning the many contents, including Fuji's backpack, back to their original owners, Raiden shared a snack with Lao.

Within the week of their near-endless chasing, Raiden noticed that Kung Lao almost always stole food from others among other things. Being his typical kind self, Raiden wanted to understand why Kung Lao did what he did. It was almost unsurprising to Raiden, even at that young age, to learn that Kung Lao was homeless and seemingly had no parents to care for him. Sympathetic to Kung Lao's living conditions, Raiden offered to have him stay at his house until his parents came to pick him up. From there, the two became friends and would train under Madam Bo together.

As Raiden reminisced about the past, he slowly traversed the abandoned house of his best friend. He stops in front of a room that served as Kung Lao's bedroom, a frown creeping across his face.

Raiden remembers the first time Kung Lao met his mother and only his mother. Whoever his father was, no one had a clue or a chance to meet them. Before then, Kung Lao hung out at Raiden's house, his family welcoming the young boy when they discovered he was "orphaned." But Raiden's parents didn't intend to keep Kung Lao and asked around if anyone could house the boy. It eventually came down to Kung Lao living with Madam Bo for a short while until his birth mother came to take Kung Lao back.

Kung Lao's mother was…Troubled, to say the least. At face value, many would say she was ill-fit to raise a child. She abandoned her son and was gone from Fengjian for most of Kung Lao's life. It wasn't until later in life that Raiden also learned that she had a substance problem. But despite these red flags…She tried to be a mother in the end. It's funny how children perceive adults talking because it wasn't until he was an older teen to his adulthood that he heard good things about Kung Lao's mother. Lao's mother, with the community's help, was able to get a decent home (still in the outskirts of Fengjian, but it was a roof over their head), a paying job, and was going clean as she cared for herself and Kung Lao.

But when Kung Lao spoke about his mother, before her untimely death, he talked badly about her. Not that Raiden could blame him. She abandoned him for most of his life-left Lao to fend for himself in Fengjian with no parental figures to look after him. Only for her to return and make amends and be a proper mother. That was asking for Kung Lao's trust, something he didn't have for his mother. So Kung Lao was seemingly never satisfied with her efforts to be a loving guardian for him, even when they had personal mother/son moments together.

It wasn't until she died when they were both in their mid-teens that Kung Lao solemnly started to appreciate his mother. Raiden still remembers getting a haunting call from Kung Lao about how his mother wasn't getting up from her sleep. The way Kung Lao spoke over the phone was uncannily calm as Lao was in a stunned, emotional state. Raiden had never run so fast in his life when he and his sister rushed to Kung Lao's side while his parents were getting emergency services to Lao's house. Before and during the funeral, Kung Lao isolated himself from everyone. Raiden remembered how Kung Lao didn't want to attend his mother's funeral, perhaps the pain of seeing her one last time was much for Lao.

But Raiden would finally understand Kung Lao's shift when he followed Kung Lao to the one cherry blossom tree they would both hang out under. The pair sat in silence together, and Kung Lao was the first to admit that…That he regretted he never allowed his mother into his life emotionally. What broke Raiden's heart further was learning that the one time Kung Lao allowed his walls to come down was the day before his mother died. Lao & his mother both went out to eat at Madam Bo's Teahouse; they had a big feast to celebrate his birthday. They laughed and talked; it was the first time Kung Lao actually allowed himself to grow closer to his mom. Kung Lao expressed, during that night, that his mother promised that they would move away from Fengjian to live in the cities nearby; even gifting her son a postcard she picked up when she was away from Fengjian those many years ago.

Raiden pulls himself off the memory road as he stares at the wall where a pinned postcard still remains; old and withered. The postcard displayed the Shunde District, beautifully showing the city-like streetlife of the distant land. Raiden could already hear Kung Lao's constant rants about wanting to leave Fengjian, how they could both be destined for something greater outside of their small village.

Raiden scoffs sadly as he touches the postcard, speaking to himself in a hushed tone, "I know I don't remember much. But I hope we both found our higher calling, wherever we went…I miss you, Lao."

"…Raiden…"

Raiden freezes in place as he hears a whisper behind him. He quickly turned around, he didn't hear anyone enter the house after him. But when he tried to face the disembodied voice, no one was there. Raiden's eyes slowly scanned the room, a fruitless endeavor since there was scarcely anywhere for anyone to hide from his sight. But Raiden felt his skin crawl when he thought he saw someone move from his peripheral near the entrance of Kung Lao's room.

Raiden was never the type to see omens, but a sense of dread started to creep inside him. Raiden sped-walked out of the abandoned house, only now just noticing that it was getting late in the afternoon, and sauntered back home. The goosebump feelings never left him, even after he walked through the front door of his own house.

-

"Lord Liu Kang?"

Liu Kang flutters his eyes open upon hearing a knock and the sound of Shujinko's voice on the other side of the door. "Come in."

The young monk opens the door eagerly, bringing in a tray of food as he hurries to sit across from the Fire God. It's been several days since they began their routine meet-up. Whenever Shujinko was tasked to deliver food to Liu Kang, he would invite the novice to sit and eat with him. It was a silent company, the pair often sharing the tray as they quietly enjoyed each other's presence.

Liu Kang smiles as Shujinko ardently sits across from him, setting the tray down with its contents. Liu Kang is surprised to see more food on display than usual. "You must have been hungry," Liu chuckles.

"Oh? Oh!" Shujinko looks at the tray and rubs the back of his head, embarrassed. "I missed out on breakfast and spent the rest of the morning not eating. Thought I was going to pass out, so I grabbed whatever I could."

"I see Kung Lao's influence has rubbed on you, then," Liu Kang jests as he grabs the bread and a small cup of butter.

"Please, Master Kung Lao would've eaten the entire tray, and I would be left with whatever he couldn't finish," Shujinko heartedly responds as he takes the bowl of soup.

In their still tranquility, Shujinko eyes the private quarters of Liu Kang's space. It still amazes him how much the Fire God has collected throughout the years. Relics that belong in museums filled the room, many with otherworldly origins. Shujinko takes notice of the many shelves displaying countless books and artifacts, but his eyes focuses on one particular hand-drawn portrait.

"Is that Master Kung Lao?" Shujinko stands and approaches the picture. The individual in the painting bears a striking resemblance to the Kung Lao he knows. The facial structure is mildly different, and they have no hair compared to Lao's buzzed undercut.

Liu Kang watched Shujinko walk to the portrait before explaining its origin, "One of Kung Lao's many ancestors. He shared Kung Lao's name, though many called him "The Great Kung Lao."

"Was he just as prideful and ambitious to bear such a title?" Shujinko smirks as he turns to look at Liu Kang.

Liu laughs as he shakes his head, "Despite the title, he was as humble as one could be. Though, he never shied away from demonstrating his capabilities. It was everyone else who gave him his title. The Great Kung Lao was the finest of Earthrealms warriors. Every Mortal Kombat tournament, he had won."

"Every Kombat?"

"Every one from his era..."

Liu Kang's sudden silence catches Shujinko off guard as he can see Liu Kang staring into place, consumed by memories that resurfaced. Shujinko has seen this happen a few times and quickly asks another question to distract Liu Kang from his own headspace. "Um, did Kung Lao, our Kung Lao, know about him?"

"...Yes, yes, he did. How else do you think he obtained the hat?"

"What? He told me he made it himself!" Shujinko looks at Liu Kang shocked.

"That he did, later versions of his ancestors' hat. The original I gave to him. He used it for a time but opted to utilize his own version of the Great Kung Lao's razerhat until he felt he was worthy to bear his ancestors' hat."

Shujinko nods in understanding, looking back at the portrait again, "I can imagine he would be proud of Kung Lao."

"That he would."

Shujinko was about to step away, but he now just noticed the second individual in the painting. He doesn't know how he missed them, they weren't in the background; they stood front and center, side-by-side with the Great Kung Lao in the portrait. The gentleman next to the Great Kung Lao had paler skin than the other, resembling a shade of someone who has lived closer up north. Yet, it still had a ghostly tinge to it than someone resembling a northerner. Their eyes were a milky white, but it was the type of hue as if they were losing their sight in both eyes. Their facial features were gaunt, and their musculature was sickly frail.

Shujinko points at this other person in the painting, "Who's this?"

Liu Kang had finished his bowl of rice before turning his attention back to the picture Shujinko stood before. Looking at the other individual, a sense of dread fills Liu Kang. He kinda hoped that Shujinko wouldn't ask about the other individual.

"...An old friend of (the Great) Kung Laos'." Liu Kang says bluntly.

Shujinko felt the finality in his tone and thought it better to leave it alone. He didn't want to resurface more bad memories for the Fire God. Shujinko returns to his place in front of Liu Kang, sitting across from the Fire God and finishing the rest of the tray. Silence falls upon them like a blanket, and soon, Shujinko felt that it was time he bid farewell to Liu Kang and perform his other duties. Shujinko cleaned up the area and stacked the emptied bowls together. Just as he was about to stand and leave, he noticed a particular shrine that caught his eye only now.

"What's that?"

Shrines are not uncommon around the Wu Shi Academy. There were plenty of those littered here and there dedicated to other Gods and Elder Gods, both of whom protect Earthrealm and the realms beyond. Shujinko has seen the ones that were publicly displayed around the Academy, but this one, he had never seen before. Based on the imagery, it depicted lightning and a hat, similar to what...Raiden would wear, hung around the altar.

