#for the powerups themselves:

[shoechoe]

VA's final fight always annoys me to no end with how anticlimactic and just non-fightlike it is, but at the same time King Crimson is practically unbeatable without Requiem's super-epic-powerup ability so it kind of wrote itself into a corner there. Like there was virtually no way to win against a stand like King Crimson, whose ability is pretty much just "your attacks don't matter no matter what it is" without powering up the protagonist's Stand to a double-"screw you" ability. Either way it makes for a pretty disappointing final fight because you just... can't really write suspenseful fights with abilities like that.

[buggachat]

green is obviously a color associated w the black cat miraculous, it's literally what the pawprint indicator is, is part of the baton, is plagg( and adrien)'s eye color, etc. lady noire and kitty noir both have designs that take advantage of this fact with neon green accents. however i think we don't acknowledge enough that adrien .... doesn't so much?

i mean he does sometimes, particularly with playing w dark green hair sometimes (catwalker and [pre-reformation] griffe), and his shiny powerups like astrocat and aquanoir utilize it ...... but for the most part, aside from his eye color (which is just adrien's natural eye color anyway), adrien definitely favors metals as his accents. golds and silvers. again, aside from hair color, you can see this on catwalker and griffe too (both pre- and post- reformation). the suits themselves always heavily feature silvers and/or golds as accents over greens.

anyway all this is to say, i think if marinette really wants to make a chat noir-inspired outfit — specifically chat noir inspired and not "black cat miraculous" inspired — she should add more golds/silvers and less greens. maybe with a choker w gold ornament to really complete the look. also i think it looks better than neon green no no i have no personal bias here no put the gun dow—

[avoliot]

Of interest to approximately 1.5 people, my conclusions about Never Stop Blowing Up as my first Dimension 20 show (video store employees get thrown into a world based on action movies and everything that happens is...the title of the show):

Very good! Incredibly polished production values and goes at a breakneck pace once they get into the fantasy world. Laughed until I couldn't breathe a few times.

It is nice to be able to recommend a DnD-adjacent thing without going you'll have to ignore the poor sound quality/all white male cast/2015 edgelord opinions, i promise it gets better!

I didn't know these actors at all going in. This means when Rekha Shankar looked winsomely self-deprecating and said "I want to ask a question... but I'm afraid you'll think it's stupid...", I mentally went oh sweetie I'm sure it's not stupid! women need to stop devaluing themselves! that's the patriarchy talking! and then she goes on to propose the most goddamn stupid thing that has ever been done in a televised table game and had to roll a dc100 check to make her own greasy shirt act like a mario kart powerup. she did this on purpose to make Brennan shriek. 10/10 no notes.

[zoe-oneesama]

For powerups, do you have a theory or guess on what the other ones may be?

I mean, no not really, but I can maybe think of some to fit the theme? And the theme is Costume Change to Protect/Assist the wearer in ways the Original Suit Can't. So there's a Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, and Pink. So I'll fill in the grid:

Red - Fire. Obviously. And I mean capable of withstanding walking into a volcano. Maybe comes with oxygen masks, gloves, and helmets

Orange - Earth. Ground? Or Desert! Point is it's to carry the wearer through incredibly harsh terrain and make it a breeze.

Yellow - Electricity. Obviously comes with the ability to withstand electrocution, and probably has a lot of rubbery accents.

Green - Canonically Aqua. Comes with fins and the ability to breathe/speak underwater.

Blue - Canonically Ice. Comes with ice skates and better balance on ice.

Purple - Canonically Space. Comes with helmets and wings/jet-packs and can withhold the force of space.

Pink - Fairy. Bit of an outlier, but with magic being real, who's to say the only magic is Miraculous magic? This would come with shrinking ability and would "transform" the user into a fairy themselves, with wings (but no additional magical powers). Could be interesting for a Special Episode.

Honestly just look at Pokemon types lol. And like, Air (one of the allegedly "original" ideas) works but if you already have Space, it's redundant. Maybe if Purple had been, like, Poison you could have Air. Or make Pink Poison! Obviously since it's not a subject I love, I'm not married to any of these ideas, but this ^^ is essentially the first draft I would've submitted to ZAG to workshop it.

[unordinary-diary]

Arlo’s Ability Potential

Arlo could actually be so fucking OP and I’m not kidding.

In my last entry, I mentioned that Arlo could do so much more with his ability: things ranging from very unlikely to happen in the story, to things that are foreshadowed enough that I genuinely think he’ll be getting a powerup soon.

I’m gonna start with the most reasonable stuff and then wander out into speculation.

First of all: Disks. Do y’all remember Lennon from episode 196-ish?

^ this fucker.

Currently, Arlo’s fighting style is to put up a strong barrier around himself, and watch his enemies hurt themselves with their own recoil damage. His only offensive technique is to put his enemy in a barrier and make it smaller. Now, this has changed in recent chapters, with him developing that softer kind of barrier that he hits people with like a shockwave, but ultimately, his offensive power isn’t very diverse.

However, Lennon up there^ uses his disks in many ways.

He throws them, they’re very sharp, he can use them to fly, and therefore attack from the air. Blyke had a LOT of trouble against this guy.

How is this relevant? Because Arlo can make these disks too.

When Sera, Leilah and Arlo are fighting Spectre agents under the dampener, Arlo conjures one of these disks as a substitute for his usual barrier.

Not only do we know that he can make these, we know that they are significantly easier for him to make and maintain. So, in theory, Arlo should be able to do all of the things Lennon can and more.

With him currently being able to make three regular barriers at once, how many disks could he make? And how many disks could he make while having a full barrier up? I imagine that the future holds lots of fights against large groups of people, so Arlo learning these techniques would be extremely convenient and very well-timed. Especially since being able to attack from the air is super effective against opponents who can’t fly (which is most of them let’s be real) since they usually can’t hit back.

But there’s more things that I think these disks can do.

Imagine him practicing with a ball—

Pick it up, bounce it up and down.

Add another disk, make it ping-pong.

but he could also just put the ball in a regular barrier and just... move it around. Move that sucker to a different location.

he could pick the ball up, carry it really high, then drop it.

Now imagine the ball is a person.

... yeah.

but there’s more that he could do.

say that someone is coming at him with enough strength to break his barrier

If aimed right, the opponent shouldn’t hit the third barrier head on, but rather at an angle. The angle should be enough to prevent the barrier breaking, but still cause significant recoil damage. In this particular scenario, the recoil damage will go straight to the head and neck, using all their force against them. Depending on how much force is coming at him, the third barrier could still break, but it isn’t his main line of defense at least. With practice, Arlo should be able to use disks to divert attacks, and control where his opponent aims. The only person this wouldn’t work against is probably Seraphina bc Arlo can’t react in time.

Another thing to consider is: how small can he make the disks? Could he make little shurikens? If so, would making them very small allow him to make more? Could he stand behind his full barrier, while sending out a flurry of tiny chakrams? And if so, wouldn’t that be dope as fuck? Especially against a large crowd.

And since, in theory, he should be able to fly, he should also be able to make other people fly. Imagine all of them flying on top of a disk with Blyke and Isen loudly singing I Can Show You the World. I see zero reasons why this can’t happen.

Moving away from disks, Arlo should start filling his barrier with stuff. Now, we rarely see characters weaponizing things that aren’t abilities or their bare hands, but it does happen. This is where the idea of water balloons comes in. Fill that sucker in the sink, throw it, then pop it whenever he wants to.

But it’s not just water, he could put anything in there. He could put a shit ton of glitter. He could put sewing needles, caltrops, a big rock, anything. He could probably even put a barrier over his stove, gather steam, compress that shit and make smoke bombs!

But enough with that bitch baby shit.

What about chemicals?

Make water balloons but instead of water it’s hydroflouric acid. Or fill that shit with liquid nitrogen. Make smoke bombs but instead of steam it’s mustard gas— he and his friends will be protected inside a full barrier. There is any number of chemical weapons he could use, and some gases could even be made at home by mixing the wrong cleaning materials.

But what about insects? Go to the woods, find a beehive and yoink that shit.

