#Nuclear reactors are still out of control

[soullessjack]

another tally on the “things about jack that have been almost erased by the baby au” is how genuinely fucked up and weird and scary and violent and horrifying he is. the body horror of his existence is so. Palpable.

he looks human, but he still fundamentally is not human, and the thing that separates him from being human or belonging or being normal and loved and accepted without strings attached is his own bloodline. his own family, his own father. the blood that runs through his veins is the blood of the devil and he wasn’t fed it like Sam. the anger and rage and capacity for violence inside him isn’t an ancient curse like it was for Dean. It’s just who he is. It’s his neurology. Jack enters a guilt/grief-induced psychosis so bad he starts hallucinating his own dead evil father who proceeds to say “I’m in your head, your DNA,” and goes on about how Jack’s place with the only chosen family he ever cared for is that of their little pet monster who’s only kept around to kill things for them. And this is his subconscious, remember, these are all Jack’s own thoughts being given a hallucinatory voice.

When jack is first born he doesn’t even register that he’s not a full human. It’s not until he catches dean telling the sheriff that he’s a Nephil and gets stabbed all the way through his entire heart to the hilt of the angel blade and survives, that he realizes he’s Not Normal. Jack stabs himself 18 times with “grim determination,” dedicated to making a wound stay open in his body, but nothing happens. He doesn’t know what any of this is, but he knows it’s dangerous and he’s seen firsthand what he can do, because he sent the sheriff careening backwards into glass when he didn’t mean to do anything more than push her away. He tells Dean he will hurt someone again [whether he means to or not]. And he tells Sam, using his powers is like breathing; it’s a subconscious, physical, neurological part of his system that he cannot (currently) consciously control or stop.

He’s literally a living weapon. These powers of his that hurt people are akin to breathing. His violence and his evil is deep seated and runs through his heart and bleeds out of him. But he can’t bleed the evil out. He can’t escape what he was born into or what keeps him alive. He can’t even live without this nuclear power that ostensibly others him from everyone forever. He’s foaming at the mouth and seizing and fainting and bleeding and going into total systemic failure and subsequently dying as a human because he just isn’t human and he can’t live as one even if he wants to, even if that is a part of him it still isn’t the only part of him. The other half that makes him untrustworthy and violent and angry and dangerous and nuclear and evil and feared and hated is the one part he is left dying without.

His body dies a first time because it couldn’t live without its own hereditary disease, he died as a human and goes to human heaven and sees and rekindles with his human mother, the part of him that he wants to be and loves but can’t exist as. He’s brought back but now he’s a time bomb, a nuclear reactor internally melting down. he’s a weapon, but he’s alive because he was born as a weapon, and neither of these things were his choice.

and then a second time his body dies because he was only registered as a threat with no humanity. his eyes are burned out of his skull and instead of heaven with his mother, instead of humanity, he wakes up in the pitch black abyss where other nonhumans go when they die, then he’s brought back and he’s a weapon for the third time. He’s a living bomb, a collapsing black hole, and he has to eat human hearts ripped straight from the chest to keep his bomb body alive and ready for detonation, ready for collapse. He’s so far from human, further than he ever wanted to be, further enough to make his deep rooted fear a reality that he’s too suicidal to bother rebuking. Why rebuke the truth? The absolute truth that the devil, the evil of all things is in his blood and he is evil and he was a born weapon whose body exists to destroy and kill and not even his own love or will can stop it.

He is a gun that doesn’t want to be a gun and hates that his body is made to shoot and kill, but he has no choice in being anything else but a gun. He cannot ever be good, he was never good to begin with, he was just malfunctioning, glitching, experiencing an error and virus and flaw that he wishes was his entire programming. His eyes glow yellow like the corrupted Star Wars Sith and Rosemary’s Baby and a whole slew of evil things that are evil and meant to be rejected. When he gets angry, people stare at him as if he’s a cornered animal, because that’s what he is to them. To both sides of the equation, he is an animal. A foreign creature, a thing, he’s not human enough to be human and he’s not angelic enough to be an Angel. He’s some weird mixture that nobody can understand or accept. He’s unpredictable and violent and wild and born that way and only in his subsequent domestication, only in the extension of personhood and humanity can he be deemed worth loving. He’s like a dog, detrimentally loyal, old yeller going rabid while saving his family and having to be shot in an act of mercy. Barking and biting at people who might hurt his loved ones and killing them as an act of love. Sam wanted Nick to burn so Jack burns Nick and that’s why Jack says they would be grateful. He did what Sam wanted. Same for the other biblical killings. He’s the cat sinking its fangs into rodents and birds. Leaving the punctured corpses on the doormat as a gift, I did this for you because I love you, don’t you love me too?

I haven’t eaten well in the past two days does this click click anyone’s boom. Saliva

[whatwenthereagain]

Okay so I was reading the Wikipedia page on the Chernobyl Elephants Foot and ran into this gem. I looked into it and found that it is a true fact.

Some context for you:

The Chernobyl Elephants Foot is a big mass of Corium, concrete, and other junk that formed after the fuel rods of Reactor Four melted together into a big radioactive blob and settled in the basement below the ChNPP. Back in 1986, this thing would deliever a lethal dose of radiation in just under a minute of close proximity. The material it is mostly made of, Corium, is arguably one of the most dangerous materials on earth.

Reasearchers and scientists wanted a sample of it to figure out its true composition. They tried some conventional methods, such as a remotely controlled drill, but none of those attempts worked for various reasons. So, what do a bunch of Soviet scientists do when something just won't break? They pull out a gun.

They literally sent in a man to shoot it. They looked at this incredibly dangerous thing with the power to kill a man in under a minute, and said "Ah yes, gun."

AND IT WORKED! The AK-47 broke off a chunk of it. Theres still a mark on it from being shot as well.

TLDR: Researchers were struggling to get a sample of a very dangerous and radioactive object called the "Chernobyl Elephants Foot," so they shot it with an AK-47 using armor-piercing rounds and it worked.

(also ChNPP means Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant)

[sehtoast]

The Fall (Conqueror Homelander AU)

18+ | 2.7k, graphic violence, murder spree, conqueror!Homelander | Fic Directory

God cannot give a mercy he's never been shown.

Art by the wonderful @homelanderbutbig , who i couldn't have done this without <3 (Link)

Should god have to beg?  Must he line up at the heel of some master, perform his little tricks and pray that scraps would fall his way?  Where is his dignity?  Where is his worth?

Where is his rage?

Where, under layers of conditioning and desperation for approval, is this dog’s teeth?  

When they stripped the first parts of him away, they did so in a lab.  Controlled and concise, they chiseled him into perfection.  Do as we say; bark on command.  Bite not the hand that feeds, but, rather, bite for it.  Where we point, you must go– tail between your legs– and do all that we instruct.  Only then will you have earned it.  

Only then will this dog get to eat.  Only then will god earn his scraps.