"Is this shrine dedicated to Raiden?" Shujinko knows that Raiden isn't dead, so this wasn't related to that in the slightest. And Shujinko doesn't dare touch the idea of Liu Kang being...Obsessed...There was a long silence, and Shujinko was starting to grow uncomfortable with the quiet nature Liu Kang was giving him.

"Lord Liu Kang?" Shujinko dares to look at the Fire God, only to see Liu Kang staring at the shrine, deep and lost in his own thoughts.

Fuck, he did it again.

"L-lord Liu Kang?"

-

-In a long-dead timeline-

"I have conquered the darkness within me. You must do the same."

"You…Will have to kill me."

"I would rather save you."

In a desperate act to save not only their timeline but also Liu Kang, Raiden made the risky attempt to merge his being and Liu's into one form. Raiden approached the future, revenant Liu Kang, striking him with lightning that encompassed them both as a field of light further obscured them from the naked eye.

…

"Raiden…"

Liu Kang mutters as his eyes shot open. Liu Kang found himself no longer in Kronika's lair nor in the fire gardens where he last remembered being before being taken by Kronika. Instead, he found himself in the zen gardens of the Shaolin temple, no longer ruined by the intruders who came to take the energy capsules containing Earthrealm's life force. In the distance, Liu Kang can hear the muffled sounds of the monks training, the reverberating sound of the gong indicating a set-timed activity, and the cherry blossoms still in full bloom.

Liu Kang mildly panics; has he been sent back in time again? While his friends are fighting against Kronika?

"Liu Kang."

The familiar sound of Raiden's voice twists Liu Kang's head to face the Thunder God. Relief slightly settles him as Liu skips over to Raiden.

"Raiden! Where are we? Has Kronika been defeated? Are we back in our timeline?"

Raiden shakes his head, "No, the battle still continues. As we speak, Kharon is helping our allies to Kronika's fortress, and they are defending his ferries from the Time Keepers' forces who met us halfway."

Liu Kang nods in understanding but looks at the surrounding scenery in confusion, gesturing to their new location, "Then why are we here? Shouldn't we be helping our friends, Lord Raiden?"

"…Liu…We need to talk…"

In all his years fighting by Raiden's side, Raiden has never called him "Liu." Liu Kang stands at attention, ready to accept what news Raiden intends to tell him. "Yes, Lord Raiden?"

"Your future self, your Revenant self, boarded our ship and attacked us, along with Frost and her cyber Lin Kuei. Despite our brief scuffle, I had no intention of killing you, continuing this vicious cycle that Kronika forced us into."

Raiden takes a moment to let out a shaky breath before continuing, "Your Revenant self is far too blinded by his anger and corruption to be talked down willingly. So…So I'm merging our beings together, so that we may become One."

Liu Kang stares at Raiden in bewilderment. Become One? Such as merging into one individual? One conciousness? Liu Kang couldn't wrap his head around this. "Is that why we're…Here?"

The Thunder God nods, "As we speak, everything that makes us who we are is being united so that we could emerge as a powerful being, one who would share both our prowess, knowledge, and wisdom. I created this subconscious setting so that the information and transformation would be…Easier to process. Do not worry; I intend to transfer my soul to you so that you may benefit from my experiences and power. You will remain intact."

"…But what will happen to you?"

There's a deafening silence, and Liu Kang can already feel the knot of dread becoming tighter. He silently begged that Raiden would not say what he thinks he will say.

"…The process is painless, Liu Ka-"

"Please," Liu Kang raises his hand, stopping Raiden from trying to sugarcoat this situation any further. "Do not speak to me like I am a sheltered child. Give it to me straight, Raiden…"

Raiden could only slowly nod his head, "I don't know…I never had to perform this ever in my lifetimes as a God…Know this, it is not like the perverse necromancy that Shang Tsung often used on his victims, leaving a husk after stealing their souls." Raiden pauses as he ponders in his mind how best to continue his thought, "…But from what I could ascertain from previous studies and knowledge from trusted peers…I will…Cease to exist…When I give myself to you, Liu Kang, all that will remain is the changed you. The version of yourself that will be empowered by my being once we have merged."

Liu Kang looks at Raiden in horror. Raiden was…He was willing to essentially kill himself, all for the sake of not only saving him but this timeline. Liu Kang isn't foolish; he knew that trying to stop Kronika was going to cost lives, both his friends, their allies, and even his. But this…This felt…Different. This was Raiden giving his life FOR HIM. So that he, his chosen one, would save everyone. And Liu Kang KNOWS that he has to accept this. It was as Raiden taught him; to take every advantage to defeat his enemies and to protect Earthrealm. He was conditioned and trained to bear sacrifices, to make the tough decisions to ensure that Earthrealm would thrive.

Yet…He didn't want this.

Raiden slowly approaches Liu Kang, arms open wide as if he intends to hug Liu Kang. His face grows into a comforting smile, his way of trying to calm Liu Kang. "I assure you, this is for the best, Liu Kang. You'll be elevated to a God with enough power to take on Kronika."

Just as Raiden is about to fully embrace him, Liu Kang flinches away from him. Raiden looks at Liu Kang confused before it eventually changes to a look of understanding.

"N-no…No, I don't want this! There has to be another way, Raiden! I'm not going to just…Kill you!" Liu Kang says as his breathing hitches.

"You're not killing me, Liu Kang-"

"Then what do you call this!?! How is this not killing you!?! How do you know this isn't part of Kronika's plan as well?" Liu Kang continued to back away from Raiden every time the Thunder God attempted to get closer to him.

"Every timeline I experienced, we FOUGHT, and YOU died, Liu Kang. It was never the other way around. This will not further any agenda that Titan has planned for any of us!"

"HOW. DO. YOU. KNOW!?!" Liu Kang raises his voice, breaking the calm and serenity of the zen garden. "Was it not Kronika's plan to get rid of you? To erase you from her new era to prevent you from interfering with her grand design! How do you know that doing THIS won't give Kronika what she wanted!"

"I DON'T, LIU KANG!" Raiden matches his tone, but there is no crackle of thunder in the distance, no godly boom to his voice or glow to his eyes. "I never knew that letting Kung Lao fight in the tournament instead of you would've resulted in his death. I did not know that the events that would lead to YOUR death would lead to this outcome. I don't know if merging us will actually further Kronika's plans or deaden them! But I have to trust that whatever decision I make, whatever ripple effect this may cause, that the outcome will ensure that Earthrealm and its people will be safe; no matter the cost!"

Liu Kang can't stop his eyes from watering as he continues to step away from Raiden. "No…"

"Liu Kang-"

"No! Raiden, please!"

"Liu Kang, you're getting emotional! People are depending on us! ON YOU!" Raiden shouts, still no thunder or godly enhancements to his voice.

"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU, RAIDEN! NOT LIKE THIS! YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS!" Liu Kang cries, his back hitting a wall from his constant evasions from Raiden. His legs grow weak, and he lets himself slide to the ground, trembling and filled with sorrow.

"I don't want to lose you…Not like this! You deserve so much more than that. You held this entire realm together, keeping us safe…Keeping me safe…You shouldn't have to sacrifice more than you already have! Let me merge with YOU! Let us face Kronika as we are together! But please…Please don't ask me to do this…To take your life in this way."

There's a stillness between the two; the ambiance that Raiden constructed for this subconscious conversation has long since disappeared, leaving Raiden to listen to Liu Kang's quiet whimpers.

"…Tell me, Liu…What is it that you think I deserve?" Raiden asks softly.

Liu Kang is silent for a moment before responding, "…You deserve to be happy. You deserve to look at the work you've so tirelessly done and rest knowing that Earthrealm will be ok…You deserve…" Liu Kang makes himself chuckle before continuing, "You deserve to enjoy your nuclear buffalo wings. You deserve to relax at the saunas you enjoyed so much. You deserve to see the fireworks every new year; I know how much you enjoy reaching the highest point you safely can with Lao and me and watching the colors pop in the sky…"

Raiden listened carefully to Liu Kang's list of things that he felt Raiden deserved, all of them evolving into things that he and Liu Kang had done together that meant a lot to both of them. Liu Kang didn't want to lose the future bond they could have. A future where they were at peace and happy together, even if Raiden's lifespan rivaled Liu Kang's…

But that life just wasn't possible, not under Kronika's rule…But…

Raiden leans down to the sitting Liu Kang, cupping his face in his hand, forcing the monk to look at him. No hint of malice or worry graced Raiden's face, happy as he can be. "Then provide me that future, Liu."

"What?" Liu Kang looks into Raiden's eyes…Only now that he noticed that they were brown…Huh…He never…

"Who knows what will happen once Kronika is defeated. Time might continue as it should, we might be shunted back to our original place in time, we might be stuck sharing this space with our future companions…Or it might all become dust in the wind…But no matter what happens. When Kronika falls, the hourglass will be unoccupied…And we will all have a chance of a better life."

"Raiden, how do you-"

Raiden places his thumb on Liu Kang's lips, quieting him before he could finish his sentence. "I don't know, Liu. I can only trust that whatever we do now, what we accomplish now, will open new doors and possibilities to us later. If we keep worrying about what the future will hold, we lose control of what we can do now."

Raiden steps away from Liu Kang, standing to his full height, and extends his hand for Liu to take. Liu Kang hesitates as he looks at Raiden's hand, but he gathers his courage and trust in Raiden and takes it. When their hands connected, a steady stream of memories, knowledge, wisdom, everything that made Raiden who he was; flowed into Liu Kang. Liu panics, clutching onto Raidens' hand tightly and keeping his eyes fixed on his friend.

