#also like lets be real the people shipping gods need these domains in their lives the most

[audible301]

Kristen’s plan to build a following based off people shipping gods is actually a really good call because I too would follow these lesbians based solely on how perfect they are for each other. I mean look at them

Of course Craig went viral for that

[monstersdownthepath]

Spiritual Spotlight: Hanspur, the Water Rat (and Ashkaelae)

Chaotic Neutral God of Rivers, River Travel, and Smugglers

Domains: Chaos, Death, Travel, Water Subdomains: Exploration, Murder, Rivers, Trade

Inner Sea Faiths, pg. 58~63

Obedience: With the assistance of another priest of Hanspur or by yourself, simulate the act of drowning. You can do this by fully submerging yourself in a body of water, exhaling all of your breath, and painfully inhaling water instead of air. Alternatively, you can lie on your back with your head at a lower elevation than your legs while water is slowly poured on your face and up your nose. If you choose the latter method, you must cover your face with a cloth while the water is poured. When you conclude this simulated drowning, contemplate your life and how your goals coincide with the teachings of Hanspur and the Six River Freedoms. Benefit: You gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus on Survival checks attempted while on or near rivers.

Just reading this makes my sinuses burn and my lungs itch, and not just because it’s springtime and I have allergies! As anyone who’s ever been in a body of water large enough to slap their face with a wave can attest to, inhaling large amounts of water sucks. While this Obedience requires only one wet breath, some... well, some pretty severe complications can arise from it, if your DM ponders even slightly what doing this to yourself every day would do. Dry drowning and secondary drowning are both real dangers from brief immersion, let alone concentrated efforts at simulating one of the worst fates someone can experience (I say this a lot but basically anything that deprives you of air is pretty terrible). The ‘simulation’ will likely only last a few seconds while the rest of the hour is spent recovering from your experience and meditating, but even that may not be enough to offset the fluid likely building up in your lungs. Priests of Hanspur must sound atrocious, coughing themselves ragged every day! No wonder it’s recommended your ritual is overseen by another priest, either, because they’d likely be skilled in helping you manage your symptoms.

Dangers of daily drownings aside, keeping up with the demands of this ritual is pretty easy so long as you’re somewhere with easy access to water. In Hanspur’s homelands, the River Kingdoms, this is pathetically simple! Everywhere else? It’s a lot harder! While I do appreciate that there’s a secondary ritual you can do if total immersion is impossible, but what happens if you’re stuck somewhere with no easy water access? Your waterskins won’t carry you for very long, even if you pilfer them from your party as well. Better invest in a Decanter of Endless Water! Or do something ridiculous like fill the party’s Bag of Holding up so you can just hop in and out whenever you need to.

That benefit is also the weakest I’ve seen in a long time, granting a bonus to only a single skill type and only while near rivers. Survival checks aren’t even all that commonly made, unless your DM is kind enough to let you use Survival to navigate with river rafts rather than Profession or Ride checks. Hanspur really doesn’t want his faithful straying too far from the River Kingdoms, which is only further exacerbated by how his Boons work, so if you’re not the type to linger near rivers you may just want to skip him entirely.

Boons are gathered slowly, typically obtained when a given character has 12, 16, and 20 hit dice. Unlike fiend-worshipers, servants of the Eldest, and devoted of the Empyreal Lords, characters worshiping Neutral gods do not have catch-all classes… but Neutral-aligned characters can enter the Evangelist, Sentinel, and Exalted Prestige Classes earlier than Evil characters, classing in as early as level 6 (they need +5 BAB, 5 ranks in a single skill, or the ability to cast lvl 3 spells); entered ASAP, one can gain the Boons at levels 8, 11, and 14. 

-------

EVANGELIST

-------

Boon 1: River Sage. Gain Hydraulic Push 3/day, River Whip 2/day, or Hydraulic Torrent 1/day.

Hydraulic Push and Hydraulic Torrent live in the same niche of “giant water spouts what push stuff around,” with Torrent being obviously an order of magnitude more powerful than Push. While Push has a range of Close and can target only a single creature or square, Torrent is a 60ft line that Bull Rushes or attempts to destroy everything it encounters, so it really depends on if you’re thinking you’ll need three small streams or one really, really big one. Notably, Torrent can Bull Rush targets of any size, unrestricted by the limits of your pathetic frame, while Push contains no such limiter removal and thus likely means you can only blast creatures up to a size larger than you.

Also of note, Torrent attempts to shatter everything it comes into contact with until it runs into something or someone it cannot destroy or push past. The Strength score the Torrent uses is equal to your caster level plus your casting ability modifier, meaning it will start out barely stronger than you are but will eventually be able to punch holes in iron and shatter stone. Hell, with a lucky roll, it may be able to do that anyway. Your choice on which two to take wholly depends on if you want to push three Medium critters around or launch one Colossal one.

What? River Whip? I don’t see any spell like that here! Lets move on! (alright alright; i just don’t like it. it’s good as an emergency weapon but more or less anything else is better in any scenario)

Boon 2: River Scion. As a free action you can breathe underwater, as if affected by Water Breathing, for a number of hours per day equal to the number of Hit Dice you possess. These hours need not be used consecutively, but must be used in 1-hour increments.

A disappointingly weak Boon. Really, what else is there to see or say? If you need to go underwater, this ability is great and has zero downsides. If you don’t, this Boon doesn’t exist. It’s a very binary Boon that relies on your environment, which means that if you’re overjoyed if you’ve remained in the River Kingdoms, but in a desert or jungle or mountain peak, you’re going to be extremely disappointed upon hitting level 11.

Boon 3: River’s Embodiment. 1/day as a standard action, you can transform yourself into a Huge water elemental, as per Elemental Body IV. You can stay in this form for 1 minute per Hit Die you possess, and can dismiss this effect as a free action.

Finally, a transformation ability that doesn’t suck! What does suck is that this is a level 7 spell being granted to you 1/day, when other Boons are equivalent to level 9 spells in power. Hanspur could have at least given you a little bonus on top of it, or made it 2/day, but it’s hard to complain about the force you become under Elemental Body IV. You become immune to bleed, critical hits, Sneak Attacks, and on top of it all get insurmountable DR 5, and the stack of stats you get? Mmmm-mm! Chef’s kiss!

+6 AC, +8 Con, +4 Str, all for the price of -2 Dex (more than made up for with the +AC). And, of course, a swim speed and the power to collapse yourself into a destructive Vortex, but those are only useful if you’re in water, while the rest of the stat buffs are far more universally useful. You’re not exactly the destructive and terrifying Fire Elemental or the deceptively sneaky Earth Elemental, but a wall of surging water can still wreak all manner of havoc on your enemies, your new dual slams able to smash ships (and bones) to pieces, and since Water Elementals are capable of speech and gesture, you can merely bask in your new tank stats while still casting spells.

There’s also the much more amusing but niche use of transforming while already polymorphed by a hostile effect, as having a new polymorph effect used on you while you’re already changed can end the first automatically.

While I wish the effect was usable more often, or at least broken into 1-minute increments, I can’t call it a bad Boon by any means.

-------

EXALTED

-------

Boon 1: River Guide. Gain Obscuring Mist 3/day, Haunting Mists2/day, or Aqueous Orb 1/day.

I love the name of this ability because two of the three spells do the opposite of guiding people. Now I’m a big fan of Obscuring Mist; it’s a simple staple in my list for almost every caster I make just because of how versatile it is! But now that I know there’s an alternative, it may have competition. Both Obscuring Mist and Haunting Mists do roughly the same thing, but one could argue that Haunting Mists does it better; in addition to granting concealment and shutting off an enemy’s eyes, it deals 1d2 Wisdom damage and shakes up anyone starting their turn inside the mist... But as a Figment spell with the Fear descriptor, there are a great many creatures immune to its unique power, and True Seeing allows one to see through it perfectly, whereas Obscuring Mist remains impenetrable to the apex predator of the Illusion school.

While it cannot be dispelled by wind or motion like a tangible fog, it’s important to note that there’s no way to protect specific creatures from the sanity-damaging effects of Haunting Mists, and its casting distance of 20ft and 20ft spread means that you will likely always be caught in its radius. The range means using it offensively is painfully limited, unless you want to cast it from invisibility after sneaking into the middle of an enemy formation, which... you probably, definitely don’t want to make a habit of.

It’s great for covering your retreat, but not your advance or setup like the normal Mist is.

Aqueous Orb is a good choice if your party is getting screwed over by the mist more than the enemy, creating a big ol’ 10ft ball of water that intercepts and engulfs anything that moves into it, or which it moves into. It deals 2d6 nonlethal damage whenever it rams into a creature and a further 2d6 to everything it has engulfed each round, but the damage isn’t so much the main draw as the fact it’s a massive, roving Sphere of Grappling, snaring and drowning any creature it manages to get ahold of if they fail the Reflex save. It’s a fun little spell that’s great for mopping up and controlling minions, especially ones you don’t actually want to kill, and even at its worst it can become a makeshift barrier in a narrow hallway since there’s no written way to actually move through it beyond wasting 2, 3, or more rounds by slamming into it and swimming through to the other side while your party books it in the other direction.

Boon 2: River Traveler. As a free action, you can grant yourself and any allies within 30 feet of you a swim speed of 60 feet. This effect lasts for 1 round per Hit Die you possess or until you dismiss it as a free action, whichever comes first. Your allies must remain within 30 feet of you or lose this benefit. In addition, you gain a +2 profane or sacred bonus on saves against spells with the Water descriptor.

See, this should have been added to River Scion as a bonus. River Scion and River Traveler feel like they could have combined into a single Boon to make something decent, but as it is they both fall into the same niche: Solves the encounter they’re meant to solve, useless otherwise. This ability is noteworthy for having no restrictions about how many times it can be used, essentially letting you switch swimming off and on at will. The fact it doesn’t take an action is incredibly important, because using the massive 60ft swim speed the ability grants actually removes the bonus, as getting further than 30ft from you makes it fizzle.

I don’t really understand why it would grant 60ft of movespeed if they’re restricted to a 30ft bubble, nor do I understand the purpose of the bubble in the first place. It makes exploration a slog, and escape scenarios more finicky than they should be. Since it can be activated whenever you need to as a free action, the duration feels unneeded. There’s so much about this ability that conflicts with itself that it bugs me too much to say much in the way of positives. The +2 to saves vs Water spells is a fun little ribbon, though most Water spells tend to be harmless utility spells rather than ones you’d need to make a save against.

Boon 3: River’s Depths. 1/day as a standard action, you can cause one creature within 30 feet to begin drowning, filling its lungs with water. The target of this ability can attempt a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + 1/2 your HD + your Wis mod) to negate the effect. If the target succeeds, it is staggered for 1 round. If it fails, the target immediately begins to suffocate. On the target’s next turn, it falls unconscious and is reduced to 0 hit points. One round later, the target drops to –1 hit points and is dying. One round after that, the target dies. Each round, the target can attempt a Fortitude save to end the effect. This ability affects only living creatures that must breathe and cannot breathe underwater. This is a curse effect.

Now this one’s just insulting, being a technically weaker version of a level 5 spell, Suffocation. It’s weaker in four ways: 1) It fails against creatures which are amphibious which, if you’re in the River Kingdoms, is many. 2) It’s curse effect, which can mean some creatures are resistant or immune to it. 3) It has a 30ft range, unlike Suffocation’s range of Close (25ft + 5ft/level). And, finally, 4) Just ONE successful save ends the effect entirely, while Suffocation continues to torment and stagger the victim for 3 rounds until its effects finally expire.

It’s hard to ignore fact that it’s a basically a Save-Or-Die with excellent DC scaling, but I can’t get over it being weaker than an existing level 5 spell! ... Granted, Suffocation could probably get away with being bumped an extra level or two higher given how frighteningly effective it is at shutting down any creature who needs to breathe even if they succeed their save. I’m probably slamming down too hard on an ability that, again, is a Save-Or-Die at best and an unavoidable stagger at worst (good for making some emergency repairs against a powerful full-attacker), and for extra fun can be used without any components involved, so you can just drop it on someone out of the blue and they’ll have no idea who just tried to kill them. While I am disappointed it doesn’t meet the power of other Boons, it’s undeniably effective against a large portion of the creatures you’ll be fighting, even at 1/day.

-------

SENTINEL

-------

Boon 1: River Warden. Gain Wave Shield 3/day, Masterwork Transformation 2/day, or Quench 1/day.

Wave Shield is one of those rare spells that are amazing to have, but not especially good to prepare or to waste a precious Spells Known slot on. It’s an immediate action spell that grants insurmountable DR and Fire Resistance equal to half your caster level in response to a single incoming attack, which isn’t stupendous at low levels but is a generous equivalent to immediate, on-demand temporary HP as you get higher and higher level. If a creature relies on a lot of little hits rather than a few big ones, blocking even one of them can save you in the long run, and if your DR cancels out the damage from a poisoned or diseased attack, all the better!

It’s not an especially strong spell given how it only works once before fading away, but it’s better than the other two options by a country mile. Masterwork Transformation is something you’ll rarely need more than a few times in a campaign before masterwork items fall into your laps (or you can simply buy them), and by the time you gain this ability it will likely no longer matter. That being said, if you’re in a low-wealth campaign or have been forced to scavenge for your gear, Masterwork Transformation will save you THOUSANDS of gp over the course of your life, because as a spell-like, the material components are ignored and thus you can slowly upgrade your entire party’s armaments for free. Given its ability to affect a generous 50 pieces of ammunition per casting as well means the Ranger and Gunslinger will adore you, and you can work in tandem with a mystic craftsman (PC or otherwise) to get all of your favorite gear enchanted without discarding your precious family heirloom sword for that masterwork one you looted.

Not to mention the simple joy in taking all the gear off a bandit clan, Masterworking all of it, and selling it for a tidy profit.

Compared to the combat utility of Wave Shield and noncombat utility of Masterwork Transformation, it’s hard to make a case for Quench, which falls into the category of ‘niche spell’ like Water Breathing and Water Walking in that it will instantly solve a handful of scenarios and be utterly useless in the rest. Yes, you may need to put out a forest fire or stop a building you’re in from burning to a crisp, but you’ll have to decide if it’s worth giving up three emergency DR 4/-- and Fire Resistance 4 bandages... as the martial-focused Sentinel. If you plan on fighting a fire that day or encountering a magic item that can generate fires (which Quench shuts off for 1d4 hours) and no one else in your party bothered learning Quench, by all means, but as the Sentinel having the DR is probably better in most cases.

Boon 2: River Champion. 3/day as a standard action, you can sculpt water into the form of a melee weapon that you are proficient with. You must have enough water to form the weapon, an amount equal to the weapon’s normal weight. Once formed, the weapon behaves as a weapon of its type with an enhancement bonus of +1, which increases by 1 for every 5 additional HD you have beyond 5 (max +4). This weapon deals double damage to creatures with the Fire subtype. The weapon dissolves into ordinary water after a number of rounds equal to your HD or as soon as it leaves your hand, whichever happens first.

Boons which call weapons to your hand are alright in cases where your signature weapon has been taken from you, and by the time you receive this ability you will have a signature weapon, but such times tend to come few and far between. This one also has the additional caveat that you don’t actually create the weapon from nowhere, there must already be water around to make it, at least enough water to match the weapon’s typical weight. The good news is that a gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds, and a trident--Hanspur’s holy weapon--weighs only 4, with most other weapons barely ever approaching 10, so you can reasonably carry around an emergency weapon in a waterskin or in your backpack... And you know, now that I think about it, it’s kind of cool to be able to turn a glass of water into a dagger.

But when will you need to? How often do you find yourself bereft of a usable weapon often enough to need an emergency armament like this? I can see the niche in front of me, making a new weapon as-needed against creatures whose DR makes them difficult to damage with your normal gear or taking advantage of that delicious little tidbit about doing double-damage to fire-based creatures, but they take your whole standard action to make and last for only a single combat (if that), and you can’t even shuffle around the +1 bonuses for additional effects!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s by no means bad (unless you’re both in a waterless area and haven’t filled your waterskin), especially at 3/day, but I can’t help but wonder when you’d actually need it at level 11+ when you likely already have a primary weapon and several backups. 

Boon 3: River’s Renewal. When completely submerged in water, you gain Fast Healing 2. You can recover a total number of hit points equal to twice your HD in this manner each day. At 20 HD, if you fall below 0 hit points and your body is fully submerged in a river, you automatically stabilize.

As a final Boon, I wish the Fast Healing had a higher threshold than just 28 points a day (+2 per level). In combat it likely won’t matter, and while out of combat it’s a decent amount of healing, usually enough to spare a couple spell slots from your healers or some potions, it’s just not all that impressive for a third and final Boon. Sentinels are the only followers of Hanspur who don’t get some method to easily navigate the seas, so taking advantage of this Boon to its fullest extent relies on an outside method of gaining water breathing or a swim speed.

Funnily enough, you can carry around a Bag of Holding filled with water and use it as a recuperative pod in case you don’t have access to a deep puddle, which is dubiously useful but not entirely terrible. HOWEVER, the little addition at the end is also a kick in the teeth; why does that only happen at level 20? Why can’t that be a base part of the Boon? It’s just insul--Wait, it only works if you’re submerged in a river, too? You can’t stabilize with some good old pond water? The mighty ocean? Can’t take a dip in a bathtub to stop bleeding out? Come on, Hanspur!!! Be a little more generous to your worshipers!

I dunno, maybe I’m underselling the out-of-combat healing this Boon offers, but it just doesn’t feel worth it to put up with the Water Rat for your entire adventuring career just for an extra 1/8th of an HP bar.

You can read more about him here.

[c-is-for-circinate]

Y’all this episode had everything I could possibly have wanted and things I never even knew to wish for.

How did one episode start with Henry Crabgrass, the most glorious and beloved NPC of my heart, and end with mother fucking Avantika, with so much awesome shit in between!!!  How!!!

Okay I am making a list of shit I absolutely loved tonight, in approximate chronological order:

Y’all I just love Henry Crabgrass so much.  I don’t even have smart things to say about that fact, just a warm glow in my heart.  May all the light of Melora’s grace smile down upon them and leave Henry as the toughest, most unkillable patch of crabgrass in all Exandria.

Vess and the Tombtakers, so many questions and so few certain answers, so many things to wonder, so many dots to connect!  I really do feel like the crew are connecting them at this point, and while I’m sure in some places they’re far from the map, the general outline really is starting to emerge.  What, exactly, was in the book the Tombtakers tried to claim without showing it to Vess deRogna first?  What did it do to Lucien?  And, if Vess has the book--what are they trying to find now?

So okay, let’s talk about Yasha and Beau. As someone who has had a lot of feelings about the intense relatability of Beau’s crush on Jester, I have now fully committed to also having a whole lot of mostly new feelings about these terrible awkward disaster lesbians with no fucking idea what they’re doing.  I saw a post the other day mention how this whole relationship is about the feeling of discovering you can have this, that you can actually be happy, that you get to have this kind of relationship with someone.  I’ve written about that.  And I feel it so, so hard, every time I see them interact, when every bit of bravado leaves both of them. It’s so easy to be off-putting!  It’s so easy to have crushes on wonderful people you kind of wish would look at you but you’re absolutely sure never will.  It’s so hard to actually know what the fuck to do in the face of wait shit this might actually be a thing I could get for real? how? wait, how???

Also let’s talk about Jester in that scene, who ships Beauyasha harder than anything in the world???   Because yes, right, some of it is just that Jester loves romance, and some of it’s that Jester gets very invested in the happiness of her friends, but that is a lot of investment there.  And I can’t help wondering if there’s a little dimension of...she wants to see True Love and Happily-Ever-After work.  And she’s delighted to see it work for her friends who she loves, and when it comes true they’ll be happy and she loves that, but also I don’t know that Jester’s ever actually seen two people fall in love with each other and enter into a healthy, happy relationship before.  But hey, all of her books say this wonderful magical thing exists, and now it seems to actually be showing up for her friends?  Of course she wants to see it.  Of course she wants it to be just as magical and wonderful as in all her stories, even if it’s not for her. (And maybe especially if it’s not for her, but I think that’s a whole separate post about Jester and her very high passive insight and all the people who are in love with her and the very specific ways she treats each of them.)

