#3d feels actively hostile

[luxrayz64]

angry about saw 3d again im going to rant abt the public execution trap

so like, the public execution trap is innately sexist as all hell and tina is a caricature of a woman. the basic premise is this:

brad and ryan, two college students, are sitting opposite to each other with a spinning saw blade between them. their girlfriend tina, another college student who has been cheating on them both and manipulating them to 'do crimes' for her, is hung up on the ceiling above them, dropping down towards the blade. brad and ryan can either leave the sawblade where it is, killing tina when she drops on to it, or they can fight and kill the other, saving tina in the process.

for starters, tina is the kind of character that like. if I asked a 4chan user to describe the behaviour of women to me, they'd probably describe tina one to one. she's a conniving vixen, basking in the attention these two men are giving her and playing them both. when the game starts, she tries to play them, cheering for whoever is winning and claiming she's 'always loved him', until the other gains the upper hand at which point she switches teams, indicating her two faced, selfish nature. this is an opening trap - we are not granted any more time with these three characters. we know that she is a manipulative bitch, and that's all.

chad and bryan aren't particularly different in this regard. they're just as flat as tina is. they're both stupid frat bros easily egged on by the closest woman giving them attention. I'm going to be honest I don't remember which is which but until tina switches sides when white boy 1 overpowers white boy 2, they're both eager to save her and kill the other. white boy 1 catches onto this though, and he and white boy 2 agree that the other is not their enemy. they allow tina to drop onto blade, one of them exclaiming 'tina, I think we're breaking up with you!' right before she is gruesomely murdered in front of them.

from the character's perspective, this is justified. she was, after all, playing them both. without a doubt it is a horrible position to be in, but in the context of their relationship troubles, both white boys are innocent, more or less. neither of them knew that tina was dating the other. she was hurting them both, and didn't really care about either of them, switching teams to try and save herself without a care as to which one made it.

but it's always important to remember that someone created these characters and this situation.

tinas character is a sexist trope, a whore who plays with men for her own gratification. she's a succubus, leading innocent men down the path of evil, and this is how she is played. she is costumed so her cleavage is on display, she's been manipulating these boys into committing crimes for her (this is not elaborated on), and letting her die is framed as the correct choice. her death is a punchline, one of the frat bros dropping a one liner right before she is murdered.

she is the one who did the most wrongdoing, cheating on her partners and pushing them to crime on her behalf, but notably, it's not her test! she has absolutely no power in the situation. instead, the two men are being tested - will they continue fighting each other to save her in spite of the pain she's caused them, or will they acknowledge that they are both her victims and work together at her expense? her life is in their hands.

someone wrote a woman who is manipulating two young men, in which the two men agreeing to let her die is the correct and cathartic option. her death isn't something to be mourned, it's to be celebrated.

and look. if it were just this scene, maybe it would be fine. it would still be gross for the reasons outlined, but it wouldn't make me side eye the entire creative team behind this movie as much. but it isn't just this game.

there are 6 individual games (public execution, horsepower trap + the 4 from bobby's larger game) played in this movie. 5/6 feature a female hostage who is entirely powerless and must be saved by a man. none of them survive. this is totally ignoring the treatment of jill tuck, one of this movie's protagonists who gets not one, but two different deaths in this movie in which she is horribly murdered by another man, and both are framed as something to be excited about.

you're allowed to kill women off. you're allowed to write about toxic evil women who convince men to do bad things. but come on dude. when not a single one of the women in your movie are written with more than one personality trait, aren't allowed to be anything more than a damsel, you need to start looking inward. what the fuck did they put in the water in 2010 that made everyone working on this movie hate women this much

[luetta]

[bellshazes]

companion to my bdubs best-of, here's a cheat sheet of my personal favorite etho mindcrack episodes. going to organize this by topic, then miscellaneous stuff by season under the cut. because there is so much.

king of the ladder is one of the best, although you might want to watch the sky shrooms prank episodes leading up to it too. best hour you'll ever spend watching people climb a ladder over and over. sick aerial maneuvers.

boat prank with doc - boat boy! boat boys.

team canada - the first big prank on zisteau, and the painting one - payback will be a bitch. also, ???.

obsidian coffin prank - bdubs falsely claims etho pranked him, so etho builds bdubs a numbers puzzle. of death.

onion pranked - team boobee gifts etho one of his favorite foods.

fun house prank and von sway - a new architectural design style is born.

death games - in order to avenge pause, etho hunts his friends for sport but says if they kill each other, they can increase the amount of times etho will kill the other person. sometimes fails, but also this absolutely spectacular kill on nebris using respawn mechanics to surprise is so good. see also hostility rises.

death games 2.0 - now server-wide opt-in event in the following season. bdubs (and guude) try to kill etho. civil war and an arkas kill.

mass pvp - arena fight night, LENS BATTLE. spawn UHCs, arkasdam pvp,

horsegirl activities - the horse drive-thru, beyonc? and taylor swift, a horse timer, doing wheelies,

season 1

nether project - taking one for the team, etho begins his first nether hub construction in classic nether brick and sandstone. later expanded with help from the b-team.

nice prank - please enjoy this kevin mcleod speed cleaning montage. if you can.

bdoubleo - just before the trial, etho and bdubs discuss their upcoming court case while making trees, 3D cubes, and a big hole at spawn. tune in next to the etho vs the b-team trial to find out why he's got chocolate on his knees.

the underside - etho finds out he's got a roommate and continues his quest for an anvil kill.

the pet shop - etho prepares to open his extremely legitimate, fully-licensed, no illegal activity pet shop and feels just so bad for the poor b-team. also, this is the first episode hoppers existed, which has nothing to do with his new quartz generator.

king of the boat - a bunch of people come together to fix bdubs' flammable arena. shenanigans ensue.

seinfeld fans - etho shows beef his new trivia game.

pvp lesson with generikb - etho teaches pvp skills and learns a new word.

season 2

nether hub again - the nether hub falls on etho again but bdubs pitches in this time. ghost zombies, quartz tragedies, etho's little buddy (betrayal)

i feel fine - etho is NOT sick, tells firework stories while helping with doc's perimeter and helps bdubs fishing rod kill a piglin.

canadian killers - etho's escort service, live, from pauseunpause's gaping hole.

this one just for the wither kill at the end.

workers shack - i literally just love this build fr. he steals bdub's color scheme. for more arena work, see capture points, the layout, bed respawn, death counter, arena chit chat,

[alertarchitect]

I genuinely do not understand The Discourse around Palworld. Now, for full transparency, I don't really particularly care about the game, I've not played it, nor do I plan to. I'd rather stick with my FPS games and metroidvanias. I'm probably the closest to being a neutral party on the issue you can find in the gaming community. That being said...

Stop with all of the "[Megacompany X] needs to call their lawyers!!" nonsense. Yes, they have designs that look like Pokémon. Yes, they have designs that look like Monster Hunter monsters. However, I have one important question here...

Why the hell do you care?

First off, we're talking ripoff designs of IPs owned by companies that make profits in the billions. These companies, especially Nintendo, have - or at least have access to - very good lawyers. Do you really think Palworld - a game made by a company based in Japan, the SAME COUNTRY as the companies I see people saying are having their designs stolen, meaning this theoretical lawsuit would be 100% domestic instead of bringing the headaches associated with an international suit - would have made it to release if Nintendo, Capcom, or any other company had standing for a plagiarism lawsuit? Especially when Japan doesn't have fair use laws? That, to me, already tells me these designs are clearly in the "legally distinct ripoff" category, and that's okay. Obviously plagiarism isn't a good thing, but if this was close enough to be considered such under laws that don't include fair use provisions, it's FINE. Even if it's not the most ethical, ripoffs and bootlegs are gonna happen. This one is just has more publicity than most.

Second, these are - again - billion-dollar companies that make more money than most people can even truly comprehend. Why are you defending them so much? No matter how much I may like the older Pokémon games, such as Platinum, we are talking about one of, if not the single most profitable franchise on the fucking PLANET. Not only does it not need Random Schmuck #582183 to defend it online, the people behind it likely don't fucking CARE. The Pikémon Company is like 50% or more owned by Nintendo, which is a company that - as we've seen time and again with their takedowns of passionate fan projects with 0 profit incentive such as AM2R as well as their draconian YouTube content policies for creators - doesn't care about their fans at the best of times, and is actively hostile towards them more often than not. Why do so many people defend these large corporations like doing so is going to get you a "thank you" letter from Miyamoto? Why are you supporting massive billionaires like your life depends on it over some 3D models that, as previously established, are more in the "legally distinct ripoff" category than anything else? Are you so invested in their corporate wellbeing that you feel the need to try and do their PR & legal teams' jobs for them?

At the end of the day, Palworld is a game made by a team that seems genuinely passionate about their craft, that has been a fun experience for many people across the world. Let those people have their fun. And if the designs being ripoffs is such a problem for you, just don't buy the game. Simple as that. If you're that worried, let the notoriously litigious companies like Nintendo handle it. Don't try to be an ass to people just having fun in a video game. Hell, if you're so convinced this is a case of direct plagiarism, just stop supporting the people making stuff about it like we did with the people who played the Shitty Wizard Game. Obviously this issue is nowhere near as bad, as it's just a case of ripoff designs instead of people financially supporting an anti-semitic, racist TERF who sees financial support of her franchise as support for her ideals and uses the platform that gives to call for things like trans genocide, but the principle is the same in practice - just don't support it or anything to do with it, and chill the hell out.