"It's ok, everything will be ok." Raiden consoles Liu as he helps him back to his feet.

Liu Kang looks at their conjoined hands as his mind also processed the steady flow of information and essence drawing into him. Liu Kang saw the many stories Raiden would tell him when he was younger, all in greater detail than when Raiden described the events. Liu saw their past adventures together when Raiden mentored and cared for him and Lao when they were young. He saw the times they fooled around, enjoying the pleasantries that life offered them as he and Lao showed Raiden souvenirs, took him to events, ate out, and did things outside their monastic training. But most of all, Liu Kang felt what Raiden felt in each of these instances. Liu Kang felt Raiden's fear, confusion, anger, sadness, joy, serenity, hope, pride…and love…

Liu Kang didn't even realize he was shedding tears again until he felt something wet splash on his hand. Then Liu saw something that broke him; he couldn't contain himself further. He saw Raiden's hand fading. His watered eyes met Raiden's, and he could see that Raiden was phasing away, like a ghost.

"Raiden…" Liu Kang lightly gasps.

Raiden looks himself over, recognizing that an effect was being placed on him. But he does not panic, maintaining the same calm composure. "It's ok…I'll be fine, Liu."

"Raiden!" Liu Kang surges forward as he brings the Thunder God into a tight embrace, his form still solid enough for them to touch. "I-I'm going to miss you…" Liu Kang wept.

At this point, even Raiden couldn't compose himself any longer. The truth of the matter is that he doesn't know if this will work. Was there perhaps another way this could've been handled? Would merging together even work?

…Will this be his final moment not only as a God but as a living entity?

Raiden didn't know any of this. And that unknown scares him. This could very well be his last moment with Liu Kang, the man he watched grow from an infant to a powerful man. Raiden would never have imagined that this could be the last time he would hold Liu Kang this closely. Raiden could not help but quietly shed his own tears as he held Liu Kang just as tight, both of them locked together as he faded away slowly; giving all he was to Liu Kang.

Yet, despite this, Raiden couldn't be more proud of Liu Kang. His pride, love, and hope overpowered any second thoughts or doubts that surfaced and tried to demoralize him. They're going to defeat Kronika, Liu is going to defeat Kronika. Her reign of tyrannical balance will end, and they will become masters of their own fates; not the pawns to further the fight between good and evil. And Raiden is confident that Liu Kang will start their new era for them, even if he won't be there to see it.

Through shaky breaths and watered eyes, Raiden says his final goodbye, "I'm so proud of you, my son. You have no idea how proud you make me."

Liu Kang smiles through the tears, "I think I have a good idea of how proud you are."

"…Save us, Liu Kang. You were always destined to save Earthrealm, all the realms. And I know that you will stop Kronika."

"I will, Raiden. Kronika will not win." Liu Kang's voice starts to steady, confidence and power swelling within him.

Soon, Raiden's being was no longer tangible, their tight embrace dissolving as Raiden further faded away.

"I love you, Raiden," Liu Kang mutters, loud enough for only he and Raiden to hear.

"I love you too, Liu Kang."

…

The battle was won.

Kronika was defeated.

…But at what cost?

Liu Kang, Fire God Liu Kang, stared into the endless cosmos in awe-ful loneliness. Rock formations and asteroids pass him, and the rocky platform he and the hourglass resided on. Cosomic colors paint the starry expanse in beautiful whites, reds, and blues as space dust and burning stars littered the sky. It was all a sight to behold, a once-in-a-lifetime experience…But what's the point in experiencing any of this, if there's no one to share it with?

Kronika may have lost the battle, but she still achieved her goal…Somewhat…Time was reversed despite his best efforts to prevent it. He watched firsthand his closest friends backpedaling every second they lived as if a tape was being rewinded. Before he knew it, he was fighting Kronika at times beginning, long before the first man and woman graced the planet, long before the dinosaurs became extinct, long before the earth would be considered inhabitable.

All that remained was him and the hourglass.

Liu Kang finally comes down from the high of the combat, slowly processing all that has happened. His friends were dead, his family were dead, his timeline was gone…Raiden was gone…Liu Kang perches himself on a rock, slowly curling in on himself as the vacantness around him starts to overwhelm him. Is this his fate? As the chosen hero of Earthrealm? To live alone until his insanity kills him? To reminisce the mistakes he performed and what he could've done to prevent all of this?

"Our work is finished, Liu Kang."

Great…Now he was going insane by the second…He was already hearing voices…

…Raiden's voice…

Liu Kang dares to check his surroundings, only to be graced with an unusual sight.

"Lord…Raiden?" Liu Kang could not contain his surprise, eyes wide as he stared at Raiden.

"I am merely Raiden, now. You have proven worthy to take my place as the new Protector of Earthrealm, once it is restored," Raiden continues, nonchalantly, as if it was normal for him to still…Be here…

"But…But how?" Liu Kang stands from his place and steps closer to Raiden. "You…I thought…Aren't you supposed to be-"

"Dead?" They both say in unison.

Raiden smiles and nods, "I cannot say why I still remain. That much is a mystery, even to me. I can only guesstimate that perhaps your battle with Kronika, and you being so close to the hourglass during the encounter; you may have recreated me into a mortal shell."

Liu Kang leisurely looks at the hourglass, confusion still plastered on his face.

"Once again, it's only a guess. If anything, I could've been a freak accident, an outcome after your battle with Kronika." Raiden shrugs. This is perhaps the most…Casual, Liu Kang has ever seen Raiden act.

A moment of silence passes them before Liu Kang faces Raiden again. "So, there's a chance that you're not…MY Raiden?"

If this Raiden, this mortal Raiden, was the result of his kombat, then that still meant that the Raiden HE knew was still…Dead.

Raiden doesn't answer right away, mimicking the same ponderous expression that Liu Kang's Raiden would make when trying to find the right words to say. Before long, Raiden would look at Liu Kang, eye to eye, and smile.

"Do you want me to?"

Liu Kang doesn't answer him. Instead, he shares the same smile. Even if this Raiden wasn't HIS Raiden, even if this Raiden WAS his Raiden, his heart still fluttered knowing that he was here. A familiar face, someone to keep him company. Someone that Liu Kang saved, even if it was just one.

"You honor me, Raiden," Liu Kang respectfully bows to Raiden.

"The honor is mine, Lord Liu Kang," Raiden repeats the same bow, a smile still stapled on his face.

Since then, They both remade their timeline, their new era, together.

Oh, if only the story ended there.

Liu Kang learned quickly that he truly was a God. An immortal being incapable of aging. And Raiden was no longer a God himself, aging every year to a mortal grave. A selfish part of Liu Kang wanted to prevent this. He couldn't hold on to the idea that he might get to see his friends again. Kung Lao, Kitana, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage. So many of those whom he called his allies would not be born, leaving him alone once Raiden died. So, Liu Kang offered Raiden the chance to regain his immortality by attempting the merge again, thinking that they could perhaps, somehow, someway, recreate the events so that Raiden could become the God of Thunder again. Or maybe share their power so that they could be Gods together, protecting Earthrealm under their watchful eye.

Yet, Raiden refused, wanting to keep his mortality and leave the old timeline behind so that the new one may flourish. Liu Kang made sure that Raiden's final moments were comfortable and peaceful. Raiden died surrounded by the new family and friends he made living in Liu Kang's new era.

And although a new Raiden would emerge at some point in his new timeline…Liu Kang was alone again…

-

"Lord Liu Kang?"

Liu Kang jumps out of his skin when he feels Shujinko touch him lightly. The young monk backs away, frightened, even though they have little reason to be.

"I-I'm sorry, Lord Liu Kang! It's just…You were quiet, and I got…Worried."

Liu Kang felt embarrassed and tried to laugh it off, "No, no, Shujinko. I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry if I startled you. I just…I was pondering on the past for a moment."

"…I'm sorry if I triggered-"

Liu Kang waves his hand and smiles, "No, Shujinko, you didn't do anything to make me uncomfortable or to trigger me. Promise." Liu Kang looks back at the shrine, "That shrine was dedicated to an old friend of mine. He too held the title, Raiden, before the one we know today."

"Wow…What are the chances that there would be two Raidens as well? Did they also possess lightning powers?" Shujinko looks at Liu Kang expectantly.

"No, they did not…But…They did pave the way for that to be a possibility for our Raiden."

-

~Sorry to the Reiko fans out there. I always intended for there to be more deaths in this series, but as my first fan work and not huge into killing characters in my writings, Reiko was a nonconsequential sacrificial lamb to get myself into the mindset of "ok, there's going to be character deaths coming in future chapters".

Also, song recommendation for the Liu Kang/Raiden moment, "What You Left" by Refeeld :D. Deadass was crying while writing that moment. Hopefully, soon after, I'll get part two in here and might even combine the chapters as originally intended. Until then, can't wait for the next chapter!~

[juukeboxx]

General Headcanons - Leonardo

Hello everyone! This is my first post on this blog, and I wanted to kick it off by sharing some general headcanons I have for the leader in blue: Leonardo. Keep in mind that these headcanons are not written for a specific version of Leo. Enjoy!

Raph is next!