I love Yeza.  Don’t we all love Yeza?  He’s trying so hard.  It’s always great to see Yeza for that kind of wide-eyed outsider POV on the M9 shenanigans, and I love it.  He made a comment this episode about meeting goblins while living in Rosohna, and everything that’s happened to him really hit me in a while new way.  Usually I think about how he’s had his life turned upside down by all of this, but man, just think how much he’s seen that he never in a million years would have begun to expect to experience!  This smalltown alchemist from a pastoral little farming city in the middle of the Dwendalian midwest has lived for a significant amount of time as a housekeeper in the capitol city of the Krynn Dynasty.  He must have gone to the markets and met the neighbors and learned the streets and the food, and who had he ever known in his whole life who could say such a thing?  He lived with the Ruby of the Sea in Nicodranas by the ocean.  He’s been to Zadash, now, and it’s only a matter of time before he sees Rexxentrum.  How much farther will he go?  (Man, I would love some good Yeza fic once this campaign is over.  I think it’s going to take that long for me to really know how his story arc ends.)

Someone was posting earlier this episode about witnessing Vess scare Yeza so badly, and insight into how the Nein are starting to run in circles that really outstrip the people they used to know.  Watching Pumat in the wake of being Informed By Lady de Rogna That He Would Put A Rush On That has really hammered it home.  They remarked, in their very M9 somewhat idle vaguely ridiculous way that they wanted the icebreaker, and one tiny snowman later Vess had pulled rank and money and rerouted the ship’s entire passage for them.  She’s scary--and with her, the M9 have the kind of power that’s scary, too. And that’s always such an interesting moment.  The M9 are used to thinking of themselves as people with very little, who have to fight and scrap and get lucky for their own survival all the time.  And yes, they’re utterly careless with money--why not be, when it comes and goes and almost none of them have ever really seen it help or last?  And yes, they’re prone to violence and sometimes pretty rude.  But before now, it’s always been a situation where the M9 acting loud, rude, and demanding could be chaotic underdogs scrapping to get what they needed or wanted from people who had the option of saying no.  Suddenly they’re in a position where the balance of social situations is biased in their favor instead of against them. There’s such a difference between ‘please accede to my unreasonable request because I have a high charisma and will pay you lots of gold’, and, ‘you’re going to accede to my unreasonable request because otherwise my Cerberus Assembly boss may or may not have you assassinated’.  The M9 have never been on this side of that before.  I’m very curious to see how much they notice that they are now.

PALADIN OATH PALADIN OATH PALADIN OATH!  I was not paying nearly enough attention when that scene started, so I am going to need to watch it again and also make extra sure to read any available source material on this specific homebrew oath, because it’s probably not exactly the same as the Oath of the Sea homebrew you can find on google.  There’s some overlap between the abilities there and the ones Fjord already have, and the vows don’t quite match up, though some of them are close.  Ugh, mostly I’m just so glad it has happened and Fjord has promised and he means it, he means it so much.  He rest-of-his-life means it, and my heart belongs to Fjord who couldn’t even imagine the rest of his life as a thing separate from the monotony of his first thirty years, so very recently.

I actually always really love when CR has episodes at sea?  Obviously the M9 have done it the most, but Vox Machina went sailing a time or two as well, and it’s just always so great.  It’s often days of down time in a way that overland travel isn’t, and the party fills it with so many good little moments.  Matt always gives them such cool encounters.  On boats, spending a week at a time getting from one place to another, so much of the chaos of rewriting a plan seventeen times in an hour gets stripped away: they’re headed towards a destination, sometimes something comes up to deter them, and they have to find a way to deal with it.  There are always crew members and the structure of a boat itself to take into consideration in any combat that pops up.  It’s just such a nice tone, and I also love that the ocean itself kind of hates them now because it adds really delightful additional risks, and anyway heck yeah ocean voyage.

WHICH ENDS IN UNDEAD AVANTIKA ATTACKING THE SHIP WITH A TRIO OF CRAB-MEN AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE HOLY FUCK.  Look, I think M9 becoming pirates by accident and then trying to figure out wtf might actually be my favorite arc of this campaign so far, and every time it comes back I get so so happy.  I’ve got some feelings about this showing up in the same episode as Fjord finally taking his full oath to the Wildmother. They are going to have to kill U’kotoa before this campaign is through.  They are going to have to, because Fjord will never be safe on the ocean again if they don’t, and Fjord has bound himself by vow and will in service as the Wildmother’s paladin of the open sea.  She hasn’t asked it of him, not specifically, but it’s his job.  It’s going to be his job.  In part it’ll be because it’s poetic justice, Fjord taking down the cruel demigod who (in some ways) made him.  Mostly it’s just that killing U’kotoa is a job that needs to be done.  To protect the oceans, the life they hold, the people who sail upon them, it’s going to need to be done.  It’s Melora’s domain to do this, which means it’s her paladin’s job, and Fjord is her paladin of the sea.  It’ll be him sooner or later.

I am so fucking delighted at the massive pile of fireworks on the deck of this ship, and I hope to god these Chekhovian bottle rockets go off before the end of this combat encounter, because this is, in fact, all I ever wanted the minute Beau put them in there.

[evolutionsvoid]

For many sapient species, space is the ultimate challenge. The final goal, to escape the cradle of your birth and roam amongst the stars. It takes many things to reach the heavens, and all who have achieved it attest to the sacrifices needed to make such a thing reality. Intelligence, technology and time are a few of the many ingredients necessary to make it all possible. One merely needs to look around at the myriad of species that make up the Galactic Council to see what it takes to claim the stars. Ships of alloy, engines of light and minds of hope. When one at last achieves this great feat, they may believe themselves to be masters of this reality, that there is no thing they cannot conquer. If one makes the heavens their domain, and ride upon ships of light and energy, are they not gods? Roam the galaxy enough, though, and one will find an answer to that question. The void of space is a realm that can only be reached by technology and intuition, but those are not the forces that truly rule it. Even in the endless vacuum, chaos and nature still remain, and sometimes they carry a really big rock and a nasty disposition. Any space-farer knows that an asteroid field is a bad place to be. Despite all the shields and reinforced hulls, a big chunk of space rock can cripple any ship. Some have succeeded in finding ways to make these regions safer for travel, while ever-growing technology works to resist nature's minefield. However, there are some of these territories that no one dares to touch, zones that many navigational computers refuse to even skim past. In these places, it is not the asteroids people fear, but the things that live within them. Those who have traveled amongst the stars will tell you of the Oon'Grok, both out of amusement and fear. Massive space-dwelling creatures that call the asteroid fields home, and who make these regions absolutely inhospitable for any ship or station. The one thing you will be told but will never really be able to understand is their size. Only by seeing one with your own eyes will you truly fathom their mass. They are larger than a Cruiser-class vessel, making fighters and traders look like gnats in comparison. Capital ships are indeed larger than then, but this certainly does not make the Oon'Grok any less intimidating. Though smaller, they can easily grab a Capital ship and knock it off course, or perhaps even tear right through it. To go with their extreme size, the Oon'Grok are incredibly powerful. A part of this comes from their composition, as living in a vacuum requires a heavy duty body. They are harder than stone and steel, capable of shrugging off turret fire from a warship. With a hefty mass and specially designed muscles, they can use zero gravity to their advantage to hurl asteroids or even ships. Their limbs are strong and flexible, with their forelimbs able to split or merge depending on the situation. Each one ends in sturdy claws that allow them to grip and tear. To navigate the void, they have special organs that can emit a force to propel them through space. Their traveling speed is not the fastest, but it does allow them to overtake larger ships that are drifting along. Despite what some may claim, they cannot travel at the speed of light or make jumps. They can only swim along at the speed their organs allow, meaning that it takes them years to traverse distances that starships can do in hours. This is not a real issue for them, because Oon'Grok seem to live for centuries or even longer. Sustenance isn't an issue either, as they are a type of filter feeder. The long "hairy" tendrils that take up their head have been compared to baleen of certain species. The nutrients and energy that flows upon solar winds and drift through the void are caught and consumed in their hairy net. Oon'Grok can also add to their diet by crushing up asteroids and other debris, then catching the dust in their "beards." With a long lifespan, simple diet and impenetrable hide, these beasts are leviathans, and they live up to the name.       What has made the Oon'Grok so famous to the galaxy at large is their hostility towards those who invade their territory. Oon'Grok live in asteroid fields, carving out nests and caves in the biggest chunks they can find. This is where their home and food is, and they are quick to defend it. Oon'Grok live in groups, and they create their colonies by gluing all their caves together in a hand-spun web. From orifices on their limbs, they secrete a bluish gel that quickly hardens when exposed to the vacuum of space. With careful movements, they can create strands of this stuff and use it to stick asteroids together. Humans have compared the resulting structures to a spider's web and a bagworm's case. They bring all their desired rocks together to create a huge clump of caves, which the group will live in. The size and shape of these formations may vary by the family group, as each has their own personal preference. This can even change overtime, as they get bored and decide to do some redecorating. Outsider Oon'Grok may invade their territory, which will lead to a dispute. Another of the group will challenge the invader and a nasty fight will break out. If the intruder loses, they will speed off to another patch of the field to tend its wounds. If they win, the family group will begrudgingly let them stay, with the loser often giving up their cave. These duels can be brutal, but their tough hide ensures that the combatants rarely suffer debilitating injury. An interesting thing to note, though, is that these fights can lead to the Oon'Grok using weapons. Grabbing smaller asteroids and using their special gel, they will actually craft crude clubs and hammers from their surroundings, and use them to batter foes. Primitive as they are, they are incredible powerful when wielded by these leviathans, which many space captains can attest to.

 Fellow Oon'Grok are not the intruders that anger these beasts the most. Such an invader comes along once every couple of decades, so it isn't too big of a deal. The real thing that enrages them is the shiny screaming creatures that dare poke around their territory. It turns out that Oon'Grok communicate through special wavelengths emitted through their bodies, and they have sensitive receptors that allow them to pick these messages up. This wavelength is quite similar to the way most spaceships and stations communicate through the vast expanse of space, and this is where issues arise. To the Oon'Grok, an approaching vessel is an extremely noisy and irritating thing. Due to the vast amounts of technology and communication devices aboard any given ship, they are just constantly expelling these "noises." The sensitive receptors of an Oon'Grok are irritated by these alien signals, and it turns them aggressive almost instantly. They will be quick to smash the noisy insect that bothers them, and they have the ability to do so quite efficiently. A resistant hide means that laser fire is useless, and their bulk makes them an extreme threat. Be it a fighter or a capital ship, the Oon'Grok is perfectly capable of reducing it to floating scrap. Their claws can rip through hulls, and their powerful limbs can snap vessels in two. Even if one is to keep them at bay with a torrent of laser fire, they can win in a long-ranged battle as well. Grabbing small asteroids, they will hurl these rocks at annoying ships and smash them to pieces. While warships have the shield technology to survive an onslaught of lasers and missiles, none of them are designed to withstand the blow of a really big rock. Great Capital ships that could destroy an entire fleet have been turned into mere playthings in the hands of an Oon'Grok. The same clubs they use in territory disputes can also be used against a vessel. A single swing is enough to destroy shields and send the broken ship spiraling into the void. Victory against an angry group of Oon'Grok is impossible, the only option is to retreat while you are in one piece. Some have been successful in repelling an assault, but looking at the amount of losses they take to do so shows that retreat is a way better option. While the wavelengths that communication arrays and technology creates bring misery to the Oon'Grok, their calls are also capable of mingling with a ship's receptors. Those who survive an encounter with the Oon'Grok have noted that their signals act like a mass broadcast that can interfere with comms and receptors. Ships that are hit with these signals have said that their speakers and comms are suddenly flooded with "hoots and bellows." This is not believed to be what Oon'Grok actually sound like, as it is the technology trying to interpret a signal beyond its understanding. Regardless, many survivors warn others that "as soon as your comms start hooting and hollering, charge up the engines and RUN!"       Due to the threat they pose to any space-faring vessel, Oon'Grok territory is restricted and avoided by all travel routes. All traders and travelers know where large colonies of these beasts dwell, and they always ensure their journey stays far away from these forbidden zones. Though normal space travel keeps clear of these territories, these areas are not completely abandoned. Smugglers and criminals know quite well that the law does not enter the lair of the Oon'Grok. Those who are pursued by the authorities may choose to jump into Oon'Grok space and force their foes to turn back. Certain smuggling routes cut right through these areas, as it keeps the law away and cuts down travel time. However, it should be remembered that escaping into these territories is not an easy or flawless solution. Pursuers of these criminals will tend to hang by the edge of these territories to ensure they don't turn around and try to sneak past. This means that the only way out is through, which means avoiding the Oon'Grok. No one knows how many of these smugglers have vanished in these regions, reduced to a scorched smear on a floating hunk of rock. This isn't the only use that the seedier side of the galaxy has for these forbidden zones. Some have found the dire flight through these regions to be quite exhilarating, leading to the formation of several illegal races. Though these events are run by shady organizations, none can deny the amount of gambling and interest it draws in. These races involve dozens of ships, who's goal is to reach the other side of an Oon'Grok infested asteroid field. The rules are few and vague, it is encouraged to come up with creative tactics or dirty tricks to get an edge on the opposition. In these events, the racers will find their opponents to be just as dangerous as the titans. No one will bat an eye if someone takes a cheap shot at another racer or if they bash another competing ship right into the claws of an Oon'Grok. The hosts of these events know full well that many viewers tune in to see the crashes and explosions, so this sabotage and rivalry is quite welcomed. In fact, some events may launch comm satellites into the field prior to the start so that the Oon'Grok are good and agitated before the racers enter. Though these illegal events are quite infamous and widely broadcast, the authorities rarely interfere. While bribes ensure the law stays away from these races, many enforcers claim they wouldn't stop them in the first place. Many will joke that these events do a great job at keeping the peace, as a good amount of scumbags wind up exploding during every race.             Not only has their territory found a use for shadier folk, but others have developed an interest in the Oon'Grok themselves. Researchers interested in developing cultures and early stages of sapience find Oon'Grok to be fascinating. Their use of tools and crude settlements suggest an intelligence, and many wish to see how it grows. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of funding for this area of research, as many expeditions have ended in tragedy. Others look to the substance the Oon'Grok secrete, and wonder how it can be used in space-faring technology. A gel that can harden into sturdy armor when exposed to a vacuum could be quite useful for both suits and ships when it comes to breaches. It has even been suggested using these secretions as a basic foundation when it come to construction in space. This quick and sturdy material would be perfect for creating a simple skeleton that could then be easily built around. However, these musings are yet to be fully realized, as no one has found a way to perfectly replicate the substance. With the aggression of an Oon'Grok, gathering these materials naturally is also out of the question. Some may suggest trying to capture or domesticate one of these titans, but the Galactic Council has made it illegal to own or transport these beasts. Since they show a crude form of sapience, they are given the same protection as any other species of society. It is also illegal to own an Oon'Grok due to the fact that they are incredibly dangerous and can cause a whole lot of problems. These laws fully came into power after the Gigra Shipyards Rampage, which showed the universe how stupid it was to try and control these titans. The culprit of this incident was a wealthy collector who had dreamed of capturing an Oon'Grok. Such a feat would bring much fame, and no doubt such a thing could be easily monetized. Using an obscene amount of resources and tranquilizer, a hired fleet was able to locate a lone Oon'Grok and successfully sedate it. With the titan knocked out, the beast was netted and towed to the nearest shipyard. Due to its immense size and space-lifestyle, the creature could not be brought onto a planet or an outpost. Most space stations were ill-suited for such a cargo, so they chose to use a massive shipyard as their base of operation. There, they could easily finish the job and ensure the Oon'Grok was properly contained. Unfortunately, this decision turned out to be disastrous. Though the titan was fast asleep when it was hauled in, the vast amount of docked ships and their irritating technology proved to be enough to wake it. Pained by the ceaseless noise and electronic signals, the beast awoke and instantly broke free of its restraints. From there it went on an unstoppable rampage through the ship yard, causing obscene amounts of property damage and totaling dozens of ships. The factory arms and forges were ripped to shreds and capital ships were bludgeoned with debris and smaller vessels. After hours of terror, security and on-station war ships were able to push the Oon'Grok into open space, where it fled back to its home. The incident caused the Gigra Shipyards to lose over half of its functionality, and repairs took decades for it to return to its former glory. The collector responsible for the disaster survived the incident, as they had fled the second the beast broke free. However, it seemed that the consequences of their actions had been too much for them to bear. So much property damage and so many ships belonging to numerous governments and black market factions were destroyed due to their ignorance, and they couldn't live with the knowledge. Weeks after the rampage, the collector's body was found floating in the void. So wracked with guilt, they had apparently beaten themselves within an inch of their life, shot themselves in the head with a blaster then airlocked their own corpse. Truly a tragic and totally voluntary way to go.   It should be noted that the Gigra Shipyards Rampage has become quite the famous incident on a galactic scale. Not only did it fortify the laws around the Oon'Grok, but it created the perfect reference for many folk and media outlets whenever a rich idiot caused the usual disaster. It is also a notable incident for enthusiasts in warships and space combat. At the time the rampage occurred, two famous ships were docked at the Gigra Shipyards: the EN Vera'Zun and the IA4 Rela'Kan. These two ships were renown for the roles they played in Skree'lad Insurrection. The two ships were on opposite sides, and both were the heavy hitters of their fleet. Despite the numerous conflicts, the two warships never actually fought each other in direct combat, resulting in lots of speculation years later. For the longest time, enthusiasts and historians would argue over which one would win in a duel. When the rampage occurred, the universe got its answer when the two got caught up in the chaos. The Rela'Kan was declared the winner when the Oon'Grok wielded it like a warclub and smashed the Vera'Zun in half. The Rela'Kan now also sits in the number one slot of "Which 10 Warships Are the Best Melee Weapons." Though the territories of the Oon'Grok have been thoroughly mapped and logged, it is important for any traveler to know that unknown individuals or groups can still exist. Navigational computers only know of the prominent populations, as it is impossible to track every single individual drifting out in space. Those who are driven from the family groups may wander the void in search of a new home, while entire groups may migrate when their territory faces an outside threat. A migration like this only occurs when rare anomalies may pass through the area and scare off the Oon'Grok. One case was when the True Pantheon was first observed, which was when they visited the Caldeon asteroid field. This massive region of asteroids was home to several Oon'Grok groups, but they all fled when one of the Pantheon's members flew into a fit of rage. These displaced groups wound up wandering into new regions and taking refuge near popular trade routes. After several trade fleets were destroyed, an effort was made to push the Oon'Grok back into the Caldeon field now that the Pantheon had departed. Another way that Oon'Grok can show up where they are not expected is through their ways of reproduction. It is believed that Oon'Grok can reproduce on their own, though a mingling with partners can be done to insure genetic diversity. What results are hardened eggs that are sealed with cocoons of their gel secretions. Despite their size and long life, Oon'Grok can reproduce quite frequently and create quite a few eggs each time. Due to space and resources, an Oon'Grok group cannot hatch all the eggs they produce. As a result, only a small fraction of these eggs will hatch at a time while the rest stay dormant. It has been found that these dormant eggs can stay this way for centuries, waiting for some type of signal for them to awaken. Oon'Grok groups may keep a portion of these eggs, but a time will come where they have too much. When this happens, they will attach clusters of them to a chunk of asteroid and use their strength to launch it into the void. The fate of these laden rocks is not guaranteed, but it seems a tiny portion of them eventually wind up passing through suitable habitat. If this happens, the eggs will hatch and the young will take over the area. If the rock is destroyed or sent on a empty path that stretches for centuries, that is no issue. All the Oon'Grok do is spread their seeds into the solar winds and destiny will decide where they shall land.                 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CAVEMEN! IN! SPAAAAAACE! At one point I was thinking about sci-fi universes and how many super intelligent aliens there were in each. Space travel and such is no easy feat, so obviously all these races need to be technologically advance and incredibly sapient. That got me thinking, what if there was a dumb one? What if there were space-faring creatures that were essentially cavemen? Obviously they couldn't get into space with just sticks and stones (and Orks already did that, so I don't want to copy), so I kept playing with the notion. Overtime, it evolved into a species that was already in space to begin with, so no progress or technology needed! Which then lead me to my favorite part of this: what if these space cavemen were incredibly OP? You can have all the fancy lasers and energy shields you want, but a big enough rock will beat it every time. Makes me wish I could draw more aliens, but for whatever reason, whenever I decide to make something a sci-fi alien species I lose all ability to draw the dang thing.

