#''if it doesn't move the plot then you can use a shortcut'' well you see he has to get across the room to continue the plot

[dragonbleps]

the constant writer struggle of choosing between giving every detail of a mundane act so it doesn't read too quickly VS knowing that unnecessarily describing mundane actions may bore readers

[cheswirls]

have been messing w my alola prev-gen plot lately and i keep seeing art of these two together as young trainers so i thought i would try a different sort of prev-gen for a bit. (:

[multi-part pre-dppt drabble(s). 1/? cynthia & sycamore & rowan]

-

the professor's summer intern picks him up from the airport.

cute, stubby, pumped full of life, and definitely younger than he. augustine cannot contain his disappointment at having his first in-person meeting with his mentor postponed. he was hoping for a grand tour around jubilife to mark his first day in the sinnoh region, but this, too, doesn't go as expected.

shirona, she introduces herself as. carefully, and without any excess language. she's clearly expecting him to attempt conversation with an odd assimilation of broken basic in a tongue heavy with his foreign accent. augustine surprises her by a near-perfect greeting, muttered over his shoulder while he hefts his one suitcase from the conveyor belt. (of course he could speak and understand basic – he'd needed to in some degree in order to make his research study here worthwhile.)

once they're out of the airport and on the streets, shirona takes one is his bags and tosses the strap over her shoulder so it hangs off of her back. she grabs his now-free hand and starts pulling him down the road. "c'mon, sandgem isn't far! nothing like a quick nature walk around here."

"and the professor will be there?" he asks, forcing his light frown into a neutral line. his shoes, unlike her travel boots, aren't really made for a 'brisk trip through nature'. which is on him, actually. he knew field work would be a big part of his tasks here. his other shoes were in his carry-on.

"no," shirona leads, trailing augustine's disappointment in her wake. "professor rowan had an errand to run today. that's why he sent me to get you! well, that's part of the reason, but–" she stops, mouth held open with no sound to be heard. after a moment she picks up the pace and allows her lips to curve into a soft grin. "nah, it's not that important."

exiting through the city gates leaves them in the midst of a sprawling wild space. shirona confirms he has a pokemon on him before sliding a pokeball of her own out of a pocket of her coat. she enlarges it for easy access and starts leading him through the maze, claiming a shortcut to rowan's lab.

some of augustine's sourness dies down as they begin to encounter wild pokemon. it's not much, the same four or so species, but it's enough to capture his curiosity. his companion is happy to explain to him the basics, and then augustine simply observes from there. moves, nuances, natures, size, everything his eyes and ears can track he inputs into his brain for safekeeping, until he can sit down later to jot it all down for real.

(shirona's partner is a gible. it comes as a shock. one that leaves him fingering the switch to his own gible's pokeball every now and then. her gible looks healthy, and just as peppy as its trainer. happy. excited to be there. it gives the young trainer more credibility in his eyes, probably more so than anything else she's done since they've met. probably the most credible thing she can do, in his eyes – demonstrate a great relationship with a hardy and stubborn breed of pokemon. it's well-known, after all, that dragon-types are the most difficult to train.)

just when he thinks he may be getting used to her loud company, the route opens out, and their first steps into sandgem send his mind tumbling down many other directions, leaving the quiet musings to die.

"pro~fes~sor!" shirona calls as soon as she throws the front doors to the lab wide open. "oh, wow, it's a wreck in here."

no one answers her call. augustine squeezes past and stands just left of the doorway, grip on the handle of his suitcase growing tight as he takes in the disaster of scattered papers and loose power cords.

"huh." shirona doesn't enter further. she sets one hand on her hip and the other under her chin, lost in thought. it's just enough hesitation to make augustine realize this condition isn't normal. isn't standard. that something is most likely wrong.

"sycamore, sir, wait here a moment."

augustine glances back over from where he'd been looking around the chaos of the lab. before he can get a word in, shirona has already darted off, heading deeper into the lab. her tight expression he catches a glimpse of is enough to set him on edge. he releases the suitcase handle to pull out gible's pokeball in its stead.

a minute passes with no signs of life. he's just taking a step forward, mind made up to seek out the girl, when the sound of someone running across the hardwood echoes back to him. shirona appears around the corner, harried, and waves a handwritten note around above her head in a frenzy.

"the lab pokemon are all gone!" she calls out. "they made a mess and then took off! this is terrible, really, if the professor comes back to this there will be big trouble!!"

"what kind of trouble, exactly?"

augustine's eyes widen at the sound of the gruff voice behind him, and shirona gulps, echoing his panic and then swallowing it with a squeak, arms moving behind her to hide the note.

when he turns around he finds himself face-to-face with his pokemon studies research mentor for the next six months.

"it's nothing, professor rowan, i just made a mess!" shirona confesses.

the door shuts with a loud clank by aid of the hand not holding a hefty briefcase. professor rowan takes this same hand and smoothes out his mustache, giving himself time to formulate a reply.