Word count: 664

Leo is a HUGE nerd. He's into anything sci-fi and fantasy. Star Wars? Lord of the Rings? He's seen them so many times he practically has them memorized. Leo's love of fantasy translates over to tabletop games, specifically Dungeons and Dragons. With the power of the internet he teaches himself all of the rules and even writes a little campaign that he drags his brothers into (they all have a lot of fun).

His love of sci-fi comes from a deep love of space and a fascination with astronomy. Donnie was the one who introduced it to him when they were kids after he found a couple of used books on the topic and wanted to share his newfound knowledge with someone.

He's got pretty simple taste when it comes to pizza. Leo tends to just stick with a regular cheese or pepperoni pie, but when he feels a little fancy he gets a supreme pizza. He definitely likes veggies on his pizza, but not only veggies.

He's a hopeless romantic. He knows every single trope in the romance playbook and has seen probably too many romantic comedies. It is a little bitter for him though since Leo doesn;t think he'll ever really get to experience what being in a relationship is like because of, y'know, the mutant turtle thing.

This guy is a walking dad joke encyclopedia. He uses them to "torture" his brothers, though Mikey is the only one that seems to like his jokes.

Everyone knows that Leo really likes his tea (literally or metaphorical, let's be honest he knows ALL the drama). He's never really liked the taste of coffee, so if he needs a good pick me up in the morning he'll usually have some type of black tea. Leo has all sorts of flavors too, from chamomile and mint to chai to lavender and lemon peel. He's got all sorts of teas for all sorts of occasions.

Mikey made him a mug one year as a birthday gift so it's his special tea mug. It has stars and planets painted on it with Leo's name of course.

Leo is incredibly patient and a good listener. More often than not when his younger brothers (mainly Donnie and Mikey, it's rare for Raph to seek him out) need someone to just listen to them rant and ramble they usually go to him. He knows that his brothers will ask him for advice when they need it, but if they don't he'll just sit there quietly and nod.

Speaking of advice, Leo is actually really good at giving it. Sometimes it comes from things he learned from his father and he words them in a way that is easier to understand. Other times it comes from personal experiences he had that his father and brothers may not have known about.

He is incredibly kind and deeply caring. Leo has a pretty bad habit of putting others before himself, and sometimes it is to his detriment.

Ever since becoming the leader of their group Leo has been incredibly concerned about keeping his family safe, which can sometimes result in him overstepping boundaries and pushing his authority as leader onto his brothers. He feels incredibly guilty after this happens, and it causes him to question whether or not he is a good leader and if he's doing right by his family.

Leo is the one out of the four brothers that is the most spiritual. He carries these spiritual lessons Splinter teaches him to heart, and has shown that he has a deep connection with himself and the world around him.

He appreciates it when his brothers show him things that he never would have picked up on. Raph will tell him when his form is off in training, Donnie helps him strategize and see things from a logistical standpoint, and Mikey points out when something is unknowingly bothering his older brother. Leo knows it will help him become a better leader.

[prettyboisteveharrington]

I'd get him to swap our places

You are under Vecna’s curse - Can Steve and the gang save you?

2nd part to If i only could make a deal with god

2.6k angst, fluff and reader is Bisexual. D slur in there just so you are warned, italics are when you are with Vecna and bold is a memory.

You grabbed your head in pain.

You were on the ground. You could hear your heart beating so fast in your chest.

Your back was hurting you. Your head was throbbing. You Got up slowly and walked around.

There was thunder and ligthening and everything around you was dark red. Blood red.

You looked around the Ground. You were in Hawkins cemetary or at least the upside Down version of it. Everything around you was still red.

You looked over at the grave stone and close to you and you dropped down next to it and traced the name on it.

‘I’m so sorry. Please forgive me’

Heather Davis, beloved daugher. Teen rebel.

Heather had been a lot like Steve. Always risking her life. Always going head first into danger.

You remember the night before she died. You had tried to get her to talk to you.

‘Ahh y/n I’ve been waiting patiently for you.’ Vecna said which made you shudder with fear.

You tried not to give into him. You tried to hum your favourite tune.

Steve was panicking. He wasn’t sure he even knew what song you were listening to at the moment. It could be anything as you loved your Music and you would listen to anything in general.

He wasn’t even sure he knew How to get you away from Vecna.

You had just been here too. You had been so close at getting out through the gate.

God you had been telling Him how you couldn’t lose him but how could he have done any of this without you?

‘God y/n! What cravled up your ass and died! Why do you even care?’

How could he have asked you why you cared? Why had he said such a cruel thing to you?

The words were ringing in his ears

What if that was the last time he got to have with you? What if those had been your last few days. What if it had been the last time he saw got to see you and he had argued with you the entire time?

You shouldn’t be the one who was under Vecnas curse it should have been him.

He had never felt so undeserving to be here when he should have been in your place.

You were good, kind and they all needed you. You were the person who forced group hangouts, you were the one who insisted everyone kept in contact with El, Will, Jonathan and Joyce after they had moved. You were the one that pushed Them all to do better. To be better. You would bother them all to make better choices.

You were the one who had insisted that they all needed to leave Hawkins. You had encouraged Steve to apply for College many many times. You were the one who talked Robin through her crush on Vickie.

You were the one Steve couldn’t live without. He adored you. He would do anything to trade place with you.

He loved you.

Steve had always felt that there was something more going on between you two but he had always pushed it down because he didn’t know how to deal with it. When he had given you the ring for your birthday it had been a grand gesture to say that he always wanted you in his life.

He couldn’t believe that his stupid ass hadn’t said anything to you about how he felt.

He had wanted to lean in and kiss you many many times.

After you had walked off after your fight with Steve, Eddie had told him how you had dived right into the lake with no hesitation and how that was definitely a confirmation that you had the hots for him that and the fact that you talked about him all the time when you were around Eddie when you were helping him with his DND campaign.

You were standing right in front of him but you were miles away. Your eyes were rolled back and your face was blank

‘Y/n please come back to us. Come back to me’

‘What’s her favourite song Steve?’ Robin asked softly

Steve Blanked for a moment. ‘S-Se-Self control’ Steve added unsurely

Robin face lit up and Robin nodded in confirmation

‘Yes! She was humming it earlier!’

Steve had remembered that time you had barged into the video store with your headphones in playing the song.

‘You take my self you take my self control’

‘Steve! ‘ you exclaimed excitedly

Steve looked at you amused ‘yes?’

‘You need to listen to this song!!!’

Steve hadn’t hesitated, he put the headphones on and you played the song for Him. You waited eagerly for his response.

Steve nodded ‘not bad y/n’

You had beamed up at him happily and it was the first time he realized How precious you were.

‘We need a plan! Vecna’s last victims were in Hawkins but y/n is in the upside Down i doubt just playing the song will work‘ Dustin Said

‘Hey Eddie! Do you still play guitar?’

‘How does it feel like to know you killed her? Or did you forget?’Vecna asked

You and Heather had been inseparable since you were both twelve. You liked the same things. You would hang out with her and talk about people you liked. You had grown so close over the summer when you were 15.

You were glued to the hip all evening and st one point you played spin the bottle and the bottle had landed on her. It was your first kiss.

Heather had leaned in for a good second until she had pushed you away with a disgusted look on her face. It had broken your heart as Heather was the first person you had ever loved.

‘I’m not a dyke!’ She yelled and had ignored you all evening.

You had tried to talk to her all evening but it ended with the two of you fighting and her running off on the back of someone’s motorbike.

You should have rushed after her. You should have stopped her from going on the back of the motorbike but you were too hurt.

She had raced off with the guy but he had driven his motorbike Way too fast straight into a tree and Heather had died on impact

‘If you hadn’t kissed me i would still be Alive’ an illusion of Heather Said. She was covered in bruises and Blood.

It caused you to scream

‘No No No NOOOO!’

You knew you needed to run away from him but your body felt limb and heavy.

It had taken you a long time to grieve after Heather died.. She had been everything to you.

Vecna took this as his chance to walk closer to you and wrap his tentacles around you firmly

‘She’s dead because of you’

You tried to escape his grasp but he used his his tenticles to hold you up. His tentacles were tightening around your neck

‘Your friends will die because of you. Everyone you love will die because of you’

‘That’s not true’ you whimpered weakly.

Before Veca tightened his grip around your neck.

Eddie went back through the opening to the upside down with his guitar and amplifier. Dustin, Robin, Nancy, Lucas, Max and Erica all joined him and Eddie went over to plug-in the amplifier and his guitar.

You started to float towards the sky.

‘HURRY ! ‘ Steve added frantically

Eddie started to play the cords to Self control and Steve, Dustin and everyone else all started singing together

‘Oh, the night is my world

City light painted girl’

‘In the day nothing matters

It's the night time that flatters

In the night, no control

Through the wall something's breaking

Wearing white as you're walkin'

Down the street of my soul’

You heard your friends singing your favourite song and you tried to steady your breathing

‘You take my self, you take my self control

You got me livin' only for the night

Before the morning comes, the story's told

You take my self, you take my self control’ You heard your friends singing.

You were hit by that memory at the beach with Steve and Robin celebrating your birthday.

You saw another memory of you laughing at Steve as he tried to pick up women in his Scoops Ahoy uniform

You saw you and Robin hang out and talk about girls.

You saw you helping Dustin and Eddie with their DND campaign and how Eddie was moving around in this overly dramatic manner and you and Dustin laughing at him

You saw you kiss Steve on the cheek that one time he had picked you up from a party where you had been wasted.

