#big cast. that’s part of the reason I made them all different species

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

The crew of the exploratory ship, The Little Bird. The captain, Diaf, hired this crew to traverse the stars, learning more about both the worlds around them… and themselves.

Think sci-fi adventure but the characters all have the vibes of a bunch of scientists stuck in Antarctica.

Hán and Cereza are the only humans onboard, the majority of the crew being aliens. This is a trend that continues for the galaxy at large for entirely non-suspicious totally not plot-related reasons.

I’m still working on worldbuilding for a lot of these guys but a couple of the tags I made for them have a decent amount of stuff. I made this bc I finally got around to finalizing the design for most of the characters! There are… a few that I will probably rehash again, but there shouldn’t be any major changes. The old version of this post went outdated when I updated the designs, so this is pretty much just a redo of that with the rest of the crew.

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

To elaborate more on the Pesterquest stuff -

Alternia is a hell world. It's shitty to live in, even if you're a highblood, unless you fit a very specific mold of person AND are lucky enough to be born of a high caste. Every troll character we care about is, in some way, fucked over by their relationship to their society; Eridan and Vriska get it the worst, having been forced to participate in the murdering side of things since they were young, but every lowblood is screwed and every highblood is made worse even just by their passive participation. Kanaya becomes less sympathetic because she seems completely at peace with the society she grew up in, and Feferi wants to enforce casteism, even if it's of a different flavor. Gamzee and Equius both hold genuinely casteist beliefs and attitudes, which slip out and alienate them from the people they care about.

Putting a friendship simulator into the middle of all this is... a choice, I guess. I'm not going to begrudge anyone for wanting that or liking that, but it's going to be inherently at odds with what Alternia is and is meant to represent, and thus, fundamentally at odds with many of the characters' arcs and even basic personality traits, so heavily are they influenced by the shit society they grew up in.

For a non-Eridan example, Karkat loathes himself in massive part because his society loathes him. He's kill-on-sight and lives in daily terror of death. He wears a symbol at all because not having one marks him as even more of a freak, even though he knows that that symbol is connected to the empire's biggest rebel, whose footsteps he is expected to follow. The reason he's so obsessed with being leader-y and earning his teammates' reapect, or the respect of anybody, is because he's so deeply insecure about whether or not he even deserves to exist.

If you soften Alternia to the point you can write a lighthearted friendship simulator in it, then that characterization... goes away. Karkat is no longer motivated by deep, overwhelming insecurities, which drive him to idolize the society that deems him unworthy, mistakenly believing that if he can find validation in that society, he'll feel less bad about himself. Instead, Karkat is just kind of an asshole!

It's the same way with Eridan. He and Karkat are equal and opposite in this way - while Karkat is marked for death by his society, Eridan belongs to the extremely privileged caste of sea dweller royalty - even moreso than Feferi, as Feferi is slated to be murdered by the Condesce as soon as she comes of age (and her ridiculous optimism is likely something she cultivated in outright defiance of this fate). But it turns out that being a sea dweller sucks shit, too, if you aren't the extremely niche type of person that society deems "correct."

Eridan is not actually casteist and genuinely likes his land dweller friends - and this is unacceptible. Not only that, but smaller "unacceptible" offenses are wrapped up in big ones - despite not liking murder and feeling guilty about it, murder is objectively the correct thing for Eridan to be doing, constantly, to the point of it being "all [he's] ever done practically," because if he doesn't fulfil the duty of his bloodline to be murdering lusii (and by extension, their charges, who are culled when their lusii die), EVERYBODY dies. The constant push-pull of trauma, societal expectations and obligations, the fate of the species, and the fact that he is inherently not the "right" kind of person for his society, are pretty much his entire character. He's basically a walking ball of anxiety and emotional turmoil.

So, again, if you soften Alternia to the point where you can write a story about Eridan wanting to see Shrek in a public theater (something he would not actually be able to peacefully do in canon Alternia - at least not without taking off his cape, hiding his fins, and going anonblood - as sea dwellers are considered ridiculously hostile to the point even Gamzee's nervous about being on the beach for too long), Eridan ends up being just kind of an asshole!

Pesterquest!Eridan is, and I cannot stress this enough, fundamentally not the same guy as canon Eridan. They have practically nothing in common, from the fact that PQ!Eridan is willing to do something for leisure, to the fact that he isn't widely feared and the movie theater doesn't empty out in a panic when he turns up, even down to the fact that he likes femme fashion (canon Eridan goes to Lengths to lean into masc fashion) and Shrek (canon Eridan is a hipster). Hell, even the fact that PQ!Eridan SMILES is a massive deviation from canon!Eridan, who has never once been depicted smiling, and probably hasn't for many sweeps.

Also that he has that much beef with Sollux when, canonically, the two had a lukewarm mutual dislike and didn't even bother interacting until Feferi was added to the mix and Eridan became mad that Sollux was dating her. He wasn't even casteist about him until then, and after, even Sollux and Feferi don't think he's casteist, they just think he's ashenflirting so he can get into a quad with Feferi. Like come on, if you're going to feature another troll in Eridan's route, 1) make it be Karkat, and 2) have Eridan cheat on you the whole time with Karkat like he does to Feferi.

Eridan is just overall a wild choice in a friendship sim - I can't even blame them for just writing an OC and putting an Eridan skin on top - because societally, Eridan isn't even supposed to have non-sea dweller friends. The sea dweller/land dweller race war is something the Condesce deliberately put into place in order to keep land dwelling nobility in line, and Equius cites it as one of the reasons he never got along with Eridan. Like, the very fact that Eridan talks to two land dwellers on friendly terms (Kanaya and Karkat) is a MASSIVE deviation from what he's "supposed" to be like, and a huge hint that he's not as casteist as he'd like to appear. You are genuinely hundreds, if not thousands, of times likelier to end an encounter with Eridan either orphaned or dead than as his friend. He's an unstable maniac, and there's a reason so many members of his team don't like him even though he's legitimately not casteist and they mostly seem aware of it (nobody really complains about or even notices Eridan's casteism by the time they're on the meteor - his contradictions are really obvious, and it's likely that they've more or less realized that he's full of shit).

Again, I don't begrudge anybody for wanting or liking PQ. Who cares, really. I'm just saying that as a canon discussion blog, there's not really any place for PQ because it's so far removed from canon that, like, there's not really anything meaningful to discuss about it. The setting and characters in PQ are fundamentally divested from canon, and not even in an AU way. And it's totally fine if that's what you like, but, yeah, like.

Was Eridan written well (where "well" = accurate to canon): no. Maybe he's fine as an OC with an Eridan Minecraft skin slapped on, but that's not my beautiful son, that's not my baby boy.

What did they get wrong about Eridan (where "wrong" = inaccurate to canon): all.

What route would I have written for Eridan: he shoots you with a gun and you die. And then maybe cheats on you with Karkat

[wfagamerants]

I have made it very blatant that I am a fan of Toad.

If you followed me for a while, you also likely have heard me vent about the claim Toad and Captain Toad are different characters, citing multiple contradictions to this claim in the games themselves.

I’m not here to deny official word or push my preferences (though I do have them), rather I want to give my perspective on the whole thing in full and delve a little into how Nintendo handles main members of a Mario species in general.

First, it’s important to recognize that Nintendo is loose with a lot of stuff. Many different people work on these games and you can see different takes on how to present certain species quite frequently.

When we think of Toad, the main way we think of him distinguished from other members of his species is the red spots and blue vest combo. In a large number of games that is indeed the case.

Most spin-offs, Super Mario 3D Land and Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon, only to name some. Those make it simple, red spots and blue vest Toad is THE Toad. Other red Toads have a red vest.

However, not every game makes it so nice and simple. The pre-GameCube games had ALL the basic Toads rock the red spots and blue vest combo. THE Toad was distinguished more by role, being the only Toad in the game or as in Super Mario RPG, being the only Toad to have Toad: in his text box, even in the japanese version I might add, to indicate he is the main one you keep meeting.

The modern games aren’t without occasional screwyness themselves though. Odyssey reverts to the idea of all generic Toads using that look and then you have things like Sunshine or the Baseball games, where there is no red spots & blue vest Toad, but a red vest Toad is identified as THE Toad in things like the manual:

It’s weird, but it should be said the 2000s were still a bit of a transitional era for Mario. It took until 2004 for short sleeves Wario to be consistently used in spin-offs for instance and Peach still had her old dress in Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. You saw oddities like that around a fair bit.

The only time the Toad thing ever came up again in later years is Puzzles & Dragons SMB Edition and even that one has THE Toad on the cover, despite him having a red vest in the game,

Something that is even stranger given that by then they had stock Red Toad renders around and Nintendo is so overprotective of Mario as an IP, that them letting this slide is notable.

While this kinda stuff muddles things, it doesn’t take away from the fact a THE Toad exists. It’s seemingly more about the iconic visuals, than the detail. That visual of a single red Toad being with the rest of the main cast.

Something that still persists to this very day and will, with the distinctions we prefer to go for (only one blue vest, red spots Toad) even be present in the movie, which Nintendo is directly involved with.

It’s a thing that extends beyond Toad and has been present with other characters representing their species as well. Kamek being the most blatant example of it.

Even prior to Yoshi’s Island, singular important Magikoopas such as a particular Yoshi’s Safari boss, a right-hand man Magikoopa in Super Mario kun’s Super Mario World story or the eeeeeevil Koopa wizard Wizenheimer in the Super Mario World cartoon, had already appeared as important parts of Bowser’s troops.

It’s with Yoshi’s Island that one particular Magikoopa, who was the one who raised Bowser no less, was introduced. While this had no distinct name in Japan, where all Magikoopas are known as Kamek, the localization either consciously or by lucky accident, kept his name as Kamek, giving him a big distinguishing element from his species.

The idea of Kamek the main Magikoopa is one that persists to this day and it makes a lot of sense why. Given his shown connection to Bowser in his debut game, there is no reason to assume the most prominent Magikoopas aren’t this particular one and localization was happy to keep the concept around.

In Japan meanwhile, Kamek the character is not a foreign concept, but many materials do not make a formal distinction between the character and the species. It’s there, just more vague. You can sense that in localizations too, with how there are a couple notable oddities.

Mario Party 9 has a playable Magikoopa who is referred to as such in american localization, is called Kamek in other versions, like the german translation. Whether this is meant to be the character or a generic member of the species is genuinely not clear. Not helping matters is how european translations sometimes call generic Magikoopas like in the first couple Paper Mario games and as recent as Bowser’s Fury, Kameks.

A particularly noteworthy example is Giant Kamek in Super Princess Peach. His status as a boss, the one to guard Luigi no less, makes it easy to take him as Kamek transformed, but then you look at the Glossary:

A Kamek. It’s meant to be a generic member of the species, in a new form.

The truth is that Mario is a very, as I like to call it ‘’function over flavor’’ series. It’s more about the function, such as a main red Toad or a main Magikoopa and not so much the finer details like whether the vest color is correct, even if many games DO take that into account.

Because of this, I think the thing to look for is consistency, whatever fits the consistent image is the most likely answer. We will never know in some cases if the character in question is a generic member of the species or the main one, but that is because Nintendo themselves often don’t put that much stock into it.

On that note, while localizations, despite greater efforts to define things can fumble too, I don’t think that means they don’t ‘’count’’. I generally don’t agree with the idea that only japanese sources have any say with how to interpret Mario stuff, because the series does not have the lore consistency to give that idea weight.

On top of that, we have seen that western influences have affected the franchise at large more than once.  The western Super Mario Bros 2 is the most obvious example of this, with how many elements of it have made it far into the franchise. Most notable though are the Koopalings, who didn’t even have names in the japanese version of SMB3 and adapted their localization given names.

This kind of stuff isn’t like say, Monsteropolis in the US Mega Man manual or the US Sonic CD manual clumsily trying to treat Amy as Sally. This stuff is still with the franchise today and as the movie shows, still matters.

THE Toad is a thing in the movie and as is Kamek. Both clearly defined as such and while the New York backstory is not a western invention, it was more emphasized in the west and that’s back too. It’s even Brooklyn again and I’m not even sure if that was ever specified in japanese material or direct confirmation from Miyamoto.

Mario is not a story centric series where only the original text matters. It’s a extremely loose canon, where what the west did, still matters to this very day and is of equal importance.

With all this in mind, let’s talk Captain Toad.

To understand my point on what I mean with contradictions regarding him and Toad being separate characters, we need to look at what Captain was like in the Galaxy games.

In these games, Captain Toad as a name did not exist, with him being only referred to as ‘’the captain of the Toad Brigade’’ and being specifically shown to be a self proclaimed captain at that. Even his inability to jump was invented later on and is contradicted by many level set pieces he shows up in, as well as this:

Even the headlamp, one of his defining visual features, wasn’t treated as anything that special, with BankToad being able to get it at a certain level of deposited Star Bits in Galaxy 2.

He wasn’t really talked about in any official materials and didn’t even get an official render of any sort, but you know who did and is on the cover of Galaxy 2 no less?

Toad. I have seen the argument that this could be an error, but for that to make it all the way to the cover, the first thing someone would see of the game when buying it, would make that a very massive one. Additionally, Toad also has a render for Galaxy 1, even though he wouldn’t have any presence in either game aside from a Save File icon and a cameo in the story book opening of Galaxy 1, if he’s not Captain. The only existing bios for Toad or Captain in these games, even identify them as the same character.

It does line up with what I said about consistency. Sunshine gave us a group of 5 Toads in different colors, with the red vest and red spots one being singled out to be the main Toad. Galaxy introducing a similar group and making the red Toad, in a franchise where a red Toad is one of the main characters, THE Toad, like in Sunshine or the Baseball games, makes sense because there is precedent.

Then many years later came 3D World, the game where Toad and Captain were supposedly clarified to be different characters, co-existing at the same time.

This is also the game where the main playable Toad is a Blue Toad. THE Toad, has never been portrayed that way before or since, to the point where every time Nintendo reuses one of the Blue Toad renders in this game

They are recolored to fit his proper appearance, because this has NEVER been how he has been portrayed. The game really emphasizes the playable Toad being a blue one too, with how the credits scene even shows Captain with a group of Toads, missing a blue one.

This flies heavily in the face of past established consistency, where between Sunshine, the many spin-offs or Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon, THE Toad has always been distinguished as the red one, because that’s the first one, who established himself as THE Toad.

One could point to his blue color palette in NES SMB2 and I have seen arguments that it’s an homage to that. We don’t have official word on this, but I find that very hard to buy, because he was never supposed to look like this. When he WAS depicted that way in art, everyone was portrayed with their in-game colors:

And in every other case, everyone had their proper colors:

3D World doesn’t do either. The idea of a homage rings hollow when Mario, Luigi and Peach are the same as usual and those couple spots needing to be recolored to not confuse him with Mario, also doesn’t really make sense, given how drastically different their body types are. 

It goes so far the official Super Mario website even lists red spots specifically as one of Toad’s defining features, which would make him being Blue Toad in 3D World even stranger:

The game also lacks any kind of red spots and blue vest Toad, which 3D Land ensured there was only one of, to identify him as THE Toad. You know who had an icon like that in the reveal trailer though?

Captain Toad. Completely new art no less, that stuck around in the game to be in the reveal trailer, less than half a year away from release.

Also, yah know how you can find Captain Toad in levels and sometimes get a collectible out of it?

Toad did the same thing in 3D Land. Even in terms of gameplay function, the two are extremely similar. Similarities between the two are a running theme from here on out.

Prominent red Toads who throw turnips, give out stars, have Toadette as a partner, act as leaders to other Toads and have been depicted with fairy partners (though in Captain’s case only in concept art).

It is baffling how much they have in common and you can tell that even more by how much the two are linked.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker has an amiibo bundle, amiibo functionality and a pre-order bonus, centered around a character that, according to some sources, you don’t even play as.

All by Nintendo themselves btw. Same with say, this video title or german eShop description for the game, which refer to the main character as Captain and Toad interchangeably.

This even extends to in-game content:

And an Odyssey developer interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVNYfoFcrZY

Then you got Mario Maker call Toad Captain:

Smash let's Toad’s spirit evolve into Captain, which is tied to gameplay AND in-line with stuff like Shadow becoming Super Shadow or Alm and Celica becoming their adult selves. The game even makes the distinction that THE Toad exists in the tips, where Peach’s Toad is THE Toad and Daisy’s (who is blue ala’ 3D World btw) is a Toad. 

And then you get Mario Kart Tour, the only spin-off Captain Toad is in and the same one where someone like Peachette can be an independent playable character distant from Toadette OR Peach, so yeah. He even shares most of his animations with Toad:

A trait mainly seen with the simpler alts. Pit Stop Toad has more unique animations than Captain has.

VS Tour promos even group him with Toad, right next to him. Same happens with Peachette, who is correctly placed between Toadette and her alts.

Hillariously enough, even LEGO gets in on this, by giving Toad a treasure hunting themed expansion:

As I said, it’s not my intent to ignore official word. Officially, Captain is regarded as a different character, I’m just pointing out how much the games themselves don’t support that and how it requires a lot of justification and ignoring of past patterns to get there and explain away the mountains of counter evidence.

I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss every source that speaks against those claims either, these are just people trying to make sense of the mess Nintendo has left behind and I could just as easily point out that the original confirmation Captain is a separate character, also came with Toads not truly being mushrooms. A claim that contradicts a lot of past descriptions of the species, dialogue mentioning things like spores and Toad showing spore abilities at multiple points.

Not saying this invalidates the entire thing, just pointing out this is a nightmarish mess if you want to maintain consistency.

It’s why Movie Toad is exciting to me.

Giving him the backpack, Captain’s most defining feature these days and thus possibly silently merging them, is to me, the best and least complicated thing they could do. 

Time will tell if this will affect anything, but Nintendo allowing for this at all does tell me they are fine with the characters being linked, which I hope translates to good things for him. Toad has a lot to gain from being Captain, while Captain really struggles to be his own thing, because he IS Toad in all but official word.