The main problem with the “putting things in barriers” idea is that he’d have to prepare ahead of time, and keep those barriers up and his ability active until he uses them. That means it isn’t useful unless he knows the fight is gonna happen, and has enough time to prepare before it, but not so much time that he loses energy keeping them up. It’s also not useful if he wants to be non threatening at first, because his ability will need to be active. And also, unlike other weapons, A lot of these can’t be stored. He has to use all of them before the end of the fight— especially since gases can’t be released without using them. So, not very convenient or practical most of the time, but it would be super cool and effective in certain circumstances.

The next unlikely technique for Arlo to develop is vacuums. Arlo could make a really tiny, spherical barrier. Airtight. EXPAND that sucker. Make it real big- a near vacuum inside. Then make a tiny hole in it. Depending the size, that could create some insane suction. Suction is something so versatile that it could actually be a whole ability in its own right. That’s a whole ass mid tier added to Arlo’s already dope skill set. Possibly more.

Seriously, just think about suction for a second. You could bring anything close to you— Arlo actually has an easier method of telekinesis as we’ve gone over, but still— you could probably break and bend things with enough force, divert an attack by sucking it, or your opponent’s body in a different direction, you could cause some severe damage by sucking directly on someone’s skin. (I’m trying so fucking hard not to make a sex joke oh my god)

Here’s where Arlo’s capabilities get… gruesome.

My brother suggested that he could suck someone’s brain out through their skull. I was incredulous, but with enough force and with the tiny suction hole placed on an eye or nose, he definitely could.

But there’s an easier method of killing right there: put the vacuum over someone’s head. It doesn’t have to be an intense enough vacuum to explode their head (it could be though), just enough to suffocate them. Even without killing, suffocation could be used for intimidation or to knock them out.

But if we ARE killing… Arlo could put someone’s whole body in a vacuum and have the same effect as throwing them into space. They explode, their blood boils, it’s fuckin freaky what happens when a person depressurizes.

Even without a vacuum, (or any of these, really) it’s a good thing Arlo isn’t willing to kill because there are about a million ways he easily could.

The question that inspired the whole idea of a vacuum to begin with is: could Arlo make a barrier inside of someone, then expand it? The answer? Probably yes.

This gruesome shit is the reason I imagine Arlo at his full potential to be like… a villain au. Also because having an OP villain doesn’t have the same narrative pitfalls as an OP protagonist.

What’s Arlo’s range like? Could he expand his range with practice? How far out could he shoot a disk? Could he puncture the hull of an empire class battle ship leaving thousands to drown at sea? You know, because it’s so sharp?

Seriously though, could he take down airplanes?

Making barriers bigger or smaller doesn’t seem to affect his energy at all, considering that he never has to shrink it to save energy even when it would make sense (like with the dampener— Arlo just warned that he couldn’t keep it up, then took it down and switched straight to a disk even though there was plenty room to shrink it). So if the size of it doesn’t matter, then how big could he make it? Could he make Atlantis? Pick up a city and put it underwater with a barrier as an air dome? Could he make a dome around the earth and block meteors? Could he crush the core of the earth and blow up the planet if he wanted to??

Sadly, the answer to all of those questions is “probably not”.

Arlo is already super OP, they don’t call it a god tier for nothing. But he could be so much more godlike. I know I got really crazy at the end there, but back up just a little bit and he could realistically be a god among gods with just a little creativity. Especially at the top where the images are. Most of this stuff would not be hard.

[pianokantzart]

The One To Blame (Part 2)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 A followup to my The One To Blame one shot. I took a poll asking if I should keep things lighthearted, but "hurt that plumber harder" won, so....

Content Warning: Blood, torture, vomiting, graphic descriptions of violence.

Needless to say things get a little rough, so I totally get anyone that wants to dip out or hold off until part three (i.e, the comfort part of this hurt/comfort fic.)

____________________

Luigi knew that he had put a fire flower in his pocket some time ago. Chances were it got smashed at some point between then and now, so he was unsure if it would still work. Even if it did, there was little good it could do against a monster who breathed flames that easily outmatched the heat of any powerup. But it was all he had. A useless powerup was better than no powerup at all, if only he could move his arms and reach for it.

Bowser's grip remained firm as he tromped through the halls of his castle, the troops that Luigi had so skillfully evaded just earlier clearing the way. Some who saw the man dangling helplessly in Bowser’s fist took on a look of sadistic smugness. Others didn’t care at all, wanting nothing more than stay out of the way of their king as he rushed past them, up a flight of steps, and into uppermost room of a fortified tower, where he shut the door behind him.

The dark cell was empty save for some old broken chains attached to the wall, suggesting that the cramped quarters had once served as a prison of sorts before being abandoned altogether. Bowser lit overhanging lamps with a puff of flames, filling the claustrophobic space with a dull orange light. “Beg.” The demand was spoken between clenched teeth uncomfortably close to Luigi’s face, acrid breath burning against his cheek like hot steam. “Come on, I know you can do it. I’ve heard it before.” Bowser shifted Luigi in his fist, curling the tips of his claws into his chest, stomach, and thigh. “Beg.” The sensation of talons slowly digging caused Luigi’s breath to hitch. “Don’t! don’t– it hurts! Stop! Please!!”

The mounting pressure didn’t cease. He felt his clothing tear and skin gave way soon after. He screamed, straining to remember the conversation he had overheard earlier, sputtering to find something that would soothe Bowser’s wounded ego. “You’re right! You’re right! You’re right! I should've never touched that warp pipe! I shouldn’t have come to this world! It was a mistake!” The claws stopped digging. The hold loosened slightly, his claws freeing themselves from the shallow puncture wounds they had created. Luigi felt what he knew to be blood soaking into his torn clothes, splotches of red spreading across his collared shirt and denim overalls. “I shouldn’t have talked to you like that when we first met.” He added with a sob, “I-... I’m sorry… your… majesty?” The respectful title felt sour on his tongue, his stomach twisting with shame even as the suffocating grip continued to soften, and Bowser’s look of rage became a self-satisfied smile. “That’s better.” Luigi took the opportunity to once again try to reach for the fire flower in his pocket, but Bowser– feeling him struggling– once more tightened his grip while his free hand reached over to squish the man’s face between his thumb and forefinger.

“You know… Princess Peach was so eager to ruin our wedding trying to save you…”

“Not just me! She was trying to save the Kongs too!” Luigi tried to argue, though with his cheeks painfully pressed in the koopa’s grip it came out as “Nuff jush meh! shewesh tine ta sefta konds tuh!” Bowser paid little attention, and continued… “... I wonder if that would be the proper wedding gift? I’ll let her keep you, just so long as she follows through with her marriage vows.”

When Luigi’s face was finally released he racked his mind for the next thing to say. The right thing to say. Suddenly, his mouth moved before his brain could form a plan, and all at once he found himself speaking from the heart. “Why can’t you just leave her alone?!”

The volume was soft, but the tone was sharp. Bowser responded with equal impulsivity, rearing back and flinging his captive into the wall. “Why!? I’m King of The Koopas! And what are you!?” Luigi had just enough time to adjust his body so that his back took the brunt of the impact instead of his skull, saving him from being immediately knocked out. Rolling to the ground, he heard the tyrant continue...

“You… the stupid underling of an undersized nobody! You’re going to wish I never stooped so low as to ask for your name!” Luigi braced his body up on an arm and dug his hand into his pocket. The fire flower was still there, slightly smashed but radiating warmth. As soon as he grabbed it he felt its energy coursing through him, offsetting the pain of his injuries enough to let him climb to his feet.

Bowser, seeing the powerup activate, charged his captive like a bull, horns positioned to run him through. Luigi met the attack with a flash of bright green flame intended to do nothing more than disorient, and in that he was successful. Bowser was lost for a second of blindness, barreling into the wall as Luigi dove out of the way. Evading the flying debris he scampered toward the door they’d come through. It was heavy, but it had been blessedly left unlocked, and as soon as he wrenched it open he slipped through and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. _____

The sound of stone shattering reverberated through the castle. Peach heard the rumble. Her heart stilled, and her grip on the bars of her cage tightened. “Kamek!” she called, turning her desperation toward the magikoopa guarding her. “Please, you have to stop him!” “With all due respect Princess, until you become the queen of The Dark Lands I don’t take orders from anyone except His Highness.” “I just want Luigi safe! I’ll agree to anything if you’ll only–!” “Even if I believed you… which I don’t…” Kamek interrupted, placing hand on his cheek, recalling the punch that knocked him unconscious the last time Peach agreed to wed, “... once he gets this angry, there is nothing even I can do to stop him.”