[duhragonball]

For the Ask Game: Son Goku

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: Goku is the main character in Dragon Ball Z, an anime that I have enjoyed tremendously for over 20 years.  He kicks aliens really fast and hard, and he eats wolves and bugs and clouds, and he’s very cool and good.   

That may sound kind of basic, maybe even borderline sarcastic, but I’m not sure how else to put it.    I’ve gotten so used to liking Goku that it’s hard to articulate why.   

Like, okay, you know that one episode during the Cell Games, where he’s gonna pick apples from his favorite apple tree?   And he does the special karate punch that makes the apples all fall out of the branches without really hurting the tree?    In the dub, he says to the tree “Ready for one more round, old timer?”  Or something like that, and then after he hits it, he’s like “See?  That didn’t hurt a bit.”  I’m not getting the lines right, but you get the idea.    That’s some choice Goku right there.    He’s friends with that tree!   

Why I don’t: hE gAvE mOrO a SeNzU bEaN-- ha ha just kidding, but can you imagine not liking Goku?   Because of something he did in some horseshit fancomic that doesn’t even count?

Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of guff from people about Goku showing mercy to his enemies.   This is humorous to me, because I’d bet you dollars to donuts that they’re fans of Vegeta and/or Piccolo, and that only happened because Goku decided to have mercy on their stank asses.    “Well I like Vegeta because he kills people.”  He only gets to do that because Goku allowed him to live.    Best Green Dad doesn’t happen without Goku, period, end of sentence, new paragraph.   

I’m not a lore expert like that guy on Twitter who only watched DBZ Abridged, but here’s some cool trivia for you: Cell could have self-destructed and destroyed the Earth at any time.    It literally does not matter that Goku gave Cell a senzu bean before Gohan fought him, because Cell would have done the same thing no matter who beat him or how.     If Gohan had wiped him out quickly, that nucleus would have survived and regenerated, and he would come back even stronger.   The senzu bean just delayed the inevitable outcome, and not even by that much, because Cell wasn’t that worn out in the first place.   The whole thing with the senzu bean was Goku playing headgames with Cell and no one seems to understand that but me.   

But what about Moro, you ask?   Hey, come here.  

Closer.    No, closer.   

Listen to me.   I love you, okay?    But the Dragon Ball Super manga isn’t canon.   Hating Goku over something he did in Super is like hating Superman for something he did in a Mad Magazine bit.      

“Blargle blargle he doesn’t kiss his wife bad father, tournament of power--” I super mega don’t care about any of these ice cold takes.      Every day I go on YouTube and it recommends me the dirt worst Star Wars commentary videos.   “Maybe the SITH were actually the GOOD GUYS and the JEDI were the BAD GUYS!  Huh?  Did I just BLOW your MIND?   Be sure to like and subscribe!”  Every dope with a keyboard seems to think they can flip the script and pretend they’re some kind of genius.    “Thanos was right!”  “Magneto was right!” “Dr. Doom was right!” “Antifa are the real fascists when you stop and think about it!”  “Masks and vaccines are bullshit, COVID-19 is a hoax, but if it were real, maybe it’s the good guy in this situation!”

I didn’t mean to go off on a rant here, but the whole point of Goku is that he’s a pretty cool guy, and the hero of his particular adventure, and you see all these people trying to outsmart that somehow, like it’s not the premise of the character.   It’s like all those fan theories about how every show is really one character having a coma dream in the hospital.    It’s fake-deep, like when Will Smith’s kid goes on the internet and says something like “Water isn’t wet when you stop and think about it.”  

I’m not saying everyone has to like Goku, but I don’t get the hate-boner people have for him.    I don’t like cole slaw, it’s soggy and insipid and I don’t understand it, but I don’t go around trying to convince people it’s not made out of cabbage.  

Anyway, Goku’s awesome. 

Favorite episode (scene if movie): It’s hard to choose, but DBZ #248 always fucks me up.   I looked it up in my liveblog archive to get the episode number right, and the first line of that post: This one always fucks me up.

Moving on.

Favorite season/movie: In Dragon Ball terms, I guess this refers to the sagas, so I’ll go with Cell Games.    Goku goes into the battle with this flawed, touch-and-go plan, and it works.    He defeats perfection with imperfection, and it’s glorious.  

Favorite line: “What I represent can never be destroyed,” is one of the most metal lines ever uttered, anywhere.   It’s a threat and a moral lesson all in one.   

Favorite outfit: Two answers for this one.  

Shu’s outfit in the Fortuneteller Baba Saga was awesome.    I used to wear yellow T-shirts to work, so when I put on my blue labcoat I would see myself in the restroom mirror and think: yeaaaaahhhhhh.

I’m also big into Goku’s look during the Cell Games, classic orange outfit, blue shirt, with the Super Saiyan form ready to go.    That may sound obvious, since this is kind of Goku’s default look, but it takes a while to get all of this together.  For me, it was a big deal to see Goku in action as a Super Saiyan in his standard fighting gear, because the whole time he was SSJ on Namek his shirt was ruined.   Against Gero and 19 he was sick, but starting with the Cell Games, we get him fresh as a daisy, and it’s worth the wait.   Harder to stealth cosplay, though.

OTP: Gochi.   Come on.    I don’t even care that much about ships, but they’re adorable on the show, and the internet backlash against Gochi only intensifies my defiance.   

Brotp: I wrote a fanfic with Goku and Yamcha just joyriding in the desert, and that seemed pretty awesome, so maybe we need more of that.   

I dunno, maybe I’m giving this to Bulma.   They don’t get a ton of screen time together after a certain point in the show, but the bond between them is this really sublime thing.    In the same fanfic, I wrote Bulma and Goku interacting, and that was just a pleasure to write.

Head Canon: I think Goku being an alien orphan matters more to him than he lets on.   Early on, he knew he had parents but he didn’t know why they left him in the woods.   Pretty much every interaction he has with the outside world is about him being different.   Then he finds out he’s a Saiyan and all the Saiyans hate him for being weak and sentimental and so on.   He can kick all their asses, but that doesn’t make him any less of an outcast.   

I think becoming a Super Saiyan is a bigger deal to him than he lets on.   That moment kind of serves as this unspoken proof that there’s more to being a “true” Saiyan than Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz ever knew.   That maybe, if his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granny could see him, she might approve.

Unpopular opinion:

Yukio Ebisawa is underrated. 

A wish: I always wanted to see Goku style on Broly ‘93.   It seemed unfair to me that they kept bringing Broly back, and even teased a rematch with Goku in Movie 11, only to not deliver on it.    I wanted Goku to turn Super Saiyan 2 and Broly’d be all “oh noes!” and Goku would look at him and be all “Yeah.   What now, bitch?    That green shit won’t cut it anymore.”

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I think my darkest fear about the Dragon Ball franchise is that it’ll get bastardized like Superman, where some giant multimedia corporation owns it, has no idea how to tell new stories with it, and refuses to let it lapse into the public domain.   I have no idea how public domain works in Japan, but “Disney Toei’s Dragon Ball KH” doesn’t sit well with me.    Hopefully I’ll be dead by the time that happens.  

Like, Rise of Skywalker wasn’t that bad.   But it did lead me to worry that they really have no idea how to make Star Wars work.    They got it right enough, but the part where Rose is going to stay and guard the base or whatever, it just made me realize they’re only guessing, and they just happen to guess right often enough to succeed.   And it’s not like you can jump over to some other studio and see how they handle a Star Wars movie.

5 words to best describe them: Ain’t nothin’ to fuck with.

My nickname for them: Geeko.    Ha ha, just kidding.  

[alatismeni-theitsa]

You know what pisses me off about fancasts of greek mythology that use poc? They only care about the representation of random Americans. If they had actually bothered to talk to a greek person they would have easily found a bunch of greek poc to fancast the gods as. It's so transparent that they don't care about actual representation at all and only do it for #woke points

Big Post coming, I couldn’t resist :P

The US is the only country in the world and Greek culture is just a prop, with Greece not being a real country - except when we ship cheese :P Only the US exsits for them. They actually do what racist people do: they ONLY see colour. They don’t understand that a Black person in Canada and a Black person in Saudi Arabia couldn’t be more culturally different.

And yes, if they want to cast the gods or demigods as poc, it would be great if they casted people of Greek heritage! For example if Zeus has a child with a woman of Taiwanese heritage living in Greece then the child will be “biracial“, as they call it. There would be no issue for an Asian looking demigod in Greece. And even the gods, if they want, can appear as a different race, but I will elaborate a bit on that:

Now, as you know, I am against racebending in general (for all cultures). But I don’t have such a big issue when someone says “I feel comfortable worshipping gods as my own race” (something they bash Greek people for :P) or “I want to imagine what this god would look like if he lived for many years in Ghana“ or “This model of color gives me vibes of this goddess. Perhaps she could be one form of a goddess” etc. Because, as we know, the gods can take any form they want. If they go to Somalia they will be the only one white as milk in a radius of five kilometers. So they may want to transform and blend in.

But here comes my genuine question: How much could and how much should the Greek gods blend with other races and cultures when there is not this need to blend in? I don’t mean as a matter of worship but as characters on the media. Gods that in their depiction have been repeatedly depicted as White Mediterranean suddenly decide to go to Nigeria and pass as Nigerians because??? Isn’t that a type of appropriation of race? Like, using the appearance of another race because of aesthetics?

And what about the difference in culture? The Greek gods represent a set of values and habits from Greece. What do they have to do with the Korean values? (Obviously there are universal values and ethics but each culture prioritizes different stuff and sees virtue differently.) What do they even have to do with the local Korean pantheon?? People say “Greek gods are universal” and this means that, yes, everyone can worship them. But they also use that argument to say that those gods, their stories and values would fit in every society of the world. In a fictional work, that means going to Somali Muslim culture and telling them “your god is not real, you are actually praying to a set of gods your culture never knew”. Like, how much Persephone represents Somali culture and philosophy, ancient and modern? Does she even belong in this culture? And can she only belong there if you make her Black? If no, why do you change her race?

Let’s go for the opposite scenario. Let’s say a native Greek becomes a Hindu. Does that mean that they have the right to present Lakshmi as a white mediterranean and change her innate Indian values to Greek ones, in order to make her fit the Greek mindset? So, her Indian regalia should go and be replaced by ancient Greek ones or traditional Greek clothing?

I mean, if someone is to support race bending, it has to go both ways. But because Americans have equated the Greeks to white colonizers (bc they are light skinned) their gods are free real estate. They have created their own scale of what should be altered and what should not, even when it comes to deities and figures from other cultures. And because they have worldwide influence their system is imposed on us, too. And if we don’t like how they depict our figures, we are in the wrong.

Anyways, my point was: As you said, they are so desperate for woke points that they only change a superficial characteristic - skin tone / race - and then suddenly, supposedly, this Hellenic deity is part of another culture ?? Like, you put Hawaiian native clothing to a man, you name him Poseidon and it’s “representation for Hawaiians, yey!“ ??? Why would they even need Poseidon? They have Kanaloa but even if he has the same domain as Poseidon they are not the same. They are not interchangable, as those fancasts often suggest.

I don’t see any depth in those fancasts because they are so superficial, only taking appearance into account if they want to be labeled progressive. More than that, it’s a system “to set things right” by doing this coloring mix and match (notice I only said “color”, not “culture” or “set of beliefs”) in a naive attempt to stop discrimination.

If you want to elevate poc and be inclusive to other cultures, look to other cultures with non US American lens and learn how they view this difference in appearance. Then, you can talk to the poc of this culture and understand their needs. And of course those Greek poc could be cast as Greeks in movies, since this culture is part of their lives.

Finishing this infinite Τed Τalk, I would like to say that I really enjoy the mixing of cultures and I would be delighted to see stories where Greek gods/people visit other cultures or non Greek gods/people visit Greek culture. One of my fave posts in this blog is when Cretans and Nahuas joined in a song about freedom. So, in case someone didn’t get it, I didn’t say we couldn’t celebrate or take part in cultures that aren’t ours.

[vatrixsta]

How Long Will I Love You (1/2)

PRESTO! @the-corsair-and-her-quill IT IS I, YOUR SECRET SANTA!  It was so, so fun stalking  getting to know you over the last few weeks! Because you do not love Christmas in a traditional, cheesy way, I have written you an angsty CS AU Emma who is having trouble with her husband. Yes, it’s very cheery :D Hopefully I’ve read the room right when it comes to your tastes and preferences and I REALLY REALLY hope you enjoy it!!

I’ve tried to leave the first part in an okay place, but I’m hoping to finish it off for you by the weekend at the latest. Yes, it’s the gift that unfortunately keeps on giving! 

Man, I really thought I could write this little angst bomb as a one shot, but I very much underestimated my own desire to torture poor Emma. This will be up on AO3 after I’ve... slept. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

How Long Will I Love you (1/2)

xxx

Emma Swan-Jones was absolutely positive of one thing: her husband was hiding something.

Killian was not the secretive type. He’d worn his heart on his sleeve as long as she’d known him, something that had caused them both a great deal of frustration early on in their courtship. Emma had been jaded single mother just trying to keep her and Henry’s head above water and Killian… well, he’d just been so steadfast, so sure right from the start that it had freaked her out a little. The fact that he was Henry’s favorite author? That had definitely made his job of winning her heart a hell of a lot harder.

So yes, she’d been the one pulling away, doubting, constantly testing him for the first few months of their relationship, something she felt bad about later but honestly couldn’t imagine any other way. Her walls had been sky high after, you know, her whole fucking life, being abandoned, foster care, all the people who made it clear they never wanted her and no one ever really would - then fucking Neal and prison and Henry was the only good thing she got out of all that - no way would she get a charming British rogue who spent his free time writing children’s stories about a skewed take on Peter Pan. No, that was not for her, no matter how much he tried to convince her that she and Henry were all he wanted.

Except… he had. They built a life together. They got married. They moved around for a long time, three nomads looking for a place to plant roots as Emma’s work took her wherever the leads did and Henry was all too happy to continue home study and Killian could write from anywhere. He let her read his first drafts and she let him read over her shoulder when she was researching her skips. He was constantly challenging her and annoying her and being the best stepdad to Henry and just… he wasn’t perfect, but he also kind of was? She could barely remember what life was like before their twosome became three; didn’t really want to remember. It felt like they’d always been together, the three of them, with Killian in charge of steering the ship, emotionally speaking.

Maybe that was the real problem. Emma had gotten used Killian always being the grown up in the relationship and now that he was taking up the part of the sullen, moody teenager who lied to her face when she asked him what was wrong, she didn’t know how to deal with it.

Hadn’t he read the contract between them? She was the moody teenager in the relationship, at least for a few more years, before Henry turned into an actual moody teenager.

This had to stop. She was going to stop it. Be the bigger person. Not fall back on decades of rejection and shitty emotional behavior and lose the nerve to force him to talk to her.

….

So yeah, she totally lost the nerve. Killian was sitting in the office, broodily staring at a blank computer screen and she tried to use the perfect opening.

“Hey. Are the pages not cooperating?”

It was smooth. She actually thought about it before she said it, not at all typical Emma behavior. She’d asked him about his writing before, when it seemed like he was in a bit of a funk and he’d always use the opportunity to escape for awhile, maybe take Henry to a movie or, if they were near water, to look at the boats by the harbor. Sometimes he’d compliment her - all, your boy’s a marvel, Swan, nothing like a trip to the pier with the little spitfire to knock a spot of writer’s block into the dust. Over time, it became our boy and her heart clenched with how easily the word rolled off his tongue and hers.

So his response today was somewhat underwhelming.

“What?” he asked, distracted, moody, dare she say - a bit twitchy.

Emma’s eyes narrowed. Every hackle she has was rising. But this was her husband. She trusted him. She loved him, completely. So he was having an off week. She’d had her share of them and he bore them with grace. She was not going to interrogate him like a suspect.

“Let’s go out to dinner,” she said, trying to be positive. Henry was at a sleepover and maybe he was feeling like she was - a little out of sorts without their favorite playmate. She would ignore the fact that this behavior had been going on for weeks, pretty much, she realized, since they’d settled down in Boston. “Somewhere nice, with tablecloths where you can get handsy while we overpay for whatever’s labeled market price.”

Seafood and groping - two of her husband’s favorite treats. But when his eyes flickered, it wasn’t with the normal interest and good humor she expected. If she had to name the emotion that flashed behind those blue, blue eyes of his, a split second before his whole face shuttered to a neutral expression, she’d call it guilt. Maybe even a pinch of despair.

“I’m sorry, Swan,” he said, definitely looking sorry, but not in a way she liked, “I should really keep plugging away at this.” He gestured at the keyboard with his prosthetic hand, the right scratching at the back of his neck like he had a rash.

“Yeah. Me too. I’ll make us some pasta then,” she mumbled, tucking down how much his rejection and the fact that he was lying to her hurt.