[estercity]

catherine full body first impressions before i disappear again 👍

idk if so much has changed between catherine and full body because its been years since i played the first game but from what i'm seeing there's much more character focus this time. there's more context to vincent's relationships with both catherine's AND his friends which is nice to see, as well as more relationship mechanics to give them focus. there's a lot more inclusion of erica as well, she seems much more part of the friendgroup this time and it's missing that Hostility vincent had for her in the first game. there's also much less tongue in cheek about her gender which... thank god lmao.

i love the extra animated cutscenes showing flashbacks and bonus scenes which help explain why these relationships spiral so quickly. the animation is kind of... eh. like it's not awful but since those animated segmants were few and far between in the original game you really notice them now that there's so many. idk if it's me as well but i don't remember the 3d animation being so animated? like it was definately exaggerated because of atlus' distinct style but the voice acting just doesn't match the energy at all, which makes it weird to watch

i think they're trying to make katherine more 'likable' aka 'softer' than she was in the og game (they flat out call her maternal which is 😒 okay.) and... i don't hate it? because i get why they're doing it, it's to emphasise she's like the comfortable and safe option for vincent vs catherine but at the same time i LIKED how much of a hardened buisness-orienated woman she was in the first game. it really showed she represented the 'order' to catherine's 'chaos', but she's still that in a lot of ways so it's whatever.

they hint at catherine's two-faced nature much earlier on now, which again i understand but i don't love it. i guess it's a symptom of it being an atlus remake where they expect you to have played the first game before playing the remake, which i think is stupid but its whatever. either way i wish they'd let it build up more

overall vincent is just so much more likeable so far. idk if that's a symptom of including rin, which if it is things are going to get very rough. outside of him being the scumbag he is though, he seems way more pathetic than just actively dislikable... and that's also because of how the nightmare sequences are framed, but i don't really want to get into that rn until i've played some more and confirmed some things.

rin is a bit shoehorned in but i don't think there's any other way she could have been included tbh, she is a new character and atlus doesn't really know how to introduce new characters without it feeling disjointed lol.

anyway, i like it so far. i can't wait for it to all go wrong

[1eos]

speaking of nerds, i hate how the narrative that "girls don't like nerds/geeks solely bc they are nerds/geeks" is so rampant when so many of them are actively creepy and misogynistic and actively harass female nerds off of their spaces. and then they wonder why girls avoid them lmao 😬😬 and to a lesser extent, it also implies that girls are not capable of having nerdy interests smh

speak on it!!! like the bullshit abt girls not liking nerdy shit is fake af its just traditionally nerdy spaces are hostile to ladies n gays nd god forbid you're a woman of color. i remember when i was younger i wanted to get into collecting comic books but there was no way in hell me OR my momma was gonna go into excalibur 😂😂😂😂 be fucking fr. if having open interests wasn't seen as an open invitation for harassment shittttt a lot more girls would feel comfortable to explore the nerdverse. omg i remember once i was in my college's student union playing my 3ds waiting for my friends to show up and this boy just fucking GETS ALL UP IN MY PERSONAL SPACE trying to see what im playing and had the nerve to look shocked when i went off on him like cishet men make so much of life's joys unbearable idk how they can stand to walk the earth

[petal-monster]

You can also read this article over on >> Neocities <<

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With the surprise release of a remaster for the switch, there's been a resurgence of interest in Retro Studio’s Metroid Prime, the first 3D entry in the Metroid series. Prime is the first and best received game in a trilogy of first person adventures. Its immediate sequel, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, is conversely regarded as a kind of black sheep. Echoes is unfairly maligned for a handful of design choices that distinguish it from the original Prime. These decisions make the game more hostile—and more interesting.

The core gameplay loop of Metroid games is straightforward: while you try to progress through a science-fiction world, you periodically come up against obstacles that are presently insurmountable. These are sometimes arbitrary (e.g. a locked and coloured door), and other times a little more diegetically interesting (e.g. a magnetic rail), but the basic idea is always the same: you must go out and find an appropriate upgrade to Samus' arsenal, which functions as a "key" to these "locks" impeding your progress. Consider a recurring example: hazardous environments. In most Metroid games, there is an area your character cannot traverse without suffering continuous damage. This acts as a form of environmental gating. You cannot get through this area without dying, and so must leave in search of an upgrade which will allow you to travel through without consequence.

In its adaptation of this convention, Echoes distinguishes itself from other Metroid games. Prime 2 is set on Aether, an alien world that has been dimensionally split through the impact of a radioactive comet. Large chunks of the planet now exist in a parallel universe, and the sentient race who inhabit Aether (the ‘Luminoth’) have been locked in constant war with this alternate universe's monstrous inhabitants, who invade the primary planet's surface through interdimensional portals. By the time protagonist Samus Aran arrives on Aether, this conflict has been raging for fifty years, and the Luminoth have been driven to near extinction. In order to save the Luminoth—and herself—Samus must venture through the enemy’s interdimensional gateways and into Dark Aether.

Players familiar with Metroid’s conventions will understand the function of Dark Aether immediately. Its atmosphere is toxic, which makes any attempt at progression without protection apparently suicidal. Unlike most such environments, though, the player must venture onwards anyway. As the player proceeds through the perilous otherworld they discover remnants of the Luminoth's own attempts to explore their enemies territory: ‘light crystals’ are scattered about the land, that once activated create small pockets of protection from the poisonous atmosphere. These crystals are small and spread out: the player is forced to dash from one bubble of safety to the next, their health ticking down whenever they are unshielded. This is not the only threat in Dark Aether. The tenebrous creatures that inhabit this terrible world try to stop Samus at every turn, forcing the player into combat with fluid-like enemies who can navigate the environment with overwhelming spatial freedom. Even if you were unconstrained by the boundaries of protective light, these creatures would still outclass you.The whole experience is tense and uncomfortable, and feels distinctly disempowering—an unusual emotion, for the franchise.

This is, of course, a temporary state of affairs. At the climax of the first major segment in Dark Aether the player defeats a boss monster and finds a suit upgrade that allows them to freely manoeuvre through the shadow realm. At least, that's what you are meant to assume. The Dark Suit (as it is called) is not actually a complete barrier. It provides some protection, but that just means the toxic atmosphere eats at you just a little bit slower. To make matters worse, from this point on light crystals are spread out much thinner, and soon the player is compelled to fight shockingly difficult mini-bosses in arenas that don't have any safe zones at all—battles where time is as much an enemy as the boss itself.

Dark Aether is, above all else, oppressive. Everything about it is uncomfortable. It looks poisonous and sounds even worse: strange noises drone against the music while Samus's suit sizzles in contact with the atmosphere. Its inhabitants are corrupted variations on wildlife from the planet proper, or else, utterly unique shape-shifting creatures of darkness. Its air and water eat at you constantly and unavoidably. Brief solace from the corrosive environment is found only around forgotten relics: ruins from a war of extinction. Ruins that did not, and could not, protect their creators—a fact you're keenly reminded of each time you come across a Luminoth corpse, or face off against their war machines, long since corrupted by the world they were built to destroy.

Metroid games have always used the harsh environments of their alien worlds as a way to gate player progress, but Metroid Prime 2 takes this bare mechanic and turns it into a narrative device, using it as a kind of characterization. Dark Aether isn't just another lava filled cavern: it is not just inhospitable, but rather actively, volitionally hostile. One feels as if the world itself has agency—as if it hates you as much as it seems to hate everything else under the light. Dark Aether was born of a cataclysm, and has spent every waking moment since trying to consume its mother-world. It will eat you too, if you let it.

[pinkarachnia]

Lesbian Anime Review #4 - Otherside Picnic

I picked this one to watch after I read the interview with Iori Miyazawa, who wrote the source material novel. I would have a beer with Iori.

The setup here is that there are two girls (great start). They’re adults who drink beer. Both of them have, through different circumstances, found gateways to another world that they call The Otherside (urasekai). I don’t think this anime is an isekai though. The Otherside doesn’t function like your usual isekai fare with the expected suite of fantasy tropes. It’s a dark reflection of earth populated with monsters that just want to kill you or make you go insane. The girls meet up and then decide to make a living from going to the Otherside to fight monsters and then sell the spoils to a researcher they know back on normal earth. Then they start falling in love because why else would I be here

I’m happy that the characters aren’t in high school. Huge plus for me. I don’t think they ever say exactly how old they are but I think they’re university students. They must be at least 20 because they drink alcohol. I like that they use very mundane methods for fighting monsters. The method is guns! These girls are carrying weapons around that they would for sure get in trouble for if someone found them out. Good for them, you love to see some crime in your gay anime.

I think the Otherside is cool. It gives me kind of a dark souls vibe because all the creatures there are extremely hostile and it looks like an ancient version of earth that’s fallen to ruin. I don’t know if they explore any more of it later in the story, but it seems so far like the monsters can’t be communicated with and they always turn to violence immediately. The protagonists never seem to question whether it’s right or wrong for them to shoot to kill, but then they’re usually attacked first. It might be cool to see them do more with that if they animate more of the novels.

I don’t have many criticisms, but a few things stuck out to me that could be improved. The show is presented from the perspective of one of the two girls, the one that’s presented as being plain looking and introverted. Her love interest is outgoing and spontaneous. Kind of get manic pixie dream girl vibes from her.

I don’t think they do a good enough job of letting the main character be her own character. She has a backstory that I won’t spoil, but it’s not a happy one. Despite that she just acts like a normal person aside from being an introvert and not having any friends. She’s practically an audience self insert character, which feels disappointing to me. If you’re going to give your character some kind of trauma, maybe let that define them just a little bit? I feel like I don’t know anything about this character as a person.

My second and more major gripe is with the CGI. I don’t have an issue with anime that uses CGI where appropriate. I get that if you want to animate a crowd of people or complicated machinery or combat scenes it can be a lot more convenient to use 3D models, but I think they use them way too much in this show, and what’s worse is that the models just look bad to me. It’s really easy to spot when it changes from 2D to 3D and they do this for any shot further away than medium distance when the main characters are doing a physical activity. It makes for mediocre looking scenes and really breaks my immersion.

I’d love to see another season of this. Since it was only 2021, I'm still holding onto some hope. While I have my issues with the quality of the presentation at times, I still liked this enough to recommend it. The yuri elements are present through the whole narrative since the main character is only really subjecting herself to horrors on the reg because she has a crush.

If I can find a way to read the books for this, I'd be interested to see where they go with it. I might come back to this review once I can do that. Or I might not.

Pros

ADULTS

Be gay

Do crimes

Dark Souls

Cons

Bad CGI

Main character too bland for me

And I’m giving this one a 7/10

[utside]

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[meowmeowuchiha]

Akatsuki based on how they play Minecraft

Hidan- Kills anything and everything he can. He will only actively work at anything just to kill some sort of boss, like the ender dragon or the wither. Dies a lot, due to his aggressive game play and being used to being immortal irl. Cusses out the game every time he dies.

Kakuzu- Trades with Villagers. A lot. Just keeps accruing emeralds and gold he will never spend on anything. Eventually he winds up with ten chests all filled to the brim with emerald and gold BLOCKS. That's it.

Itachi- Resides in a village, acting as a sort of protector. He only kills actively hostile mobs, and manages to breeze through pillager raids. Spends a ridiculous amount of time trying to perfect his house because it has to be "just right".

Konan- enjoys creative mode, especially because she can make giant, blocky versions of her favorite origami, and of Ame in general. Doesnt play a WHOLE lot.

Pain/Nagato- Doesn't play. Refuses to, he has better things to do.

Zetsu- White Zetsu thinks it's fun and likes playing in peaceful and building giant forests. Black Zetsu thinks the whole thing is a stupid waste of time.

Sasori- only plays in creative. Takes too fucking long to acquire materials otherwise. Will typically use it to build virtual, 3D conceptual puppets to get it looking just right before building the ACTUAL puppet. That's it, though. He views it as more of a tool than something fun.

Deidara- Doesn't feel like building things, really. Constantly wandering the infinite map, and mines exclusively using TNT on the surface, and beds in the nether. He winds up killing a LOT of creepers to fund his TNT hobby. One time, in survival, built a one block giant column starting from the bedrock, then lit the whole thing up and watched as the gigantic hole formed. He considers it his best virtual work, because anything he attempts that's bigger just makes the game crash.