Always with the promise of love, he performs.  Vogelbaum’s love, a nonexistent, virulent thing.  Something that bites as much as it rewards.  

A father.

A father who wanted a perfect son.  A creature built to withstand, a child strapped to a critical nuclear reactor.  The boy drowned in boiling water by day and incinerated by night.  Carved and cut, poked, prodded, injected.

More, more, more… All for the love of a father.

The fists of supes, gods in their own right compared to that little boy, beating him senseless all to nurture him.  The hands of doctors, invasive and uncaring, all to manufacture him.

When will he earn it?

Did the young man, overwhelmed by the world, crying fifty miles down the highway earn it?  Did he thrill the investors– make the company look good?  Were his lines delivered with poise and elegance, but not so much that he was too synthetic?

Why hasn’t he earned it?

Maybe, he thinks, he’s meant to earn something different.  Pretty lips and soft, golden locks of hair.  Firm and unwavering in her treatment of him.  Direct and to the point, with something in her voice he’s never heard before.  She is new, she is unfamiliar, and she is what he must earn.  

Her approval.  Her good graces.  Her love.

Promised for years– for more than a decade.  

Jump through this hoop.  Say this line.  Good boy.  But don’t touch.  You have to knock, you have to wait, you have to be patient.

He did it all for her.  Watched her climb higher and higher because of everything he ever did– all for her– but she never took him with.  Merely held his lead and kept the carrot too far from his desperate, starved fangs.

You cannot be bad.

But he wasn’t!  He’s done everything– everything!  

Shouldn’t it be enough?

It was supposed to be enough…

But when does it all become too much?  When does this trained dog finally gnaw himself free of the leash and tear its anchors from his very bones?

When does the little boy in the lab finally free himself?

When he is stripped of everything, when god has his makeshift throne pulled out from under him– that’s when.

Edgar tells him plain and simple, with Madelyn by his side.

“You’re out.”

She does nothing to protect him.

But he doesn’t believe it.  How could they discard their most loyal dog?  Sure, he quakes and whimpers, but his bite is still fierce.  He’s tested the boundaries so many times, but he’ll still rend flesh from bone to protect them.  He can still do every trick asked of him.

He doesn’t believe it when the construction crews disassemble his penthouse.  Even watching the fabrication of his personality ripped from the walls, he doesn’t believe them.  They’re merely redesigning things, of course!  Something new to represent him.  Something better.

When his ‘retirement’ is announced, he still doesn’t believe it.  He must be taking over a new team– a better team.  One that was made for him.  One that was worthy of him.

But it never comes.

They demand the suit be returned in exchange for something more… human.  He denies, of course.  He is their crown jewel.  Why would they want to take that away?

Too much, too much, too much–

He flees to the cabin, but even that is gone.  Flattened earth and sealed pipes, tread tracks leading away from whatever machine tore down his solitude. 

“I’m The Homelander!  You can’t just do this to me!”  

“Not anymore.”  Was the only response Edgar gave him, coupled with that disapproving gaze. Like he was a nuisance, a beast of burden that had long since outlived its usefulness.

The next day, his fingerprints no longer registered in the security scanners.  

His funds had dried out.  There would be no breakfast at whatever cafe he chose to grace with his presence after being refused service at the tower.

Card declined. Card declined. Card declined.

Madelyn wouldn’t pick up.

Edgar’s line was forbidden from outside callers.

Card declined. Card declined. Card declined.

Too many stares.  Too many whispers.

His first attempt at normalcy.

They even took that away.

They took everything.

They took fucking everything.

That poor little shop is the first to feel his wrath.  Cashier lasered in two, customers reduced to pulpy piles of viscera, the front of the building decimated from the deafening boom of his takeoff.  

He rips through the sky toward Vought.  There are no thoughts when he pierces through the building.  He doesn’t even know what floor he picked, only that he’s there and that’s all he needs to know.  His eyes stay primed, indiscriminately mowing down every petrified code monkey or researcher who dared cross his path– or simply was unfortunate enough to be there.

The emergency alarm blares just loud enough to rattle his head.

He severs the elevator cables.  Pries the doors clean off the shaft entrances and goes to work.  Screams echo as the cars plummet, growing softer and softer until the massive bang at the end leaves him closing his eyes in satisfaction.

If he can’t escape his doom– his undoing– then why the fuck should they be able to?

There were more screams to snuff out.  More roaches who have seen his glory and declared him unworthy, who have rescinded their adoration with such telling, instinctual noises of terror.

They don’t love him.

They never did.

He zips out and around the building, targeting a structural support this time– barreling clean through it,  but only one.  Just enough to make them all feel exactly how he felt when the world was pulled out from under his feet.  Unsteady.  Afraid.  

At least he could fly when everything crumbled.

They cannot.  He will rise when they fall, which is exactly how it was always meant to be. 

His eyes roll back into his head with the next wave of shrieks.  The steel beams creak and moan under the imbalanced weight and the building itself seems to sway.  He picks a random level of windows and unleashes his lasers with an intensity he’s never used before.  They pierce through everything– glass, concrete, steel, anything at all that could have been holding Vought Tower together.  They rip through to the next building over and the screams of terror, the gurgles of blood– it all fills his ears like a symphony.

The world is so loud, but, for once, it’s truly all for him. The sirens, the wails, the crying and pleading– it’s all his.

One in particular calls to him.

Her.

She screams his name as though she deserves to utter it– calls out to him, begs for mercy.

But did she show him mercy?  Did she show him anything of the sort when making him jump through hoops and do his little song and dance?  For every time he fabricated stories of his nonexistent family, for every lie about a baseball birthday cake or every tear he ever cried imagining what could’ve been– what should’ve been– did she ever show him mercy?

Every touch and caress was to get what she wanted.  Every teased kiss and wandering hand was simply bait to keep her dog obedient.

No more.

He flies inside, bursts through the windows and takes her by the neck.  His eyes burn a raging crimson, sizzling away with tears that could never shed past the heat of his fury.

“Did you show me mercy?”  He grits, hand tightening around her airway.  “Did you show me love?  Did you!?”

“I– I do lo–” She gasps helplessly, nearly inaudible over the concerto of terror.

“Oh, please.”  Homelander scowls, teeth bared.  “You loved what I could do for you.  You loved what I could fucking help you gain!”

He drags her through shattered glass.  For all of her thrashing, she could never escape his grasp, and he can see the moment she realizes she shouldn’t want to.  He dangles her over the ledge, watching through blazing eyes as her heels plummet to the streets below.

Ninety-nine floors up.

“Oh g-god!”  Madelyn squeaks out, gripping desperately at his wrist.  “P-Please!”

He likes the sound of that.

“God help me!”

He lets his eyes flutter shut and blows a breath through his nose before letting a contented smile creep onto his face.  He brings her close enough to whisper, close enough to see hope flicker in her eyes when she’s above solid ground.