"you're much too well-behaved for something of this caliber," he decides. beside him, augustine nearly blanches. her? described like that??

then those same stern eyes are on him and augustine feels all the fight drain out of his body.

"you're the young sycamore, i take it?" he asks. augustine nods, all he can manage for the moment, but it's not ill-received, which is better than nothing at the moment. "maybe you can explain to me what is going on?"

"some, uh." he swallows rough. "some pokemon escaped, sir. apparently."

rowan's stare turns back to shirona in quick order, so fast that she surrenders the note to him out of pure intimidation before he can get another word out.

"we just got here ourselves," she confesses, head held low.

"then you cannot be held at fault," rowan states after giving the note a brief once-over. "i will still need your assistance, however."

shirona nods, standing to full height. her earlier confidence is still nowhere in sight, but there's some color to her face once again, which is a good sign.

"and you."

augustine gulps and stands at attention. the professor looks at him funny but doesn't question it. his eyes land on gible's pokeball and a twinkle gleams in their depths. they move around the lab's entrance next while he stuffs the paper into his coat pocket, observing all the deficits for himself.

"i'll give you the choice this first time," he decides. he might be smiling, but honestly, it's a little hard to tell from underneath the facial hair. he certainly seems more amused than he should be, given the condition of his laboratory. "you can stay behind and help me organize this mess, or set off with shirona to help locate the missing pokemon." one of his brows raises. "i will warn you. sorting paperwork is very boring. by far the least glamorous aspect of being a researcher."

"that's not a choice at all!" shirona exclaims, coming forward to take augustine's free hand. "of course he'd rather adventure with me! you can read reports to him all summer long. he only has one first day in sinnoh, and the sun's still up!"

"and?" the professor glances around her to meet his gaze once more. "what say you?"

"we won't come back until we find the pokemon," he promises.

the comment is shirona-approved, by the grin the shoots him. she doesn't give rowan a chance to reconsider, pulling them both from the lab with a shout about exploring –erm, checking– the beach first.

"but it's so cold out," he protests. "is the sea really worth seeing right now?"

her laughter rings loud in his ears. "absolutely."

[princess-of-the-corner]

The have an idea for the "Sissi becomes a Lyoko Warrior because shit's fucked" episode.

Season 2 episode 1X "In The Thick Of It/Isn't There Somewhere You Need To Be?"

The civilian plot is Sissi finally getting the courage to tell the team she remembers everything she wants to see if she can deal with the actual problem after all the shit that has happened, but, if we go with standard Lyoko formula, Herb and/or Nicholas could ruin the moment and Sissi decides to try again later.

The XANA attack is the materialization of the Marabounta, Jeremy's multiplying blob of digital death, into the school to hunt down the Lyoko Warriors sans Aelita using the boiler room entrance as a shortcut.

Sissi tries to tell them at lunch but the XANA Alert(tm) Interrupts her and she knows it's not the fucking time for that bombshell.

The smallish gray sphere moving round the school causing chaos and confusion in the student body until it sees the Lyoko Warriors and multiplies like crazy forcing the team to split up to try and lead it away, the pairs are Yumi/Ulrich, Jeremy/Aelita, and Odd/Sissi. Yumi and Ulrich's location is negligible, Jeremy and Aelita make it to the factory through the park because as much as XANA despises Jeremy, it doesn't want to risk losing The Keys to Lyoko. Odd rescues Sissi and they end up in the Boiler Room building hiding from the Marabounta blocking the sewer entrance where XANA's bullshit finally becomes too much for her and she starts breaking down.

Sissi: almost crying There's somewhere you, Ulrich, and Yumi need to be!

Odd: I have no idea what you're talking about.

Sissi: Don't play fucking stupid with me, Della Robia! Without you three, Jeremy and Aelita are fucked, and without them, everyone's fucked!

Odd, not being stupid, puts the pieces together and remembers she was scanned too the day Jeremy turned on the Supercomputer. After asking if she remembers the way to the factory, he distracts the blob so she can make it to the lab leaving a text to Jeremy about what's about to happen along the way, "Yell at me later, Einstein."

She goes through the factory boiler room, because Odd said Jeremy probably locked the lift.

In the lab, they get Odd's message and they worry he's going to do something stupid, Jeremy and Aelita are debating what to do; she wants to go after the tower, damn the risks, but he refuses because it would be a suicide mission without backup, perfect timing for Sissi come up from the ladder to the scanner room.

Sissi: You can yell at Odd and tell me to fuck off later, what do I need be to do to make the reset happen?"

Before Jeremy can protest virtualizing Sissi, Aelita explains she needs to get to the activated tower.

While they fight on Lyoko. Sissi openly wonders if this is going to be a one-time thing but Jeremy says he will at least discuss it with the others.

Code_Lyoko

rttp.now

It's morning again and the team is where they were at the time, and after Sissi got Herb and/or Nicholas to leave them alone before they interrupted, confirming that what Odd and Jeremy told them actually happened and now they're stuck with Sissi actually being more in the know.

Yes! YES!!!

This is like the exact vibes I want!