Kisame- Definitely kills a lot of things, but nowhere near as much as Hidan. He likes the challenge of different difficulties and will often refuse to wear anything but low level armor just so killing all these enemies is actually challenging. Unlike Hidan, he doesn't die all that often, and when he does, he simply views it as a learning experience.

Obito- Loves building a sprawling metropolis of a village in peaceful survival mode, no monsters to worry about. Still refuses to go mining in caves, though. He likes to collect name tags and name all the Villagers after his favorite people. One of the nitwit Villagers is named 'Bakashi' and another one is named 'Bakakashi'

[alfredosauce50]

Avatar 01

01 - First contact Wordcount: 5, 968 Disclaimer: This is a crossover with the film “Avatar” (2009) A/N: Spoken Na’vi that is translated into English in dialogue will be indicated with “italics”. Allen’s name will be unchanged for clarity, but his name and yours are meant to be of a Na’vi derivative. The reader is referred to as she/her.

Avatar - 01 First contact

Unobtanium was what they called it.

The name made a lot more sense than every other element in the periodic table. It was nearly impossible to obtain. The mineral fetched a pretty coin as a result, and one of the richest unobtanium deposits just so happened to sit right under a Na’vi settlement. The Omaticaya clan.

And the RDA wanted all of it.

The next morning, he, Arthur, and Grace walked into the link room to their link units. Arthur walked beside her while he trailed behind in his wheelchair.

“So, how much link time have you logged?”

“About five-hundred and twenty hours.”

She nodded, looking at him approvingly.

“That’s good,” Grace then held out a hand to gesture at the links. “You’re in there. And you’re here.” The marine made a sharp turn to roll himself to the said unit. “How much have you logged?” The tone wasn’t a curious one. But as if he’d let that discourage him.

“Zip. But I read a manual.” Alfred mused, eyeing the machine that looked like a cross between a coffin and an MRA scanner. The doctor spun to him with flat-out awe, but it wasn’t the commendable type.

“Tell me you’re joking.”

Alfred pressed a few fingers into the mint-colored cushioning inside for a soft squelch. He grinned out of amusement. “This is cool.” He laughed breathily, lifting himself up with a huff. He always liked the feeling of memory foam. While he grabbed onto his legs to pull them up, Grace reached out for them to help him. “Don’t—I got this.”

She shrugged, turning away to activate the link.

“So, you just figured you’d come out here, to the most hostile environment known to man, with no training of any kind, and see how it went?” The way she put it had Alfred stifling back a laugh. But the smile still showed. Maybe, it was stupid what he was doing. But he took what he got. It wasn’t a question of why, anymore. It was a question of why not?

“What was going through your head?” She finished.

“Maybe I was sick of doctors telling me what I couldn’t do.” He glanced at her. Grace stared back at him wordlessly. Something that wasn’t completely stupid came out of his mouth for once.

“Biometrics are good,” A woman wearing a headset said, tapping away on a keyboard in front of a glass monitor. The screen in question showed a 3D scan of the Avatar’s brain activity.

“Link three is ready,” Kiku spoke.

Alfred leaned back into the cushion which had a body-shaped dent.

“Keep your arms in, hands in,” Grace pulled over some wiring over his chest. Alfred lifted his head to stare at it curiously. “Head down,” She pushed him down, but he couldn’t help lifting it again. “Down.”

The marine had no choice but to admire the machine from where he was. “Just relax and let your mind go blank,” She loomed over him, keeping her hand attached to the hood’s latch.

“That shouldn’t be hard for you.”

The hood lowered and clicked shut.

When he opened his eyes again, he’d wake up in an entirely different room in an entirely different body. His vision was so blurry, he could barely make out the clouds of color around him. What he could make out, was a woman’s voice calling his name in drawn-out echoes. “Alfred, can you hear me?”

The med-tech watched his expression intently while another flashed a torch into both eyes. They were both wearing oxygen masks.

His pupils shrunk when they picked up the light. “Pupillary reflex is good.”

Somebody snapped their fingers outside his ears, both of which, twitched back from the sound.

“Pinna response normal. How are you feeling, Alfred?” A woman leaned in. He peered at the both of them in a dazed manner.

“Hey, guys.” Alfred smiled floatily.

“Welcome to your new body, Alfred.” The male tech smiled. Without hesitation, Alfred looked down at himself, lifted his arms, and wriggled his fingers. His hands were blue. And kind of long.

“Woah-ho!” He gasped.

“Good,” The female tech continued. “Are feeling any dizziness or numbness?” He couldn’t bother answering any of those questions when he was so focused on getting used to his body. Arthur was on the gurney next to him, and he’d already managed to sit up to do coordination exercises, for God’s sake.

Alfred had to take this to the next level. He wanted to check something he’d been wanting to check ever since he heard he’d be remotely piloting a new body.

Using his arms to support himself, he sat up.

“Well, if you want to sit up, that’s fine.” She added.

“Okay, good. Just take it easy.” The male tech held out a hand behind him subconsciously. “Take it nice and slow, Alfred. Good.”

He saw his legs. Strong, and most importantly, still functional. Giving his toes a wiggle, he laughed out of amazement as he took in the sensation. He could actually feel something down there. His ass flat on the gurney, thighs, calves, feet, everything.

“Holy shit.” He breathed excitedly.

“Aw, are you wriggling your toes?” The woman mused. He continued twirling his feet eagerly.

“Good, good, that’s great—” The male tech added. “Distal motor control is good. Good, Alfred.”

“Are you feeling any numbness or pain?”

Fuck this! He had enough of sitting around when he could be outside, running. Turning to the side and planting his feet on the floor, he relished the feeling of the cold hard ground. That immediately alarmed the med techs who frantically instructed him to stop.

“Woah, woah, woah, take it easy. Slow down.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, okay?”

Those were the exact string of words he needed to hear to do exactly that—get ahead of himself. While his blood pumped with adrenaline, his body prepared itself for the most energized sprint in his life. With his tail swishing around violently, he balanced his weight on his feet and stood up slowly.

“Alfred, you need to sit down. We still have some coordination tests to run—” The female med-tech ran in front of him. But he never even realized when his towering height rendered her impossible to see. “—you need to listen to me and sit down.”

“Guys, get him back on the gurney, now,” Kiku instructed by the window. He watched anxiously as the scene got hairier by the second. Alfred never listened. Instead, he continued staggering from side to side to stabilize himself. “Shit.”

His tail whipped around uncontrollably, swatting at the med-techs’ faces. “Sit down, Alfred!”

Alarm bells went off in everybody’s head.

“Get your ass back on the gurney, now!” The male med-tech ordered. “I don’t wanna sedate you!”

“No, it’s okay! I got this.” Alfred held out his hands protectively as he stumbled around. He was actually walking on his own! “Haha, check it out!”

“Come on, Alfred.” Arthur retorted. He added this heatedly, hoping he could somehow get through the marine’s thick, albeit empty skull. “They’re actually gonna put you out. Just sit down!”

“This is very dangerous!” Kiku exclaimed.

Alfred slammed up against the window with a hand on it, startling the scientist into taking a step back.

“This is great.” He grinned deviously. Itching to take a literal leap into the outdoors, he gave the room one last glance before leaving, swatting off the medical equipment of a trolley with his tail in the process. “Oops. Anyways.” He stumbled towards the door and shoved it open with next to no grace. “Hahaha...!”

When he made it outside, he was immediately overwhelmed with a gust of fresh air. The glare of the sun was blinding, but after squinting for a few moments, his eyes adjusted to the scenery. A huge outdoor gym with basketball courts and obstacle courses was packed with other Avatar-users.

“Come on, you ain’t got no skills—”

He pushed on with a clumsy jog, nearly crashing into two others playing attack and defense. “—woah!”

“Sorry!” Alfred outstretched a hand at them apologetically. He picked up the pace and continued to jog down a dirt path. Arthur chased after him in poorly-coordinated jogs. The two med-techs followed closely behind with red faces.

“Alfred, we’re not supposed to be running!” Arthur called. Their pleas for him to come back faded as he got further and further away, running faster and faster until he burst into a full-on sprint.

Alfred laughed in amazement. His heart thundered away in his chest with a euphoria he hadn’t felt before—he was running! He was running as fast as the wind could carry him, beating his strong legs against the ground, crushing the soft and damp soil under his feet. He’d never felt freer.

After a minute or so, he skidded to a stop like a hockey player would on ice.

“Still got it.” He grinned breathily. Looking up to the bright blue sky, he closed his eyes and took a deep inhale of the sweet air. “Oh, that’s nice...”

“Distal motor control’s looking good,” A woman mused, making him look ahead of him.

A female Avatar dressed in a burgundy tank top and brown shorts walked up to him with a smile. Her voice was so familiar, but what gave her away was her facial features. Alfred showed a look of awe.

“Grace?”

“Who’d you expect, numbnuts?” She plucked a plump purple fruit off a bush and tossed it at him.

“Think fast!”

The marine caught it with ease and took a generous bite out of it. Rich and earthly juices exploded in his mouth, squirting all over the bottom half of his face. But damn, was it good. “Augh... Wow...!”

That night, he slept in an outdoor lodge with dozens of other Avatar-users. It wasn’t the most luxurious form of accommodation in his opinion, being open-air and infested with clouds of flying bugs under hanging light fixtures. Fortunately, there were mosquito nets for that problem. And, sure, the windows may have been nothing but transparent nets, but at least he could see the mesmerizing sunset outside.

If he tilted his head back some, he could also see the huge gas planet, Polyphemus, in the sky.

The scenery here was breathtaking, and he hadn’t even left camp yet!

As he got comfortable on his bunk, he discovered a bundle of wriggling, pink, worm-like strands sticking out of the bottom of his plait of hair.

“Come on, everybody. Quiet down.” Grace walked down the aisle as she shooed out the remaining human scientists, all donning their white lab coats and oxygen masks. She was towering over them, much like every other person using an Avatar body. “Alright, gang. Lights out.” When she caught sight of Alfred playing with his body parts, she said this. “Don’t play with that. You’ll go blind.”

“That’s kinda freaky,” Alfred murmured. He tucked it away shortly before laying flat on his mattress.

“Come on. Scat.” Once all the supervising scientists left, Grace pulled the sliding metal door to a close, locking up shop for the day. Then, she flicked off all the lights. “Lights out! See you at dinner, kiddies.”

As Alfred closed his eyes, his sensitive ears picked up the distant screeching and trilling of Pandoran wildlife. There was a lush alien world waiting for him out there, and he couldn’t wait to explore it tomorrow. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the link room, struggling to sit up in his machine. Kiku helped him up.

“Welcome back,” He began. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Damn.” Alfred nodded shakily, processing what he’d just seen. What he’d felt. He just had an out-of-body experience. But now, he was back to square one. Lifting his legs to the side, he scooted himself off the machine and into his wheelchair with a grunt. His friend reached out instinctively, but he waved him off. “I got this.”

Alfred thought he’d feel grounded being human again. But as he rolled himself to the cafeteria for dinner, he wished he was still big and blue, burying his feet into the warm and welcoming soil.