[dashi-inu]

eridan ampora from homestuck 🫧 he was my first favorite and still is from the cast ♡ i know, i know, he is one way in canon, but i wanted to have fun with this sea dweller and make him to my image. like all of my faves *babygirlifies eridan

rewrote the info on eridan's reference sheet under the cut 🌊 this design features nsfw content! 🔞

ERIDAN AMPORA (VIOLET BLOOD, SEAHORSE)

6'9 ft (205.74 cm)

CAPE. Made of silk. Has intricate patterns on the inside. Accompanied by cloak chain.

GLASSES. Matte violet. Near-sighted. With or without glasses he always has excellent aim.

JEWELRY. Wears too many to count. Worn all over his body. Jewelry can change though always wears a necklace with star sign.

ATTIRE. Top is translucent. Some parts are opaque. High-waisted pants with blue, sheeny stripes as pattern. Thigh-high boots!! Will wear footwear with heels even if he's a 6'9 ft goddess- Becomes 7ft in heels.

Overly ornate! Loves being fashionable ♡

---

EARS. Fin-like. Can droop or flare.

NO GRUBSCARS! Sea dwellers are not born from Mothergrub.

BIOLOGY. Violet bloods are seahorse-like trolls. They come in different variations; Stallion, Deviant, and Pearl. Eridan is a pearl variant. Typically pearls belong to the Condesce as they are the only ones that can produce an heir for the Fuchsia caste. Condesce can impregnate them for a litter of violetbloods or one Fuchsia heir.

CORONET, GILLS, WEBBED FINGERS, LUMINESCENT JOINTS

EYES. Big-doe eyes.

BODY. 'Amphora-shaped'. Big bust, slender waist. Refined legs.

POUCH. Very plush tummy. Softest part of the body.

'CLIT' FIN. A little fin that advertises where the oyster is :) Yes, it is also erogenous on its own.

GENDER DIFFERENCES. Violetbloods are male sea dwellers. Their counterpart, Fuchsiabloods, are female. Like real-life seahorses, it's the male sea dwellers that give birth.

---

FIN SPINE. Violet and semi-transparent. Soft and bendable. Divided into three parts; head fin, spine, and dorsal fin. Begins at the crown of the head, and ends at the tailbone. All fins trill when excited or emotional, including gills, ears, and clit fin.

LUMINESCENT BACKSIDE. Glittery spine, back, butt, and back of legs.

BIRTHMARK. Constellation of Aquarius resides on his back.

BLOOD. As Gamzee the potion merchant put it, 'This violet potion is to be imbibed by anyone who wants to exhibit unabated lust for all they encounter.'

Violetbloods have a high libido and are hypersexual as a species.

For this reason, the body of a pearl has features meant to attract a partner or the Condesce to be satiated from this lust. (Big doe eyes, unique body, clit fin, luminescent body parts.)

---

OUTFITS

WITHOUT CAPE ♡ JEWELRY ONLY

Can wear the jewelry in different spots and ways. This is just an example of how much he wears as one of the highest members of the aristocracy.

[fish-ears]

Mars kitty- A sci-fi, slow burn romance with a somehow strong focus on speculative biology, is available for reading FOR FREE on webtoon!

Want me to convince you why you should read? Well...

Where should I start? Is your favorite part of stories the characters? Let me introduce you to the main cast then!

The main character - Doctor Fawsley K. . This man has dedicated his life to reviving a long-extinct alien species, and now has his life objective to keep the animal alive and well. Even if that means working on a very questionable pirate spaceship.

His "best friend" - Doctor Henry Heiman - is a younger scientist who's honestly just happy to be there. The two had worked together in the past, and this was also one of the reasons for Henry also getting this job.

I dare say that the most sane on their group is her. Doctor Alice Piazzi, here to take care of the second most dangerous creature we have in this ship.

Now, I did say we share a ship with pirates, didn't I?

We have them! Only a few were revealed so far, though.

From left to right:

Liso the mechanic, Guhlk the pilot, and the two younger members of the crew Jack and Corrina. These guys I can't tell much about just yet- updates gotta catch up first! But I can show you their captain...

Captain Devilman. Don't let his appearance fool you- He is VERY different from what you would expect.

Enough about the humans, right? We should talk...

Animals. We should talk animals!

The dragon slugs are incredibly cute, but also incredibly dangerous. You could keep one as a pet, but even the domesticated ones have poison in their bodies! The one we see on the comic is Princess, and she's Alice's "work buddy".

Pip, the ant flyer! This little guy in clingy and cute, but also evil. You know when your dog loves someone else way more than you? Yeah. That's how Henry feels.

And our last guy... Is a secret.

Just kidding! This is REX, the revived Sorvitii forest bull. This big guy should be extinct, but Fawsley decided to take it as his life objective to make one last of them- which is now REX. Anyways, who wouldn't want a hippo-sized puppy? Besides all of these characters and creatures, another reason you should read this is ...

The colors!

All pages have a unique palette, sometimes representing the emotions felt during it. You'll sometimes read a page and go : do the colors mean something this time? Maybe they do, maybe they don't. It is a fun guessing game! The author!

Just a little guy trying to get his start on a more professional life. The industry is hell and if I wait for a job to accept me I'm never going anywhere. So why not use the time- that will pass anyways - for something I love?

Anyways. This was my little rant on why you should read my comic.

I convinced you? Here's the link again, then!

https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/mars-kitty/list?title_no=926234

[missizzy]

Perc'ahlia Week Day 3 Fic

Vex would later think Trinket has sensed something off about Percy from the beginning, probably without consciously realizing it. Not that she thought animals could magically sense evil things like demons, but she'd known their abilities to sense things like earthquakes and storms, things that could threaten them and theirs.

Of course he was nervous around each of their new companions when they first joined them, though he took to Keyleth surprisingly quickly. (And when Vex would've thought the opposite; her changing species must have seemed bizarre to him at first.) It wouldn't be until Tary joined them that he showed himself more used to new friends coming in. So it made sense when he was initially wary of Percy.

When the possibility of marrying Percy started feeling like more of a probability, Vex asked Trinket, on a lazy day where she could cast Speak with Animals multiple times without worry, what he thought about that. Trinket was generally happy with the idea; he knew Percy made her happy, and had become convinced he'd make a good mate, too. "I think he was a threat once, but now he just protects us, right?"

Vex regretted then that she couldn't really ask him what he meant by that; getting that sort of nuance was beyond the abilities the spell gave them. Although Trinket, since he had reached adulthood, had witnessed enough behavior from the people around him that he could usually tell the basics of what was going on. And of course, not only had he been present for the conversations they'd had with Percy when they'd been trying to free Whitestone, but he'd first seen the smoke, and then even delivered the final blow on the entity responsible when they'd first fought him.

So he might have easily just meant all that. But it was then that she also thought how how he'd constantly been sniffing at Percy and looking nervous around him during his first days with the group, and so also wondered if he'd marked Percy as a threat for much longer, for different reasons. Or maybe his having the sticks that made big scary noises had just freaked him out, and the behavior before he first fired them had been because he'd been the only newcomer to focus on.

In any case, Vex hadn't needed magic to understand Trinket's behavior when he was one of the few present when she married Percy. The way he ruffled against him and and growled softly spoke an obvious message she translated for him: Trinket would give Percy a fair chance to be a good mate, but would keep a sharp eye on him nonetheless. Of course, Percy declared himself quite glad to know Trinket was doing his part both keeping him in check, and protecting Vex.

Her thoughts about what Trinket could sense in Percy returned one more time: during her fourth pregnancy, where a constantly elevated body temperature served as an indication their fifth child might turn out to be a Tiefling. Trinket, who had already shown an ability to detect her pregnancies himself and maybe get more solicitous of her as a result, this time, on one still early day, went sniffing at her womb, then stared as her with an expression so flummoxed she very nearly laughed.

Except it wasn't entirely funny, as she then cast the spell and asked him, "You don't think I'm being threatened, do you? You've never had a problem with Zahra, not really."

"A cub's never a threat!" Trinket exclaimed. "And you don't smell like Zahra, you smell like Percy when he was dangerous. It's weird."

Most of that was reassuring, but Vex did feel the need to ask, "You won't go ask him for inflicting this particular baby on me, will you?"

Trinket seemed to have to think about that for a moment, but then said, "Not so long as he continues to be good to you and to all your cubs."

He got over the smell, after that. It was true he'd never had a problem with Tieflings, and when Gwen was born, she really was like her siblings had been to him. Vex wasn't sure if he really even understood how she was different, even if she'd cause her mother to smell different. He did seem to eye Percy a little more in the days following the birth, but if anything he was even more of an attentive husband and father than he had already been, and Trinket probably couldn't even recognize the guilt in his eyes. Bears didn't feel guilt, beyond maybe an occasional immediate and brief reaction to having gotten someone they cared about hurt.

Ultimately, by that time in his life, Trinket definitely had his own views about mates and the raising of cubs. They were ones, Vex knew, that weren't a normal bear's views, if a normal bear's attitudes towards the subject could even be called that. This became very clear when, not long after Gwen's birth, he unexpectedly found a mate of his own.

He really hadn't had much contact with other bears in general, and none for years, when a female bear wandered into the Parchwood and made it her home. Trinket actually found her by himself weeks before anyone in the Grey Hunt did, and they found it suitable to mate with each other soon after that. But then Trinket showed her Whitestone, and managed to communicate to her that he wanted them to raise their cubs together in the castle, which had confused her greatly.

"Boy bears don't do that," she explained to Vex, when they magically conversed for the first time. "I know some boy animals do that, but bears don't. My mom mated with my dad, then they went away from each other, and she raised me without him, and I can raise my cubs the same way."

It made Vex think for the first time that maybe what she'd done with Trinket, raising him so much in the world of people, especially when she and Vax had stopped living so much in the woods, had been a little bit of an extreme thing to do with a bear. Not a wrong thing, necessarily, if only because there hadn't been many options when she'd first taken him away, but still.

Eventually, the idea of having constant warmth and food available brought Trinket's new mate to the castle shortly before she gave birth. Both she and Trinket warned Vex, though, that she had no intention of being a fully domesticated bear. She even requested they not give her a name. "Animals have names when they belong to people," she said. "I won't belong to people." Vex duly instructed everyone to not name her; she could be referred to easily enough just as "Trinket's mate."

Percy had already agreed to take her in, and he even allocated the bears their own space within the castle, one that made it easy enough for them to also act as guard bears when they were there and awake. But Vex, to her own private amusement, sometimes thought his reaction to her was not unlike Trinket's friendly but ever watchful reaction to him had been.

"Well, of course I have concerns," Percy said to her. "Remember wild bears often view people as for eating, even if Trinket has no doubt made clear to her we aren't, and you even said she won't be tamed entirely. But if she has accepted we're not to be harmed, well, then, let Trinket have his mate here, right alongside yours."

She came and went as she pleased, sometimes disappearing off into the woods for days at a time. After Charlie was born, she usually took him with her, determined he would know how to live as a wild bear as well. Sometimes Trinket went with them, too, and Vex thought he looked a bit refreshed when they came back. Which kept her from minding; indeed, she couldn't help but admire her determination.

She also responded more to the advent of winter than Trinket did. Neither of them had to fully hibernate when living in Whitestone, but even as he showed all the signs of how much older than her-and most other bears-he was, she was the only who slowed down and was much less inclined to step outside the castle once it got cold enough. Which, ironically, meant that when little Vax'ildan and Charlie decided that was when they wanted to venture out on their own for the first time, it was her, sleepy and possibly also pregnant again, who stayed behind in the castle, and Vex and Trinket who walked them to the outskirts of town.

There Vex hugged her son, whispered him her various reminders all over, and told her she loved him, while the bears said farewell with soft sounds and headbutts. They stood together, listening, until their sons could no longer be heard even by Trinket's ears.

On the way, Trinket gave Vex the specific whine that had become his way of requesting she cast Speak with Animals. When she did, he said, "I think Allura was right, that I won't die until you do. I feel old, but I think I should feel older."

"Does it bother you?" Vex asked. "I don't want you to leave me ever, but if staying that long would be too much for you..."

"I don't want to leave you alone," said Trinket. "I know it'll be bad once they starting dying."

"Not all of them will," said Vex. "Some of our friends will live even longer than me. And also, I've been talking with Keyleth about Danny, and she says he might become like her, which would make him live a very long time as well. Or he might be become like me, and Charlie might live as long as him, then."

"That would be nice," said Trinket.

The spell had worn off by the time they reached the castle, with them instead sharing a comfortable silence as they headed in. They found Trinket's mate where they'd left her, still dozing away, and, much more surprisingly, Percy dozing against her.

Vex's laughter woke both of them up. Together they raised their heads, looking rather caught out. The bear only for a moment, before she lowered her head back down and returned to her nap, but Percy remained pink-faced as he hastily scrambled to his feet.

Trinket, inclined to nap himself after the day's exertions, headed to join his mate. On his way, he moved to nudge the mortified Percy, and give him a reassuring look. "He's glad," Vex told her husband, thought she didn't really need to.

[purplekoop]

(@daylightcommand3 once again responding in a separate post to keep things tidy with the original)

First off, thanks! I wrote the bulk of that story log a while back, only touching up a few minor details that I wanted to add, change, or clarify, and I'm still pretty proud of it. It felt important to properly establish the world and how it works before I could really figure out how these characters work as more than just gameplay functions. There were a lot of things I didn't feel right just shrugging off as "don't worry about it", like how they made more robots and what makes a new sentient bot different from a person-shaped pile of metal and circuitry. There's still a few gaps in the logic, like "how did they repopulate and rebuild if humans depleted all the natural resources", but like. I'll get there. probably.

I haven't talked much about the plants (or to use the official and also very temporary term "Plantoids"), and while they deserve their own posts soon, I'll say for now that their intelligence and capacity for strategy is comparable to ants or other eusocial insects more than anything else. This is actually based (very loosely) on behaviors some real plants can do! While not to an extremely apparent effects to us, plants can communicate through roots or chemical signals, warning each other about environmental dangers so their systems can prepare accordingly. This is an extension of that, where most individual Plantoids have evolved a capacity to communicate and cooperate similar to eusocial insects. The main unique advancement is that separate species can cooperate seamlessly, both to increase their odds of taking out opposition that could take on one species but not another, and also to increase enemy variety within missions. That said, it's rare to see an ant colony without a queen, so expect some even more advanced plantoids to be responsible for coordinating their attacks...

The comparisons to Overwatch are very much fair and intended, which should make sense considering... *vaguely gestures around everything here.* While the whole "rag-tag team of heroes stepping up against a sudden threat" angle is very much Overwatch inspired, the rest of the backstory is actually much more directly based on Splatoon, particularly the logs from Splatoon 3, in both structure and content. I wanted this log to feel like something that could semi-convincingly be a historical text in-universe, hence why the knowledge is limited to what could be common knowledge to the bots themselves.

That's also a big reason why I included dates, to add to that historical record feeling. Admittedly I was pretty scared to add them at first, since I wanted to avoid a time scale so absolutely incomprehensible to us (zelda timeline ever since the BotW trilogy my detested), but still long enough to explain the state of the world. I actually just recently added a whole extra millennium to the timeline, with the awakening originally taking place in 4000 CE/AD instead of 5000. 2,000 years is probably still a little short to explain how the plantoids came to be, but again, I'll get to that. This cast in particular also has some interesting things to consider when it comes to character ages (every Overwatch fan's favorite subject), since there can very realistically be characters who've been around since the dawn of their civilization, so it's gonna be interesting trying to decide who'd make sense to be a new blood bot and who'd make more sense being around since the awakening. Ages are weird for these guys since they don't really need to age like we do from childs to adults, and with proper maintenance are theoretically immortal, so the main difference between a 1 year old and a 500 year old in this world is experience and knowledge past basic innate functions. Again, dates and years are the part of the story I have the most caution tape around right now, it's a hazardous construction zone.

Another thing I wanted to note with that last paragraph though is that I wanted there to be a solid start point where every character could theoretically be there from the start of the main action. While I think a story where characters are more scattered in factions we follow and when they join those sides, I want something plain and simple for the sake of the mission mode feeling like "the canon" while also letting players pick the characters they want from the start. It's like a DnD party: the campaign starts with everybody in the same place, though their backstories differ on how they get there. And while the whole cast is fighting the same fight, their thoughts on the mission and each other can differ greatly as well. Velenna for instance isn't exactly the friendliest member of the crew, and she especially isn't happy working with Arber, but she'll tough it out so she can get what she wants out of the mission. Every job has people you do and don't get along with, including fighting off hordes of mutant plants.

Lastly in this overly long session of tooting my own horn, I'm also pretty content with the state of the mysteries I've laid out already. While I don't think literally everything needs an explanation, some things are better left unanswered, I don't wanna have the big questions be JJ Abrams unopened boxes. Some things I still need to figure out, but there's one big mystery in particular I already have a very fun answer for. At least I think it's fun, opinions exist, but like. I hope it's cool anyways.

So yeah, thanks again! I'm at least assuming you don't mind me taking this chance to mention a few more meta things that wouldn't've fit with the story log and would be more convenient to say now rather than later.

I think next up I'll introduce just a taste of what the plantoids are like, with some rough concepts I have lying around and some info on how the hordes operate on a gameplay level. Stay tuned!

[missmungoe]

Not making any promises, buuuuuuut if you were to receive an illustration of one scene from Sea Songs, which would you pick? <3

!!! Oh gosh I'd be over the moon for an illustration of any scene from Sea Songs, but if I could pick, it would be something from Luffy's Pirate Summit, which is my favourite part<3

(from Sea Songs, fourth verse)

The gathering dark had leached the sun’s warmth out of the whitewashed stone, a long-awaited respite from the midday heat offered at last, along with the lengthening shadows ushered down the narrow corridors winding through the towering structure that had been appropriated for the occasion.

Shanks had no idea how Luffy had gotten his hands on a fortress, or who had owned it previously, but knew better than to ask.

“This looks more like a party than an assembly,” he told Ben, observing the people gathered. The ships had been coming in all week, and idled now along the wharf hugging the water’s edge, far above which sat the white-stone stronghold, perched on the steep cliff's high brow. Several hundred vessels and their crews, all having arrived for the summit. “Although it figures, given who issued the invitation.”