So the general plan here:

Season 1 starts with the 'Origins' episode because idk why shows insist on having that later but I digress:

The Origin Episode goes mostly the same other than Sissi getting scanned the first time around as well. She does later get spooked and decides that maybe telling an adult is the best thing to do in this situation. (And is not demonized for it that's a /good/ thing like the fuck is the kids' show thinking?).

After the first Return to the Past, Sissi is still spooked and confused because of the time thing happening. So she just... goes into a little denial. Some of it is genuine 'haha that had to be a dream, right?' and other is purposeful denial.

So when the others try to subtly ask her, she brushes it off and lies like hell. And it sounds convincing.

But over the season we get hints. The biggest hints at first is that Sissi seems aware of the rttp, because even though she tries to replicate things perfectly, she doesn't. Sometimes it'll be subtle. Every other character will say the exact same thing unless prompted into changing the script by the Lyoko Warriors, but Sissi will sometimes change script from before for no reason. Sometimes it'll be something bigger like. Like say something stupid and embarrassing happens that Sissi wouldn't want to repeat. Like. Idk is there a point where a bucket of water falls on her or something? Post rttp when it's about to happen a second time, she steps out of the way completely unprompted.

But there's also the arc.

While the first few episodes have her in denial and just hiding, she quickly switches gears to helping save people from whatever XANA's attack of the day is.

At first this seems like just general character growth where she's saving everyone. And she does still do that. But near the end of the season it seems like she's explicitly making sure the Lyoko Warriors can get out and go save the day.

And again. The Audience can pick up on this, but it's not confirmed yet. They can brush it off as some weird butterfly effect where the others changed something that changed her behavior. Or. Or just a kinda meta sense where 'Oh our Heroes need to be in danger, but they need to also be able to save the day. So we're just focusing on that, right?".

But then I'd have the season finale make it explicitly clear that Sissi knows what's going on and still remembers the rttp.

Then yeah we jump to Season 2 where shit goes sideways and she ends up revealing that she knows.

[glassmarcus]

Tunic: Marcus Bait gone Wrong

*Played in September 2022, Written in November 2022. I will gleefully die on this hill even today. I learned that consumables recharge on death like a month ago, and it just made me hate the game even more. Explain your mechanics you coy bastard!

There's a ton to like about Tunic. It has wonderful environmental story telling, a complex dense world with secrets and shortcuts around every corner, and a charming art style. Its defining gimmick is super clever. The game aims to capture those feelings of being a confused kid playing a cryptic game that can only be navigated using a manual in a foreign language. And I assume it captures it perfectly (never had to do anything like this growing up to be honest). There's very few items to use in this game, but in their place are little pieces of paper. The main object of progression are pages of the in-game manual. This manual is the Heart and Soul of Tunic. It is your map, your exposition, your move list, your tutorial, and your Prima Strategy Guide all in one. Information is explicitly a tool in this game and once you have that knowledge, executing on it is always satisfying. It's like the power was within you the whole time. You know that moment in Super Metroid where you are shown by those aliens how to wall jump and then realize you could have been doing that hours ago? They pretty much turned that into an entire video game. I really dig it. I can also see how it will make subsequent playthroughs far more varied and expedient. Road blocks that you perceived your first time around are later revealed to just be smoke and mirrors. You could have gone straight to that location and gotten that item early if you only knew the true form of the illusion.

Moments where vague plot points and details of the world are revealed just by picking up a page will always stick with me and were truly magical. Tunic is an extremely inventive game and at times had me more captivated than nearly any other title to come out this year. And when you view the 2022 video game roster, and see the savage killers it has to contend with, you can't help but cheer it on. I really wanted to come out of Tunic with it being this surprise favorite I didn't anticipate.

Yea, that didn’t happen

While its world is well crafted (aside from the quarry) and it's gimmick is well executed (aside from the fairies), Tunic fails on a fundamental kinesthetic level. If you know anything about Tunic you probably know it's heavily inspired by Dark Souls and The Legend of Zelda. Probably my 2 favorite video game franchises overall. Tunic is theoretically a hand made present for me. They might as well have sewn my name on the back of it. So I wish I liked it, and am very disappointed that I don't. Now I have so much knowledge of Dark Souls and Zelda that if I start comparing them to this game and pointing out all the things it does right and wrong, we'd be here all day. I had a whole thing written about how this is isometric Dark Souls 2, but way worse. I had a paragraph about the joy of simple top down Zelda combat prepared. But I won't follow through and resist mentioning them for the duration of this write up. I'm not going to go into my perception of what the developers and designers were thinking when they made this either. I will just plainly state the things I hate about it.