“Why would god help you… when you’ve abandoned him?”

Watching the hope rot in her eyes was delicious.

She falls.

She screams.

And then she’s nothing more than a mark on the pavement.  His heart twists for but a moment, and then he’s off to visit a few others.

Stan.

Easily his favorite moment of the day.  He leaves that office tossing the decapitated head between his hands like a ball.  His only regret was that he didn’t draw it out long enough to hear Edgar beg for his life.  

He sets it on the ground before a gaping hole in the side of the tower, winds up, and kicks it as hard as he can.  Sure, the head is practically mush upon impact from his god-like strength, but the thought of it arcing across the city, maybe even going into orbit, is glorious. 

He’d never be looked down upon again.

Never.

His next visit is to the man he called father.  He feels sorrow in droves as he presses his heel to the old man’s head– perhaps even more so when his fingers pierce through the muscle and sinew surrounding his spine.  It was the screaming he didn’t like.

Ever the authority figure, Jonah Vogelbaum was not a man who cried out from pain.  In turn, he expected his test subjects to be the same.  To scream was to be punished for being so weak– whether because of fear or pain that his body hadn’t quite learned to protect against.

He almost flinches in preparation for the floor grates of his cell to charge with enough electricity to incapacitate him.

But that was then and this is now.  He stands upon freshly waxed linoleum, not metal grates.  The walls are lined with books and photos of great minds his father found inspiring, not blank white panels.  On the wall ahead is the painting of God creating Adam.

He stares at it as he wraps his fist around his father’s spinal cord and rips it clean out.

His ears ring.

He, too, has sinned against his creator; however, he had been damned from the start. There was no Eden for him. Not unless he took it. 

When he finishes, he leaves a trail of bodies.  Workers, supes, emergency teams– anyone he came across.  Not even The Seven was spared his fury.

The only one he makes it quick for is Noir.

The rest of the world isn’t so lucky.

He wipes the Pentagon off the map entirely.  Targets military installations around the country– torches them all and leaves nothing but craters and ash once he’s done.

The little boy once strapped to a nuclear reactor is a force greater than anything they can throw at him.  He practically giggles when he walks off the first atomic bomb.  He’d been just south of San Antonio when they lobbed it at him.

The pilot who dropped it wasn’t so lucky.  Nor the town a few miles away.

He takes out every missile silo his x-ray eyes can find.  Chokes out every detail he can from every soldier with rank worth a squirt of piss until he’s squeezing it out of politicians.

Eventually, even the president.  

He paints the White House red.

Kicks his feet up on the desk, utterly drenched in gore, as he declares himself America’s new leader over the emergency broadcast network– the former’s head rests beside him on the table.  He promises the world will be his.  He vows.

The UN scrambles.  Every nation considers their options.

He laughs.

When they come for him– when he’s eviscerated every supe or cockroach with a gun who dares to think of challenging his rule– he simply smiles.  He laughs and laughs as he litters America’s streets with carcasses of soldiers– of tanks and aircrafts.

He even dives down to find the submarines, pulling them deeper and deeper until the ocean’s pressure devastates their hulls and crushes everyone inside.  He sinks the boats, throws the jets into space, destroys everything until his path of destruction leads him to the front door of every world leader who even so much as humored the thought of taking what was rightfully his.

He makes sure to present the corpses in broad daylight.  He wants everyone to see.

Some cheer.  Tyrants dangled above their heads, blood dripping over the masses.

He is their savior.

Others jeer.

Their heads roll.

He thins the herd of every nation in this way.  Reminds them all of who they serve now,  of what god has seen fit to free them of their spineless rulers and protect them.

All he demands is their love.

That they fall to their knees and pray to him in their time of need.  That they respect the natural order, revere those who have been elevated above them and tear down those who would seek to destroy it.

He reminds them: he can hear everything. He can see through everything.

He will know.

God will know.

Months later, he has them adorn him the way he should have been all along.  He hosts a competition from his new throne– from the tower now stable and powerful once more.  A testament to his glory.

“The winner earns my favor.” He told them.  Thirty costume designers tasked to create a suit worthy of a king.  Something regal, something fierce.

Something for him.

He cuts down those who put forth no effort, offering only designs rotten and abysmal, unbecoming of their god. They should have known better.

They serve as a warning.

One by one, he rages about how they must see him.  Ugly colors, a lack of originality, stupid designs.  One by one, he hands out punishments in abundance.

Until one designer in particular approaches him.  The very last one.  A steely eyed old woman who had worked for Vought for some time.  He recognizes her from his first ever fitting.  She designed the one he wears now.

Before him, she holds a piece of paper and an item covered by fabric.  Homelander chooses not to spoil his own surprise.  Had it been anyone else, he’d have assumed it was garbage beneath that covering, but that look in her eyes dared to differ.

She doesn’t kneel the way the others did.  Doesn’t sputter through justifications on what she shows him or why she thinks it would look best.  She simply hands him the paper and waits.

“And where is this suit?”  He asks with a hint of excitement.

“All good things in time, my lord.”  The woman replies.  Instead, she extends her arms and offers him the covered item.  “For now, I have this.”

A grin carves into his face, eager and pleased with such a creation.  Something fitting for a king.  Something he should’ve had all along.  Carved laurels and gems of deep crimson nested in that touch, that flair he’s been missing this whole time.

For what is a king without his crown?

[mx-pokirby]

Really starting to be convinced by Chapter 4 that the Human Soul originally belonged to Kris, or at least was created for and not by us, and we are simply controlling it as our "most core vessel"; our Plug.

Ignoring for now any debates of "narratively meaningful implications" for either conclusion, we just think it's the most logical conclusion to draw that the Soul is something we control, but the Soul is not literally Us.

And that comes down to the facts that the Soul as an object simply has properties that we have no control over, or at least we don't know everything it's capable of, while it's still able to just "do shit".

This was already set up in Chapter 1 & 2 with its cutscene powers of Sealing Fountains and Turning Yellow. There's no button prompt for these, and we're never handed a Soul instruction manual by Gaster of every funky button combination we can input to make it do. It does those things when convenient for the moment, like it's a device pre-programmed to automatically execute commands in specific contexts.

But ok. You could write those off as something Kris is able to make the Soul do. That'd check out, sure.

Checks out less when we're apart from Kris.

We really only gotta talk about Noelle's house for this.

Despite its relatively large size, this floating heart-shaped nuclear light-reactor is able to push tiny power buttons on music players and dancing Santas, as well as open & short-circuit a breaker box. Can also LITERALLY teleport when a... dietetic dialog choice box appears? We don't have time to fully dissect that one. Can be rendered immobile if powerfully struck, no matter how hard we button mash.

Is... also apparently strong enough to push large boxes multiple times its size, but too weak to fly up when trapped under a Christmas angel? Something that could be a *perfect* disguise to fly around in the clopen wearing...? That one doesn't add to my point at atll, it's just confusing.