He was summoned by the colonel the next morning.

“I’m Trudy. I fly all the science sorties,” A woman spoke, walking him through a hangar.

She sported a khaki green jumpsuit, a pilot’s uniform in these parts, and had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Parked inside were dozens of planes and exoskeletons, the same damn things he kept having close calls with.

“And this here is my baby.” She patted the side of a plane proudly. On one of the windows was her name printed on it, ‘Chacon, T.’ Below that was a tiger head with its jaws wide-open in a rough paint job. A man with a buzzcut was attaching machine guns to the sides of the doors. “Hey, Wainfleet! Get it done! We bounce at zero-nine.”

Wainfleet pushed the weapon into its fixtures with a loud ‘click.’

“I’m on it, capitan.”

Alfred pursed his lips. The guy had the sleeves of his camo jacket ripped off, showing his massive guns beneath. Now, these people were the kind Grace mushed him together with.

Trudy jumped from the cockpit with a scowl.

“Vine strike’s still loose.” She gestured with an arm. As she walked off, Alfred followed after, mildly distracted by all the surrounding tech.

“You guys are packing some heavy gear.” He mused, crossing a widely spaced aisle meant for vehicles to pass through. A cargo loader shrieked to a stop mere inches from the blonde.

“Watch it!” Trudy shot them a look. “Yeah, that’s ‘cause we’re not the only thing flying out there. Or the biggest.” They passed a ramp into another aisle that exclusively housed exoskeletons. “But I need you on a door gun. I’m a man short.”

“Thought you’d never asked.” Alfred grinned. She returned the gesture with a light chuckle. After a few more moments of brisk walking, they finally arrived at their destination—a make-shift gym. There was a shelf of dumbbells and a bench. A man was laying down on it and doing a few reps of bench presses.

“There’s your man. See you on the flight line.” Trudy pointed, holding out a fist for him. Alfred bumped it with his own. She walked off.

He rolled himself closer to the guy.

His strained grunts grew louder.

“You wanted to see me, colonel?” Alfred began.

“This low gravity’ll make you soft,” The man huffed, lifting the barbell over his head to place it on the holder. He sat up, showing his sweat-glazed chest and shoulders under his gray tank top, and caught him in an intensely-focused stare. “You get soft, Pandora will shit you out dead with zero warning.”

Alfred never brought himself to say anything. The colonel’s presence demanded the utmost respect, even in moments of silence. Seeing such a seasoned military man up close only substantiated that thought. Without a proper shirt on, the fleshy pink scars marring his toned arms could be seen perfectly. But they couldn’t begin to compare to the claw mark on his face.

Colonel Miles Quaritch was as tough as rocks, but more importantly, he was experienced. Whatever horrors Pandora had in store, he’d seen them all. And he was prepared to take them on indefinitely.

“I pulled your record, corporal. Venezuela. That was some mean bush. Nothing like this here, though.” He continued, looking Alfred up and down in his wheelchair. “You got some heart, kid, showing up in this neighborhood.” Quaritch nodded.

“Figured it was just another hellhole.”

“I was first recon myself. A few years ahead of you.”

The colonel stood up, making his way out to the aisles. While Alfred followed him from behind, he took note of his build. He was strong, burly, and walked with purpose. The only sign that he was remotely aging was his gray hair. “Well, maybe more than a few. Three tours Nigeria, not a scratch.”

He glanced at the blonde over his shoulder.

“I come out here?”

Quaritch pointed at his facial scar.

“Day one. Think I felt like a shavetail louie?”

The man climbed up a step ladder next to one of the war machines. He checked one of the fixtures by pulling it back and forth.

“Or, they could fix me up if I rotated back. And make me pretty again.” He turned around with his head raised. “But you know what? I kinda like it. Reminds me every day of what’s waiting out there.”

The colonel gestured for the attending engineers to leave. Once they scurried off, he climbed into the cockpit of the suit.

“The Avatar program is a bad joke. A bunch of limp-dick science majors,” He commented, buckling himself up with the seatbelts inside. Alfred managed to get himself onto an elevated platform. That way, he could get on the same level and return the eye contact as he sat adjacent. Otherwise, he figured he’d be doing his esteemed superior an injustice.

“However, it does present an opportunity both timely and unique. Clear!” A faint voice repeated the word, giving him the green light to activate the exoskeleton. He slid a hand into a control glove and flicked his wrist. The engine powered up.

“A recon gyrene in an avatar body. That’s a potent mix. Give me the goosebumps.” Quaritch laughed, looking up at Alfred with a growing smile. Alfred couldn’t describe the emotions brewing inside him as he listened to the colonel. Was it pride, validation, or a fearful excitement for the great unknown? “Such a marine could provide the intel I need, right on the ground. Right in hostile’s camp.”

Probably a mix of all three.

“Look, Jones. I want you to learn these savages from the inside. I want you to gain their trust.”

The gray-haired man tilted his head at that.

“I need to know how to force their cooperation or hammer them hard if there won’t.”

“Am I still with Augustine?” Alfred asked, grabbing both of his wheels as he spoke.

“On paper. Yeah, you walk like one of those science pukes, you quack like one, but you report to me.” Quaritch explained, staring directly into his eye.

“Can you do that for me, son?”

“Hell yeah, sir.”

“Well, alright then.” The colonel nodded, visibly pleased. He slotted another hand into the control glove. Walking out of his designated spot, he threw a few practice jabs in the air, each punch letting out a mechanic whine. When he turned around to face Alfred again, his war machine had one arm on its hip. It became apparent that these things mimicked whatever its user did.

“Son, I take care of my own. You get me what I need, I’ll see to it you get your legs back when you rotate home,” Quaritch then pointed at the bottom half of his body, atrophied and inactive. “Your real legs.”

Alfred finally had a goal to work towards.

And it reignited the zest for life he thought he’d lost all those years ago. He was blessed with the privilege of expectations, and he’d be damned if he didn’t live up to them. “That sounds real good, sir.”

You never wanted to know Allen.

He was the clan’s best warrior, and for his skills, he was chosen to be the next Olo’eyktan. And your older sister, Sylwanin, the next Tsa’hik. Those two were arranged to be mated pairs, but after her untimely death, you were next in line. You felt like a leftover, so it was hard for him to get to know you at first.

But he was charming in his own ways.

“Come up to the top at sundown. I wanna show you something,” Allen handed you a scrap of paper. Your tail swished with curiosity as you inspected it.

It was tan in color and roughly made from tree pulp, but more than sufficient to depict a poorly-drawn picture. He scribbled a messy sketch of Hometree, an ancient tree the clan lived in. High up in the foliage above the ikran nests, he’d circled a branch.

“I made a small house,” He grinned, seeing your growing smile when you looked back up at him. Seems like he piqued your interest with his little creative project. “If you don’t come, I’ll be sad. So come before dinner, okay?”

“Oh, I’ll be there.” You patted his cheek, much to his giddiness. “Your efforts need the praise.”

With that said, you both parted ways to run your errands for the day. As the most seasoned warrior of the clan, he had more than a few students to teach. You were tasked with something more isolated. While he rode out on his dire horse, you picked up your set of bow and arrows and ventured deep into the forest.

More and more sky people had been spotted frequenting the area. It was your job to uphold the policy, kill on sight. As cruel as it sounded, it never used to be this way. But they struck first, and your people were just retaliating. They dug ungodly-sized holes into the Earth, cleared away trees, and killed any Na’vi who dared to interfere.

They were here to take, but they’d be damned if they thought there would be no resistance.

But without the element of surprise, you stood no chance against them. So there you waited, perched on an elevated tree root for unsuspecting intruders. You just never imagined one would walk by wearing the skin of your people. It wasn’t unheard of, but you’ve never seen one in the flesh.

Alfred was lost.

Deep in the Pandoran jungle with no gun, no team, and no way of sending out a distress signal, he became a sitting duck in the most hostile environment known to man. If he had some form of training like his brother, chances of survival were at a 50/50. But he was dwindling at damn near zero.

While he glanced around nervously, he hastily sharpened the end of a stick to make a spear. He’d never been quite this paranoid. On edge. Death surrounded him for miles unending, and the alien environment didn’t exactly calm his nerves.

The vegetation was thick and prehistoric, so he had no way of seeing anything beyond a five-foot radius.

The distant shrills of banshees made his ears twitch.

“Fuck.” Alfred stood up to keep moving stealthily.

He couldn’t believe he had to find out for himself that those things were flying around. Alien pterodactyls. But he discovered other creatures too, like Pandoran rhinoceroses, except they were twenty feet tall, bullet-proof, had hammerheads to smash into trees like cardboard, and weren’t actually rhinos.

But his favorite had to be the Thanator. It was only the most dangerous fucking apex predator on the planet, which was what chased him into the brush and separated him from the group. That thing was a huge, black, panther-like creature the size of a car.

He could now say that all the biblical depictions of hellhounds were severely off.

Pandora was where the devil kept its pets.

Alfred passed under a huge tree root, oblivious to what was on top of it. In this case, it was a who.

A devastatingly beautiful Na’vi woman rose from her perch. You had been watching the ground and its surroundings attentively when someone walked by. They looked just like you, having a tall, blue, slender build, large yellow eyes, and a sweeping tail. What gave them away were the primitive tatters of cloth they donned, a surefire sign they were the sky people you had grown to hate so fiercely.

Without hesitation, you drew an arrow and pulled it back silently, training it right at their head.

Before you let it fly, something small and white drifted onto the arrowhead. An angelic wood sprite hovered on the poisonous tip, making your brows furrow with hesitation. You eventually lowered your bow. Only then did it float away.

Whoever that man was, you couldn’t kill him.

But that didn’t mean you couldn’t follow him.

Night fell on Pandora. Alfred was still wandering through the woods fueled by pure adrenaline. The echo of canine yips sounded a few feet away. A pack of things had trailed him like dinner, but he wasn’t letting them eat him today.

He ripped off a part of his shirt to wrap it around his spear. Dipping that in some tree sap, he desperately flicked a match against its box. When he finally lit the end for a make-shift torch, he waved the fire in the direction of the yipping. Numerous pairs of glowing eyes reflected the light, watching him with a hiss.

When the creatures stepped into the light, they were revealed to be small wolf-dogs. But with so many of them, they became a bigger threat than they needed to be. And they were circling him.

Alfred continued waving his torch at them, warding them off with the heat of the flames. This tense stalemate continued on for a few seconds before he breathed this out. “I don’t have all goddamn night.”

He thrust his torch at them aggressively.

“Come on! Come on!” He roared. Alfred got exactly what he asked for when they started pouncing on him. Slamming the end of his spear against the wolf cubs, he knocked a few to the side. They whined in pain. But the others never stopped attacking.

He resorted to cutting them down with his dagger, and even that wasn’t enough. There were just too many of them. Eventually, he began to struggle.