Peach opened her mouth to respond, when a flash of red appeared in the corner of her eye. She and Kamek turned in unison to see Mario appear in the entrance of the throneroom, charging toward them at top speed with a look of unshakable determination on his face. He was not nearly quick enough. Kamek, with ample time to draw his wand, cast his spell, and before his would-be attacker was even halfway across the room he was encased in a field of blue magic. “Hee hee hee! Cocky, aren’t we?” Kamek cackled. The captured plumber replied with nothing but a frustrated grunt, gritting his teeth as he was lifted in the air. “No!” Peach shouted. She threw herself against the bars in frantic desperation, but they did nothing but clang noisily under her efforts. Kamek barely even spared her a glance, his attention fixed firmly on his prize. “That’s two plumbers I’ve caught in one night! Although… I believe Lord Bowser’s orders regarding you were to ‘kill on sight.’” With that, he intensified the spell with a twirl of his wand, certain that the sordid affair would be over in seconds. But then, Mario’s body– or what he thought to be Mario’s body– crumbled in a very unusual way. There was no blood or breakage, but instead the little man fell apart like a dry sand castle, disappearing into the air as a fine powder. Kamek stood for a moment in stunned silence. Wand still outstretched he stared at the empty air in utter befuddlement, noticing all too late when Mario appeared once more, emerging from his hiding place behind Bowser’s throne. Armed with a hammer, he leapt down the steps leading up to the throne with a single bound, and swung. The magikoopa was downed with a single blow that sent him flying across the room, slamming into the base of one of his king's many statues. There he lay slumped and still, his cracked glasses sitting crooked on his face.

Princess Peach beamed with joy and relief. “Mario!” "Princess!" Mario rushed to her side. Before she could ask anything else he hurriedly confirmed her suspicions as he pulled a ring of keys from his back pocket. “I had a spare double cherry. Toad is busy getting us an escape vehicle, so I provided my own backup. Now hold on, I’ll get you out of here...” “No! Mario, wait!” She reached through the bars, took the plumber by the wrist and slipped the key ring out of his hand. “It’s Luigi! Bowser, he- it’s all my fault! I–” She bit down on her lower lip, cutting herself off. No. Now was not the time for panicked confessions. Not a second could be wasted wallowing in guilt. In an instant she collected herself and tried again. “Bowser took your brother! I heard a crash coming from the westmost tower. I think that’s where they went. You have to go. Now.” "Luigi?" A troubled look flashed across Mario's face. He nodded, but conflict shone bright in his blue eyes as he slowly backed away. Worry for his brother demanded he hurry, but concern for Peach stilled him. What if the key she needed wasn’t on the ring? What if Kamek regained consciousness? What if someone else caught her trying to escape? Perhaps he should try hitting the door to her cage with the hammer... would that be faster? Would that draw too much attention? “Go on,” Peach urged, jangling the keys in her hands, “I won’t be too far behind, I promise!”

Again, Mario nodded, this time with greater determination. "Please, be careful!" With that, he turned and sped out of the throne room, leaving the princess to sort through the dozens of keys in search of one that could unlock her cell.

_____ Bowser pulled his head from the wall and shook the rubble from his horns as his fiery red eyes glanced about the room, quickly finding the ajar door and the speckled trail of blood leading out of it.

He let out a grunt of annoyance, but he felt little more than that. Luigi hadn’t gotten far, he could still smell the man’s open wounds. Even before Bowser exited the cell he could already sense that Luigi had gone up the stairs to the battlements rather than down them toward the main corridors, probably preferring to try and find an escape route along the castle rooftops rather than risk the crowded halls down below in his injured state.

A risky choice. A stupid choice. There was nowhere to hide up there. Outside, thundering clouds of ash blacked out the sky, robbing the land of any semblance of sunlight. The world was lit solely by the molten rock that flowed about the castle’s base and the golden embers that floated about the air– burnt remnants of what little managed to grow in this accursed land.

Luigi, trying to ignore the oppressive heat, ran along the tops of the castle wall, one hand over his wounded stomach, the other putting pressure on his injured thigh. Thankfully no organ or artery had been punctured as far as he could tell, but at this rate moving too recklessly would sap him of strength before he found a place to hunker down and rest– some secluded archway or tucked away window sill, where he could settle his heartbeat, and tend his wounds. He didn't make it far before heard Bowser’s thundering footsteps fast approaching, his predatory silence far more frightening than any taunt or threat. But while the koopa was fast– far faster than any human– what he had in speed Luigi matched in agility, even in his injured state. Turning toward his pursuer, Luigi shielded himself behind another burst of green flame. He dove beneath Bowser’s legs and weaved about his flicking tail, taking advantage of every tiny gap and blindspot like a skittering insect, aiming flashes of fire at the koopa's eyes until finally Bowser– at the end of his already limited patience– tucked himself completely into his shell, and spun. “Whirling Fortress” was the name of the maneuver. He rarely ever used it, in most cases it was overkill, and if Luigi hadn’t had a powerup to absorb the blow no doubt the spikes would’ve done far more harm than sending him flying into the parapet. But it did the trick, disempowering and disorienting the green plumber enough for Bowser to once more take hold of him, and this time he intended to take full advantage of his position.

After pinning Luigi to the ground with one hand, Bowser grabbed the calf of his uninjured leg with the other, and twisted it all the way around like a ragdoll. A pained screech filled the scorching air as the joints of Luigi's knee, hip, and ankle snapped. The scream rose in volume and pitch as bone shattered soon after, until at last his leg was left twisted in a ghoulish, unnatural position. Bowser, satisfied, released his hold to let the mangled limb fall limp to the stone floor. “There. No more running away. No more hiding.” Luigi quivered from the shock, wide eyed and whimpering incoherently, but as pathetic as he looked, Bowser was surprised he had maintained consciousness. His vague sense of being impressed quickly turned into disgust, however, when then whimpering became retching, and Luigi poured the contents of his stomach onto the ground. “Look at you…” Bowser grumbled. He took hold of the back of Luigi’s head and smeared it against the mess he had made like he was disciplining an animal. “You can’t even take a little pain without losing all of your dignity.” “P-please.” Luigi sputtered, unaware that this time begging would merely trigger a fresh flash of rage. The grip on the back of his skull tightened, claws digging into his scalp as his face was brought back down against the bile-smeared stone with staggering force.

His nose was first to give way, his breathing immediately clogged with blood and a new, searing pain that reached behind his eyes. When he felt his head yanked back for a second blow he struggled to turn his face to save the nose from further damage. This resulted in his jaw and cheek taking the brunt of the impact. He barely succeeded in spitting out broken teeth before the third impact stole his will to struggle, and the fourth plunged him into darkness. The pain continued in unconsciousness, shockwaves of agony rippling out into every part of his body. Seconds felt like hours of drowning in the taste of rust and vomit before he at length awoke, dangling in the air by his wrist, held tight in that familiar, scaly grip. Bowser was talking to him… saying something… Luigi tried to open his eyes. Only one would open halfway, giving him a blurred glimpse of a scowling, draconic face. “Did you hear me? I asked you what exactly your plan was,” Bowser huffed, impatiently repeating his question. “Did you think you could jump out at the last moment and save Peaches the way you saved your brother? That you could bide your time until you found the right opportunity to make a fool out of me again?” The violent grip on Luigi’s wrist made it clear that he wanted an answer. After a few gurgling breaths, Luigi managed to speak with an agonizing slowness, feeling like he was chewing sewing needles with every movement of his jaw. “I just… don’t wa..nt… you to… hurt… anyone,” he stuttered, barely audible. Bowser rolled his eyes. “Adorable. Unfortunately…” Luigi felt his wrist break. He let out a meek cry, immediately strangled by the pain of his shattered mouth. “...You are going to pay me back for everything you’ve done.” Bowser leaned in closer to ensure he was heard, even as his prisoner teetered on the very edge of consciousness. “Once your brother is dead, once Peaches is finally mine, only then will I end your life the way it should’ve ended when we first met!” Luigi was too lost in the fog of agony and bloodloss to properly comprehend what was being said, nor did he notice the distant thud of wooden doors being kicked open, but Bowser's attention was immediately drawn to the new arrival on the rooftops. He half-expected to see a troop of palace guards, rushing to assist in a pointless, but noble effort. To his pleasant surprise, Mario alone emerged from the doorway to the battlements, as if summoned by the whispered threat. He rushed toward them, hammer upraised. When he was close enough to get a good look at his brother, that confidence immediately evaporated and he froze, a look of utter horror and disbelief etched into every detail of his face. Bowser wished he had a camera, but he knew it would only be a second before the plumber’s horror turned to rage. To prevent any further resistance, he gripped Luigi by the skull and made his position clear: “One more step and I’ll tear his head off!”