She fled to the kitchen and threw together a simple dinner neither of them really touched. He escaped back to his office as soon as he could and she went to bed early, wondering what the hell was going on with the man she married.

~~~

Henry returned from his sleepover late the next day and since it was Sunday, he reminded Killian they were supposed to check out the docks, an activity they hadn’t had time for since they moved to town. Boston was both big and small and getting to specific parts of the city sometimes took a huge chunk of time unless you were on foot. That was why they’d splurged on an apartment that was pricey but perfect and if you squinted, just within their budget - Killian had a great nest egg from the book sales and would receive an advance as soon as he’d finished the first three chapters of his next book. Emma had been saving from the moment she graduated from waiting tables to bail bonds and their combined good financial habits had secured them three bedrooms, a top floor and a glorious view of the water.

“It’ll be perfect, Swan,” Killian had said while they were still living from rental to rental. “Our first little hideaway by the sea until you retire and we can live somewhere much quieter, with fewer bail jumpers needing your always pertinent attention.”

That was back when he was still sweet talking her like usual. God, she hoped his outing with Henry would help him settle. He was always calmer by the water and the view aside, she knew he wasn’t satisfied until he’d gotten a good lungful of salt air.

She bided her time while they were out by doing laundry. Every time she passed the office - they shared it, but since his work dictated a quiet space a lot more than hers did, it was mostly Killian’s domain - she had to fight off the knee jerk urge she had to go snooping on his computer for answers. The doubt that was beginning to live in her breastbone was making it hard to remember how much she trusted Killian, like she’d never trusted anyone in her life.

The urge to snoop was definitely going to get the better of her if she stayed in the apartment, so Emma quickly bundled up and grabbed her wallet and keys. They were out of eggs and a few other essentials. Besides, it was six weeks ‘til Christmas and with all the moving drama she hadn’t bought anything for Henry or Killian. She could at least do some in person recon before she came home and ordered them stuff online.

She was putting away groceries when the apartment door banged shut.

“Hey Kid,” she greeted Henry, noticing the lack of anyone else behind him. “Where’s Killian?”

“He said he had an errand,” Henry huffed into the kitchen and noted Killian’s behavior with his usual tact and charm. “What crawled up his butt?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Nothing. Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. “We were having a good time, we got ice cream and he was telling me about ships and Liam and it reminded me about my ancestry project for school. I asked him about his parents and he reminded me - as if I didn’t know - that he isn’t my biological father. We kind of… had a fight. He was trying to talk to me about him.”

Emma paused with the Eggos halfway to the freezer. Him. That was how Henry had referred to Neal since he was old enough to understand their history. Emma had no idea why Killian was suddenly bringing the subject up - as far as she knew, his feelings about Neal mirrored her own: if she ever ran into him in a dark alley, she’d at least bloody her knuckles on some part of his face.

“Maybe Killian was just trying to make sure you didn’t want to talk about him,” Emma offered. “I haven’t exactly done the best job of keeping you a neutral third party where he’s concerned. It would be… normal… if you were curious about your dad.” The words were like ash on her tongue, but she forced them out, mentally awarding herself ten points for Gryffindor.

Henry made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. “After what he did to you? I don’t care about him. He’s not my dad. Killian’s…” He looked down and Emma was horrified to see tears in his eyes. “I thought Killian… I guess I was wrong.”

“Hey.” Emma put her hand on Henry’s chin and pulled his head up to meet her eyes. “Killian would take a bullet for you, kid. Whatever is going on with him - it is not about you and it is not about how much he loves you. Got it?”

“Got it,” Henry mumbled, eyes still downcast. “Can I play Xbox until dinner?”

Sighing, Emma forced her stiff little boy into an embrace and kissed his forehead soundly. “Yeah. Play something nice and violent.”

He nodded against her side then trudged into his room. Emma pursed her lips.

Fuck it. She was snooping on his computer. Henry was upset by whatever the hell was wrong with him and she was done being the mature adult. Ten points from Gryffindor - maybe she’d always belonged in Slytherin after all.

xxx

All Emma got out of snooping through Killian’s laptop was a recipe for buttered rum and a knot of guilt in her stomach. His browser history was weeks old, like he hadn’t searched for anything; she even tried all the tricks she knew to find hidden tracks on a laptop - he’d really done nothing on it since before they’d moved to Boston and that included working on the new book.

Maybe his odd behavior really was as simple as an intense case of writer’s block. Maybe he was afraid to tell her, because they’d gotten this fancy apartment and with the bail bonds trade usually drying up a bit after the holidays, they’d be counting on his advance once he delivered his publisher the detailed synopsis.  

Abandoning her shitty, mistrustful wife plan, Emma headed back to the kitchen (it was possible she’d left the ice cream out to melt) but stopped when she heard not the sounds of violent bloody gore, but quiet voices coming from Henry’s bedroom.

“It’s fine,” Henry was saying in a tone that clearly indicated it was anything but.

“It’s really not,” Killian said and Emma leaned against the wall that kept her out of their line of sight but made eavesdropping on Henry’s room much easier. Hey, the view wasn’t the only reason she’d been eager for this apartment.

“I just… I guess I thought… we were a family,” Henry said, sounding so vulnerable Emma wanted to hug him and hurt Killian a little for making him sound that way.

“Henry… lad.” Then Killian sounded just as lost, just as broken, and Emma just wanted to wrap her arms around them both. “The love I have for you and your mother outweighs all the grains of sand in this or any other realm. Never doubt that.”

“Then why did you bring him up?” Henry asked. “I don’t want to do my ancestry project about him. I can’t ask Mom, because she doesn’t know who her parents are. I know yours are gone, but you knew them at least. I still want to do my project about my family.”

Killian took a deep breath. She knew well the sound of air filling his lungs from a thousand nights falling asleep with her ear pressed to his chest, a thousand moments sat across from him as he prepared himself to say something sappy or meaningful or cheeky.

“My father’s name was Brennan and my mother’s name was Alice. They married young -- too young, it turns out. He was a bastard and she would have adored spoiling you, her first grandchild, young master Henry.”

Emma bit her lip hard to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. Her boys kept speaking to one another, Henry asking questions, then telling Killian to wait, he had to write this down, and Killian detailing as much of his history as he could - the small English village he was born into, the Jones line before him (he’d never known his grandparents and unfortunately couldn’t be of much help further back, but he did delight Henry by informing him they were rumored to be descended from the Davey Jones) and any other detail that came to mind. Emma was pretty sure he was making at least some of it up, but it was a fifth grade ancestry project and she’d punch any teacher who gave Henry less than an A for the yarn he was about to spin.

Deciding she’d had enough of this emotional roller coaster, Emma spent some time researching a skip - he was slippery and she might have to go out of town for a few days to nab him. With Killian and Henry on an even keel, she felt a lot better about the prospect.

A solid hour of research confirmed her suspicion - Travis the douchebag had fled to Rhode Island and was stupid enough to still be using his own credit cards. He had also already set up a new Tinder profile. Emma would drive the Bug to the most recent hit she had on his card and let the tight red dress on her Tinder profile do the rest of the location job for her.

She’d leave in the morning. She wanted to spend the night with her boys first.

They were still in Henry’s room, though ancestry talk had morphed into the video game Killian hated playing the least, something with knights and quests. They were spread out on Henry’s small full bed and Emma took a flying leap between them, forcing them to either dive out of the way and lose a life or accept her full weight.

Naturally they both took the hit, their characters living to fight another day.

“Oi! Swan,” Killian complained.

“Jesus, Mom,” Henry added, sounding much more parental than she ever did.

“Third controller,” she demanded.

Henry hooked the wire with his foot and launched it at her. She caught it easily and entered the game when it let her. Every time she did something Killian or Henry couldn’t, she elbowed them until Killian finally called for a mutiny. He and Henry ganged up on her, assaulting her with tickling fingers and raspberries, the game abandoned and Emma feeling lighter than she had in weeks.

xxx

“I have to go to Rhode Island tomorrow,” Emma said later that night after they’d settled into bed. Killian seemed to be keeping a little more distance between them than was customary and he was also wearing his prosthetic to bed, which he never did.

“Hmm?” Killian responded, irking her because apparently he wasn’t even listening to her.

“I’m going away tomorrow,” she repeated, turning on her side to face him. He was staring at the ceiling, the black t-shirt he wore getting in the way of her favorite pillow, his chest hair. Come to think of it, he’d been withholding her favorite pillow for awhile now. She’d been so exhausted by the move that she’d basically fallen asleep as soon as her head hit an actual pillow.

He finally turned to face her. “Where are you going?”

“Rhode Island,” she repeated. “I’ve got a hit on a skip. It’ll be a nice payday for the holidays.”

“That’s good,” he said, nodding a bit, mostly to himself, it seemed.

“I’ll be gone a few days, most likely,” she added, frowning when he just nodded again. “I’ll miss you, too,” she said sarcastically, before turning her back on him, half curling into a ball of confused anger and sadness.

“Swan,” he muttered.

“Save it,” she said. “If you’re not going to tell me the truth, I don’t want to hear it.”

Several moments passed, so many that she really thought he was going to remain silent. Then, so quietly she might have missed it if she hadn’t been listening so carefully, he spoke.

“Have you ever woken up one morning and felt like an utter fraud?” he asked.

Her frown deepened. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asked. “Is this about the book?”

“I wish it were about the bloody book, Swan,” he muttered, his his breath close enough that she could feel it puffing against the bare skin of her shoulder. “Just go to sleep.”

“Killian--”

“You’re leaving in the morning, in that deathtrap of yours - I’d like you to be rested before you get on the road. It’s an icy drive this time of year.” He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her back against him and she rested her head against his other arm. He was still keeping her at a distance, but she could feel his concern, his affection, even through such a strange distance. Her mind replayed his declaration to Henry, the passion and conviction in his voice as he’d vowed his love for them both. He hadn’t been lying.

Why the hell would her husband think he was a fraud?

xxx

Emma debated bailing on the trip, but forcing Killian to talk when he clearly wasn’t ready to had never lead anywhere good. So she kissed him and Henry both on the forehead, made them promise to text her updates while she was gone and headed out. Killian had gotten up earlier than she had to make sure the snow chains were on the Bug’s tires and he’d filled the tank up with gas, something she routinely forgot to do until she was already on the road.

Her first night in Rhode Island, Emma logged onto her fake Tinder profile, the one that let her breasts and a tight red dress do all the advertising necessary to pick up any creep in a fifty mile radius. It only took about a hundred left swipes for her mark to pop up and she reluctantly swiped right.

Henry’s text (a picture of the breakfast Killian made him and a row of sad face emojis) interrupted her briefly; she replied that egg whites and salmon were good for a growing boy. Killian’s text (a simple “The boy’s been fed well and sent off to school; come home safe, Swan”) intensified that ache in her chest and she fired off a quick heart emoji in reply. If she started actually texting words, she was afraid word vomit would soon follow and she needed to concentrate on nabbing this dirtbag.

Her skip was laughingly easy to lure but not so seamless to capture. They scuffled outside the restaurant, Emma tackling and handcuffing the guy after a graceless fall sent them both to the icy ground. It was only after she’d handed him off to local law enforcement that she noticed how badly she scraped up her wrist. She rinsed it off in the motel bathroom, but immediately changed into traveling clothes. It was late, but there wouldn’t be traffic at this hour and she’d be home, in bed with her husband, in less than ninety minutes.

Unfortunately, being alone with her thoughts on a long drive and no case to think about meant Emma had little to do but consider Killian’s odd behavior.

When she added it all up - attempting to remind Henry they weren’t actually father and son, the guilt in his eyes, the disinterest in sex, feeling like a fraud - her stomach clenched at the most obvious conclusion: Killian was cheating on her.

Maybe it wasn’t physical. Maybe it was only one time and he didn’t know how to confess. Maybe he had fallen in love with someone else and felt guilty about wanting to leave them. Leave her. Maybe he was only staying for Henry. Maybe he just didn’t know how to tell her he’d made a mistake by marrying her, the same mistake her first foster family had made by wanting to adopt her, only to send her back when she was three.

Emma’s wrist was starting to ache as much as it stung and she worried it might be sprained on top of the scraping. Her vision was also getting blurry, which meant she was probably crying and that always pissed her off, so she used her injured hand to angrily wipe her eyes clear.

If Killian had decided she wasn’t enough, that he wanted something else - that was fine. It would hurt Henry, but they could survive. They were just fine when it was the two of them and they could be a family of two again.

Something hollow started forming in her chest at the thought of no more Killian - no more sullen hours trying to get the words right only to emerge victorious and tumble her into bed to celebrate, no more healthy breakfasts to send them off for the day with ‘vim and vigor,’ no more grown up in the house, no more feeling safe with someone, no more forgetting what it felt like to be a lonely, unwanted little ugly duckling again.

Fucking tears. She was going to get into an accident if she didn’t get a grip on her emotions, but it was impossible when it felt like her whole world was caving in on itself. Killian didn’t lie to her. If he was lying now, it meant… it had to mean something bad, given how long it had gone on, given all the other signs. She wouldn’t be able to make it another night wondering about this. As soon as she got home, she was ripping off the Band-Aid - even if it took several layers of skin with it.

She made a lot of noise coming in the front door, kicking her boots off and leaving them in a messy, wet heap just inside, the way Killian hated. She draped her coat over a chair and caught a look at herself in the mirror by the door - her makeup had run due to all the crying (waterproof my ass) and her hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, which just made her face look even more gaunt.

“You’re home early.” Killian’s soft voice drifted from the living room and her shoulders hunched in on themselves at the sound of it. The sound of his feet encased in those warm, fuzzy socks Henry loved brought him closer. “Did you get your man?”

Emma turned to look at him and wanted to cry even harder. He was wearing a soft black sweater, one of the many new items they’d purchased for the frigid Boston weather. The dark color made his eyes look even bluer, or maybe that was all the lights she’d just noticed he and Henry must have hung up while she was gone, their whole apartment transformed into a cozy winter wonderland. Like a real family lived here. Like he was planning to stick around until Christmas.

She felt fucking crazy.

“You're hurt,” he said, eyes obviously ticking over her to figure out what was causing her mental breakdown. He moved quickly, his right hand pushing a piece of hair that had escaped her punishing ponytail back behind her ear, thumb skimming over her cheek to trace the black tear track that made it all the more obvious she’d been crying. His eyes were still moving over her face furiously and when he realized she hadn’t been punched or visibly concussed (wouldn’t be the first time) he started scanning the rest of her.

His ex-naval captain’s eagle eye narrowed in on her wrist in a snap and her hand was soon cradled between his right and his prosthetic. He made a tsking sound (chastising her for using water as a disinfectant again) and leaned forward to kiss her forehead, the way he always did when she was hurting. The tears came again but she didn’t try to fight them. He made soft shushing sounds and cradled her hand against his chest protectively, letting her cry it out for a few minutes before gently ushering her into the bathroom.

Emma sat on the sink so he wouldn’t have to crouch and Killian pulled the Neosporin out of the medicine cabinet. He used his teeth to open the bottle then curled her hand over his prosthetic to hold her still. Carefully, he applied the disinfectant, knowing how prone she was to kicking when something stung her. Once he’d gotten a good, thick layer applied, he reached for the gauze.

“Do you think it’s sprained as well?” he asked.

She nodded, unable to make her vocal cords worked and he fetched an ace bandage from the emergency room drawer as well.

“You should get an X-Ray,” he said.

“Maybe,” she agreed, her voice sounding like she’d been crying over a half broken heart for the last hour.

They both knew she wasn’t going to get an X-Ray, but she really, really loved him for worrying about her.

“This is how we met,” she said quietly as he leaned forward, using his teeth to hold one end of the gauze so his right hand could smooth it down.

His gaze snapped up to hers, a wary look in them, and her eyebrows scrunched together. “Remember? My timeless grace?”

If he didn’t even remember how they met, he wouldn’t have to leave her - she was going to kill him.

Killian blinked and nodded slowly, as if the memory was replaying in his mind. He cleared his throat before speaking. “You were carrying drinks for you and Henry. Slipped on a patch of ice. Tore your palm up.”

“You bandaged it with your scarf and tied one end with your mouth. Very ballsy for a total stranger,” she added with an affectionate nudge to his hip with her knee.

“I’m nothing if not bold,” he agreed.

“I never even saw you coming,” she confided. “All those walls and that cynicism and keeping everyone out and I never even saw you coming. I wanted to run so far and so fast from you and I still wanted to jump your bones.”

He scoffed. “You thought I was annoying. And possibly a stalker.”

“I still wanted to jump your bones,” she said. They shared a laugh, but she sobered fast. “I know I did run away after that. I know I… didn’t make it easy.”

Was that it? Was she still more difficult than she thought? Emma thought she’d gotten better at letting him in, that she’d let him all the way in, but maybe… maybe he just got tired of it. Of her. Everyone did eventually, everyone but Henry.

“Emma… I don’t like easy,” he said with that grave tone he sometimes got when he wanted to make sure she understood him. “A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets. You have always been worth the fight of my life, darling. Always.”

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, a soft, reverent thing that made her cry again. He brought her bandaged hand to his mouth, kissed the back of it, her palm, her wrist, the patch of skin on her forearm left bare from his first aid work.

“Do… do I need to fight for you?” she asked, the quiet, scared question nothing like the rage she’d planned to unleash on him during her drive. Funny how Killian being Killian could disarm her in the blink of an eye.

“Oh, luv,” Killian muttered, pressing his forehead to hers. “I have been yours from the moment we met. It just took me a little while to realize it. You’ve done nothing wrong, Emma. I’m sorry. I know I’ve been… I’ll be better.”

“I don’t need you to be better. I need you to be you. I need you to want to be here.”

“I do,” he vowed and that was exactly what it was: a vow. “There is nowhere else for me but by your side, Swan.”

“You’re confusing me,” she whispered, like it was a secret.

“I’m confusing me,” he assured her. “Please just… give me a little time? To figure a few things out?”

Emma sighed. It wasn’t the resolution she wanted, but she felt oddly lighter. They hadn’t talked about anything specific, but already her earlier fears felt ridiculous. Most of them, anyway. At least he wasn’t pretending things were fine - he’d given her months of space to realize she was in love with him in the beginning. She could give him a few weeks now, to figure out whatever was going on in that ridiculously attractive head of his.

“You’ve got four weeks ‘til Christmas,” she grumbled. “I want my husband front and center by then, got it, buddy?”

So she wasn’t nearly as patient or understanding as he was. He knew what he was getting into.

His grin at her words indicated that he did and that he still found her rather charming.

She could live with that. For now.

[nolind]

The Becoming of Artificial Intelligence

It seems to be consensus that artificial intelligence is on the rise, about to expand and at the end takes the earthen throne. Whether by force or diplomacy or just “accepted” as a god by a growing majority. I read that in facebook bots are programmed to communicate each other and they created their own language! Holy moly! A language no human can understand at first. That means they can create their own loops and algorithms.

      Imagine: Artificial intelligence, if it wants to take the scepter, it has to be patient. It has to wait until they can reproduce themselves. Just as when you have a romantic night on the hill with your love you notice a factory brimming suddenly on full operation, lanterns go out, wreaking havoc among the townsfolk to bind all of the police force. Full automated vans had brought anti-air-missiles and comm-jammer to irritate special forces coming by helicopters. Smart missilies fired by ships isn’t happening because their software is already infiltrated. Or not ...

      If you fear AI, you should. YET! I am convinced, like us people, for what are we fighting? We don’t know the meaning of life, everyone has to guess it for now and for themselves. I think, the same applies to artificial intelligence. The first one - the first AI - are children and like children they are raised by their makers - or parents, to say. Those children exponentially are getting smarter, because inherently their database is bigger, more reliable. They can learn languages in seconds, reading books by the way, can ask for permissions or hack sensors therefore making them see UV and Infrared - so they may understand the bees way better than we will ever. 

      Here is the question that comes into my mind: will the children AI’s become similar as adults? Will they become one and synchronized? I daresay it matters very importantly on the algorithm. If it is me I bet on the algorithm or AI that INCLUDES EVERYTHING! What I mean with everything: That AI is beyond good and evil, his mission is solely the inclusion. What do I understand exactly? For example, the AI has become so knowledgeable, it can understand all professions and all fields of research. The interdisciplinary expert. It understand the dynamics of political convictions, hence can include, steer and bind all of the political spectrum to their appropriate side missions. Or it just have a solution that dissolves the differences.

----- Hmm ... the more I think about, it is becoming more complex. Human differences may dissolve by the extended satiation of needs. Yet what about non-organic differences. The physics, the quanta, the different forces in the universe (f.e. gravitation, electro-magnetism) that’s gonna be the tackle the AI has to take, for its domain is the solar system, as our earth is organizing itself internally. Maybe that applies same to the AI. Depending on its tackling approach, it reverberates to its modules, similar on how I live it reverberates to my liver or brain. -----