He collapsed on the ground twice. They snagged him on his legs, then dragged him a few inches like a ragdoll. When he managed to get up again, another jumped onto him and knocked him back down. While he held it away with a wince, it snapped its powerful jaws at his face. “Gh—get off me! Get off me!”

You stormed in through the bushes with your arrow pulled back. Releasing it with quick ‘fwip’, you shot and killed the wolf pup that tried to bite his face off. Once the animal was limp, Alfred could shove it off and stab it. Before he lodged the blade in, he stopped abruptly at the long arrow in his face, which was skewered into its stomach perpendicularly.

When he glanced up, he saw you, attacking the pack of wild dogs with untold ferocity and skill.

“Woah—” Alfred backed up from the initial shock, but stopped to watch, completely mesmerized.

“Ha!” Swinging your bow in a circular motion above your head, you used the momentum to strike one of the pups. Another jumped on you, making you roll back from the force. You quickly recovered and stabbed it a few times with strained gasps. Taking your bow and sweeping it at the rest of the pack, your strong movements scared them off into retreat.

Once they disappeared into the night, you turned back to the glow of the torch. Immediately, you shielded your eyes from the glare of the searing flames, picked it up, and tossed it into a pond.

“Hey, wait, don’t—!” Alfred exclaimed. The prominent hiss of the fire dying filled his ears. He raised his arms with a scoff. “Great.”

His surroundings were plunged into ominous darkness—or so he thought. Without the torchlight, the forest was transformed, coming alive in bioluminescence. Patterns and galaxies of blue and green light glowed under his feet, on the trunks of trees, and the fungi that sprouted from the earth.

The whimpering of a wolf cub alerted you to it. As you scanned the forest for the creature, your tail lashed behind you in anticipation. When you finally found it, an arrow had gone through his torso and he was wriggling his legs in pain. Lightly treading on the grass to circle the animal, you lowered yourself to your knees to quickly jab it in its neck, killing it.

It stopped whimpering.

As you murmured gentle words of apology and consolation to its body, Alfred wandered off to retrieve his spear. It lay at the bottom of a glowing pool. As breath-taking as the water looked, it was nothing compared to his surroundings. When he stood up again, his eyes practically dilated in awe.

Leaves of all shapes and sizes glowed in bright green, blues, and purples. Hanging flowers in the shape of jellyfish hovered higher up off the ground. Tilting his head back to watch them sway to a gentle breeze, he grew overwhelmed by the wondrous flora that thrived in every corner of his eye.

Nature flourished in an abundance he never could’ve imagined in his wildest dreams. And it was as humbling as it was beautiful. When he finally managed to stare away from it all, he saw you on the ground, whispering in Na’vi over a dead wolf pup.

“Look, I know you probably don’t understand this,” Alfred murmured, crouching down to watch you with unwavering respect. “But thank you.”

You never responded as you cradled the animal to your soft voice. He stared wordlessly for a few moments before repeating himself.

“Thank you.”

You pulled the arrow from its body.

“That was pretty impressive,” Alfred mused, finally earning some form of acknowledgment from you in the form of a wary look. “I would’ve been screwed if you hadn’t come along. It was...” You stood up and walked away. He trailed off upon realizing your absence. He stood up to follow you like a lost puppy.

“Hey, wait a second. Where are you going?” He frowned, picking up the pace to jog after you eagerly. You pushed on, occasionally ducking under leaves to make your way through the forest and back home. “Wait up! Hey, slow down, would you?”

You never humored him then, you wouldn’t humor him now. Saving him from that pack of wolf-dogs was something you were obligated to do. Anything more was out of the question, like interaction. He was an alien, an enemy that deserved your utmost distrust, scorn, and hostility—

He grabbed your hand, sending a sharp pang of irritation to course through your body.

“Hey, wait up! I just wanted to say thanks for killing those things—” You swung your bow right across his face. “—Agh!” Alfred fell onto the ground with a heavy thump. “Damn!” He winced. He never had the chance to sulk when you loomed over him and thrust your bow at him angrily.

“Don’t thank. You don’t thank for this.” You hissed, lashing your tail around in irritation. Looking around for a brief pause, you shook your head at him furiously. “This is sad. Very sad only.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry,” Alfred held up a hand as he scooted back. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry.”

“All this is your fault.” You paced around restlessly, outstretching a hand to gesture at the gruesome scene before you. “They did not need to die.”

“My fault?” The edges of his lips lifted in disbelief. “They attacked me. How am I the bad guy—”

“Your fault!” You thrust your bow at him angrily.

“Aye, ooh.” Alfred frowned, backing up quickly with his hands up. “Shh, easy, easy.” He whispered gently.

“Your fault. You’re like a baby. Making noise, don’t know what to do.” As you tore him a new one, he slowly stood up while holding a hand out defensively. He never stopped shushing you under his breath to calm you down, which didn’t work as well as he hoped. It was only when he added this did you take a step back to reflect on what you did.

“Fine. Fine. If you love your little forest friends, why not let them just kill my ass?” He breathed.

You lowered your head in thought. He had a point.

“Why save you?”

“Yeah, yeah. Why save me?” Alfred continued.

You opened your mouth to say something, but the words were caught in your throat. Staring at him with wonder, then admiration, you said this.

“You have a strong heart. No fear.” Alfred watched you wordlessly as you praised him. He didn’t know why, but he was taking a liking to you already. Unfortunately, he had to get off the high he was riding. “But stupid.” You spat. “Ignorant like a child.”

That was only so he could ride another one. When you turned around to walk off, he laughed excitedly.

“Well, if I’m like a child, then, uh, look, maybe, you should teach me!” He chased after you in a clumsy jog, struggling to clear the thick Pandoran brush. You walked gracefully across a log, hopping onto a larger one that looked like some sort of bridge. The jellyfish plants hovered nearby like nature’s lightbulbs.

“Sky people cannot learn. You do not see.”

“Well then, teach me how to, see.” He flailed his arms to balance himself as he ran onto the log.

“No one can teach you to see.”

“Woah,” Alfred stopped nervously when he saw how high up he was. But he was back to running after you like nothing. “Look, come on, can’t we talk? Like, where’d ya learn how to speak English? Doctor Augustine’s school?” He slipped and fell to the side. “Little help!” He yelped. You caught his arm and pulled him back onto the log with a grumble.

“You’re like a baby.” You hissed, shoving his arm away. Stretching your eyes at that, you grumbled in Na’vi while he watched you expectantly.

“Look, I need your help.” He murmured gently. His gaze was so earnest, you hated to think you felt a little guilty for driving him away. But rules were rules, and he was still forbidden as a threat to the clan. As you lingered over these thoughts, the frustration returned, fueling your desperation to get rid of him.

While your tail whipped around, you raised a fist and opened it angrily. “You should not be here.”

“Okay, take me with you.” He uttered in soft defiance.

“No. Go back.” You turned around to keep walking.

“No.” Alfred walked up again, so you merely spun around and pushed him back.

“No! Go back.” Before he could retort again, your attention was stolen away by a cloud of wood sprites. They drifted down from above in gentle pulses. He glanced up as they floated towards him, and when one of them got close enough, he smacked them out of instinct with a light ‘plap.’

You let out a horrified gasp and took his hand.

“Stop—” With his right hand occupied by yours, he used his left to slap another one. “No! Atokerina!” You shook his arm heatedly. Once you released him, he held up both arms as more and more wood sprites hovered around him. You watched in pure awe as they landed on every inch of his torso, covering his body in an angelic white glow.

“What... What are they?” He asked, holding one in his hand after it landed delicately on his palm.

“Seeds of the sacred tree,” You breathed, mesmerized by the sight of so many of them in one place. “Very pure spirits.”

“Uhhuh.” He uttered stiffly. Some had drifted on top of his head, even. At this point, he could pass as a walking lamp with how bright he glowed.

A few seconds later, every single wood sprite floated off him simultaneously. It was a beautiful phenomenon to behold, but you knew better than to reduce to that, a phenomenon. The wood sprites were attracted to purity and auspicious beings, and this man was the pinnacle of it.

You thought for a few quiet moments as your animosity dissipated along with the cloud of seedlings. Then, you did the unthinkable.

“Come,” You reached out to his hand and pulled him along the log. “Come.”

Next chapter: 02 - Infiltration

[re-diesirae]

12. Claire

She had never felt so happy to wake up with the sunlight hitting at her face the way it did that morning. They didn't dare to leave the storage house until the first rays of light hadn't come out from the horizon. In part, because they had wanted a little more rest and in part because they didn't want to risk the chance of meeting another of those horrible creatures.

With the light, they could finally see what was inside the storage room, and after checking the contents of the boxes, they had come across some supplies that included more weapons, ammo, a first aid kit, and flashlights. The weaponry was quite old, and Claire knew they probably weren't as fancy as the ones Leon usually used, but it was better than nothing. They also found some cans of food and water that weren't yet due in the boxes. It wasn't a fancy meal, but the canned fruits provided the needed carbohydrates that their bodies required for energy. Claire had instantly felt a little more energetic after the small and humble meal, and she had to admit that compared to other times, she appreciated the locals for storing the food in that place. She would have thanked them if they hadn't turned into parasite controlled zombies, of course.

With their new gear, stock, and a full stomach, the duo had started their walk to the mysterious manor. So far, the way had been calm: only interrupted by a couple of the unfriendly locals that they defeated without problems.

Claire noticed that the closer they got to the manor, the quieter the forest became. Somehow that made her uncomfortable. The lack of sound was antinatural, and maybe it was her paranoia, but she felt observed, and she was half expecting another sudden monster to jump over them. She could tell Leon's thoughts weren't too far from her own as the man moved stealthily and alert at all times.

Nobody would think that, some years ago, this same man was a scared rookie cop trying to survive a city filled with zombies.

The thought of how much he had grown and become better drew a smile on Claire's face.

Just what are you feeling so proud about when this is all a mess?

She often felt proud of others, even if it wasn't something she was supposed to do. She was proud of her brother. Like hell, how wouldn't she? The man had saved many lives in the last few years. She was also proud of Moira; the girl had gotten over her fear of guns and trained under her father's eye. She was also proud of Natalia. She had a normal life now, making it through all the horrors of her past. Claire was very proud of Sherry. She had heard from Chris that the girl had become an agent like Leon, and even though Claire would have wished for the girl to live a quiet life, she respected her decision. Of course, she was proud of Leon's successful career as an agent.

"There it is." Leon's voice broke into her thoughts, and Claire stopped dryly, staring at the manor ahead, "It certainly gives me bad vibes..."

An unpleasant flashback ran through her head as she remembered the Ashford's Residence, but as she watched the house more carefully, she realized that the place was different. This house looked older, and the gray walls, covered by ivy and moss. More than a manor, it looked more like a castle. A quick scan around convinced them that there was no one around the area.

"Guess our friends from Neo-Umbrella didn't wait for us..." Leon whispered.

"Well, knowing their sense of hospitality, they probably left some of their pets behind to receive us, though."