The Combat of this game doesn't work. Your swing animations have no weight despite the slow wind up. Every enemy gets knocked back or dodges after 1 or 2 hits. There's no visceral death animation or sound effect to accompany your triumph. The currency you get from kills doesn't have clear value in the beginning of the game and has no value near the end. The camera constantly obscures information about encounters and makes spacing hard to make out. The camera also wildly swings around while locked on to a large enemy, disorienting the fuck out of you. There is ONE weapon and it's not particularly good (You can’t have both long recovery frames AND minuscule hit box range, PICK ONE). Half of the magic spells are garbage. The other half are still magic, thus are limited in use. The Enemies are aggressive and won't leave you alone until you kill them. You also move at an unbearably sluggish stride. Which wouldn’t be huge deal if enemies along the routes you take weren’t such a horrid chore to deal with. Hit boxes just feel wrong sometimes. The parry is a double tap. The game pretty much expects you to be holding the triggers constantly during encounters. The dodge goes too far. There is no satisfaction during combat, after combat, no meaningful reward for combat, and no reasonable way to avoid combat. NOTHING about this was executed correctly. The magic whip mitigates a lot of the issues by removing spacing and movement from the equation and giving a good animation. But like I said, you only get a few uses of this so you can't rely on it being a play style. This is a game full of fighting and they forgot to make the fights fun. You end up killing the same enemies with the same weapon and the same combat loop without any meaningful variation. It's BORING.

If it was just simple isometric hack and slash gameplay I would have been strapped in the whole time. It did not need to be revolutionary, it just needed to be functional. Instead it tries to be this ill-conceived chimera of opposing philosophies. The world design is based off a camera angle that obscures your vision and inherently hides information from you. It's combat assumes you have visual clarity so you can act with precision. These two ideals do not like each other. They do not communicate, they do not collaborate. I don’t know what their beef is. I assume Combat slept with World Design's wife or something. Regardless, they simply do not work together.

What can spice things up are the consumable items. I can't talk much about these because I never used them. Why complain about the combat being monotonous when I'm not using all the tools the game gives me? Because the game never tells me how to use them. Sure, you are given hints. But these are consumables. I'm not going to use them until I know exactly what they do. That's how my brain works. I theorize that's how most people's brains work and I'm sick of pretending this line of thinking is an outlier. If you want me to experiment and figure it out myself, make it unlimited use, otherwise fuck off with this cryptic nonsense. I get that it's the game's thing, but there's a point where it gets obnoxious and this is one of those points. I would have preferred this game had more puzzles and less riddles like the Legend of [redacted], but I accepted that this wasn't how it would go. But at least make the riddles free. I already have to spend time, now I have to spend resources too? Tunic is just a bit too cheeky for me and here it veers into active malice.

The game overall just doesn't feel great because of a lot of conscious design decisions that I don't agree with and animations I felt were underwhelming. But even with the correct decisions and animations I think I picked the wrong game. Or at least the wrong console. This game runs like ASS on the Nintendo Switch. And normally I would blame the Switch and myself for buying that version. But apparently all 8th gen consoles run poorly. The load times are egregious, the frame skips are abominable, and the lighting is unsubtle. The performance issues were not something I got used to like I do with most games, but something that compounded overtime and made me increasingly annoyed.

Mid way through Tunic, I didn't like the combat, but enjoyed the world and what I understood of the narrative. It had potential to be the NieR: Automata of this year for me. A game that transcends the medium in every way, but forgets to polish the core gameplay. Then the end game happened, and the Metroid Prime artifact hunt began. There were no new areas to explore. Just going through the same shit you've been through before. This was when I decided I disliked this game. If it just ended a few hours earlier and didn't have a terrible final boss, I might still be able to call Tunic good, despite all my gripes. But instead of ending on a high note of went out on a fading loop of the chorus. In conclusion: I'm not a fan.

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S3E8 "The Price”

God almighty, it feels good to be back!

A lot's happened since I took my little hiatus - I got a shit-ton of work done, did some writing, found out I was aro-ace, and we finally got Paramount+ over in the UK.

I can't thank you all enough for your patience. Now, let's get back to work...

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise is hosting a gathering of interplanetary dignitaries (try saying that five times fast) who are negotiating for the rights to a stable wormhole discovered by the Barzans which could serve as a valuable shortcut to the Gamma Quadrant.

Overwhelmed by her duties as ship's counsellor, Troi meets one of the negotiators, Devinoni Ral (played by Matt McCoy), and they quickly become enamoured with each other. However, as the negotiations reach a boiling point, suspicions begin to arise about Ral's legitimacy, and whether or not the wormhole is too good to be true.

MY REVIEW

Ah, another Troi-centred episode in which Troi gets the short end of the stick as a character.

Her romance with Ral moves way too fast for my liking, beginning with him entering her quarters without her permission, violating her personal space, caressing her hair and practically inviting himself to dinner later that night, during which he kisses her in a manner which doesn't look very consensual.

Ral: Am I moving too fast for you?

Troi: No... I'm moving too fast for me.

Ral: I like that better.

And here I thought the only Shades of Grey I'd see in Star Trek was a godawful clip show...

However, it is revealed that Ral is actually part empath, and uses these skills to his advantage in negotiations by keeping it a secret. To his credit, we do get to see his skills as a businessman, but it's difficult to take him seriously when we go from him making skilful negotiations to him rubbing Troi's feet.