They were standing towards the far end of a large, square chamber, the high, vaulting ceiling invoking the ghosts of lavish feasts, heavy wooden beams wedged together to carry the weight of the structure, and slits of honeycombed glass opening up to the sky, bruising purple as the light bled out of the day. The room was well-lit, a hundred glowing lamps suspended from above casting a sheen of gold across glass and stonework, giving the illusion that everything was gilded.

All in all, a fitting setting for a gathering of pirates, the room full of hearts hungry for treasure, but they seemed to have settled for plundering the refreshments. There was enough food to feed several fleets. Again, not much of a surprise, given their host.

“It will be interesting to see what comes of this,” Ben said, sliding him a look. “Even if you are retired. The kid did appreciate the insight.”

“I don’t know how useful it was,” Shanks said, observing the pirates mingling, a colourful tapestry of different species and crews. He recognised some faces, but most were unfamiliar. And half his age. “This is a different world than ours was.”

Ben’s mouth quirked. Shanks watched as he lit himself a cigarette. “Maybe,” he said, gaze shifting across the room, ever-assessing. “But pirates will be pirates.”

Shanks’ agreement was a fleeting smile, and he followed Ben’s gaze, taking in the celebration with a curiously detached interest. A long life of piracy had seen many similar events, and he’d always had a ready heart for feasts of all kinds. If there was booze present, all the better. If there wasn’t, he was usually the one providing it.

But even with a party big enough to fill an entire stronghold and enough drink to put even his tolerance to the test, his thoughts kept fleeting back across the sea, to a warm hearth and his wife curled up against his side, a single bottle enough between them.

“Thinking about Makino?”

His smile was quick to chase the question, spoken in a way that told Shanks Ben already knew the answer. “I’m that obvious, huh?” He sighed, watching as someone made an elaborate toast, followed by laughter like the crack of thunder. “It’s just weird, her not being here. It was easier when we only saw each other a few weeks at a time.”

Ben took a long drag of his cigarette. “It’s the way of things.”

“Yeah?” Shanks asked. “What about you? Worried about your tobacco crop?”

“There was cold front coming,” Ben deadpanned, refusing to indulge his teasing. “And I have orders to meet.”

“Listen to you. And you give me grief for the barkeep thing.”

“I don’t wear an apron,” Ben pointed out.

“No, you don’t wear a shirt. And don’t tell me you’re not aware it’s the reason half the people on our island stop by your house every morning.”

“I’m just now hearing about this,” Ben said, smiling around his cigarette.

Shanks shook his head. “And I’m the indecent one,” he muttered. His eyes scanned the room again, before he stopped. “Wait a minute,” he said, frowning. “Is that Yasopp?”

Ben followed the direction of his gaze, brows drawing together. “Maybe he decided to come after all. It’s been a while since he saw his kid.”

Shanks was still frowning. “Maybe,” he conceded. “But it’s a little weird that he didn’t call ahead.”

Ben said nothing to that, but his silence held agreement, and Shanks tried not to let himself question the wisdom behind Yasopp’s decision to come.

It wasn’t that he was worried anything was going to happen while he was gone, but there’d been a guarantee in the knowledge that most of his crew was where his family was. It wasn’t a secret that he’d settled down there, and the thought that someone might take advantage of him leaving had crossed his mind, both before and after setting sail. Like it had done more than once, in the years he’d still been an active pirate.

But Blackbeard was an old memory, dulled like the scar on his chest. And there was still Lucky and the others. There was no reason for him to add more concerns to the ones he already had, what with Makino pregnant.

“There’s Lucky,” Ben said then, and Shanks’ head swivelled around. And there was no mistaking the familiar bulk, or the fact that he’d stationed himself next to one of the tables laden with food.

“What the hell,” Shanks muttered. But before either of them could walk over to ask the man himself, someone stepped up behind them, and Shanks turned, taking in the familiar mop of blond hair, and the lopsided smile.

“Red-Hair,” Marco said, inclining his head in a greeting. His eyes twinkled behind his glasses. “Been a few years.”

“Marco,” Shanks laughed. He stole a fleeting glance across the room, but Lucky had moved somewhere else. If it hadn’t been for Ben pointing him out, he might have thought he’d imagined it.

He looked back at Marco, hands in his pockets, and more at ease than when Shanks had seen him last. “I haven’t seen you since the war,” he said. “How are the guys?”

The smile crooked further, visibly amused. “Drinking,” Marco said. “I’m starting to wonder if that wasn’t why he called us here.”

Grinning, Shanks was wryly inclined to agree. “Been here long?”

“Just came in yesterday. You?”

“A week ago,” Shanks said, nodding to Ben. “Luffy wanted some advice. I thought it was for the open bar, but apparently it’s strategy and coordinating this whole event. Not really what I signed up for. I retired, you know?”

Marco smiled. “Welcome to the club. I heard you’re a barkeep now,” he said. “How’s that treating you?”

Shanks’ grin widened. “I’m always happy to be close to good booze. And my family, of course.”

“Yeah,” Marco said. “I just ran into your missus over by the refreshments.”

Ben lowered his cigarette, and Shanks blinked. “What?”

“Your missus,” Marco repeated. “Makino.”

Shanks’ mouth worked. “My—”

Marco nodded across the room. “Cute kid, by the way. That’s your youngest, yeah? Seems to have stolen the whole show. Not that His Majesty is complaining. He’s the one who’s been showing her off.”

Shanks followed the line of his gaze, still having trouble accepting what he was even saying, and there was a part of him that thought Marco had to be mistaken; that it couldn’t be her—that she couldn’t be here.

But then he found her—sought her out in a single breath where she stood among a group of pirates, the tiny shape of her emphasised by the crowd around her, but asserting herself with the same quiet authority she did in their bar, her presence at once unassuming and wholly, undeniably compelling. She wore Siren on her hip, Shanks saw, the blade quiet in her sheath but her presence as unmistakeable as her mistress', dressed in a loose blouse and breeches, her small shoulders at ease under a short cloak; a lovely thing he’d brought her years ago on a whim, supple folds of sea-green velvet threaded with silver at the collar, enclosed around her slender neck with silver clasps. Her thick braid coiled in a heavy bun at her nape, a familiar length of blood-red cloth braided through it, before it wrapped like a bandanna around her head, holding her hair back from her face. She looked like—

“A pirate,” Shanks said, dumbstruck.

She met his eyes then, as though she’d felt him looking, and her smile tilted her eyes at the corners, the earth after rain, and full of the pleasure that had always delighted in catching him off guard.

“I’ll be damned,” Ben barked a laugh. “She finally outdid herself.” He threw Shanks a look. “Do you need to sit down?”

“Am I not sitting down?”

Ben was grinning. “That explains the others,” he said, casting another glance around the room, seeking. “Did she bring them all?”

Shanks would have answered if he’d had his mind with him, or if he could have found his voice, but both eluded him, watching Makino pick her way across the chamber towards them, the soft soles of her boots leaving no sound on the stone. She stood out from the crowd, a small, gentle shadow of dark hair and ivory skin, and eyes that swallowed up the light.

And coming to a stop before them, “Hey,” she said, casually, as though there was nothing amiss with her presence here, in a fortress full of pirates, at the court of the reigning king.

His grin was still that stupid, wholly disbelieving thing, but, “Hey,” Shanks laughed, the script old and familiar, even as it felt like he was reciting it for the very first time. He thought he might have kissed her senseless, if he’d had any of his own senses with him.

Her pleased smile told him he was being rather obvious about the fact. “Sorry I’m late,” she said. “The traffic getting here was terrible.”

His mouth worked, but he had nothing to offer but that half-gaping, gobsmacked expression.

As though she’d heard the question anyway, “I figured that since we make such a good team at the tavern, I would be remiss to leave you to do this alone,” Makino said, smiling.

Shanks was still scrambling to catch up. It was a feat deciding what to even say, all of his usual, quick-found wit failing him, along with his voice.

“I take it you answer to ‘Captain’ now?” Ben asked in his stead, warm amusement rolling off the words, and Makino’s smile brightened.

“Not only that,” she said. From across the room, Yasopp caught her eye, and raised his glass with a shout of ‘Bosslady!’ that had her raising her hand in a salute, and prompting an echoing chorus from the rest of his crew, who Shanks could now see intermingled with the other pirates.

“You usurped me,” he said, amazed.

Makino blinked, brows quirking innocently. “Aren’t you retired?”

Delighted grin bordering on being absolutely ridiculous, Shanks looked to Ben. “She usurped me.”

“We did warn you,” Ben said. “Repeatedly.” But his attempted dryness was ruined by the fact that he couldn’t stifle his own grin.

Shanks thought he should have managed a comeback to that, but the sight of her had him forgetting what Ben had even said. He was vaguely aware that he was still gaping.

Ben excused himself then, but when he passed her—“Captain,” he told Makino, and their shared grin told Shanks this was far from the end of it. None of them would ever let him forget this.

Somehow, he found himself quite without shits to give about the fact.

Inclining her head in a show of observing his reaction, her smile managed to somehow be both sweetly demure and utterly glib. Shanks just shook his head, although he didn’t rightly know just what he was refuting.

He reached up to cup her cheek, as though needing to touch her to convince himself that he hadn’t just conjured her from thin air (he didn’t know what was in the punch, but he doubted it was rum, and he wouldn’t have put it past himself—not to have drunk too much, or to have brought her into being like this, in full pirate regalia, an old, well-worn fantasy unearthed from a younger man’s memory).

But she was solid under his fingers, her skin warm and smooth, and he felt her smile when it lifted her cheeks, all the way to her eyes, to gather in the gentle lines at their corners.

“I brought your ship,” Makino said then.

He couldn't seem to stop grinning. “You brought more than that, from the looks of things.”

Makino looked over her shoulder, and Shanks followed, finding Luffy at the centre of the crowd. Spotting them, “Shanks!” he called loudly, waving. He had Emmy on his arm, and Shanks saw she was awake, small hands fisted in Luffy’s shirt.

Then he was making his way over, grin as bright as the lights overhead, which had claimed the baby’s attention, her mother’s eyes wide and enraptured as she craned her neck to look at them.

Shanks took them both in. And it was just two weeks since he’d last seen her, but the sight still left him short of breath, like someone had jabbed him sharply between the ribs.

“Why am I always finding my kids with you?” he asked, as Luffy strode up to where they were standing, the crowd parting to let him pass. “I don’t know if I like this trend. One of these days you’ll be calling me with a stowaway on your ship, and refuse to give them back.”

Luffy only grinned, and didn’t seem to find the insinuation at all unjustified. He had his arm wrapped around the baby twice, as though for good measure. Shanks noticed she didn’t seem to mind the fact, still distracted by the hanging lights.

He reached out to touch one small foot, claiming her attention. “You’ve flown a long way, swallow,” Shanks told her, rubbing his thumb along the arch of her foot. It got him a smile, wide and toothless, and that gurgly little giggle that was his favourite.

He brushed his fingers over the hem of her dress, noticing the little fish and the whorls of lace and seed pearls. “All dressed up for the occasion, too.” He looked at Makino, who met his eyes. The significance wasn’t lost, but it passed between them in silence, and what he said instead was, “Between the two of you, I feel like I should have made a bigger effort.”

Her smile was enduring. She very pointedly didn’t look at his pants. “Would you really?”

Shanks grinned. “Probably not.” He raised his brows suggestively. “I’m at my best without clothes, and you know it.”

Luffy made a grimace at that. “Ew,” he told the baby, before sticking his tongue out at Shanks. “I’m taking her to where there’s food. You can be gross over here.”

Before Shanks could get in another word, he’d whisked her away, but she went along for the ride, enduring the attention with staggering grace, despite the gathering crowd of curious onlookers taking shape around the Pirate King, who’d made straight for the food.

“Your daughter,” Makino mused. “A natural for the spotlight.”

Shanks watched the crowd, seeking the wide-eyed little face at its heart now. “Oh, I don’t know if it’s me she gets that from,” he said, looking back at Makino. “I’m not the only one with a penchant for dramatic entrances.”

At her delicately raised brow, he gestured to the room. “You commandeered my crew and you decided to make an appearance at the biggest outlawed event since the war. Without telling me.” He shook his head, marvelling. “This you give no warning.”

He remembered the moment he said it, the reminder as stark as the realisation that followed, and his gaze dropped to her stomach, but there was no visible indication of her condition.

He didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse. They were among allies—well, Luffy’s allies, but they were still pirates, and opportunism had little patience for loyalty. And even if Shanks had no real authority on this sea anymore, his name still carried weight, and Luffy wasn’t exactly making a secret of their connection, brandishing their daughter like a treasure.

And of course, there was the sea herself. He tried not to think about the long voyage, and all the things that could have gone wrong.

“I decided not to be afraid,” Makino said then, and Shanks lifted his eyes from her stomach to meet hers. “We were so careful, all those times, but it didn’t change anything. And I didn’t want to spend nine months sitting on my hands, fearing the worst.”

Shanks looked at her, firm in her quiet resolve. And she was right—they’d done everything they could to be safe during all her pregnancies, and in the end it hadn’t made a difference. Not for the three that had preceded their daughter, anyway.

Makino smiled then. “I have a good feeling,” she said, as though in answer to his thoughts. “And I brought Doc with me, just in case.”

The assurance was meant to ease his mind, he knew, but it was the look on her face that did it; that helped anchor his fleeting certainty, the one that had felt out of his reach ever since she’d called with the news.

Shanks held her eyes, his own smile wry. “Not just Doc.”

The far too innocent look he got in return wasn’t even remotely convincing. “I only asked for those who were willing,” Makino said.

“I’m sure you did. I’m also pretty sure they’d all sail to the ends of the ocean if you batted your eyes.”

They’d moved closer, the rest of the crowd parting to move around them. Shanks didn’t let it faze him. He had few thoughts left to spare the festivities, or why they were even there, with her standing so close. And they’d only been apart two weeks, but enough things had happened in the in-between that seeing her again, and before he’d counted on it, was almost too much.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked her. His hand hovered awkwardly at her hip, wanting to touch her, to see if he could feel a difference and if it would help solidify the news somehow, but something held him back, and he let it fall to his side.

Makino’s smile eased into understanding. “Everyone is fine,” she said. She swept her hand over her stomach once, a familiar ease in the gesture. There was a teasing light in her eyes when she added, wryly, “And I’ve been throwing up so much from the morning sickness, the seasickness barely even fazed me.”

He laughed, a soft and helpless sound. “That’s my girl.”

Lifting his hand, he curved his fingers around the back of her neck, tangling in the twist of her braid, a few loose strands escaping it. It felt coarser than usual. From wind and sea spray, he realised, with an awe that filled his chest whole. And she’d sailed the New World before, when Rayleigh had brought her from Fuschia, but that had been out of necessity. This—his ship, his crew, their daughter—was choice, wholly wilful, and just a little bit reckless. The kind of choice a pirate would make, for no other reason than because she could.

“I love you,” he told her then, seriously. “You wilful thing. You’ll give me a full head of grey hair one of these days pulling stunts like this.”

Her eyes were laughing, but the smile that softened her mouth looked suddenly unsure. “Would you rather I hadn’t come?”

“No,” Shanks said, without even a pause for breath. He brushed his thumb along her cheek, a tender arc. “I’ll take the grey hair.” He flashed her a grin, and saw how it chased the lingering doubt from her features, even before he added, “And now that you’re here, this just became a real party.”

Her laugh fell, a soft sigh over his fingers. “That’s quite the compliment, coming from you,” Makino said.

She glanced over to where Emmy was being passed around, Luffy hovering with a grin that had stretched so wide it was visible from across the full length of the chamber. “What did he call this summit for again?” she asked.

Shanks shook his head. “I forget, but now it’s apparently to show off his goddaughter.”

The baby changed hands again, and then Luffy was shouting for someone to come see. Like her brother before her, she seemed curiously accepting of his attentions, and those of the pirates who’d gathered around to watch the spectacle.

“Ace?” Shanks asked then, dragging his eyes away. “I’m going to assume you didn’t stow him away on the ship somewhere.”

Her smile made him wonder if that wasn't actually the case, but, “Only one stowaway,” Makino said, patting her stomach. At his startled grin, she said, “Dadan came over. She’s watching him. I thought about bringing him with me, but I figured it might be best if he stayed. I didn’t know what to expect from, well, this.” She gestured to the room. “And I was already bringing Emmy.”

She looked over at their daughter again, back in Luffy’s arms now. He wasn’t passing her around, seeming content to carry her, and with surprising care for a man who wasn’t exactly known for it.

“I couldn’t leave her,” Makino said. “She’s a little too young yet to be left with someone else. But I thought it would be okay. It’s not like she can run off.”

“No,” Shanks agreed, amused. “But I wouldn’t put it past the one holding her.” Shaking his head, the sigh that left him sounded suddenly old. “This is the second of our children who’s set out to sea before they’re a year old,” he told her. “And this time it’s our baby girl. I don’t know how I feel about this.”

“Hmm. Well, she’s been exemplary so far,” Makino said.

“Yeah?”

She met his eyes. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from the daughter of a former Emperor.”

“Former,” Shanks muttered, feigning affront. “I hope you know this continuous and belligerent use of the past tense is making me feel obsolete.” He looked at Luffy again, loudly delighted by the baby, and her bubbling laugh. “But on that note, His Majesty better be careful, or he’ll be the one without a throne next. Given her mother, I wouldn't put it past her."

His brows furrowed, before he muttered, "Look at them fawning." Then, "I should go over there.”

Her laughter stopped him before her hand on his arm. “Let him have his fun. It’s his first time seeing her. And he is her godfather.”

“That’s my daughter he’s passing around like a loaf of bread.”

“If that was all she was, he would have eaten her by now,” Makino said, prim, and entirely unhelpful. At his unamused look, she only smiled. “Shanks. He’s being very careful with her.”

“And the others?”

“The one with the face tattoos is making silly faces at her. I think we’re good.”

His dubious look held on for another second, but her persisting smile tempted it into yielding, his surrender punctuated by a sigh that dissolved into a laugh quite despite himself.