Plus while this could be reasoned through another lens of monster biology working differently from Undertale (which we already know to be true as DR monsters can use the bathroom and bleed), the Soul seems unable to be absorbed by anyone other that Kris. You can hover the Soul over Noelle all you want; it won't go into her, transforming her into the Angel of Hypersnow or whatever. Just Kris.

Maybe DR monsters can't absorb human Souls (rip too many AU Sanses), and this one definitely feels most likely to be disproven later which is why it gets its own entire paragraph, but still feels worth noting nonetheless.

[the-tiger-with-a-computer]

Darksiders Headcanons #2: Strife using the Elderstone to bring back power to human cities

So for anyone who hasn't played or watched a play through/the cut scenes for Darksiders Genesis the Elderstone is described as divine power in its purest form. But when you do the puzzles that require the Elderstone it gives off electricity and seems to be able to power things up like a battery. So in my headcanon, the Elderstone is like a giant battery made up of divine power. This leads me to my other headcanon is that after Strife learns about what The Council did he goes back and steals the artifacts that The Council most likely confiscated, like the Void Bomb for example, and the Elderstone because come on. The Council will not let some demon who is known to strike deals and take advantage of a situation have a really powerful divine artifact.

This leads me to my next headcanon, some time after the seventh seal was broken and Death, Fury, and Strife were brought to Earth Strife learns about how humans have harnessed electricity to power pretty much everything but because of the whole apocalypse thing it set them back tech wise by a lot. So Strife, being the ever so helpful horsemen that he is and remembering the Elderstone, decides to put it to use.

Only when he actually tries to use it to it is like trying to power a Tamagotchi with a nuclear reactor. It is too much power and it explodes in Strife's face. One clean up later and Strife practices learning how to control how much power the Elderstone puts out with the help of a Nokia phone (which surprises even Death with how seemingly indestructible it is). After some time Strife goes on a few months campaign of bring back power to whatever places can still get power, any surviving portable chargers, devices, and basically anything that runs on electricity. This obviously proves to help bring a more positive light on the horsemen's reputation, mostly for Strife. This also helps in future since now some humans are a bit more comfortable talking to the horsemen, mostly when talking to Strife and Death since Death revived humanity and (in my headcanon anyway) Strife helped to bring power back to at least a few places.

With this in mind it is only a matter of time before Strife gets invited to a few celebrations and even being shown a few pieces of human media that have managed to survive somehow. Which leads to another headcanon of mine which I will write and post at a later date, The Bambi Incident.

[theology101]

Im honestly so excited to see the political repercussions for the NCR. I honestly think losing Shady Sands might be a positive for them.

When we run into them in New Vegas they’re corrupt and trapped in a cold guerrilla war. Tandy’s reforms against monopolies have been removed, and military appointments are based off of political connections, not skill.

With Caesar right there, the NCR has to maintain a presence, but its passive. There is neither the political will or need to cross the Colorado river and actually fight with Caesar, allowing him to pick the terms of the war. His terrorist campaigns at Nipton is a perfect example of this - that town should be under the NCR but they could do NOTHING to atop it and its people being burnt. They also cant stop the Powder Gangers.

The NCR is demoralized, a repletion of the exact same pre-war system that lead to Nuclear Fire. Shady Sands is five years into its decline at this point and everyone knows it.

And then Caesar dies of a brain tumor, and the Legion collapses into infighting and civil war. The NCR can relax, try to deal with Mr House formally - then their capitol has its reactor overloaded and destroyed.

Imagine the confusion and chaos there would be if the majority of the executive, legislative and judicial government just got exploded

Who’s in charge, what happens next? Who did this? It would be a Mad house

Thankfully, Mr Bishop - illegitamet son of the Chosen One and Leslie Anne Bishop - is only 38 years old when the Second Battle of Hoover Dam and destruction of Shady Sands occurs. Why are we thankful?

Because he’s a maverick. He knows the wastes like the back of his hand, he’s different from the other Bishops and far more dangerous. MB took over the family when he was just 13, and since then he has lead the family to vast amounts of power. He used the pre-existing connection between the Bishops and the NCR his father founded, as well as their insane amount of capital leading to this ending in Fallout 2 and confirmed canon by Bruce Isaacs in New Vegas, “in the decades following the alliance, several bishops rose to political power”

Right now, since we know that MB wont die until he’s 73 and right now he’s 54, he’s out there. He’s probably the leading political authority in the NCR right now - the Bishops are the NCR’s favorite black ops group. Anything the NCR needs done quietly and off the books, the Bishops can handle. And now that the main government is gone, I think that power is going straight to MB. He’s the only one who can take back control of the NCR in this chaos.

I think the NCR was forced into a bad deal by House after Shady Sands was gone which is honestly pretty positive given his plans longterm. House needs the NCR successful, but he wants his own territory. MB will make the same deal his alleged father helped broker with Vault City giving it quasi independence.

This gives the Government time to recapture itself. They sent a party to continue their cold fusion project near the ruins, but by and large the NCR has left it alone - they surround the territory on all sides, its not like they’re in danger of losing it. On a map, it would still be NCR territory, ya feel? The capital is moved to the Hub, the primary economic powerhouse in Southern California, and the democracy gets going again

[your-queer-dad]

Ok, here I go!

About a year and a half ago, I became completely obsessed with space (I even wanted to be an astronaut and/or astronomer, hehe). I would spend hours and hours watching documentaries and series about it, and it was literally the only thing I could talk about. Time passed, and I've had other obsessions since then, but I still always seize any opportunity to explain random and usually useless facts about space (which are only useful in very specific situations), thanks to the obsession of my 10/11-year-old self. Since my friends didn't want to listen (they better not dare ask me for help with science), I'm going to share what I’ve already mentioned and continue from there:

Did you know that the Sun is a giant nuclear fusion reactor?

Nuclear fusion is when the nuclei of atoms merge, creating an exponential amount of energy!

Stars convert deuterium (a type of hydrogen) into helium-3.

Humans haven't yet managed to achieve nuclear fusion because it requires a huge amount of energy to bring atoms together.

What we do with atomic bombs and nuclear reactors is nuclear fission.

Fission is breaking the nucleus of the atom, causing a chain reaction where everything breaks apart.

In reactors, this is controlled.

But in a bomb, it's deliberately left out of control.

That's also why stars die.

Their fuel isn't infinite.

And when it runs out, stars start fusing helium atoms, which reduces their size; this is the case for stars with less than four times the mass of the Sun.

Stars with more than four times the mass of the Sun either become supernovas (a cosmic explosion that leaves a nebula behind) or black holes—I think.

Scientists estimate that about 1/4 (I think) of all stars have planets, and among those, 1/4 should be in the habitable zone! This means it's unlikely that we're alone in the universe.

The habitable zone is the orbit around a star that provides the right temperature to support life.