When Troi confronts him over using his abilities to get a leg up in the dealing process, he tries to justify it by claiming that Troi uses her powers for equally selfish reasons and then leaves like she was in the wrong!

Ral: Now, it's a matter of life and death when you take the advantage. Me, I deal in property, exchanges. Nobody gets hurt. So you tell me: which one of us would you say has more of a problem with ethics?

I'd say the guy who's using his empath abilities to cheat his way into a business deal, asshat!

At least he gets a good scene with Riker to put him in his place. The last time I encountered a side character I despise as much as Ral, he was brought back in a later episode and violently murdered in spectacular fashion. The chances of that happening again are slim, but a guy can dream.

Anyway, the Ferengi invite themselves to the proceedings, and their appearance in this episode begins their transformation from bumbling villains into shrewd businessmen, with much more toned-down performances compared to the snarling and hissing we're used to.

Unsurprisingly, they're also quick to engage in sabotage, incapacitating the Federation representative and leaving Riker to take his place. It seems at this point they were starting to get a better grasp of how to utilise the Ferengi in their storylines.

Riker recommends that they check to see if the wormhole is truly stable, so Data, Geordi and two of the Ferengi take separate shuttles, head through the wormhole... and emerge in the Delta Quadrant.

We then see Troi meeting up with Dr Crusher for their daily yoga (which is apparently a thing) and stretch in skin-tight leotards while talking about men and how Troi is so much more limber today in a scene which I'm sure someone on the production team would insist is very important to the plot.

Sorry, did that scene feel out of place? Jarring, even? Well that's how it's edited in the episode!

Back on the shuttles, Data and Geordi realise that the other end of the wormhole is unstable, and they head back through after failing to persuade the Ferengi to do the same. The exit to the wormhole collapses, and the Ferengi are left stranded over 70,000 lightyears from their ship.

Hmm... a starship crew flung into the Delta Quadrant by forces beyond their control with no means of getting home? Sounds familiar...

As the negotiations draw to a close with Ral seemingly securing a victory, Troi thankfully realises that what Ral told her was a bunch of manipulative bullshit and outs him both as a partial empath and a secret collaborator with the Ferengi!

Data and Troi return, reporting that while their end of the wormhole is stable, the other end constantly shifts places and eventually the wormhole will collapse entirely.

As the Ferengi presumably go to retrieve their lost crewmates (although with an 80-year trip, I doubt it), Ral is left with a worthless wormhole for his troubles. He goes to see Troi one more time (asking permission to enter this time, so at least he's making some progress), spouts some faux-romantic (fauxmantic?) bullshit about realising that he needs to change, and Troi tells him very politely to fuck off.

5/10 - Troi deserves better.

As glad as I am to be back, I wish there'd been a better episode waiting for me.

[lordbloodysoul]

Name:

Karma Doorman

Title:

"Dept Collector of Justice" - "Prosecutor of Consequences" - "Old Man Consequences"

Nicknames:

The Tall Doorman (Papyrus)

G. D. or Guardian/Big G. (the Human Children)

Old Timer, Pal, Buddy or "Karmamel" (Sans)

Old Freckle (Undyne)

Age:

[REDACTED]

Height / Weight:

6 feet 8 inches (or 2.11m) / 87 kg (112kg with entire attire)

Soul Type

"Collective Soul"

// - A Collective Soul shows trades of all known Soul Types and is shielded by a thin membrane of Void. It looks like a blank Soul with a black outline, that has a small pitch dot in its center from which a vibration rolls across the surface of the Soul. Those waves appear in different colors and strokes. To those who are very sensible to Soul Energy, the vibration will sound like an endless army of different voices breathing simultaneously in sync. The rhythm changes wit Karma's state of mind. It has an aroma/flavour that could be described as "a bittersweet taste of Salt and Iron". The feeling it would induces is more reminiscent of Guilt and Foreboding. Like standing before a King with an Executioner looming right behind you. - //

STATS:

LV

[REDACTED] //Next to it often flashes the following message: "I can see ALL your SINS..."//

HP

[REDACTED] // Their HP is so high that even a Critical from the LvL 19 Human affects it as if they would jut do 1 HP damage //

ATTACK

[REDACTED] //Next to it often flashes the following message: "I make the RULES."//

DEFENSE

[REDACTED] //Next to it often flashes the following message: "Your DEPT will be PAID"//

Doorman-Tier:

Tier S - Class S

History:

Karma Doorman is the original "Blueprint" of their kind within the Undertale Universe. Their Soul was a blank, purified Vessel with trades of both Human and Monster Soul. Within it, their creator stored the power of every willing being of the Old Dark's Court, forging a Soul of immense potential. Made from pieces of countless Entities and the Life-Blood of their Creator, this Doorman was chained to the purpose of "SAVING THEM", but left with a free will to decide on how to accomplish that Goal.

Karma's first appearance within the Undertale Multiverse was due to the waking call of UT Sans's Will to struggle against the Genocide Route's Outcome, which gave their existence a physical Form. Before that, they were just a spiritual presence and afterthought, mostly. A Dread looming above the Sinners, Cheaters and Fools of the World.