Shanks swept his gaze across her again, taking in the cloak and breeches. He tried to picture her on his ship, taking the helm with the same ease she took charge of things at the bar. The image came easily, and so quickly that he found he wasn’t at all surprised.

“Look at you,” he said. “My pirate wife.”

Makino smiled an odd little smile at that. “Don’t you mean pirate’s wife?”

Shanks only looked at her. “No,” he said, and she ducked her head with a grin. He touched his fingers to the bandanna, the red bright against the dark colour of her hair.

“So,” he said then, lifting his brows, and watched as her eyes flicked back up to meet his. “Do you prefer ‘Captain’ or ‘Bosslady’ now? I feel my usual endearments fall a bit short of what I’m feeling about you in this getup.”

The pleased flush in her cheeks was immensely gratifying. “Hmm,” she mused, failing spectacularly at pretending to be unaffected. “The first does have a nice ring to it.”

“Yeah? Well I know I what I’ll be calling you later.”

He traced the curve of her cheek, before echoing the touch along the embroidered silver at her neck, rough fingers brushing the soft fabric of her cloak, his callouses catching in the velvet. She was still watching him with that gently preening smile, and it took effort remembering they were in public, to not just pull her to him, as close as she'd get; to cage her small frame with his bigger one and forget everyone else.

“You know,” Shanks said, the low rumble of his voice meant only for her ears. “This is a pretty big place. And Face Tattoo is providing a very good distraction.” His smile curved, an edge full of wicked promise. “Want to sneak off?”

Makino laughed, that throaty, straight-to-the-bottom-of-his-gut sound that he’d been craving for weeks. Even high-quality whiskey couldn’t replicate that feeling. “The summit hasn’t even started yet.”

“Exactly. We have plenty of time. There’s bound to be some abandoned corner where we can get frisky.”

Her eyes curved, full of that familiar, teasing reluctance that always followed his suggestions of a quickie between their shifts at the bar. “Make a more compelling case, and I’ll consider it.”

Shanks grinned, delighted. “Always so hard to win over.” He stole a glance across the crowded room. “But if you need more incentive, Yasopp is giving us a thumbs up,” he told her, lifting his own hand in a vulgar gesture. “You should make him walk the plank for that. You have the authority to do that now.”

At her barely-contained smile, he winked. “Or you could make me walk the plank. I don’t even know what I mean by that, but with the way you look right now, I don’t really care. I’m up for anything if you keep that cloak on.”

Her smile broke through her pitiful attempt at schooling her expression, and he was grinning so badly he doubted he’d ever in his life been so painfully obvious.

They were standing so close they were almost embracing, but even if he ached with it, he didn’t reach down to kiss her, feeling the weight of the crowd around them, and knowing that for all her hard-earned ease in making a space for herself in it, there were some things she preferred to keep private. Or as private as she could, being married to him. But their crew and home was one thing; a room full of mostly strangers was another.

Reaching up, he settled his hand over her stomach instead, no awkward hesitation holding him back this time. And they had two children already, but he still struggled wrapping his mind around the thought of another one, even with the solid truth in front of him now, her skin warm through her blouse where he’d placed his hand. Under his palm, large where it spanned her small waist, her stomach curved gently, the bump barely noticeable, but he felt the implication; another little life, intricately woven into theirs.

“So, did you miss it?” Makino asked, making him look up. He’d lost himself to his thoughts, and her smile told him she’d realised as much. “The seafaring life,” she elaborated.

Someone breezed by them, the first notes of a familiar shanty rising up with their laughter, compelling more to join. Drunk off ale and saltwater, they were singing like they were moving across a tilting deck, feet unsteady and swaying on the solid stone. Like a good lover, the sea left her marks, in weak knees buckling, and a deep-seated longing for more that could never be sated. He’d known that longing intimately once.

But his feet were steady, and the only salt he longed for was the taste of her, and her hair slipping through his fingers, softer than water. It was years since the sea had left him weak in the knees, but the dainty little hands tucked over his knuckles could unravel him with a few touches. And she knew it, from the way she looked at him.

“No,” Shanks said, smiling, and when it sparked her own he lifted his hand to tuck some of her hair back into her bandanna, the thick folds of her braid gleaming, bottle-green greying at the roots, the veins of silver mirroring his, if not in sheer quantity. He touched the laugh-lines at the corners of her eyes, etched deep with self-satisfaction; the knowledge of the marks she’d left.

“That’s not what I’ve missed.”

[theggning]

I Hate the Alternate Ending of Blind Betrayal, and Here's Why!

DISCLAIMER THE FIRST: Massive spoilers for Fallout 4 abound. This post discusses Blind Betrayal, a quest with suicide as a heavy theme. Content warning applies.

DISCLAIMER THE SECOND: This post discusses cut OFFICIAL content from Fallout 4 that has since been repurposed into multiple mods. I am not criticizing any modders or their implementations of this content. Mods are fun and people can enjoy whatever the hell kind of game experience they want with whatever mods they want.

I am ONLY interested in discussing the original cut content as Bethesda had written it, and how it would have impacted the story and lore of Fallout 4.

So, yeah, it seems there was originally going to be another way to conclude Blind Betrayal (BB).

As described in this Kotaku article (citing this post by Tumblr user tentacle-explosion,) there are unused audio files of Danse’s dialogue that show an alternate ending to his pivotal quest. These lines are the only evidence we have of this ending (suggesting that it was cut fairly early on, as no other actors/characters seem to have recorded for it.)

From what we can tell, in this alternate ending of BB, Danse comes up with a possible way out of the sticky situation re: his identity as a synth. According to the Brotherhood Litany, he is able to challenge Maxson’s authority as Elder via combat. If you agree to this idea, you go with Danse to challenge Maxson. The Paladin and the Elder duel one another, Danse wins, and Maxson dies. Then Danse names the Sole Survivor the new Elder-- or with a hard charisma check, you’re able to convince Danse to take the job himself. It is unknown how the main plot would have progressed beyond this point, as there is no other evidence of what being (or influencing) the Elder would have been like or what choices it would have given you.

There is understandable disappointment in learning that this ending was cut. Choices in games are great, and it could have been fun to have multiple different options for how to resolve the quest. In many gaming circles, people complain that this theoretical ending is superior to the one we got and shouldn’t have been axed. The Kotaku article calls it a “way better” ending, and you’ll see many players lamenting that it wasn’t implemented, saying Bethesda was bad at writing for cutting it, etc.

So why did Bethesda get rid of the Elder ending of BB?

In December 2020, after the Fallout 4 Cast Reunion, Danse’s voice actor Peter Jessop answered questions in a private signing session on his Instagram. Peter Jessop is an extremely kind and gracious man, an avid gamer, and a huge fan of Fallout. During the stream, he reflected on the alternate ending and remembered recording the lines, but stated the content was ultimately cut because Bethesda decided it was lore-breaking.

Peter Jessop is right. Bethesda was right. The Elder ending of BB is a bunch of dumb nonsense. It sucks, I hate it, and I’m glad they got rid of it. And now I’m going to tell you why!

SIDENOTE: King Shit of Fuck Mountain

There is no wrong way to play a single-player video game. If you are having fun, then you are accomplishing the task for which the game was made. Good for you! Play it on easy. Play it on hard. Mod it. Speedrun it. Make up an intricate roleplaying scenario. Perform “challenge” runs. Kill everybody you see. Ignore the story and run around collecting wheels of cheese. Games are meant to be fun and there is nothing wrong with enjoying a game however you damn well please. This is especially true for RPGs like Fallout, which are designed with player freedom in mind.

There is an RPG playstyle I like to call King Shit of Fuck Mountain: a naked power fantasy in which your protagonist is the most powerful person ever, even beyond normal RPG plot significance. Through brute strength, incredible charisma, or having completed tons of quests for world-breaking artifacts and weapons, your character wields godlike influence, able to control people, factions, and the fabric of the world itself. A game enables KSoFM gameplay when it allows the player limitless freedom to gain as much power as they like with zero consequences to plot or storytelling.

A great example of this is the Dragonborn in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. If the player chooses to pursue every questline in the game, one single person can become Harbinger of the Companions, Archmage of the College of Winterhold, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Nightingale and Guildmaster of the Thieves’ Guild, hero of the Imperial/Stormcloak army, the chosen one of like, 11 different Daedric princes, a bard, a Blade, and otherwise just, absurdly goddamn powerful in completely unrealistic ways. And that’s not counting DLCs. A fully-kitted-out Dragonborn is King Shit of Fuck Mountain.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with playing KSoFM if you like to. But I’m not a big fan of this style, personally. Sure, my first Skyrim character became KSoFM while I was figuring out the game, but after my first playthrough I preferred my characters become coherent figures in the story of the world. I pick one or two character traits and things that my Dragonborn is good at, focus on them, and make them part of some overall story. My honorable Imperial paladin werewolf is in the Companions, and hunts vampires on principle. My Argonian sneaky archer is a gleeful thief, but would never jive with the College or the Dark Brotherhood. I like creating protagonists who fit into these settings immersively. I don’t care about power fantasies or being in charge. I don’t WANT my character to be all-powerful, because that ruins my immersion and my little story.

Additionally, in a plot-driven story-focused game like Fallout, KSoFM tears the narrative apart. Skyrim is fairly light on story, so the Dragonborn can be the leader of the Companions and the Dark Brotherhood and whatever other factions without any of them noticing or caring. But FO4’s themes, faction drama, and the main thrust of the plot don’t work at all if the Sole Survivor is able to become too powerful or too influential. The Sole Survivor cannot become the leader of every faction, solve every problem, or eliminate every inconvenient bend of the conflict because it makes the lore of the entire setting implode. Thus, the game forces you to choose between factions. You cannot be with the Minutemen and the Nuka-World Raiders. You cannot be with the Railroad and the Institute. And you cannot become Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel.

So if you’re the kind of person who loves playing KSoFM, if you like plots that your character can “solve” with relative ease, or if you just think it would be super cool for your Sole to become Elder regardless of surrounding storytelling, then you might think the Elder ending sounds super cool. You are absolutely allowed to disagree with me here. Install all the mods and write all the fic and have all the headcanons you like. I respect that. There is no wrong way to enjoy a single-player video game. Have fun!

But if you’re a big nitpicky pedantic lore nerd like me, a fan of cohesive storytelling, or if you just want to hear how the Elder ending of BB absolutely fucking ruins Maxson, Danse, the Brotherhood of Steel, and the entire plot of FO4 from a narrative perspective, read on!

1. The Synth Thing

The Elder ending requires the stupid plot contrivance of the BoS forgetting about Danse’s synthhood.

One of the biggest problems with the BoS as an institution is their strict and dogmatic beliefs, which include a widespread dislike of non-human species. Perhaps more than any other non-humans, the BoS hates synths. Synths are, in their eyes, machines given free will, a violation of the sanctity of human life and the ultimate example of technology run amok. To them, synths are not sympathetic, they are not slaves, and they are not victims of circumstance. They are weapons that left unchecked will destroy all of humanity for a second time. Synths are anathema to everything the BoS stands for, and finding out that one of their most beloved and trusted Paladins is one is an earth-shattering blow to their integrity and sense of security.

It is completely absurd that the BoS would allow a synth within their ranks, particularly as they are waging war against the Institute, who created synths in the first place. It is even MORE absurd that they’d allow one to influence their Elder, or even worse, to become Elder. It completely undermines their mission in the Commonwealth, and the core tenets of their extremely rigid beliefs. No matter the Elder, no matter the Litany or obscure BoS law, no matter how valuable the Sole Survivor is as a soldier or how much influence they wield. Danse is a synth. He’s the enemy. He is physically the embodiment of everything they hate.

Not only wouldn’t they trust a synth in general, but the BoS specifically believes that Danse is an infiltrator for the Institute. Even Danse believes that he is a danger, that the Institute may be able to take control of him and use him as a weapon. Sure, we know none of this is actually true, or possible, but the BoS don’t know that. And given how quick they are to order Danse dead without even the possibility of surrender, I don’t think there’s any charisma in the world that’s going to convince them otherwise.

According to Peter Jessop, this, ultimately, is the reason why the Elder ending was cut. He talks about it around the 11:30 timestamp in his Instagram stream, linked above:

“We recorded an ending where you keep Danse alive and you take over the Brotherhood. But there was a question of content… there’s no way the Brotherhood, once they knew he was a synth, would let him be even the right hand of the person in charge.”

Bethesda correctly recognized the incredible narrative contrivance for the BoS to shrug off the reason they’re trying to execute Danse in the first place. Whatever other beefs I have with this ending conceptually, they all come in second to just what a big dumb leap it is to get beyond this first and most important problem.

2. The Complete Death of Conflict

The Elder ending of BB destroys the conflict of the quest, and potentially the conflict of the entire game.

Greed is a poison. There is no such thing as a perfect ideal or a perfect organization. Power corrupts. Humanity has the choice to build back better. War never changes. The Fallout games are full of themes, depicted by the characters and quests and factions we play out.

Blind Betrayal is rightfully praised as one of the most powerful quests in FO4. Not only is it well-acted, but it puts the player in a very difficult position. The BoS has given you clout and glory and free power armor and lots of firepower, but now you see the price: unquestioning obedience. You are ordered to execute your friend and mentor Danse for the mere fact he is a synth. Are you going to follow that unjust order? Are you willing to give up your principles on command? Or is this where you can no longer stay quiet and stay in line?

To be honest, I’ve always thought the fact you can talk Maxson out of killing Danse but still remain with the BoS in good standing was a cop-out. BB goes 90% of the way to forcing you to choose between a companion and a faction, and then chickens out at the last second to let you have both, if your charisma is high enough.

(I believe this has the fingerprints of Skyrim’s development on it-- Bethesda’s writers got nervous about doing another Paarthurnax choice involving the fan favorite Brotherhood of Steel. That’s right. Danse is the Paarthurnax of Fallout. Frankly, I understand why they chose not to go there, but damn, wouldn’t it have been wild? You want to run with the BoS? Then kill your friend and feel the burn. THIS is what it means to follow orders without question.

As for me, I’d pick Danse every time and sleep soundly without the company of shitty bootlicking dieselpunk LARPers- but I digress.)

Anyway, you know what would have REALLY been a copout? If the game asked you to make a difficult thematic storyline choice, and you solved the problem by just not choosing at all.

You are supposed to feel uncomfortable when Maxson orders you to kill Danse, because the game is telling a story about how it is maybe a bad thing to thoughtlessly follow orders without question. It is asking you to think about what the BoS is, what they are doing, and how they are going to run things, if you choose to let them “win” the Commonwealth. It is pointing out that there is no room for gray in the BoS’ black and white. That a good, loyal man may die because of the way he was made, through no action of his own. That soon, you’ll be killing other people on command. The Railroad. Fleeing Institute synths and scientists. Others, down the line. It all depends on who’s giving the orders. Are you going to follow those orders?

Eesh, that sounds thought-provoking and unpleasant and difficult! Let’s just skip it by killing Maxson and making ourselves the boss. Now we get to tell everybody else what to do!

It’s unknown what powers the Elder ending would have granted the player, or how it would have interacted with the other factions. There is speculation that you’d have been able to ease back on the BoS’ dogmatism, or change some of the later events of the game. For instance, perhaps you could talk the BoS down from attacking the Railroad, sparing popular characters like Glory and Deacon who must die in the normal BoS storyline. Perhaps you could have made the BoS a kinder, gentler faction and directed them to run the way you want them to.

If this was indeed the case, then the Elder ending would not only suck the gravitas out of BB, but torpedo the entire main plot.

If you can get rid of any and all downsides to siding with the BoS, why in the hell would players side with anybody else? With the player given total power, the BoS becomes a perfect faction with no drawbacks, no weaknesses, no tough decisions to be made. Screw slumming it with the Railroad or the Minutemen, let’s take over the BoS. Free power armor and a giant robot! Forget the whole intolerance thing, I hereby proclaim the BoS No Longer Problematic! Now to force all the factions to get along, completely removing all conflict and nuance from the plot!

That’s some real anticlimactic “tell Legate Lanius to go home and then he does it” bullshit right there. King Shit of Fuck Mountain!

Look, it might be nice if there was a perfect path like that to take through the game. It would be cool if our characters could be that powerful and the game was that tailored to our individual choices. On the other hand, “I change all the factions to suit my exact liking” might be a fun idea for a fanfic, but it’s an incredibly boring plot for a video game. “I get to make everything in the world exactly how I want it” is Minecraft, not a story-driven RPG with a complex and intricate plot.

It would be great if complex conflicts could really be solved that easily and effortlessly, but hey, you know what? War never changes.

3. The Assassination of Arthur Maxson (Literal)

Arthur Maxson’s death is too significant and fundamentally disastrous for the Elder ending to make any sense at all.

Hero, villain, leader, monster, tortured soul, brutal dictator, immature twerp, bearded sex hunk. However you personally interpret Arthur Maxson, there is no denying that he is a venerated, popular, beloved figure in the BoS. He is the blood heir of the organization’s founder, a powerful warrior, a brilliant tactician, and a charismatic negotiator. He is responsible for reuniting the East Coast BoS with the Outcasts, leading the new, stronger BoS with a sense of shared purpose. There is a damn good reason his name is Arthur and he named his ship The Prydwen, echoes of King Arthur and the legends of his glorious kingdom of Camelot. Arthur Maxson is so beloved that many view him as a demigod, a messiah sent to lead the BoS into a mighty and prosperous future.

So I’m sure nobody’s going to be upset when some wasteland jackass recruited a month ago stumbles in with a synth, kills him, and takes over his job. Right?

It doesn’t matter that it’s “honorable.” It doesn’t matter that it’s done “by the book” via obscure BoS rules. There is no codex or litany or rule so binding that it’s going to overcome the cult of personality around Maxson. There is no way that the BoS is going to accept the death of Arthur Maxson, a man whose reverence borders on worship, especially not when he is immediately replaced by a wastelander, or a synth.