"Most likely. That sounds like something terrorists would do," Leon sighed, "We'll have to take a look and find out. I think the thing jamming the sign of my phone is in there. If we can deactivate it, I can contact Hunnigan, and maybe, we can figure out something about what they were doing in here."

"All right, let's take a look. What could go wrong, right?"

A lot of things. The annoying little voice in her head muttered.

The duo made their way to the house with extreme caution. The place seemed deserted. The only evidence of people ever being in there was the mess inside: furniture was turned over or broken, papers scattered all over the floor along with other decor accessories. Claire found bloodstains in some of the walls, and she shuddered. Maybe their "friends" hadn't left after all, but something had gotten them before they arrived.

"Now, this looks ominous. Why are there so many papers in here?"

"They seem like medical records, but the papers are too dirty to read them," she said, picking some of the scattered sheets. The pages looked blurred with humidity, and some had red stains that covered half of the text.

"Knowing these guys, there's probably an electronic record somewhere. We need to find a computer." Leon replied, looking around the rooms with his gun raised, "There are signs of struggle. I guess they didn't leave on good terms…"

That if they had made it out alive.

"There's too much blood. Do you think one of their pets went through havoc?"

"Most likely, maybe it was the one that attacked us last night."

Claire picked a folder that was over a table. The yellowish surface had dried stains of blood, but she ignored it and flipped through its contents. Her face tensed as her eyes traveled over the printed letters.

"They were making a new virus, " she said with anger, "These people don't ever learn that you shouldn't mess up with nature."

"Any idea of what sort of virus that is?"

"No...this seems more like genetic blueprints," Claire replied, "RNA virus sequences and possible recombinations with other viral agents. I'm taking these. it might be useful later. I can look into it when we get back to TerraSave.."

"Didn't know you had a liking for this sort of mad scientist stuff. Didn't picture you like a science girl..."

"You know, I did finish college before I joined TerraSave," Claire laughed.

"So I heard, but I never asked what you majored in, now that I think about it."

"Oh, so you didn't check my background?" Claire replied, surprised.

"I don't do that with friends. It's easier to ask, so what did you major in?"

"Biology and life sciences. Did a specialization in virology after joining TerraSave," she replied, checking another pile of folders, "I never thought I'd get so much into viruses. You would be amazed by how many outbreaks TerraSave attends, and for worse or better, not all of them involve zombies. Going into virology sounded reasonable, logical, and useful. "

Claire's crescent interest in viruses had to lead to her choosing a virology specialization. She had thought that it would come in handy while working in TerraSave. The organization was founded as a countermeasure to terrorist attacks. However, as time went by, TerraSave began attending other cases, including viral outbreaks in affected zones and as they worked with WHO. As an active agent at the time, Claire had participated in many operatives. That made her interested in the subject. After thirteen years of working in the organization, Claire was a pretty respectable professional. She wasn't as prodigy as Saya or Rebecca, but her observations and criticisms were valuable, and she had permission to work on her own projects.

"Never pictured you like a bookworm, but it seems I was mistaken."

"Another con on my side, I guess. Relationship wise..."

"I doubt it. Nothing wrong with a smart woman. I find it much more appealing. So, does your scientific vision give you a lead to what we have here?"

"Unfortunately, nothing clear. There's a lot of things you can do with genomes and some genetic engineering. I am not a biosynthetic engineer, but this looks like design proposals? We have someone in HQ who could see through it or maybe in B.S.A.A. I want to look at the digital records; if we are lucky, there might be something left in there. What about your signal jam?"

"I think I might have found the cause. Up there in the tower, there seems to be an antenna of some 's a good lead..."

"Guess we found our next stop. Let's go. I've got the feeling that I don't want to be around when the night falls."

"Always trust a female's sixth sense."

Claire followed Leon through the house. The absence of hostiles was welcome, but at the same time made her wonder what could have happened to them. They found more papers on their way, but nothing that could give them a clue of what had taken place in that place. After a while, they finally arrived at the tower.

The room seemed to be the security command center as there were several screens and computers. Leon got himself busy as he started to work on the antenna right away. Without much else to do, Claire decided to take a look at the server and see if she could get her hands on any interesting data while Leon tried to fix his communication line.

Well, let's see what you kept in here.

Claire began typing. She wasn't a techie like Wallace, so her skills as a hacker were terrible, but to her surprise, the security around the server was much laxer than she would have imagined. Or maybe she was too used to her overestimated security system in TerraSave.

Sadly, the computers had no access to the research datalog. However, it gave Claire information about the facility, and just as expected, there was a large underground structure underneath the mansion; the security system provided a clean 3D blueprint of the facility, showing research rooms, animal essays rooms, and laboratories. Everything pinpointed on the screen.

What the hell were they researching here?

Claire checked the security protocols, which seemed typical procedures designed for facilities handling potentially pandemic agents. She was familiar to them as a few years before she had adapted to those same protocols to propose an effective plan of contention in case of bioterrorist attacks. There was nothing that could be useful to find out what she wanted, but she did find something that caught her attention.

Damn, if only Wallace were here. He could probably hack into the central system and get me that information.

"I think I got it." Leon's voice made her look away from the screen, "I have the signal back. I'll try to contact Hunningan."

"That's great news…!"

"What about you? Did you find anything?"

"No, and yes. I managed to hack into the security system, but the servers aren't linked, so I have no access to research data from here. I did get a nice blueprint of the facility, though. Just look at this, the main research area is right underneath us, which is not surprising at all. I also checked the security protocols, and from that, I can say they were doing in vivo essays. I found something alarming and unexpected."

"How come?"

"They have a viral repository here. It is curious because, with the T-virus, C-virus, and all those new strains that Umbrella had been spreading, most bioterrorists had dropped the use of traditional pathogenic weapons."

"By traditional you mean…?"

"Regular viral agents: influenza, Nipah Virus, chickenpox, ebola… Ring a bell? They have a bacteria stock, too. Anthrax, Tuberculosis, MRSA," she said, scrolling down the screen, " Basically Level 3 and 4 pathogens. Just what the hell were they doing here?"

" If you don't know, neither do I. Can you get the information from here?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am a virologist, not a hacker. The information should have a back up in the central server, but I am not skilled enough to break through their encryption to get it. We would need a vicious hacker for that, and the only one I know is somewhere in Hughesville."

"So, in other words, if we want that data, we'll need to go down there."

"Very sharp, Kennedy."

"Well, I guess we should bring some company down there," Leon commented, pulling his mobile to his ear. "Hunnigan… I need a favor."

NOTE: if you guys want to come and chat about the fic, or just about CLEON in general. Feel free to drop by the discord and say hi! JOIN SERVER

[obscuremarvelmuses]

Some headcanons for Aqueduct aka Peter Van Zante: -  His self-esteem is very easily influenced by external events. For instance, when he's suffered a setback or defeat, he becomes insecure, pessimistic, and dumps on himself terribly. All the insecurity vanishes, however, the moment he has the upper hand. He becomes a gloating egomaniac, drunk on his own sudden rush of self-esteem, certain of his unbeatable supremacy...until it all comes crashing down on him in the next instant. He'd probably like to be a confident bully for real, but he's too emotionally fragile to keep that up for long. This is why he feels much better when he's working with a partner or a group; he can enjoy the mental high of success, but escape the lows of defeat by deferring the responsibility for it on to whoever is in charge. -  Pete’s heterosexual and not used to female attention, and can easily be swayed or distracted by an attractive woman who seems to be flirting with him, or if one appears hurt or in distress (though his selfishness may also override those situations in favor of his own self-preservation)  - Due to his fragile self-esteem, Peter is easily manipulated by flattery or insults in general - Canon art depicts him the same way they depict all men, but I headcanon him as kinda chubby - Last we saw in canon he had his hair in a mohawk, and before that it was worn long in the 90s, but mine has his short like he originally did in his Water Wizard days -  He dresses in a casual, working-class normcore kind of way, with most of his clothing being in muted blue or teal, accented with a brown leather belt or shoes. A typical outfit would be a long-sleeved blue or green work shirt worn open as a jacket over a short-or-long-sleeved T-shirt in solid white, solid navy, or striped olive, with a brown belt, relaxed-fit blue jeans, and brown work boots. - He's a serial hobbyist who gives up on everything before he ever gets good. He took tap dancing lessons as a kid, is afraid of bees, thinks 3D printing is cool even if he doesn’t understand it, decent at grilling, has a metal detector he’s never used, can juggle up to three balls pretty ok, got into leather engraving just long enough to halfway etch a design on a belt he’s never finished. His most recent interest is RC hobby cars, and he just might stick with this one for awhile. He's just one and it's a cheap model, but he's really fond of it. - He has a strained relationship with his parents due to his aimless nature and consistent criminal activity. He’s also borrowed a lot of money from them that they're never getting back.  - Likes grunge music, psychedelic rock, and easy listening - Peter will shift blame if he can so he doesn’t feel bad for a failure or mistakes, because he will beat himself up BAD for those if he CAN’T find someone else to blame -  Despite his tendencies towards morose self-pity sessions, he's not bad company if he's not in a bad mood. He's fairly affable to others, and gets on well with most of his social group, which is to say, other Average Joe working class types who are a lot like him. He's not particularly complicated in social terms; he responds well to people being kind or cordial, and hostile to those he perceives as rude or challenging him. He's the kind of guy you can have a beer with, though also not the most sensitive or astute. - His biggest limit on his very potent power is his lack of brains regarding how to use it

[desnayy]

I have finally decided to get all the thoughts and ideas down for the Dream SMP Soul Eater au I have. Most of these ideas are from a convo I had with @bargledblocks back in January, but some ideas I have come up with myself since then. Also, because I said I would, @myketheartista, here is that au I mentioned during one of Shep’s streams...

Also, I am open to not only talking about other ideas involving the Dream SMP members here, but also Hermitcraft, Yogscast, and Team Crafted members, if anyone wants

Pretty much canon divergent from the original Soul Eater plot. Treaty with Witches where the only Witch souls allowed to be taken are those who are actively harming people, peaceful Witches can live and do work anywhere, including DWMA. Also, fuck canon, Witches can be any gender. Kishins are pretty much the same as in the series. Minecraft non-boss hostile mobs exist as monsters summoned by Kishins and evil Witches. DWMA as a school has up to traditionally college aged students/classes, and has a few elementary age students/classes, mostly Weapons learning control.

-Death Family-

Philza: The God of Death. Physically in his early 30s while in human form, thousands of years old in reality. Only uses his God form when acting as Lord Death, otherwise prefers his human form. Principle of DWMA. 5'11 in human form and 10' in God form.

Kristen: An immortal crow Witch. Married to Philza. No one quite knows how Kristen gained her immortality. Often encourages pranks. Vice principle of DWMA.

Dream: Phil's first biological son. The first Kishin with a literal cult following. Physically in his early twenties, is actually about a thousand years old. Barely escaped being sealed with major injuries, went into hiding for a long while. Can shift minor parts of his appearance as well as his physical age. Resurfaces several years before the story pretending to be an orphan, adopted by Puffy. Posing as a meister.