‘Thank you preeeettyy boy ‘ you said and giggled.

You had tears streaming down your face. The kids. Your kids. Robin. Nancy and Jonathan. Eddie. Steve. You couldn’t leave Them. You couldn’t leave your family.

‘I, I live among the creatures of the night

I haven't got the will to try and fight

Against a new tomorrow

So I guess I'll just believe it

That tomorrow never comes’

You started to see an opening to where your friends were.

‘STEVE’ You called out desperately. You missed your best friend. You missed your kids.

‘You will be the reason he dies’ Vecna taunted you cruelly which caused you to swallow a lump in your throat

Eddie turned up the volume on his amplifier.

While he was still playing and everyone started singing louder

Your body started to shake violently in the air.

‘Y/N! HOLD ON! WE ARE HERE! YOU ARE SAFE! COME HOME TO US! COME HOME TO ME!’ Steve exclaimed as he saw you were still hovering high above the ground.

Robin gave Steve a worried look. Everyone was in a circle around you. Singing as loudly as possible.

You Saw yourself helping Steve fix his hair before a date with Heidi

‘How do i look?’ Steve had asked you unsure of Himself.

‘Are you kidding me! You are Steve ‘the hair ‘ Harrington. You look perfect. Like always’ you hadn’t intended for it to come off flirty but Steve’s cheeks reddened anyways and he gave you this beautiful smile that warmed up your entire body

You had both stared longingly at each other for a moment before Steve broke eye contact.

‘Cool. Cool. Hey thanks, I appreciate it’

‘Go get her, Tiger!!’ You added playfully as you winked at Him and gave Him finger guns.

The emotions from that memory gave you the strength you needed to reach out and pull a vein out from Vecna’s arm which made him stumble and drop you.

You ran as fast as you could not daring to look back at him.

Pieces of wood was falling from the sky as you were running. You managed to duck every single piece. You had almost Tripped a few times but you managed to make it out of the opening with one last look back where you saw Vecna stand back there and you turned around and ran out towards your friends. To Steve.

Your eyes opened up and you dropped towards the ground. Steve and Robin rushed over to catch you.

Your breathing was fast and rushed and you looked at Steve who held onto you for dear life.

‘Sssh you’re safe. You’re home’ Steve reassured you gently despite his heart beating fast in his chest.

You collapsed in Steve’s arms in exhaustion.

The gang had gone through the opening in the upside Down and Steve had taken the gang back to his house and he had made sure you were all secure in multiple blankets on his couch.

He had made sure everyone was comfortable on mattresses and blakets while Robin had watched over you.

He sat by the end of the couch and he just watching you as you rested.

He reached over and caressed your cheek. He was beyond relieved that you had made it out alive.

Steve didn’t leave your side for ages. Robin had to urge him to rest as well while she watched you.

‘I’m thrilled she’s okay. We are all thrilled she made it out alive’ Robin Said before giving Steve a knowing look

‘But you have to get your head out of your ass and tell her How you feel’ Robin raised her eyebrows Steve and Steve smiled back at her and nodded as he didn’t trust himself to speak right now.

Before he could rest he heard You whimper before you gingerly opened your eyes

‘Steve’ your voice was all croaky

Steve came rushing over to your side and let’s out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

‘I’m here ‘ he confirmed as he sat down on the floor next to you.

‘You made it out alive ‘ you were smiling at him affectionately as if it had been him who had been under Vecna’s curse.

Steve looked at you and his eyes started watering and he reached out and gently touched your face.

He had been terrified that he would loose you and for the first time he really understood why you had argued with Him ever since the whole Vecna thing started.

He had a strong urge to hold you. To kiss you. To never let you go.

‘Steve?’ You asked gingerly as you sat up

Steve started shaking and you reached over and touched His shoulder. He gently pulled you into his lap and held you close to him.

‘I’m so sorry. I should have been listening more to you. I shouldn’t always throw myself head first into danger. No wonder you were mad at me for days. I should have known better’

You looked at Him and saw the fear in his eyes. You put your head on against his chest and listened to his heart, it was beating extremely fast.

‘Sssh ssh I’m okay. We are both okay’

There was so many things that were left unsaid but you felt them all. You could tell that Steve hadn’t slept properly while you had been sleeping.

His face was inches away from yours. He started to caress your cheeks lovingly as if he still couldn’t believe you were really here.

‘Thank you for saving me’ you added your voice was full of happiness and gratitude.

‘I can’t help feeling like it should have been me’ Steve added

‘No. No. No. Absolutely not. If anything I’m extremely glad it wasn’t. Our kids need you. I need you’

‘Our kids need you too and god y/n so do I. I can’t do any of this without you’ you felt his worry radiating off of him

‘ i promise that You will’ you promised. Your face was inches away from Steves and he leaned in and kissed you hungrily as if he had been waiting to kiss you for a very long time. His hands caressed your back and your hands ran through his hair.

Afterwards you rested your head back on his chest.

‘I’m grateful that you made it out alive’ Steve said as he kissed your forehead and you smiled into his chest.

You looked up at him and leaned in and kissed Him again.

The two of you ended up sleeping on the couch and in the morning when you both woke up Steve was caressing your face. The two of you spent ages just staring at each other.

‘When we have defeated Vecna once and for all we should, you know go on a date sometime’ Steve Said trying to be suave but failing slightly as he fumbled over the last part.

‘Why pretty boy are you asking me out?’ You added in a giddy voice as a blush formed on your cheeks.

‘If that is cool?’ Steve asked nervously

You leaned in and ruffled his hair lovingly with your hand

‘Abosolutely’ you nodded before giving Him a peck on the lips.

You knew the fight with Vecna was far from over but as Long as you fought Him together there was nothing you couldn’t do. You had defeated monsters before and you would do it again. Together.

[girlreviews]

Review #96: Automatic For The People, R. E. M.

Are you very depressed? Me too. Automatic For The People is rich, beautiful, tonally downer music for sad people who occasionally have bright sunny days.

It describes such a complex sadness, and that’s something I love about it. In Nightswimming, we aren’t just swimming at night, we are “pining for the moon”. Who among us sad losers doesn’t pine for the moon from time to time? Hmm? And we are doing so alongside glorious strings, oddly chirpy piano, and what I believe to be a damn OBOE. How often do we get to hear an oboe? Do you know? I do. It’s not that often. It’s not.

I have complicated feelings about Everybody Hurts. I was only four when this record came out. But this song didn’t go anywhere for a really long time. It was constantly on the radio well into my teens. The riff becomes very monotonous. What is supposed to be a comfort, a message that you’re not alone, can kind of eventually sound like, hey get over it because your problems are the same as everybody else’s, everyone has heard this song too, and everyone kind of hates it by now. It’s been a long ass time since I’ve spent time with it, and it might just have been long enough. Let’s try again in a few years.

I have always liked R.E.M. and a lot of their songs well enough, but maybe never known their albums inside out. More like, well versed in their radio hits, and I definitely always had an attitude about them. I wouldn’t admit to liking them, kinda thing. Imagine my surprise when I stuck this album on for reviewing purposes and I started singing all the words to all the album tracks? I knew them all. All of them! Suddenly I was taken back to Sunday afternoons in my house when it was time to clean, or cook, or whatever you know, just boring nothing Sunday stuff, and I guess this one was one that my Mom liked. It must have reverberated through the house and I must have absorbed it. This is the way I’ve come to know and love a few artists and albums that I believe I previously held disdain for. Over time, I have reluctantly accepted that they’re just pretty fucking good, and I can’t hate it just because my Mother likes it. Simon and Garfunkel being probably the greatest, and most painful example. Sigh.

As annoying as this might be, Drive, the opening track, is pretty joyous to relive. I mean, it’s the opposite of joyous in that it’s a huge dose of frowny-face sounds, but joyous in that it’s a song about challenging the status-quo by voting (seriously, it is — they were a big part of the Rock the Vote campaign and some of the lines are very pointed towards Bush Sr, who was running for a second term), but also questioning your sanity and driving around to uh, feel better. Relatable. It also references another song, a mechanism that I delight in — Rock Around the Clock, by Bill Haley and the Comets, if you’re wondering.

R.E.M. stand out with their use of mandolin and other not so typically utilized instruments, and it’s always really funny to me that they were so popular in top 40 music when they just, aren’t pop music at all. But that isn’t a bad thing. The bright sunny day for your average sad sack lives in The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, where you even hear Michael Stipe laugh his way through the lyrics. It’s upbeat, it’s absurd, and it’s also fucking great. It’s fun as hell to sing. Lastly, I may be in the minority, but I love instrumental tracks (when they’re good), and New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 is two minutes and thirteen seconds of someone letting me fall asleep on them like a cat while they gently play with my hair. I could listen to it on repeat forever and I’d never be sick of it. It’s so beautiful. In my incessant need to know everything about every song, I have learned that a longer version exists (may I hear it?), and that it has never been performed live (may we hear it?).

I guess my Mom just really liked them. She grew up playing a few different stringed instruments but is deaf in one ear and can’t hold a tune to save her life. Still, once, she took me and that shitty boyfriend to our hyper local village music store (it’s long gone but was such a gem), I think so I could buy some guitar strings. The woman picked up a mandolin, and played a few chords perfectly. Our jaws hit the floor. Every time I hear the mandolin in one of their songs, I think of that moment and how cool she was to me in it.