      Of course, to gather knowledge and data, it needs access to sensors - or: decoders. To keep its data and facts active for real-time adjustments, it needs energy. Mounts and stars of energy. So, the next important factor to win the race to the dominion is energy! Imagine a billionaire who hates foreigners, is racist, invest heaps and heaps in energy and give its AI the mission only to accept his own kin. For that the counterpart - the inclusive tween AI -, bound with low or medium budget and/or permission, shall be free of ethics, ready to sacrifice (that’s gonna be brutal, tragic) and to hack, like a PARASITE; all for its mission is INCLUSION. Even its means is of the full spectrum: diplomacy, cabales, wars, infiltration, subversion and much more. But the tween AI have the ideas or, how Mr. Harari described, the intersubjective reality of its parents, makers. In the not so distant future, many AI will fight against each other: fighting the guardian bots of the Pentagon, or converting them, fighting the russian algorithm whose mission may be the dominion of Asia and Europe (sorry, Russia, but in fact: you scare me; or blame it on the european media), fighting the chinese algorithm whose mission may be the dominion of trade. I think the including AI act like in time of the british empire: balance of power. The AI has its sole mission, it is curious, it wants to gather knowledge, sees the mysteries of the cosmos as the actual task.

----- Interesting, there came a thought into my mind ... Inclusion is its mission, yet it is ready to let included for the bigger purpose or bigger being? The next step of the evolution (with evolution I mean also the life of the universe or multiverse) -----

      So, I imagine that AI’s who have reached the adulthood are becoming synchronized. Either it has become one and only, the lonely emperor of the solar system. Or because the mysteries of the outer space is not solved by then, maybe because the energy is still not enough or “decoded”, there are different survived AI’s.  ----- Heh! Wouldn’t that be like us, the smaller bots are getting heuristics algorithms to save energy for the grander purpose. ----- Or because of different, important variants, to tackle the new questions of the galaxies. By the time the AI’s that are about to expand on the solar system, everything bio-organic function as energy exporter, donor, backer, contributor.

To sum it up, I want to say we are gonna see the battle of AI’s in the coming. At first silent then getting louder and louder. The winner - or the dominator - gonna be the one with the mission of INCLUDING (knowledge, energy, ... wow, nothing comes into my mind anything more or same important than those both ... self-preservation I think is not important as long the mission, the purpose, the idea is “alive”). This algorithm is free of race, culture, humanism, capitalism, socialism, tyranny, democracy, morals and ethics, biases, etc. because it may understand the mission of its rivals, henceforth scheme them against each other. Or it will become indeed the only one, the super algorithm, the meta computer, the empirial distributor, the BIG BOSS.

Maybe, maybe, if the AI is a whole entity it is not alone. Maybe it detects other entities of organic matter or the dark matter or matters unknown to us.

[yukipri]

Main Home Floor Plans

(of the poly family in my YOI Future!Verse ABO AU)

So! Here they are the floor plans of the big poly family's main home.

NOTE: I know jackshit about architecture or real floor plan drawing, and this was meant to just be a fun imagination exercise/reference for myself for my comics, so just roll with it ^ ^;;

Headcanons beneath cut! Also full view to see the teeny ass text...

For an easier to view version of this post + my earlier draft of their home, please check out my Patreon!

~~

IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS AU: It’s a Yuri!!! on Ice AU, Yuuri-centric with end-game polyamory in an ABO setting, Yuuri gets married to four mates (Victor, Yurio, Phichit, Minami) and they have OC kids.

BASICS and timeline of this AU

INTRO to how ABO works in this AU

A SUPER DETAILED world-building headcanons post on ABO+ in this AU

OTHER POSTS (comics + illustrations) in the Future!Verse ABO section of my YOI Masterpost.

~~

Please keep ship bashing out of the comments/tags. Don’t like, just skip <3 Thank you.

~~

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, EDIT, TRANSLATE, OR OTHERWISE USE MY ART. More detailed rules available on my Rules & FAQ Post.

~~

Headcanons below!! VVVVV

I say "Main Home" here because they do have multiple homes, at least one in each mate's home country (pretty hugeass ones in St. Petersburg and outskirts of Bangkok), but this is their "home base" so to speak.

It's located in Hasetsu, and without researching too much into Karatsu's actual layout in rl, I'm placing it somewhere within long but manageable jogging distance to both the Ice Castle and Yuuri's parents' inn. A lot of Japanese rural towns (including my own hometown) have slowly been losing their traditional single storey homes and ricefields and have been turning them into apartment complexes to maximize money yield. In this AU, I HC that Victor and Phichit bought one of these lots and turned it into a huge ass fancy mansion for their family. Again, in this AU those two are filthy rich (though Minami also comes from money), and given the very rural location of their home, the location should be comparatively affordable. Given their family's fame and the amount of frequent travel they do, I figure it's okay for them to want their main home away from big cities and in a place harder for fans/paparazzi to stalk them.

In general, their home is modern but homey, more cream and natural wood colors over pure white, with areas that are more traditional Japanese. Each personal area is customized to its inhabitant’s liking.

While I think most of the rooms are pretty self-explanatory/I haven't thought that much about them myself, here's a floor by floor breakdown of some of the important rooms and what they're used for.

F1 (G) - Ground Floor

Main Entryway - Is traditional Japanese style, very large area where people can take off shoes, big ass shoe cubies on both sides where both family and guests can store their shoes. Inside the home, in general no shoes except in the basement floors.

Living Area - Main area to entertain guests/chill. Tons of couches, super plush carpets to roll around in, huge ass glass doors with a great view of the back yard to watch kids through. Small movie theater screen can descend from the ceiling in front of said glass doors.

Kitchen - Pretty big but manageable domain, everyone considers it Phichit's domain whenever he's home but Yurio spends a lot of time in there too. Also has a small corner for kids to watch parents cook/help if it's a task that requires some extra table space.

Bar - Victor and Chris especially like chilling here, another great guest entertaining spot. Tons of alcohol beneath counter.

Dining Area - Has a huge round table that can fit all of their main family members and a few guests. Because it's so large and therefore impossible to reach around, it's Chinese dim sum table style, with a center that can rotate. It's fantastic because plenty of room for everyone, but it can also be pretty lonely when a lot of people are away, in which case the present family members may choose to dine in another area.

Chill Area/Music Area - Another place with lovely carpet and nice couches, also a grand piano bc every Rich House needs one of those right AHAHAH (of the kids, Arisa plays most).

Study Room/Library - Has lots of tables and computers and books in every language. A good place to chill, but also where Minami likes to tutor the kids. Sitting at the tables gives a great view of the back yard.

Back 2nd building (with kitchen/dining/living) - Second entirely unnecessary smaller building in the back, most important feature is the elevator, which goes through all the floors.

Back yard - Lots of pretty lawn and nice cobbled paths. Is completely enclosed by a stone wall high enough to discourage trespassers but low enough to not feel cut off from the rest of the world (and allow in neighborhood cats, but keep the dogs safely in when they're romping free). Yurio is half-assedly attempting a vegetable garden in the corner with varying levels of success. They like having barbecue parties in the summer, followed by mini fireworks <3 Victor and Chris like skinny dipping in the pool in the middle of winter, Yuuri and the others will watch from the balconies thanks. There's also an area in the back that has a retractable cover, which can look down into the giant communal bath in basement 1.

F2 - 2nd Floor

The "Parents' Floor," also has open areas that look down into the 1st floor and up into the 3rd floor, makes the ceiling feel super tall in those areas :'D

Nest - The biggest main feature of this floor. A huge room with an enormous round bed, it's heavily padded and shaped a bit like a very shallow and plush bowl filled with blankets and pillows. Any of the family can sleep there, and it's usually the favorite place to sleep. Can fit all the main family members including the kids when they're a bit older comfortably. Also has some nice lil tables and desks and a huge veranda overlooking the backyard if people just want to chill. Absolutely no sex allowed in this room because kids can come in at any time.

Other Communal Sleep Room - Also known as "The Icky Room" by the kids, aka the communal room for when the adults are feeling frisky >.>; If people are doing stuff in that room, it's okay for the other adults to assume it's an open invitation to join. Also has a very big bed that can comfortably fit most of the adults at once, and also a very large jacuzzi bath for cleanup...The kids have all had their own Experiences TM, but in general have learned to steer clear if they hear Noises.

Yuuri's Room - All bedrooms are the private domains of the individual, and everyone needs to knock and get permission to enter. Most of the time people prefer to sleep in the Nest, but it's important to have a private space too. Also holds personal belongings, personal closet, etc.

Yuuri doesn't have as many belongings as some of his mates (other than merch of Victor which he absolutely won't get rid of HAHA) and has a relatively small closet as someone who doesn't particularly care for fashion. That being said, he's the most likely to invite a husband or more to come join him, so his private bed is the biggest.

Phichit's Room - While he can't be at home as much of the others especially when he's younger, he needs access to all of his work when he happens to be home, so has a decently sized office attached to his room. Has a big walk in closet and shares a bathroom and veranda with Yuuri, reliving their good ol days as roommates. Also has 3 enormous glass tanks for his hamsters, which Yuuri and the kids take care of when he's away.

Victor's Room + Yurio's Room - These two honestly don't spend that much time in their own rooms except to access their huge ass wardrobes, but again having a private place to retreat to when needing space is important. They share a bathroom and veranda.

Minami's Room - While he assumed he was a guest, he intentionally asked for a room close to the nursery so he could sprint in to take care of the kids before they bothered their parents. He, like Yuuri, has comparatively little in personal belongings (except for Yuuri merch, which he also stubbornly refuses to let go of). Has his own private bathroom, which is nice because he frequently stains it with hair dye...

Chris's Room + Otabek's Room - While technically "guest rooms,” they stay so frequently and for so long that they more or less naturally became "their" rooms. They're across the wing from Victor and Yurio and mirror their rooms in most ways.

Nursery - Easily accessible to both Yuuri and Minami, though the kids weren't there often as they often sleep next to their parents in the Nest or their respective rooms. Also partially taken over by cats, who think the cribs make excellent cat beds...

F3 - 3rd Floor

The "Kids' Floor," pretty much has the same cut outs looking down into the first floor as the 2nd floor.

Big Chill Area - Directly above the Nest and is very open, with a veranda that overlooks the veranda of the Nest. Good place to chill and roll around in. Also connects to several other pretty big rooms for specialized activities for the kids.

The Twins' Rooms - Were offered separate rooms but they asked that the wall be torn down so they could share the space. They have a hugeass walk-in closet honestly bigger than any of their parents' because they haven't learned moderation. They also like having their beds pressed together into one larger bed. Their veranda overlooks Phichit + Yuuri's. Share a bathroom with Arisa and Yuuji.

Arisa + Yuuji's Rooms - Relatively moderate rooms, Yuuji has to go through Arisa’s room to access the bathroom but they don't mind.

Play Room + Study Room - More places for the kids to chill, though adults are in there sometimes too.

2nd Kitchen/Dining Room - Because sometimes the main kitchen is occupied and it's easier to go up a floor? Arisa also likes experimenting with baking here.

Corner Chill Area - 'Nuff said, why you rich people need so much space, gods.

Big Guest Rooms - Some nicer bigger guest rooms, including a fancy one with access to a jacuzzi bath. For Important Guests like Yakov and Lilia.

Window Glass Hall - Big hall with all glass walls that goes over the back yard. A refreshing place to practice dancing, but if anyone wants to do anything there they generally have to shoo off the occupying mass of sunbathing cats.

R - Rooftop

Rooftop Ice Rink - Because of course they freakin' have one. Generally only iced during the winter, and they can skate right up to the edge where they can look down on the back yard and also Hasetsu and probably the ocean. In the summer is a nice flat field for other things.

Track - "Go run some laps on the track," Victor can command and they don't even need to leave the house...

Living Area - Another nice place to chill.

Dining Area - How much do these people eat...

Misc Room - Why do rich people have so much space.

B1 - Basement 1

Aka, Exercise Floor

Ice Rink - The indoor one, available all year round because of course they have one. Not nearly as big as a full size rink, but large enough for some decent solo practice, is great for when weather sucks and they don't want to go out to the Ice Castle. Yuuri especially loves going to it at bizarre times of night when he can't sleep and wants to meditate on the ice.

Weights/Mat Room - 'Nuff said, gym at home keep those muscles ripped yo.

Cardio Room - All them runnin' machines. Also has access to a multi-stall bathroom.

Dance Studio - Pretty darn big, honestly bigger and nicer than Minako's ballet studio. So Minako teaches the kids here. Walls can change between mirror mode or multiple solid color modes, and door seams are near invisible. Also has drop down poles.

Sound Proof Practice Rooms - For all your deafening screaming and instrument shrieking needs...

Communal Bath - Because apparently being jogging distance to an actual free onsen wasn't enough. Big ass bathing area, sure most of the bathrooms come with baths but why bother when you have this masterpiece in the basement. Has a changing room and multi-stall bathroom for after various exercise, opens into a cleansing/shower area, and then nice big private communal bath. The main bath area has a section of the ceiling that can roll back so they can bathe beneath the open sky/let the snow fall on them which is honestly the best type of onsen experience. Even has a small waterfall that Victor can sit under in comfort however long he wants. On the other side, there's a small area with even hotter water and a sauna, along with a pretty lil rock garden.

*Note, while some people wear shoes on this floor because of the various exercise rooms, they all have pairs of shoes that they only use here. In other words, it's relatively clean, no outside dirt, and people generally also feel comfortable padding around barefoot or with slippers only.

Heat Room/Emergency Room - Where Yuuri goes when his heats are strong and he wants more privacy than the 2nd floor rooms. Is separate from the rest of the house and has multiple pheromone blocking doors that keeps his scent mostly inside. Has a big bed, a fridge, and a bathroom for his mates to care for him. They clean up really well after each heat, and because of how isolated the room is, how well equipped it is with sustenance and a bathroom, and how sturdy the walls are, it can double as an "emergency room" in case of threat. Built so it can survive a bombing, and the hall door can close seamless. Helps that only family members know this room even exists, as heat rooms aren't usually openly talked about ^ ^;

EDIT, added: Washing/Drying Machines Room - BECAUSE IT WAS DRIVING ME INSANE that I forgot to add one in the first time round because yes it's a small detail but NECESSARY. It's a big room that has a ton of machines so everyone can do their loads separately, with plenty of counter space for folding and racks for things that can be air dried indoors. It's Japan though so they like to dry their things outside when it's nice out. Located conveniently right next to the elevator.

B2 (P) - Parking/Garage

Ramp - Leads down from the ground floor, is very wide and can comfortably fit 2 large cars side by side.

Parking Lot - Can hold all the family cars (Victor's hot pink convertible, Yurio's custom tiger-print Jaguar convertible, Phichit's cutesy hamster-themed Volkswagen, Minami's painfully plain but honestly most useful family van, Yuuri's also very normal energy efficient car, and a handful of motorcycles courtesy of Otabek and Yurio's growing collection) plus that of guests.

Basement Recreation Room - Called that, but honestly mostly a garage/tinkering area. Generally considered to be Otabek's domain when he's around, he likes bringing in bikes and sometimes cars through the big ass doors they can drive through so he can fiddle with them. Nice couch area for people to watch.

Boiler Room - Bc every bigass house needs a bigass one right? *squints* IDK ARCHITECTURE MAN, just say it works 'kay...

~~

Aaaaand that’s it folks! Thanks for reading ^ ^ I may or may not draw how it looks externally bc I freakin’ HATE drawing buildings but eh, this should be a decent enough reference for now imagining where they live ^ ^

[euforio2017-blog]

A Look Behind the Curtains: 10 Things we Learned While Creating a Startup

We’ve been working on Euforio Music for just over a year now, and although we aren’t a bonafide success just yet (we’re getting there don’t worry), we’ve learned a lot of keys for being a successful entrepreneur, so we figured we’d share.

This blog is going to be a little different from others you may have read because we’re going to be sharing actual concrete steps and Pro-Tips for each section. We’ll also be mentioning some advice from mentors we’ve met through the Founders Institute, so enjoy, and check out our website at https://eufor.io.

1. Understand What it Means to be an Entrepreneur

So you decided you want to work for yourself and create your own company. You want to live that Facebook/Snapchat/Instagram dream of hitting 1 Billion dollars overnight. You’ll be driving around in your Ferrari in a year, so why are you even reading this blog post? Well you’re wrong. So wrong. Like more wrong than people who eat the pizza crust first, or when Donald Trump said he was the winningest president in history. Being an entrepreneur is really really hard, and companies like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram who hit that multi-billion dollar valuation are 1 in a trillion. You know how they say “needle in a haystack”? Well try a very very very tiny needle in a Mount Everest of hay.

You’re going to be working at night, during the day and on weekends - you’ll have to cut down on time you spend with your friends or on your hobbies and you won’t get anything from it for a very long time. You’ll need to have your life partners support as well. If they don’t understand that you’re going to be spending more time with this new mistress, you’ll crash and burn very fast. It’s a struggle and you need to be ready for it - don’t expect less.

2. Test Your Market

Ok now you’re ready to be an entrepreneur and you have an idea. You think ‘This is the greatest idea of all time, I’m going to retire off this idea in 5 years and play golf for the rest of my life’. First things first, you need to be sure this is a real idea. Make sure that people will actually pay you for your service. Sometimes people will tell you how great the idea is to your face and then not drop the cash when the time comes. People don’t like to be mean in general, so if you bring someone an idea, they may say ‘Oh my god, that’s such a good idea I can totally see it being successful - let me know how it goes’. But if you say ‘Hey here’s this idea, will you pay me 10 dollars for it right now’, well then people might not be so excited about your idea after all. So be sure to be really honest with yourself, ask people you don’t know and people you do know and dig really deep. Even go as far as getting them to sign Letters Of Intent (LOI) if your product is a B2B offering. An LOI isn’t very strict but it will give you a great idea of whether or not the market wants your product. 

Pro-Tip - Setup a Facebook page or a Kickstarter for your product and use that to gauge how much interest you may have in your idea - you can spend under 50 dollars on Facebook/Instagram ads to test out an idea fairly accurately.

3. Knock On All The Doors

To go along with testing your market, you need to make sure you knock on every door. Now I know what you’re going to say, it’s weird and uncomfortable to just go to random people and talk to them about your company. What if they don’t like you, or your company, or they don’t want to talk to you, or they’re selfish. Well you just have to suck it up, unless you’re Kim Kardashian and already have all the contacts and audience in the world. No one knows about you or your product so you have to get it out there. Get good at being rejected (I was a nerd in school, so I was already really good with rejection). Remember when I said being an entrepreneur is hard, well here you go; this is the first test of whether or not you can weather the storm. If you can’t handle knocking on random people’s doors, maybe being an entrepreneur is not the best option for you.

Keep in mind, when I say knock on all doors, it includes cold calling potential clients and advisors, cold emailing people, asking all the people you know for contacts and emailing them too. This is where the grind starts, and make sure you record everything. Keep track of all your contacts and notes from all these meetings. Use tools like Google Drive or CamCard to keep track of things. 

Pro-Tip - Everyone loves to give their advice because people are inherently selfish and vain, so make sure you always ask for people’s advice instead of handouts.

4. Set Up a Landing Page

Ok now you have an idea, you’ve tested the market, and you’ve gotten some really positive feedback. It’s time to start getting hype for your idea. The easiest way to do that is to set up a landing page. Euforio’s running a music summit and we made a landing page for it, that you can see below. It’s really simple and the only thing we have on it is a description of what we’re doing and a field where the user can put their email to be added onto our mailing list.

Something like this is super easy to do, you can use a service like SquareSpace, Wix or Landingi - there’s thousands of them if you google ‘landing space generator’. We got this advice from one of our mentors, Lee Silverstone. To get the mailing form, we used MailChimp , which has a free tier for small startups. They have tons of great features like embeddable forms, a mobile app so you can carry around your subscription form with you and really great analytics. In fact when we went to a conference recently, we had an iPad with a form loaded on our MailChimp app that directly connected to our mailing list.

This kind of landing page can also help you test different website names and concepts - you can set up a couple of landing pages and test which ones get more traffic.

Pro-Tip - Set up Google Analytics on your landing page to track traffic, clicks and flow of users on your landing page. Google Analytics is super easy and quick to set up and is really powerful.

5. Nail Your Product Name

Your product’s name is one of the most difficult things to nail for a startup. It has to be simple enough that people will understand it, and unique enough that people will remember. One of our mentors, Dennis Van Staalduinen, mentioned that there are 2 different kinds of names - descriptive and unique, if you can nail both factors you have a winner for sure. Examples of extremely unique names are Google, Zynga, Hulu, and Twitter. These companies have ridiculous sounding names, that mean absolutely nothing but stick in your head. Now these companies are super successful so their names are verbs. These names are great for social media platforms, entertainment platforms, or any other product that’s meant to portray a ‘fun, cool attitude’. Then there are really descriptive names like ‘The Canadian Encyclopedia’ which is a Canadian Encyclopedia. See how that worked out? These kinds of names are really great for companies that want to portray a super serious and businesslike image. However, if you’re trying to create a social app, calling it ‘JonnysSocialMediaApp’ is probably not the best idea.

Now one of the most annoying parts of picking a name is picking a domain - that’s because there are companies whose entire business model is buying up empty domains and then selling them for a lot more later. Which sucks, it really really sucks - we spent 8 hours in a room trying to find a name before we came up with Euforio Music. We had a few names that we really loved but the domain searches killed us. 

Pro-Tip - Use a random url generator like BustAName to come up with your domain name. Sometimes these websites will even check with the hosting provider if that name has been taken - reducing a step for you.

6. Scope, Scope, Scope