This successfully kept Mario paralyzed. His feet remained fixed to the floor, chest heaving, teeth clenched, white-knuckle grip tightening around the handle of his hammer.

_____

Peach eventually found the key to her cage. It was bright silver and etched with the words “the key to my heart” in cursive letters, small enough to miss the first time she searched. Nauseated by the adornment, she hurriedly unlocked the door to her prison. Just as she emerged into freedom, the princess was startled by a cannonball crashing through the wall nearby. It wasn’t close enough to hurt her or the unconscious magikoopa, but it rattled her senses, and with her hands balled into fists she rushed to see who or what had created the sizable hole in the side of Bowser’s throne room.

She– to her utter delight– was greeted by Toad, calling to her from the deck of a stolen airship. It wasn’t one of those dinky clown cars or a Shy Guy balloon, but a true airship– built like a miniature galleon and equipped with loaded cannons.

Toad alone was at the helm, struggling to comprehend the controls, but learning quickly as he kept the ship steady.

Princess Peach immediately boarded the vessel on his invitation. She took a place in the crow's nest, and as they stuttered off toward the western tower she gave direction and kept lookout. They dipped low, flying close to the base of the castle to avoid as much attention as possible. Whenever a few unfortunate guards noticed the stolen ship and took aim to take them down, Peach called out their location, and Toad returned fire to great effect. These defensive measures, plus the earlier damage to the throne room, caused a small crowd of guards in clown cars to gather at their tail, but their galleon proved swift and sturdy, easily outpacing their pursuers.

_____

Mario tried to think of a plan, but he was utterly transfixed by his brother’s body. It didn’t look real, smeared and crushed and bent all wrong. He could hear and see shallow, labored breath, joined by a groan of agony when Bowser began walking forward while dragging his broken victim behind him. Mario didn't know what to do. "Save him!" his mind screamed, barking substanceless commands in a flood of terror, "Get him out! Do something! Fight back!"

“The hammer.” Bowser growled, “drop it.” Mario obeyed. No sooner had the weapon left his grip he was plucked up in Bowser's free hand, arms pinned to his sides in a vice-like grip. Bowser, now with a plumber in each hand, slammed Mario into the parapet to ensure there was no powerup at play. Mario instinctively responded with a pained grunt, but otherwise seemed to pay no notice of his own position, keeping his attention fully on his brother. “Luigi!” He yelled, tears cracking his voice and blurring his vision. Luigi didn’t respond, but laid slack with his head still wrapped in Bowser's hand, the slow rise and fall of his chest the only indication that he was still alive. “You know, I originally planned for you to watch him die,” Bowser admitted with a tired sigh. “But I changed my mind. I think I’m done with you.”

No sooner had he said this, he reared back and threw Mario over the wall. A steep vertical drop awaited him, nine hundred feet down toward a wide river of molten rock.

______ Shading her eyes with her hand, Princess Peach caught a glimpse of Bowser atop the western side of the castle. She saw signs of a brief scuffle, then… a familiar red shape plunging over the side. Her heart stopped for a moment when she realized what she was seeing, and she urged Toad to increase the ship's speed despite the fact that they were already pushing the vehicle well beyond its limits. Toad, noting the panic in the royal's voice, did as he was told, and as the ship came into position with the stuttering groan of the overworked engine Peach leapt from the crow’s nest to catch her falling friend. Mario was snatched from the air with perfect precision. The floating properties of Peach’s dress cushioned the free fall just enough that when the two hit the deck of the ship, they were unharmed.

When Mario realized he was alive– saw that he was in good company– he reacted at first with a relieved sigh. The moment of joy was short lived, and his eyes were drawn back to the battlements overhead. “He-… he’s hurt!” The tone of his voice made Peach nauseous. Her fears all but confirmed, she held Mario a little tighter and turned to Toad. “Raise the ship’s altitude! Hone in on Bowser’s position! Hurry!”

“Yes, Captain Princess!” was the cheerful reply, Toad clearly not yet aware of the severity of the situation. With a salute he tugged on levers and twisted the great wooden wheel, drawing the bow of the ship upward at a sharp angle, sending them veering toward the rooftops where the shadow of Bowser loomed against the thundering black sky.

[marinetteplztakeabreak]

The arc with the resistance in ml season five???? Is so good????????????? The way that???? Its been going on low-key for a while????? But theres this Massive Shift this season where literally the entire miracuclass stops running away from akumas or hiding???? And its like???? The fear is GONE by the end of the season???? Theyre not scared anymore theyre just pissed off????? At the system???? Not at the akumatized victims???? But also its not a “babying the akumas” thing either like when gabe is akumatized theyre like “WRONG BAD” at him????? Same with chloé???? But like the entire class will see a butterfly and start running TOWARDS it because theyre like “oh no someone needs help goddamit i gotta get there before hawkmoth” and they dont always win and they dont beat themselves up about it???? Like in confrontation, Juleka got akumatized despite their best efforts and theyre all like “ugh this sucks” but no one’s giving up hope or anything???????

And!!!!! The way that the anti-akuma charms work in that episode??????!?!??!?? The way the fandom has this trend of thinking like,,,, the only way to escape akumas is to push emotions away deep deep down,,,, thats how marinette and adrien have kind of been operating?!???? But then it’s revealed on no uncertain terms that the powerups of the anti akuma charms are reactive to emotions?????!?! That pushing things down doesnt help?? you have to Fight Back and FEEL on your own terms and accept others’ help and feelings?????

Juleka shutting down and curling up into a ball and trying to disapear didnt work!!!but her yelling about how its not fair and shes proud of mr damocles despite it all???? like??? Catalyzed the entire anti akuma charm shield thing???????

The way that this season has shown time and again that it’s okay to be mad and frustrated and hate the system and its okay to feel trapped and scared but you have to learn to reach out and find a good outlet for those emotions even if that outlet is yelling with your friends???? instead of isolating yourself and pushing away people who have your best interest at heart????? And lying and pretending it’s okay doesn’t help but looking for bits of real joy and support amidst the chaos does???

The way that ladybug and chat noir started this season as The Most Alone Theyve Ever Been with the miracle box stolen??? and realized by the end that no one needs powers to be heroes??? they just need to be able to trust each other and take turns carrying Hope for the group and remembering whats worth fighting for!? and as long as theres a drive to fight theres always little victories to celebrate??????????!??

(Also the way that Nino—who heads the resistance—literally calls everyone in his group including Bustier Comrade and the way that they talk about how sometimes it feels like no one’s listening and revolution is the only way?? and the way they address fears about spyware and technology only benefitting the elites and the school system being designed without students’ well-being in mind and environmental terror and the police being corrupt and they take all of that and they say “it is Still a worthy battle and it sucks but you are going to be okay,,, just do not give in to hopelessness… find the people who will help you keep fighting and keep believing in a better future and Cherish Them”)

People complain about this show going “off the rails” as it’s switching its target audience and addressing more “mature” themes or whatever but like do you guys understand how much every single narrative decision makes me scream

[shuttershocky]

hey shutters!

this one is quite a lot to ask so forgive me in advance, but could you help me understand the difference between the guard archetypes?