The death of Arthur Maxson removes the unifying glue that’s been holding the BoS together since mending the rift with the Outcasts. Maxson’s death eliminates the one person that both sides of that conflict agreed could steer the organization in the right direction. Some level heads may try to keep the focus on the mission and the Brotherhood tenets, but Maxson loyalists will never forgive the new Elder for his death, and that amount of passionate righteous anger will not be quelled by appeals to the rules. The new Elder’s war on the Institute is basically over before it begins, when the forces splinter and start infighting over the change in leadership.

And this is if the new Elder lives long enough to actually give any orders. I give them around 24 hours after the duel before some angry Maxson loyalist “accidentally” pulls the trigger and “tragically” empties a clip into their back.

24 seconds, if it’s Elder Danse, the dirty synth abomination.

4. The Assassination of Arthur Maxson (Figurative)

The Elder ending of BB falsely pretends that Arthur Maxson is the biggest and only problem with the BoS.

In the Elder ending, as written, the conflict of BB is considered completely and totally solved by the death of Arthur Maxson. The core problem, that Danse is a synth and considered an enemy by the BoS, has not gone away. But by getting rid of Maxson, this apparently no longer matters. Nobody else is going to take offense to Danse’s nature or protest his presence. Nobody else is going to attack him or try to follow through with Maxson’s prior orders. Nope, that meanybutt guy who gave the order is gone, and everybody else is going to welcome Danse back into the fold like nothing ever happened.

I touched on this a little bit on an ask about Maxson a few weeks back, but a lot of people seem to believe that the FO4 Brotherhood of Steel is the way they are purely because of him. That he is the one making them treat non-humans as second class citizens at best, and enemies to be slaughtered at worst. That it’s his fault the BoS is so vehemently against synths and the Institute. That he is the one influencing their imperialistic tendencies, and treating the Commonwealth like territory to be conquered and people to be ruled over by their betters.

He’s not. That’s the Brotherhood of Steel, guys.

The charitable, altruistic, virtuous BoS that many of us met for the first time in FO3 were outliers. Lyons’ group was literally disowned by the rest of the faction because their kindness to wastelanders had gone so far astray from the “core” tenets. The BoS as a whole has always been exclusive, isolated, and seen themselves as “superior” to the average wastelander. They have long disliked or outright hated non-humans (and even Lyons’ BoS in FO3 use ghouls, feral or not, for “target practice” if they get too close!) The rigid dogmatism of the BoS is not something that Arthur Maxson started, but has always been part of their fabric.

Now, it’s true that Maxson is absolutely going hard on the BoS tenets, and extremely dedicated to upholding them. His BoS are the way they are and act the way they act because he believes that this is the way it should be. Is it possible that a different leader may be a little more flexible? Absolutely. Could a skilled Elder eventually show them the benefits of a softer approach and a more generous worldview? Totally. Is getting rid of Maxson and replacing him going to make that happen overnight, or going to make the rest of the BoS who supported him shrug and follow suit?

Nope.

Blaming Arthur Maxson for everything unsavory about the Brotherhood is unfair to him and also foolishly ignoring the deep, massive problems that are far older than he is-- problems that plenty of its members wholeheartedly believe are not problems at all. Getting rid of Maxson does not make the BoS kinder or gentler. Even pretending Maxson isn’t as personally beloved as he is, any new Elder who steps in and starts trying to fundamentally alter the way the BoS operates and what they believe in is going to face some major, immediate pushback.

Like, a full clip of bullets in the back type of pushback.

In the face if it’s Elder Danse, the godless freak of nature.

5. The Un-Redemption of Paladin Danse

Last, and my personal least favorite!

At first glance, Paladin Danse is a steely jackboot, a die-hard Brotherhood loyalist who fully and firmly believes in their cause. Many immediately dismiss him as a humorless brute, or completely ignore him because they think that’s all there is. But if you spend any time with Danse at all, you’ll notice a sort of weariness in him. He is tired, overworked, and his years of service are starting to weigh on him. He has watched friends, comrades, and mentors die in horrible and gruesome ways, and he suffers from PTSD. Though he has always been told that his own sacrifices, the sacrifices of his brothers and sisters have been” worth it,” he’s starting to question if that’s true.

After telling of the incident where he personally executed his best friend Cutler, who’d been turned into a super mutant, the Sole Survivor is able to console him:

Player Default: You did the right thing. Danse: {Somber} It's what I was taught. I don't know if it was right.

This line is an excellent summary of Danse’s entire character arc. He learns to question whether to believe what the Brotherhood has taught him, or to believe in himself. His gut feelings. His sense of justice and his own ideas of what’s right and wrong.

(In the interest of not turning this into an essay about Danse’s character, I won’t even get into how this also applies to his beliefs about his worth as a person. But keep in mind, that dimension is there, Danse just covers it up by making everything about the Brotherhood.)

During Blind Betrayal, after getting the orders to execute him and hearing Haylen’s plea for mercy, we may expect Danse to be ready to fight back or flee. But when you confront him in the bunker at Listening Post Bravo, he’s compliant and suicidal. Danse is so deeply poisoned by the BoS’ rhetoric that his own feelings or will to live don’t factor into the conversation. He demands that you follow your orders and execute him, because he believes, as the BoS does, that all synths are dangerous and must be destroyed.

Danse: {Stern} Synths can't be trusted. Machines were never meant to make their own decisions, they need to be controlled. Technology that's run amok is what brought the entire world to its knees and humanity to the brink of extinction.

{Confident} I need to be the example, not the exception.

Through various dialogue options, if your charisma is high enough, you are able to talk Danse off the ledge. He is able to consider, at least, that the BoS’ merciless judgment of him is wrong and that what he was taught isn’t right. He is a thinking, feeling, self-aware synth, and that makes him as much a person as any human. Danse is no danger to humanity-- and maybe, most synths aren’t either.

Danse is an example, not an exception.

Later on, if you manage to get him out of BB alive, Danse shows further acceptance of his nature. His approvals about synths begin to soften slightly (or many of them do, at least… it’s not perfect.) He is still struggling with his identity and reconciling it with his former hatred, but his dialogue suggests that he’s on the road to being more open-minded and understanding. Along with this, Danse learns that he has value as a person beyond the Brotherhood. He no longer needs to define himself with BoS beliefs or judge himself by how useful he is to them. He learns that he is worth caring about, worth being friends with or being loved because of who he is-- not what he is, in any regard.

[SIDENOTE: Many players, myself included, are frustrated that Danse’s arc leaves off sort of midstream there. Due to the open-ended nature of the game, we don’t get a real conclusion to his arc-- even though much of his idle dialogue doesn’t change and he still espouses pro-BoS sentiments ( an unfortunate by-product of writing for a video game) there is every indication that he’s started down the right path, but understandably has a ways to go.

Also, Peter Jessop agrees with us.]

Meanwhile, in the Elder ending, Danse doesn’t get a redemption. His entire character arc, actually, hits the skids and does a total 180.

He never leaves the BoS. So scratch the need for Danse to ever think about himself as separate from them. He never needs to question what they’ve taught him or whether they’re right or wrong. He never needs to find any worth in himself beyond his use to the BoS. Why would he? He might be the Elder. The BoS is all he needs to care about anymore. The BoS is all he ever needs to be, ever again.

And I think, most horrifying of all, this Danse never needs to change his mind about synths. On the contrary, one of the surviving dialogue files includes Danse’s speech to reassure the rest of the BoS of his stance:

Danse: I want to make one thing clear to everyone. This body might be synth, but my heart and mind belong to the Brotherhood. The Institute is still a tremendous threat to the Commonwealth. They possess technologies that need to be confiscated or destroyed. And even if that means I have to pull the trigger on my own kind, I’m willing to make that sacrifice.

Elder ending Danse doesn’t grow more understanding on the nature of synths. He doesn’t accept that synths are people, or anything more than technology run amok. He won’t even accept that for himself. Elder Maxson wasn’t wrong about synths-- they’re the enemy and they need to be destroyed.

But, see, he was wrong about Danse. It’s okay for Danse to exist in spite of his nature. It’s okay for him to never fully accept his own personhood, and to outright deny it to his kind. Because his body is a machine, but he’s different from the rest because his heart and mind belong to the Brotherhood.

He’s the exception, not the example.

CONCLUSION:

The Elder ending of Blind Betrayal is dumb, contrived, stakeless, character-derailing powergaming crap at its finest and I’ll happily dance on its grave.

People give Bethesda a lot a shit for their writing-- whether it be stuff they left out, stuff they left in, or stuff that they never, ever could have made work due to the limitations of writing for a video game. Plenty of it is well-deserved, or at least worth a discussion. But from the minute I found out about its existence, I have always wanted to extend a congratulations to Bethesda for cutting the alternate Elder ending of Blind Betrayal. It was a good choice. A very good choice to cut a very dumb plot that would have fundamentally altered the story they were telling, and characters that I’ve grown to love. I think the writers deserve some credit and a hearty handshake for the wisdom of this decision.

Now as for why Nick Valentine isn’t romanceable--

[nellynee]

The makings of greatness, or why, as a ride or die Treasure Planet stan, I’m glad there’s no Treasure Plant 2

You ever see somethings that makes you unreasonably angry? Yes I understand exactly what I’m saying, and how that indicates that my emotions and opinions on this are exactly that. Opinions. There’s a good chance I have some objective truths mixed in, but that does not make my opinions based on those truths truth. If you disagree or have different tastes or opinions or interpretations, cool, let me know! maybe you’ll change my mind. That being said.

The plot synopsis for the Treasure Planet sequel makes me angry. Not like, actively so, just annoyed enough to be in a bad mood. And now you guys all have to be in one as well. Why?

Reason 1, and probably least important: Disney sequel syndrome.

Ok so Disney sequels aren’t inherently bad. I’ll stan the Aladdin sequels to my grave, who knew Cinderella could world build, obligatory Rescuers Down Under (the first one was better) blah blah blah.

But there is an inherit problem with sequels in general, and that usually has to do with cast and crew. An original piece of fiction has to grab the audience yes, but there’s also freedom in that. Media touches people in different way. The worldbuilding can mean more to some than others. Some are in it for the animation, or the character developments, or relationships. What connects with one person won’t connect with another. The problem with sequels is that different people who worked out the original material might and usually do not work on the new. And those new people are already working on that new material with their own personal lenses and experiences and interpretations coloring the old. The reason sequels (and remakes, and big budget presentations of other materials like books into movies) tend to bomb hard is because you are essentially being forced to accept someone’s fanfiction into the canon material. Usually, there’s a pretty strong correlation between more successful franchises/extension material, works staying true to the core material, original crew working on the material, and the enjoyment of the audience.

And sources say very few of the original crew remained. Some yes, but mostly voice cast. Even worse, TP2 was a DisneyToon production, not even a mainline feature. Now I’m not saying the new people weren’t talented, or passionate about the project, or were lacking in experience. It doesn’t really matter if any of those things are true or not. It’s the warping of their personal lenses I don’t trust. Fanfic I can disregard, meta I can disregard. This would have been canon.

And reading the Artbook makes is abundantly clear that the parts that touched me personally would have been missing. The very core of Treasure Planet for me was the relationship between Jim and Silver (and their exquisite animation budget). However you choose to interpret that relationship, you can not deny that Treasure Planet is a powerfully emotionally romantic movie. It’s quiet moments and emotional resonance shaped my views of intimacy with a sharp and fine touch. Silver and Jim’s bond is as undeniable and powerful as it is compelling and awe inspiring to witness unfold.

And a lot of that is owed not only to  the voice acting of Joseph Gorden-Levitt (Jim) and Brian Murray (Silver), But to animators Glen Keane and John Ripa, who were the head animators of Silver and Jim respectively. Not only did Gorden-Levitt and Brian Murray deliver stunning performances, but made sure to work together and jointly play off each other in ways most voice actors don’t have the opportunity to do. And the Masters Keane and Ripa took an already stellar and carefully crafted vocal rapport and took it one step further. I highly recommend the Artbook as a good read, both Keane and Ripa talk about the journey of discovering who Jim and Silver were with delight, acting out entire scenes together using their own body language to build the characters together, using the same animation reals to animate, tag teaming in and out of the program rather than do it separately, becoming so attuned with their characters attitudes and mannerisms that you can tell they poured entire pieces of themselves into Jim and Silver.

I’m not saying the Sequel would have been inherently bad because it’s a sequel, or because a new crew worked on it, but I am saying I wouldn’t trust it with a ten foot pole.

Reason 2: Thanks I hate it (I’m saying it’s inherently bad because the plot is bad and I hate it)

I’m sorry for the length, but for you to really understand just how bad this is, I actually have to pick through every single line and tell you why it fails critically at some junctures and where it would be so simple to fix. For those of you who were unaware that there was a sequel in the works at some point, I’m pulling these quotes pretty much wholesale from the AnimateVeiws article Buried Treasure: The ill-fated voyage to Treasure Planet 2, specifically the interview with Jun Falkenstein who was set to direct the now canceled sequel. Spoiler warning, I guess?

So, from the begining

“The sequel was to pick up where the first film left off, with Jim Hawkins going to the Royal Interstellar Academy. At the Academy, he is a hotshot “natural,” but he doesn’t follow the rules very well.” - Strong start but then dropped the finish. I think the interstellar academy would be a very compelling starting point. I see no fault in it at least, it’s a good opportunity to world build. Clemence and Musket like to make a point that Jim was crafted to connect with the emotionally wounded and distant youth in a age of divorce, so showing what happens when that youth hikes up their britches and gets to work can extend on that theme aaaaaaand you dropped it. Dropped that strong start. Yes, Jim was more than a bit of a bite back rebel in the film, but that was a reactionary response to the bad place he started in. Jim was abandoned, and tied his self worth into that abandonment. His kickback against society was a reaction stemming from an inability to see his personal worth and any sort of future he could craft from it. He outgrew this, his very character development was about this in the film. His character arc was about realizing his inherent worth, embracing a sense of confidence and learning what he could do. Even disregarding that, bonus material outside of the film shows that Jim has a very strong sense of respect for Captain Amelia, her military career, and the hard work she put into it, and he’s there on her recommendation. Why would he act out in this? He is a natural yes, but the film shows he’s incredibly sharp and intelligent, if unlearned, and more than ready to learn given opportunity.

“Hence, he gets off to a shaky start – especially with his classmate Kate, who is very smart and has a type A personality. Kate’s father is Admiral Blake, the Commander of the Navy. Jim and Kate vie for top of the class but have very different skills.” - So building off this to fix the problem before. I guess the dynamic they are going for is something like “the kind of a jerk hotshit hotshot who’s got it all figured out and the straight laced rule fallowing stick in the ass rival”? I’m not apposed to to a rivalry, but lets tweak this, given how “hot shot natural jerk” isn’t really where Jim settles at the end of the film. Jim is a natural talent, who excels under tutelage, but more importantly, he has practical experience. While the time period spent on the RLS Legacy is not defined, they do sail to a deep and unexplored part of the galaxy, probably well outside of regular settlements, so no small distance, though Jim is young enough that a very long period of time would be noted in physical growth. Given comparisons to classic nautical sailing of the source time, months, perhaps up to a year? That’s a long time to spend, learning the rough and tumble basics, tying knots, experiencing food and water rations, extreme temperatures, playing with the rigging and mechanical aspects of the boat. Jim knows what it’s like to actually sail. Meanwhile, this is the Royal Academy, who probably takes in upper class second born children and pumps out military accolades for well learned mathematicians and strategists. Jim doesn’t fit in because he can visualize, he can think outside of the box, he can weld a damn engine to a hunk of shrapnel and ignite it freefalling against a metal hellscape and outrace a boat in a high adrenaline situation. He adapts where the other’s frantically look through their notes for the answer. Worse yet, he’s poor and not classically educated. Make it a class issue. In this aspect I do like Kate. Being the Daughter of the Commander of the Navy, she probably has a very technical and far more expansive understanding of navel ships, particularly the running of them. In this way Jim and Kate are perfect foils. Jim representing the poor, instinctually and practically knowledgeable crew, and Kate the upper-class, technically knowledgeable command, a dichotomy representing the haves and have nots in their skills, experiences, an class.

I don’t want to post a picture and break the post, but I do love Kate’s design. I do recommend looking up the article and checking it out. that being said, being a feline species, they messed up not spelling it Cate.

“Captain Amelia is dean of the Academy, which has a brand-new vessel: the Centurion.” - I… why, why is Amelia the dean? Additional material shows that Amelia broke ties with the military because she didn’t like their rule stickling ways and red tape. Why would she want a red tape position? She helped with a war and then bailed first opportunity to become a freelance captain so she could fallow her own rules. Even if you don’t know any of that additional material, you do know that she is a freelance captain. Why is she dean? what happened to the old one? Are they dead? Did DisneyToon kill them? Did Disneytoon kill the old dean?

“Designed by Doctor Doppler, the Centurion is the fastest ship in the galaxy.” - HE’S NOT THAT KIND OF DOCTOR!

“B.E.N. is its pilot”. - NO

In all seriousness all three of those statements show a serious problem, in that none of those characters are in fact those things. Amelia I’ve already explained. But Doppler was a debatably youngish bachelor with too much money who was fascinated by astronomy specifically and who suffered from ennui. And BEN was a navigational unit, so maybe it makes sense for him to be a pilot, but why is a robot who was functioning under a galaxy feared pirate for who knows how long given any kind of agency over a brand new incredibly important ship? These decisions were probably made to incorporate as much of the old cast as possible, to not exclude fan faves. But any decision that makes BEN a prominent part of the plot and thus gets more screen time is a BAD one.

“The pirate Ironbeard desires to commandeer the Centurion. This ruthless villain is relatively all iron – almost nothing of whom he originally was, inside and out, is left.” - On the one hand, I have a weird feeling that this would somehow violate the 30-70 rule. Buuuuut on the other hand, the Artbook does describe the decision making process of what and how was mechanical on Silver (my favorite tidbit was the wheel on his head representing his constant thinking and assessing) and states that that they in a way represent the pieces of humanity he gave up looking for Flint’s Trove. Extending that to a pirate who has given up everything could be a powerful thematic tool if used right (or intentionally)

“He leads a group of pirates to hijack the Centurion while Jim and Kate are aboard.” - ok, yeah, I’ll buy that. If they are butting heads constantly, I could see them sneaking off to the new piece of hardware to one up each other on who knows their stuff, or maybe bond over wanting to learn about the said new tech and being frustrated with restrictions.