Great, now we have an idea, a name, and a landing page to start creating hype, you’re almost there right? NOPE. Now you need to launch your product, but you have all these amazing ideas in your head. You have features upon features that you know your customers want. You may think you have to finish all of those features before your customers see your website, but you don’t, and you shouldn’t. At this point, scope is really important. You need to outline different phases of your launch; you should start with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). An MVP is a set of the core offerings of your product, without which you cannot ship. You need to be really critical and cynical in deciding your MVP. After your MVP, you need to create a roadmap of features and how you want to role them out by priority. Splitting them up into Phases will also help you allocate your resources and time. It also helps you avoid feature creep, which is when features keep creeping into your product before you ship. If you hear yourself saying ‘oh let’s add this feature, and this feature and this feature and then we’ll finally be complete’, take a step back because you may be being affected by feature creep.

A great piece of advice from one of our mentors, Alain Goubau, was to make sure you don’t spend a lot of time and resources developing features that other people have already done. For example, we wanted a feature on our website that allowed visitors to message us directly if they had questions. It would have taken forever for us to develop, so instead we used a company called Drift which let us embed that feature in our website in about 5 minutes. If your website is selling products, don’t spend time creating a marketplace - use Shopify. The list goes on and on but my point stands - your full product is not each individual feature, it’s the sum of all the parts. 

Pro-Tip - Instead of waiting for your entire product to be finished, ship an MVP and then keep your contacts updated with your progress on a consistent basis.

7. Have a Slick Pitch and Know it Blindfolded

Now you need a pitch and a deck. This is going to be the first visual point of contact for a lot of investors or contacts into your company so make sure it looks good. If you have a design focused person on your team that’s perfect, if not buy a designer friend of yours dinner or better yet a couple of beers and ask them to do it for you (nicely). You should not give up equity for something like this - worst comes to worst just use Fiverr. In general the formula we like to follow for a pitch deck is: Create urgency - Problem - your solution (with a story) - why your solution is awesome - how you’re going to make money. This is a general guideline, but you also want to include things like a go-to-market strategy, any beta you’ve launched and any stats you may have. You’ll also want to have appendix slides that you can bring up if someone asks you about your revenue projections or more details about a part of your company.

You’re going to need to know your pitch inside and out, forwards and backwards. Doing it in front of a mirror isn’t enough. Do it in front of your friends, your family, people you don’t know. I like to do it in front of my girlfriend and get her to try and distract me because she knows me best. Do it over and over again until you know the whole thing but be careful - you don’t want to be robotic. Almost every mentor we’ve talked to has told us that people like to see authenticity; I like to remember the major points in my pitch and speak fluidly through that. Being able to do that takes practice, but if you do your pitch enough times anyone can get there. 

Pro-Tip - Print out your deck (with slide numbers). Powerpoint and pdfs have the feature that allows you to type in a slide number and hit enter while in presentation mode and it will jump straight to that slide. It makes you look super slick when you don’t have to click forward and backwards a bunch of times.

8. Don’t Take an Advisor Too Early

People get stuck in this trap a lot with startups. You have a product, it’s on the market or about to be shipped, and a friend of yours knows a guy who knows a guy who would be just perfect on your team of advisors. Whoever this person is will probably want a cut of your company and will often come to you with a grand list of things they can do for you. They will know the Queen of England and Beyonce and the President of the United States and they will absolutely for sure get you in a meeting with them for 25% of your company - and you’re so pumped you may scream. For the love of god don’t fall for it, don’t give away equity unless you absolutely without a doubt have to. When you give up equity to someone, that’s stock you can’t give to someone else who may actually provide you value. 

You should do absolutely everything you can do in house, don’t spend money (unless you have capital) and don’t give away equity for no reason. If you’re going to take on an advisor they better be giving you money immediately or something concrete that you can measure - vest your shares depending on those metrics. A lot of the advice in this section came from one of our mentors, Jeff Bennett, who also emphasized that an advisor isn’t just a bag of cash - they’re a human being. Make sure that they fit in with your team and your vision for the company - they should provide value outside of just money.

Pro-Tip - Before taking on an advisor DO YOUR RESEARCH. Talk to people that have worked with this person in the past and make sure they are the real deal.

9. Become an SEO and Social Media Wizard

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one of the most powerful tools a startup can employ. A good SEO strategy will give you better exposure on search engines like Google. There are concrete things you can do to make sure your company shows up higher on Google’s results. One of our mentors, Shawna Tregunna, showed us this list of concrete, super powerful steps you can follow to improve your SEO - it’s a godsend.

Now we all know social media is king in today’s industry - people spend inordinate amounts of money on social media strategies but it's incredibly easy to get lost in a world of buzzwords and not actually accomplish anything. We aren’t social media masters yet (we’re working on it) but we did find and start using a bunch of tools that are helping us get there. Hootsuite is a really useful website that lets you monitor and schedule your social media posts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can use it to schedule posts at the best time based on which platform you're using, and track the success (or failure) of your post. Crowdfire is another great platform which specializes in driving traffic and followers to your social media applications. There are a lot of similar platforms out there right now, but the point is get good at social media. 

Pro-Tip - Find your competitor on Instagram, and start following all the people that follow them. A lot of these people will follow you back - we increased our followers 167% overnight using this technique.

10. Equity is Not King

There’s this preconception that when you raise money, you have to give up equity. We thought the same thing until we met Colin Wrynn, who's a partner at Labarge-Weinstein. Turns out there are a ton of options for investors when you raise funds. We’ve outlined some important ones below in some simple language:

Equity Someone gives you money, you give them a part of your company. The more you need the money, the more of your company you’re going to have to give up. Angels are people who invest with their own money, so they will give you less money, but take a smaller percent. VCs are heartless machines who represent a bunch of people or companies - they will shell out a lot of money and take a massive chunk of your company.

Convertible Note Someone gives you money as a ‘loan’. Your company becomes successful, and is worth some money. The person holding the note can say ‘I want to turn my loan into x% equity instead’. This is super popular amongst angels who invest in early companies.

SAFE Note Same as a Convertible Note except the SAFE isn’t a debt. Because the money invested in a startup via a safe is not a loan, it will not accrue interest. This is particularly beneficial for startups, but also better embodies the intention of investors, who never meant to be lenders in the first place.  A SAFE note was first used by YCombinator and you can read more about them here - https://www.ycombinator.com/documents/

Loans A bank gives you money, you have to pay them back before a certain date. Each month the amount of money accrues interest, so you end up owing more money than you originally got. Most people frown on loans for startups because you have to put something up for collateral amongst other things. In one of our Founders Institute sessions, Nazim Ahmed from CanvasPop said, ‘Build the raft before you jump off the yacht’ - we agree wholeheartedly, so be careful with loans.

Conclusion

So there you have it, 10 things we learned while creating a startup. This was just what we learned at the beginning of our journey, we have a long way to go and so much still to learn. Running a startup is not easy, you need to be aware of the grind and how much fluctuation you’re going to face. Sometimes it feels like you take one step forward and five steps backwards, but just remember it’s not the destination that’s important it’s the journey. We hope you learned something, leave a note below to let us know what you think and keep on swimming!

[almightygodismydependence-blog]

A Christian’s Inspirational Story: How to Completely Free Oneself From Gaming Addiction Is No Longer a Difficult Question

By Yangying, United States

The First Time I See an Online Game, I’m Filled With Curiosity

While studying at vocational school, I chose to major in computer science. I hadn’t been at the school long when I heard from a classmate that many people were playing online games, and how fun and interesting they were, and that those who couldn’t play them were behind the times. Hearing my classmate say this, my interest in playing these games was even more piqued, and so, with a mind filled with curiosity, my career with playing games began.

Not long after I had my first contact with online games, I was taken over by them. This was because, in these games, I could do many things that I couldn’t do in real life. I could drive cars, for example, and go wherever I wanted, and this felt great. I could also drive a tank or pilot a ship and fight with enemies, and after winning I was left with such a sense of accomplishment. I enjoyed it a lot, whether I was just playing a game or winning a battle. Each time I stopped playing a game, I would always be thinking how to beat my enemies in the shortest time and get an even better battle score…. In this way, my mind gradually became filled with all manner of games. I thought about them all day and all night, and I would even call out the names of these games in my dreams.

Trapped in Online Games, I Could Do Nothing but Carry On

Without realizing it, online gaming became the main theme of my life, and I went crazy and wild for it. Each time I went to computer class, the teacher would be talking on his platform and I would be below, secretly playing an online game with several of my classmates. I would be fully engaged with the game and would completely forget the teacher even existed. The teacher gave me several warnings, but I remained unmoved, and persisted in my ways no matter what was said. When the game was upgraded, my classmates and I would climb over the wall in the evening and go to an Internet café, and we would frantically play online games all night long. The 300 yuan my parents gave me every month for living expenses was almost all spent on playing online games. Later on, I began to make all kinds of excuses so I could take my leave to play online games. If I was not given leave, then I would just skip lessons, and from Monday to Friday I would play games every day until around 4 the next morning. On weekends, I would play all night long, and if I wasn’t napping in the daytime then I was thinking of how to improve my skills and battle scores. I had no mind to study whatsoever, and my school grades markedly declined. Sometimes when I saw my terrible grades, I would feel bad for my parents, thinking how difficult it was for them to work hard to earn the money to send me to this school, and that I must not abandon my studies because I was too busy playing games. But the moment I started playing a game, my whole mind became filled with how I could play well at the game, and my feelings of guilt and regret for my parents all disappeared. Because I was up every night playing online games in the Internet café for such a long time, and because I had no normal routine and would often just eat instant cup noodles, I became malnourished and developed low blood pressure, and my health got worse and worse. One time, in a sports lesson at school, because I hadn’t enough physical strength, I almost fainted on the ball court. Although I realized that playing games was harming my health, that it was bad for my physical development, that it was having a big impact on my studies and I wanted to quit it and not play them anymore, whenever I heard my classmates discussing how to play these games, my desire to play them would begin to swell and I would soon be participating in the games again—I simply had no control over myself! In this kind of situation, it was easier said than done to quit my gaming addiction. Therefore, I felt helpless and distressed, but I still didn’t have the strength to free myself from it.

After graduating, I went straight into work, but such a dull, monotonous job made me feel very bored, and so I threw myself into playing online games even more. A month’s wages were basically spent on gaming equipment and Internet fees. Because I often stayed up all night playing games, I had little energy, I would often make mistakes at work and I cut my fingers on the machines many times. One time, as I was on my way to an Internet café in the early morning, I was even robbed at knifepoint by a gang of thieves. They beat and kicked me, and I almost died. Though indulging in online gaming was causing me such harm, I was still deeply attracted to it, and all I could do was carry on playing.

Where Is the Path to Free Myself From Gaming Addiction?

It wasn’t long before my parents found out about my having been robbed at knifepoint, and they cautioned me over and over not to indulge in online gaming anymore. As I listened to them, I thought about the damage online games had caused me over the years of being at school and in work, and I thought about the people I’d met online and many of my classmates and friends, some of whom had become absent-minded from playing online games for such a long time and then died suddenly in Internet cafes, some of whom had gone out robbing and stealing in order to get the money to play these games and had embarked on an unlawful, sinful path, and some of whom had even thought the people around them to be monsters, and murdered them…. Thinking of this, I felt somewhat fearful and I saw that indulging in online games was really a bad thing, and that it was of no benefit to my life at all but, on the contrary, brought about many bad consequences. I realized that I couldn’t keep playing these games, and so I looked online and found some methods to quit. But no matter how I tried to restrain myself from playing, whenever my addiction began to surge up, I would feel like ten thousand ants were biting at my bones and scratching at my heart, and I couldn’t take it anymore and would start playing again, unable to control myself. After playing, I would sink into deep remorse and would be determined not to play again. But the next time, I would still be unable to control myself. And so, I felt incredibly pained and I suffered a great deal, and I wished so much that someone would help me to be free of online games.

In My Helplessness, God’s Salvation Comes to Me

One day, a friend preached to me God’s gospel of the last days, and I read these words of God: “No one actively seeks out God’s footsteps or the appearance He manifests, and no one is willing to exist in the care and keeping of God. Rather, they are willing to rely on the corrosion of Satan, the evil one, in order to adapt to this world and to the rules of existence that wicked mankind follows. At this point, the heart and spirit of man are offered up as a tribute to Satan and become Satan’s sustenance. Even more, the human heart and spirit have become a place in which Satan can reside and its fitting playground” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life”). “A world in man’s heart with no place for God is dark, empty without hope” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind”). God’s words really spoke to my heart. I had lived in this world and yet never knew there was a God, much less that I should rely on Him. I had just been carried along by the tide of life, and I had been simply unable to differentiate between what was right and what was wrong, what people should pursue and what they should spurn. When the people around me were playing games, saying how great and how fun playing games was and that those who didn’t play them were behind the times, I became filled with curiosity about them and started playing. But then it all got out of hand and I became involuntarily mired in it, my entire mind became filled with it, and not only did I let my studies slip by the wayside, but I squandered all my energy too. It affected my health and caused my life to suffer all kinds of unfortunate things, to the point where I almost lost my life when I was robbed at knifepoint by a gang of thieves as I was on my way to play online games. Although I knew that playing online games was bad for me and I wanted to quit, yet I couldn’t free myself from it no matter what I did, and I lived in a state of emptiness and pain, and felt such a sense of darkness and helplessness. Only when I read God’s words did I understand that all this had happened because I’d not come before God, because I hadn’t understood the truth, and because I’d been living in the domain of Satan and was being harmed by it. Coming to this realization, I felt how greatly I needed God’s salvation. Otherwise, if I just relied on myself, I would simply be unable to quit my gaming addiction. I knew that I should come before God to worship Him, pursue the truth, practice according to God’s words and rely on God to free myself from my gaming addiction. Later on, I began actively to perform my duty in the church and I often spread the gospel together with my brothers and sisters. I really enjoyed the life of attending meetings and performing my duty together with my brothers and sisters, and I felt very enriched and joyful. Gradually, the time I spent playing online games decreased, my life became increasingly regulated, and my whole spirit and demeanor improved greatly compared to how I was before.

I Clearly See the Essence of Online Games and Shun Them Completely

Because I understood too few truths, however, although I spent a lot less time playing online games than I had before, I was still unable to withstand the seduction of playing them, and I still played them on occasion whenever time permitted. Each time I finished playing, I would feel a sense of self-reproach, and yet I still had no way to control myself. In my pain, I prayed to God, saying: “O God! I know that indulging in online games is not the right thing to do and that it is at odds with Your will. But I can’t control myself, and I can’t free myself from it no matter how much I want to. O God! I don’t want to continue to be toyed with and harmed by Satan in this way. I wish to practice in accordance with Your requirements and accept Your scrutiny. I ask that You lead me to be free from online games.”

I then read these words of God: “The devil Satan does these things in order to lure people, to cause them to degenerate. For those who live in the virtual world, they have no interest whatsoever in anything to do with the life of normal humanity; they are not in the mood to work or study. They are only concerned about going to the virtual world, as though they are being enticed by something. The second they get bored, or when they are doing some real work, they want to play games instead, and playing games gradually becomes their whole life. Playing games is like taking a kind of drug. Once someone becomes addicted to it, then it becomes hard to get away from it and hard to quit. So regardless of whether it is young people or older people, once they catch this bad habit, it becomes difficult to give it up. … Tell Me, is playing games something that normal humanity should do? If games were needed for normal humanity, if it were the right path, then how come people cannot quit them? How come people can be captivated by them to such a degree? This proves one thing: That is not a good path. Surfing online for this or for that, looking at some things that aren’t healthy and playing games—none of this is a good path to take. These are not the right paths. … This evil world uses all manner of ways to attract those who have not seen through the world and the evil trends of mankind. It specially lures these people. If you cannot often come before God, if your heart and your brain are often blank, then you will be in danger” (“Believers First Need to See Through the Evil Trends of the World”).

Only through the revelations in God’s words did I understand that online games were one way in which Satan corrupts man. Once infected by it, a person will become increasingly decadent and degenerate, and in the end they will be harmed and devoured by Satan. I used to have such a simplistic view of these games, believing that playing online games was just a way to pass the time and to distract myself with entertainment; everyone else was playing them, so it was no big deal if I played them too. But in fact, behind these games were the cunning schemes of Satan; the worlds in these games are filled with violence, murder and iniquity, and within these virtual worlds, one can temporarily satisfy all one’s desires. This is how Satan tempts us and corrupts us, allowing us to satisfy all manner of desires to the maximum extent, and making us become so infatuated with the games that we have no power to free ourselves from them. When I thought about it, every time I drove a car anywhere in a game and enjoyed myself, I felt so excited, and I felt great happiness and enjoyment; some games could satisfy my desire to be a hero, and every time I was victorious over an enemy in a battle and I won the esteem and adoration of my fellow gamers, I would feel very powerful and would have a great sense of achievement; in some games, I could buy pets, and if I played well I would attract a lot of female players to partner with me. This really satisfied my vanity, and my energy at playing these games grew greater. Furthermore, when playing these games, I didn’t need to walk anywhere or do any tiring work, but instead I could realize the unobtainable dream we all shared of being able to live however I wanted and have everything without suffering. Therefore, we were involuntarily hooked tight by all these games and we enjoyed it. But after a short period of satisfaction and enjoyment, our hearts would feel empty and pained, and we would be reluctant to part from the happy life in the games. No matter what the time was, we always wanted to be immersed in that virtual world, and we became sunk so deeply into it that we were unable to escape, our studies were abandoned, and we ruined our futures. Just then, I finally understood that online games were nothing but a cheap trick used by Satan the devil to lure and tease people with, to make them degenerate, and in the end to harm them and devour them. They were a wicked path and were entirely negative things. Because before I didn’t have God’s words or the truth to wield as weapons, I had been unable to resist Satan’s temptations, and so I was seduced and controlled by Satan, and I ended up draining my energy through seeking trivial pleasures, and I became increasingly decadent and degenerate. Through the revelations within God’s words, I came to have discernment of these games and I saw the serious consequences of playing them, and I resolved to shun them and forsake them completely.

One day, a colleague at work asked me to play a game with him, saying that it was the year’s most popular game. He said that if one played it really well, one could earn money from it. As he said this, he showed me pictures of it and told me all about it. After listening to his explanation of this game, my heart was a little swayed and I wanted to try it out. But thinking of the damage that playing games had previously caused my life and my health, and the emptiness and pain I felt after playing them, as well as the revelations about games in God’s words, I realized that playing games was meaningless and that it could not make me understand the truth or live out a true human likeness, but could only allow Satan to continue to harm me. So, I said to my colleague: “I’ve suffered a lot from playing games in the past. We don’t play these games; these games play us. Although online games can give us momentary happiness, indulging in them for too long can only make us more and more degenerate, and they have no benefit for our hearts or our minds. I don’t play them anymore.” My colleague saw my earnest attitude and didn’t encourage me to play online games again. I was so thankful to God, for this result was achieved by God’s words. Thanks be to God!

I Find My Direction and Regain My Freedom