I understand what aoe, arts fighter, ranged and duelist could be useful for, but brawler, crusher, dualstrike, enmity, liberator, reaper and instructor confuse me quite a bit, I can't figure out what their uses would be

First off, better to use the archetype names in-game instead of the fan names Gamepress insists on using for some reason, since Duelists in game are a Defender archetype, while Gamepress uses them to refer to Dreadnoughts. This will help you get less confused once you start playing the other game modes with interactions for specific archetypes.

Now I will explain each in the order that you gave (but with the correct in-game names for "Brawler", "Dualstrike", and "Enmity")

Fighter - Block-1, low damage, punch very fast. These guys are usually relegated to being pseudo-vanguards cleaning up trash enemies whenever vanguards are banned, because their DP cost is the smallest, though the 6 stars have more than a few extra features. Mountain especially, is an AFK laneholding god since he can become Block-2 and gains incredibly high HP regen.

Crusher - I'm going to be real with you, these guys were a mistake. The highest Max HP and ATK stats in the game don't make up for a very slow ATK interval and 0 DEF. They can act as meatshields for your other operators vs Arts and True damage because their max HP is so high, but otherwise don't bother with them. Unless you love them (like I do) then you can max them out, use them in battle, win anyway, and feel like a big brain.

Swordmaster - Swordmasters are funny because their trait isn't a real part of their identity whatsoever. They have low ATK compared to other guards, but hit twice per attack. This doesn't actually matter (because even with skills that charge per attack, they only charge 1 SP with both strikes). What they ARE known for, is being the technical Guard class with a wide variety of powerful nuking skills and weird talents while also tending to have anti-air capabilities. Each Swordmaster is very different in usage. Bibeak has a spammable stun, Tachanka uses a gun instead of a sword to hit from long range with a normal attack, Cutter is a cheap 4 star who either throws throwing knives or does an AOE slice around her (both skills can hit flying units), etc. They shine best in alternate game modes like IS where they tend to have hilarious interactions with the powerups there, but are able to hold their own in the normal game mode.

Musha - Musha can't be healed (not exactly true but this is for another time), but heal themselves with every attack and rely on their huge Max HP, big ATK stats, and talents that increase their ASPD the lower their health is to survive. Since they can't be healed anyway, there's no point keeping them near your team, so Musha are usually used to "plug" lanes by putting them right in front of the enemy gates and made to fend for themselves. Since they're only Block-1 they won't deal with hordes of trash so well, but if you learn which red gate is spawning the dangerous enemies that don't come in groups, a Musha strong enough to win a 1v1 with them can free up a whole defensive formation by themselves. Alternatively, their big stats and increasing ASPD also make them good drop-in assassins, especially Utage, whose S2 makes her start any deployment at half HP but in turn deals arts damage on attacks.

Liberator - They don't attack, have terrible ATK stats, and are block 0, but in exchange they slowly charge up their ATK stat for every second they aren't using a skill until they get +200% ATK after 40 seconds. When they DO use their skill and finally attack, they deal monstrous AOE damage and gain a wider range than most other Guards. Mlynar is a Liberator who is infamously regarded as one of (if not the) strongest operators in the game, thanks to his S3 having huge range and even more gigantic damage that instantly crumples anything lower than 3000 DEF. Not attacking, not blocking, and waiting to fully charge their ATK may seem inconvenient, but the extreme damage they deal can hard carry a squad through even very difficult stages.

Reaper - Reapers have a unique horizontal attack range that lets them do a sweeping AOE attack. They can't be healed like Mushas but don't have the giant stat heft that Mushas do, but they do have Block-2 and heal for every 2 units they hit (though they can hit way more than 2 enemies with their attack). They are tailor made for dealing with hordes meant to overwhelm you with sheer numbers, but thanks to their horizontal attack range I've found you can also put them into a melee tile out of the way of enemy paths. This can perfectly align enemy pathing with their horizontal attack range to get free damage on whole groups of enemies at once. You can also defend a big lane made up of two lanes by putting two Reapers side by side so their attacks overlap, which deals with most hordes well enough.

Instructor - Instructors have long-ranged attacks with their whips which lets them hide behind other, stronger units, but their real purpose is usually to provide said stronger units with support buffs, their own attacks only meant to be supplementary damage. I say usually, because the strongest Instructor, Pallas, is used as a primary DPS in alternate game modes like IS instead of being a buffer. This archetype is rather unpopular because most people would rather put a second DPS instead of a support, but they do have their uses now and then in funny meme strats involving gigabuffing one unit.

[dandylovesturtles]

The end of the first fic implies that Leo’s Hamato Energy feeds the Shredder enough to reach his full power. How much worse is feral shredder’s rampage than the canon one?

Was his family afraid to attack him too fiercely because Leo was inside?

So I really need to rewatch the finale to remember how exactly the Shredder works in Rise haha, but yeah, essentially Feral Shredder got an even bigger powerup from feeding on Leo since he's a Hamato descendant and not just Some Guy. It's also how I'm justifying why he keeps Leo inside rather than just spitting him back out (which I mostly wanted to happen for story reasons).

So it was worse, especially because he tore around the Hidden City for awhile before making it to the surface. He destroyed several buildings, and there were countless... injuries? Realistically casualties haha but ROTTMNT itself usually doesn't show that so I'm not dwelling on it either.

Leo was doing what he could from the inside to try and limit the damage, but his power is was pretty minimal. He's able to help them subdue the Shredder through some mystical ninpo stuff but he couldn't have done it on his own and can only hold him back so much.

His family was definitely worried that if they hurt the armor they would hurt Leo, but they also knew they couldn't just let it go on. They did try to limit themselves to catching or containing rather than outright violence, though (whenever someone was hitting Shredder directly it was mostly Draxum).

Leo couldn't feel anything happening to the armor though so in that way he was fine. He was just getting hurt by the armor itself.

[e40536]

Your Potential.

Ok now for the lore, came up with most of this just thinking one night about the arrow:

The Requiem Arrow:

it can be activated just by simply cutting yourself with it or stabbing yourself with it (as we see done with Giorno.). However, there are a couple complications in doing this, it could work, you could get a requiem stand but it may result in your stand rejecting & acting against you, if you're not mentally strong enough to control it (Polnareff, prime example), if it doesn't work depending on how you use the arrow on yourself, like if you stabbed yourself, you could just die & that would be the end. Anyway, I was thinking about fugio & insecurities in their own selves & how that can bleed into their relationship, Giorno becoming mildly obsessed with strength & weakness. GER is like, no doubt, one of the most damn OP stands in Jojo, so it's not like he has to worry too much about himself, but he worries obsessively about his remaining loved ones not being able to protect themselves or he won't be there to protect them. As he believes he failed to do in Golden Wind, and this is especially protected onto fugo... SO i imagined like a big scene where Giorno pulls fugo in close & he's doting on him per usual, he tells Fugo how much he loves him and how much he wants him to be well & all, as he's talking to him he slowly pulls the arrow from his back and then stabs Fugo with the Arrow.

Giorno thinks he’s helping fugo "realize his potential", they're becoming "stronger together", Polpo with his test awakened Purple Haze in Fugo; and now Giorno wants to bring out something better.

The great thing about giving your hero an insane powerup is that you can make them addicted & dependant on them.

Some more food for thought:

Everything Giorno does is because it's what HE thinks is just & right, it's repeated over and over again that he fights for the dream he believes is just. But this, to him, is the first time he's done something out of love' he loves fugo, doesn't really care if what he's doing is the most 'just' way, he loves him and he wants him to be strong with him, even at the cost of what he thinks will be just a little pain, a little inconvenience. It’s for the overall good.

TLDR; giorno stabs fugo with the arrow in the name of love, whether Fugo survives it or not is…. Up to you?

Also, the fact that fugo was being held by Giorno, somewhere he feels safe & comforted, he feels loved in his arms. And when you get stabbed with the arrow, what manifests is what you desire most in that moment and… Heh hehe hehe.

[mozillavulpix]

The other reason I think it's so nice that Satoru transformed is it probably wasn't the plan from the very beginning.