[!!!SPOILERS WARNING!!! - for those who wish to Read the FanFiction or wait till I get around to making the Comic, since the LITERATURE SUBMIT on DA doesn't allow much creative Freedom, so I have to do a lot of Re-Spacing and Editing on those Parts. This Section will spoil some of the Plot in exchange for Character Build - If you don't want that spoiled, please proceed to the APPEARANCE Section - !!!SPOILER WARNING!!!]

Karma's awakening shook the original Universe of Undertale at its Core, as they proceeded to exterminate the Genocide Timeline by removing the [ERASE] and [RESET]option from the Human Child and blocking the [QUIT] option. Their DETERMINATION exceeded any existent being in this Original Timeline.

After ridding themselves of Chara, Flowey and purifying Frisk's Soul, they continued [REWRITING]the Timeline, forcing Toriel to stay with Asgore and bringing comfort to his broken heart. They dragged Gaster and his Lab Assistants back from the Void and made Sans forget about the RESETS, weakening themself severely in the process.

Karma intervened in many upcoming Events, including saving the original six children, choosing to live with them in the RUINS, due to the absence of Toriel, and kept them save there. They properly locked the Gate towards Snowdin and became Sans's Knock-Knock Pal, as he recovered his strength, while waiting for time to unfold on its own. They dragged a Criminal into the Underground, who would serve as a trigger for Undyne's role in the future as head of the Royal Guards, as well as providing Gaster with a Soul for his research. When Gaster's experiment was about to end in failure, they leaped in and saved the staff, but Sans got struck and began remembering everything again, including his first encounter with Karma.

The Doorman left him that way, on behalf of his own wishes, closing the Rift towards the Void, straining their Soul towards its limits. When Frisk arrived, they were the one waiting for them, accompanied by the other six children. Together, they left the RUINS and began their journey through the Underground in order to reach the True Ending and the last option that would hinder their Safeguard over the Timeline. [TRUE RESET]

Appearance:

Karma Doorman looks like a tall, thin elf, clad in black robes and armor. Their cloak, which always rests on their shoulders, splits into multiple tendrils, which can move freely as separate limbs from the rest of their body. These tentacle-like arms are connected to his back, sprouting straight from a fissure across his spine. Their hair is charcoal black and slightly grayish in color, long flowing and smooth as silk. The eyes are red and always surrounded by a reddish blush, which runs along their pale cheeks.

When his expression and demeanor change, the eye-white turns blackish and their thin lips stretch into a wide, haunting grin. Often accompanied by streams of rusty, reddish liquid welling from underneath the eyes. This happens mostly in situations that call for them to use lots of Energy and Magic. It is due to the affects his tremendously powerful Soul has on their vessel body. The reddish liquid is not blood, but liquid-form Determinationseeping through their entire body. When reaching their limits, Karma often ends up with ripped skin or deep gashing wounds all over, which they have to let heal on their own.

Personality:

Karma was created by the remaining Will and Hope of Sans from across all RESETS, which shaped part of their personality. They are very intelligent and resourceful, with a developing love for puns and witty commentary. Karma sees his job as part of a Game, partially, but takes every step they make with utmost seriousness. They often hide the seriousness of their intentions to seem as less of a threat than they actually are, which paint them often in the lights of a sadistic psycho, rather than a helpful ally.

Karma is very kind, when not chasing after Sinners and Cheaters. As a manifestation of Consequences, their actions are justified in the eye of fate, however the Doorman has their doubts about it, acting to the best of their conscious, trying to find the best way to deal with every situation.

They are a selfless Soul, ready to give everything and more in order to see their goal achieved, which is the happiness of all deserving of it.

The Entity judges all on a fair standpoint, giving anyone the benefit of the doubt if it is present within their actions. Which is why they sowed pity and understanding towards Sans more than to Flowey, Frisk and Chara.

Karma is a follower of the principle of "Mutual Consent". They never force their way, feelings or the likes upon others (unless they need to judge that person for being a dirty Sinner, Cheater or the likes). Knowing that everything in life comes with consequences, they rather stay on a neutral ground till they’re sure of the others intentions.

Likes:

Puns and Humor (by that extend Sans)

Cooking

Baking

helping people

singing - ( he loves humming this Song here)

Children

hunting Sinners and Cheaters

napping

Dislikes:

Sinners and Cheater of all kinds

Mettaton (to some extend, since he finds the Robot quite obnoxious)

too spicy food

Capitalism (they've been trying to kill it off for since they've gained consciousness)

Gender- and Race Labeling (which is why they refer to themself as a "they" and won't accept anyone miss-gender them whatsoever)

Capabilities:

Due to their DETERMINATION, Karma is capable of blocking Tricksters, Sinners and Cheaters from abusing Fortune or, in the case of the Fallen Children and Flowey, the power of RESET. They can exterminate these Options and force their prey to face Consequences, without a backdoor to escape out off. The Entity can also alter the flow of time and space to previous states and interact with Checkpoints (which they mostly destroy instantly). They can reanimate people, by simply restoring their last intact living position. While restoring entire Landscapes and areas, they have to focus their manipulative power into a comfortable shape, which mostly appears as a Ring following near the ground, walls and ceiling behind them.