Ranboo: Phil’s second biological son. 15-16. Hair is half black and half white due to being a Grim Reaper. Is also heterochromatic, with his right eye being green and his left eye being red. Has memory problems and blacking out episodes from an unknown source Dream. Used to occasionally wield Techno and Wilbur, until circumstances involving Dream caused Tommy to no longer be able to resonate with Tubbo, which causes Ranboo to become Tubbo’s meister later on. 6'6.

Technoblade: Adopted by Phil as a toddler alongside his twin, Wilbur. Older by two minutes. An axe weapon, but usually prefers to wield Wilbur. Sometimes lets Ranboo act as a meister to him and Wilbur. Early twenties. Naturally pink really long hair in a braid. Needs glasses to read. Sleeps a lot. History and English nerd. A very skilled meister.

Wilbur: Adopted by Phil as a toddler alongside his twin, Technoblade. Younger by two minutes. An axe weapon, usually wielded by Techno. Can temporarily match wavelengths with anyone. Early twenties. Knows how to braid hair. Natural pink hair, dyes it brown. Wears glasses because his vision is shit. Theater kid to the extreme. Grigori soul

Tommy: Adopted by Phil as an infant after being found in the ruins of a town attacked by a Witch. A chakram weapon. 15-16. Formally wielded by Tubbo until the incident involving Dream, is now partnered with Purpled. Very loud. Limited knowledge in how to self wield.

-Meisters-

Punz: Early twenties. Purpled's older sibling (he/they). Can temporarily match Soul Wavelengths with anyone, can't use Soul Resonance. Infected by Black Blood.

Purpled: 15-16. Punz's younger brother. Became Tommy's meister when Tommy was rescued from Dream. Stays in the dorms, even though Punz has an apartment.

Sam: Late 30s. Ponk's meister and husband. George's adoptive father. Combat teacher at DWMA, also head of the school's security. 7'4 for some reason. Almost got infected with Black Blood through Ponk, but managed to not get affected. 

Bad: Late 30s, assumingly. Skeppy's meister and husband. Sapnap's adoptive father. History teacher at DWMA, also part of the school's security. 9'6 because he isn't human. Infected with Black Blood.

Niki Nihachu: 17-18. Jack's meister. Sweet but deadly. Stays in an apartment with Jack. Dyed pink hair.

Karl Jacobs: Looks to be early twenties. Sapnap’s meister as well as boyfriend, along with Quackity. Sort of just, showed up one day, with no memories other than his name. Has multicolored purple and green eyes. Stays in an apartment with Sapnap and Quackity. Very good at writing stories, although they are unsettlingly close to actual historical events.

-Weapons-

Ponk: Late 30s. Giant garden shears weapon. Sam's partner and husband. George's other adoptive father. Second combat teacher at DWMA. Infected with Black Blood.

Skeppy: Late 30s. Scimitar weapon with a blue blade. Bad's partner and husband. Sapnap's other adoptive father. Natural bright blue hair. Infected with Black Blood through Bad.

Jack Manifold: 17-18. Rocket launcher weapon. Niki's partner. Right eye is blue and left eye is red. Wears 3D glasses. Stays in an apartment with Niki.

Schlatt: Late 30s. A bladed shepherd's crook weapon. North American Death Scythe, Phil’s personal weapon since 12 years before the story. For some reason, has ram horns. Secretly working with the Cult of Dream. Adopted Tubbo at the insistence of Phil, cares for Tubbo distantly, but not enough to not betray everyone later on.

Jordan Sparklez: Deceased. A trident weapon. Formerly the North American Death Scythe and Phil’s personal weapon. Tubbo’s biological father. Was considered too much of a threat to be alive, so was lured out on a solo mission and then vanished.

George: Early twenties. A greatsword weapon. Dream’s partner. Adoptive son of Sam and Ponk. Colorblind. Stays behind at first when Dream’s secret is discovered and he is forced to leave, but eventually leaves to join him.

Sapnap: Early twenties. Flamethrower weapon. Karl’s partner and boyfriend, along with Quackity. Adoptive son of Bad and Skeppy. Prone to arson. Stays in an apartment with Karl and Quackity. Used to be close friends with Dream, feels betrayed when Dream leaves. Likes pandas.

Tubbo: Adopted by Schlatt after the disappearance of his father when he was three. Half trident weapon. 15-16, is a few months older than the rest of the minors. Used to be Tommy's meister until the incident involving Dream, is now partnered with Ranboo. Natural brunet but dyes his hair blonde. Shortest of the minors. Feral. Grigori soul.

-Witches-

Puffy: Late 30s. Sheep witch. Adoptive mother to Dream, Foolish, and Michelle. Has rainbow colored hair, ram horns, and light green goat eyes. Works as a counselor/therapist in Death City.

Fundy: Late teens. Fox witch. Has fox ears and tail. Mostly just pulls pranks on students of DWMA and other Death City residents. For some reason, calls Phil ‘grandpa’ and somehow got Wilbur to act like his father. Used to have a crush on Dream.

Quackity: Early twenties. Duck witch. Has duck wings. Karl and Sapnap’s other boyfriend, lives in a Death City apartment with them. Has a scar on his face that goes over his left eye, rendering him blind in that eye. Tends to join Fundy in pulling pranks.

Antfrost: Early twenties?. Cat witch. Has cat ears and tail, as well as able to transform into a cat. Stays with Bad and Skeppy. Part of DWMA’s security team. Gets infected with Black Blood.

-Other-

Foolish: Seemingly early twenties. No one actually knows what he is, but he is a true god of life. Can manipulate his age and appearance aside from his bright emerald eyes and sharp teeth. Wanted to experience life like a mortal.

-Currently Unassigned-

Eret

Hannah

Connor

Hbomb

Callahan

Slimecicle/Charlie

Alyssa

[game-fixer]

Game Fixes Episode 1: Mega Man X7

I'm gonna start my tenure with one of the most notorious games in all of Mega Man, not just the X series. I have several ideas that can make the game feel more in line with characters and feel less forced.

Of course this will come with general polish in many aspects including a redone script and voice work. No disrespect towards any actors/actresses in the games, of course, but the presentation needs some serious work. Anyway, let's start with the first change

Axl

No, I'm not gonna get rid of him. I think he's a welcome addition to the cast and, if worked right, could be made to be even more beloved in the game he debuted in, despite being the Silver the Hedgehog of the X series.

First idea would be an overhaul in his move set. I say ditch the lame Copy Shot thing for his charge. Also have him function more like Bass from Mega Man and Bass/Mega Man 10, where he stands in place and you aim manually from the start. In 3D, (because I'm not getting rid of 3D) this could even include a first person aim function so you can be more precise. Also a light will shine to show your path so you're not relying on blind fire. Now, I'm thinking he could still charge a shot. What would he shoot? Well you could target multiple enemies at a time, release, and shoot a spread shot of small homing missiles at enemies or even Mavericks which can take a lot of these shots, of course. This feels more like a proper special ability and something that requires a meter for. So what do we do with that Copy Ability that makes him special?

Bio Metal

Yep, the special little MacGuffins from the ZX series. The very same. I'm thinking Axl would be the first Reploid to be made with an early version of Bio Metal, allowing him to change forms at will. This would be his version of X's Weapon Systems. Axl would gain new armor and abilities from the Mavericks he fights to boost his arsenal. A regular shot and a special shot. For example, with Ride Boarski, you'd shoot his regular weapon, but his Special move could be a Tackling Dash that would plow through enemies until the Meter runs out. Flame Hyenard could give a flamethrower for the main shot and his special could give you a clone that shoots for a few seconds. Tornado Tonion could give his leaf shot as a main, and his special lets you throw a tornado and damage enemies in a wide pattern. That sort of thing. The Mavericks aren't the only ones you're getting Bio Metal data from, though. Before I talk about that, let's bring up the main boy himself.

X

I'm thinking X would still be unlockable just like normal, but you'd play as him through an intro stage to feel the power you need to have back. Is he moping about violence and sitting on the couch like a lump like before? Yes and no. X, after causing a serious accident and putting innocent lives in danger, requests to be taken out of active duty until he can sort himself out, but he doesn't want to stop helping. Seeing how lousy X treated our new friend in the real story gave me an idea. Make X train Axl as his superior officer! Axl could be a trainee Hunter, still dealing with his checkered past with Red Alert and realizing they were no better than murderers, thus joining the Maverick Hunters to pay his dues to himself and prove to himself he isn't evil. X, seeing some of his own plight in his Rookie apprentice, starts taking a liking to Axl's ideals, despite his hot-headed, quick-to-the-trigger tactics and lack of professionalism. They butt heads through the intercom, with X saying this needs to be done by the book, but Axl wanting to show how he can take on any challenge no sweat and all that. X would be the Navigator for Axl, though Alia would aid as well.

Unlocking X

While saving Reploids will still be a thing, X will be unlocked halfway through the game. The whole thing would be integrated into the story. Axl defeats 3 or 4 Mavericks. All the while, X is still dealing with his fear of becoming a Maverick, fearing all he lost and hating his carelessness. Before your 4th fight, X will start getting more hostile and snappy at Axl, making Alia worried for X, since she's never seen him so worked up at himself. Axl begins to suspect X going Maverick to himself (he'd think "H-he isn't going...nah, of course not. Commander X is too strong for that...but...) Once the 4th stage is complete we get a midstage, like in Mega Man 7 or 8. A Mechanaloid is causing havoc in the city and Axl offers to go help. However, X sees that it's the same one that he caused the accident with and this sends him spiraling into anger.

"It's still out there?! After all I did, it wasn't enough?!? Damn it!!"

"Commander! Let me go take it out! Those people are in danger!"

"Why? So you can cause more damage with your recklessness?! You want to be a Maverick Hunter? Act like one and grow up!"

"...that's it... I'm not taking this from an old man that's crying about one little mistake he made!"

"...tch...you can't go anyway...you have your mission... just... stand down for now, kid."

"Commander X, what are you-?"

"You're right, Axl. I've been stewing about this for too long. This guy's mine. I have to prove this to myself."

That's how I think the scene would go. You go in as X and fight the Mechanaloid after a short stage rescuing plenty of civilians along the way. Alia and Axl are watching the events and communicating with X as well. X wins the battle, but suddenly his Buster goes off out of nowhere again, nearly destroying something that would put civilians in harms way. They are saved in the nick of time by Axl, who ports in anyway to try to help. X starts to doubt himself again, but Axl could see that it was something out of his control. The two go back to Hunter Base to run diagnostics and they find a bug in X's Buster systems, a lesser string of the Sigma Virus. X gets repaired after seeing this virus as a warning that Sigma might be back. This snaps him out of it and this gets him to go out and fight. You can now choose to go out as Axl, X, or as a team. If you go solo, your shots will be stronger, but without the backup, you'll be left with less defense.

Zero?