Him and Daifuku don't have Precure names, and the only real merch of them transformed they have are some acrylic stands (which got sold out so fast they started opening up pre-orders for another batch within a few days lmao), a card of them in the movie-branded candy toys and some stuff in the collab cafe.

We're past the Episode 30 powerup in the show, so even if they got the forms in the show now it probably wouldn't do much to affect the plot overall. And they don't start rolling out huge new merchandise lines this late into the series.

It kind of feels like a thing where they originally just had the intention of Satoru being a supporting character who the girls could go to for animal facts (and Daifuku for kids with bunnies to relate to) but then as they kept writing the season they realised how much he added to the group dynamic when he was around and then thought "actually he's just as motivated as the Precure to help people, it would be kind of cruel to not let him be a Precure at some point".

Like they seemed to have the same thought with Seiji in Happiness Charge, but for him it was only in the very tail-end of the series and as far as I remember he didn't really get any powers of his own, he just got possessed by darkness and then stayed in that outfit in the final battle.

Basically, the series could have easily gone without giving Satoru anything. But even if it's just vague fanservice that doesn't get officially named as them being Precure, they did go out of their way to come up with designs for them and let them have that moment of spotlight.

Honestly, even if they're not the same gender, I think audiences find themselves relating a lot to 'the character that doesn't have any superpowers but tries to help anyway'. They're more like 'us', after all. So giving them something really helps that feeling that 'anyone can be a Precure'. Even if you're not someone that Bandai will sell dolls of.

now when they'll show up in the show is a whole other question

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously: No Victory For The Simple Soul

(Full disclosure - this is a vent post more than analysis so don’t expect anything deep)

I feel the S5 finale highlights the biggest and most glaring issue that this and the last three seasons have had - Marinette (and by extension Adrien and the rest) not being allowed meaningful victories.

The entire point of a finale battle (specifically one that has your main villain giving his Swan Song) is that the character gains something at the end of it. Even if the battle ends with the loss of a friend or the MC no longer having access to their extra helpful powerup/superform, it’s not supposed to be a complete defeat - they’re supposed to learn something and resolve themselves to do better, or gain a new insight into the villain and go investigate their new lead, or promise to never allow another loss like what they faced again.

Miraculous doesn’t have that in their finale battles. All of them always end with Mari and co taking the bigger loss compared to Gabemoth, and it’s never in a way that’s used to either foster character growth or drive towards a meaningful story development. In fact, the loss only seems to happen because the writers need them to lose so Gabe looks like a bigger threat than he is, and then do nothing with it. They do it all the time -

Miracle Queen - Fu’s removal causes Mari considerable stress over having to do Guardian work solo now and needed to reach out to the temps more often as she unconsciously pushes Chat away. Aside from Alya and the Anti-Akuma charms (which are then rendered worthless by the introduction of Mega-Akuma), Mari gets nothing out of his departure except having to accept she can’t date while being a superhero (unless it’s Adrien, and even that still has issues the show won’t address) and constantly having to babysit the Kwami. She doesn’t even get help in the form of backup mentor!Su Han.There’s nothing positive gained out of having to deal with no longer having a mentor to guide her, and eventually, the loss of him is forgotten all together.

Risk/Strikeback - Marinette losing all the Kwami after getting tricked by Felix gets her a mental breakdown, a broken heart after trying to pursue Chat, and even more stress as she basically has the lives and freedom of three characters shoved into her hands with no one able to help her. She doesn’t gain a new power or new ally like last time either, which just serves to further put her against the wall. Hell, her eventual “life saving powerup” doesn’t even come from being directly cornered by the main villain, but from being faced by the spoiled brat bully he’s manipulating and deciding “Actually we aren’t detransforming anymore”. Meanwhile, the peak of her “character arc” for her civilian life is highly reliant on a newly introduced character that wasn’t even built up to and a recton episode that just serves to put every questionable act the writers had her engage in in a bad light just so they can foist responsibility of whatever flaws the fans complained about onto another character (as opposed to just going “yeah, but I got better” and moving on). She lost so much, but got very little out of it in the end.

Even when taking down her minor antags, Marinette gets nothing out of the deal - “Revolution” had her finally get the chance shut down Chloe for good and show she had no power over her, but by that point Chloe had become kind of pathetic in terms of villainy (not to mention her being the pawn of a bigger scheme that allowed the real masterminds to flee judgement) and Mari’s been dunking on her since episode 1 anyways, so it really wasn’t all that satisfying from a cathartic standpoint, nor does she gain anything character wise. Meanwhile, Lila getting exposed did nothing to really impede or harm her, and now she’s out in the wild with her 800+ fake families and the Butterfly miraculous, so what was really even the point of Marinette’s bathroom plan?

And then there’s “Recreation” and Gabriel - who gets to have his wish, his comatose wife alive, his son no longer (rightfully) hating his guts, the city adoring him, a goddamn statue, being credited for the city turning into a “utopia”, and all sorts of praises and perks he didn’t even earn/deserve, all at the small cost of his death and the plot forcing Marinette to keep her mouth shut for him. Gabriel gets to have everything he’s been throwing a tantrum over for 5 full seasons, while Marinette once again gets nothing (actually no, she did gain something - tons and tons of fandom salt aimed at her for the writers choices) as she’s forced to take on the burden of hiding his crimes.

and it just makes me feel we wasted our time with the story because seriously, what was the point? Why have Marinette lose when this should have been the point where all her losses so far helped her achieve victory when it matters most? Why let Gabriel win and reward him for all his abuses and crimes when the entire story seemed to be building up to getting him to either accept Emilie’s death or be forced to face the consequences of his choices? Why be building up that conflict between Adrien and his father about his wants and needs vs Gabriel’s constantly escalating expectations and not have them confront eachother in the end? Why focus so much on the idea of Mari finally getting the butterfly away from Gabriel if you’re just going to just give it to a new (old) villain and render the entire 5 season long battle for it pointless?

What was even the point in Marinette suffering all those defeats if you weren’t even going to let her win at the end, or at least stop Gabriel from getting what he wanted?

I’ll admit the leaks didn’t raise my expectations for this season but DAMNIT, after seeing them actually change stuff like Andre terrible dialogue in “Collusion” (though what he ends up saying is worse somehow), I expected something to prove it was going to be worth it in the end - and yet just like Mari, I’m venomed in the back by the show for daring having some expectation for them to actually care about making their Heroine’s suffering actually matter!

[samueldays]

Reminiscing about the silliness that was Chungian Paranoia Combat in Exalted 2e, and the context for it. Long story of niche interest.

Dungeons & Dragons, and many RPGs that copied it, have a concept of "level up" once a character accumulates enough experience. Narratively, this is usually an expression of training and skills accumulated over time, and the Dungeon Master may enforce some required downtime and costs involved, but mechanically, the level up happens as a bundle of new character skills and powers packaged together when crossing a threshold. One day your character is level 6 with so-and-so many hitpoints, and the next day your character is level 7 with more hitpoints, a new feat, more skill points, a new spell known, a new class feature, and so on. These are packaged together for player convenience of bookkeeping. Games often have convenient abstractions like this.

Many D&D-like video games veered in a direction of even more convenient abstraction with the level up being a much-mocked "ding!" mid-combat immediately upon accumulating enough kills, sometimes refilling the health bar of a wounded character, raising stats and clearing status conditions. There were strategies designed around exploiting the mechanical abstraction of instant full healing.

The Exalted RPG went in mostly the opposite direction, unpackaging character improvements and skills to be separately bought and paid for in a modular pointbuy system, abolishing the abstraction of a character's "level", and specifying training times for learning new skills and capabilities and powers. It was enforced that characters needed to work at specific skills and spend time to improve themselves in that skill.

Exalted also took the worldbuilding route that character abilities were not simply mechanical abstractions of training, they existed in-universe, as discrete specific powerups. The mechanics are in a sense "true". There were powers to let you read other people's power level. There were powers to hide your power level. Powerups could be taught, you could gain hitpoints faster if someone with more hitpoints was teaching you How To Hitpoints. (One hitpoint improvement took 1-4 days.) On the character sheet, you'd have one or more "Favored Skills" that were faster to train and cost less XP, and in the setting, astrologers could read a child's fortune and determine what Favored Skill a child would grow up to have. This worked by association with one of the 25 in-universe constellations that were a 1:1 match to the 25 skills on the out-of-universe character sheet.