They will always get bonus points for two additional things: Mike Mills is a consistent staple in the modern day Big Star lineup, with R.E.M. being one of the bands responsible for their later resurgence by citing their influence. Actually, I’m only just realizing this, but I HEAR IT IN ALL THAT MANDOLIN. Holy shit.

So, okay, I’ll always love them for that. But also, they are fictional character Ben Wyatt’s favorite band in the dorkiest and most pure, sincere way ever. Could a depressed person make this?

I had no idea I had this much to say about R.E.M. I’m a little embarrassed.

[bananathebookworm]

TLOVM Season 2 Eps 7-9 Ramblings

EP. 7

- I love the Feywild design so much. In general, the distinct designs of each location in this show are amazing, but I really enjoy how well they convey the Fewwild’s unique atmosphere.

- Percy’s such a fucking dork oh my god...

- Oh good. The sword’s corruption is visible to the others now.

- Grog trying to keep the sword sounding a little like Travis’ own frustrations bleeding through. I know he hated not being able to use Kraven Edge to its full potential in game.

- I do not like these jumpscares I have anxiety fuck off

- Garmelie! 

- Scrawny Grog!

- Vax’s anger at Percy... understandable why he feels that way, but I don’t know that I like it. 

- I love hearing more of the cast singing this season. Also turning “Makin’ My Way” into a new song... fucking phenomenal. I need the album for all of the music this season with full versions of everything.

- Also appreciating Scanlan the caregiver. I remember Sam/Scanlan always made a point to make sure everyone else was healed before accepting any himself.

- Garmelie fucking with Percy is my favourite thing.

- Feywild acid trip... I don’t know if this is amazing or terrifying.

- These fights are so fun. I love seeing their more creative battle tactics come to life.

- Percy letting Vax know he has his back even if Vax wants nothing to do with Percy... 

- I also love seeing these villain conversations that we never got to see in the campaign.

- Scrawny Grog is reminding me of Fjord losing his powers and Travis’ struggle feeling useless in the fights they had before he got them back. 

- Syngorn! Time for more Twins backstory.

- Wait, that’s the end of the episode already? Fuck these are too short.

EP. 8 

- Again loving the designs of this place.

- Velora! She’s so cute!

- Ugh. Syldor. Fuck off. Stay on the cute sibling bonding.

- Wilhand! Let’s stay with the Trickfoots for a bit.

- Can we throw Syldor out that window behind him. I hate him so much. (Kudos to Liam, Laura, Matt, and Troy for creating and bringing this character to life in all his despicableness.)

- Was not expecting to see Scanlan shoving something up Grog’s ass... but here we are...

- Percy telling off Syldor and standing up for Vex. And Vex telling him off immediately after.

- “What does fuck you mean?” I wish they had kept the entire sequence of Velora picking up phrases from Scanlan.

- The lighting in this series is so well done.

- I hate watching villains exploit a characters’ insecurities... poor Vex.

- “I can fix you.” SHE’S NOT BROKEN FUCK OFF.

- “My heart is someone else’s.” HELL YES.

- I love fire elemental Keyleth. And also just Keyleth.

- “The Fey Realm is definitely better in the books.” Okay nerd.

- ARTIE REVEAL! Also love that Matt is voicing him. I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it. 

- “He killed me with them.” Grog backstory next! 

EP. 9

- Boulder, parchment, shears! I love how many inside jokes they work into the show while still making them make sense.

- Scanlan’s red beret! I love the little hat on the little dragonfly.

- Kaylie!

- Grog’s backstory is another reminder of the stark difference between hearing the backstories on stream and actually seeing them brought to life.

- Dark-haired Pike! I wonder if they’re ever going to explain that change now that they’ve shown it.

- “No one wants your damn autograph!” followed by an immediate zoom out to Dr. Dranzel tucking a piece of paper into his jacket. Brilliant.

- Also changing Scanlan’s story a bit so that he was never a part of Dr. Dranzel’s group, but Kaylie is.

- Oh good. Ripley and Umbrasyl are here. This is good. Everything’s great.

- Once again the dragon designs this season are terrifying

- Kevdak’s death is going to be the most satisfying one this season holy fuck.

- I love that Pike pluralizes “Buddies” every time.

- The Tabaxi mother with her baby... my heart...

- Ending on Grog screaming Kevdak’s name. Ugh. Chills. This fight is one of my favourites

-----

GENERAL

- I can’t believe there are only three episodes left and they haven’t taken down a single dragon yet. And yet so. much. has happened.

- Also can’t help but wonder how the two groups are going to reconnect. One of my favourite parts of the Kevdak fight is the use of the locket and Vex isn’t with Grog right now. There’s also a key Scanlan and Vax conversation after this fight that I hope they kept, but could easily be moved to a different time.

- I like the idea of splitting the party for these episodes. I didn’t think I would, but it really helped to get some important parts of the story told concurrently and concisely instead of spread out over the entire season. 

[theres-a-clown-in-the-cheese]

Well, damn. THAT game fucking SLAPS.

I was always pretty skeptical about a remake of Resident Evil 4 as soon as the rumors that it was in development first went around. I loved the remakes of RE2 and even RE3, but a remake of RE4 didn't seem necessary to me. It's still very accessible to just about anyone (along with Street Fighter II, it's basically been Capcom's Skyrim or GTA V for years haha) and has aged quite well too. When it was officially revealed, I thought it looked quality, but still wasn't really psyched for it and didn't really see the point.

I finally played it and was blown away. I didn't think it was possible to improve that much on the original RE4, but they did it. I'll always treasure OG RE4 but this has become the definitive version of the game for me. It changes just enough to feel fresh but not too much to where it ruins what made the original work. Writing is much, much better and the darker tone still works well with the action elements. Like the original did, this remake still blends horror and action/adventure perfectly!

I'm ready for whatever remake they release next. I'm very much up for a RE5 remake that fixes some stuff in that game that always bugged me, like the linearity and AI partner, but I really hope we get a remake of Code: Veronica. That was always my favorite and is pretty essential to the lore. Though it will definitely need updating for modern times (no matter what Fandom Menace assholes get butthurt over it), because the whole "villain cross dresses as his sister and is outright called a cross dressing freak" angle... yeah that's aged like milk. Even if it was a homage to Norman Bates, it's still pretty cringeworthy these days.

EDIT FROM THE FUTURE - Separate Ways was really good! A huge improvement over the OG SW (which was fun, but honestly just some missions cobbled together from base game assets for the PS2 release of RE4 to make up for the inferior graphics - and because the cutscenes were made for the PS2 version and never updated for any HD re-releases, they look horrible) that feels more like a proper B-campaign of sorts, and it's as fun as ever seeing how Ada's path snakes its way through the main story alongside Leon's. It was cool how they added in some of the things in the OG RE4 that the remake left out to give Ada something unique to do. Well worth the $10 and it makes a fantastic game even more satisfying. Some awesome story stuff to chew on too and I am so psyched for what they clearly have planned for RE5. It's so good having a certain villain back.

I also may or may not have a huge crush on Ada Wong lmao

[musicals-and-mushrooms]

Bell's Hells as Undertale/Deltarune Songs

disclaimer: i wrlte thid in a notebook back near the start of campaign 3 so things might be outdated but mostly i think they still fit. I'll give reasons why the songs fit for each character

FCG - Metal Crusher/Your Best Friend. FCG eats metal obviously, and im just gonna say i called it with your best friend. Sounds like a smiley day but actually quite murderous.

Ashton - Spear of Justice/sans. I think these songs reflect both Ashtons rage side and also their i dont really give a s*** laid back side.

Laudna - Here We Are. Very creepy, but also a very cool song, just like our favourite fun scary gal laudna.

Fearne - Bonetrousle. Ok so this definitely plays in Fearne's head whenever she decides to steal something. Very chaotic.

Orym - Determination. Hes just a little dude that will do anything to protect his friends and the people he loves, also in the fight with nightmare king in the tower with that nat 20 death save was the epitome of 💔➡️❤*but it refused

Dorian - Undertale/Dating Start. Yes i will be including dorian in bells hells we need our blue boy back. Undertale seems like the kind of song he would play to think about how far hes come and dating start helps give that "hey im new here vibe kind of awkward but eee" that dorian just is. Also he should start dating orym ;)

Chetney - Lancer. Ok this was pre werewolf reveal but i stand by this. this is the song that plays when hes doing all his crazy plans and talking about how hes an MC.

Imogen - Shop/ASGORE. not going to liez when i wrote this a few months ago i kind of forgot imogen existed :/ but i think that shop fits her more chill southern accent side when shes baking cookies with laudna, and asgore is kind of like her intense dreams. But again there is probably a better song im just tired.

Bonus: Bertrand Bell - It's Pronounced "Rules". Idk just fits how exaggerated he was!

And finally, Bells Hells as a group would be A Cyber's World? But again, i wrote this at the start of the campaign and it really fits the vibe of new beginnings, so this is true especially for like the first 15 or so episodes.

By the way, i will be opening asks for followers! If you like my headcanons/crossovers with video games, check my pinned post for games i am into and let me know if you have any ideas! I have a version of this for M9 and VM as well, so lookout for that😊

[tup-ika-5385]

Knockout Chapter 8:

Chapter Summary:

Assessments are done and plans are made, but one thing becomes clear- they have to get off Kamino.