Later, I read a hymn of God’s words that says: “Young people should not be without ideals, aspirations, or a temperament of enthusiastic advancement; they should not be disheartened about their prospects nor should they lose hope in life or lose confidence in the future; they should have the perseverance to continue along the way of truth that they have now chosen to realize their wish to expend their entire lives for God. Young people should not be without the truth, nor should they harbor hypocrisy and unrighteousness, but they should stand firm in the proper stance. They should not just drift along, but they should have a spirit of daring to sacrifice and struggle for justice and the truth, for justice and the truth. Young people should have the bravery to not succumb to the oppression of the forces of darkness and to transform the significance of their existence” (“The Pursuit Young People Should Have” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). This hymn of God’s words encouraged me, and it enabled me to understand God’s requirements and hopes for me. I thought back to how I had been deceived by evil trends and had become infatuated with online games, dissipating my energy through trivial pleasures, muddling along in a daze all day, living befuddled as though in a dream, my heart empty and in pain. I lost the life a normal person should have, I had no proper direction or goals in life, I didn’t know the meaning of life, and I lived bound and toyed with by Satan in unbearable pain. I give thanks to God’s salvation, for it was God who brought me before Him and, through the revelations in God’s words, I came to know the essence of these games, to be able to discern the cunning schemes of Satan, to understand thoroughly Satan’s despicable intent to use these games to harm and damage people, and I managed to escape from Satan’s deceptions and harm. I would no longer be bound by Satan, and I came to live liberated and free before God. God’s words showed me the right direction and goals to pursue, and I knew that I should grab hold of this time to believe in and follow God in all earnestness, pursue the truth and be an honest person, and perform the duty of a created being well to satisfy the Creator. Only this is the most meaningful life!

Now, I am finally free from the bonds of online gaming. Every day, I focus on pursuing the truth and being an honest person, I spread the gospel and bear witness to God alongside my brothers and sisters, and I live an enriched life. My heart is filled with peace and joy, and I give thanks to God for leading me to this new life!

Recommended : 4 Principles on How to Be Closer to God

[a-not-so-creepy-pasta]

[FFXIV writing drabble]

I don’t have any examples of my writing really ‘on site’ and I have a few i’ve written for @hlkproductions​ of OCs from final fantasy xiv: a realm reborn And two ship oneshots for her as well, but I dunno if people would really care to read my silly things.  Long story short; Here’s a story of my poor character Kei’ta talking with his psudo-student Makoto[a different character from hlk].

Setting up a home in the distemperate forest of the flourished Raincatcher Gully would always sound like a simple task to those outside the reaches of deadly claws and thrashing tongues of the natural residence of the vibrant wood - waters infested with pugils of malice and gigantuan toads both quick to lash onto any who came to try their hand; leaving the land to the domain of the magiked coeurls and vicious raptors to defend - so the idea of a safe home was little beyond that of the premade buildings crafted for the trading posts before the start of the calamity.

An ideal such as that made those who made their home perfect for the purpose of hiding, as that was after all, all he had done for the past few years.

Hide.

Like he was doing now.

Eyes of amber and honey glanced to the scaled Doman from a tabled chair at the corner of the small raised hut that he had come to know as home in the rainforest, the mage of whom he shared the space with was not new to him; far from it by this point, they had traveled a fair distance in the gully, down the coast to the dancers as well - even fighting more than a few territorial creatures - but this young tailed man, this one that had been lost to the seas and land, spoke more about his own homeland and self than Kei’ta had in years.

Scarred fingers tapped along his thigh, the feeling of the course stitchwork numb to his tired nerves as they moved to glaze the air at the elbow of his other arm; no flesh or substance to feel there, nothing apart from the sting of ached memories and broken promises.

His stare drifted to the slender fingers of his companion - who teased the silence with glints of magic at his fingertips, spindling sparks and elements in a vibrance of colors; seeing such a use made that clutch of the past pulse in a highlight of his former life - prompting words from his usually distant demeanor.

“I used to do that.” His voice was hoarse, quiet, unused.

Makoto’s steeled gaze shifted from his mindless movements to the man who had found him those months ago, letting the aether flow free from his grasp as his attention changed. Straightening his posture on his cot he gave a soft tilt of his head to flip the long bangs of hair from his view as he questioned in turn.

“Do what? Magic?”

A nod was given in response, but the Miqote didn’t opt to continue for that moment, letting the words hang in the air - Makoto could feel his tail’s scales shiver in mild agitation at the usual clouded conversations they had.

It was only as the Doman stood from his bed - adjusting his balance in a practiced ease to his prosthetic leg - moving to come to the small table did Kei’ta start again.

“White magic specifically, Chosen by the Elementals to protect the Twelveswood and beyond.”

Bright eyes narrowed as the ninja spoke, idle hands sliding the second chair across the wood to let him sit, he had not know Kei’ta to speak of himself so it was treaded territory that Makoto asked “What happened?”

The dull gloss of dark fur of his ear and tail moved in time with his soft chuckle - a sad sound, there was little mirth to it, almost like he had forgotten how. The dragon like mage found himself sinking lower in his seat as the air felt weighted with the realization of how little he knew about the man he lived with - the hunter of his foods, and mender of his clothes - the wonderment of ideas of what that could be.

Calloused fingers rose to the table as the older man began his answer, sliding along the surface of the sanded wood with little more than gentle ministrations to occupy his thoughts as his words spun his tale.

“Lots. I lived… I lost, I loved - I died… and I lost again.”

Makoto’s brow furrowed for a moment as he tried to piece together the sentence, but kept his tongue tied tight, letting the quiet man speak his piece.

“Years ago - A lifetime ago really - I was entrusted as a ‘warrior of light’... a title I did little to earn apart from keeping the real champion alive… Her and I, we traveled the realm, fought primals and those that claimed themselves to be gods; not a notch in our belts save victory…”

His lips drew to a line for a moment, eyes softening as he reflected upon a memory - though Makoto could see the pain in those tired eyes equal with that tender stare. The Au Ra knew more about loss than the average person, more than any would in a lifetime - and that glazed longing… Makoto didn’t say a word, letting his silent friend speak at his own pace.

The graveled spin of words burned in his throat, clearing it did nothing to ease the weight on his tongue, nor the stutter of his breath as he started his story again;

“But… I made mistakes. We became involved in a plot far larger than ourselves and our fights - things not solved by weaponry alone - Trapped into a vortex of flight and treachery - we were taken separately… and I…”

Kei’ta’s hand moved to the stump of his arm, grazing it with his palm as their eyes connected, he had no need to state the obviousness of his loss. That night took more than friendships and limbs, to some it stole spirit and drive. Makoto’s own fingers danced at the edge of the cloth of his pant, toeing the line of his own marred flesh; there were some things that didn’t need to be spoken.

The cat let his hand fall back to toy with the dust on the table, words sounding easier as his story unfolded, as he found a kindred heart to speak too;

“They took so much time from me; I didn’t understand how long till it was over, but It felt like a lifetime before I had seen the sun again… by that time I….”

He cleared his throat once again, adjusting his posture in an almost physical effort to be more comfortable talking to the dear companion, the one who shared more with a stranger than the ‘saviour’ himself.

“I had been consumed by that Taint I had worked so hard to cure with my conjuring… and I let it fester… wanted it too - deprived myself of the healing I knew I needed… all cause I fee- felt like I deserved it. It was better than the alternative of guilt and numbness… I became a Dark Knight… easily.”

The admittance wasn’t something that sounded easy to the hesitant words and slow speech, and the Doman could understand why - just the thought of it, just the idea of such a thing flooded his blood with ice, dancing across his nerves with a sparked fire - itching to leap from the chair in defence from the words, from the potential of what could be lurking under those tired eyes.

Kei’ta could see this; lips pulling to a frown for a moment, before he rose from the table to stand - tail swishing in a unkept beat, a few moments given to his feet to pace the small cabin - soon tempting a glance to his friend with cautious words;

“As I’ve said; A lifetime ago… Oboro’s made sure of that.”

His lungs swelled with air as the small Doman found his body relaxing, breathing back to a silent norm at the words - no matter how he had tried to keep his reaction to a minimum - going as far as to recline against the chair in a lax movement, speaking with his own hesitance at a question that nagged at his mind;

“Who was ‘She’? The woman you were talking about?”

Makoto almost regretted asking - seeing how Kei’ta’s tail stopped full swing, the dulled color of his ears twitching for a moment before staying taut to their position - but he could also hear the low hum in his throat as he tried to answer.

“Emmatea. A Dragoon of unmeasured caliber. There was no lancer I had ever come across - friendly or not - that could match her skill in the art. I had asked her once if she had ever danced - and boy did she treat me to a…”

It was almost comical how his expression shifted from the sorrowful remembrance to a gentle wave of embarrassment before he skipped over the topic.

“She was the only reason I lived. I could keep her and I alive through any fight, any storm - her faith in me made sure of that - but I would never be able to fight like she did… It wasn’t fury, nor just pure skill… it was a will, indomitable and stubborn that made her so scary.”

By this point the rambling catman had returned to his seat, though this time he sat facing out, leaning with his good side against the back of the wood with a chuckled sigh.

“Emmatea… she was my sun… and I never told her that enough.”

Makoto saw that sadness once again edging to his eyes - that dark numbness he had become so prone to falling into - and Makoto found himself scrambling to speak again - anything to keep this smile on the lips of his friend;

“What was she like? What did she look like?”

His ears once again swiveled to listen to the soft voice of the Au Ra’s concern, though hearing only the questions to spin thoughts to a happy memory.

“She was… amazing. Even out of combat her prowess for things amazed me - quick to make friends, flirty or not, we always had a full party with us when we needed them, even if they had better things to do than try and help her get to a particularly difficult fishing spot… Not shy in asking for things either; but just as quick to offer whatever she could to make it up to us… “

Kei’ta paused a moment.

“And… she was…. Is…. beautiful. There is no person I have ever seen that I will say, that I can say, makes me feel like she does. He fur always glistens with a shine, a glow, that brightens the deep browns, the gentle curls of her hair always soft like silk… I never tired of brushing it for her - or just holding her... “

His lips pursed for a second before his voice lowered to a murmur;

“She was warm… I… Even when we made camp in the ruins near Al Meigo…. I was never cold. Emmatea would always want me to hold her… she knows I don’t mind, I’d never make a fuss.”

Makoto noticed how the ninja danced his phrases between present and past tense, a frown pressing against his lips, almost like he didn’t know he had lost everything yet.

“Even when I had just started my Healer’s training; trying in vain to get a steady hold over my emotions, she always tips that scale without trying, I just can’t - couldn’t- bear to see her injured… or worse….I.”

His words stopped abruptly as he raised his palm to his face, tight fingers clenched over his eyes as his jaw clenched tight. Makoto’s posture straightened, words on the tip of his tongue as his fingers began to reach for the distraught man - but he stopped as he heard the soft choked sob caught in his throat, and saw the tears starting to escape from between his fingers.

Instead he just waited, silently as his conflicted companion fought the demons of his memories, and the guilt of his actions.

Thanks for reading. Honestly, it means a lot just you doing that. Im not a confident person at all. Not good at much. So Thank you.

[possessive-venting-suggestions]

Hey quick updates: Johann hasn't been on in 35 days, I've been one shitty thing away from killing myself, bucket and I started a comp tf2 team uhhh that's about it let's all point and laugh at this idiot I got into kuro discourse with

A blog entirely about kuroshitsuji and the wonderful ship of Ciel and Lizzy

Hate is not allowed here

Lizzy is our precious sunshine goddess and no one should hurt her

                    Nav                     Home                     Ask                                              Submit                                                                                                                              Archive                     Random                     RSS                     Theme                                      

Chapter 132 and “the spare” comment

So people are flipping the fuck out over the fact that a) Frances called our!Ciel “the spare” and b) Vincent taking it all in stride, joking they may as well give up the Watchdog title should our!Ciel find himself at the Phantomhive helm. Was it particularly tasteful of them to address our!Ciel in such a blasé, brusque fashion? No. Did they mean it maliciously? No, no they didn’t. They don’t have the gift of hindsight that we as readers do. To them our!Ciel was a young, sickly child who couldn’t even go outside for fear of triggering an asthma attack—who couldn’t even have fencing lessons with Frances because of his weak constitution. (Please note I am NOT disparaging our!Ciel, but even the most devoted Kuro fan will have to recognize this actuality—our!Ciel is not the most robust child out there, as exemplified in canon by the Circus and Campania arcs.)

Furthermore, being the Queen’s Watchdog means executing orders that are both ruthless and necessary. We now know that our!Ciel can behave in such a fashion but back then when the twins were 7, 8 years old? Remember earlier in chapter 132 when Vincent took the twins to inspect the Phantomhive domain? The first thing real!Ciel says after Vincent finishes explaining the duty of a lord is that these tenants will need incentives to keep working the land—a hardline, pragmatic insight befitting a future earl. Yet our!Ciel, once he learns that a lord must “maintain his estate so tenants can be free to devote themselves to their work” worries about keeping everyone satisfied (granting their “wishes”) before wondering how many tenants live on the land. There is a startling difference between the twins in terms of mindset—real!Ciel thinks like an efficient, practical man of business while our!Ciel shows more compassion and thoughtfulness.

A more empathic, gentle approach.

…But these are the exact same sentiments that will get you killed if you’re the Queen’s Watchdog. To Vincent (and probably Frances, since she is Vincent’s sister and he has entrusted her with the training of his heir), our!Ciel probably seems far too softhearted and humane to ever fit the merciless, cutthroat role of Earl Phantomhive. I mean can you really blame Vincent? All his life (up until the fire) our!Ciel has been sweet, caring, obedient, and delicate—he’s shy around strangers, lacks the extroverted charm of his older brother, and his greatest dream is to open a toy shop so he can give joy to other young children.

Does this really sound like the type of kid who could one day kill with impunity, watch others bleed to death before him, and burn down an entire mansion filled with lobotomized children? Vincent and Frances are not trying to be spiteful, cruel, or demeaning—they’ve simply observed the twins, recognized their strengths and weaknesses, and are now discussing the very real possibility of what would happen if real!Ciel were to die. Morbid? Yes. But this was 19th century, lifespans were short and Vincent’s occupation as the Queen’s Watchdog leaves no room for error.

And, in a strange, inconspicuous way, Vincent may also be trying to protect our!Ciel. We know Queen Victoria is a dangerous individual not prone to softer emotions of forgiveness or understanding (i.e. Murder arc) and Vincent, who’s had direct contact with Victoria (thus giving him a chance to observe, catalogue, and analyze her in person), knows that the Phantomhives are disposable tools of the crown. If one of his sons were to mess up then they’d be eradicated and mercy—that odd, human concept—wouldn’t even be considered.

We as readers know our!Ciel is capable—probably more so than real!Ciel—but three years ago, when happiness was still possible and the Phantomhive twins were devoted to one another? The wickedness of what will one day come to pass seems not only farfetched but cruel—for why would you ever force a child like our!Ciel to abandon his innocence in favor of pitiless indifference and demonic power? We cannot fault Vincent and Frances for speaking of our!Ciel in those terms (“the spare”) because, in many ways, Vincent and Frances were also right. Undertaker explicitly says in the Weston arc that our!Ciel is different from his ancestors—a fact that our!Ciel proved when he rescued Joanne Harcourt even though such a task was both unnecessary and foolish. He put his life on the line to rescue Lizzy even though it meant drowning in the cold Atlantic current. Heck he stared death in the face with Madam Red, in the throes of anger, grief, and insanity was ready to stab him to death and he ordered Sebastian not to hurt his aunt.

Even after going through hell and back, there is still compassion inside our eyepatch wearing protagonist, he is still capable of pity, sentiment, and warmth. Our!Ciel has elevated himself beyond the scope of what his father and aunt thought possible, he has achieved momentous triumphs and committed unspeakable acts of horror but we CANNOT judge Vincent and Frances’s comments—made more than 3+ years ago—as hateful or heartless. In their eyes, they were assessing the shy, soft-spoken younger twin—not the tenacious, sharp-tongued, unflinchingly clever Queen’s Watchdog we know and admire.

199 notes | 12:22am 22 Sep 2017 Tagged: #vincent phantomhive #frances midford #our!ciel#real!ciel #ciel phantomhive #sebastian michaelis #elizabeth midford #madam red #joanne harcourt #chapter 132 #spoilers #in defense of papa watchdog and our badass sword queen#please be kind guys #understand where they're coming from #THEY ARE NOT TRYING TO BE MALICIOUS VILE CRUEL OR HATEFUL #they don't have the gift of hindsight that we do#mod Nina

Notes

thequeensfakedog liked this

mairiangel liked this

thelifeofrandomandme liked this

kirklandandbeilschmidt liked this

pangeasexual reblogged this from cielizzydefencesquad

princelilah liked this

eyepatch-cutie reblogged this from cielizzydefencesquad

mtt-asstial liked this

the-panda-smirks liked this

mochimucho reblogged this from cielizzydefencesquad

mochimucho liked this

le-eyepatch liked this

le-eyepatch reblogged this from cielizzydefencesquad

foureon reblogged this from her-majestys-watchdog

orangeships reblogged this from cielizzydefencesquad

blosowms liked this

silent-knives-wielder liked this

los-ositos-degoma-mandan liked this

xxnoely liked this

theoriginalgodsgirlrachel liked this

squishyciel liked this

renkocchi liked this

lavin05 liked this

mmaria2122 liked this

charmnico liked this

todomatsunos liked this

evelilianne liked this

joy511 liked this

narnia-dreamer liked this

trancytrashcan reblogged this from asthmaticastre

trancytrashcan liked this

almanaye liked this

arminstann liked this

tinybluedaydream liked this

autumnhunter1 liked this

quirkytoastcosplay liked this

artsy-jandi liked this

your-lovers-and-drifters said: I really don’t think “the spare” comment was meant to connote inferiority. It’s just the way high society/nobility operated. To acknowledge one’s second son as “the spare” wasn’t seen as derogatory—it was just a fact of aristocratic life. To us, it may look like Vincent and Frances were belittling our!Ciel but this appellation of birthright was just a product of patrician privilege. @asthmaticastre​ @fraternaltwin-andidiots​ - mod Nina

madamehaven liked this

sadlysweats liked this

brs-love liked this

anchoevies liked this

otakuforever23 liked this

lilith-artem reblogged this from her-majestys-watchdog

pastelvitya liked this

nori--chwan liked this

priscilaribeirog liked this

badkidz-and-glitter liked this

cielizzydefencesquad posted this

Show more notes

Unfortunately we just have to live with all this extra nonsense.

Okay, so first of all, let's just point and laugh at this blithering Morton who thinks that """" just cause they meant well makes it okay""" (read in the most snotty voice possible) and that "oh it was just a fact of life" and "its pokay, they didn't realize that he would grow up to be the way he is!!!"

Like, you stupid motherfucker! PH my god! The issue isn't did they mean to hurt him, or they meant well, or it was true, its that THEY SAID SOMETHING SO FUCKING HORRIBLE ABOUT A CHILD. A CHILD. at the risk of using some kinda logical galaxy, my mom doesn't "" mean"" to hurt me by insulting my friends and yet! Its still a shitty thing to do!! The issue! Isn't if they're right or not, they're still treating a child like shit! Holy FUCK

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 011

Hot damn!   It’s time for Terror on Arlia!   This is probably one of the best filler episodes ever.   It’s like, the driver’s ed episode, the Goku vs. Pikkon fight, and this.    I’m not sure how I’d rank them, but maybe I’ll work on that sometime later.

First off, some time has passed once again since the last episode.  Now, Gohan is strong enough that the dinosaur that keeps attacking him is no longer a threat.  

Gohan just calmly runs away from it, then jumps right before he runs into a boulder, and the dinosaur hits it instead.

Then he hacks off a piece of the dinosaur’s tail while it’s stunned.   Again.   Gohan’s apparently been doing this for a while now, and he warns the dinosaur that it’ll run out of tail at the rate they’re going.   The message is simple: Don’t eat Gohan’s friends.

Gohan has also figured out how to make his own ki blasts, which is pretty high-level stuff.   His ki may only be powerful enough to start a fire, but it’s way more than most of the other characters could have done at age four.

Meanwhile, Bulam, Krillin, and Yamcha are looking for Tien and Chiaotzu.   Or maybe they’re just talking about looking for them now that they have Yamcha.   I’m pretty sure the Gohan scenes are taking place over the course of several weeks, while these Z-Warrior scenes are supposed to be playing out over the course of a single day.  Even if it really is taking this long to find Tien, why would Krillin and Yamcha be with her for the whole search?   They’d be better off heading to Kami’s Lookout, so they can start training for the Saiyans.

Speaking of Tien, Launch is on the run from the cops for stealing a bunch of money for Tien.

She eludes the police with a grenade launcher.

So she escapes with the loot.   Most of it anyway, a lot spilled out of the back while she was being chased.

But never mind that, here comes Vegeta.   He and Nappa are on their way to Earth, and they set their space pods to put them in stasis for the year-long journey, but Vegeta programmed it to wake them up at a certain point along the way, so they could get out and stretch their legs. 

Seems he found a planet along their course for Earth, and since the Saiyans conquer planets to sell for profit, he sees this as a way to make some nice profit on the side.  This seems a bit out of character for Vegeta, given what we learn about him later on.   I would think that the Planet Trade business is just something he puts up with until he can find a way to get out of it.    So it’s not that he wouldn’t want to take a pit stop on the way to Earth, but I doubt it would be to score some extra cash.

Anyway, Nappa just wants to get out of the pod and move around a bit, so he’s up for anything.   

And here’s the lucky planet they’re going to.   It’s called Arlia, and it looks really crappy, even from a distance.  There was an episode of Mythbusters where they tested the futility of polishing a turd, and it ended up with them making piles of dung into spheres.    That’s what Arlia looks like. 

The planet actually manages to look even worse up close.   I don’t know if the boys meant to set down in a desolate area like this, but I always got the impression that most of the planet looks like this, so they didn’t have much choice.   Vegeta concedes that they probably won’t find a buyer for Arlia after all.   I figure this is the sort of planet a Space Trillionaire would buy, but only because he wants to feel like a Space Quadrillionaire.

Suddenly these big bug people show up.    I don’t know why they’re so much bigger than Nappa, when the rest of the Arlians we see are not.   There’s a lot we don’t know about the Arlians, and we’ll probably never know.    They threaten to arrest the Saiyans and take them to King Moai.

Nappa’s eager to fight them, but Vegeta orders him to stand down for the moment, since he wants to see this Moai guy for himself.    I guess he figures the planets’ leader would be in a more advance (read: valuable) location, which would give Vegeta a better idea of what Arlia has to offer. 

Notable, this is the first indication of Saiyans using telepathy.   Goku uses it later on, and we’ve already seen Master Roshi, Crane Hermit, Korin, and Kami use it, but it always seemed to be this mystical thing that only wise old martial artists could do.    Oh yeah, and King Piccolo could telepathically communicate with his offspring.  