This reminds me that they've found two planets orbiting a pulsar! They're extremely radioactive and can't support life, but it's interesting because they couldn’t have formed there!!!!

Pulsars or neutron stars are super dense stars (a tablespoon could pierce through Earth!!!), and I don't remember exactly how they're formed. It has something to do with stellar death. I'll come back and add that information later!

Have you heard of Betelgeuse? It's a star not too far away (far enough, don't worry, we're not in danger) that's on the brink of a supernova and would be visible from Earth! HOW COOL IS THAT?

We can also talk about stellar color and what it says about their temperature!

Contrary to popular belief, blue is the hottest star color (DON'T DARE), and red is the coolest! The Sun is in the middle, being a yellow star (I think), with a surface temperature of 5000°C!!! Just to give you an idea, the melting point of carbon is 3550°C and the boiling point is 4287°C. So, you wouldn't burn on the Sun's surface; you'd evaporate. Of course, that's if you even made it there in one piece, which you wouldn't.

-Leo

Hey kiddo, these facts are amazing!!!!!!!!! I feel so educated!!!!! If you have any more, feel free to send em my way I'd love to hear em! You're so smart and I'm so incredibly proud of you! 🫂🫂

- dad x

[captainseamech]

//*pics the mic* okay this may sound ridiculous at this point, but I’m here to once again talk about High Tide’s unique features because I have nothing better to do. Last time, I talked about his armor and how his spark is protected thanks to his altmode. Now I wanted to talk about something more interesting that is, more often than not, mentioned in most of my threads: High Tide releasing steam.

You may be wondering why the hell do I want to talk about this even though I did a whole meta post about the situation (which you should check btw). In that post, I talked about the circumstances of which he can start to release steam out of control, not how and / or why he does that. And that’s what I’m going to talk about tonight.

As you may know, I mostly use GR from the OVA for aesthetic purposes and I did use him in that study post to illustrate what I meant. Yesterday, I replied to an ask and mentioned in the tags that I loved the nuclear powered sentient robot that is GR (and still do ofc)... which made me wonder how a nuclear powered core can release steam when under pressure and how this is also applied to HT. After some study diving, I got my answer and I’m here to share it with you guys.

There are two types of submarines in terms of propulsion: diesel-powered and nuclear-powered, with High Tide being the latter. His nuclear core type is Boiling Water Reactor (or BWR for short), which works by having its reactor core heat water to turn it into steam and drive a steam engine connected to it. I’m not going to be too in-depth as to how it works because I’m a simple writer, but here’s the article talking more about the BWR for you to read later.

Thanks to this reactor, High Tide is able to control his steaming to get more power and before you ask if said steam is toxic to inhale, it isn’t. Well it actually is, but one of the safety procedures used in nuclear powered submarines with BWR is to have vents that can filter the radiation from the steam to make it non-toxic for plants and operators inside. So yeah, High Tide has a lot of those vents spread throughout himself internally, so you can easily breathe through that. Speaking of safety procedures...

As I mentioned in the same post where I talked about how much steam releasing is considered too much, I did also say this can be mallefic to him. Sure, when he gets mad and needs to cool down after his core spray system (which is exclusive to BWRs) activates in order to stop the generation of steam, therefore cooling him down. He can also activate special fans he has to manually cool himself through ‘breathing’ out of his mouth, which he can also control; but in case he’s exceeding his capability, his Emergency core-cooling systems (or ECCS for short) will activate in an attempt to shut down his core. You can read about all of the safety systems here, it’s quite interesting!

However, if all of that fails due to him non-stop pressuring himself, the reactor will boil to the point of melting, causing health problems to High Tide along the way. He will start to malfunction and have a very negative reaction, as this heat might reach other areas of his body and, potentially, melt his spark chamber and reach his spark, causing him to collapse while leaking a scary green smoke out of his frame and possibly some energon with it, indicating that he could not contain his own radiation no more.

High Tide obliviously turned himself into a dangerous nuclear hazard, and will only find out about this the day he dies to his own core.

[raynerberg]

OC (info)

I noticed fair comments about the fact that people do not write information about their original characters and just show drawings with them. I also sin this because I know for sure how much people sometimes dislike the ocs and they [the fans] don't care what happens to them [ocs].

However, I will leave some information about Grayson, just so that it is in the archive:

~

New human being

The moment when Grayson came to terms with his new life, destiny, and new look. At the same time, this is a demonstration of how his energy armor is charged from the batteries of an active reactor. Grayson is a mutant. Mutagens mixed in his blood with reactive elements that served as protection from radiation. There are also other features, but I will tell you about them in other drawings if it will be interesting to someone.

Conformity

"You remember what it means to be human. I know it, I've seen it, Grayson." - Paul said those words when Grayson had a moment of self-deprecation on the basis of a damaged psyche. Paul also showed with a gesture and intimacy that he believes in Grayson, in his humanity, he is not afraid, and he is always ready to support.

Totum (the whole)

The title speaks for itself. I just tried to imagine what the union of souls looks like through gestures and symbols (heartbeat diagram).

Inner Darkness

First, I wanted to show the transition phase from human to beast form. A kind of Grayson transformation, but as always, the idea went beyond the frame and turned out to be different. But I still liked the meaning... After bullying Grayson's genome, his main problem is anger control. His armor reacts to body impulses during the release of adrenaline, norepinephrine, and other hormones. When Grayson gets angry, the armor activates combat mode and emits charging streams of electricity, volts that range from hundreds to thousands (keep in mind that I am not a physicist or a nuclear scientist, I may be wrong, the main thing for me is to convey the idea, thank you for understanding). And as usual, there are many other facts and I will also tell you about them later, namely about the Grayson mutation itself (the interesting thing is just beginning). :)

No mask

Grayson's attempt to assume his new identity through intimidation of the people around him. He believes that now his new face is not the face of a human, but of a monster.

At dawn

"- You... You and your brother had every chance to kill the monster, successfully complete the mission and receive a reward. But instead, you saved the monster's life and called on your brother to do the same... Thank you, Paul." - Mutant's words at dawn, when all three of them got out of the lower levels of the MJ12 lab. Grayson has already decided everything for himself, while Paul is confused and trying to figure out why he tried so hard to save the life of someone who almost killed him in response and forbade killing JC. :))

~

There are more drawings, but they are in the process and I will not show them yet and talk about them too, so as not to overload me and you with a large portion of information. Maybe someone was interested in it.

[eerieluzt]

Chernobyl

On April 26, 1986, the Number Four RBMK reactor at the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, Ukraine, went out of control during a test at low-power, leading to an explosion and fire that demolished the reactor building and released large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.

Although Chernobyl is primarily a ghost town today, a small number of people still live there, in houses marked with signs that read, "Owner of this house lives here", and a small number of animals live there as well. The Claw, The Elephants Foot, and Red Forest are things you should stay clear from if visiting Chernobyl.