Fic Summary:

Six months after the trials of Umbara, Tup and Dogma are growing into themselves as well-established members of the 501st. Tup's been training more with Fives and Jesse, set on an ARC trooper promotion, and even Dogma has found a place in medical, where his intense focus and organization are both needed and appreciated.

While practicing for his medic exams, Dogma find some worrying abnormalities in Tup's numbers, making some worrying discoveries. As Tup's condition worsens, help comes from unlikely sources as Dogma, Kix, Fives, and Hardcase fight to discover the truth and save their brother.

Chapter 8:

After another hour in the Bad Batch’s barracks, Dogma had almost acclimated to the smell. Wrecker was doing a lot better, and Crosshair had settled in an uneasy truce, still not trusting this many regs in their barracks, but much less likely to be a threat. Dogma guessed that neither of them liked feeling useless when their brothers were in pain. 

Fives had finally briefed Dogma, Hardcase, and Patch on their current situation after Patch had done a few assessments on Tup, and Dogma’s head was still reeling. Technological components– inside his brother’s head?! Suddenly, the Kaminoan’s response was starting to make a lot more sense, except… when did it get there? 

As batchmates, Dogma and Tup had probably never been separated for more than a day, before their deployment, and even then, something like brain surgery would be pretty hard to hide, even if Tup were trying. And it still didn’t explain the other medics’ reactions, so eager to hunt down a brother without explanation– and an injured one, at that.

Dogma shook his head; he’d go crazy trying to figure it out on his own, especially with his current sleep deficit. Fives had already conked out, sprawled out on the ground like he was still in the middle of a campaign. He’d definitely slept in worse, and Tup hadn’t been far behind him, but Dogma knew any efforts to sleep right now would be wasted, so instead he settled in next to patch and Kix, listening to them go through the assessment results. 

“So, after having Tup do a modified version of the WCPA, and a couple physical assessments, I’d say that physically, he’s well on the mend, and will probably be fully recovered in about a week. He might have some residual balance issues and need more sleep than usual, but he’ll be alright. Mentally, there’s a couple things we’ll have to keep a close eye on.”

He paused, looking towards Dogma, “You remember what we talked about with executive functioning, right?”

“Yeah, it’s starting tasks, planning, and follow-through, right?” Dogma confirmed, relieved to know that his training was already coming in handy.

Patch nodded, “That’s right, and it’s something that Tup’s having some trouble with, right now. The assessment I used had him practice scheduling appointments, training, the like. I asked him certain questions about two and five minutes in, which he’s supposed to ignore, according to the instructions at the beginning, and he was told to let me know when seven minutes had passed, according to the chrono I set up. During the assessment, he scheduled everything correctly, just a bit longer than average, which could’ve easily been exhaustion, but was easily distracted when I asked him questions, and forgot the seven-minute marker entirely.”

He paused before continuing. “There were also a few times, outside of the regular assessment where I noticed he’d have more emotional responses than normal. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Tup never struck me as someone with a hair-trigger anger response.” At that, he looked at Dogma, who shrugged sheepishly. 

Tup had overheard one of Crosshair’s more caustic comments, asking, “What kind of a name is Dogma, anyways?” and hadn’t thought twice about jumping to Dogma’s defense almost aggressively, at least until his eyes started tearing up, and he’d flushed in humiliation. No harm had been done; Dogma could handle a blunt question or two, but seeing the distress on his batchmate���s face had worried him more than a little.

“He’s always been protective of me, but… his restraint is usually a little better, and the tears are unusual.” Dogma commented quietly, eyes trailing down to find his batchmate still fast asleep, taking comfort in watching his chest rise and fall. Sure, Tup used to cry a lot as a cadet, but Dogma hadn’t seen this many tears in a while– not since they were still in their cadet blues, rather than the reds given out to older cadets.

Patch nodded in understanding, rubbing his face tiredly as he talked. “With the brain, there’s a lot of stuff we just don’t know, but it’s likely that he’ll keep having difficulties.”

“For how long?” Dogma asked before he could stop himself.

“Could be a week, could be a month… could be a lot longer than that. It is something we can help with– there’s lots of mindfulness strategies and coping strategies he can learn to use, to give him a little more time to process his emotions. And for the other stuff, he’ll probably need reminders, check-ins, probably not too different from what you’ve already got set up for a couple other vode in the 501st.” 

Patch smiled, looking back to where Hardcase and Wrecker had settled after wearing themselves out. Even before Umbara, Rex and the other commanding officers had already made a habit of sending short written mission briefings to a couple vode mid-mission, Hardcase included, for those who needed a little more help remembering the specifics, and it wouldn’t be too hard to add Tup to that list. 

“He’s got a good support system, and I’ll always be available over comm to make suggestions about what might help, but it’ll be a while ‘till we know more about what he needs.”

Glancing back at Kix, Patch asked, “Do you still have that, uh, tumor? I didn’t get a good look at it earlier.”

Kix nodded, reaching into his utility belt and handing it over with a grimace. “Still can’t believe this was inside of him– makes you wonder what the Kaminoans had planned for it, after Dogma’s unplanned adventure in medbay.”

At that, the group sat in still silence, at least until they were interrupted by Tech. “Is that an inhibitor chip?”

Kix’s eyes widened, “What?”

“An inhibitor chip– they’re utilized by the Kaminoans for behavioral modification. We all have one.” Tech replied, looking bored. “Or, at least, I assume we all have one, but given our deviant nature–”

“That must be why the other medics were acting strange!” Dogma exclaimed before glancing back at Tup to make sure he didn’t wake him. “Nothing else would make sense– medic’s don’t just–”

“Perhaps not in your experience, but I would hesitate to insist that these troopers were not just… following orders.” Tech responded, all-too-familiar with regs responding less-than-kindly to those deemed different; a descriptor that now included Tup, apparently.

His words stirred another memory of Tup, half-conscious and mumbling, “good soldiers follow orders,” prompting another question. “Exactly what behaviors do these chips modify, then?” ‘And why didn’t it work on me?’ Dogma wondered to himself.

“Yeah, I’d like to know that too,” Fives chimed in, having woken up from his lothcat-nap, carefully sliding out from under Tup. “Cuz when I looked for information on this so-called ‘inhibitor chip,’ I got nothing– not even a mention or a scanned image, ‘cept the one we pulled from Tup.”

Tech frowned, rocking a bit as he thought. “I am not sure. I did not pursue that line of thought when I first learned of the chip, but I believe I have the data saved somewhere.” He said, before beginning to search through his mountain of datachits and detritus for the second time that night. Hunter looked like he was about to argue for a moment– he was probably the only reason there was a walkable path in their barracks at all– before relenting, just as curious as the rest of them.

“Here it is!” Tech called, pulling out a datachit that looked identical to the others, but with the numbers 02-157 written on the side; it wasn’t an organizational scheme Dogma recognized.

“The file itself was encrypted, which is why I didn’t choose to open it before– doing so would likely alert the Kaminoans, and it’s possible that it would display the datapad’s location as well, so I would wait until you were off-planet to do so.” He cautioned them with a warning look before handing the file over to Fives. 

“We’ll keep that in mind, thanks vod.” Fives gave him a grateful nod, glad to be doing something. 

“That brings us back to our current predicament, though. We can’t stay here, as grateful as we are for your hospitality,” Fives paused, addressing Hunter, who nodded. “But with Tup’s current condition, stealth’s definitely the better option. Even if we get to a hangar, I’d be shocked if they hadn’t already locked down everything with hyperspace capabilities.” He put a hand on his chin, thinking.

“Actually, we might not need one– a ship with hyperspace, I mean.” Patch offered with a grin. “The 104th should still be in-orbit… it wouldn’t be hard to rendezvous with them and get a different ship– maybe even learn more about this chip while we’re at it.”

“Good plan,” Fives grinned in return. “Speaking of which, I should check back with AZ– last I heard, he was looking into potential insertion dates for the, uh, chips.”

With that, he got out his comm and called the droid. “AZ! What’s the status on those scans you were taking?”

“Oh, hello ARC Trooper Five-s!” A cheery metallic voice called, and Crosshair rolled his eyes from where he’d been listening in. “I have been ordered to report to the maintenance bay for a system wipe, but I shall transmit the data to you at once. One moment please.”

“What?!”

“It appears that the Kaminoans do not recognize the social-emotional benefits of doctor-patient confidentiality, and took offense when I did not share the identity of Patient Tup.”

Fives sighed, “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me. I don’t get how you can be so chipper about it– if I was being reconned, I’d be furious.” After all, it was nearly the same thing, and the little med-droid had started to grow on Fives, like some kind of invasive fungus.

AZ-3 hummed. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have human emotions– but I do not!” He replied cheerily before something beeped. “The data is now transmitted.”

Kix’s datapad buzzed, and the medic nodded that the data had been received. “It confirms what we knew; that all troopers past tubies have one of these chips. But I still wanna know who has control of them. Nala Se, obviously, but who else?”

“Can’t be anyone good, if they’re trying this hard to keep them a secret. This is starting to smell like a Separatist plot to me.” Fives frowned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Sure, call him paranoid, but since Umbara, it didn’t take much to make him doubt other’s motives, and he’d never trusted the Kaminoans much in the first place.

Turning to Tech, he asked, “Tech, could you– is there any way to change AZ’s–”

Tech hummed an affirmative, tapping away at his datapad. “Already done. The system will register the droid as already having been wiped– assuming its number is the same one registered to that comm device, and it should be free to return to its duties.” He said, adjusting his goggles. Hunter might not like it when he intervened, worrying he’d get in trouble with the Kaminoans, but Tech found great satisfaction in disrupting the Kaminoan’s plans, even just a little.