I think this was a bad decision, but it was an intriguingly original decision which led some interesting places at least.

So that's important context item #1: the stance that character powers are not abstractions but exist in-universe and affect the setting. This forfeits a lot of the "it's just a game" and "stop exploiting" defenses when someone exploits certain combinations of powers, more so because this was Exalted Second Edition, and the devs had plenty of opportunity to learn from First and avoid or patch exploits.

Important context item #2: the high lethality of Second Edition before massive errata and overhauls. Sometimes called "rocket tag gameplay", it had significant problems of design and balance.

Starting characters had 7 hitpoints, and gaining more hitpoints took time and xp that was not part of a levelup package, xp spent on hitpoints was xp you couldn't spend on becoming a swordsman or craftsman or whatever.

Starting weapons went up to damage rating 16. (Add wielder's strength, subtract target's armor, etc. Modifiers abound.) Damage was rolled, so a 16 damage hit meant grab 16 dice and each one that shows X or better results in hitpoint loss. This meant instant death by 7 hitpoint loss wasn't entirely guaranteed, but it was very much possible for starting characters to one-shot each other.

In D&D, hitpoints generally grow faster than damage; in Exalted, it was the reverse. Combat superpowers included a dozen kinds of "more direct damage" and another dozen of "more accuracy" (extra accuracy auto-converts to damage!) and "multiattack" and so on. Hitpoints could be bought at most 5 times, adding 1-3 hitpoints each time.

Add in the various Baleful Polymorph style effects that kill a character on contact while bypassing hitpoints, and you get a game with an annoyingly high chance of dying from a single attack in peer combat. It doesn't even require optimization, simply picking a 14L corebook starter weapon against a 7HP character. And Exalted is a setting with no resurrection spells.

The solution: Perfect Defenses, one of the standout gimmicks of the Exalted franchise. Spend 3-4 motes (spell points) on a Perfect Defense power and it completely nullifies a single attack against you.

This means your character's hitpoints are not your real hitpoints, your motes are your real hitpoints. When you run out of motes in peer combat, then you die in the next hit. The same motes are used to power your super attacks, so don't overcommit.

There were more problems, like the fact that you can't use the basic Perfect Defense against a surprise attack, so you need a surprise-negator power too. Skipping over several pages of similar mechanical minutiae, here's the approximate "Paranoia Combo" build described by forum poster Jon Chung (hence "Chungian") and his friends, in mechanics/name format:

Perfect Defense (Seven Shadow Evasion)

Surprise Negator (Reflex Sidestep Technique)

Step 7 Filter (Adamant Skin Technique)

Excellency (Dodge and/or Melee)

Defense Number Keeper (Shadow Over Water)

Multiattack Interruptor (Leaping Dodge Method)

This powers list is for Solars, but similar loadouts exist for other character archetypes. This renders peer combat in Exalted 2e pretty much solved, reducing the fun of the game a bit.

The best approach to character-building is to get this combo ASAP. The best approach to fights is to activate this combo every single turn, or a superset of it. You can switch out individual elements of it, like swapping Heavenly Guardian Defense for Seven Shadow Evasion (any step 2 PD will do), but using this combo reliably wins fights against people not using this combo. People not using this combo can die in one hit. People using this combo can live until they run out of motes to activate their Perfect Defense with.

Now, the game-mechanical reason for this to happen was mostly

#2: the high lethality of Second Edition

but the thing that threatened to become setting-distorting was

#1: the stance that character powers are not abstractions but exist in-universe and affect the setting

because the biggest and strongest default antagonist faction of Exalted (The Realm) has a lot of people with standardized superpowers and also has a long educational tradition of teaching the new generation to use their superpowers competently before sending them out to life-or-death challenges.

Which means that the default antagonists should know about and use Paranoia Combos if the GM is running them as intelligent actors rather than videogame mooks.

Which means that for PCs, buying the Paranoia Combo is near-mandatory. You buy it, or else The Realm kills you easily, because they have Paranoia Combos and you don't and they want to hunt you down and kill you. (Or The Lunars, Sidereals, Rakshasa, Akuma, or other superpowered peers who can get Paranoia Combos of their own.)

Jon Chung was forceful about expressing how "Paranoia Combo or die" flowed from the game's rules and setting assumptions, and a lot of people got mad at him for it, accusing him of twisting the game to his preferences. He said he didn't prefer this, he merely discovered and spelled out the implications. IMO he was correct and someone else would have discovered it eventually.

Part of what aggravated him over time, I think, was the very many dumb responses from people who didn't understand the problem, or who wrongly thought it was trivial to fix. He got vocal about it, people got scornful back at him.

"It's not a problem if you houserule it." - Your need to houserule shows there is, in fact, a problem. "Just ban baleful polymorph touch effects." - Those are not the only, nor even the primary problem here. "It hasn't been a problem in my game." - Followup questioning showed that this person's game was highly narrative and ignored the mechanics when inconvenient. "Double everyone's hitpoints." - 14 hitpoints still risks getting one-shotted by 16 Damage weapons.

[efangamez]

Q&A About GRIM, my upcoming Quake-inspired TTRPG releasing this Saturday!

Hey y'all!

So I wanted to make a post compiling some of the questions I've gotten regarding GRIM, as well as some ones that a random person might wanna know. If you have a question that you'd like added to this list in a reblog chain, ask via reblog or in the replies!

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

1. What is GRIM?

GRIM is a tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) where you delve deep into the core of an old-god corrupted planet wielding brutish and powerful weapons that cleave through enemies. GRIM can be adapted into a solo experience, but is recommended in its current version to be played with a Watcher (GM or DM) and 1-6 other players.

2. What are the mechanics of GRIM? Is it its own system?

GRIM is its own system, but is inspired by MOURN, a DOOM-inspired TTRPG I made a while ago. This time, however, the mechanics are much more fleshed out and the world is much more deep and interesting. From my itch.io page regarding gameplay: "Inspired by prolific FPS games like the Quake series, GRIM's mechanics are quick, brutal, and easy to understand without sacrificing its immense depth.Using either the flip of a coin or a six-sided die (d6), use Combat Skills to speed around combat maps and frag enemies, or use Roleplaying Skills either in or out of combat to navigate the dark and oppressive world beyond the Whispering Gate."

3. How in the heck does this play like Quake?

This game strikes a great balance between the combat of tactical games and theater-of-the-mind games. Not only does the player get some sweet bonuses from their Combat Skills, like Death Resist (where you revive upon dying) and getting more actions with your Speed stat, the weapons you wield, the monsters you face, and the environments themselves offer a playground of carnage that is reminiscent of Quake. Powerups, punchy weapons, and speedy combat are all present here!

4. Can I make expansions, add-ons, mods, modules, or anything else using GRIM?

Yup! Unlike SOME companies, you have the right to use the GRIM formula to make any game, add-on, or expansion you'd like, and can even get paid for it! All I ask is credit me (EfanGamez) as the creator of GRIM, and include a clear and visible link wither in your games themselves or in your games descriptions.

5. How does roleplaying work in GRIM?

While the game does focus mainly on the blow-em-up factor of the mechanics, there are tools within GRIM to allow for some impactful character moments using Roleplaying Skills that can be used in and out of combat for extra flavor! There is also an NPC generator in the handbook to assist you in making some NPCs. It is also encouraged in the handbook to explore and find hidden Mythic weapons and secrets, similar to the retro-fps trope of secret hunting!

6. How many pages is GRIM?

GRIM is 48 pages, again striking the balance between a longer handbook and a super short one! Also, mechanical text and lore text are all separate, so if you wanna read one or the other, you're able to in a jiffy!

7. Okay this is all cool and all...but how much is it gonna cost?

$9.99 USD! There will also be an added community copy per sale of this game that will be added a week after launch, so there's options for that too! This game took a ton of labor to make, so the more help this game gets, the cooler stuff I can make in the future!