“The Navy can’t catch the Centurion, due to the vessel’s speed and armor.”- sure

“Jim and Kate escape the Centurion. Jim decides he needs a pirate to help catch pirates. They find his old buddy Long John Silver in the Lagoon Nebula, where he is running a smuggling ring. “ - So what Jim just goes “I know just the pirate to help us” and then finds him? That journey of itself deserves it’s own movie, anything less is a disappointment. Alternative. Jim and Kate escape onto a particularly lawless planet. Jim has some tricks to keep them safe and fed, maybe he even excels in ways he’s been straight up stop gapped at the academy. Maybe his knowhow is appreciated by others who society also rejects. But Kate is a frustrating fish out of water, getting offended and worked up over things that are big deals to an average citizen but not criminals and pirates. But such reactions are putting them in danger and she needs to get perspective fast. It’s plausible maybe that Silver tracks them down through interesting rumors, but more than that, let it be fate. Neither having any idea the other is there till the second they see each other. Bonus points if Jim and Kate get in a bind and Silver is the leader of the harassers. Better yet lets add some thematic mirroring not only to the scene where Silver saved Jim from Scroop, but directly contrast it to the scene where Silver doubled back and down against the notion of caring for Jim when called out before the mutiny. *kisses finger* Touching and hilarious.

“ Silver agrees to help when he hears about the Centurion. “ -  Silver agrees to help when he hears about the Centurion without Jim even having to ask. Storywise, lets make some kind of deal over how Jim, an upstanding enrollee of the academy, apparently is chummy with a pirate. Tension doesn’t just have to be external, and Kate is the daughter of the Commander of the Army. Maybe she’s recognized and this gets them in trouble. Maybe Kate has issues with her identity outside of her father’s career and need to learn a lesson about being outside of a rigid social structure?

“Jim and Kate receive a tracking signal from B.E.N. – who is currently hostage aboard the Centurion – and follow via Silver’s creaky vessel. They discover the Centurion docked near the Botany Bay Prison Asteroid. “ - While being the fastest ship yet is a good excuse for wanting it to get stolen, my suspension of disbelief breaks a little at any ship, let alone a creaky little pirate vessel, catching up to the fastest ship yet, or the tracking signal being the only way to track it to a guarded prison. Seeing as how I’ve written BEN out of this scenario lets fix it. After the events of the movie, the Royal Military swoops in after to confiscate the debris of Treasure Planet. For those in the know, canon lore states that the Planet was a giant computer, and it and the map were the byproducts of an ancient and advanced civilization. Studying the debris led to the Centurion, notable not for it’s speed, but for it’s stealth. It can cloak itself. Which is why no-one can find it. Meanwhile Silver lets it slip that he snagged the map from it’s pedestal as they escaped the planet as a souvenir. (handwave why the portal was still open with a “the whole thing was exploding, the computer froze). The map is able to track the remnants of said planet, aka the Centurion, meaning Silver has the only means of tracking the cloaked ship

“Ironbeard is using the Centurion to disable Botany Bay’s security systems. Jim, Kate and Silver sneak aboard the Centurion, where Silver reveals to Jim that he wants to take the Centurion for himself. He asks Jim to join him.“ YES. YES YES YES YES YES YES! Understanding that  Jim’s decision to not go with Silver in the first movie is key here. He rejected Silver’s offer the first time because Silver had shown him he had intrinsic value, and Jim finally felt that the natural gifts he had were worth cultivating, that he did have the chance to explore who he could be on his own terms. Jim was comfortable being on his own, because he felt capable. Now, Jim and Silver bring out the best in each other, and the time apart has done them harm. Jim’s strings of social rejections are starting to fell like a glass ceiling he can’t overcome, and is finding more and more comfort in being a big fish in a pirates small pond, and the emotions of of being wanted that come with Silver is a powerful drug. But it’s a one way ticket away from any opportunities he could work towards, not to mention his barely repaired relationship with his mother. Meanwhile Silver has been slowly slipping back into the colder, more selfish self he was, a necessity for his lifestyle, and doesn’t want to loose his connection to Jim and what Jim brings out in him, but is still far enough gone to make the offer and try for the boat anyways, even if he knows it’s not what’s best. It’s an emotionally compelling decision. You want them to say yes, you know they shouldn’t

“Kate overhears this and is horrified, especially since the two have, of course, started falling for each other during the adventure.” - Hate. this I hate. Leaving shipping to they way side, what’s that “of course”? why do they have to fall for each other? Why the Disneytoon sequel love interest? I have a feeling her characterization would come at the cost of it. Why can’t they be rivals? why can’t they develop a mutual respect outside of attraction? Why can’t they both learn an individualized lesson about finding their own place in the world outside of social constraints as foils without macking? I hate this concept. Kate overhears, and is horrified, because Silver is a Pirate which is actually in universe get yourself hanged offense, and Jim is considering this, and they are going to steal a VERY IMPORTANT BOAT and and leave her stranded in a dagerous prison, and are making an objectively morally bad decision.

“Ironbeard discovers the intruders, charging into a fight in which Silver is injured. Meanwhile, the other pirates throw down ladders to the prison below, allowing swarms of elated prisoners to climb up into the ship. Silver, Jim, and Kate exit the Centurion amidst all the confusion. However, Ironbeard shoots down Silver’s ship. They plummet to the prison asteroid below, crash-landing” - cool. Drama. But for my purposes, lets tweak it so Silver isn’t injured yet. But I really want to emphasize that this attack does not interrupt before Jim can react to Silver’s offer. Even something as tentative as “I’m not sure” has consequences. None of this “misunderstanding” BS.

“ Kate is angry at Jim and storms off. “- again, make it clear that Jim showed a real chance of agreeing to steal the ship. if she’s angry before he had a chance to answer that’s contrivance for drama’s sake. Give her a reason to be mad

“ Jim is about to blow her off as well when Silver tells him to give her a chance. He reveals a part of his past through a flashback, when a young (non-cyborg) Silver screwed up a relationship with the love of his life – a decision which directly led to his life of piracy. “ - nope. nope nope nope . I’m gonna put a big old * here because this is reason number 3 why I hate this potential movie, and I will get to that believe me, but here’s me, putting a pin in it. That being said, have Silver selfishly try to double down on getting Jim to join him in a three way argument instead. This is the conflict of the film. Kate, who was learning to grow outside of the strict restrictions of her life and do her own work, make her own way, is being rejected. She is as morally repulsed as she is hurt that she wasn’t included, and hates herself for that hurt as well. Jim is torn between the freedom of what he could be after the academy paired with the strict social constructs around it, and the freedom of a life “full of himself and no ties to anyone” but running from the law and the two friends they represent. Silver is the aggressor here. He likes Kate, he does, but he loves Jim and only has one place in his heart, and has spent his life being selfish. There’s already a crew on board, and Iron beard is hooked into the Centurion. With having the only other means to navigate, they take down ironbeard, the rest will surely fall in line. This is paydirt. A fantastic ship, a bloodthirsty crew, and Jim.

“Silver has a very dangerous cargo with him that he had been trying to smuggle and sell for a fortune, which has the power of a neutron bomb. Jim, Kate and Silver reconcile and work together to fix Silver’s ship and prevent the Centurion, filled with the most evil pirates in the galaxy, from going on an insane robbing-and-killing spree. At the last second, Silver reluctantly gives up his “retirement fund” in order to destroy the Centurion, with Ironbeard and all the pirates on board.” - this entire section needs rewritten. That’s a mcguffin Silver put it away. I have retconned the mcguffin to be the old map, so that is now moot. Now to not blow up the ship. Afterall, Silver and Jim have both already overcome what Treasure Planet represented with it’s destruction. Rather, B plot

If we are that desperate to have past characters in, let’s have Amelia and Delbert back home. When the Centurion is captured, Amelia immediately volunteers to fallow, feeling responsible for Jim and secretly pining for some adventure. Delbert feels the same, and he to a bit of an adrenaline junkie after the events of the first movie, but they have the children to think about and only one can leave. Delbert is the one chosen to help by the navy officials searching for the Centurion. While Amelia bickers with the Admiral Blake over his pragmatic but emotionally distant decisions over the situation of his missing daughter, Delbert is an astronomer, and is blah blah blah science meta, fallow the flashing  and bending lights around the cloaked ship to find it. As in Delbert is helpful. Amelia in a reflation to Admiral Blake, is torn between her family and commandeering her own ship to help. Blake is frustratingly headstrong in his decisions, and the script makes it seem like that emotional distance is disinterests, but reveals to the audience that it incorporates a great deal of suppression of his anxieties and worries over his daughter, and trust in her abilities, though he has issues expressing this pride to Kate herself. Amelia, Delbert and fam make what is probably a poor decision in commandeering a ship and leaving on their own to track the Centurion, the navy hot on their heels.

Back to A plot, the navy is approaching. Jim has to make a decision. He is the only one who knows how to unmask the ship using the old ones tech without training, as it’s based off the map. While Kate and Silver are distracting iron beard, he has to either steal the ship and sail off, or uncloak it for the navy. Iron beard is taken down, but not without Silver getting injured. Jim decides that Silver’s life is worth more than anything, and after agreeing with Kate that she’ll commandeer a doctor and wont let Silver die, uncloaks the ship. The Centurion is retaken in a blaze of naval glory that is the action climax. The pirates fight back up are over run. Maybe Kate gets taken hostage as the Admirals daughter, as an opportunity for a resolution with her arc as Blake’s distant daughter, though obviously said resolution comes at her showing her abilities in taking care of herself and the practical skills she has learned.

“Silver again parts from Jim and Kate, telling them to take care of each other. A few years later, Jim and Kate graduate with honors, while a proud Silver secretly watches from the shadows, smiling” - Boooooo. Kate and her dad make up, and she challenges him that she’s going to one day Captain the Centurion, with him understanding that she needs less a mentor and more an emotional support while she works her way up the ranks. She invites Jim to be her first mate, to which Jim accepts as a navigator, (a thing I’ve pointed out to be his real strength in another post). But to Silver, who has been “pardoned” for his part in retaking the Centurion, the movie hinting that he to would be on the eventual crew there I fixed it fic to come I s2g.

yeah there’s a lot of good there, but it’s so easy to fix the bad it’s frustrating. which brings me to

Reason 3: that little pin

“ Jim is about to blow her off as well when Silver tells him to give her a chance. He reveals a part of his past through a flashback, when a young (non-cyborg) Silver screwed up a relationship with the love of his life – a decision which directly led to his life of piracy. “

Nope nope nope I’ll tell you why.

First of all, sources like the artbook say that Jim is so Important to Silver because he’s the first person Silver has ever let become important. he’s specifically stated to have no family, never married, no children. And that’s something he cultivated actively. His life of piracy, his metal limbs, his loneliness and moral failings were all gleefully accumulated for one reason and one reason only

Treasure Planet.

Treasure Planet was the great love of Silver’s life. It was a lifelong obsession. It destroyed his body, took his youth, his opportunities and nearly his life. He broke Jim’s heart over it.

And he let it go. For Jim.

And Jim understood this

This is the crux of treasure planet’s very themes. This is where Jim found self worth. Another person finally looked at him and said “you matter, you matter more than anything. I like being around you and I choose you first.” and it made Jim realize he’s someone worth choosing.

The treasure was EVERYTHING to Silver, and Silver let it go, for Jim.

That one line there, attributing the start of Silver’s fall to a girl? that actively retcons the entire theme of the previous movie. IT rewrite the emotional linchpin of Silver’s sacrifice of the gold. And actually fuck that. right into the ground. I do not accept. I do not pass go. I refuse. Fuck you non existent movie. That makes me mad. every single time. Hate I shall never let go.

No

[kousagi7hikari]

Name: Akuma

Species: Demon

Do they exist in a story?

Not really. I put him in a bunch of different stories, but they’re more like AUs than anything else. He exists in my own head, mostly.

What inspired them?

A while back, I made a bunch of characters that were “What if Danny Phantom was a different creature of myth?” And then they just grew their own personalities

How did you name them?

I had an issue of Shounen Jump that had the first chapter of D Grey Man in it. It had monsters named Akuma, which I learned meant “Demon.” So, there you go. Let’s keep in mind I was in middle school when I made him, so I wasn’t aware of how “moon moon”-ish it would be, but it’s been over a decade, I can’t change it now!

Any big changes between first making them and now?

Akuma’s mostly gone through some personality changes. Before, He was very much a crappy teen, and now he’s an adult who is full of softly boiling rage. So, he handles his anger better. He also grew out of his “middle school” phase.

What’s the best thing about them?

He’s been with me so long and he just keeps growing. Also, he’s surprisingly loyal, for a demon

What’s the worst thing about them?

STILL VERY ANGRY. But at least he can better manage and direct his anger.

I feel the need to say that he’s not angry all the time. He just partakes in Wrath a lot

What part of yourself is in them?

Again with the anger. It’s mostly my righteous fury and indignation at how unfair some things are. I can use Akuma to blow off some steam and imagine certain situations in a safe space.

Do they have any hobbies?

He plays the violin! Something that grew from me listening to “The Devil went Down to Georgia”

What’s their backstory?

Not a whole big backstory, but, when he was younger, Akuma tried to take over the world. This went about as well as you would think. Half of his powers were sealed away because his brother made a plea bargain with the divinity who were in charge. He recently got them unsealed which allowed him to learn more spells and abilities and also grow up. He looks back on his attempted takeover the way we look back at our middle school phases.

Do they have any friends?

He’s friends with another OC of mine, Victor! Victor plays piano, so they sometimes perform duets together. He also has an unnamed demon friend he meets back in Hell sometimes at a bar for a drink just to chat. Obviously, not very developed.

Significant Other? Crush?

He’s got a boyfriend~ First serious one. An owl/winter forest spirit named Suluk. He belongs to my bestie!

What kind of powers do they have, if any?

Akuma can manipulate shadows and create fire, but it’s blue and purple cos AESTHETIC. He can also summon his violin and do magic with it. He can also cast some spells (whatever I want for my daydream scenario)

Any family?

Akuma has one brother, an angel named Sora. They’re twins. If you wanna know how that works, you’ll have to wait for Sora’s entry!

What foods do they like?

Akuma doesn’t need to eat human food. He mostly eats souls. However, he’s been known to dip into a steak once in a while, occasionally something decadent if he’s infiltrating a fancy party for one reason or another. His sin is not gluttony

Do they engage in combat? What do they use to fight?

Yup! He uses a combination of fire magic, music magic (energy with his violin) and either a scythe or a pitchfork. Sometimes he uses two of each, depending on how he feels.

Do they speak other languages?

He can speak whatever language he needs, but his mother tongue is a sort of Celestial language called Devine

Do they have a Nick-name or an alias?

Aki for short. When he disguises himself in a feminine form, he goes by the name Autumn. If he’s in disguise in his usual form, he goes by Adam Davidson. His full name is Akuma J. Devine. Much like Crowley in Good Omens, it’s just a J.

How do they get around?

Flight. Teleportation for long distances or to go back to Hell.

Can they cook?

Absolutely not. Does not have the patience for it

Who is someone from their past?

I think Akuma kept to himself a lot when he was younger, only sticking with his brother, so there weren’t a lot of folks in his past. He’s made more friends recently though.

Art by myself at @fangirltothefullest

[wild-karrde]

Guarded - Part 5

Master List | Previous Part | Next Part

Wrecker was the most nervous he’d ever been in his entire life. He’d battled battalions of clankers against insurmountable odds, nearly been eaten by creatures of various species multiple times, and survived countless crash landings, but standing at attention in a room full of politicians was making him break out in a cold sweat. He had tried to stand perfectly still, blending into the shadows cast by the enormous columns in the room, but he still felt eyes boring into him every time someone passed him. I stick out like a sore thumb.

He went over Typho and Hunter’s instructions in his head again. Stand at attention, but do not make a spectacle of yourself. Keep the queen within your eyesight at all times. Never allow her to get more than twenty meters from you. If anyone acts suspiciously, report them immediately via your comm. Your shirt should be tucked into your gloves and your pants should be tucked into your boots. It was a lot to remember, and it made him feel even more anxious as the queen cast another look at him. He wasn’t sure what expression he was supposed to wear, so the one he gave her was embarrassingly blank.

Queen Nodala excused herself as the meeting dispersed, walking up to Wrecker, who looked around even more nervously as she approached. “Come along, trooper. I think the next thing will be more your speed.” Wrecker nodded nervously, falling into step next to her.

He waited until they were further down the hall before he quietly spoke up. “If you don’t mind me askin’, what is the next thing?”

She smiled up at him. “I hear you’re good with children.”

“Who told you that?”

“Hunter.”

He immediately thought of Omega. The kid had been a welcome addition to the crew, and he had bonded with her in a way none of them had anticipated. Sure, he loved being around Cut and Suu’s kids, but that was different. When Omega had a recurring nightmare about being in a tube in Kamino, he’d been the one she’d woken up. He’d always scramble down from his bunk, carrying her and Lula back to her makeshift bedroom in the gunner’s nest onboard the Marauder, assuring her that they’d never let that happen. All of them had agreed that leaving her on Yavin-4 was for the best, but Wrecker had taken the most convincing. Even now, he knew some of his reasoning was selfish, but he missed her presence and her camaraderie. She’d always seemed to understand him a little better than his brothers did, and while most of them would chalk it up to their shared childlike nature, Wrecker knew it was because she didn’t talk down to him or think of him as childish; she just thought of him as Wrecker, and he loved her for it. He’d never considered the option of having a younger sister when they were growing up, but now he couldn’t imagine what his life would have been like without her.

He flexed his enormous hands nervously at his sides, and the queen noted it. Turning to glance over her shoulder to ensure they were alone, she reached over and rested her hand on his arm. “Wrecker, you’re doing a fine job. Don’t be so nervous.”

Wrecker smiled self-consciously. “I’m just not used to covert stuff.”