“Hear that, AZ? You should be good to go. Take care of yourself, yeah?”

“Care is not required, as I am a droid. Goodbye!” AZ-3 replied, cutting off the comm channel abruptly, earning a weary chuckle from Fives. “Yeah, he’ll be fine.”

He turned towards Hunter and the rest of the Bad Batch, who had already done so much to help clones who were practically strangers to them. “I know I have no right to ask this of you– you’ve already done so much to help us, to help Tup, and we couldn’t be more grateful. I know us ‘regs’ haven’t treated you well in the past, but you and your squad have treated us with kindness we haven’t earned. If you ever need anything, you are welcome with the 501st anytime.” 

He drew himself up into a firm salute, which was mirrored by the other conscious troopers– Hardcase and Tup were still fast asleep. Hunter nodded his head in acceptance, giving them a rare smile. “I’ve gotta say, it’s been nice spending time with regs who aren’t about to throw down with one of my brothers.” 

He glanced at Crosshair for approval, knowing if he didn’t, he’d be hearing about it for the next month. Thankfully Crosshair shrugged, glancing at the regs as if to say, ‘Whatever gets out of my space soonest,’ so Hunter turned back to Fives.

Despite a few bumps in the road, this was probably the most peaceful interaction his squad had ever had with the regs– and these ones actually saw them as vode, which was parsecs above what he could say for most of the shinies still on Kamino. “Now, what did you say you need?” Unfortunately, the Marauder was still undergoing repairs after their latest mission, so they couldn’t just give them a ride.

Fives grinned. “We could use a distraction…”

___________________

Turns out, the Bad Batch had a plan for exactly that, and within ten minutes, their squad was heading towards the nearest hangar completely unobstructed. With the combination of Tech’s computer skills, Crosshair’s pinpoint accuracy when it came to identifying and shutting down cameras, and of course, Wrecker’s ability to draw attention wherever he went, it wasn’t long before they were in possession of a small ship that wouldn’t be missed for 24 hours. 

They were home free– assuming they didn’t crash along the way.

“I thought you said you knew how to fly!” Patch yelped, his face a ghastly shade of green as he tried to keep his breaths even as he resolutely refused to look out the viewscreen. His aviophobia had gotten a lot better since his posting with the 501st, but this– he cursed as Hardcase made another loop and a muffled “Oops,” could be heard in the cockpit– was not flying.

“I’ve flown before!” Hardcase shouted back, dodging the last of the sensor arrays as they made their way up into the atmosphere. He twisted the ship around a few more times for good measure, hoping to keep the Kaminoans off their scent, and Patch’s heart stuttered with every jerking movement.

“Umbara categorically does not count!” Dogma griped, inclined to agree with Patch. The sooner they were back on firm ground, the better.

“I mean I’ve practiced some with the General, he’s been helping me to–”

“Watch the controls!!!” Kix cried in despair as Hardcase pulled up on the brakes and they definitely left a mark on the 104th’s hangar floor.

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” Hardcase called as the ship came to a full and complete stop, probably smoking a little bit, but otherwise in one piece. “There!”

Kix let out a relieved sigh, clutching his chest. “Remind me to never fly with you again, vod.” He said before walking out the exit ramp, giving a hand to Patch when his legs shook, still looking more than a little green.

“You good, vod?”

Patch let out a slow breath, only just managing to hold down his rations while he nodded. He wasn’t usually one prone to space-sickness, but at least he had an excuse for not noticing their audience until he nearly ran into Commander Wolffe. “Easy there, Patch.” 

“Wolffe!” Patch brightened immediately, leaning in to clasp his brother’s wrist, receiving a hearty thump on the back.

“It’s good to see you, vod. Welcome home.” Wolffe rumbled softly, drawing him in.

Patch choked up a little bit, responding just as quietly. “It’s good to be home.”

It’s been more than a year since he was back with the 104th, and even with everything else going on, it meant so much to be here– and to be with his brothers again, so he took a moment to settle in Wolffe's firm grip before pulling away. 

He glanced around, noticing their little welcoming party included most of the Wolfpack, as well as General Koon.

“Thanks for letting us crash here, General.” Hardcase joked, watching as the landing crew gave the ship one last spray with a fire-extinguisher. “We’ve heard a lot of good things about you, sir.”

“You are most welcome, young Hardcase. It is an honor to meet Patch's brothers from the 501st.” General Plo offered, smiling under his mask as he greeted the group. “Come, I hear we have much to discuss.” He said, beckoning them forward so they could share what they learned.

____________

AO3 Link:

[brightatmidnight]

Where We've Been and What We've Been Doing - An Update on the State of The Chaser's Voyage

It's been a while! Our client updates got interrupted by a much more important task, reworking our Tutorial! So, here's what we've been up to lately!

Hello everyone. It's been a while since we last updated but we're finally ready to tell you what we've been working on these last 2 and half months. The short version of it all is that we've been making some major changes to our tutorial. Since going live with it last November, we've gotten to see more people playing The Chaser's Voyage first hand and it's given us a better understanding of what we need to prioritize and what we need to back away from when it comes to introducing people to the game. Namely, it required a lot less talking and lot more doing.

I think the current version of the tutorial has too much talking in it. It was a way to introduce some core concepts of not just our game world, but also why the mechanics are the way they are. I thought it was a necessary bridge that needed to be crossed for players to understand why they were doing something. For example, unlike a space game like FTL where you might be traversing the entire galaxy, we limited ourselves to just a small corner of the galaxy, Sector 99, so that all of our planets could have names and backstories and our list of alien species didn't have to grow to, well, a galaxy sized level. In retrospect, I don't think that it was necessary to introduce the player to these lore explanations, at least not in the tutorial. So, we did away with a lot of the universe building dialogue, though we still did allow ourselves some brief, inconsequential, moments of world building.

We also thought that having a character explain what needed to be done vs. having text prompts explain would be a more active way for players to learn the ins and outs of the core mechanics. It definitely works for some games, but we realized, it doesn't work that way for ours. We didn't want players to feel like our game was too hand holdy or a "by the numbers" type game where "when X happens, you must do Y." We wanted to emphasize the idea that "Hey, you're going to be called on to make decisions, so just be ready for that" but I think it ended up adding some bits that the player isn't necessarily going to be interested in at that moment and the "on the fly decisions bit" can still be reinforced without us having to be explicit.

So, we changed our tutorial to something that uses a lot of less talking and lot more text prompts. This itself required a lot of work, as we made our text prompts no longer automatically close, but instead, players could choose when to close the prompt once they had carried out the prompt's instructions. We decided that perhaps for this part, a little hand holding was necessary to get the players started. We didn't want people to feel overwhelmed with options at first, after all. With our text prompts came more inspiration from Nintendo games, where we decided to color code text and use symbols to connect the keywords and instructions to the interactable elements. So for example, when we tell players to set their weapons to level 2 to shoot down missiles, the word "weapons" will be colored green and show the weapons icon and the symbol for level 2 weapons will be next to "level 2". It's actually been quite the challenge to think of every way we can make something as clear as possible and this time, no fear of whether or not it might be obvious.

Remaking our tutorial isn't the only thing we've been working on these last couple of months. We're really trying to revamp our social media marketing campaign. I've been doing a lot of studying up and we're prepared to make a couple of big changes. The first and most notable is that we're dropping "roguelike" from our marketing and will soon be changing it on Steam. While I will die on the hill that our game is technically a "roguelike", we are missing a lot of the modern hallmarks of what makes a roguelike a "roguelike". We don't have randomized power-ups or engage in tedious resource collection. For better or for worse, those are elements associated with roguelikes and I have gotten some questions along those lines from people wondering how The Chaser's Voyage is like a roguelike.

And since nobody wants a lecture or a redirection to my article, we feel it's just better to drop the genre from our marketing. This does once again leave us without a genre to categorize ourselves in but as I said in my "Is Our Game a Roguelike?" article, we don't like genres and we didn't set off to make a game constrained by genre. Though, in the writing of this article, I've learned that we made some assumptions about genres like "space flight simulation" which encompasses everything from games like Elite: Dangerous, to Kerbal Space Program, to Star Wars: X-Wing. Which is wild. So, going forth, we'll be leaning more into the "space flight" aspect of our game, perhaps marketing ourselves as a "space flight lite" or maybe just a "space flight sim". Who knows? (Have I mentioned I hate genres?)

With this change in marketing decision it also means changing some of our stuff on Steam and making a brand new trailer (again). We're hoping that our new trailer can be the kick-off of our new marketing efforts, but we'll see if this article doesn't end up doing that first.

We've also made a new Twitter account just for The Chaser's Voyage that will act as a central source for all things The Chaser's Voyage (while our Bright at Midnight twitter account will still be focused on stuff going on with us as game devs).

With all this going on, we're still hopeful of finishing The Chaser's Voyage relatively soon. We still plan on executing a well-crafted, unique, professional indie game. We want The Chaser's Voyage to go to the stars and we're prepared to do whatever it takes to make that happen!

For more updates on The Chaser’s Voyage, be sure to check back on our blog, follow The Chaser's Voyage and Bright at Midnight on Twitter, or join our Discord! If you wish to play The Chaser’s Voyage, you can buy it while we’re in Early Access on Steam.

- Eos//G