8. Are there any sort of stretch goals for the game?

Yep! Here are all the stretch goals for when it releases on itch.io! $300: This game is fully funded! Thank you so much! $600: 5 new Pre-Made Battlemaps for combat encounters will be added to the handbook! $800: GRIM, The Palace of Eyes, a setting expansion for GRIM, will be released! Explore a realm tucked between dimensions, and fight eldritch horrors while navigating expansive castles and dungeons. Will include more unique enemies, weapons, powerups, and settings! $1,500: A printed run of GRIM will be made and released! $3,000: Beyond the main theme already released, an entire soundtrack for GRIM will be created! Enjoy intense combat music and horrifying ambient tracks that will immerse you even further into the world of GRIM! $3,000+: ??? (more goals will be released! I'll immediately jump for joy, however.) ... and more! If this game does well beyond my wildest dreams, expect some awesome GRIM related content to hit your feed like rapid fire.

9. Are there any playlists or songs made for GRIM that I can listen to?

Abso-freaking-lutely! There's a main-theme for the game that has been produced and released that you can find below, as well as two playlists I curated for both Combat and Ambient settings!

Playlists

COMBAT

AMBIENT

10. Which Quake is your favorite?

Quake 1 for sure, but 2 is cool in its own right! I played 4 a LONG time ago and dug the atmosphere, but it's a little too sci-fi and not enough medieval for me.

Got anymore questions? Lemme know in a reblog or in the replies! I'll reblog this post and add answers to any questions I get!

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GRIM releases on itch.io, DriveThruRPG, and Kofi on September 23rd, 2023 at 12pm EST!

[nanaloco]

Mario Kart 10137.5

Warnings : MARIO KART (this story heavily describes a game they play of mario kart, howerver it's all in relation to HC and well, you :) alternating from game description to your reactions), slight swearing (like 2 words), hitting (with pillows😭), FLUFFFF, reader and Haechan bicker and joke a lot

Genre : Boyfriend!Haechan x semign!reader, Fluff (again), crack fic?

Word count: 1.32k

---👾

Get it! 10137.5! 101 cuz thats like the teaching number or something then its haechans viewer rating I'm so smart

You and your boyfriend Haechan got nintendo switches together and he's recently been obessed with Mario kart and you ,being his s/o , ooobviously have to play it with him.

The only problem is, you're absolutely terrible at it so he has to teach you how to play before he can even allow you to play with him and his friends (Johnny, Jisung and Jeno). You have no interest in playing with his gaming squad who's names all suspiciously begin with the letter J. But the main driving force which got you sitting on his bed with the controler( that he  bought for you for his house) in hand was the determination to beat him after you came 12th (last place) out of him and all the cpus (basically computer players, you play against but theyre not actual people).

Instead of him explaining to you all the controls and the game, he decided that the best way for you to learn was to throw you into the deepend on the fastest race mode with cpus. You two were going to play 12 matches, with the last one predetermined by Hyuck as 'rainbow road' (every mario kart players worst nightmare). You begin to choose your characters and haechan chooses Bowser because you said he looks ugly and scary. You choose Rosalina (because you have taste of course) and she was one of the only human characters available 😭😭

Hyuck starts the tournament and you two with all of the other cpus are all lined up in a straight line.

3!

2! Haechan starts holing down one of the buttons on his controller

1!

Go!

Everyone speeds off ahead of you leaving you in last place, in the first 5 seconds

'THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENCE WHAT' You exclaim already ready to quit the game, he leans over you to move your thumb over the A button on the right side of the controller and explains that you have to hold down A when it says 2! to in order to accelerate.

Out of rage you restart the game and you're back to the begining, but now you have that trick up your sleeve, nothing can stop you! 3, 2, you audibly press A, 1, GO! Now you're zooming off with everyone else and a victorious grin displays itself on your pretty face knocking Haechan from 1st to third cuz he's lowkey whipped for you as you chaotically purposefully bash into other cpus, you were 8th place making your way to the top ' I'm coming for you' you annouce which he just scoffs in reply.

A few miles ahead, there are these floating boxes which you avoid and run over the speed up as you think that they were something bad, only to see Haechan shoot right through it. Regardless, you were ahead of him. 'What's that' you ask as you see the wheel of different powerups spin at the top of his screen, it lands on a red shell 'wanna find out?' 'Go on then' you reply unimpressed. He makes his way over to you and throws the red shell which follows your kart until it hits your character and stops you in your tracks, taking you down four ranks in the leaderboard as the other players unnessicarily throttle themselves into your helpless character. 'WHAT WAS THAT FOR!' 'DID YOU NOT WANT TO SEE WHAT IT WAS' you roll your eyes but start grinning cheekily as you just recieved your powerup which was a green shell, you somehow caught up to him and threw it at his character only for it to bounce right off of a random object that was apart of the map and hit a player behind you. Your face filled with horror and dissapointment 'What the fuck was that' 'green shells go anywhere, only red shells target the person directly infront of you. ' 'all of these rules are pissing me off, what is this game' you say rolling your eyes in frustration while leaning your whole body into the screen to focus.

Haechan is back at first place and you hear an almost whistle noise as his character finishes the 3rd, final lap of that course, leaving you dumbfounded as bowser does a disgusting celebration animation around the track that Haechan replicates to get a reaction out of you. Which you retort by pushing his face away from you and starting the next match.

9 lost matches later, you've given up on winning through skill, you're willing to anything, absolutely anything to beat this jerk. You have to play dirty, super dirty. So, when the game starts, you ready one of Haechans pillows in your hand. 3! You smack him across the face with the fluffy pillow and almost like a movie feathers come out You quickly grab your controller and hold the A button to accelerate at 2!, 1! Haechan presses accelerate too late at GO! He's left in your dust, smoke coming out of his engine as he's stationary for 2 seconds for accelerating to late meanwhile, you're in steady 3th place. 'WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM' you stick your tongue out as you tokyo drift around the corner and secure 2rd place.

Climbing the ranks, you throw a red shell atthe cpu who was in 1st place making you! FIRST PLACE! With only a few seconds before your beautiful victory which was only 10 races late, this being your 11th. As the finish line is in sight, you're thinking about the funny annoying victory line you're going to scream in his face; 'maybe you could be better than me one day' no 'I was only warming up' no 'you're lucky I let you win, the first 10 matches'; when he lets out a small, evil chuckle. That wasn't a good sign, not from Hyuck.

He was in 2nd place right behind you and hadn't used his powerup from his mystery box yet, you just assumed it was something useless like a banana peel or something until, just as you're about to cross the finish line, you're character has this flying blue thing over her head and a loud warning siren is ringing through the speakers until a large blue cloud of an explosion engulfs your screen and the wicked laugh haechan had been hiding comes out in full fury. 'LEE HAECHAN' He's wiping a tear away from his eye as Bowser crosses the finish line doing that annoying animation which he soon copies in your face, pissing you off even further. 'Blue shells fly straight to the 1st person in the race regardless of what rank you are in! Har har har' he says in a mocking tone.

Consumed with genuine anger, you take it out on him by repeatedly hitting him with the pillow that was previously fired at his face, standing on your knees as he's curled up in a ball before finding his feet and grabbing another pillow, which basically turns into a pillow fight between the two of you. You grab two pillows and tightly shut your eyes as you windmill hit Haechan picturing bowser as you do so only until you notice you're not landing any hits. You squint your eye to see only a glimpse of him leaping at you with his arms reaching your middle until your head hits his bed. You're laying on your back with haechan ontop of you 'I didn't realise you'd actually get mad.' He says as he attempts to place wet kisses on your cheeks while you try to push him away 'GROSS HAECHAN' was all you could make out between your giggles, you couldn't be mad at him. "I'm sorrrrrrry" he coos "sorry for what" "sorry for being better at you in mario kart!" He beams as he starts doing bowsers dance again, recieving another pillow to the face.

--- 👾

Fyi this is bowser lol

Incase you want to know what Bowser winning animation I'm referring to, skip to

4:20

Thank you so much for reading ily!!!

I'm starting an @ mention list so lmk if you want to be included! 💕💕

Requests are open literally spam me!!

[jaklub]

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the corridors between platforms lend themselves to the wrap paper powerup nicely

play the demo/wishlist VIVIDLOPE here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2078510/