When they first appeared in the Universe of Undertale, Karma was only visible to a selective few. Mostly those aware of the RESETS. While traveling backwards through the Underground with Sans, they created Rifts within the fabric of the World to quickly advance. Similar in Sans's use of shortcuts only on a basic sense, as these Rifts interconnect on a completely different plain of thought. Like a Road along the weave of Space-Time itself.

Their strength comes not only from their Soul, however. Karma’s power forms from the Will of Justice and Vengeance lingering within the World they inhabit. Since their body was formed by Sans’s recollected strife to stop the fallen child from their murderous rampage, their power connected to it. As such, his memory became vital to their strength, but to ensure their goal was fully achieved, Karma decided to REWRITE him, even at the cost of a fair extend of their own power.

Karma's attack abilities range from direct hands-on Battle to them using their tendrils as extended limbs for range combat. They can use various magics, too.

Since their DETERMINATION is so high, Karma is capable of changing the RULES of Combat. They do so to 'playfully' dispose of their targets.

In such occasions, they like to play "JUDGMENT HELL", a game where he provides their foes with the means to battle them properly. Giving them armor, weapons and item to use. They also stag a persons SIN to their STATS, exceeding the limitations of the Universe’s limitations. Within the game they play the PROSECUTOR, who protects a JUDGE from the ACCUSED. While the ACCUSED try to kill or persuade the JUDGE it is the PROSECUTOR's job to keep the JUDGE save and eliminate the ACCUSED. When an ACCUSED perishes, they will be respawned with a penalty to their STATS. When the HP reaches 1, the next strike will indefinitely kill the ACCUSED. They will be erased with the severity of their sins burning their bodies and souls out of current existence. The PROSECUTOR can't act on their own, besides shielding the JUDGE. The JUDGE has full reign over their actions and decides if a person is worth of MERCY or not.

The Doorman is capable of all Magic Abilities. During Combat, Karma uses mostly White, Black and Red Attacks, although they like changing their Style up on the fly sometimes. Fighting them is quite the bad idea, due to them not acting upon the RULE of attacks having to always be in the same repeating patterns. Each of Karma's attacks is acting like a Critical Strike or Instant Kill Move, which makes the experience that much more frustrating. They also can slay foes straight outside of an open FIGHT.

For more casual activities, Karma uses their power of levitation for transport or just simply sitting in a floating position. They multi-task via their tendrils a lot, often preferring them over their own arms and hands. They can use healing magic to quickly close wounds, set bones or just giving a soothing warmth to distressed people. They usually, however, don't use that much magic overall. Only if it is absolutely required or helpful in aiding their goal or people in need.

Karma possesses the special ability of "REWRITE", which allows him to change any aspect of a Location, Item. Person or Rule. With this ability, they can change the flow of the world to befit their purpose. A REWRITE can only be undone by them or an outer-worldly Impact of similar Determination Power, which is rare.

Due to their massive STATS, which broke the readable Range of the World by a margin, attempting to destroy them via Battle is basically pointless. Bargaining with them will be seen as an insult, which often results in harsher punishment, while accepting ones fate is probably the smartest option.

Karma's destructive power can be placed easily above the power of most living beings in the Undertale Multiverse, however, he would struggle against other Doormen of their own respective Tier.

Relations:

Karma, throughout their journey will befriend many Monsters.

Sans will become their first friend among many, as they take the Role of Toriel after the REWRITE. Papyrus they meet briefly in his early childhood, but won't become a friend to the till later. They will bond with Undyne over a match of strength and perseverance.

The human children, as they fall one by one into the Underground, will end up being raised by them. They refer to them as their Guardian or Big G. for short. Karma collects them and ensures their safety while staying in the RUINS, up until Frisk appears. The children take a shine to them, as they cared for them, teaching them to accept monsters as part of their lives.

POTENTIAL SPOILER:

Similar to Sans growing an affection towards Toriel during the outplay of the Original Timeline, in the REWRITE he grows quite fond of them as they do of him.

In the Canon of the series, the two agree on a relationship based on both of their loss at what to do or expect from the newfound freedom they fought for. The human children encourage their romantic interest in one another, much to Karma's displeasure, as they are completely estranged to the whole romance business. Going even so far as to stopping Frisk multiple times, during their adventure, from flirting with every Monster they encounter.

Trivia:

Karma has no recollection of anything prior to their awakening to sentience. For all they've known, they were always a part of Undertale.

However, Sans and Papyrus both commented on "having seen their eyes somewhere before" and that this was not something good they've remembered.

It spun a bit of curiosity around their mind, which always leaves a bad aftertaste behind.