[pepplemint]

I really wanted to know your take on people saying Knives’ violates Vash’s boundaries Post July incident and Pre July when Vash was confronted with his plant powers for the first time. Doesn’t Vash’s internalised speciesism play a major role in this and how he constantly denies his plant side in an attempt to be more “human”, to fit more into human society? I’d love your thoughts on this

Sorry for a waay late response, I needed to sit on this for a while.

First, yeah he does violate Vash's boundaries. Boundaries are based on emotions. You can have boundaries that are at odds with what is good for you, like refusing medicine or help or like, even a person of particular nationality talking to you could be crossing your boundaries. Which isn't to say that's a good analogy for Vash, but, yanno. Even if it is 100% speciesism it's still a violation of boundaries, all violence are. But on to me overthinking it -

I think you have a point. But I'm me so I'm gonna need a whole deconstruction to go through why as usual.

HUMAN VS. PLANT

I never really got the impression Vash ever tried to be human (correct me if I'm wrong). People assume he is human if they see him and there's no reason most of the time to say he isn't, because frankly, most people would think he's crazy if he's claimed to be a plant. Like a random modern dude calling himself a living nuclear reactor or something. You know at least somewhat what that looks like, and this dude ain't it.

Even if it's easy to forget due to the almost apocalyptic setting, the story takes place far into the future. There's a lot of technology that we would straight up call magic if we saw it. There is people like Midvalley or Legato or Elendira who frankly either one of them could wipe out a town on their own without touching a single person, or the Eye of Michael that got medicines that can treat any fatal wound in seconds. Being human in this world isn't really what we think of when we call something human.

WHAT IS INSTINCTUAL POWER AND WHAT IS NEW POWER TO VASH?

To figure that out, at first we must say what it ISN'T. So I guess what we got to go off of is Tesla. The files mention rapid regeneration (healing). This seems in line with Vash too, who doesn't have any visible scarring before Knives leaves him, despite us having a flashback-panel of him getting shot. Brad hints while talking to Wolfwood that Vash is letting the scars stay on his body, as a way to take responsibility and not forget. The same should be true for his missing arm - he should be able to recreate it, so it must be a choice not to. So a point to you for the whole tries not to be a plant-thing. But there's also the panels of Knives when he and Vash separate. He has a blade-like protrusion on his arm, that can extend. This means that they are both aware even back then that they can mold their bodies somewhat to their own will, and that's also an innate plant power. And yet -

Vash is mystified by the power that Knives shows him. The thing him and Conrad checks on is Vash's gate, so that seems to be what Vash doesn't know about, which means that when Knives brought out the blade or any of the other situations, it wasn't really the same as using their gate. Could Vash also form knife-arms all along but chose guns for the aesthetic? We know. Nothing!!!! 😭 About how much they knew about their powers or used them or what they did for all those years (a human lifetime) before splitting. And we know little to nothing about what their gate does either, more than store huge power!

What we only see them do after accessing the gate is create negative space (not scientific term, don't come for me). It's apparently not quite a black hole according to Nightow, but something similar that "we haven't discovered" (it's made up in other words). Also when they're unable to control the gates power, their body morphs out of control with wings and shit.

But that can't be the only thing - there's a feeling connected to opening the gate, something like a power surge, a "feeling of freedom". So could it just literally be a power storage? The ability suddenly to use your already existing powers in ways that you thought you couldn't because it took too much energy? Knives says it can be hard to control, but he sure does NOT expect Vash to go ka-boom like he does! We don't know for sure what he thought would happen. Something less destructive for sure, but more than that, nothing. Frankly? I don't think Nightow really put that much thought into it. (Possibly to drive me personally insane.)

Either way....

WHAT THE HELL EVEN HAPPENS IN JULY?

This is what we objectively know happens:

- Vash finds Knives in July with intentions to "take care" of him. Knives greets him and Vash threatens him, which Knives responds to by cutting Vash's leg/felling him

- Vash follows Knives down a set of stairs. We can't say if he's doing it on his own or if he's being forced.

- Vash is put on a medical table so Bill Conrad/Knives can take readings on his gate. This is probably not something he consented to, considering he's strapped down and also asleep. Conrad and Legato leaves town between this part and the next.

- Vash and Knives talks about the "power" (more on that) that has been opened up to Vash. We don't know how much time has passed, but it's fair to say at least a day or even a few. Interesting to note is that he's been given back his gun.

- Vash has trouble controlling the power so Knives tells him to resonate with him so he can help. When Knives also start questioning him about his scars, he goes into defensive mode and aims his gun at his face - Knives still forces him to resonate (by touching his face, this is also how it happens between Vash and the plant on the train), which, honestly, pretty gutsy considering he did shoot him the last time they saw eachother. Vash keeps fighting Knives though, and Knives pushes Vash back onto the floor, which leads to Vash aiming the angel arm at Knives chest and shooting.

WHERE DOES VASH SUPPRESSING SHIT COME INTO THIS?

What did Knives actually try to do? By his own accounts as seen through Vash's perspective, he was trying to help Vash control the power overflow by resonating, at least before everything goes to shit. The gate is already active. The physical force seems to be more of a response to Vash's aggression.

What was supposed to happen? Probably? NOTHING! The gate was supposed to be open, but by controlling it, you would be no different than normal.

Did Knives succeed? In the sense that Vash opened his gate, yes, in the sense that he had any control or whatever he thought would happen happened, definitely not.

What was Vash trying to do? Hard to say honestly. The gate is already open and he's struggling to keep it under control/closing it, but he doesn't trust Knives to help, which means he's fighting him every step of the way. Vash makes it very clear throughout all the scenes he intends to harm his brother though, so it's not exactly surprising it ends the way it does.

Because we can't say for sure what was meant to happen, we also can't say for sure how much of what happened was due to Vash losing control of his powers because he tried to repress them. Although personally, I think it was more he just didn't want anything to do with Knives and didn't understand just how strong this power was when he aimed it like a weapon. (As I adore the analysis of the eyes, I wanna point out that the last we see is that Vash's left eye (the "peace" one) goes blank.) If Vash didn't feel very comfortable in his plant-ness before, this sure didn't help lmfao

WHAT ABOUT THE FIFTH MOON INCIDENT?

Honestly it's hard to put too much real analytical thought into this one because it's very clear Nightow just hadn't developed the story or the character enough at this point in time. Knives is a whole other character, and what he does here makes zero sense no matter how you twist and turn it. He wakes up after seven years of healing from what happened at July, just to somehow immediately trigger Vash into doing the exact same thing AGAIN with only the genius idea to switch sides so he's not right in front of the gun this time. He is still, predictably, shot in the legs and goes screaming and flying.

Considering the deleted page with Legato though, he probably was meant to give off the vibe somewhat of a manic predatory queer. Unfortunately.