She grinned. “I understand you normally have quite the affinity for explosives, so I have to imagine this is quite dull.”

“It’s a job, and I just want to do it well.”

“As I said, you’re doing fine. Now, our next appointment is with children from the local political program. It’s the same program I and many of our other elected officials participated in, so having them meet the elected ruler of the entire planet is quite important.”

Wrecker nodded. “It sounds very important.”

She smiled up at him. “Some of them also go on to become members of our security forces in time, so I think it would be good for them to meet you as well.”

“Me?” he asked, the nerves creeping back in.

“Yes, you. You don’t have to give them a big speech or anything, but I think them seeing you performing your duties will serve as a good example of what may be in their future should they choose to pursue that route.”

“So…you want me to stand there?”

“I want you to continue to protect me. Easy enough?”

He grunted an affirmative and she gave him one more encouraging pat on the shoulder before they turned down the central corridor and headed for the main entrance of the palace. Wrecker paused, holding an arm out to slow the queen. “This is outside?”

“Yes, we’re meeting on the front steps of the palace.”

Wrecker remembered the front entrance of the palace from the tour they’d been given. It was very open with plenty of vantage points on surrounding buildings. “Do you have someone covering the rooftops to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious?” he asked, and Kestia frowned at him.

“I hardly think that’s necessary for meeting children, Wrecker.”

“It’s not the kids I’m worried about.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to greet these children for all of twenty minutes. This was a last minute appointment. I hardly think any trained assassins are waiting for me to greet school children.” With that, she turned and strode towards the door. Wrecker paused, drawing his comm from his belt.

“Crosshair, you there?”

His brother muttered on the line before responding. “What is it?”

“Queen Nodala is meeting some kids on the front steps of the palace. Think you can give me some eyes in the sky to make sure no one’s watching from a roof top or somethin’?”

Another sarcastic sigh. “I suppose. When is this happening?”

Wrecker grimaced. “Right now.”

A curse on the other end. “I’ll be right there.”

“Trooper?” Wrecker hurriedly tucked his comm away, jogging to catch up with the queen who was impatiently tapping her foot. “All this fuss to meet with some kids,” she muttered before plastering a smile across her face and stepping into the sunlight.

Around a dozen children had assembled at the base of the steps, and the queen held out her hands in a welcoming gesture as she stepped towards them. “Greetings young ones. I’m so glad you had time to meet with me this afternoon.” She went down the line, introducing herself to each child individually and asking them about themselves. Wrecker’s eyes were quickly scanning the crowd, but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Glancing backwards, he caught the gleam of Crosshair’s scope peering out of one of the windows above them and gave a small nod when his brother’s face appeared. Crosshair nodded back and resumed his survey of the surrounding buildings. I don’t like this, thought Wrecker.

“…and this is one of my guardsmen, Wrecker.” He snapped to attention as the queen gestured back towards him. He stepped forward, smiling sheepishly at the kids who were all staring up at him in awe.

“Do we have to be that big to be a guard?” one of them asked finally.

“Naw, I just run on the larger side,” Wrecker chuckled, squatting down to speak to the child.

“What’s it like to guard the queen?” one little girl asked.

“It’s uh…an honor. I just have to make sure no one harms her. It’s pretty boring really.” Wrecker stiffened, hoping he hadn’t said anything wrong, but when he looked up at the queen, she was smiling down at him.

“We do prefer it that way,” she teased.

“Yeah. We do.”

After several more moments of answering questions, the instructors began to herd the children together, thanking the queen for meeting with them and bidding them farewell. Wrecker straightened, standing next to the queen as she clasped her hands in front of her, watching them disperse. When they had disappeared from view, she turned to face him.

“See, that wasn’t so-“ Something changed in her face, a look of panic overtaking her. “WRECKER, MOVE!” He was off balance, and she shoved him violently away from her, sending him stumbling a meter or so backwards just as a blaster bolt slammed into the ground between them. It took Wrecker a second to process what had happened before he grabbed the queen around her waist and dove behind one of the large statues. He tucked her down, inspecting her quickly for any injuries. “I’m alright!” she assured him, and he nodded as he dug his comm from his belt. Poking his head out a bit, another bolt clipped by his face, the heat searing into his cheek. “Stay down!” Kestia hissed.

Wrecker punched the comm on. “Crosshair?!”

“I see him. Just a little further…”

A shot rang out from the windows above them, blazing towards a rooftop at the end of the street. “Shooter down,” came Crosshair’s voice. “I’ll alert Typho. Stay where you are until we can clear the area.”

Wrecker tucked his comm away, turning back to Kestia, who was frantic. “The children-“

He grabbed her hands, trying to steady her. “They were gone. They’re ok. We’ve gotta stay here.” He could hear shouting in the square behind the statue they were crouched near and hoped no one had been hit. Suddenly, a battalion of guardsmen poured out of the front entrance of the palace. Typho sprinted down to them, weapon drawn, closely followed by Hunter.

“M’lady, are you alright?” Typho asked, squatting down near her.

“I am. Thanks to Wrecker.” She gave him a small apologetic smile. “You were right. That was foolish. Thank you for calling for back-up.”

The captain gave Wrecker a nod as he helped the queen to her feet, covering her with his body as the guards swarmed to get her back inside the palace. Wrecker stood cautiously as his comm buzzed. “I’m not seeing any other shooters,” Crosshair stated.

“Good work, Crosshair,” Hunter replied. “And you,” he said, turning to Wrecker, “good work as well.”

Wrecker rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Just doin’ my job.”

“Yeah, well we were almost out of a job.” The sergeant turned to look at the front entrance of the palace. More guardsmen were pouring out and beginning to swarm the streets. Crosshair also emerged, rifle in hand, indicating the rooftop he’d spotted the assailant on to several guards, who took off at a sprint. He strode down the steps to meet Wrecker and Hunter.

“She knew it was coming, didn’t she?” he asked Wrecker.

“What are you talking about?” Hunter said.

Crosshair’s eyes were dark. “There’s no way she could have seen that sniper. I needed my scope to see him. She shoved Wrecker out of the way before the first shot. She knew it was coming.”

“That…that’s impossible,” Hunter said, turning to Wrecker. “What happened?”

Wrecker looked at Crosshair. The sniper was angry at being dismissed once again, but he remained silent. “Cross’s right. We were meeting with some kids, finished that up, they left and just as we were about to head inside, she pushed me. I…I don’t know. She was looking at me when it happened, not at the buildings. She seemed scared though.”

Crosshair stepped forward, lowering his voice as he eyed Hunter. “You need to start considering the possibility that the queen knew this was going to happen and what that implies.”

Hunter shook his head incredulously. “What could she possibly gain by staging her own assassination attempts?”

Crosshair shrugged. “She seems awfully keen to keep the Empire off of this planet. Painting them as the villain would be quite effective.”

Wrecker’s brows furrowed. “But no one knows it’s the Empire. Except for us and the other guards.”

Crosshair looked at him. “All the right people you’d want on your side if you were going to make a stand against an Imperial force. She’d be able to keep power and potentially rally for a military response from the planet.” He scowled as Hunter remained silent, bringing his face closer to his brother’s. “I know what you think, but I am not loyal to them anymore. I don’t really care who comes out on top of this little spat, as long as I get paid.” He sneered, flicking a toothpick between his teeth and storming off.

“Crosshair, wait.” Hunter tried to call after him, but the sniper ignored him, marching back into the palace. He sighed in frustration, and Wrecker’s face fell. He knew that wasn’t what Hunter had thought, and he wasn’t sure how to convince Crosshair of that. He also didn’t believe for a second that Crosshair’s moral compass ended at whatever side was paying him.

Hunter was still standing there silently before heaving a deep sigh. “He’s right. Something isn’t adding up here.”

Wrecker stared at him, slack-jawed. “You don’t think the queen-“

“I don’t know, Wrecker. All I know is that she hasn’t been honest with us from the start, and here we are less than a week in and there’s been a second attempt on her life with sketchy details attached to it. There’s something else they aren’t telling us, and it may be more important than they’re letting on.”

“What are we gonna do?” Wrecker asked.

“I don’t know yet, but let’s keep our suspicions close to the vest.”

----

Crosshair strode through the palace quickly, anger seething within him. They’ll never trust you again, and to think otherwise is a foolish waste of energy. He knew what he’d seen. She knew. As he turned down the hallway that led towards their suite, he slowed his pace when he heard raised voices.

“Kes, you took a foolish risk stepping out like that. Thank the Maker Wrecker had some common sense and-“

“That was a last minute addition to my schedule that very few knew about, Gregar. Don’t you think that’s the larger issue here?”

“The larger issue? Kes, you could have been killed! You shouldn’t have even been out there!”

“So I’m just supposed to live my life in fear and never leave the palace? Is that what you’d have me do? I’ve already spent my entire life hiding, Gregar. I will not cower.”

“Then you might die!”

“At least then I die serving my people.”

A frustrated sigh. “I don’t understand your determination to be a martyr.”

“You think I want this?”

“You certainly don’t act like someone that doesn’t have a deathwish, Kes.”

A rustling of robes and the sound of metal clanging against something.

“Clara is going to be upset if you dinged that headpiece,” Typho muttered.

“Oh, kriff the headpiece and kriff this entire thing. What is the point of being elected to a public office if I’m relegated to hiding while some Imperial puppet masters pull the strings?”

“We’re not there yet. They don’t have control, and they’re not occupying us.”

“Yet.”

“Yet.”

The sound of metal scraping against marble echoed down the hallway. Crosshair peered around the corner, watching as Kestia straightened, retrieving the headpiece she’d flung off in frustration. Her hair was askew and he saw her hurriedly wipe at her eyes as she tried to tuck the braids back into place. Typho suddenly stepped forward, helping her. He slipped the headpiece down over her ears, letting his hands rest on her shoulders before he pulled her into a hug.

“You are my oldest friend, Kestia. I came back to this job because of you. I can’t lose you too.”

Kestia’s eyes were closed as she rested her chin on Gregar’s shoulder, but they snapped open, looking directly at Crosshair. He felt a tingle run up his spine as her eyebrows raised and she gave him a slight nod. Pulling back, she met Typho’s eyes, giving his hands a slight squeeze. “I’m going to head back to my room and see about getting changed.”

“I can escort you.”

“That won’t be necessary. Please go check and see what the men have learned about the incident today. I can’t have something like that happening again.”

He was still looking at her, and she rolled her eyes. “It’s literally ten meters down the hall. I’ll be fine.”

He nodded, bowing stiffly before retreating off in the opposite direction. Kestia turned, her eyes meeting Crosshair’s again as she strode quickly towards him.

“Make a habit of listening in on private conversations?” she hissed as she walked by him and he fell into step beside her.

“Only when I believe people aren’t being entirely honest with me.”

She scoffed at him as they turned into the hall that led to the dormitories, brushing past him, but he grabbed her by the arm. His grip wasn’t painful, but it was firm enough for her to whirl on him.

“What do you think-“

“You’re hiding something from us, and trust me when I say if it costs the lives of one of my brothers, you and I will have problems,” he spat.

“I have told you everything relevant to my protection,” she said evenly, her eyes flaring at him.

“You knew that shot was coming.”

Her eyes widened. “I most certainly did not. Do you think I’d have put children in danger? And your brother’s life? Are you out of your mind?”

He leaned closer to her. “I know what I saw.”

She met his gaze, glaring daggers at him as she leaned closer, their noses almost touching. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but you might want to get your eyes examined.” Taking a step back, she wrenched her arm free of his grasp. “I am grateful to you for saving my life today, but do not think for one moment that means that I excuse this.”

“Didn’t expect you to.”

She glared at him for a few more moments before turning towards the door to her chambers.

“What do you have to hide from, m’lady?” he asked quietly. She turned to face him in the doorway of her room.

“What?”

“You said you’ve been hiding all of your life.” His eyes bored into her. “Why?”

She stared at him for another minute. “We all have things we’re hiding from, Commander.”

The statement hit him like a blaster bolt, and he clenched his teeth around the toothpick. Before he could retort, she bowed her head slightly at him. “Good evening, Crosshair.”

“M’lady,” he said quietly, watching as she turned and walked into her chambers, his eyes following her until the door slid shut behind her. Crosshair waited another few moments before slipping into the suite he was sharing with his brothers, leaving the hallway empty.

Tag List: @imalovernotahater

Author's Note: I know I've been all over the place schedule-wise with posting, but I hope you can forgive me. It might even out eventually, but I'm hoping posting more frequently/sooner isn't a bad thing. Thank you for all the love for this fic so far!

[mst3kproject]

The Neanderthal Man

Since I'm taking a break from fishmen, I might as well let Bigfoot catch up a bit.  The Neanderthal Man isn't exactly a Bigfoot movie, but it’s along the same lines and its entire starring cast has MST3K pedigrees.  Robert Shayne was in Indestructible Man and Teenage Caveman. Richard Crane was Rocky Jones, Space Ranger! Beverly Garland was in Swamp Diamonds and Gunslinger. Even the composer, Albert Glasser, wrote music for Invasion USA, Last of the Wild Horses, and almost all of MST3K’s Bert I. Gordon movies.

Some little mountain town in the middle of the Sierras (which the Portentous 50's Narrator takes some trouble to tell us is a primeval place where 'the defacing hand of civilization has fallen but lightly') is having a rash of saber-toothed tiger sightings!  At first these are laughed off, but when the game warden himself sees one cross the road in the middle of the night, it's time to do something about it.  The warden shows a cast pawprint to Dr. Ross Harkness in Los Angeles, who is interested enough to come up and see for himself. Local Mad Scientist Dr. Groves pooh-poohs the whole thing, which is enough to tell me that we're not dealing with a local cryptid here.  Somebody is making prehistoric monsters.

So... I may not have actually run out of movies, but I seem to be running out of plots, because this is a remarkably similar movie to Monster on the Campus. The major difference between the two films is that Dr. Blake turned himself into a caveman by accident, while Dr. Groves here is doing it on purpose.

Another difference is that Monster on the Campus' story, while silly, was linear – events escalated in a way that felt logical, and there were reasons why things happened when and where they did.  By contrast, The Neanderthal Man feels like a first draft.  At the beginning of the film, we're dealing with the saber-toothed tigers that Groves has been creating by injecting cats with his de-evolution serum.  We hear about these slaughtering game and livestock, and it seems like only a matter of time before they move on to human beings.  The beginning of the film is quite upfront about the fact that Groves is responsible, too, as it is only mildly mysterious in its depiction of one of the creatures escaping his lab.

Sometimes the saber-tooths are represented by an actual tiger, usually filmed from behind or at a great distance so nobody has to put the prosthetic teeth on it.  They do have prosthetic teeth, but they're only visible in a couple of shots. Imagine being at a bar and some guy tells you his job is sticking fake fangs on real tigers for a caveman movie!  For close-ups, there's a hilarious puppet head that looks like the sort of thing you'd see mounted on a frat house wall as a joke.  The director had the sense not to linger on this in motion shots, but later we see still photographs Groves has supposedly taken of his experimental subjects and they're even stupider-looking than we imagined.

Anyway, this goes on for a while with rising action, as the game warden goes to get Harkness and they manage to shoot one of the animals, only to have it vanish from the kill site when they try to show it to Groves (the movie never bothers to explain how that happened, incidentally. The ending suggests that the creatures change back when they die, but there's definitely no dead kitty cat at the scene, either).  The whole movie could easily have just had the cats and their creator as the antagonists, perhaps even ending the same way as Dr. Groves proves his work to the other characters by injecting himself. That's not what happens, though.  Instead, the story mostly forgets about the cats one we find out Groves has also been carrying on human experiments.

(Before himself, Groves' first experimental subject was his disabled Latina housekeeper.  Another series of photos show her half-transformed into a cavewoman who for some reason is wearing drag queen false eyelashes.  And as long as I'm talking about the movie being gross and bigoted, there's a bit where a woman is violently raped.  This happens off camera, but the audience is not allowed to entertain any illusions about it.)

The problem is that before we see him give himself an injection in the arm, we have had absolutely no indication that Groves has been giving his serum to anything besides the cats! Cats are stealthy, cryptic creatures and if one of those has been seen wandering around killing things, then surely a full-on caveman beating people to death would not be able to stay out of sight!  If what we were seeing were the first time Groves had tried the formula on himself then that would be an explanation, but his notes reveal that he's been doing it for so long that he's on the verge of losing control of the transformation and permanently reverting to a pre-human status, as indeed he does for the climax.  Much like the stupid dinosaur in The Beast of Hollow Mountain, the movie's main monster is given no build-up whatsoever!

There's worse yet, though.  The main characters, Dr. Harkness and Groves' daughter Jan, are barely involved in the 'caveman' part of the plot. They get phone calls about the various murders that Groves is committing in caveman form, and they snoop around the lab to figure out things the audience already knows.  The same story could have been told without them, perhaps with the game warden and the hunter as protagonists, and it would probably have been more interesting. The script also repeatedly has Dr. Groves wander in and bluster about how the tiger sightings are hallucinations and tall tales, which seems a little unnecessary when we already know he's responsible. The film-makers can't seem to decide whether they want us to know that or not.

Dr. Groves wears glasses.  Maybe the reason his primitive alter-ego is angry and breaking shit (although it does politely open and close the window it climbs out of, which made me laugh) is because it can't see. This is also my theory about why the Hulk smashes, and what do you know?  In Avengers Endgame he's got Hulk-sized spectacles and only smashes when he's told!

The direction of The Neanderthal Man can probably best be described as 'serviceable'.  It shows us what's going on, but doesn't particularly add anything to the proceedings.  The 'Neanderthal' mask is immobile and uninteresting, not much better than somebody's Party City Sasquatch costume.  Even the eyes are just painted on, meaning the poor guy in the costume can’t do much because he can’t see where he’s going.

The dialogue is often very strange, with characters talking like they're in a Jules Verne novel. If only one person did this, it might seem like a character quirk – it works for Dr. Groves, for example – but it's everybody. Seeing the cat carcass is gone, Harkness declares, “I refuse to believe in the supernatural!  There must be some logical cause and effect to this unholy adventure!”  Groves' fiancee Ruth berates him for ignoring her, saying, “I want you, the man I once knew!  The good companion, the cheerful friend.  I want the happiness we once found in each other.”  It's bizarre to listen to, and often audibly awkward for the actors.