--------------

[making-my-escape]

The Outlander «Deep Heart’s Core» reaction

Please, someone talk to me, I'm properly frustrated. I find this particular episode bitterly disappointing. For me it's the weakest one of the whole show (plot-wise). I do understand when show-runners have no other choice but to change the original material (if it's too complicated to put on screen unedited or too expensive to film). But with «Deep heart's core» (respective book chapters) it was entirely possible to keep considerable part of vital dialogs without exceeding episode's time limit, so everything would be fine. Nevertheless Starz chose to «reinvent the wheel». And look what's happened. 

We didn't get to see: a) How The Fraser's learnt their way to be a family. We jumped almost right into the domestic bliss instead. While the story could have become more believable if we had seen that it took actual time and effort to establish the relationship, even when everyone was willing.   

b) How Jamie ached to be a Father, but yet Brianna wasn't ready to meet his expectations. She genuinely tried to please Jamie, being fond of him, but at the same time she didn't want to betray Frank. At the start Jamie & Brianna didn't even communicate directly. Claire helped them. It would have been so sweet to see their small steps toward each other. 

c) How it was not Bree, who brought up Frank Randall a lot, but Jamie himself. Isn't it a more interesting angle? Fraser can't stop comparing himself to Randal, can't let him go. He sees that Frank had a huge impact on his women and this feeling bothers Jamie. It makes us see that JAMMF is just a man, and not an irreproachable being (as he's at least partly portrayed in the show). 

So «behind the scenes» of this episode contains huge chunk of small but important stuff that didn't make it to the screen. And I dare to say, for a lot of people the special magic of The Outlander is right in these tiny details described above. Why all of a sudden Starz decided to leave them out? They managed to get through 3 seasons without unnecessary alterations well enough. I can't remember any other episode violated so much (well, In fact I can, but as I said, if it's impossible to shoot, I'm totally ok with shortcuts and changes). 

What I really don't like about «Deep heart's core» it's how the first part of the episode is all about things going very wrong very fast (too wrong and too fast, if it comes to that) while the second part is awfully stuck in pointless «plastic» out-of-character conversations and behavior. 

They've even changed the way Jamie «found out» about Brianna's pregnancy. That is another miss. From Jamie's perspective his wife and daughter had betrayed him, keeping the rape a secret. He's boiling with rage, but also helpless, heartbroken, and devastated. Still he keeps all these unpleasant feelings in. No matter what. 'Cause he knows what it's like to be raped, and he needs to be there for his daughter. It took all his strength but he was as gentle with Brianna as it was possible. Read this, you'll enjoy the scene. And don’t forget to delete «Unwed-pregnant-daughter-can’t-be-what-you-hoped-for» bullshit from your memory. Such lame stuff belongs with cheap soap operas, which The Outlander is not. 

Also there's Claire, who's in deep distress. Torn between her love for Jamie and her motherly bond with Brianna. There's no peace between her and her husband. And that's the whole different level of the story, though let's not get into that. @holdhertightandsayhername wrote it better here

What I'm trying to say is that for me reading these pages was like playing Minesweeper (do you remember the game?). Every next move is harder to make, because it's more likely to cause an explosion. So by the time characters got into the huge «revelation fight» I felt like a tightly coiled spring myself. But watching this episode was nowhere near that. All we saw was Jamie's injured hand in a «wee accident», and literary just one phrase «Your mother told me what happened». Followed by tonnes of incoherent shouting.  

And why make such an idiot of Ian? Whether we remember it or not, Jamie was a man of 18th century. That added up to the existing tension. He naturally saw things not like Bree or Claire. Even made several intrusive efforts to arrange Brianna's future for her (including Ian's proposal), which gradually infuriated his daughter more and more. All good intentions notwithstanding. 

But that part was also left off-screen. As well as other dialogs that showed Jamie's perspective (his deep concern for Brianna's reputation — because public opinion was a huge thing in 1700s — his wish for another child of his blood, etc.). So when Brianna hit (!) her Da screaming «You are self-righteous bastard», it did seem to me a little bit too far-fetched. But not as over-the-top far-fetched as when a second later Jamie lost his shit, sounding almost panicked «I'll-make-it-up-to-you-please-just-don't-be-mad». Man, really, what could be more out of character?   

Finally, the last third of the episode in general, the heck was that? Fellow bookreaders, am I the only one who doesn't get it? And what all these long scenes with Roger walking nearly-dead with Indians were for? They could have cut it in half and still be able to make their point. The lad horribly suffered «for nothing» and was determined to escape. I want to hear more from Roger, but only when he really has something «to tell». Besides, dear Indians, why to buy a man only to exhaust him to death on the road? Doesn't make much sense. 

3 more episodes are totally enough to conclude the season. But it depends on how to tell the story. So haters gonna hate, lovers gonna love, readers gonna read, and I just gonna hope the narrative gets better. The Outlander is a truly amazing story. It deserves to be directed accordingly. 

P.S. Please, forgive my messed-up grammar and overdramatic way of describing things. English is not my native language, I've never written such a long text before.

Also all these pretty GIFs aren’t mine. I took them here. Please follow @outlander-online for more amazing content.