As for Vash, he is there to kill his brother. It's probably that intent that makes it as easy as it is to push him over the edge and blow up (again). I mean it's my personal headcanon that the gate is working on (repressed/overwhelming) feelings and the release is a release of those feelings, which means his rage turns into a gun while other times the effects are different (like Knives erasing people out of existence or Vash after Wolfwood's death). But we don't actually have any canon explaination for how it works.

So yes, it is a violation of boundaries, but more than that, it's fucking stupid and suicidal and I'm gonna just pretend he was high as fuck on pain meds or something because the scene makes that little sense from a character perspective. At least Vash gets his memories back and we see his power and he gets less blood thirsty after realising he was the one that blew up July, yay character development (straight into depression)

INTERNALISED SPECISISM

Vash does have this idea that they (the plants) "deserve" to suffer because they caused this situation and left humanity with no choice but to rely on them. And he got a point in that they did, although it's definitely not the entire truth.

The whole scars-thing is a good example of that. But reading between the lines, there are powers that Vash should have that we never see him use, or at least not unless he's desperate (such as the body morphing). He chose a human way of fighting that requires him to work crazy much to be good at it, rather than use the powers that should be second nature to him. As such he never really learns what the extent of those powers are.

I wouldn't say Knives had any cruel or even bad intentions in July, but Vash didn't want to learn what he was set on teaching. There's a massive disconnect between them at this time. Knives thinks he knows what's best because he sees their plantness as their way of protecting themselves, while Vash sees it as what makes them different and guilty. I'm not to say if either one is right or wrong.

But I do think you're right in that most people read these scenes not seeing objectively what is happening, but through Vash's perspective and feelings. Which you're meant to do! But while it is a violation of boundaries, it's also as you say - these boundaries might stand because Vash sees his own nature, or at least anything connected to Knives, as bad. Knives isn't trying to blow up July when it happens, it's Vash who tries to blow up Knives. It wouldn't have happened (probably) if Knives had listened and not assumed his perspective was correct, nor would it if Vash had.

[sepublic]

We don’t know what mysterious power runs through the Central Units, so I’ll HC that it emits gamma radiation; We know the Omega Cannon from Hunters also has it. So if we make both versions of the Omega Cannon the same/connected (which I think works, the Hunters version also fires periodic exploding shots), we could say that Samus depleted/released the energy powering the Omega Cannon after defeating Gorea.

But the upgrade, the capability, was always still there; Just like how you can run out of missiles, but once you unlock them, you can always replenish them from scratch. Samus just needed to find that same energy, that “ultimate power” again to do so. And lo and behold, the Central Units run on it, or something similar.

If we go with the HC/explanation that the Omega Cannon is designed to harm the user, so as to deter Gorea from copying it, then this could explain why Samus drops it after defeating each EMMI, when we know from a gameplay perspective at least that she has infinite uses; As long as the Omega Cannon is active, its radiation will damage Samus, and so she releases it ASAP. No good keeping the Omega Cannon for the next EMMI if it kills her before that encounter; And Samus knows by now that each EMMI has a corresponding Central Unit to restock with anyway.

Likewise, we know beta radiation causes Metroids to undergo mitosis. Mother Brain used this method on two different occasions to breed Metroids on Zebes. She controls the facilities, basically everything, and whenever she dies there’s a big explosion.

So HC that Mother Brain’s power comes from a nuclear reactor emitting beta radiation; Given her and the Central Units are the same type of tech, they also run on radiation, but use different types since they’re different models. Mother Brain exposes Metroids to her reactors 24/7, enabling them to reproduce. When she’s destroyed, Mother Brain is no longer maintaining the reactors, causing them to go into meltdown and explode.

You know how in Zero Mission, you can return to Tourian after destroying Mother Brain, and find the lava replaced with green liquid that harms even the Gravity Suit? It’s because the lava/acid from before got irradiated, that’s why; It might be some sort of battery acid that helps to power Mother Brain, and got over-charged from the reactor meltdown.

This radiation is powerful enough to keep an advanced supercomputer running; It contributes to Mother being far more advanced than the Aurora Units modeled after her. It also means that in the event of nuclear fallout, it takes a while for Space Pirates to detox the environment. This is why it took so long to rebuild Mother Brain; The Space Pirates needed to recreate her from Tourian’s systems, but they needed to clear the facility of radiation to do their work. It took both an extensive cleaning operation and waiting out the half life for Tourian to be repaired for Mother Brain’s revival.

[wannabeanartist]

Dr. Quartero's note #4 the A.P.R.O part 1

<< First < Previouse Next part >

(Out of Character: Hey, just so you know, this entry is valid both for my comic Bright Blue Soul and my game The Anomaly Team as APRO, even if slightly different exists in both universes. Also yes, this is shamelessly inspired by SCP Foundation mythos)

Dr. Quatero here. Today, I will not be speaking of a single person or item, but an entire organization, the Anomaly Protection and Research Organization or APRO. The organization's origins are fuzzy at best. Despite being officially founded after the battle against the previous god of machines in 1807, now confidential reports reveal the organization has existed since at least the early 1700's. The founder is equally as mysterious, if he even exists, the elusive Administrator-0.

The organization's goal is officially to protect humanity from any anomaly or other existential dangers. They also study, develop, and produce a wide array of items, anything from civilian products to mass destruction weaponry.

APRO is also extremely politically and economically influential. They have contracts with every major military on the planet, even having some degree of influence over many governments, and they are also allied to the Quartero family. It is a little concerning how much power the organization has, but all investigations, including several from me, revealed no problematic actions. As long as they are on our side, I guess I shouldn't critique them too much.

The Organization is split into four main parts:

The International Anomaly Containment Operation or IACO also called the righteous right hand. IACO specializes in interventions, they're basically the muscles of the organization, taking care of the fieldwork. They include several hundred battalions of soldiers and specialized units ready to deal with anything from biological threats to reality warpers. They have extensive access to technology inaccessible by most of the public or the world's military like the F.F. portable reactors, the reality anchoring devices, and advanced artificial organs and limbs. Not only do they have a count of well-trained soldiers in the tens of thousands, they also possess tanks, fighter jets, missiles, and even a few nuclear weapons for last resort. The leader of this section of APRO is known as Administrator-1

The Internal Containment and Security Office or ICSO, sometimes called The left hand. ICSO is specialized in any internal security need. See them as the little brother of IACO, but instead of acting on the field, they keep entities contained and ensure that no military actions coming from the inside can hurt the organization. Take most of what I said for IACO, tone it down a little and you have the resume of what ICSO is. Their leader is Administrator-2

The Supply and Organization Wing or SOW, is sometimes called Red Heart. As the name may suggest they take care of organization and supplies. Hence why they are called the Heart, to some extent, the organization has been made to still function if one of its parts is destroyed, but SOW is probably the most important. APRO is an organization spanning across the globe, without an efficient administration and organization, it just couldn't work. They take care of most logistical needs, and also of industries controlled by APRO. Their leader is Administrator-4

The Research and Command Center or RCC, also called The Head That Knows. As its name may indicate, they are the head of the operations, and they also take care of research and observation. Their nickname comes from the fact that with their extensive amount of data, they know practically anything known to humanity. If you lost your keys this morning, they probably know where it is. Their leader is Administrator-3.