Monster on the Campus was kind of trying to be about how humanity must choose to evolve away from our inner savage, although the finale didn't bear that out.  There's a scene in The Neanderthal Man in which this movie seems to be trying to go in the opposite direction, saying that we were never savage to begin with.  Dr. Groves is speaking to a panel of scientists about the size of the brain in various 'primitive' species of human.  He points out that by the time we reached Homo erectus we were already working with four times the cerebral jelly of a chimpanzee, and argues that our ancestors would have been recognizably human in their behaviour and problem-solving capacity.

(Amusingly, his chart of human evolution includes Piltdown Man, which was proven to be a hoax literally a few months after this movie's release.  What makes this even more tragic for the writers is that their list of primitive humans seems to be the only place where they actually did any research.)

The problem with Dr. Groves' theory is that he already knows it's wrong. We soon learn that he's been experimenting on himself with his serum for a while already, and his notes show that he knows very well he regresses into a near-mindless animal.  The movie does not even try to reconcile these ideas.  If Groves were continuing his experiments in the hope that perfecting his serum would give him a more accurate reconstruction of ancient man, that would be one thing, but the script never goes there.

So now that we've had two 'man turns into caveman by injecting science juice' movies, of course I have to ask which one is better.  Monster on the Campus wasn't a good movie but it was definitely an improvement on The Neanderthal Man in several respects, and although I don't have any way to find out for certain, I suspect it was an intentional remake.  It's definitely more entertaining and gets bonus points for including the Meganeura dragonfly, but nothing in it is nearly as funny as The Neanderthal Man's fake tiger head.  I guess if you're gonna watch one or the other, stick to Monster on the Campus, but if you're gonna watch both, start with The Neanderthal Man and do them in chronological order, the better to spot the inspirations and references.

Before I go, a fun paleontology fact: current thinking is that the saber-toothed cat's eponymous fangs actually didn't show when it had its mouth closed!  There are zero cave paintings or ancient sculptures of a saber-tooth cat with teeth visible, and when scientists looked at the structure of the enamel in the canines, it suggested that in life the teeth were hidden by big, fleshy, St Bernard jowls.  Google 'smilodon lips' and behold how this looks fully three hundred percent more ridiculous than you're imagining.  I love nature.

[ozbian]

It is particularly Not Good for a firbolg to be isolated

For Firbolgs, separation from the family group and tribe is their version of capital punishment. Being made outcast and banished from the group is the worst penalty they can inflict on each other (per 5e)

Firbolgs feel a need to be with their families more than most people. They rely heavily on each other for survival and for their mental health and wellbeing.

Nila left her tribe only because she had to. They wouldn't help her get her son or her mate back, and she was desperate. Despite mostly negative experiences with people of other species, she hooked up with a group at the first opportunity, she was incredibly happy and relieved to see another firbolg when she met Cad, and despite all she'd been through and how badly her tribe had failed her, there was no question at all of whether she would go back to them

Pumat Sol was so desperate for family that he put himself in debt to the wizards so he could have magical clones made of himself. He plays it off as a business decision, but if so he'd have been better off hiring some people or taking an apprentice.

The Pumats bonded hard to Caduceus almost instantly. On their first meeting, the Pumat simulacra were instantly fascinated by Cad and taken with him. Prime went from silent shock to quick threat assessment (where you from, is my past catching up with me) immediately to really, really friendly - a bit unusual for Prime - and kept going until Beau's interruption caused resumption of business and a rapid retreat (but he was obviously keeping a close ear on things). As they were leaving Pumat 3? told Cad that he lightens up the room. From then on the M9 seem to have a special status with the Pumats.

When the M9 next visited, the Pumat manning the front desk was very aware of how long it had been since they last came around and made an excuse to call Prime in pretty quickly.

Prime immediately noticed when Cadudeus grimaced in pain after he was stabbed and asked if he was hungry - he's clearly concerned about Cad being too gaunt since it's the first thing that occurs to him.

When it became obvious there was an attack underway one of Pumat's first actions was to clear the Simulacra out of the way, then instead of protecting himself he cast greater invisibility on Cad. When Pumat dropped it next round, he said "Wherever you are, hope you're safe!"

Cad was probably a big part of the reason that Pumat went after Obann with the M9

The Clays are surely a bit strange by firbolg standards, but Caduceus obviously feels the same sort of need for tribe and family that other firbolgs do. He bonded hard and fast with the M9, even though it took some of them awhile to reciprocate. He immediately took on the role of providing food and practical comfort after the rescue, and continued to do so once the worst of their grief had passed. He stayed with them despite how much of a mess he thought they were sometimes, and how they seemed to be randomly tripping along with no direction except not east, and his doubts about the Wild Mother's intentions and the differences in their worldview and how he kept nearly dying.

Caduceus was left alone, without family, isolated from society, in an increasingly hostile environment, for about five years.

He felt punished by his isolation regardless of how it happened, and spent time reflecting on the wrongs he'd done to his family.

Caduceus seems to act so different to how he describes himself in his youth.

I wonder how much of his personality he is suppressing out of fear that he will drive his new family away.

[buglife]

How about festivals and celebrations? Not only the regal, noble type, but the ones of common bugs too.

Here are a couple I figured out with a quick overview. I may expand on these later with illustrations or more depth depending on time and interest.

PART 1 - Pre-Infection Holidays

The Cast Off Festival: Something akin to a new years resolution. Once a year the citizens of Hallownest make an effigy of something they want to ‘cast off’ of themselves so they can improve. Example, they may make a figurine that represents self laziness or something that represents a nasty temper. Some folks may make tokens or figurines to sell that people can purchase if they cannot or don’t want to make their own. Celebrations include food and rituals indicative of purifying yourself to allow the new you to get a foothold over the old. Everyone gets together at the end of the celebration to throw said effigies into a communal fire and let the wind carry the ashes away. Just like how the Pale King cast off his previous form of a Wyrm to walk among the people and lead them to a much better existence, so too would common bugs follow that example to better themselves as well. Bugs may just have one effigy and some may have a whole box of them, the point is to give yourself a fresh new start and leave your old baggage holding you back as mere ashes. In general, it’s a very happy celebration in that you have a new chance to make the changes you want and if you have to do the same thing again next year, that’s okay. It takes time to change. The important part is that you recognize something about yourself that does need improvement and make a promise to work on it. 

Feast of Fellowship: It’s not far fetched to imagine that even after granted Sapience, some bugs that were regularly preyed upon may have lingering instincts that may make interacting with carnivorous citizens a big nerve wracking. To counter act this, there is a yearly feast where folks are encouraged to share company and food with each other to not only celebrate the bounty from the harvest, but also the fact that many different kinds of bugs worked together to produce it. Spiders, Millipedes, Flies, Moths, ect ect, can all have a feast together and enjoy each other’s company. Takes place after the biggest harvest of the year so there is an abundance of food to go around that can be eaten up fresh before they must be preserved. Entire villages would just have one communal feast where everyone can share and enjoy. In big cities, usually these are more private with friends and colleagues being invited but I wouldn’t put it past a crown funded feast for everyone in the Capital. Citizens that are happy after all, are less likely to cause any trouble when they are busy sleeping off the biggest meal of the year. Lol.

Life Festival: A celebration for those wanting to be parents, those that have children, and those that have parents they love. It’s a day of fond wishes and hopes to be able to have healthy young. Different species have children in different ways, but it all comes down to the same thing, the want to reproduce. The day is spent lighting candles and leaving little offerings in the hopes to become gravid if trying to be. It is also a day for current parents to honor their offspring and be grateful to be blessed with them. Some take this day to grieve and honor any lost children and thank them for being there, even if it was for a short amount of time. Parents to be take the nights to be ‘extra sure’ their wishes will stick, if you know what I mean ;3. It can be rather bittersweet but it is important to many people. Children, however, take the day to honor the parents that gave them life, and there’s usually gift exchanges between parents and children. In general, it’s a celebration of life given and the gratitude of it all. 

Birthdays are dependent on species and specific culture. Some celebrate when the egg actually hatches as a birthday. Some celebrate the day they emerge from their pupa an instar molt as the ‘birthday’. Still, there would be some sort of celebration where a child gets a celebration to mark another year of life. Complete with sweets and presents. It’s a big deal, as bugs before rarely made it past the nymph stage of life. It certainly is something to celebrate. 

Celebration of Flight: For flying species, where the young take their first ritual flight to mark an important moment of their development. Non flying bugs are present as well and participate by offering support to their friends and family taking their first flight without any help. 

Celebration of Weaving: For Spiders to show off their very first silk weavings and crafts and getting the praise they deserve. Primarily a Deepnest holiday. 

Celebration of ____: If a species is known for a thing, you better believe they are going to have a cellebration around it! Digging, rolling, fighting, spitting, climbing, ect ect. There’s so many different kinds of bugs!

Mate Day: Bring your mate offerings so they don’t get cranky and try to bite anyone. Especially you. You better make them feel like the most special bug in existence. 

King/Queen’s Day: Two days at different times of the year to celebrate the King and his lovely tree wife. Queen’s day is in ‘Spring’, and King’s day is ‘Winter’. Think of ‘Captain Picard Day’ in the TNG for the idea. Kids make little dolls and pictures and costumes and run around while parents buy them little King/Queen shaped sweets and participate in events run by the crown. Tours of the Palace take place in order to bring more transparency to the public. Both days would involve charity work depending on the ruler’s taste. Example, the Queen might sponsor a beatification effort by planting flowers and bushes around the kingdom and the King may just ask for groups to go around and clean up litter. Citizen bugs outside the Capital/major cities still would have their own home celebrations, perhaps just saying prayers of thanks or just cleaning around their village. Dolls and plushies are typically sold a lot and it’s not uncommon for children to have at least one doll of either the King, Queen, or both. There is a lottery where any citizen can participate, where winners may go before the Royals without having to fight through normal court to request some sort of help for either themselves or another organization. Royalty and Nobility have a separate feast afterwards, where there is a lot of ass kissing and the monarchs just want to eat their din dins and go the hell to bed please.

Day of Spirits: A day to honor and remember the dead. Offerings are set out for deceased loved ones and graves/memorials are carefully cleaned and put to order. It’s a time to remember those you love that are gone and give them honor by showing that you are continuing to live and remember them. There are usually parties where representations are included so the spirits of those gone are invited to participate in said party. It’s a day for laughter and love, not for grief. It’s said on this day the veil between the living and dead and thin, so you can directly tell your gone loved ones whatever you like and they have the greatest chance of hearing it. 

Honey Festival: All things Honey. The Hive makes SO MUCH GEO during a week long Festival. They may not be part of the Kingdom but boy howdy, does everyone love honey and wax products. 

Remembrance Days: Days to remember any well known person, such as visionaries, inventors, people who generally did a lot of good, and others. Bugs that did a lot of good for bugkind are remembered and honored in their own little celebrations. Usually it means that government offices shut down to give their workers a much needed break. 

OF COURSE: There doesn’t need to be a reason for a celebration. Dances and ‘Ho Down’ style celebrations can spring up for any reason. Some villages have their own little celebration days and all it takes is one person setting up some music and drinks and you got a party.  For moral, it’s common for there to be at least one celebration every ‘month/moon/cycle’ to keep up spirits and have at least a bit of time to relax. 

[rpmemesbyarat]

RP  meme from Werewolf: The Apocalypse "Black Furies" Tribebook (Revised Version) Ch 2 "Pegasus’ Flight"

"But how can you be here?"

"I’m sorry. I’m easily sidetracked. Where was I?"

"Every day the possibility exists that you will find some great treasure — a companion, a fetish, riches, secrets or whatever is important to you."

"Divine justice is not something that can be safely left in the hands of mortal men and women — or even certain sky goddesses, as Athena’s blindness showed."

"While limits and strictures are frightening to many, I take peace knowing that purposes exist for all things."

"The problem comes when limits become absolute."

"It’s a human mind-twister — and I love mind-twisters — that the only rule to which there is no exception is that there’s an exception to every rule."

"I said before I love mind-twisters, but it’s good to know when to stop twisting your mind."

"Change hurts."

"The questions do not always need to be answered, often just asking them is enough."

"If they lead only to more questions or to simple answers (I remember well learning the answer to “What do bees smell like?”), then that also is learning and therefore good."

"Laughter doesn’t have to be mirthful; it can be bitter or rueful as well."

"How many of these stories actually happened?"

"Take from a story the wisdom that is in it; one of humanity’s biggest problems, I think, is that many of them take their legends too seriously."

"Contemplation is good, but too much of it causes the topic to become irrelevant."

"Beautiful, isn’t it?"

"The average first-time mother can expect an ordeal of fourteen hours."

"Everyone agrees that breast milk is best for babies; doctors, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and parenting gurus."

"I am sorry for your discomfort, but you can just suffer through it a bit longer."

"A woman’s sexuality is hers, and can be a closely guarded secret or a gift to the world, as she chooses."

"Only the weak deserve pity."

"And yet we’re still spit on as often as not. Unfair, isn’t it?"

"Sex and childbearing is all about responsibility."

"There is no honor in blood for blood’s sake."

"These assaults take place far from the eyes of humanity, and the large-scale ones are most frequently mistaken for natural disasters."

"First, while faith might be eternal, religion must evolve."

"The world is often random, and believing it to be loving and fair is just as false as believing it to be cruel."

"They aren’t thieves, mind you; they just seem to know where to find things."

"I’m quite sure you’ve heard it all. Stay awake and listen again. This is important stuff, you know."

"That kind of cruelty doesn’t really help anyone, does it?"

"Note that there’s a big difference between “breeding” and “having sex.”

"My opinion has always been that announcing one’s presence and intentions when entering another’s territory is polite and proper behavior."

"A predator sees any encroachment on her territory as a threat. If the intruder nears her den, expect her to become very violent."

"If you enter another’s territory and announce yourself, that doesn’t mean you can stay. The one who lives there can still tell you to leave, and you should respect her wishes."

"Be careful when traveling."

"Look, we’ve all got anger control problems. It’s part of who we are."

"If you’re hurt, quit."

"Die to be a hero if you want, but don’t die to prove you were right."

"When the challenge is over, when the winner is declared, accept the ruling and live with it."

"Challenges are serious business — never initiate one without good cause."

"Do not look away. I hardly need to explain what that will lead to."

"We all know why it isn’t good to eat humans; for one thing, their flesh is fouled by the chemicals they eat, and for another, we’re meant to protect and avenge them, not prey upon them."

"If it becomes necessary to kill humans, do so, but remember that you are what you eat."

"From the face you’re making, I can assume you find the notion of cannibalism to be truly repulsive."

"Find other ways to hide your action."

"The problem is that humans are resilient and tenacious, especially in fear or hatred."

"Sometimes, however, we must let go."

"When the time comes for me to die, assuming, of course, that I do not die in battle, I shall walk into the sea and let the waves take me on my last journey."

"They can’t be challenged if no one can find them."

"I’m not saying that the system is corrupt, only that it could be."

"Such a small place, yet so many differing cultures!"

"Any biologist will tell you that you may measure how well an area thrives by the diversity of life it supports."

"Women are, on average, not as physically strong as men. This means that they sometimes need protection. I hardly need to tell you who should provide it."

"Unless I missed a major theological event, there haven’t been any immaculate conceptions recently."

"No matter your personal feelings on men, they are and always have been one half of the equation."

"A man is not evil simply by dint of his sex; to believe so is no better than calling women “the weaker sex.”

"Weak people produce more weak people, and since humans have virtually no method of natural selection, it is up to us to try to correct their weaknesses as best we can."

"Something is urging the citizens towards these evils, for I cannot believe that they did this themselves."

"The idiot humans continue to think that if they could just clear away the trees, they’d have wonderful land for agriculture, never once realizing that it’s the forest itself that preserves the land."

"Tell me why you think you could do better."

"So many believe the courts will do nothing — and if their attackers are rich and privileged enough, that is sadly true."

"Celebrities and advertisements show thin and unhealthy looking women being adored and generally enjoying life. So, young girls are made to feel abnormal and loathe their bodies."

"The Church decries sexuality for any reason but procreation — and women learn to fear their sexual power."

"Time may dull the memory, but we still have blood on our claws."

"It’s harsh, but good exercise."

"Don’t let their foul behavior and mannerisms fool you. These bumpkins and slum-dwellers have contacts all over the city. I avoid them when possible, but when I am left with no other choice and need information in the city, I go to them. Of course, that information does not come cheaply."

"Some of them can get a little corny at times, I admit, but I’d rather have them with us than against us."

"A more serious bunch of assholes was never born."

"They are reprehensible dogs."

"They have money, they have places to stay, they know good places to party, and they have access to guns, and explosives, and body armor, and — well, you get the idea."

"They have a lot of hate, and the near-extinction of their species isn’t something that one just gets over."

"No one ever identifies herself as “evil.”

"You will get far more than you bargained for."

"Most national leaders are ridiculed without mercy, because every mistake they’ve ever made is on display for the world to see."

"Too much time spent mucking with forces beyond their control taints these people, if you ask me."

"Bloody opportunists."

"I’m not going to say they planned it that way, but they sure didn’t stop it either."

"Sure, they got fucked, but they’re still assholes."

"A quaint story, I thought, no more than a sort of urban legend."

"However, they do learn many secrets that we miss. Getting them to give up these secrets, however, is usually more trouble than it’s worth."

"Maybe they aren’t all dead?"

"Greek myths are replete with dragons; Ladon, Typhon, Python, Hydra, and so forth. They are never cast in favorable roles; most of them only exist for a hero to kill."

"I’ve never liked practical jokes, and I don’t like the notion of pushing someone’s buttons just to teach them not to respond. You can lose your head doing that to the wrong person."

"Other creatures share the unseen world with us, and it would behoove you to know something about them."

"The spirits of the dead do not always rest easily."

"The dead aren’t staying in the ground."

"Some of them are complete pigs, so I’m told, but even so, they can be quite seductive."