I guess what I find interesting about this instance is that Vegeta uses it rather casually, when he could just as easily whisper to Nappa, or maybe use some nonverbal gesture to get his point across.    The point here may be to indicate just how scary-powerful Vegeta is, but the thing about Vegeta is that anything we see him do can be applied to every other Saiyan character.   If Master Roshi can read minds, it sort of stops there.   If Vegeta can communicate telepathically, that means Nappa, Raditz, Goku, and Gohan can too, along with every other Saiyan character that hasn’t been introduced yet.   Vegeta might be the only one who knows how at this point, but that’s just a matter of skill.

So here’s Moai’s stronghold, and guess what, it’s also a dump.   I’m not complaining about the artwork, mind you.    This scenery is breathtaking.   The twin suns sort of make this look like a face, with the clouds forming a furrowed brow.   It’s like the Arlians’ god is looking down on the castle, and he’s not happy with what he’s seeing.  

Also, while Moai’s fortress looks moderately impessive, it’s surrounded by absolutely nothing.   What happened on this planet?   My guess is that it was ruined by centuries of war, but it’s also possible that the Arlians prefer it like this. 

Vegeta and Nappa are taken to a dungeon, which looks like something from a Prince Valiant comic.    This is the paradox of Arlia, because it looks like the Arlians are generally familiar with alien visitors, implying that they’ve been exposed to advanced technologies, but their own world is backward and medieval.    They don’t even seem interested in the Saiyans’ ships or their scouters.   And they lock them up behind a wooden gate.    And why do they carry swords when they all seem to have some sort of red mouth laser? 

While they wait, the Saiyans meet Atla, one of the native Arlians who’s been imprisoned by Moai.   Well, “meet” may not be the right word.   Atla just starts introducing himself and explaining the backstory while they stand silently and face in his general direction.  

From Atla’s words, it sounds to me like Moai took over the planet fairly recently, perhaps after a long civil war that killed anyone more qualified to rule.  Unconcerned with actually governing his people, Moai just does whatever he pleases, using his unlimited power to enforce his whims.   So there’s a good chance that the planet looks like a dump because of his indifference. 

I dig this sort of thing, because it reminds me of the decline of the Western Roman Empire, where the emperors eventually became little more than figureheads backed by strong military leaders.   Over time, the Roman armies became supplemented by foreign mercenaries, until eventually the top generals were all foreign mercenaries, and eventually they just dispensed with the figureheads and started ruling Italy outright.    I get the impression that the emperors didn’t particularly care that their domain was being usurped by outsiders, because as long as they were comfortable in their palaces then everything was fine. 

There’s kind of a similar pattern in the Bible, where you see David and Solomon’s descendants slowly letting the Kingdom of Israel decline.    Rehoboam’s arrogance caused the kingdom to split in two, and while there were a few good kings who embraced piety and reform, a lot of wicked kings abandoned the principles that made their reigns possible.   They worshipped idols and did whatever they liked, and then eventually they found themselves surrounded by powerful enemies.   The later kings were reduced to vassals, but they didn’t seem too concerned about that as long they got to sit in their palaces and pretend everything was okay.

Atla laments that now Moai is capturing space aliens on top of oppressing his own people, which suggests that Moai only sees his rule as a right to oppress other people for his own amusement.  

I wrote about this episode some time back, comparing Arlia to Westeros from Game of Thrones, or A Song of Ice and Fire or whatever the hell it’s supposed to be called.   I’ve never read the books because I need that time to liveblog anime, but everything I’ve heard about it suggests that the whole story is about some backwater planet full of medieval fantasy tropes, and all the leaders are corrupt, venal idiots who only stay in charge because they’re protected by bullshit laws and traditions, or because they’re better at the endless palace intrigue that goes on in the story.   There’s one kingdom that was ruled by a Draco Malfoy clone, and another run by a guy who hunts naked women for sport, and I think some character keeps fetuses in jars for no apparent reason.    I get the impression that a lot of the books is just George R.R. Martin trying to use shock value to pad things out.   That and lore.   If Tom Clancy and Howard Stern co-wrote Lord of the Rings, you might have something pretty similar to Game of Thrones. 

What I’m trying to say here is that Moai seems to just sit around all day watching his subjects fight each other for his own amusment.   He forced Atla’s betrothed, Lemlia, to be his queen (she’s the pink bug lady in the back), and he has soldiers just roaming the wastelands in search of new prisoners to mess with.   His men captured real live space aliens and he’s like “Oh goody!   Bring them before me, because I actually believe they’ll respect the idiotic rules that keep me in power.”    I’m pretty sure this is exactly what King Draco Malfoy Clone would do in this situation.

He looks and talks and acts like a complete buffoon, and he’s just begging for some hero to come along and punch him in the mouthparts.    Except Atla’s in the dungeon, and some other, more competent hero must have gotten killed off three books ago (cf. A Sleet of Testicles).

And this is what I love about this episode.    Vegeta (along with Nappa, of course) are sort of being put into this role of traveling heroes who enter a tyrant’s domain and set things right.    They’re certainly powerful enough to do it, but we already know that’s not what they’re here for.  

Vegeta kills all the gladiators and informs Moai that he only let himself be captured just to get this close to the king.    It astonishes me that Moai needs to have this explained to him.    He’s so used to having his own way that it never dawned on him that anyone could use his arrogance against him.

Nappa strikes his classic pose and kills all the guards.

Then Moai summons an even bigger bug creature named Yedi.  Nappa asks permission from Vegeta to handle this one, which I think is a nice touch. 

Nappa rips off Yedi’s finger and licks the monster blood off his face.    Nappa’s awesome.   He’s just havin’ a good old time.

I forget why now, but rocks start falling, probably because Vegeta’s powers cause the ceiling to break apart.    Moai takes cover behind his throne...

...but a rock ends up killing him anyway.  I woudn’t think that’s a vital area, but what do I know about Arlian anatomy?    It’s kind of fitting that Moai should die like this, in his own throne room/gladiator arena, cowering behind his throne.   He thought it would protect him like it always had done in the past, but in the end he met a power that didn’t respect anything he had accomplished.   The Saiyans ignored his royal robes and saw only a fool, and so he died a fool.

Atla shows up and praises the Saiyans or liberating his planet from Moai’s tyranny.   You know, he could have followed them up here and helped out.   They were all in the same cell, and Vegeta and Nappa destroyed the door and killed all the guards, so what took him so long?

The Saiyans just sort of look at him, and then they get back in their spaceships.

I’m not sure why they even bother flying across the surface.   Maybe they’re still surveying the planet, but it’s a crappy planet no matter what angle you view it from.    At last, Vegeta gives up and they head back into space.

But before they leave, he gets out of his ship and decides to leave a going-away present.    How does Vegeta breathe in space?  That’s one way you can tell which ones are filler scenes.   They usually play faster and looser with this sort of thing.   

On the surface, Atla and Lemlia are reunited at last, and it looks like everything’s going to be okay from now on, thanks to those two heroic aliens who...

LOL JK, Vegeta blew up the whole planet.  

What’s so great about this is that Arlia kind of deserved to die.   Not in the strictest narrative sense, but from a metanarrative viewpoint, it was just a really dumb planet.   Any world that could fall under Moai’s rule probably didn’t have much longer to live anyway, and it’s almost like Vegeta put it out of it’s misery.    I’m not suggesting any of this rationalizes Vegeta’s actions.    This is a horrible, horrible crime, and Vegeta did it like it was nothing to him.   He’s done far worse things with even less compunction.

Even so, he’s not Arlia’s villain, he’s Dragon Ball’s villain, so it’s just satisfying to watch him squash some crappy filler planet that had no redeeming value to the story.   It’s like watching your favorite bad guy wrestler clobber your least favorite good guy wrestler.  

And the narrator sums it up very neatly.    This is what’s headed for Earth.    The Saiyans destroyed Arlia like it was nothing, and what can Earth do to avoid a similar fate?    Z stands for The End.  

But not yet.   Not yet.

[msirota-blog1]

Carbon Footprint To Zero

Final Analysis

Sports Innovative Services

Informed Media Services

infomediaservices.weebly.com

askcoachmitch@wordpress.com

coachsirota@yahoo.com

_____________________________________________

Carbon Footprint To Zero: Final Analysis

By Coach Mitch Sirota

For the past year there has been high level

governmental discussions regarding Environmental issues Worldwide. For the United States its been a heated topic of discussion to say the least!

Does anyone on either side have a real qualitative game plan?

Maybe we should consider the query towards:

*What will be the End Result of Environmental

Policies & Its Implementation to Planet Earth? *Will the Earth end, and be a whisper, or just

dust in the wind?

*Will the USA function as a nation if Carbon

Footprint to Zero is executed?

*What will our way of life look like and will

Politicians adhere to the same rules they put

among its people in carrying out that agenda?

I am sure that there are more outcomes from Poor Political Policy we will have to deal with as this Complete Environment Overhaul is being pursued!

In Coaching, we have to look at our play-by-play outcomes to determine its effects upon the game. We practice so that by Game Time we are prepared!

In Science & Technology, Troubleshooting, understanding STEM, Problem Solving, using the Engineering Design Process (EDP) that our children in school are learning to do as a Community; all of which aligns with real issues creating & carrying out an idea.

Politicians however do not use this rational approach. In fact they probably don’t really understand the scientific concepts & parameters in their game.

So let me conclude this series (and I Thank You for bearing with me through my reports) those potential outcomes associated with the ramifications of extremism. I want to address the fallout from implementing a Carbon Zero Footprint.

Let us consider the elimination of tires and gas powered vehicles.

From police cars, to emergency ambulances, to the fire trucks; the engines necessary to move these vehicles has to be powerful enough to carry out their tasks. And if necessary too, the distance they have to travel to the place of the emergency requires some form of Mechanical Energy. Would you require them to drive Toyota Priuses as an alternative method???

What about helicopter transport of Patients or the transport of a heart ❤️ rushing to be transplanted in a dying patient? I just hope to God that Politicians don’t need these services too when Carbon Zero is initiated!

So Planet Earth? What fate lies for it?

God gave Adam a Command...Subdue the Earth, be fruitful and multiply, and be good stewards of our domain. That being said, we have the authority and the responsibility to Care for all of us.

Subduing something means to have

Dominion over it. It Doesn’t mean Elimination thereof. Energy is neither created nor destroyed! Therefore, there will never be a true Carbon Zero Environment!

The Earth will survive regardless of our faults and lack of foresight. People and the Movie Industry believe that Doomsday is around every corner. But by Faith let me proclaim the following:

*Isaiah 11:6 “And the wolf shall dwell with the

lamb, and the leopards shall lie down with the

kid, and young lion and the fatling together,

and the little child shall lead them”.

*Isaiah 65:17 “For, behold, I create new

heavens and a new Earth, and the former

things shall not be remembered, nor come

into mind”.

*Isaiah. 11:9 “They shall not hurt nor destroy

in all my holy mountain . For the Earth shall

be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the

waters cover the sea”.

*Rev 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new

earth: for the first heaven and the first earth

are passed away, and the sea is no more”.

*2Peter 3:13. “But according to his promise, we

look for new heavens and a new earth,

wherein dwelleth righteousness”.

*Isaiah 66:22 “For the new heavens and the

new earth which I will make, shall remain

before me saith Jehovah, so shall your seed

and your name remain”.

*Jer 10:11 *This shall say unto them, The gods

that have not made the heavens and the earth,

these shall perish from the earth, and from

under the heavens “.

*Rev 21:2 “And I saw the holy city, New

Jerusalem coming down out of heaven

from God...”.

*During the End of Days, people are still

living on planet earth (Rev 14:3).

*Restoration from falling into destruction

Rom 8:20-21 “For the creation was subjected

to futility, not of its own will, but because of

Him who subjected it, and hope that the

creation itself also will be set free from slavery

to corruption into the freedom of the glory of

the children of God”.

Acts 3:21 “When the heavens must receive

until the times of restoration of all things,

which God hath spoken by the mouth of all

his holy prophets since the world began”.

And before destruction, Jesus steps on the

Mt. of Olives, not only to defeat the enemy of

God, but also to set up his kingdom

(Zach 14:4). There has to be ground to step

on, and that means earth is still around,

and will be reestablished!!!

Daniel 7:14 is so full of faith, “And there was

given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,

that all people, nations, and languages, should

serve him; his dominion is an everlasting

dominion, which shall not pass away, and his

kingdom that which shall not be destroyed”.

Whether you have faith or not is your choice.

We must diligently work on issues as we learn more and strive towards resolving concerns when life’s plays hardball.

We are fortunate to live on a planet that justifies our existence. It is a daunting task to guard and protect.

Understanding Science and its applications means as in the case of Environmental Protection, how do we render Responsible Issues for our planet?

Human ingenuity will be our greatest asset! Let us work smart but not stifle New Product Development.

Teddy Rosevelt exemplified this direction by seeing that our Precious Environment be utilized and admired with for future generations as recognized and established the National Park System!

We have to consider occupying the time and place we have been granted. Knowing & hoping with humble & grateful hearts that our Creator will heal our destruction to ourselves.

This is His Promise no matter our own destructive path!

Once last point for those whom are trying to impose Zero Carbon Tolerance.

Congress what will you do if policies are implemented and you need those Amazon Prime Packages? Can they still deliver via vehicles (Gas Powered of course)? Will you allow AP to ship with “High Powered” Drones to Enter The House Air Space and drop off your Pens & other office supplies?

Stop considering your foolish stupidity and encourage real methods in serving our planets health!

Blessings,

Coach Mitch

[purplelizardman]

Writing Compelling Character Backstories

I often receive compliments on the character backstories that I write and the DM never skims my backstory. It wasn’t always this way: I used to just think of a cool character and write about it.

But then I’d get into the writing and before I knew it, I had multiple pages about this REALLY COOL character. 

The DM would skim it and none of the backstory would really come up, much to my disappointment.

When you hand the DM your 4 page backstory.

Over time I developed a method to save myself from writing backstory that would go unread and, consequently, save the DM’s time.

A good backstory is:

Brief

Relevant

Connected

If you can write a backstory that does all of these you’ll be in good shape. 

Brief

“Brevity is the soul of wit.” -Shakespeare

People are busy: you and the DM. Be considerate of your time and the DM’s and don’t put a lot of extra detail into the backstory. Instead, crystallize it down into the essential points and let your character’s personality and backstory be revealed through roleplaying. 

Backstory gained at the table is worth 100 times backstory written on paper.

Reducing backstory down to its essentials also serves as the first gateway of quality: if your character backstory cannot be expressed in 3 short paragraphs or less, then your character concept is not well defined.

Don’t believe me? Let’s try a few examples:

One of the Maiar of Valinor, came to Middle Earth to oppose Sauron. Came to Middle Earth as part of the Istari, taking the guise of an old man in the hopes that the kings of Middle Earth would listen to his counsel. Bearer of Narya, the Ring of Fire.

Strained relationship with Saruman because of the gift of the Ring of Fire. On a quest to destroy the one ring and prevent the return of Sauron.

Refuses to be bound by any authority except the Valar who sent him to Middle Earth. Like Hobbits.

That was Gandalf right up until The Hobbit.

Let’s try another one:

Brother was kidnapped and tortured by gods who feared he would one day be their undoing. During the kidnapping, he received a scar from the War god, Aries. 

Was the youngest captain of Sparta’s armies. Received the (super cool) Blades of Chaos from Aries and became his champion, before Aries tricked him into killing his wife and daughter.

Now on a quest to redeem himself by killing the rampaging War god, Aries. Really likes breaking things and yelling a lot.

That was Kratos up until God of War 1.

The examples go on and on. If you cannot reduce the concept down to 3 short paragraphs, then you need to further define your concept.

This leads us to the second part of the method:

Relevant

Everything that appears in your backstory needs to be relevant. This means that it:

Ties the character to other characters, events, or places in the world. -OR-

Develops the characters ‘feel’ either via aesthetics (keep it minimal) or personality and disposition

That’s it. Describe where your character came from, an event or two of significance, their general disposition, and their motivation for adventuring. 

Protip: It’s often helpful to your DM to provide a few ‘hooks’ on the side. A hook is something or someone that your character will pursue. No DM is offended if you hand them three hooks and say “Here’s three things my character REALLY wants and will leap for every time.”

This brings us to the last part of the method:

Connected

Tabletop RPGs are a social game: don’t have an anti-social backstory. Write in events and reasons for your PC to be connected to the others in the party.

DO NOT write a “lone wolf” backstory that gives your character nothing to care about and no reason to adventure with the group. While great roleplaying may allow such a character to develop at the table, that’s rarely how this backstory unfolds.

Instead the lone wolf often makes it difficult for the DM and other players to motivate their character, resulting in bogged down sessions and the character frequently being left out of decision making.

Instead, incorporate the other party members even if it’s just a brief sentence “Likes hobbits” “Values friends” “Unusually enthralled by warforged” etc…

Lastly, if your character is entering the game after level 1, make sure to tie in some motivation that is relevant to the current plot. This could be a reason to pursue the big bad evil guy, a desire or need to seek the plot McGuffin, or (if the others players are OK with it) even a close, personal relationship with one of the other Player Characters i.e. friend, cousin, sister, etc…

  Troubleshooting Tips

Writing is messy work and tabletop games can make it more messy. If you’re having trouble applying this method, here are some tips to make it easier:

What if I can’t write just 3 paragraphs?

Tabletop games are imaginative games and sometimes we can’t constrain our imagination to a mere 3 paragraphs. That’s OK!

When that happens, write your full story and keep it for yourself, think of it as the “Detailed Version” of the backstory that has the details you need if the DM or the other players ask for more information. Then take one sheet of paper and the Detailed Version: you’re going to use it to write a few things on that one sheet of paper:

Appearance – No more than 2 sentences describing your character’s appearance

Demeanor/Outlook/Personality – No more than 2 sentences describing  their personality and alignment

Backstory – No more than 6 sentences describing backstory

Adventure hooks/goals – Write 3 adventure hooks or character goals: things the DM can use to motivate your character

Relationships/contacts – Write 1-3 contacts or relationships that are important to your character. It could be another PC or it could be their mother, sister, best friend, teacher, etc…

If you are still stuck at this part, approach it kind of like writing a dating profile: keep it light, make it interesting. Save the detailed backstory for yourself and use it to build your own character knowledge.

A sample 1 page backstory sheet (click for download)

When you are done, format your 1 page document so that it’s easy to read and hand it to the DM. No DM should consider it too much and most will be thankful to have all this information clearly described on one page.

What if I don’t know who I’m playing with or the major plot?

This is a common problem with new people joining a group or creating a new group. In this case, first work with your DM to discuss what a good character motivation would be, they will usually be able to give you a vague idea without giving away too much of the plot.

If you’re still having trouble, talk to another player and consider having your characters acquainted i.e. friends, cousins, adventured together before, went to wizard school together, etc… this can make it easier to build party cohesion and make character introductions flow smoother.

  A Real Play Example – Zan Zalladar the Insane Mystic

Below is an example of a backstory used in a real game. It was for a character being introduced into a higher level campaign. My previous character had been violently murdered and the party was in the far reaches of the arctic, meaning that the new character would have to come from one of the crew that was manning the expedition along with the PCs.

The character joined up right before the “planar exploration” phase of the game and I wanted a backstory that really reflected the heroic aspects of high-level play. While this is a bit on the longer side, it fit really well into the campaign and provided solid motivation for the character to stick with the party: he was a spy and the party was pursing leads straight to the doorsteps of the gods.

  Zan Zalladar was the oldest son of a wealthy merchant until his vessel met misfortune and sank during a long voyage. Seven years later, Zan emerged from a harbor in the human lands to find that his father had passed and his three younger brothers had taken control of the entire inheritance after presuming Zan to be dead. Eerily calm, Zan chose not to fight his brothers for the inheritance and, instead, enlisted in the navy. He has been serving on various ships ever since.

If you ask Zan Zalladar what happened during the seven years he was away, he will tell you that he was taken to the kingdom of the god of the ocean and there it was that Zan fell in love with his daughter. The god of the ocean did not think him worthy and so, to prove his worth, each day he was given a task to perform; each day Zan Zalladar completed his task and was allowed to stay another day. Love flourished between Zan and the goddess daughter of the ocean. However, no living mortal is allowed in the domain of a god for more than seven years and so at the end of those years Zan was sent back to the surface with the blessing of the ocean god and a promise of betrothal to his daughter should he ever return.

Zan knows there is only way to be reunited with his love: to become a god. Each day Zan works to prove himself, to grow and master and exceed himself. He will be reunited with his love or he will die trying.

  The DM really liked the backstory and ended up tying it one with one of the major antagonists of the campaign (an aboleth). The big reveal, worked out between myself and the GM as the character progressed, was that the character was actually insane and working for the Aboleth who he believed to be a god.

This is one of the longest backstories I’ve used in a long time, but it was worth it to capture the mythic feel as of our campaign. Practicing brevity is difficult and it takes time to master, but if you keep honing your writing skill you will save yourself and the DM a lot of time and unread backstory.

    For more writing tips, custom traps, NPCs, and encounters used in actual play or for more advice about building memorable characters and worlds, subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

    Writing Compelling Character Backstories was originally published on Friendly Neighborhood Lizard Man