Nope, I'm not forgetting our favorite robot swordsman. At all. He will not make a physical appearance at all in the game. Why? Well...the Mega Man Zero series is still a thing. While I like the idea that Zero's ending in X6 being at the very end of the series, I'm trying to keep a stronger set of continuity here. Zero would still be in stasis, though he could communicate with X, since I'm thinking this could be a precursor to Cyber Elves, having Zero be something like a separate AI that can still communicate. As for playing as him? Oh he's still available...as a Bio Metal! I'm thinking after your first Maverick stage, a Zero spirit will appear in a level (kinda like the X Hunters in X2 but less stupid). Go find it, and Axl will be challenged to a fight against Zero, or at least a Reploid being controlled by his spirit. Before Axl finishes it off, X tells him to stand down, and Zero comes back to talk with X. The Spirit also leaves behind the Z-Saber, and thus infusing Axl with Zero's abilities, thus creating a prototype of the Z-Type Bio Metal from ZX.

Red Alert

So, get this. What if Sigma really WAS technically gone forever? I mean the bodies are all used up. The Spirit lives on, yes, but ol' Siggy ran out of his own bodies. Humor me here. What if Red Alert became the new villain faction full time? What if Red became the new face of Sigma? We'll call it...Red Doom or something. Sigma basically integrated himself into Red's systems and basically became part of his robotic code as thoughhe was always Sigma. This could also explain more why Axl needed to leave Red Alert, but it also shows how much in denial he was about Red going Maverick, since Red taught Axl everything he knows.

Script Changes?

I made my case about where the plot should go, but lemme try to work out personalities I think everyone could get down with in general.

Axl is the cocky, hot-blooded new kid who wants to prove himself to be better than where he came from. No petulant, childish talking or stupidity here. He'd be more like Sonic the Hedgehog but still acting just a little green. Still taking things just seriously enough for his quips to be endearing.

X takes his role as a CO very seriously. He's to the point and ensures that Axl is taught the way a situation must be handled. He hates how lax Axl is during his missions and tries to get him to focus. In combat, X is a no nonsense fighter who is ready to bring in the Mavericks, by force if need be. He doesn't try to get them to go peacefully considering his experience. (in fact he'll say once "I guess I can't expect you to come quietly?") No more "Why must Reploids fight each other" and blah blah blah. We all heard this. While he hates the fight, he knows at this point that the world needs a warrior, sort of like Gohan if that helps.

Zero is supportive of X and does his best to help keep his mind out of darkness. He'll even say "You were willing to stand by my side when I feared going Maverick, so I'll be here to do the same."

Red is a lot more cold at the start, outright insulting Axl, saying that he's no more than a worthless prototype, and the next generation of Reploids will be far superior to Axl's faulty design, or taunting X saying "How the mighty hath fallen. How does it feel, X? How does it feel to have to watch as the world crumbles to nothing through the eyes of your good for nothing amateur all because you couldn't keep a tab on your trigger finger?" Red will also be a boss at the end of Axl's first stage before the Maverick fights, and you're meant to lose it to show how powerful he is. You can see shreds of Sigma in there, but he is woven into Red's thoughts and personality in a way that makes Sigma and Red seem equal in the body, though a body can still be created (basically Red Sigma will be put in a more "Sigma appropriate" body with the bald head and big ass chin. Basically Sigma takes Red completely in a way. They're both in control, like their souls combined if that makes sense.

Everyone else is how they should be. Alia, for example is more like how she was in X8.

These are just a few changes that would make Mega Man X7 a much more plot centered game that knows how to work with it's characters. Other fixes like making it faster, tweaking the weapons, making Dr. Light stay as an AI, all that feels superfluous, because a lot of that just makes sense to change. Same with presentation, but with a new script, new lines are inevitable, so duh.

Stay tuned for more Game Fixes! If you want to request a game, lemme know!

[elleharperbcu]

Critical Thinking Lecture Part 3

Smart Textiles 

We have already identified some of the historical social influences on lifestyle which impacted fashion & textiles and we have started to try and predict how these drivers will impact the future of these industries. 

In today’s lecture we investigated innovations that already exist and are being developed for the future of the fashion and textiles industries. These innovations are split into three topics:

Innovative Smart Textiles 

Innovative Technology

Innovative Design 

Smart Textiles - The development of textiles to improve human’s everyday life, to benefit the industry, the health care sector and the environment. Smart textiles are split into two categories aesthetic and performance enhancing. 

Aesthetic Smart Textiles 

Wearable technology, the integration of technology and fashion.

Cutecircuit produce wearable technology: Supertwirkle Dress and a mini dress that reacts to the wearer’s movement by changing colour, The SoundShirt is used for music, hugs, and videogames, and also for access to live concerts creating an immersive augmented and virtual reality experience. The Soundshirt is a wearable device that enables deaf people to experience music. 

Mylo Vegan Leather - 

Mylo feels and looks like animal leather, it is grown from mycelium the underground roots of mushrooms. Low impact on environment; 2 week growth period, fewer greenhouse gases, uses less water than animal leather. 

Adidas, Stella McCartney, Lululemon and Gucci’s parent company Kering have teamed up to invest in Mylo aiming to create a commercially viable supply chain for the vegan leather.  

Performance enhancing textiles:

Futurelight is a smart textile that is breathable, whilst remaining waterproof, “contains holes so tiny, only air can come in and out. Water simply won’t fit” 

The fabric can be customised for the weather or geographical demands; protecting hikers from the snow, or provide air ventilation for runners.  

After doing more research into Mylo fabric I came across a website called Mylo Unleather. The allure of leather with a sustainable transformation, made from mycelium. The compound latticework of underground fibres are so strong they hold the planet together. Mylo is soft, supple, and less harmful to the environment. Leather has served humans for centuries, people have evolved and so should materials. In our resource-constrained world with a growing population, we are overdue for a renewable, sustainable alternative to leather. 

Unleather - The radical act of choosing products made sustainably with infinitely renewable mycelium over animal and synthetic-based materials. 

Mylo can be used like animal or synthetic leather,  and can take on any colour, emboss, or texture. Mylo has an unmistakable resemblance to animal leather, but with an unbelievably low environmental impact. Mylo consumes less land and emits fewer greenhouse gases than raising livestock. The mycelium used to make Mylo is grown from mulch, air, and water in just a few short weeks, versus the years it takes to raise cattle. Mylo is certified bio-based, which means it’s made predominantly from renewable ingredients found in nature today. 

Using Green Chemistry principles, Mylo is created through a highly efficient process that is designed to reduce environmental impact from start to finish. 

Mylo would definitely be a suitable fabric to use as an alternative to leather. It fits the brand's identity of sustainability perfectly and if our brand was to use leather-like fabric, mylo would be the best choice.  

Textiles of tomorrow will actively help share and potentially save it.

Organic Basics - Polygiene 

Self healing fabrics - damaged waterproof fabrics that melt at very low temperatures to repair. 

New smart material will form instant casts for accident victims.

Modified cotton cleans itself when exposed to sunlight. 

Clothes that dissolve and disappear may solve fashion’s sustainability crisis.

Chromosonic a fabric that can turn you into chameleon (US Military). 

Biocuture - grown fabric. 

Sustainable self-washing underwear.   

In the future, your clothes will clean the air, generate power and save life. 

Programmable - the ability of a material to change shape on demand.

Self-healing - materials that are able to repair themselves will not only increase product lifespan but also allow them to operate effectively in hostile environment. 

Genetically Engineered - the manipulation of biological systems to grow a new generation of materials that grow a new generation of materials that can be controlled at a molecular level. 

Purifying - materials that have the ability to filter out environmental hazards, creating pollution-free habitats. 

Transient - limited-lifespan materials reducing the impact of single-use packaging.

Technology - the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry. Machinery and equipment developed from application of scientific knowledge. Google translate. 

We then started to look at the following innovative technologies - 

3D digital clothing collection. 

Augmented pattern design - mission to reduce waste.

Blockchain technology. 

Digital Clothing - 

“Our value proposition is the dematerialisation of fashion” Hernandez 2021.

The Dematerialised - ending the future of fast fashion.

Positives - 

Larger outlet for creativity and experimentation.

Decreases the damaging impact on the environment.

Retailers can address more varied demographics.

Reduces global supply chains replaced by digital space. 

Vogue Business in 2019 Carlings released its first digital clothing collection; 19 genderless, size less pieces priced between 10-30 curos each, with a limited run of up to 12 garments. The customer’s photos were uploaded for Carlings to dress in the purchased outfit. Influencers were used to promote the collection, which was sold in a week. 

Current concerns for the development of digital clothing for fashion brands - 

Fashion designers are not trained in 3D modeling and sample patterns are not easily converted to 3D models. 

3D artists would be needed, at a cost!

Growth of digital tailors required.

Codes do not exist for all fabrics i.e. wool & silk. 

Innovative Technology + Innovative Design = Better fitting sustainable clothing. 

Fashion design practice wastes 15% fabric. 

Synflux has come up with a way to reduce fabric waste by creating clothes that fit a person’s body perfectly. The Algorithmic Couture project uses 3D- scanning to determine the measurements and then runs machine- learning algorithms to find the optimum design pattern, brining fabric waste to zero. Springwise.com 

Blockchain Technology - 

A digital record that cannot be altered, that details a product originality (genuine or an imitation) which will assist with specifying a product’s safety and ethical standards. Invaluable to limit the counterfeiting market and to help with the growth of sustainable fashion industry. Chitrakorn, K (2018).   

Prevents fraud as all components are traceable.

Faster supply & purchasing of goods (technology still developing).

Records the product from source - manufacturing - retail, verifying its sustainability.  

Innovative Design - 

Artificial Intelligence Fashion Design. 

3D Printed Fashion. 

Artificial Intelligence Fashion Design -  

Acne Studios use Al technology alongside generative artist Robbie Barrat to design and manufacture a fashion range for A/W 2020. A combination of algorithms and thousands of classic Acne designs were fed into the Al technology to design & produce the range. 

The runway show presented perforated shirts that referenced digital glitches, polo shirts without buttons (as the neural network did not understand buttons), and distorted snake prints covering the entirety of suits and oversized cape-like coats. 

3D printing - the process of making 3 dimensional solid objects from a digital file. 

Positives of 3D printed fashion - 

Custom-designed clothing.

Environmentally friendly; reduce waste, use of water & dyes. 

New fibres being developed that are so fine that they are comparable to cotton reducing heavy pollutant cotton farming.

Increase speed to market and supply chain, garments and footwear can be printed within 24 hours. 

Prototyping & sample made - cheap and time-efficient 

Negatives of 3D printed fashion - 

File piracy, authenticity.

Loss of manufacturing jobs.

Quality control, customers printing their own products. 

Have we reached the limit of 3D printing - 

The Spider Dress of Anouk Wipprecht has mechanical arms that extend and retract as a response to external stimuli when people approach. The wearer’s own breath will help to signal the defense posture of the robotic arms. The dress is fully 3D printed with the Selective Laser Sintering technology.