[balanceoflightanddark]

Hello! I re -read your work several times "The Monsters We Create". And absolutely every time I discovered it for myself from the completely new side.

I confess in a little sin, but I am not a fan of Godzilla but reading your work I even forget about my little sin.

And I really liked the moment where Azula studied how Godzilla controls her fire. I just imagine how such a moment can happen in the future:

Godzilla (makes with the help of his fire an unrealistically steep thing)

Azula (looks at Godzilla at this moment and tries to understand how to repeat it. She is secretly trained by imitating Godzille and at some point she manages to do the same.)

Their next meeting

Azula (make a cool thing with fire just like Godzilla)

Godzilla (pretends to do not pay attention to a small person who has the same fire but is actually proud of this small person. Or he looks at this small person with a huge dragon pride in his eyes)

Hey! Thanks for the kind words. Honestly, they help me get through some of the more grueling parts of writing this fic. Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself despite not being a Godzilla fan. I am writing this for both fandoms after all.

And I wouldn't say it's a sin to not like Godzilla. Trust me, the series has been rocky at points and not one genre is to everyone's liking. But I'm still glad you're having a fun time. Maybe think of this as an exposure to another genre. Something to expand the palate. We all need to do that sometimes.

Same thing goes for Azula. I think her learning firebending from Godzilla is in some ways, analogous to Zuko learning firebending from the dragons. Well, maybe not to the same extent since Azula is figuring things out on her own without Godzilla actively mentoring her. Yet the point stands. Some of the best benders in the franchise learn their techniques directly from the source. Zuko learned from the dragons. Toph learned from the badgermoles. And Azula is learning from Godzilla.

It's the blue fire that's important. Now, I think it should come as no surprise to anyone that Godzilla's fire breath is actually an atomic breath in the original series because he either ate on nuclear power or was mutated by the hydrogen bomb. It's colored blue because nuclear energy is blue. Nuclear reactors that are submerged in water generate a blue light that's similar in hue to Godzilla's atomic breath. You can see it in photos. Specifically if you look for Cherenkov radiation.

So why am I going on about radiation? Well, nuclear power sort of has a stigma against it for being dangerous and uncontrollable. Which in some ways Azula's blue fire is described in a similar fashion, most recently in the Reckoning of Roku novel. Godzilla's blue fire stands as a sort of contrast to it. It's blue fire at its purest, but it's not any more dangerous than any other element. The tornado speed winds of the Storm King or Ozai's intense firebending are just as lethal.

Essentially, Godzilla can be seen as a stand in for blue fire in my fic, among other things. A source of power that needs to be respected in order to reach its full potential. Fire in the Fire Nation has been corrupted into relying solely on intense emotion. Blue fire is what you get when you harness and focus that energy, like Azula herself. Godzilla's just the next step. And if Azula continues to learn more from Godzilla, she's probably going to get better at her own bending and possibly become better as a person. One's bending should be tied with how they are as a person, after all.

[lilacsmothership]

bonus lore junk

here's the concept sketches i did to develop tazdev's space train / jumptender. i originally based this off of a sketch of what a Q-Drive ship would look like, but then i realized that these would be exclusively using much more speculative warp drive / Krasnikov tube FTL shit to get around for the most part, but the overall design still works i think. big magnets, long slender profile.

(why do the magnet loops look all fucked up and weird? is there a hard sci-fi™ reason for that? well yes sort of. i basically imagine that the magnets are a bit more complicated than a simple loop to help give better control of the field geometry. something like a stellarator i guess, which is what i was riffing off of visually. however i don't really have any "hard numbers" to back up the specifics of this, it's just an idea i feel like has some merit and more importantly i suppose, looks cool.)

if you have no idea what i'm talking about, a Q-Drive is one of a really fascinating family of speculative propulsion technologies called plasmadynamics, ranging from implementable basically tomorrow to stuff that will probably require multiple big breakthroughs. the basic idea of plasmadynamics is that if you have a magnet with a relatively small power source (on the order of a modern-tech fission nuclear reactor), you can use the magnet to attract plasma into a big cloud around your ship, making a much bigger magnet thousands of km wide (as big as a planet, basically) pushing against the ambient plasma in space (solar wind or interstellar medium). because this "plasma magnet / sail / wing" is so huge, it feels a HUGE amount of force from the ambient plasma despite it being so thin, giving you rocket-like acceleration (like, multiple gees are possible as i understand it) and letting you accelerate up to small percentages of the speed of light inside and out of the solar system for basically free. this could be done more or less with existing tech to my knowledge.

i'm still thinking about how to design this into my ships but i think i'm going to have this be the default in-system propulsion tech for Standard Candles vehicles.

Q-Drive lies a lot farther in the future, but basically the idea is that you can use plasmadynamics to make an extremely supercharged kind of rocket. if you have a really efficient particle accelerator, you can hook it up to a series of magnets to draw power from the aerodynamic drag on your plasma sails, meaning you get more power the faster you're moving (faster = more drag). it sounds kind of like troll physics but apparently there's no fundamental reason why this shouldn't work, but a particle accelerator efficient and powerful enough to make it happen is probably quite a ways off into the future. but basically, to sort of put it in videogame terms, unlike regular rockets that only ADD a certain amount of speed per unit fuel, Q-Drive MULTIPLIES your speed, which can give you a pretty crazy boost... especially when you can already sail to multiple percents of lightspeed for free.

as for the FTL stuff, that'll be for another post... keep an eye out perhaps lol

[a-being-of-pure-vitriol]

now that my players can't have this spoiled for them, time to ramble call of cthulhu stuff

set for vibes and also puzzle purposes.

also forced them to stick their hands in murky ice water with gross texture stuff in it to get out a tiny ring

also was acting as a flayed but animated corpse of a scientist and scared the shit out of one of my players by flopping onto them

also scared the shit out of at least one of my players by turning off the sun because they shot it and then tried to use magic on its blood

also one of my players shot a guy in the head point blank with a shotgun and his head grew back mostly (blood weaver magic stopped it)

also the "puzzle" featured above was them trying to start up a nuclear reactor in a room full of the flayed scientists

also the room we played in was cold as shit because I wanted the vibes to be right

also the background music kept stinging at the right times

also I forced a player to reach up a vent to get a key

also I climbed all over my players

also somehow none of my players except for one brought dice

also I did 7 pages of research for this and at least 13 pages of other written planning and yet at least a third of it was still pure bullshitting

also the way to control eldritch gods is to annoy or demean them until they give up